Well, much as I’d love to get one, unfortunately my budget isn’t going to stretch to £140 right now, so I thought I’d look into finding myself a cheaper alternative, and I purchased a Vaporstar Vaporizer instead.

If you don’t already own one, you need to buy a glass bong separately for this little Vaporizer to work, as the Vaporstar itself is purely a little wooden bong bowl with a metal ‘lid.’ I was a little dubious when I unwrapped this as I didn’t think it would do very much, and I was very unsure of how a bong bowl with a lid could transform a regular bong into a vaporizer.

Admittedly, this vape does take some getting used to.  Once your weed is ground, put a pinch in the bong bowl and cover it with the metal lid. You need to place this bong attachment into the neck of your small glass bong and then using a lighter, hold the flame over the top of the metal lid and slowly inhale. You hear a whistling sound and after a moment you can even see the bong starting to fill with vapour. It is quite easy to overdo this stage and you can end up with some slightly burnt weed, but if you are careful you get a pretty good hit!

OK, so this vape isn’t as good as an Iolite, but you wouldn’t expect it to be for such a fraction of the price. However, it does give a good, clean hit with a nice, clear high and for a mere £20, I’m one happy vaping bunny.

I took my first hit and remained entirely sceptical as I could hardly feel a thing. The only experience I could liken it to is when you’ve got a cold and are inhaling steam (which I guess is exactly what the vaporizer does) whereby you can tell that you inhaling something, but you certainly don’t get the same feeling in the lungs and chest as you do with smoking.

However, a couple of deep hits later and I realised just how high I was already. It was a very clean experience – the kind of high I haven’t had in years.  Very clear and very heady; almost psychedelic. I was almost instantly giggling like a child and wanted to go and be creative. I’m really used to having a few joints and using it to chill out until I get too monged to do anything, but this incredible experience made me pick up my guitar and I simply couldn’t stop playing.

After the Iolite was on for a while I did notice the mouthpiece starting to get quite hot, but we were able to rig a cooling system out of some pipe tubing, so we could keep going. The more I vaped, the more creative I felt myself getting which was incredibly unusual! There was certainly no sitting still and monging in front of the TV that night for this girl.

At £140 or thereabouts, the Iolite Vaporizer isn’t cheap but it really is an incredible experience! And I reckon that if you were to give up smoking entirely you’d probably save yourself quite a bit in the long run. In an evening we used less than half the amount of weed we usually would and no tobacco, so after just a short while the thing would pay for itself.

Personally I enjoy smoking too much to want to give it up straight away, but I’m definitely considering investing in one of these babies. I’m not going to want to smoke forever, and in the meantime it gave me such an amazing, different and creative experience, and I can’t wait to repeat it.

With bongs, the herbs are burned, just as when smoking tobacco in a pipe.  When you inhale, you are inhaling the smoke that is generated by the burning, as well as the release of the elements of the particular herbs you are using.  If you like the sensation of smoke in the back of your throat, then you will want to go this route.

By contrast, Iolite vaporizers do not generate smoke; they create vapour.  With this approach, you use heat to warm the herbs and allow them to release steam or vapour that you can then inhale.  The effect is somewhat gentler than the smoke generated in a bong, and is less irritating to the throat.  At the same time, there are those who find that vaporizers produce a more effective and pleasant high, although fans of the bong would disagree.

In the end, it’s a matter of personal preference.  You may find that certain herbal combinations are better with a bong, while others are more enjoyable when using a  Iolite vaporizer.  If that is the case, by all means keep a glass bong and a good quality handheld vaporizer around for use whenever you like.

The Vapir vaporizer works by producing heat through an internal ceramic heating

element. A fan blows air through the heating element and directly to your herbs to heat them to the desired temperature.

Here’s how you use the Vapir vaporizer:

Set the time and temperature.

Preheat the Vapir for a few minutes.

Put your herbs into the disc and then into the tray.

Leave to allow vaporizing process to develop.

A green light comes on when your chosen temperature is achieved.

Inhale. Repeat inhalation for 10 -15 minutes. Intensity of hits increases
with time.

Take out the disc if you want a break from inhaling to avoid wastage.

Inhaling with a vaporizer is very different from inhaling smoke. It is much
less harsh on the throat and you may not notice anything being passed into your
lungs. Keep inhaling until your herb stops releasing vapour. Sit back for a
couple of minutes and you’ll soon start to enjoy the effects.

How to Use a Handheld Vaporizer:

Put some of your herb mix into the large glass bowl.

Screw in the mouthpiece (the long stem).

Light a flame under the bowl to heat your herbs. Gently revolve the bowl whilst
the flame is lit.

When the bowl fills with vapour, inhale through the mouthpiece.

You won’t get the same sensation when you inhale using a vaporizer as
you get from smoking. With smoking you can feel the smoke hit the back of your
throat whereas with a vaporizer you barely notice anything. The effect of the
herbs, however, is far greater when you use a vaporizer.

The Vapureyes vaporizer is small – not much bigger than a can of fizzy drink, so it’s really easy to carry around. It’s nicely finished too, with quality parts.

How to Use a Vapureyes Vaporizer:

1. Take off the lid off the Vapureyes and put your herb (no tobacco) into
   the gauze bowl.
2. Replace the lid, plug in the Vapureyes and switch on.
3. After a couple of minutes, the Vapureyes Beta will begin to fill up with vapour. (Don’t expect to see too much – it’s not like smoke.)
4. Next, inhale through the plastic tube.
5. You will experience hardly any harshness on the throat and a very clean, clear buzz.

Vapureyes have recently brought out a dual system edition called the Vapureyes
Dambuster. The Vapureyes Dambuster has a double heating arrangement for vaporizing
2 different herbs at once. It can also be used by 2 people at the same time.
It’s still pretty small as well, so a great vaporizer to take to parties.

How to Use the Volcano Vaporizer:

Choose your temperature.

Turn on the heat and leave for 3- 5 minutes.

Put your herbs into the chamber (this should be detached from the vaporizer).

Place the chamber inside the Volcano vaporizer and allow your herbs to heat.

Attach the bag to the chamber. The valve should click into place.

The bag will fill with vapour. Once full, remove the bag and the chamber together
from the Volcano vaporizer.

Separate the bag from the chamber, then connect it to the mouthpiece.

Inhale from the bag as required. Use the contents within 5 – 10 minutes.

The Volcano vaporizer can be purchased from good headshops and come with a 3 year guarantee.

Health

There are many advantages of using a vaporizer, the health aspect being the
most important. As there is no burning, there is also no smoke and therefore
no harmful carcinogenics are inhaled. When you smoke using cigarettes, joints
or pipes, you are taking in burnt chemicals that are extremely bad for you.
And these don’t just come from the herbs or tobacco. Paper is also very
nasty in that respect. With vaporizing, all you get are the chemicals that you
want to exploit and nothing more.

High

With cannabis, the high you get through using a vaporizer is much better than
the high from any other smoking method. Once you’ve tried vaporizing,
you’ll wonder why you ever bothered doing anything else. Imagine a completely
clear, clean high with no foggy, sluggish, zoned-out feeling – just happy
and buzzy and still able to conduct most tasks (apart from operate dangerous
machinery, of course!). This is because, when heated to the right temperature
with a vaporizer, the THC chemical is extracted from cannabis. THC is what gets
you high. Other chemicals such as CBD which slow you down are not extracted
unless heated to a much higher temperature or burned.

Economy

Because you need so little herb to get the desired effect and because you don’t
waste anything, your herbs will last much longer when you vaporize. Vaporizers
can be expensive to buy, but you will make your money back quickly if you are
a

Smell

The smell of smoke in your house can be unpleasant. It sticks to your upholstery
and your clothes and it’s very difficult to get rid of. Tobacco smoke
is bad, but some cannabis strains are worse in terms of potency. Vaporizing
virtually eliminates odour problems. You might smell a light trace immediately
after using your vaporizer but this is gone within minutes.

Click here to view a wide range of vaporizers, from handheld to digital. A vaporizer
is a big investment for your health and you pocket.

Read information and instructions for use on the following vaporizers:

The Master Blaster
Vaporizer

The Vapureyes Vaporizer

The Vapir Vaporizer

The Volcano Vaporizer

The Vaporstar Vaporizer

The Handheld Vaporizer

It’s really easy to use:

1. Put your herb into the gauze bowl inside the chamber of the Master Blaster
   vaporizer. (Never mix your herb with tobacco – there is no need.) Replace
   the glass jar.
2. Plug in the Master Blaster vaporizer and leave for a couple of minutes.
   You should see a faint mist building up in the chamber.
3. Inhale through the plastic tube.

If you’re used to smoking, this might feel a bit strange because you
expect to feel that kind of kick in the back of your throat to tell you that
you’ve inhaled enough. But inhaling with a vaporizer is much less harsh
on the throat and you may not notice anything. Keep inhaling until your herb
stops releasing vapour. Sit back for a couple of minutes and you’ll soon
start to enjoy the effects.

Master Blaster vaporizers are available to buy at reasonable prices at all
good headshops.