Vape Pens Vs. Box Mod-Which one is a better choice for you? If you are asking this, you know what a vape pen and box mod are, right?
To refresh your memory, vape pens are small pen-shaped devices about the size of an average cigar, and they contain a battery and a supply of either propylene glycol or vegetable-based glycerin that carries a flavoring agent and nicotine.
When you heat the mixture via a coil, it creates a vapor cloud that you draw through the mouth.
Also known as, e-cigs, box mods are rectangular or square, and they hold one or more rechargeable batteries. They are known as mods because when the vaping industry started, people made and modified their e-cigs.
Their most identifying feature is that they allow you to personalize some settings, such as temperature and intensity.
Vape Pens Vs. Box Mods
To make the right decision, we need to look at how the two differ:
Size
Size is one of the critical differences between vape pens and box mods. Compared to box mods, vape pens are significantly smaller and lighter.
This means that you can toss the vape pen in your bag, leave it on your desk at work, or even keep it in your back pocket.
The sleek, slim design of vape pens also means that you can use them discretely almost anywhere.
Other than the tiny bit of vapor you exhale, there is little or no sign you are using a vape pen, so you can add a little CBD to your system at any place and at any time without attracting too much attention.
As you can tell, it’s a hassle to use box mods discretely as they are much larger and cumbersome to carry around.
Ease of use
All it takes to use a vape pen is to get it out of the box and take a puff.
Unfortunately, it’s an entirely different ball game with box mods. Box mods have voltage, temperature, resistance value, puff duration, flavor, and other settings you must pre-set to have a great vaping experience.
While these features sound cool, they can be confusing and intimidating to beginners.
Pricing
Due to their small size and few features, vape pens usually cost less than box mods.
With many box mods, you have to buy batteries separately, which drives the price even higher.
Tanks
Due to their simple and basic nature, most vape pens use only one tank from the same brand, and you can’t swap it. This comes in handy if you are a beginner, as you don’t have to think about the various tanks you can change with—you only need to visit your manufacturer and buy your desired tank.
Box mods are highly customizable, so the tanks can be easily swapped. As long as the tank uses the same connector thread, you can use it in your mod.
You also can change to an RDA or RTA tank from a standard tank that takes the pre-built coils.
Battery life
The battery has a significant impact on how long you enjoy your vaping. Because of the small size of vape pen batteries, vape pens have less power; hence, they don’t last as long as the box mods.
This means you enjoy your vaping much longer with box mods
The downside to this is that box mods are chunkier, and you have to buy the batteries separately.
Durability
Vape pens are often designed to be disposable, so they don’t have a rock-solid build like box mods.
The other reason vape pens don’t last as long is that most users carry them everywhere (because of their small and discreet nature), so they are jostled and dropped more often as compared to box mods that are often left at home or in the work desk.
Experience
When vaping, you aren’t just looking to get cannabis in your system but to do it with some swag.
Vape pens don’t produce a lot of clouds, but they give decent flavor.
The reason for this is because most vape pens are mouth-to-lung devices which is similar to how you smoke a cigarette. The direct mouth to lung allows you to get a more significant hit with more flavor and more nicotine intake per hit.
Vape pens also have plenty of flavor options to choose from. Whether you prefer blue raspberry, candy-like taste, refreshing fresh mint, or any other flavor, you can get it from the vape pen.
If you aren’t into stealth vaping and are in it for the cloud, box mods are the way to go.
So which one is right for you?
Are you still confused about whether you should go for a vape pen or box mod?
In our opinion, the best device to go for as a beginner is the vape pen. It’s light, discreet, easy to use, and cheaper.
Although it has short battery power, it doesn’t have a learning curve which is excellent for beginners.
What to consider when buying your first vape pen.
Since we have agreed that vape pens are the way to go as a beginner, you need to buy the right one. This calls for you to consider plenty of factors such as:
Vaping material
What material will you be using in your vape pen? You need to think about this.
If you will be using oils or e-liquids, go for pens with a tank and atomizer or a system of coils and wicks.
If you will be using legal concentrates, go for a chamber rather than a tank. Before making the purchase, ensure that the chamber is easy to clean, as the legal concentrates leave stubborn residues.
Materials used in making the vape pen
Although vape pens are meant to be disposable, it doesn’t mean you should dispose them of the following day after purchase—they should give you a more extended service.
If you have a larger budget, go for pens made from carbon fiber or stainless steel. It also doesn’t hurt buying pens made from high-quality plastics with pyrex glass components and ceramic heating elements.
If you want a vape pen with rods and coils, go for one with stainless steel or titanium coils and quartz rods.
As a rule of thumb, stay away from vape pens made from Teflon, silicone, or titanium as they have a low melting point which makes the pens dangerous to have.
Heating method
How does the vaping pen heat the vaping material? It’s important to consider this. Three of the most common heating methods are:
Convection
Convection heating happens when heat is transferred to the chamber without the vaping material directly contacting the heating element. The significant advantage of this heating method is that it reduces the risk of extra combustion and wastage of the vaping material.
Unfortunately, the vape pen needs more time to heat, so you often don’t get the flavor as fast as you want it.
Vape pens using this heating method also tend to be a tad pricier.
Conduction
In conduction heating, the vaping material comes into direct contact with the heating element. While this means that you vape immediately, you often lose 1/3 of what you are smoking due to the increased combustion of your vaping material.
Induction
Induction heating isn’t as popular as the other two heating methods.
The method involves magnetic fields, and its main advantage is that it burns the vaping material more evenly without leaving a chance of unwanted combustion.
There is no right or wrong heating method. It’s up to you to research and find the method that works the best for you.
Ease of use
Although on average, vape pens are easy to use, it’s not the case with all of them—some are a challenge.
Some pens are as simple as putting in the vaping material, closing them, pressing a button, and you start vaping, while others require temperature control and program pre-sets.
In most cases, the more capabilities a vape pen has, the more cumbersome it is to use, so you need to think about what is more important to you. Do you want increased capabilities or functionality?
Battery life
Most vape pens are powered by Lithium-built batteries whose power depends on the size of the battery.
You should get a vaping pen with a larger body and battery if you are a heavy user. On the other hand, if you are a light user and vape once a day, you can get away with a small pen with a small body and small battery.
Budget
How much are you looking to spend on the vape pen? As we have said, a simple, slim, one-button pen will be much cheaper than a decked-out, multi-material vaping device.
It’s up to you to research and find the right pen that fits your budget.
How do you keep your vaping pen in working condition?
Buying the best vaping pen isn’t enough—you need to take good care of it. How do you do it?
Avoid exposing your vape pen to high temperatures.
Exposing your vape pen to extremely high temperatures, such as locking it in the car, causes the cannabis oil to be highly viscous, which often leads to a leaky cartridge. To prevent leaks, keep the vape pen away from hot environments.
Be gentle in your inhalation.
As much as you want to draw as much cannabis as possible, you should be gentle in how you do it.
This is because when you are aggressive when doing it, you make the cannabis oil too thin that it travels through the mouthpiece and lands in your mouth.
To avoid this from happening, give your oil cartridge time to cool down before taking another puff.
Use the correct voltage.
If you have a high-end vape pen that allows you to alter the voltage, be cautious of the one you use. This is because exceeding the recommended voltage can result in bitter-tasting vapor.
A good rule of thumb is never to exceed 4.0 volts.
Use a vape pen case
Vape pen manufacturers don’t pay close attention to vape pen protection, but you should put in the work and keep your vape pen in top shape.
To protect the pen from breaking or scratching, make use of a vape pen case. There are plenty of cases in the market, some with features that allow you to puff on the pen even with the case on.
When it comes to storage, store the pen in an area where it can’t get knocked around or damaged.
Use the correct charger.
You need your vape pen to be properly charged to enjoy your cannabis. When charging the batteries, use the charger supplied by the manufacturer.
Avoid the regular chargers as they are much slower than usual. They also overcharge or undercharge the batteries, which leads to the batteries dying earlier than expected.
Clean the vape pen
You need to keep the vape pen clean to maintain quality vapor and flavor.
When you go for a long time without cleaning your vape pen, residues from a vaping session can get stuck and accumulate in the tank, compromising the flavor and performance of even the best vape pen in the market.
Vape pens are designed differently, so you should read the user’s manual for basic cleaning instructions recommended by the manufacturer.
The final word
Vape pens are the best for beginners, obviously because of their low cost and ease of use.
To get the best from the pens, you need to buy the right ones. You should take your time and research a pen that has the right heating method, the right size, the right battery life, and falls within your budget.
If not sure about the right one to go for, get the input of a professional.
For the vape pen to last for as long as possible and give you a great service, you need to take good care of it. Clean it regularly, charge it using the manufacturer’s recommended devices, protect it from scratches, and do anything that will keep your unit in the best shape possible.
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