A dry herb vaporiser heats your herb instead of setting fire to it. That’s the whole idea. Burning hits 600°C and up and turns most of what you’re after into smoke and ash. Vaping sits in the 170–220°C range, which is hot enough to release the good stuff as vapour but not hot enough to combust. No flame, no smoke, a lot less harshness.
People search for this gear under a dozen spellings, dry herb vape, herbal vaporizer, the s-spelling vaporiser, and they all land in the same place. This page is the map.
How it’s different from smoking
Three things you notice straight away. The taste is cleaner, because you’re not inhaling combustion by-products. The smell is lighter and it doesn’t hang around. And your herb goes further, because heating draws out the active compounds in stages instead of torching the lot in one go. Spent herb comes out brown and dry, not as ash, and some people even cook with it afterwards.
Conduction, convection and hybrid
How a vape heats changes how it feels to use. There are three approaches, and it’s worth knowing which you’re buying.
Conduction heats the herb by direct contact with a hot surface, like a pan. These vapes are cheaper, heat up fast and are easy to live with, but they can scorch if you leave herb sitting on the hot wall. Most pocket vapes are conduction.
Convection pushes hot air through the herb instead, like a fan oven. The flavour is purer and there’s no scorching, but the gear tends to cost more and some convection vapes only make vapour while you’re actually drawing. Desktops and higher-end portables lean this way.
Hybrid does both, which is why devices like the Mighty draw so smoothly. You get the consistency of conduction with some of the purity of convection.
If you want the longer version, we wrote a whole piece on conduction vs convection.
Portable vs desktop
A portable runs off a battery and fits in a bag or pocket. It’s the right pick for most people: discreet, good enough vapour, vape anywhere. A desktop plugs into the wall, makes the best vapour going, and is built for the couch rather than the commute. Plenty of homes end up with one of each.
What to look for
- Heating style, matches how you like to use it (see above).
- Draw resistance, some vapes want a slow, gentle pull; if you draw like a milkshake you’ll be disappointed.
- Temperature control, a dial or app beats fixed presets if you like to dial in flavour.
- Battery, removable batteries mean you swap instead of waiting; built-in means USB-C and patience.
- Cleaning, a vape you can pull apart is a vape you’ll keep. Glass paths taste great but break.
Which brands sit where
- Premium, set-and-forget: Storz & Bickel, the Mighty and Venty.
- Flavour and value: Arizer, glass stems, easy cleaning.
- Design and simplicity: PAX, pocketable, good-looking, dual use.
- No battery, all flame: DynaVap, a torch and a click.
- Best bang for buck: XMax and Healthy Rips.
Not sure yet? Our buyer’s guide walks you through the decision step by step, and choosing a portable vaporizer covers the pocket options in more depth.