19 Oct Everything You Need to Know About Pre-Filled Oil Vape Cartridges

Leafly.com – Oct. 2017

When it comes to ease of use, portability, and functionality, one cannabis product stands tall above the rest. You may know them as pre-loaded cannabis oil vape cartridges, hash oil vape pens, or even disposable wax pens. These relatively new and exciting devices have permeated the cannabis concentrate market over the last several years, quickly becoming the go-to concentrate-based product for both the novice and accustomed cannabis fans.

However, when it comes to choosing the right pre-loaded disposable pen, various factors stand in the way of making a decision. Although many of these products seem aesthetically similar at first glance, there are a myriad of nuances that distinguish them from one another.

Understanding the differences between these disposable pens can help you make an educated decision on which product is right for your consumption.

Why Choose a Pre-Filled Oil Vape Cartridge?

If you’re new to pre-filled oil vape cartridges, there are many benefits to using them that I’ve outlined below.

Ease of Use

Deciding to use a pre-filled cannabis oil vape cartridge takes the guesswork completely out of the equation. Contrary to other methods of using hash oil such as a dab rig and nail setup, or even manual portable vape pens which require self-loading, pre-filled “carts” require little to no effort whatsoever. At most, these products may require you to press a button to inhale. In fact, most of the time you don’t even have to worry about the battery life—many products are designed so that charging the battery isn’t even necessary.

Portability

Pre-filled oil vape carts are the easiest method of enjoying hash oil while on the go. Their sleek and minimalist design allows for discreet vaping, free of the distracting qualities that larger setups or raw cannabis products may carry (such as noticeable smoke or odor).

Dosing

For uninitiated cannabis concentrate users, dosing can be a major concern. Nobody wants an overwhelming experience when attempting to enjoy cannabis oil products responsibly. Unlike dabbing, using a pre-loaded vape pen allows for a highly controlled dose with each inhalation. This gives the user full autonomy of how much or little to consume.

The Types of Pre-Filled Cartridges Available

Familiarize yourself with the many types of pre-filled oil vape cartridges on the market so you can purchase the one that best fits your needs or preferences.

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Cartridge/Battery Combos vs. Disposables

When choosing a pre-filled vape pen, there are several hardware options. Some products are offered in tanks that typically come formatted with a 510 threaded standard vaporizer battery insert. These tanks can fit on any battery that contains the 510 threading, and nowadays almost all battery tanks come in this format. The exception to this is when you purchase pre-loaded tanks designed by companies to fit their personalized batteries. An example would be the PAX Era Pods, which are designed to be used with their vaporizer/battery systems.

Alternatively, many pre-loaded vape pens are available as “disposables,” containing a pre-charged battery designed to support the device until the tank empties. These pen varieties require no charging and are meant to be disposed after use. They contain no threading and are not meant to be separated from their battery.

Distillate Cartridges vs. CO2

Hash oil tends to be a highly viscous substance, making it substantially difficult to use with standard vaporizer hardware. This has led the pre-loaded vaporizer market in a series of directions to design a product that functions properly with standard atomizers.

Methods have been taken to “cut” or infuse standard hash oil with various substances such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), or even medium chain triglycerides (MCT) such as coconut oil in order to maintain a less viscous and lasting consistency conducive to standard atomizer functionality.

While the use of such agents has been subject to controversy, market innovators have found several ways to mitigate this concern by developing alternative extraction techniques. An example of this is the use of distillates in pre-loaded vape pens.

Distillation takes the standard CO2 extraction process used in most disposable pen varieties and refines the oil once more through a fractioning process to produce a substance with a much higher cannabinoid purity. Distillate, being less viscous, is much easier to use in pre-loaded vape pens and does not require cutting agents.

Terpene Infusions and Strain-Specific Flavorings

Alternatively, the use of terpenes has been found to help cut the viscosity of hash oil as well, making this another, potentially safer, alternative to traditional cutting agents. Terpenes not only add flavor and aromatics to the experience, they can alter the effects due to their ability to influence how cannabinoids interact with our system.

There are several ways to use terpenes with pre-filled vaporizer cartridges. Food-grade terpene flavorings, for example, are arguably the most prevalent as well as the lowest quality when it comes to flavor and experience. Terpenes are found all over nature, and can also be synthesized in a lab.

Take d-limonene for example, a popular terpene additive that is found in some cannabis varietals. Many manufacturers use food-grade d-limonene as the sole flavoring additive for their pre-loaded cartridges. Although this helps to cut the viscosity of the oil as well as offer a mild flavor enhancement, infusions such as this tend to be one-dimensional and offer little to nothing in enhancing experience to the user.

When shopping for cartridges, oftentimes these types of pens will be labeled as “lemon/lime”-flavored to represent this additive being used. Many other food-grade terpenes are used in this respect, which is why it’s important to check with your budtender and read labels carefully when buying terpene-infused cartridges.

Products Labeled by Effect

Many times, pre-filled oil vape cartridges are labeled and marketed by their supposed effect on the user. Products of this variety tend to claim they provide “relaxing” or “energetic” effects, with some often being labeled as indica, sativa, or even hybrid. When infused into a product, these terpene combinations are designed to give effects similar to what you would find in particular cannabis strains.

Whether they’re infused with food-grade terpenes or naturally-derived terpenes extracted from cannabis strains, many of these products incorporate carefully mixed combinations similar to what would be traced in a strain or strain type. How well these infusions imitate the strain varieties they mimic is debatable; however, products with terpene combinations tend to give a more enhanced experience than a similar product containing one or no terpenes.

Cannabinoid-Specific Cartridges

Although many hash oil pen varieties are labeled by flavor or effect, some focus on cannabinoid concentration. Aside from the typical high-THC product that most pens offer, there are some manufacturers that offer products containing elevated levels of cannabidiol (CBD).

High-CBD pens may or may not contain added flavorings, but they do guarantee a ratio of THC to CBD that can range from 2:1 all the way to 20:1 and greater. These types of pens offer great medicinal value to those looking for CBD in an easy-to-consume product.

Full-Spectrum Cartridges

The pinnacle of pre-loaded oil cartridges in terms of overall quality rests with full-spectrum extracts. These products are created using the entire spectrum of bioavailable molecules found within a given cannabis strain. A full-spectrum oil does not add, reintroduce, or remove any active compound within a strain and offers a flavor and effect far superior and multidimensional to most competitors.

Pre-filled full-spectrum cartridges are hard to come by and are only offered in certain markets; their price tends to reflect their rarity as well. If you’re fortunate enough to live in a market where these products are available, it’s highly recommended to fork up the extra cash to give one a shot. In terms of strain comparability, the flavor on a full-spectrum cart is incredibly similar to what you would experience in a strain.

Browse Cannabis Vape Pens

All in all, there are many types of pre-filled oil cartridge varieties to consider, each one with its pros and cons. If you’re interested in learning more about these types of products, alway ask your local budtender before committing to a purchase. Oftentimes labels only offer a fraction of the information compared to the knowledge and expertise of a cannabis professional such as a budtender. Regardless of your taste, there’s bound to be a hash oil cartridge option available to suit your individual needs.