Medical cannabis patients who are prescribed cannabis flower are required to administer it via a dry herb vaporizer. With so many devices on the market at a range of price points, here we explain how they work and what to consider when choosing one.
What a dry herb vaporizer actually does
Smoking burns cannabis at 600C or more, releasing tar, carbon monoxide and other by-products along with the cannabinoids and terpenes. A vaporizer heats flower to somewhere between 180C and 220C, turning cannabinoids and terpenes into vapour without reaching combustion. Changing the temperature changes the flavour and effect of a session as well as the strength.
Convection, conduction, and hybrid heating
Conduction heats the herb directly against a hot surface. It heats up fast, but herb closest to the heat vaporizes first, so sessions need stirring to stay even. The Pax Mini works this way.
Convection passes heated air through the herb for a more even extraction and a smoother draw, at the cost of a longer heat-up time. Storz and Bickel’s Volcano and Venty, most of Arizer’s range, and DynaVap all work this way.
Hybrid devices such as the Pax 4, Pax Flow and G Pen Dash+ use a combination of both.
Why medical cannabis patients use them
UK clinics that prescribe cannabis flower specify vaporization as the method of administration, not smoking, and it’s written into the prescription. A vaporizer can also be set to a specific temperature for a more consistent result from session to session, and staying under combustion temperature avoids most of the by-products of smoking.
Portable or desktop
Desktop vaporizers plug into the mains, tend to produce denser vapour, and hold their temperature more precisely. The Volcano is the standard reference point here, and the Stundenglass is built for the same stationary, often shared use.
Portables run on battery, or in DynaVap’s case no battery at all, and trade some of that precision and density for something that fits in a pocket.
Try before you buy, in store
If you’re a medical cannabis patient, you’re welcome to come into Cosmic Tree and try our devices before deciding. Bring photo ID and proof of your medical cannabis prescription; the dispensing label or your prescriber’s letter is fine.
Prebooking isn’t required, but if you let us know in advance we can make sure the devices you want to try are available and sterilised ready for your visit.
The brands, one at a time
Storz and Bickel
Founded in 2000 in Tuttlingen, Germany, Storz and Bickel is known as the leading dry herb vaporizer brand in the industry, and is the brand most cited in clinical cannabis vaporizer research.
The Volcano heats by convection and fills a balloon or bag with vapour, holding temperature more precisely than almost anything portable. The Mighty takes the same principle portable. The Venty has a built-in fan that pulls air through the herb instead of requiring a hard draw, and the Veazy is a smaller, more portable device on a similar build, without the digital temperature display and with a shorter battery life. We stock their devices and accessories.
Pax
Pax makes compact vaporizers with a sleek and modern design. The Pax Mini heats by conduction, while the Pax 4 and Pax Flow use hybrid heating. The ovens are small and heat quickly, which suits patients who want something discreet and simple. We stock the Pax range.
DynaVap
No battery, no charging, no electronics to fail. A DynaVap is heated by holding a butane torch, or a YLL induction heater, against the tip until a captive cap clicks to tell you it’s reached temperature. It’s popular with patients who travel a lot or don’t want another device that needs charging. The HyperDyn is their current flagship, and we stock the full DynaVap range.
MAD Heaters
MAD Heaters make dry herb vaporizers along similar lines to DynaVap, with no battery of their own and heat coming from an external induction heater such as the YLL 3.0. The Tempest 2 Slim has a ball-filled, convection-heavy heating chamber and a visual temperature gauge with audible clicks. We stock it in all-black stainless steel and a lighter titanium version, along with the Tempest Case and the Reload 3 storage and tool kit.
Inhale
Our Inhale Vaporizers range centres on the Vapman, a small wooden vaporizer with no battery or electronics. You heat it with a jet lighter for a few seconds, then draw. The Vapman 2.0 heats mostly by conduction, the Vapman Click gives a clear click when it reaches temperature, and the Vapman Heating Station replaces the lighter at home with a mains-powered base you can set between 160C and 230C.
Stundenglass
The Gravity Infuser is a rotating glass globe that draws vapour or smoke through water using gravity rather than lung power. A herb bowl run with a torch sits closer to smoking than vaporizing, while the vape module attachment keeps it below combustion. It’s built to sit on a table and be shared. We stock the Gravity Infuser and the ModĂĽl and Dok travel set.
G Pen
The G Pen Dash+, from Los Angeles company Grenco Science, is a compact hybrid vaporizer with Low, Mid and High temperature presets. It’s built to be picked up and used without reading a manual first, which makes it a common recommendation for patients who are new to vaporizing.
Puffco
Puffco’s range, including the Peak and Proxy, is built for concentrates and extracts, not dry flower. If a prescription comes as flower, this isn’t the category to buy into; if it’s a concentrate, Puffco is an established alternative to a traditional torch and nail. We stock the Puffco Proxy and Peak.
Arizer
A Canadian company building vaporizers since the early 2000s, Arizer is known for straightforward convection heating and an all-glass vapour path, which matters to patients who are particular about flavour. We stock the Solo 3, a desktop-adjacent portable with simple digital temperature control, and the Go SRT, their faster, more pocketable option.
Choosing between them
- For consistent, precise sessions at home: a desktop option such as the Storz and Bickel Volcano.
- For something pocketable and simple: Pax or the G Pen Dash+.
- For no batteries and full manual control: DynaVap, MAD Heaters or the Vapman.
- If flavour matters most: Arizer.
- For using with other people: Stundenglass.
- If you’re prescribed a concentrate rather than flower: a Puffco product.
Kelly Noble runs Cosmic Tree in Gloucester with Paul, and talks patients through vaporizer choices at the counter most weeks. This guide covers how the devices work and what we stock; it isn’t medical advice, and which device suits a particular condition is worth discussing with your prescriber.
Last reviewed 1 November 2026. We review our explainers whenever the guidance or our range changes.
Sources
- Gieringer, D., Cannabis Vaporizer Combines Efficient Delivery of THC with Effective Suppression of Pyrolytic Compounds, Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, 2001
- Abrams, D.I. et al., Vaporization as a Smokeless Cannabis Delivery System: A Pilot Study, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2007
- Manufacturer product specifications: Storz and Bickel, Pax, DynaVap, MAD Heaters, Inhale, Stundenglass, G Pen, Puffco, Arizer
