Hashish is probably the oldest cannabis concentrate out there, with a history of use going back almost a thousand years. In ancient times, there was no such thing as a vaporizer, so people would smoke or ingest this more potent form of marijuana.
Nowadays, vaping hash has exploded in popularity. This is because vaporizing hash has much less harmful effects on your respiratory system and lungs compared with when you smoke hash. You can also get more effects, and more bang for your buck, when you vaporize hash vs smoking hash.
The most popular ways to vape hash include using a dab rig, a concentrate vaporizer, or a dry herb vape that is compatible with concentrates. But what about vape pens?
In general, hash isn't a great option for dab pens, even if you have an excellent vape pen. If your wax pen can hit high temperatures, and you have the right kind of hash, it's an option with some vaporizer models. But you still won’t get the best possible experience, and waste some of your hash in the process.
Vaping Hash in a Vape Pen
Hashish will look and feel different, depending on how it was produced and how much cannabis plant material is left in it. It can be solid, brittle, or malleable. Usually it's light or dark brown, but it can be greenish too.
Hash is much stronger than traditional dried cannabis flowers, with THC levels hitting 40-60%. It's not as potent as some other concentrates out there, but it still packs a significant punch.
You can use hash in a vape pen, much like you might use other concentrates, but it's not a straightforward process. The biggest issue is that with most forms of hash, you'll be looking at a significant amount of cleanup afterwards. It's probably not worth it, unless you need to vaporize it and a dab pen is all you have.
The right temperature for hashish concentrates
The first thing to keep in mind is that you need to be able to push your vaporizer to a high temperature in order to get effects from hash. Unlike regular cannabis, it only vaporizes properly at a higher heat.
Most vape pens can't set temperature precisely, but if you're able, use a temperature setting of 390ºF (200ºC), or even slightly higher. Only at high heat will the hash produce quality vapor.
If you're unable to set the temperature, you won't get the maximum quantity of cannabinoids and terpenes from the hash. This is one of the reasons why you're better off using vaporizers or a dab rig, instead of a vape pen.
The dangers of putting hash in a dab pen
The biggest reason why hash doesn't work well in pens is that there's just too much plant material from the weed left in hash concentrate. And these small devices just weren't made to handle this type of material.
It comes down to what form of hashish you have. The most common type of hash is rock hash, which is usually a large dense block. This type has plenty of plant material left in it and is the worst type to use in a vape pen. It will work, but it will make a mess. You'll be left with a sticky vape and an annoying cleaning job.
Full melt hash is super high quality, and it has the least amount of plant material left in it. Vaping full melt hash in a vape pen will work much better because little residue will be left behind. However, it's a bit of a waste to vape top-grade hash in a pen, because you're not getting as potent and efficient vapor compared with a better vaporizer.
The Best Way to Vape Hash
In a nutshell, hash oils work fine in concentrate vape pens, but for regular hash, not so much. In general, concentrate vaporizers are designed for more liquid forms of hash like butane hash oil.
For the more technically minded, you can use a dab rig. Just break smaller pieces off your hash block, then apply a bit to the nail of your rig. You should clean the nail after every usage. The plant material will stick to the nail, and will burn and create bad tastes and smells.
If you've got solid rock hash, you can vape it in a dry herb vaporizer if you like. Sandwich small pieces of hash in the center of the heating chamber, surrounded by ground cannabis bud. You don't want liquids like melted hash touching the sides of your chamber or heating element.
Unfortunately, vaping hash using this method isn't very efficient. Packed together in that sandwich, the herb and hash won’t be heated evenly, and some of the active compounds will be wasted. If you're vaping hash regularly, you'll want a different solution, unless you don’t mind wasting cannabinoids like THC and CBD.
Consuming hash in a dry herb vaporizer
Some dry herb vapes have accessories available that let you vape concentrate without using the sandwich method. The best vaporizers will have this as an option, to make them a more versatile device.
The accessory will be something to protect your device’s component as the concentrate melts. Usually, it’s a liquid pad that you can insert into the herb chamber to protect the bowl from melted concentrate.
This can be a useful solution in a pinch, but with repeated use you'll notice drawbacks. Cleaning the inserts is annoying, and removing them from the herb chamber can get messy and involve handling hot parts.
Best option for both concentrates and dry herb
The Furna vaporizer has a different solution to this problem: swappable ovens. With this device, you can get separate ovens for both dry herbs and concentrate, and you can swap instantly between the two.
This means you can pre-pack your bowls before leaving the house, making it way more convenient to reload your vape when you're out of the house. You simply swap whenever you want to switch ovens, no waiting necessary, they're safe to handle even right after use.
There's even an oil oven available for use with 510 oil cartridges. So if you want to regularly vape hash, dry herb, and other concentrates, Furna is the device that gives you the most vaping options.
