The 4 Stages of Vape Cooling Learn How To Get Cooler Vapour

The first option we are going to talk about is adding no extra cooling whatsoever, just using your vaporizer exactly as the manufacturer intended. The experience you get with a default setup is going to vary wildly from device to device. Some vapes are as smooth as other vapes connected to a water pipe. I have used some super harsh vapes in my time, like the original Pax, but I have also used some that were the opposite and didn’t even give me any desire to cool it down, like the Vapman.

As the vaporizer market has matured, manufacturers have been getting a lot better at creating devices that provide a much cooler default experience. Back in the day it was basically just standard that vapour was going to be harsh, they didn’t do a good job of temperature control, cooling, and we simply didn’t know what types of setups were best for cooling vapour. Thankfully, the industry has come a long way since then. For example, if you look at the cooling unit on a Storz & Bickel Mighty+ or Crafty+, you will notice that the vapour travels through a complex airpath before it comes out the mouthpiece. The longer the distance that the vapour has to travel before it reaches your lungs, the smoother it will be.

Even entry level and smaller vaporizers are doing a great job of extending their airpath with some clever ideas. On the XMAX V3 Pro there is an internal spiral in the mouthpiece which the vapour travels through, rather than just being a direct shot straight from the oven. It might not seem like much, but these types of tweaks really make a difference. Some vaporizers include optional components to make the vapour cooler, like the Arizer Solo 2 which includes a longer stem in addition to the standard short stem. The longer stem has a longer airpath, so it gives you cooler vapour in the default setup, without needing to add any third-party accessories. With a DynaVap, you can use it with your finger completely off of the airport to allow plenty of fresh air to be mixed into the vapour, compared to using it with the airport covered it is a much cooler experience.

One detail of vaping that sometimes gets confused with harshness is the fact that taking a large amount of vapour into your lungs is often going to make you cough, regardless of how cool the vapour is. When I use a big hitter like the Mighty+, even if I use it at a lower temperature like 360°F, it will sometimes make me cough after a few hits. The Mighty+ is definitely not a harsh vaporizer, so why does it make me cough? It’s simply because of the tremendous volume of thick and rich vapour in my lungs. As cool as vapour can possibly be, lungs would still prefer to breathe only pure air, so there’s always going to be some impact, no matter what device you are using and how smooth the vapour is.

If you have decided that the default setup of your vaporizer doesn’t offer as much cooling as you’d like, the next stage of cooling is an extended air path. When you extend the airpath of a vaporizer it helps cool vapour down in a couple of different ways. The first way is by extending the duration of time between the vapour leaving the oven and entering your lips. This extra time allows the vapour to cool down a little before it reaches your mouth. The second way is that an extended airpath exposes vapour to additional heat-absorbing material like glass, metal, or plastic. As vapour passes over that material it will lose heat through conduction.

When you cool vapour with an extended airpath you are avoiding the terp loss that happens with a water pipe. It’s tough to get a scientific calculation of how much of the available terpenes are actually lost through water, but there is definitely going to be some lost to the water. If you are a flavour junkie or only want to add a moderate amount of cooling, an extended airpath is the perfect place to start, and they are available in a few different varieties.

Looking at an Arizer Solo 2 or Air 2 for example, we sell a Coil Stem which extends the airpath with over 12 inches of glass, providing tons of cooling. We also sell the 3D Flow Stem, which is full of glass cooling nipples. A lot of extended airpaths feature cooling nipples because rather than the vapour moving straight through a round tube, nipples force the vapour to take a more complex airpath and increase the surface area that vapour passes over, pulling heat out as it moves by.

We also carry one called the Ultra Dry, which has a straight mouthpiece with a ton of cooling nipples, but it also adds a carb hole. Carb holes help to cool vapour down by mixing fresh air into it. Leaving your finger off of the carb hole will add fresh air into the vapour, or you can keep your finger over the carb and then remove it at the end of your draw to easily clear the vapour that accumulates in the stem or mouthpiece.

You can get an extended Glass Mouthpiece for the Vapman, and we even sell an XL Cooling Mouthpiece to add to the Mega Globe. There are numerous options for DynaVap, you can include the Simrell MVS in this list, and also a number of different glass options like a Hula Stem or even the Sidewinder which utilises that same coil as our Arizer Stem to extend the vapour path and cool things down.

It’s important to note that while some vaporizers have many options for extended airpaths, water pipe adapters and the like, for others you could be hard-pressed to find a solution. The more obscure a device is, the less options you will usually have in terms of third-party accessories. A tip for users who have a device that doesn’t offer many options: a J Hook is the ultimate universal extended airpath. Simply match a water pipe adapter to the size of the J hook to link it up, or use one of our Master Adapters, which is the most universal adapter I’ve ever used.

If you want to step it up beyond a dry option, adding water into the equation is the number one change you can make to improve your experience. I would say even the best extended air path will only equal an entry-level portable water pipe. That doesn’t invalidate the usefulness of an extended mouthpiece, as they offer unique benefits. It is easier to take a water-free setup on-the-go, if you try to travel with water in a piece you are almost guaranteed to spill it at some point, which could damage your device. Ideally you’ll have water in a separate container so you can fill the water pipe when you want to use it, but this may not always be convenient.

Water itself helps to hydrate and cool down your vapour. We’ve covered the benefits of vapour cooling, but hydration also helps greatly with harshness. I like to think that it rounds out the vapour and takes off the edge that might be on it, making it much easier on your throat. Sometimes when people think about running a vaporizer through water, they picture a classic three foot beaker bong and they just don’t want something that large. While you can definitely use something like that, water pipes start at the portable level which are easy to take with you and store in a drawer.

With a portable water pipe, you typically don’t need to use any sort of an adapter on your vaporizer. They will connect directly to your device because they are designed to be smaller and intended to be used in a fashion similar to the default setup of your vaporizer. A portable water pipe is a great midway step between an extended airpath and a full sized water pipe. A full sized water pipe is going to give you more cooling, but is typically only suitable for using at home, and you’ll often need an adapter on your vaporizer.

For vapes like the Fury Edge or Rogue, we make the BubbleMax, which interfaces directly with the accessory mount, and holds a substantial amount of water for something portable. You can also buy a Glass Bubbler that interfaces with the accessory mount, just another option that is going to help accomplish the same goal. We also sell a BubbleMax for the Arizer Air 2 and Solo 2, these are some of our most recommended portable vaporizers and adding a BubbleMax completely changes the overall experience.

We sell bubble straws for the Arizer Go, Solo 2, Air 2, Mighty+, and the Crafty+. A bubble straw is a straight piece of glass that holds a small amount of water in a spill resistant section. Even though it’s not a ton of water it’s still a huge help for cooling down vapour, without having too much water to rob you of terps.

You can use something like the Fishbowl and put your DynaVap tip directly into the end of that, then heat it up with a torch or an induction heater. It’s kind of like a DynaVap bong without a stem or a body. It’s far cooler using your DynaVap this way while on-the-go compared to a waterless set up.

With a portable water pipe it’s a good idea to change out your water fairly often, since the smaller capacity means it gets dirty faster. Changing it out every session is overkill, but definitely do it every second time you charge your vaporizer at least.

When you want to step up to the big leagues of cooling, you go for a full size water pipe setup. Nothing else will cool your vapour as effectively as running it through a full-size bong like the Mega Globe Mk 2 which holds a substantial amount of water.

Some of today’s heavy hitting vaporizers coupled with strong flower can produce an astounding amount of vapour, and that is by virtue going to contain some heat and harshness. When you run powerful units like the Flowerpot, Hot Rod, or Anvil through a water pipe, they go from being ‘hard to handle’ to ‘give me more’.

With a large water pipe it’s inevitable that some terps and even some of the active material will be absorbed by the water while it’s filtering the vapour, but I find the change to be quite minimal and pretty much unnoticeable in the strength department. In the flavour department, the tastiest hits I ever have are always directly from the device with no water involved, it’s just the way it is, but to me the benefits of water cooling far outweigh the costs.

When you are using a full size water pipe you will usually need to use an adapter, unless your vaporizer was specifically designed to work natively with a water pipe, which is always something I’m a fan of. With an Arizer Water Pipe Adapter you simply load flower into it and use it in place of your stem, then plug it into the water pipe. I recommend looking for a 14mm adapter or one with a universal joint that will accommodate multiple different sized water pipes, as the vast majority of water pipes use a 14mm female joint.

With a Crafty/Mighty Water Pipe Adapter, you’re going to remove the cooling unit, fill the bowl like usual or use a dosing capsule, put the adapter on in place of the cooling unit, and use that with your water pipe. We also sell a Whip Adapter which connects to the mouthpiece of the cooling unit, meaning the cooling unit is utilised before the vapour goes through your water pipe, giving you maximum cooling.

For the Tinymight we sell a Wooden Water Pipe Adapter that’s made by Ed’s Tnt, which is awesome. For DynaVap you can use a Vong, which will work directly with a water pipe, or you can use something like the LittleFinger Adapter, which works similarly to the Fishbowl, allowing you to just plug a tip directly into it.

If you don’t see an adapter for your device, check out our Master Adapter, it works with most vaporizers that have a circular or oval output. For example, with the Fury Edge you can use the included glass mouthpiece, put a Master Adapter on top of that, and then use it with a water pipe, instead of using the Fury Edge Water Pipe Adapter. It will also fit onto the end of a Crafty or Mighty, a DynaVap, or an Arizer. It’s a super versatile adapter, so it’s worth looking into even if water pipe adapters are available for your vape, and especially if you have a few vapes you like to use through water.

Once you have an adapter, you can use pretty much any water pipe, there’s really no rules. Some people go for a three foot beaker bong, while others want something smaller and more portable like our Scorpion, Little Bandit, or Dagger. Smaller vertical pieces like these still offer tons of cooling while being much more travel friendly.

When considering a water pipe, I wouldn’t choose one that’s too large for you to clear it in a single breath. If you hit a water pipe but don’t inhale all of the vapour, and then go back to clear the rest of the vapour after a few seconds the second hit will be harsh and nasty. Get something that you can clear in one breath, which is pretty much anything we have on our website if your lung capacity is similar to mine.

If you are using a vaporizer through a full size water pipe and you still find it harsh, you can try vaping at a lower temperature, using more water, or using better flower. If you still find it too harsh after trying those options then vaporizing might not be for you, this is about as cool as it gets.