Desktop vs. Portable Vaporizers

by Martin B. · October 8, 2020

When you visit a large online vape shop like Lux Vapes, you’re going to see a huge selection of vaporizers in just about every size and shape that you can imagine. Having a wide variety of choices is a great thing for an experienced vaping connoisseur, but it may make your decision a little difficult if you’re new to vaping and are looking for your first device.

The easiest way to choose one device from a selection of many is to break your options up into broad categories. In this article, we’re going to talk about the two broadest categories by breaking down the differences between desktop and portable vaporizers.

TLDR: Should I Buy a Desktop or Portable Vaporizer?

Let’s suppose that you don’t have the time to read the details; you just want to know right now whether you’re better off buying a desktop or portable vaporizer. If that’s the case, you should let your current herb usage preferences be your guide. Are you the type of person who likes to use your herbs by rolling them up and smoking them? You’re likely to be happiest with a portable vaporizer. If, on the other hand, you’re the type who has a giant water pipe in the corner of your den, you’d probably enjoy the longer and more leisurely sessions afforded by a desktop vaporizer.

With that out of the way, let’s discuss desktop vs. portable vaporizers in greater detail.

Portable Vaporizers: Herbal Enjoyment Anywhere

It probably goes without saying, but the biggest benefit of owning a portable vaporizer – in this case, we’re talking about a battery-powered device small enough to fit in your pocket or purse – is the fact that you can take your device anywhere. If you’d love to have something that can help you get into the desired mindset before a concert, for instance – or if you prefer to medicate constantly throughout the day, no matter where you are – a portable vaporizer is probably ideal for you.

Portable Vaporizers Are More Reliable Than Ever

In the past, the biggest knocks against portable vaporizers were that they often had very poor battery life and seldom had accurate temperature detection. A common frustration was that you’d put your device on one temperature setting and get no vapor, but on the next higher temperature setting, your herbs would burn. That problem doesn’t really exist these days; even the smallest portable vaporizers will usually give you great vapor production with no burning or charring of your herbs.

Don’t Expect the Greatest Battery Life With a Portable Vape

As much as they’ve improved over the years, one area where portable vaporizers still lag a little is in battery life. People demand vaporizers that they can carry in their pockets, and you can only cram so much battery power into a pocket-sized device. Regardless of the vaporizer that you buy, you should only expect two or three lengthy sessions out of a device that fits in your pocket.

Portable Vaporizers Often Support Both Dry Herbs and Concentrates

Increasingly, the vaporizer manufacturers of the world are designing their devices to be compatible with both dry herbs and concentrates. That’s a huge benefit if you’re interested in exploring the world of wax vaping but don’t want to buy a vaporizer that only works with concentrates.

Desktop Vaporizers: Best Performance for True Herb Aficionados

So, we’ve established that a portable vaporizer is what you want to buy if you want a device that’s able to go anywhere with you. If you’re happy to only vape at home, though – and you want a vaporizer capable of extracting absolutely every bit of goodness out of your herbs – you’re going to want a desktop vaporizer.

A Desktop Vaporizer Gives You Longer and More Enjoyable Sessions

Why is a desktop vaporizer the ideal choice if you want to have a longer and more elevated experience? It’s because so much of the vaping experience comes down to size. A desktop vaporizer will have a much larger herb chamber than a portable vaporizer, and the larger capacity means that you can use more herbs at a time. You can always have longer vaping sessions with a portable vaporizer by emptying and refilling the oven between sessions, but it’s a lot more fun when your device has a large oven that you only need to load once.

A Desktop Vaporizer May Have a Convection Fan

In addition to having the capacity for much longer vaping sessions, a desktop vaporizer will usually extract your herbs much more thoroughly than a portable vaporizer can. That’s partially because desktop vaporizers tend to have larger and more efficient heating elements and partially because they often have fans for forced-air convection heating. A convection fan allows the heat to penetrate through to the center of the vaporizer’s herb chamber, preventing the phenomenon of having only some of your herbs turn brown while the rest of the chamber is still green.

Desktop Vaporizers Often Have Advanced Features

Do you like electronic devices with fun bells and whistles? Who doesn’t, right? Desktop vaporizers often have features that can enhance your vaping sessions in some pretty interesting ways. For instance, if you have a desktop vaporizer with a convection fan, it probably has the ability to fill balloons. A balloon for vaping is a heat-resistant nylon bag that you can attach to your vaporizer. When you turn on your vaporizer’s fan, the balloon fills. You can then remove the balloon from the vaporizer, pinch it shut and pass it between friends.

Desktop Vaporizers May Offer Water Filtration

If you own a water pipe, you’re going to be a big fan of the fact that almost all desktop vaporizers support some form of water filtration. In some cases, you can do that with a tube that connects your vaporizer to your water pipe. In other cases, desktop vaporizers actually have their own water chambers. All that you need to do is add a bit of clean water to the chamber before beginning your session, and you’ve got the instant smoothness of water filtration.

You’ll Pay More for a Desktop Vaporizer

Desktop vaporizers are the ultimate vaping devices, but they do have one drawback: They’re often much more expensive than portable vaporizers. Although it’s definitely possible to find a desktop vaporizer that won’t require you to save your paychecks for the next few months, it’s also a fact that all of the most expensive vaporizers on the market are desktop models. It’s important to remember, though, that a vaporizer able to extract the beneficial compounds of your herbs more thoroughly may pay for itself in the long run since it’ll allow you to enjoy greater benefits from smaller quantities of herbs.

Bio
Latest Posts

Martin B.

Ex-smoker, passionate vaper who loves to tell the world about the life-changing potential of vaping. Co-creator of Ecigclopedia with a background in Business & Finance. Prefers a dessert flavored vape and loves to innovate.