For those who say you can’t vaporise hash, think again. There is a trick to vaping hash, it just isn’t a commonly known one. Wanna know what it is and more? Just follow me and I’ll spill the beans in a sec.
Why vaping hash can, indeed, be problematic
To be fair to those who think that only dry flower is suitable for vaporisation, they are, or at least were, half right. Back in the olden days, when vaporizers were still newfangled gizmos, vaping solid hash was a messy, sticky and generally unpleasant pursuit.
Why? Because hash is sticky business. No matter what kind of hash you use, once it starts to melt, you’re ultimately left with a glob of hardboiled resin that is stubborn enough to stick around no matter how much your scrape.
When smoking hash, either in a joint or pipe, most of what is left of the hash afterwards are either burned ashes or lumps of charred residue which scrape off fairly easily. So, clean up isn’t such a big deal.
But, when you try to vape hash, what’s left can gum up the works real good.
That’s because you’re essentially melting the hash in a vaporizer, allowing it to seep and creep into all the little nooks and crannies of your vaporizer’s oven.
See what I mean? This is what hash looks like before and after you melt it in a vaporizer. Sticky stuff!
So, why vape hash in the first place?
Some of you may have been told that hash is an inferior version of cannabis. That line of thinking may stem from the fact that hash was invented as a more efficient way of transporting (read: smuggling) cannabis. In essence, hash is just a catch-all phrase to indicate that the trichomes have been separated from the cannabis plant and pressed in compact bricks. This way the bricks take up less space, are easier to package and can be stored for longer than whole flower.
Hash is so much more than that, though, and we know this, in large part thanks to the late hash evangelist and connoisseur Frenchy Cannoli (may you rest in peace and bliss, mon ami). If you’ve ever listened to any of his lessons, you’ll know that hash is in a league of its own.
The King of Hash. Your wisdom will be missed.
Backed up by science, Frenchy (real name: Didier Camilleri) educated the world on all the interesting chemical reactions that occur with the cannabinoids and terpenes within hash over time. As it turns out, due to pressure, heat and time, hash produces a new kind of terpene called ‘Hashishene’, giving it its distinctive aroma.
Frenchy has also gone on record many times saying that hash becomes better with age, just like a fine wine. Something that can’t be said about dry flower cannabis.
So, saying hash is an inferior form of cannabis would do a great dishonour to this beautiful and flavourful product.
How to vape hash with a vaporizer
Okay, knowing why is one thing, but what about the ‘how’? Well, that’s actually easier than you might think.
All you need is a vaporizer and some ‘vape wool’. This isn’t exactly wool mind you, but degummed hemp fibre. The degumming process makes for bone dry, but strong and hard-to-combust stuffing material that gives off no odour or flavour.
You can use this fibre to create a protective layer between the oven of your vaporizer and the hash you’re going to vape. This way the hash residue won’t clog up the screen and oven of your vaporizer.
1. You don't need a lot of vape wool to create enough of a buffer between the material and oven. // 2. compact the vape wool just enough for it to fit in the oven of your vaporizer. // 3. the material sits on top of the vape wool buffer, making sure the material doesn't melt through to the bottom of the oven.
Which vaporizers are best suited for vaping hash?
In theory, any vaporizer will do. But, and this is a big ‘BUT’; not every vaporizer is as easy to clean afterwards. Remember, hash is cannabis resin, which means that, even though the main clump of hash won’t melt to the sides and bottom of your vaporizer’s oven because it sits on the protective layer of hemp fibre, it will release an oily residue all through the oven and air-path of your vaporizer.
So, if you don’t clean your device regularly, it will clog up over time. That’s why I recommend going with a relatively inexpensive and easy to clean vaporizer, like a DynaVap or Dreamwood, and not an internally complicated and delicate vape like a Storz & Bickel Crafty or Mighty.
Sure, it will work in the latter vapes as well, but you do run the risk of irreparably damaging that expensive piece of hardware if you can’t get into and clean every nook and cranny.