Vaporizer 101 · Understanding Vaporizers
Session vs On-Demand: The Only Decision That Matters
"Before you compare brands, features, or prices, answer one question."
A session vape heats a packed bowl and stays hot for 5–15 minutes — pack, press, ride the bowl until it auto-shuts off. An on-demand vape only heats while you're actively using it, lets you take one or two hits and put it down, and rewards (or punishes) technique. Most people are session people, especially anyone replacing spliffs. On-demand is for microdosers, technique enthusiasts, and "one hit to reset" workflows.
Get this question right and the rest of the spec sheet sorts itself. Get it wrong and you end up with a £299.99 TinyMight 2 in a drawer.
Jake Bought the Wrong Vaporizer
If you've read any other article on this blog, you already know roughly half of Jake's story. This is the full version.
My mate Jake wanted to quit spliffs. Attempt number one: he went for a cheap session device, didn't stick with it, gave up inside ten days. Attempt number two, he came to me for advice. I — being the kind of man who says "well actually" for a living — told him the best vapour quality was on-demand convection and pointed him at the TinyMight 2 at £299.99. Three-second heat-up. Elite extraction. The enthusiast's choice.
Jake is a sit-down-for-the-evening bloke who smokes one spliff over twenty minutes while watching telly with his wife. He is not, has never been, and will never be "the enthusiast." He wants to take a few draws of something while Gogglebox is on and not think about technique.
He combusted the TinyMight 2 repeatedly. Got frustrated. Put it in a drawer. Gave up on vaping for six weeks and went back to rolling.
The device wasn't broken. Jake wasn't broken. I'd answered the wrong question. I'd recommended a vaporizer without first asking how do you actually consume? Jake needed a session vape. His third attempt — with an XMAX V3 Pro at £79.99, a session-first hybrid he can load, press, and ride through a bowl without thinking — has stuck. He hasn't combusted since. The TinyMight 2 is still in the drawer. He does not want to talk about the TinyMight 2.
That's the story that made me write this article. Because nobody else was writing it, and Jake deserved better.
The Question Nobody Asks First
If you're researching vaporizers, you've probably seen endless comparisons. Battery life. Temperature control. App features. Build materials. Price brackets. Heating methods. All of that matters. Eventually.
But before any of it, you need to answer one question that most guides completely skip:
Are you a session person or an on-demand person?
Get it right and the other decisions become much simpler. Get it wrong and you'll end up with Jake's TinyMight 2 in a drawer in your house too.
If you haven't read What Actually Happens Inside Your Vaporizer, start there — this article assumes you understand the basics of vaporisation. We're building on that foundation now.
What "Session" Actually Means
A session vaporizer heats up, reaches your target temperature, and stays there for a set period — typically 5 to 15 minutes. You pack a bowl, turn it on, and extract the entire load over that window before it auto-shuts off.
The ritual: pack, heat, vape continuously until done. Reload if you want more.
Heat-up times: usually 30–90 seconds from cold. Modern devices like the Solo 3 v2 and PAX Plus can hit usable temperature in 15–30 seconds, but they still hold that heat for a full session rather than cooling immediately.
How it feels: like finishing a spliff or joint. You're committed once you start. The oven stays hot whether you're actively drawing or not. There's a beginning, middle, and end to each bowl.
My mate Marcus, a music producer down in London who switched to vaping a year before me, won't rush a session. Ever. If the device needs a 5-minute heat soak, Marcus uses those 5 minutes to put the kettle on and pick the music. By the time the vape's ready, so is he. "Proper session, that," he'll say when it all clicks, and in his vocabulary that's the highest compliment a vape can get.
The trade-off: your herb is cooking continuously, even between hits. If you pack a bowl and only take three draws before getting distracted — something I, with an ADHD diagnosis and a track record of leaving hot vaporizers in the fridge, know a lot about — the rest is still being heated. Some extraction happens passively. Material efficiency suffers if you're not riding the bowl to completion.
Session Is For You If:
- You're replacing spliffs or joints (similar pacing, similar ritual)
- You like to settle in for an evening
- You're sharing with mates (easy to pass around)
- You want minimal technique — just pack, heat, draw
- "Quick hits" isn't how you consume
Sarah's framing for me: "You are not on-demand about anything in your life, Dennis. Why would you start now?" She has a point. I have, in fairness, never done anything quickly except answering email at 11pm.
What "On-Demand" Actually Means
An on-demand vaporizer heats only when you're actively using it — holding a button, drawing through the device, or applying a torch. Heat-up is near-instant (often under 10 seconds), and the device cools down quickly when you stop.
The ritual: take a hit, put it down, come back later. Same bowl, multiple sessions.
Heat-up times: 3–10 seconds is typical. The TinyMight 2 delivers usable vapour in about three seconds from cold. Subsequent hits are even faster because the heater's already warm.
How it feels: like taking a bong rip or hitting a one-hitter. Quick, controlled, done. You're not committed to finishing anything. Take one hit, assess, continue or stop.
The trade-off: technique matters more. The line between "perfectly vaporised" and "accidentally combusted" is thinner. Learning curve is steeper. Some on-demand devices (especially manual ones like DynaVap) require real skill to use consistently.
On-Demand Is For You If:
- You want quick, single hits throughout the day
- Microdosing is your goal
- Material efficiency matters (less herb used over time)
- You're comfortable with a learning curve
- "One hit to focus, then back to work" is your pattern
The Decision Framework
What Are You Replacing?
| If You Currently… | You Probably Want… | Because… |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke spliffs/joints | Session | Similar pace, similar ritual, similar commitment per use |
| Take bong rips | On-demand | Quick, intense, controlled, done |
| Want to microdose | On-demand | Take 1–2 hits, stop, return later |
| Share with mates regularly | Session | Easy to pass, no technique explanation needed |
| Need "one hit to reset" during work | On-demand | Quick extraction, no commitment to full bowl |
| Want to zone out for an evening | Session | Pack once, ride the bowl, relax |
The ADHD Framework
This is personal, so take it for what it's worth. I have ADHD. My cannabis use varies wildly depending on what I'm doing.
Sometimes I need: one quick hit mid-afternoon to reset my focus. I'm in the middle of something, my brain is scattered, I need to recalibrate. On-demand is perfect here. Three-second heat-up, one controlled draw, back to work. Total interruption: under a minute.
Sometimes I need: to zone out after a long day and not think about anything for an hour. I'm done working, Sarah's watching something I'm not interested in, I want to melt into the sofa. Session is perfect here. Pack the Solo 3 v2 in session mode, ride the bowl for ten minutes, don't think about technique or timing.
Microdosing guides recommend "very small puffs with several minutes between each inhalation." That's on-demand territory. Clinical pain studies show low vaporised doses provide meaningful relief — you don't need to finish a whole bowl to get therapeutic benefit. If you're using cannabis for focus, anxiety, or chronic symptom management throughout the day, on-demand lets you titrate precisely.
If you're using cannabis to unwind and want the ritual of "finishing something," session matches that better.
What About Both?
Some devices blur the line.
The TinyMight 2 has a session mode. Hold the button, it stays at temperature for continuous extraction. I use this occasionally for evening sessions when I want TinyMight vapour quality without the hit-by-hit rhythm.
The Solo 3 v2 does both. The v2 redesigned the heater — it's a proper hybrid now with a dedicated on-demand mode that heats in about 15 seconds. Not as instant as the TinyMight 2's three seconds, but legitimately usable for quick single hits. Then flip to session mode for longer evening use. It's the device that made me rethink the whole "you need two vapes" advice.
Owning one of each is also valid. I used to split my time between the Mighty+ (session, 70%) and TinyMight 2 (on-demand, 30%). Then the Solo 3 v2 came along and collapsed both categories into one device. These days it handles most of my sessions — evening use, work breaks, sharing with mates. The TinyMight 2 still comes out when I want that three-second instant hit or peak flavour perfection.
My colleague Amit, who writes the HerbVape lifestyle side and has consumed cannabis in roughly forty-five countries by my last count, made an observation over a pint that stuck with me. In India, in much of the Caribbean, in Amsterdam coffeeshops — session is the cultural default. Slow pace, communal, shared, the point is as much the sitting-down as the consumption. The on-demand-style "one hit and back to work" pattern is specifically an American dispensary-era invention.
That's not an argument for either, but it reframes the decision: most of the world is session. If you're defaulting to on-demand because it sounds efficient, be honest with yourself about whether efficiency is actually what you want from this.
The Mistakes I See Constantly
Mistake 1: Buying On-Demand When You Want to Chill
"I want the best vapour possible" → buys TinyMight 2 → hates that it requires technique → goes back to spliffs.
The best vapour means nothing if you don't enjoy using the device. Jake's TinyMight 2 produced objectively better vapour than his V3 Pro. He still uses the V3 Pro because it doesn't stress him out, and the TinyMight 2 gathers dust in a drawer. This is the entire argument in one anecdote.
Mistake 2: Buying Session When You Want Quick Hits
"I just want to take a hit or two while I'm working" → buys Mighty+ → gets annoyed waiting 60 seconds for it to heat up every time → feels like the bowl is being wasted because they only take three draws.
Session vapes cook your material continuously. If you're not going to ride the bowl to completion, you're leaving efficiency on the table. On-demand would serve this pattern better.
Mistake 3: Underestimating the Learning Curve
Manual on-demand devices — especially DynaVap — require real skill. You're using a torch, listening for clicks, timing your draws. Combustion is easy if you're not paying attention.
I tracked my own TinyMight 2 learning curve: 15% combustion rate in week one. Sarah definitely smelled it from the other room and asked me "what was that? It smelled like a camping trip." By week four, my combustion rate was 0%. But that's a month of practice before consistent results.
If you want to turn your brain off and just vape, session is more forgiving.
Mistake 4: Ignoring Your Actual Pattern
Be honest about how you consume. Not how you'd like to. Not how the forums say enthusiasts consume. How you actually consume.
- Dave settles in for evening sessions. Always has. On-demand would be wasted on him — which is why he runs a Solo 3 v2 in session mode.
- Tom takes quick hits while working from home. Session would frustrate him — which is why he runs a Crafty+ V2 and treats it like a session device with a short fuse.
- Jake, as established, has demonstrated over two and a half product purchases that he is a session person who should have been allowed to stay a session person. We got there eventually. Everyone's fine now. Except the TinyMight 2. Moving on.
The Quick Answer (If You're Skimming)
Most people are session people. There's nothing wrong with that. Jake is a session person. I was a session person for my first four years of vaping. The on-demand obsession is a forum tribalism thing, and I've written a whole article about how I used to be the worst offender at that. See Conduction vs Convection.
If you cannot figure out what your pattern is, assume session. I'm asking you to trust the maths on this one.
What I'd Recommend
Devices grouped by consumption pattern. Pick the category before the device. Use code DENNIS5 at checkout for 5% off.
If You're a Session Person
£255.99 · with DENNIS5: £243.19
60–90 second heat-up, 6–8 bowls per charge, impossible to mess up. What I hand to first-timers because you literally cannot get bad results from this device.
£217.99 · with DENNIS5: £207.09
Glass airpath, exceptional flavour, hybrid heater with both session and on-demand modes. 12–15 bowls per charge. The device that made me rethink the "you need two vapes" advice.
£186.99 · with DENNIS5: £177.64
Same vapour quality as Mighty+, smaller body, shorter battery life. Tom lives on one of these — six-months-of-morning-cough-disappeared Tom. Brilliant for 75 minutes, then the battery goes.
£130.00 · with DENNIS5: £123.50
Fits in any pocket, looks like a USB drive, gentle learning curve. Sacrifices some vapour quality for ultimate portability. The "looks-like-nothing" pick.
£79.99 · with DENNIS5: £75.99
Session-friendly hybrid at an unserious price. Proof that the correct vape for you is not necessarily the most expensive vape you can afford. The one that finally took.
If You're an On-Demand Person
£299.99 · with DENNIS5: £284.99
Three-second heat-up, incredible extraction, convection-dominant. Rewards technique, punishes inattention. Do not buy this as your first vape unless you've answered "am I a technique person?" with an honest yes.
£70.99 · with DENNIS5: £67.44
Manual, torch-powered. No batteries, no electronics, requires actual skill. Some people swear by them; others never crack the code. Indestructible either way.
Use code DENNIS5 at checkout on herbvape.co.uk for 5% off any vaporizer.
