Product review: DynaVap

Here at the Cannabinthusiast offices we do tend to keep things simple: a waterpipe is still one of our most used methods for enjoying the pot. However, Boss Man who runs the joint (pun possibly intentional) is always trying out new gizmos and gadgets and about six months ago he handed me a DynaVap saying, “This will change everything.”

I’ve owned a number of different battery-operated vape pens over the years, and while they’re novel for a while, eventually I always end up drifting away from them and returning to the bong. But “battery-operated” may be the key here. The beauty of the DynaVap (or the VapCap, which is what DynaVap calls it; I’ve been calling it DynaVap for six months and I’m not changing for this review) is in its relative simplicity and that it needs no battery whatsoever.

As you can see from the above graphic, it’s a slim, sturdy titanium tube, not much bigger than a nice-sized joint. Atop the tube is a cap made of very thin metal (aluminum, perhaps?), not much thicker than a sheet of paper. It’s inside that cap where all the magic happens.

You fill the reservoir tip of the tube with a small amount of cannabis, place the cap back in place, and light it with a butane torch – evenly, all around the cap, rolling the tube back and forth between your fingers – until you hear a click. (Usually I hear two clicks – it’s the second, louder one you’re listening for.) Once you hear the click you immediately stop heating it and gloriously vape from the other, non-heated end. There’s also a tiny carb you’ll need to use. As the lid cools, it will click again. Once you hear that you’ll know it’s OK to reheat. That lid is clearly very delicate, so be careful to never overheat it! Typically, a load of cannabis is worth two heatings. After that it’s time to dump out the used material and reload. (Here is a video that shows what I just explained.)

Vaping is a great way to consume cannabis. The DynaVap, I would argue, is next level vaping, and I have now been using mine for nearly six months. I do still use my bong, because old habits die hard. But there is no question I’ve used the DynaVap more consistently than any other vape pen I’ve owned, and I’m pretty much at 50/50 waterpipe/DynaVap.

In the case of the DynaVap, less is truly more. You use less material, so expect your weed supply to last longer, giving you more bang for your buck. You can genuinely experience terpenes in ways the smoking simply does not allow for. The smells and the flavors are amplified when smoke is removed from the equation. This is about as pure of a manner of ingesting cannabis as it gets. And, as any experienced vaper knows, your leftover materials – the dried, brown cannabis – still has its uses. You can smoke it and still get high off of it, though admittedly that does sort of defeat the idea of vaping in the first place. Best bet is to use your leftover material for baking or cooking.

The tube easily disassembles into four major parts for easy cleaning/soaking, though DynaVap says do NOT soak the lid. Clean it only with soap and water. They also say not to soak the other components in alcohol, yet also point out that it will not hurt them. My guess is they’d rather not have customers setting themselves on fire from not having properly rinsed or dried the pieces afterwards. (I mean, a butane torch and alcohol are a recipe for disaster.) I’ve soaked the three pieces in alcohol overnight and it worked just fine for me. Truth is, DynaVap does not get overly filthy. I didn’t clean mine for several months before Boss Man said I probably ought to, and when I disassembled it I was surprised how little buildup there was, even after all that time.

If the idea of heating with a butane torch is a little too close to crack pipe culture for you, you can also use an induction heater on your DynaVap. I own the absolutely bare bones model (the “M”), so, while the DynaVaps can be pricey, the least expensive model still gets the job done. I’ve also got the DynaDugout for storage, which I love because it reminds me of the old one-hitter dugouts from many years ago (yes, there is also a chamber in it for your weed). DynaVap, it appears, has one eye on the past as well as one on the future.