The Lowdown
The DynaVap M is possibly the simplest dry herb vape out there. It’s composed of four basic parts: the VapCap, the tip, the condenser, and the stem. No battery is needed; instead, you heat the VapCap with a butane torch until it clicks (7-10 seconds or so). There’s a bit of a technique to heating it properly to avoid combustion or a weak hit, but once you find your rhythm, it becomes pretty automatic.
Overall
Pros
- Very flavorful
- Easy to use once you learn the torch rhythm
- Significant aftermarket accessory support
- Allows for easy microdosing
- Effective delivery system for hemp flower in a short period of time
- No battery means less chargers to track
Cons
- Not really a session vape
- Torch technique may take a little while to learn depending on your dexterity
We’ve covered dry herb vapes here before, but they’re usually fairly advanced with fancy battery life, apps to control temperature, and other neat tricks. We recently tested a much simpler vape, the DynaVap M, and it blows the battery based vapes away!
The DynaVap M is possibly the simplest dry herb vape out there. It’s composed of four basic parts: the VapCap, the tip, the condenser, and the stem. No battery is needed; instead, you heat the VapCap with a butane torch until it clicks (7-10 seconds or so). There’s a bit of a technique to heating it properly to avoid combustion or a weak hit, but once you find your rhythm, it becomes pretty automatic. If that wasn’t super clear, DynaVap has an excellent and simple video showing the process:
The DynaVap M is very much an on-demand vape, meaning you heat it when you want to use it, and you can take a few quick hits and then put it away if you wish. In our experience, you can reheat the same bowl 2-3 times, depending on the material, how long between reheats, and how much you like/enjoy the herb as it becomes more cooked. Remember, vaping isn’t combustion — you’re literally cooking the herb to release vapor and inhaling that, instead of burning plant material.
When your hemp goes from green to shades of brown, it’s being cooked. Some people like a flavor-forward vape and feel once it crosses medium brown, it’s done, while others enjoy a toastier flavor as well. We’ve found that you can easily get three reheats out of one bowl with the right technique.
We’ve been testing the DynaVap M with CBD hemp flower, but if you live in a state where marijuana is legal, you can obviously utilize it for that as well. The experience of vaping hemp out of the DynaVap M is phenomenal. The flavor of various strains come through strongly, the vapor is pleasant and not harsh, and there’s a noticeable calming effect. It’s an incredibly effective vehicle for CBD, especially since it is on-demand and can be used anytime there’s a need for anxiety or pain relief, or whatever reasons you reach for CBD.
Because of how the DynaVap M heats the material and the simplistic nature of the temperature-sensitive cap, you might not be able to vape other herbs in it like you would with an electric vape with finer controls. For example, lavender has an ideal heating point of 210-250ºF, while hemp and similar herbs are ideally vaped closer to 350ºF. So for that reason, it’s probably best for flavor and experience to only vape herbs that get heated in the same range as hemp in the DynaVap.
The DynaVap M also supports an astounding number of first and third-party accessories. They offer a “DynaCoil” for concentrates, as well as titanium DynaVaps and even stems made from wood with different sized mouthpieces. You can pop a VapCap and tip onto any 10mm compatible glass pipe, and a number of 3rd parties sell other stems as well.
We’re big fans of Puffitup’s Long Glass 3D Airflow Stem, and swapping between the all-metal DynaVap body and the glass stem is super simple (just don’t get the bright idea to do that while the tip is still hot!). There are also cases with everything from stash compartments for your herbs to portable induction heaters if you don’t like playing with lighters. If it’s vaping related, chances are there’s a compatible DynaVap accessory for it.
We love our DynaVap M, but there are a few potential downsides to consider.
- One, if you’re the type to crash out and just sip on a vape for a while after a long day, you might find the DynaVap M to be too much work since you’ll be reheating and refilling the bowl a few times.
- Two, you do need to be at least a little bit coordinated to spin the DynaVap in the flame to heat it, not to mention that it can be difficult to use outdoors if it’s windy.
- Three, you might have to constantly explain to your friends and neighbors how it works and that you’re not a crackhead.
- Finally, for a fairly cheap vape (it starts at $75!), it can get costly as you get sucked into the ecosystem, adding new stems, extra tips, and then going down the rabbit hole of induction heaters…
But you’re comfortable with the manual nature of it, there’s a kind of soothing ritual to the whole process. It’s not as simple as pressing a button, but the steps are fairly quick to learn and it makes the whole process of vaping a little more mindful. You’re carefully filling the bowl, spinning it in the flame until it clicks, enjoying a few hits and then repeating the process. But different factors make each time a little unique.
You can hold the flame towards the top for less vapor and more flavor or towards the bottom of the cap for monster vapor and less hits. You can blast through 2-3 rounds with one bowl back to back, or leave it filled and come back for one heating session every hour or so. You control everything about the experience, which gives it a different feel than some battery-powered vapes.
As we said above, there are a million different accessories, but one you should definitely get is extra CCD screens. In a comedy of errors, there was accidental combustion of herbs (don’t try to text and vape with fire!) followed by cleaning the Dynavap, and then somehow losing the tiny screen that sits in the tip…luckily Dynavap sells them for $7 for a 3-pack, and allegedly these pipe screens from Amazon will also fit…so we’re stocking up now, but better planning could prevent this panicked buying!
The biggest downside we’ve found to the DynaVap M, though? Our other vapes hardly get used anymore!
The Dynavap M sells for $75; it is available directly from the manufacturer.
Source: Personal purchase
What I like: Very flavorful; Easy to use once you learn the torch rhythm; Significant aftermarket accessory support; Allows for easy microdosing; Effective delivery system for hemp flower in a short period of time; No battery means less chargers to track
What Needs Improvement: Not really a session vape; Torch technique may take a little while to learn depending on your dexterity; screen inside the tip is quite tiny, and it’s a good idea to keep backups for when you inevitably lose one.
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