Wax Pen Vaporizers

What is a Wax Pen?

A wax pen is a handheld vaporizer designed for enjoying waxy oils discreetly. Wax pens are different from other types of vaporizers in their design and function. Shaped similarly to an office pen, wax pens are easy to pocket as well as conceal in the palm of your hand, making them a great companion for vaping about town. Their resemblance to ecigarettes also makes wax pens a discreet way to vape wax concentrates.

Unlike portable vaporizers and desktop vapes, the wax pen generally features a single-button control, making it easy to operate. Users simply click the wax vape pen control button a certain number of times to power on or off, or toggle through the heat settings. Commands will vary from unit to unit, but a simple one-button control is common in wax pens.

Wax pens are crafted solely for vaping wax concentrates. This makes the wax pen a popular choice for those who prefer wax concentrates over dry herb consumption. So what are wax concentrates exactly? And how do they differ from dry herb?

Visit our "What is Vaping?" page for more information about what vaporizers offer.

Popular types of waxy oils include:

Shatter - High quality wax concentrate extracted using butane or CO2. Shatter wax often looks like honey and can vary in color and transparency. Shatter hardens when cold, and can be broken into pieces like glass before being loaded into a wax pen. When warm, it resembles golden honey. Shatter is monocrystal, making it translucent.

Budder - For the veteran wax pen user. This hyper-potent wax concentrate is polycrystal, making it opaque.

Earwax - Manufactured by whipping hash oil. This type of wax concentrate is whisked, similarly to whipped cream, while being heated. Earwax is fluffier than other waxes, which some believe makes its vapor smoother when consumed using a wax pen.

Oil - Liquid-based concentrate. Oil is not compatible with most wax pens. It can be dabbed, ingested, smoked or vaped using an eliquid vaporizer.

Wax pens have become a popular way to enjoy waxy oils because of their convenience, efficiency, and discreet designs. With combustion-free vapor production, a wax pen offers a safer alternative to smoking, which creates harmful irritants.

Storing And Loading Wax Concentrates

Since wax is stickier than dry herb, it can be more challenging to store, clean up, and load into your vaporizer. Dab tools and wax containers solve this problem.

Non-stick silicone wax jars reduce waste, minimize cleanup, and preserve waxy oils. The silicone surface makes it easier to scrape off every last bit of wax concentrate to load into your wax pen. Wax containers also enable you to travel around with waxy oils so you can vape from anywhere.

For loading your wax pen, there are dabber tools--usually metal picks with gripped handles and curved ends for scooping waxy oils. These dab tools make it easy to load wax concentrates into heating chambers, as well as stir the contents around in between hits to ensure even vaporization.

Another upside to vaping waxy oils is that they pack more potency than dry herb. Therefore you don’t need to carry as much wax concentrate on you as you would dry herb.

Cleaning wax pens is usually limited to wiping down the threading between the battery and the atomizer or mouthpiece, as most of the waxy oils contained in the heating chamber are vaporized, leaving no mess. Wax pens can sometimes leak concentrates from the oven down to the battery connection, which can impede your ability to assemble the wax pen. A wax vape pen can be cleaned using isopropyl alcohol, cleaning brushes, alcohol wipes, and other cleaning solutions made for vaporizers.

What Does a Wax Vape Pen Offer?

Wax pen vaporizers are ideal for those looking to enjoy concentrates and waxy oils on-the-go. Compatible with waxes, thick oils or other concentrates, wax vaporizer pens are known for their portability and reliability. Aside from being discreet, these wax pens work quickly and efficiently, vaporizing waxy material in seconds. Since wax vape pens are able to reach their optimal temperature rapidly, there’s no waiting around for these units to warm up. With a wax vape pen, concentrates are heated by the press of a button.

Wax pens are also generally more affordable than portable vaporizers and desktop units. This is not an indication of lower build quality. Wax pens are simply smaller and cost less to manufacture than larger vaporizers. Certain high end wax pens can get pricier thanks to their high quality materials, vaporization technology, and features.

Did you know your wax pen can save you money on vaping materials too? While dabbing wax with a butane torch wastefully incinerates much of your wax concentrates, vaping concentrates with wax pens is much more efficient. A vaporizer heats wax to a temperature below the point of combustion, sparing you from inhaling harmful smoke and making sure every bit of precious wax is vaporized instead of wasted. Wax concentrates can also contain more effects, flavors, and aromas than dry herb. The affordability of wax vape pens is one reason why some users prefer dabbing wax to vaping dry herb.

Wax pens can boast a variety of special functions. As the popularity of dabbing, or vaporizing wax concentrates using high heat, continues to grow, some manufacturers have integrated the power of a dab-rig into their wax pens. The Source Orb is technically a vaporizer pen for wax, but to imitate the effect of blasting waxy oils with a butane torch, this unique wax pen utilizes a sub-ohm mod battery that can reach an infernal 700F. While this temperature is still lower than that of an actual flame, the high heat produces large clouds of intensely flavored vapor akin to a desktop dab-rig.

The size of vape pens for wax may vary depending on the unit's purpose, whether it's meant for high quality vapor production or discreet vaporization. Generally speaking, the larger the wax pen, the more advanced the heating system. Bigger wax pens simply have more room for technology. But some users value discretion most. The KandyPens MINI wax vape pen accommodates low-key vaping by virtue of its exceptionally compact size. It features a coilless ceramic atomizer with a deep dish, ensuring that even with a small wax vape pen, you can still enjoy large clouds of vapor.

Types of Wax Pen Atomizers

The wax pen breaks dabbing oil concentrates down to a science with the atomizer. Many different types of wax atomizers are available, each offering a different way to vape waxy oils. Atomizers are usually removable, so you can easily swap out one type for another as you please. Atomizers can differ in the material they’re made out of, as well as the heating element (usually a rod wrapped in titanium coils) that vaporizes waxy oils. Thus each type of wax pen atomizer vaporizes materials differently. Some wax atomizers create larger vapor clouds while others make smaller, more flavorful hits. Other atomizers are made from inert materials such as quartz and ceramic, enabling the wax pen to deliver unadulterated vapor with a flavor and aroma that hasn’t been affected by the atomizer.

Types of wax pen atomizers include:

Finding the Right Wax Pen

While all wax pens function similarly, things like size, atomizer type and battery life/quality vary from unit to unit. When choosing a wax pen, consider the following:

Other Wax Pen Tips

• Don’t buy a wax pen if you also want to vape other materials such as dry herb. There are hybrid vape pens such as the Cloud Pen 3.0 which vaporize both wax concentrates and herb. Multifunction vape pens generally require no more than a quick atomizer switch, which takes seconds. Owning a hybrid vape pen opens up the possibility of enjoying both wax and dry herb.
• When loading a wax pen vaporizer, be sure not to touch the heating coil with your dab tool! They’re the most delicate and vital part of your wax pen, and they’re fragile.
• Wax pens with deep atomizers give you more vaping sessions with fewer reloads, but they are a little harder to load small amounts of wax concentrates into. Only buy deep dish atomizers if infrequent loading and extended vape sessions are appealing to you. Go for a shallower wax pen atomizer if you vape moderately.
• Prime the wick of your wax pen by melting a little wax onto and around the coil. This lubricates the heating coils of wax pens so the rest of your waxy oils don’t vaporize too quickly when they come into contact with the coil.
• Invest a little in a better wax vape pen if possible. The more you spend on a wax pen, the more features, vapor quality, and build quality you get. Wax pens don’t get too expensive, so you can own the best wax pen on the market for about $200.
• If you don’t vape wax on-the-go, buy a desktop vaporizer instead. They are better suited for vaping at home than wax pens. Desktop vaporizers like the Herbalizer are compatible with both wax concentrates and dry herb.