The Evolution Of Dry Herb Vapes: From The First Models To Today's Cutting-Edge Technology
June 08, 2023From Herodotus’ accounts of the ancient Scythians burning flower on hot stones to release its oily vapour to Eagle Bill Amato’s Shake and Vape that quickly burnt its herb, the history of dry herb or flower vaping extensively covers people trying to extract the most flavour and benefits from their flower.
Dry Herb vaping has traditionally been on the fringe, where US conservative attitudes once framed it around the idea of the ‘dropkick’ prevailed for many years. However, more recently, in the last decade, there has been considerable evolution in dry herb vaporizers and a cultural shift where greats like Mike Tyson released his Tyson 2.0, a desktop weed infuser and vaporizer, to Snoop Dog’s now discontinued G-Pen.
But how has dry herb vaping become part of the zeitgeist — where it’s glorified in rappers' lyrics? In this blog post, we’ll review the many historical vaping developments that have been made and how the future progress of weed vapes is allowing the wider community to tap into its many benefits.
The history of dry herb vapes
- The 1920s — the first dry herb vape was invented
For a considerable time, many doctors had seen more pronounced instances of lip and mouth cancers, with many attributing it to smoking various products like tobacco and herbs. In 1927, Joseph Robinson invented what we would call the first weed vape as a vehicle to vaporise medical compounds without burning them. While he did receive his patent in 1930, it was never manufactured and commercialised, leaving flower fanatics to continue to manually combust it with an external heat source.
This technique has been a classic marijuana vaping technology to this day, with DynaVap’s vaunted devices combining an external heat source with their engineered devices to perfectly control airflow and give you a high-impact flavour hit.
- The 1960s — the first e-cigarette was invented
In 1963, at the peak of cigarette smoking, which saw the US reportedly consume 523 billion sticks, Herbert A. Gilbert, a two to three-pack-a-day smoker, sought a way to vaporise tobacco as a healthier way of smoking. He created an aluminium tube holding a battery to warm a liquid and create a smokeless smoke with rum, mint and cinnamon as the first e-liquid flavours. Again, like Robinson’s invention, it never was manufactured but is credited by Hon Lik, the inventor of the first commercial vape, ‘The Ruyan’.
While it's a very early representation of vaporizing cannabis’ history, its general technology helped influence modern vape pens from DaVinci Technology .
- The 1990s — portable herb vapes came into their own
It was in 1993 when weed vaping history was made when Eagle Bill Amato invented his infamous Shake and Bake, the first popularised dry herb vaporizer. It involved placing your flower in a chamber on top of a glass bulb that was heated underneath by a lighter and inhaling its vapour through an attached glass pipe.
It attracted huge attention at the 7th Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, allowing people to try a portable weed vape for the first time. It was so popular that it attracted other creators looking to build on its success and push its technology forward, like Ubie, which used convection heat to vaporise flower in one glass pipe and another attached pipe to draw in air and inhale the vapour.
- The 2000s — modern dry herb vapes started looking like modern dry herb vapes
Moving away from devices that needed external heat sources, AIR2 released the Vapir Classic in 2000, using a battery pack to power its operation and allowing vapers to control its set temperature. However, it featured a large, heavy build and a high price that limited its reach.
The year 2000 also saw Storz & Bickel release its legendary Volcano, which used a detachable balloon valve to manage airflow and show that your flower didn’t have to be burnt but heated and vaporised.
Dry Herb Vaporizers evolution — from the 2000s to today
Today, flower vapers have a huge choice, from high-performance desktop vaporizers to portable devices that give you hours of operation and temperature control. With significant change pushing the progress of dry herb vapes forward, many have become technology companies in their own right.
And it’s not an accident either — PAX Labs launched as a San Francisco startup creating dry herb vaporizers and the infamous Juul vape range that borrowed the sleek lines and usability of Apple’s iPhone to create a fashionable product that users can puff and go.
From heating your herb with convection and combustion to devices that can be controlled via your phone’s Bluetooth and app, who knows what the history of dry herb and flower vapes will bring next?
Discover Dry Herb Vapes you can rely on at Wick and Wire Co today
While the device your vaping on will change, the personable experience you get at Wick and Wire Co won’t. As leaders in the Australian market and a company built by vapers, for vapers, we can match you to a dry herb vape that mirrors your lifestyle and preferences so you get the best experience yet. Explore our dry herb vapes from the leading brands in-store or shop online and we’ll deliver them to your door. If you’re wondering what setup you need, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to help.From Herodotus’ accounts of the ancient Scythians burning flower on hot stones to release its oily vapour to Eagle Bill Amato’s Shake and Vape that quickly burnt its herb, the history of dry herb vaping extensively covers people trying to extract the most flavour and benefits from their flower.
Weed vaping has traditionally been on the fringe, where US conservative attitudes once framed it around the idea of the ‘dropkick’ prevailed for many years. However, more recently, in the last decade, there has been considerable evolution in flower vaporizers and a cultural shift where greats like Mike Tyson released his Tyson 2.0, a desktop dry herb infuser and vaporizer, to Snoop Dog’s now discontinued G-Pen.
But how has dry herb vaping become part of the zeitgeist — where it’s glorified in rappers' lyrics? In this blog post, we’ll review the many historical vaping developments that have been made and how the future progress of dry herb vapes is allowing the wider community to tap into its many benefits.
The history of Dry Herb Vapes
- The 1920s — the first dry herb vape was invented
For a considerable time, many doctors had seen more pronounced instances of lip and mouth cancers, with many attributing it to smoking various products like tobacco and herbs. In 1927, Joseph Robinson invented what we would call the first weed vape as a vehicle to vaporise medical compounds without burning them. While he did receive his patent in 1930, it was never manufactured and commercialised, leaving flower fanatics to continue to manually combust it with an external heat source.
This technique has been a classic flower vaping technology to this day, with DynaVap’s vaunted devices combining an external heat source with their engineered devices to perfectly control airflow and give you a high-impact flavour hit.
- The 1960s — the first e-cigarette was invented
In 1963, at the peak of cigarette smoking, which saw the US reportedly consume 523 billion sticks, Herbert A. Gilbert, a two to three-pack-a-day smoker, sought a way to vaporise tobacco as a healthier way of smoking. He created an aluminium tube holding a battery to warm a liquid and create a smokeless smoke with rum, mint and cinnamon as the first e-liquid flavours. Again, like Robinson’s invention, it never was manufactured but is credited by Hon Lik, the inventor of the first commercial vape, ‘The Ruyan’.
While it's a very early representation of vaporizing flower history, its general technology helped influence modern vape pens from DaVinci Technology .
- The 1990s — portable herb vapes came into their own
It was in 1993 when weed vaping history was made when Eagle Bill Amato invented his infamous Shake and Bake, the first popularised dry herb vaporizer. It involved placing your flower in a chamber on top of a glass bulb that was heated underneath by a lighter and inhaling its vapour through an attached glass pipe.
It attracted huge attention at the 7th Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, allowing people to try a portable dry herb vape for the first time. It was so popular that it attracted other creators looking to build on its success and push its technology forward, like Ubie, which used convection heat to vaporise flower in one glass pipe and another attached pipe to draw in air and inhale the vapour.
- The 2000s — modern dry herb vapes started looking like modern dry herb vapes
Moving away from devices that needed external heat sources, AIR2 released the Vapir Classic in 2000, using a battery pack to power its operation and allowing vapers to control its set temperature. However, it featured a large, heavy build and a high price that limited its reach.
The year 2000 also saw Storz & Bickel release its legendary Volcano, which used a detachable balloon valve to manage airflow and show that your flower didn’t have to be burnt but heated and vaporised.
Dry Herb Vaporizers evolution — from the 2000s to today
Today, weed vapers have a huge choice, from high-performance desktop vaporizers to portable devices that give you hours of operation and temperature control. With significant change pushing the progress of dry herb vapes forward, many have become technology companies in their own right.
And it’s not an accident either — PAX Labs launched as a San Francisco startup creating dry herb vaporizers and the infamous Juul vape range that borrowed the sleek lines and usability of Apple’s iPhone to create a fashionable product that users can puff and go.
From heating your herb with convection and combustion to devices that can be controlled via your phone’s Bluetooth and app, who knows what the history of dry herb vapes will bring next?