Product Review: The Herbalizer – The World’s First Smartvape

If Apple ever designs a home vaporizer, it will probably look a lot like the Herbalizer.

This is a device you will put in the middle of your coffee table and never move. You’ll want to show it off. Unlike the bulky Volcano, which comes to rest in living rooms and stays through the sheer power of inertia, the light and sleek Herbalizer earns its place through looks alone. It actually improves the aesthetics of the room.

Not that its virtues are only skin deep. The technological innovation that sets the Herbalizer above the competition is in the heating subsystem, which heats up in mere seconds. (Out of more than a dozen trials, the longest wait time to vaping temperature was 12 seconds; in most cases, a 6-9 second wait was typical.)

The air is warmed by an internal halogen light bulb with a quartz casing, and the temperature is measured directly under the bowl. This specially manufactured bulb has been designed to be great at generating heat, and bad at generating light. This brilliant innovation allows the internal processor to cycle the heating element off and on extremely quickly to maintain precise temperature at the bowl under any airflow conditions, a feature unavailable from any metal heating coil solution.

Built on top of this solid technological foundation is an impressive array of versatility, which earns the Herbalizer the title of “the world’s first smartvape.” While this nifty model can fill up its included bags as expediently as a Volcano can, the available alternative of a single-use whip is a major win.

Its discreet, virtually silent operation has become my vaping technique of choice for when I’m medicating solo, due to its rock-solid performance. Regardless of whether I inhale in passive mode or get an assist from the Herbalizer’s forced-air fan (the only real option for quadriplegics, asthmatics or others with conditions more debilitating than mine), the whip delivers perfectly consistent air temperature, thanks to the rapid response of the quartz halogen bulb.

Ironically, the functional convenience of the Volcano’s whip is also the model’s only real design flaw. While the whip works great, it never quite fits right in the base’s plastic chassis, always tending to peek its tip out the side. Closing the Herbalizer’s lid, so essential to its aesthetic effect, becomes a minor battle every time. This would seem to be easy to fix with a mechanical snap or even a plastic protrusion, but in our review model there was only a plastic stamp to indicate the best place to start winding the whip. This guideline is correct and mildly helpful, but it remains a pain to stow the whip on the review model. The failing is perplexing, given the obvious attention to detail in every other part of the industrial design.

It’s a forgivable mistake, because the Herbalizer shines where it matters most: in delivering medicine. After vaping through the range of cannabinoids and terpenes in ground flower (I recommend starting at 365F and ratcheting up over time to 420F, in order to dial in your preferred blend of cannabinoids), bowls and joints taste like charcoal in comparison. The difference in consumption rate is equally apparent; the efficiency of vaping versus burning buds makes a big budgetary difference even after just a few weeks.

The Herbalizer is not just for cannabis, either. Both the LCD screen and the included print materials recommend various herbs to vape for a variety of effects, and it includes an “aromatherapy mode” that, one presumes, is not frequently used for medicinal cannabis. In this mode, you set a timer and close the lid and enjoy the smell of your favorite essential oils in your home… easy.

The takeaway is simple: If you are a weedist, you’ll want to invest in a vaporizer to save both your lungs and your wallet. And this sleek, powerful model is one of the best vaporizers presently on the market.

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