Discreet, Flavorful Vapor from the Puffco Plus
A ceramic pen-shaped body with advanced heating technology and no coils, glues or fibers
We are witness to continued change in both the perception and business of marijuana. From the nine states who weighed in on the topic yesterday—be that for medicinal or recreational use—there’s already been a substantial shift. California, Massachusetts and Nevada all passed legal recreational use; Maine may do so once all ballots are finalized. Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota have granted medicinal use. Fortunately, the world of cannabis culture hasn’t sat around for everyone else to catch up. The cannabis industry is showing a reminiscent vibe to the web 1.0 phenomena of the nineties. Optimism and opportunity command an entrepreneurial spirit resulting in cannabis farms being backed by venture capitalists and delivery service apps garnering massive valuations. On the product front, we’ve seen brands like Puffco move discreet, flavorful vaporizing devices forward technologically. Their latest product, the Puffco Plus vape pen, has been sold out until its glorious return to the internet today. This is a design-forward ceramic implement for cannabis enthusiasts. And the Brooklyn-based start-up behind it, founded by Roger Volodarsky, cares about the craft.
The Puffco Plus is not a typical pen vape that uses oil cartridges. It’s designed for dabbing which has long been considered more sketchy than chic given the tools necessary to vaporize cannabis concentrate. Puffco sought to deliver something super-clean, portable and mindset-changing. They did so technologically, with a design that elevates the product—and arguably the idea of marijuana use for both recreational and medicinal use. Even their Prism accessory is a considered add-on, storing dabs and supporting the vape during loading.
It’s important to mention that the Plus is a development from their previous release, the Puffco Pro. It is, in fact, technically superior. “The Puffco Pro was our second product ever,” Volodarsky explains to CH. “It was designed by me and released in 2014. At the time, it was the first vape pen with temperature control, a large capacity chamber, and no glues used in the atomizer construction. The Plus was what I hoped to build in 2014 but only possible with the amazing development team we have today.” Of those developments, shifting the heating element into the bottom of the ceramic bowl may just be most important. This, coupled with the ceramic, prevents the vape from getting too hot to the touch—a common complaint about oil pens. And yet, no flavor is sacrificed.
The richness of the vapor stays in tact thanks to a ceramic “dart” portion in the mouthpiece, which also serves as a convenient way to pick up a dab. Hot air circulates over the oil in a chamber beneath. A convection process activates it all, and the vapor is streamlined through a conduction chamber toward the cap. One is left with a dense, consistent cannabinoid vapor. It’s a huge step forward for a vape pen. As Volodarsky says, “We started with a mission of building products we ourselves would want to use. As we were developing the Pro back in 2014 we realized that there needs to be a safe, approachable consumption device for oil and we’ve been working on that ever since.”
The Puffco Plus retails online for $99.
Images courtesy of Puffco
