The first time you take a long, blissful draw on a Highlighter vape pen, you may cough so violently you think you'll hack up a lung. This pencil-thin device packs a bigger punch than its sleek design suggests.
The Highlighter vape pen is a pot user's dream. It's portable, stylish, cost-effective, and easy to use. As the vaping industry quickly heats up (one in 10 Americans vape these days), the Highlighter could be the device that's been missing from the legal marijuana industry.
The pen activates through breath. When the user puts their lips on the mouthpiece, a battery-powered heating element warms concentrated cannabis oil in the cartridge and creates a potent vapor. The user needs only inhale lightly.
Made by Bloom Farms, a medicinal marijuana company based in San Francisco, the Highlighter wouldn't look out of place in a pencil cup on your desk. Its black and white body features a tasteful, paisley-like design. The cartridge that holds the cannabis is oil is clear, which helps users see how much is left. It also looks cool.
Plus, the eraser-side of the pen actually works as a stylus.
Each cartridge contains 500 milligrams of cannabis oil, which is roughly the equivalent of half a joint. That might not seem like much, but Bloom Farms' cannabis oil contains 50% THC content, meaning it has a high concentration in pot's psychoactive ingredient. For someone who smokes once a day, the Highlighter might last several months.
The pens are available in both sativa and indica strains, which produce a spectrum of effects. You can read about the differences here.
Bloom Farms says on its website that the battery should last as long as the cartridge does. The device also comes with a USB charger.
The Highlighter costs just a fraction of the Pax 2, a high-end vape (intended for tobacco use, though it works just as well with cannabis) made by two guys from Stanford. It will set users back $279, or more if you buy in a head shop. The Highlighter runs about $50 and replacement cartridges cost $35, depending where you buy.
Comparing a vape pen to a vaporizer like the Pax 2 that's intended for burning marijuana flower is kind of like holding an apple to an orange. They cater to distinct user preferences, and operate in entirely different ways.
But if you've spent any amount of time watching YouTube tutorials on how to inhale from a Pax 2 just to get a proper hit, you will be delighted at the Highlighter's ease of use.