VapeNation

Volcano Vaporizer Review

The Volcano is well-known for exceptional quality and durability, lasting years of regular use. Since 2000, it remains the gold-standard of cannabis vaporizers.

Updated: January 2021
New on the market, the Volcano Hybrid offers much faster warm-up times (1-2 minutes vs 5+) and comes with a whip tube in addition to bags, it’s really not much different compared to the Classic Volcano. Personally I still recommend the Classic for the simple in design, and cheaper cost for the same machine, just without all the glowing LED buttons.

The Volcano vaporizer has a well-known reputation among pot smokers as the vape of choice — because quality endures. It’s precise, durable and simple to use. The made-in-Germany label means quality; Germans are known for precise engineering combined with bold visual design and the Volcano vaporizer is both.

The Classic model uses an intuitive knob to quickly adjust heat.

Regular smokers and vapesters will appreciate the efficiency of capturing an entire bowl’s worth of vapor in one shot; inhale at your pace, enjoying cool and pure THC. And finding best temperatures for specific strains is easy with intuitive heat controls — turn a knob or push a button.

Tip: Don’t worry about burning your herb, the maximum temperature setting can’t make plant material combust, stopping 10° short.

How it Rated: 94%

The Volcano Classic remains the king of vaporizers because quality endures.

A vaporizer like this is an investment, think: long-term. It might not in your budget, but regular smokers will love this because it’s efficient in extracting every last drop of THC from your herb. It’s built to last for years, unlike so many poorly-made products these days.

Plug in. Turn it on. Grind herb to fine consistency. Load and wait for the bag to fill with vapors; once full release the bag and pass around your group to enjoy the cool vapors. Easiest vaporizer to use in large groups because of huge bag capacity. Also you can make custom bags that hold even more vapor!

Very modern looking with its German design. The unique volcano shape is well-designed, functional, interesting to look at and easy to carry. The temperature controls work very easy. Its small details go appreciated and noticed.

Made for years of enjoyment. Very stable and solid. Thank Ze Germans.

Simple setup: Plug it in. Turn it on.

Bag is farily easy to work once you get the hang of it. Loading herb is fast work after a few bowls, too.

Grid fine, suck vapors by the bag full. Take as big of a hit as you can. Better tasting and for your lungs than hits from the bong.

Bags are re-usable to a point, and screen clean-up only takes a minute.

Grind your marijuana finely and this unit will be very efficient. Over the long term you’ll be saving at least 15% of the herb smoked in a bong or pipe.

Change screens when they get clogged. Replace bags as needed.

How to Use the Volcano

  1. full balloon bag

    A full balloon bag, the most efficient way to capture vapor, is about 2 feet long. Nothing is wasted or lost, and herb is efficiently used-up in about 3-5 full bags.

  2. valve adjustment

    This orange valve ensures no vapor is wasted and balloon bags attach tightly onto the Volcano vaporizer base. This mouthpiece is well-designed so it’s easy to hold between you fingers, and has a very nice spring-loaded feel when pressing against your mouth and lips, almost pushing vapor inside.

  3. analogue knob close-up

    A simple knob twist can increase or decrease the heat intensity. Turn the heat down if your herb is looking too dry and nearly burnt, or turn the heat up if it’s still green after a full bag.

  4. volcano bag inflating with vapor

    The balloon bag is completely filled with thick, rich vapor in under 30 seconds. Each bag can be re-filled 3-5 times before reloading bowls with fresh cannabis. And bags can be used hundreds of times before they get too sticky and need replacement.

  5. Volcano digital temperature button control

    The Volcano’s digital temperature buttons make fine-tuning heat intensity easy and accurate.

Low Maintenance

Over time and use, the vapor bags will turn brown and become too sticky to use. Also screens get clogged and less effective with use and need clearing with a brush every so often, and replaced after heavy long-term use. That’s it, really very simple and requires almost no cleaning, just replacement bags and screens.

The Downsides: large size, high price and bag use

Like all things in life, the good comes with some bad. The bags are crinkly, loud and not environmentally friendly. The Volcano is also the largest vaporizer around — a foot tall, and nearly 3 feet with an inflated bag. But cons can also be pros; the large bag, while a hassle for one, is perfect for sharing with friends and lasts several hundred uses before replacement.

Volcano Classic vs Volcano Digit

What’s the difference? Classic uses a knob to control temperature, less precise but easy to use. The Volcano Digit vape has a digital LED display with buttons to dial exactly the temperature that works best with a specific herb — some strains are more delicate than others. If price is an issue, save $150 and get handy with the knob. If precision is your thing, don’t bother with the Classic knob, go digital.

comparing the Volcano vaporizers: Classic's analogue rotary knob as compared to the Volcano Digit's LED digital display and buttons

“Yeah, the primary downfall of the digit is it takes the *very* reliable rock solid construction and design of the Volcano vaporizer, and adds electronics that can and will fail. Not worth it to me on general principle. Took me about a month to really understand the volcano, now its easy to get whatever kind of dose I want out of it, be it a medicating low heat dose, or a high heat get stoned as hell dose.”
— Caprican, SF bay area grasscity.com forum member

The Stats


The Bottom Line

The Volcano vaporizer has unmatched efficiency and will last for many years of service. If you’re a daily smoker or smoke with friends often we recommend it over all other options. Our advice? Go with the Volcano Classic (over the Digit or Hybrid Volcano vapes) and save yourself $150+. The knobs are easy to adjust and there’s less that can go wrong.

The Volcano Classic, with analogue knob The Volcano Digit, with digital buttons to adjust temperature

About my Volcano vaporizer review

You made it to the end—I appreciate that! I worked hard to make this Volcano vaporizer review the best on the internet through careful research, taking helpful photos and lots of personal hands-on testing over months of regular medical marijuana use. If you like my work, consider buying from my referral link so I can keep this site going. Vapor.com has top-notch online customer service and I’ve recommended shopping with them for years. Plus they are an authorized dealer for Storz & Bickel so you get a legit warranty.—Vape-Nation

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A chart of battery, warm-up, and temperature specs.

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Comparison chart of vaporizer stats: compare battery life, price, charge time, etc.