How to Hit a Vape: The Newbie-Friendly Guide

No matter how long you’ve been smoking your favorite herb, the fact of the matter is that vaping is something different entirely and almost feels like starting over in some respects. Switching to vaping involves learning different rituals and systems, and one of the most important differences between vaping and smoking involves your inhaling technique. In other words, you need to know how to hit a vape – and in this guide, we’re going to walk you through it.

Broadly speaking, all types of concentrate vaporizers fall into two categories: oil vapes and wax vapes.  The two types of vapes have slightly different inhaling techniques, so we’ll discuss them separately before concluding the article with some troubleshooting steps that might help if you run into problems.

Are you ready? It’s time to learn how to hit a vape properly.

How to Hit a Vape Pen or Vape Cartridge

This category includes 510-thread batteries with cartridges, pod systems and disposable vape pens. These devices are all designed to vaporize oily concentrates, and they all operate in much the same way. Inhaling through the device triggers a puff sensor, which causes the heating coil to vaporize the oil held in the device’s ceramic core. When you stop vaping, the core refreshes itself by absorbing more oil from the reservoir. 

One of the reasons why oil vapes are so popular is because using them is extremely simple. Here’s what you need to know about hitting a vape pen.

  • If your vape pen doesn’t have a fire button, you hit it simply by inhaling through the mouthpiece. Inhale gently, using just enough air pressure to make your device’s light turn on. One of the biggest differences between smoking and hitting a vape pen is that when you vape, you’re vaporizing a liquid. If you puff on a vape pen too firmly, you’ll experience problems. Inhale the vapor into your lungs and then exhale the cloud, just as you would do when smoking.
  • If your vape pen has a fire button, all of the tips mentioned above still apply. Since your device doesn’t have an automatic puff sensor, though, you’ll need to hold the fire button while hitting your vape. Although many people find that using a vape pen with a puff sensor is fun because it feels like smoking, a vape with a fire button will produce bigger clouds since you can hold the fire button before you start puffing.

How to Hit a Dab Pen

A dab pen is any vaping device that uses a wax coil rather than a cartridge. Many vaporizers by Hamilton Devices come with wax coils but work with all 510-threaded attachments, giving you the freedom to use your vaporizer as a dab pen or as a standard vape pen depending on your needs. Hitting a dab pen is a little more complicated than using an oil cartridge, but the payoff is that a dab pen can often produce bigger clouds and can give you a more potent experience as a result.

Here’s what you need to know about hitting a dab pen.

  • Remove the mouthpiece from your device and use a metal dab tool to place a small piece of wax directly on the device’s heating coil.
  • Preheat the coil to melt the wax and make it spread over the coil’s heating surface. Depending on the device you’re using, there are three ways of doing this.
    • If your device has a manual fire button, it may have an automatic preheating function that you can enable by pressing the button two or three times.
    • You can also use the fire button to preheat the coil manually by pressing the button a few times in short spurts.
    • If your dab pen doesn’t have a fire button, you can preheat the coil by puffing on the mouthpiece a few times without inhaling. 
  • If you’re new to dabbing, you’ll want to confirm that the wax is melted before hitting your vape. Remove the mouthpiece. If the wax has softened and spread out, you’re ready to continue. If there’s still a big dab of wax on the coil, you’ll need to soften it a bit more.
  • Hit your dab pen either by inhaling through the mouthpiece or by inhaling while holding the device’s fire button.

Problems Hitting Your Vape? Try These Quick Fixes

Now that you know how to hit a vape, it’s time for a bit of troubleshooting information. As you learn how to use your new vaporizer, you’re bound to experience occasional issues here and there along the way. As we bring this guide to a close, we’ll provide some quick fixes that can help.

    • Coughing: This probably means that you’re puffing too long and inhaling too much vapor at a time. Try taking smaller puffs instead, almost like you’re sipping a beverage.
  • Burnt Taste: 
    • Dab Pen: You’re probably not softening the wax fully before hitting your vape.
    • Vape Pen with New Cartridge: You may not have waited long enough for the oil to absorb into the ceramic core after filling the cart
    • Intermittent Burnt Taste with Vape Pen: Wait a little longer between puffs, so the cart’s ceramic core has adequate time to refresh itself.
  • Leaking: This is a common problem that people have when using vape cartridges or disposable vape pens for the first time and usually means that you’re using too much air pressure when hitting your vape. When you hit your vape, use just enough air pressure to make your device’s light turn on. Leaking almost always leads to a clogged cart, which we’ll discuss below.
  • Harshness: If your vape has adjustable voltage, try vaping at a lower power level. You can usually adjust a vape pen’s power by clicking the fire button either two or three times. You can also try attaching a bubbler to your device. The PS1 vaporizer has a built-in bubbler, and the Nomad includes a separate bubbler attachment. In many cases, you can also use an adapter to connect a vaporizer to a bubbler or water pipe. 
  • No Airflow: If you have trouble pulling air through your vape, your cartridge is most likely clogged because oil has leaked and hardened inside the cart’s chimney or airflow channel. You can usually resolve this by warming the cartridge gently to soften the residue. You may also be able to dislodge the clog with a thin tool like a toothpick. Learn more about how to unclog a cart.

Find Your New Vape Now

A high-quality vaporizer hits harder and is always more reliable – so if you don’t have a good experience when hitting your vape, it might be time for a new device. Shop our vaporizers now. If you have a question, we’re always happy to help. Get in touch to communicate with our friendly experts.