Different Types Of Cannabis Cartridges
With vapes quickly becoming available as a popular way to consume THC, more and more vaporizer cartridges–referred to as vape carts, or just ‘carts’– are becoming increasingly available as well. But while they may all look the same, that is certainly not the case. Let’s talk about two common types of vape carts you might see at your local dispensary: Live resin carts and distillate carts.
What Is Live Resin?
A live resin is a cannabis concentrate that is extracted from fresh flower cannabis that is usually frozen or flash-frozen. This frozen cannabis flower is then processed with a solvent and then pressed to complete the extraction. While this can be a process for many concentrates, what makes live resin unique is that it skips the trimming, curing, and drying process that most cannabis flower is subject to.
It’s during these steps that a large portion of the flower’s terpene profile is lost. And it’s those terpenes that give each strain its unique aroma, flavor, and THC profile. Instead, quickly freezing the cannabis flower after harvest and then minimally processing it produces a Live Resin concentrate that is rich in flavor and as close as possible to the original plant’s terpene profile. Live resin carts tend to taste much closer to the flavors of smoking cannabis–minus the combustion flavors, of course–than distillate carts.
What Voltage For Live Resin Carts?
Since the advantage of live resin carts is that they’re already loaded with the natural terpenes from the flower, the last thing you want to do is use a high temperature that will vaporize those savory terpenes before you are able to taste and consume them. While single-button vaporizer batteries are more common and economical, there are specialized batteries available that are a little pricer, but they allow you to set the voltage as you use a vape cart.
Depending on your live resin cart and battery, the best voltage for live resin carts is between 2.5V to 3.3V. While this range might seem insignificant, small changes to temperature can have drastic effects on the flavors and terpenes produced during evaporation. Always refer to your product label for instructions and try different temperatures to find what works best for you and your products.
Do Live Resin Carts Expire?
Just because the live resin is extracted from fresh flower does not mean it’s more likely to go bad or expire. In fact, live resin does not go bad, although it can change over time. Usually, live resin carts have a shelf life of about 1 year. During this time, they experience a change in flavor and potentially lose roughly 25% of their original potency. But considering the high concentration of THC with extracts like live resin, you should still have a usable product in terms of the concentrate.
What is THC Distillate?
THC distillate, or simply ‘distillate,’ is also a concentrate extracted from cannabis flower. While the live resin process does not include trimming, curing, and drying, distillate production does not skip any of these steps. Distillate production usually includes the use of cannabis that has already gone through the traditional steps of trimming, curing, and drying. The flower is then processed with solvents, usually ethanol or butane, to produce a thick gold color oil of highly concentrated THC. This oil is then combined with terpene extracts and other flavoring agents to put back the terpenes lost during the process to produce the common distillate carts we see in dispensaries today.
Is Live Resin Better Than Distillate?
By most comparisons, live resin concentrates are considered full-spectrum and are better than their distilled counterparts, which are not. Because of their superior and natural terpene content, live resin carts are a more premium product compared to distillate and will usually command a higher price. In the end, which is better will ultimately come down to personal preference and goals for THC consumption, so always feel free to make the best decision for yourself.
Does Live Resin Get You Higher Than Distillate?
This is one area where distillates do excel compared to live resin carts. While live resin carts are all about flavor and terpenes, distillate carts are generally focused on THC content. With that in mind, distillates tend to have a THC concentration of at least 90%, whereas live resin carts tend to range between 80% and up to 90% in THC content. Both distillate and live resin carts have plenty of THC to produce the high effects as they are both still highly concentrated THC products. However, as we know, the effects of any single product can vary from person to person.
So be sure to try things for yourself and find what works for you. And, as always, have fun and stay safe!
