Updated June 7, 2023
Ball-filled vaporizers have already changed the face of dry herb vaporization, but they’re only now gaining mainstream traction. These heavy-hitting fast extracting herb vapes use glass-packed heaters to maximize the convection power and extract entire bowls in single hits of pure vapor.
Why Ball Vapes HIT SO HARD
The science behind this bleeding-edge vape-tech is actually pretty simple. The traditional convection heater utilizes a center coil or heater cartridge to heat air that passes over and around it. Ball vapes rely on the same heater filled with borosilicate glass balls or ruby spheres. Balls in contact with the heater get hot, sharing the heat and extending the surface area and convection power of the heater. Every ball is in touch with several other balls and the glass-packed vape heater becomes a mesh network of thermal calories just waiting to be unleashed onto your herbs.
Ready to buy a ball vape?
This page is all about the history and evolution of ball vapes.
Skip the obsolete stuff and only compare modern hard-hitting ball vapes.
The First Ball Vape: Glass Symphony XLR
April 20th, 2017 – JoJo monkey over on FC posts the announcement of his Glass Symphony vaporizer, a vape he had been openly developing as a DIY vape since January 2015.
I don’t know if JoJo knew how this vape would change the world, but he certainly knew exactly why the balls made this vape special.
“The Glass Symphony XLR 120V is a simple glass vape with a complex air path. It uses precision ground spheres to add surface area around the heater. This gives the vape a large amount of heat and a distributed draw resistance. You can add or remove spheres to change the amount of heat in a draw. The vape can be single hitter power house or a gentle session vape. Tune it to what you like and keep the same comfortable draw speed.” – JoJo Monkey on the Glass Symphony Ball Vape
The Glass Symphony used a stainless steel cartridge heater inside of a glass tube, inside of another glass tube filled with balls. The cartridge was heated with a 110v wall-powered PID controller. The Glass Symphony used about 250 balls of the 5mm size, huge by today’s standard.
While the Glass Symphony was considered the heaviest-hitting weed vape, it was an expensive cumbersome setup and after 2 years the Glass Symphony was discontinued.
Vape Critic’s G43
November 2018 – Upset at the slow progression of the dry herb vaporizer technology, the Vape Critic set out to make a Glass Symphony for the people.
Bud did a lot for the dry herb vaporizer world, including a critical evolution in the history of vapes with the creation of the G-43.
Bud knew there was magic in those balls – so he filled a simple glass slide with balls and wound a 510 coil around a glass rod to heat them.
The G-43 managed to deliver a Glass-Symphony-like performance in a considerably smaller format, and more importantly – at an affordable price!
By 2019 the Vape Critic had hand-made several hundred G43 vaporizers in two different versions, the Sled version and the 510 box mod version, but he was tired of his new vape-making job and decided it was time to move on. Vape Critic stopped making vapes, stopped reviewing vapes, and sold his vape review forum to Vapor.com.
SSV43 – Silver Surfer Ball Mod
December 2019 – Inspired by the dozens of DMs offering to buy my G43, I turned to my vape shelf housing more than 300 dry herb vapes and started scouting for vapes that could be modified with the addition of balls. The G-43 proved to be overly simple – a coil and some balls in a glass tube – several vapes have 2 of the 3 requirements already!
The first mod was actually done on the 7th Floor LSV but the glass heater cover was just too long. The Silver Surfer desktop vaporizer was a more ideal candidate for the ball mod. With several hundred 3mm glass balls added, the SSV43 Ball Modded Silver Surfer became the hardest-hitting desktop vaporizer at the time
The SSV43 Ball Mod for the Silver Surfer inspired 7th Floor Vapes to create a Quartz Enhancement Tube designed to mimic the use of balls in the vape, but it doesn’t compete.
Balled DCE-Elev8r
As the popularity of the SSV43 Ball Mod grew, so did the hype of adding balls to vapes. Vgoodiez had already been selling a coiled Elev8r as a heavy-hitting desktop, but when he added 3mm rubies the DC Elev8r became the hardest-hitting vaporizer available without modification.
The Coiled Elev8r was already a heavy hitter, in fact, even without the coil the torch-heated Elev8r was and is a heavy-hitting herb vape. Wrapping a coil around it made the heat constant and consistent, adding balls made it hit harder faster, and thicker with less inhalation technique.
Wall-G / AC Powered G-43
Vape Hackers in the 420 vape zone community were tired of swapping batteries and decided to hook up the G43 to a benchtop power supply. GAME. CHANGED. The newly found power available unleashed new potential that had remained unseen in the battery-powered version. By this time, the Vape Critic had already retired from both reviewing vapes and making them.
Terp Torch
August 20, 2020 – A collaboration between Brian (now of Old Head) and Austyn Simrell, The Terp Torch was technically the first ball vape available on the market. Every ball-vape iteration prior to the Terp Torch release was a modified vape or only available by DMing and hoping to get a response.
The Terp Torch was a kit that included a soldering iron, a tip that converts the soldering iron into a vape, and a bag of glass beads to fill the tip and power the vape.
The Terp Torch added fuel to the ball-vape development fire and set the bar for an affordable hard-hitting vape.
The HighLighter by REFC Labs
June 8, 2021 – An affordable DIY ball vape powered by a halogen light bulb. This badass little vape would drop on Sunday night and sell out within an hour.
Vape accessory makers like Eds TNT and Rogue Wax Works adopted handles and bodies to make the Highlighter even better.
Flowerpot V-rod B-Rod Mod
June 15, 2021 – Created by adding a few dozen 3mm ruby balls to the already hard-hitting Flowerpot V-rod, the B-Rod turns up the intensity and extraction power – while maintaining the Flowerpot’s ability to dab with its built-in SIC or Sapphire dabbing dish.
Credit goes to Joey (JXJS in the 420vapezone discord). This Flowerpot mod was easy and the Cannabis Hardware user base is active and enthusiastic as ever. Within weeks the ball-filled Flowerpot V-rod was all the rage on the weed vape forums and this modification will later lead to the COMPLETE overhaul of the Flowerpot vape – which currently rests at the top of the most recommended and hardest-hitting vapes lists.
Old Head Hot Rod
Announced July 2021 but not shipped until October 2021 – The Hot Rod is the first desktop vaporizer from Old Head, but it’s not Brian’s first ball vape. Brian is also credited for creating the Terp Torch.
The Hot Rod was a self-contained desktop unit featuring wooden components sourced and signed by Sticky Brick Labs. The titanium tip was powered by a ceramic cartridge heater and 3mm ruby spheres.
The Hot Rod was the 2nd vape to be available through multiple retailers.
Flowerpot Baller Head
August 2021 – Cannabis Hardware noticed everyone adding balls to their vape and decided to join in the fun. The Flowerpot Baller Head was released in the R&D section of their website as a “hollowed out” V-Rod, allowing 75 balls compared to the 25 that would fit with the B-Rod mod.
The Flowerpot Baller Head was so hot they couldn’t keep them in stock. High Demand and still in development, this new baller head proved to the dry herb vape scene that these ball vapes are the real deal.
Couchlog – Baller Log
August 13, 2021 – A handmade convection log from Germany, the Couchlog uses ceramic balls to power its convection mesh network.
The Couchlog boasts the ability to go temporarily wireless, carrying enough heat in the beads to vaporize your herbs away from the wall plug. (I don’t have this vape and can’t vouch for this ability, but people make the claim)
Halo & Atlas by Cloud Connoisseur
September 2021 – The Halo and Atlas are artisan-crafted ball vapes constructed of wood and glass. The hand-turned bodies are often exotic and figured woods.
The Halo is powered by a halogen light bulb and the Atlas is powered by a stainless steel cartridge heater. Both are filled with 3mm boro balls or rubies.
Flowerpot Screened Baller Head
September – 2021 – To open airflow and prevent balls from clogging the diffuser holes, the Screened Baller Head used double-woven titanium screens in place of the milled titanium diffuser.
The wide-open airflow of the Flowerpot Screened Baller Head set a new bar for vaporizer performance and became the immediate “one to get” in the vape market.
Flowerpot B1 & B2
October 2021 – Just a few short months after releasing a test product allowing for better ball usage, Cannabis Hardware completely revamped its desktop vaporizer lineup and announced their two previous Flowerpot heads, the Weedeater and the V-Rod, will be discontinued in favor of the Flowerpot B1 and the Flowerpot B2 ball heads. See the CH Flowerpot Evolution
The Flowerpot B1 has an ultra-wide-open airflow and high thermal extraction. It uses double-woven titanium screens on top and bottom and houses sixty (75) 4mm balls or one hundred (200) 3mm balls.
The B2 Flowerpot is open airflow, pinched only by the airflow nut in the center of the B2’s SiC or Sapphire dabbing dish. The B2 holds 200 of the 3mm rubies or 60 of the 4mm.
December 9, 2021 – Cannabis Hardware begins selling an injector version of the lower half, allowing their new baller heads to be used with 18mm female glass bowls.
Arizer EQ Ball Mod
October 17, 2021 – Dedicated vape hackers in the 420vapezone discord have found ways to add balls to the Arizer EQ. Balls are added directly in the female-to-female cyclone bowl and sit on top of the heater cover.
Qaroma / Ceroma / Taroma
Nov 6, 2021 – Made in China, and exported from Malaysia, the Qaromashop series of ball vapes use a 20mm e-nail coil and PID controller as its power source and temp control, similar to the Flowerpot.
Available in Quartz, Ceramic, and Titanium, these vapes utilize 18mm male injector tips attached to massive ball housings of varying materials.
The quartz Qaroma head offers the purest flavor but the weakest extraction power. Ceramic has a unique vapor signature with better thermal performance than quartz. The titanium has the best thermal performance and highest extraction power of the 3 heads but was too heavy and clunky to win reach tests.
The Pinky
January 25, 2022 – A DIY baller vape that sets a new tone and a new bar. The Pinky uses a pink TIG welding nozzle as a ball housing and hand-formed screens to contain the balls. Powered by a PID and a 20mm e-nail coil, The Pinky vaporizer can essentially be built by anyone,
The Pinky proved that additional thermal mass outside of the coil is 100% unnecessary and more of a thermal waste than a thermal battery.
Community member Secreagent designed this vape with the goal of making high-performance vaporization achievable and affordable. She won the first (and only, so far) 420vapezone Community Member of the Month award for her contributions to the vape community.
The Brain
Same thing as the Pinky, but The Brain uses a glass TIG welding nozzle. The glass nozzle doesn’t hit as hard but offers a more pure and sharp flavor profile.
The Glass TIG nozzles proved to be risky, often breaking during use. The Brain is not recommended.
The TiTi
January 2022 – Another gem from Secreagent with support from Dick Dabwell and Improvaper, the Titi, or T43, uses a 16mm enail coil and the 18mm male post joint from the Cannabis Hardware shovelhead bowl.
The Titi also uses hand-shaped screens and 3mm ruby spheres.
VGoodiez has begun selling pre-made TiTi bundles that he’s hand-wrapped and assembled. This is one of the cheapest entry points into ball vapes you can find without DIY.
Flowerpot B-Zero
February 2022 – Cannabis Hardware takes note of their 18mm shovelhead posts being used in the newest DIY ball vape and released a budget version of their new flagship B1 and B2 vaporizers.
The B-Zero head is just $60 with balls. It’s a lean, lightweight, injector-style ball vape.
Cannabis Hardware sells the Essentials bundle, assembled, for $295.
Old Head Freight Train
Released in February 2022, and shipped in June 2022, the Freight Train is a PID-powered vaporizer head filled with 4mm ruby spheres. The Freight Train is a threaded titanium head with airflow optimized to match the feel of a typical smoke
The Freight Train dry herb bundle launched at $299, a budget-friendly ball vape with no DIY or assembly required.
Taroma XL / Qaroma XL by Qaromashop
May 2022 – Using an even larger 30mm enail coil, the Taroma XL and Qaroma XL are jumbo versions containing even more balls – for even higher airflow and a wider bowl surface.
The XL versions of the Qaroma/Taroma use a 29mm female bowl with a 25.4mm screen!
TKO by Oconnell Woodworks
Announced June 2022 – yet to ship – The TKO is a promising-looking titanium ball head with a matching metal bowl. Oconnell credits his inspiration to The Pinky. He was gifted the parts and he loved the performance but wanted something nicer, so he set to work designing the TKO.
His TKO head uses a standard 20mm coil and includes a paired titanium bowl.
Higher Level Unlimited Injector
The Higher Level Unlimited injector is based on / borrowed from the Oconnell TKO, but made with an inferior 303 stainless steel, which is not food safe. Pretty much everyone in the vape community agrees that this vape should be avoided.
DDave Extraction Contraption – DIY BYOH
June 2022 – The DDave ball-vape kit is modeled after a Terp Torch but with a soldering-station system. You provide your own soldering iron, the kit provides a ball vape replacement tip to adapt to the 18mm female bowl.
Staroma Lite / Taroma Lite
June 22, 2022 – From Qaromashop, the maker of the Qaroma/Taroma lineup, this is a cheaper and leaner version of the Taroma – available in both titanium and stainless steel.
These heads have been further optimized and can hold even more balls than the originals.
In addition to offering these more affordable and efficient heads, Qaromashop is also making titanium bowls!
Koil Boi TiTi
June 2022 – Koil Boi has released a version of the Titi and his own PID with a bong bundle for $275.
First Chinese Clone
July 2022 – The first Chinese clone has been released. The ceramic ball head vape launched on Aliexpress with an improved dabbing surface on its top. The 2in1 Tiodw ceramic ball vape head holds 60 4mm terp pearls and looks strikingly similar to the Ceroma, but with improvements for dabs and concentrates.
Qaromashop Baroma and Baroma XL
August 2022 – Qaromashop is flexing his manufacturing abilities and making ball vapes out of all the things!
His latest creation uses a brass housing, which has been *mostly* reported as unsafe by the people on FC forums.
Z8 – Zirconia Housing from Phase 3
Announced in August 2022, the Z8 is the first ball vape to use zirconia to house ruby balls. This was a small batch of pre-orders and I missed it, I hope to get in on the next one, or maybe Santa will bring me one for christmas.
B2CVapeStore Titanium Ball Housing
October 2022 – The store on Aliexpress is now offering titanium versions of the ball vape head. It’s a different design and not a direct clone of the Taroma or Flowerpot. There appears to be a titanium bowl in progress as well!
Freight Train PRO Engine
November 2022 – The 3rd ball-vape installment from Old Head has an open airflow for even more massive rips without air restriction slowing you down. This vape is currently winning my reach test and is actively used daily.
Entwood Ruby Sceptre
January 1 – 2023 – The Ruby Sceptre is the latest hacker vape to hit the ball vape market. This vape is the same concept as the Terp Torch, with a soldering iron handle and heat source. The Ruby Sceptre utilizes a glass housing to contain a handful of ruby spheres. This looks dangerous and rad at the same time.
Freight Train Pro Goes Wireless
January 15, 2023 – Old Head has teased a CABLE-FREE version of the Freight Train Pro. The first device of its kind! The wireless Freight Train utilizes the Old Head Dab Ready as a heat source and is promising to be the ultimate desktop vape value for dabbers and flower vapers.
MiniNail Ball Vape - Mininail Flower Wand - 4/14/2023
Mininail launches their own ball vape! The MiniNail Flower Wand is notable mostly because of the maker. Mininail has a massive reach and established market penetration. This adaptation will greatly expand awareness around ball vapes and their power.
SKO by O'Connell - 3/25/2023
New from the maker of the TKO, the SKO is a smaller version of the TKO that uses a 14mm injector bowl or the SKO Infinity bowl. This one looks cool and I need it in my life!
18mm Killer Quartz Cap (Butane)
This all quartz cap sits over a male joint and a basket screen to create a butane ball vape experience. Cool concept, but tricky to use.
Vapvana Ball Vape - Early 2023
Not much is known about this one. It looks like a cross between a few other ball vapes, with a diffuser bottom and a thin layer of balls above the bowl. It looks interesting!
The Stunner - May, 2023
The Stunner is a portable butane vape with balls! It’s a small Dynavap-like form factor made by a community member and vape enthusiast. This guy has been working on it for months and has been testing balls and ball configs religiously, it looks promising!
B2C Tiodw FV Trio - 6/2/2023
The B2C store, a Chinese exporter on Aliexpress, has teamed up with a knowledgable community member to create this mega vape head with 3 different interfaces!
Flowerpot F16 & F22 Ball Heads - 6/5/2023
The NEWEST ball vapes from Flowerpot use machined screens and threaded top caps. The F16 is an injector and the F22 is a diffuser. These models are a middle tier between the budget B-Zero and the more expensive B1 and B2 Flowerpots.
New in the first half of 2023
There are a few ball vapes that need to be added to the last few months of the timeline but I haven’t finished gathering the info.
– Qaroma XL2.0, 360
– Gophase 3 ZX
– Cloud Connisseur Zenith, Zeal, Zeal Variations
– SSV “Baller edition”
UPDATES & ERRORS
Leave a comment if you see a new ball vape out there that’s not on this list!
Links are extremely helpful, please cite them.
This page was last updated June 7, 2023
As far as my knowledge about ball vapes. I know you did a great job showing the history of ball vapes. Kudos to you for putting this altogether.
I appreciate & know how hard you work to always be accurate and consistent with your content.
Troy Thank you so much for your extensive knowledge.
Thanks for the effort that you put into this summary. What’s not mentioned here is your contribution with evolving this industry. Without your honest timely reviews I don’t feel the industry would be as advanced as it is now. Your summary is spot on imo.. nice job.
Woah nice summary. How many devises out there and growing…
Thanks for producing these articles. Enjoyed reading.
I wonder if the Chinese copy of the Ceroma are safe.
The “reach for” comment on the Baroma was ludicrous…you had to of dug pretty deep for that one!
Your love towards the Q’s reflects bias, or something. The Taroma lite plus and the XL’s produce similar to the TKO. The TKO out produces the majority mentioned.
Could you link to the Aliexpress clone?
Aliexpress got me into vaping! I bought my first one for 30euro. Then i bought a mighty and Volcano :)
Typo? “It uses double-woven titanium screens on top and bottom and houses sixty (75) 4mm balls or one hundred (200) 3mm balls.”
The aliexpress company is called b2cvape. They now also have a titanium version with a dabbing top part option too. No corundum balls though.
The Chinese Qaroma clone company now also makes a titanium version.
Great article. Definitely helps in my research.
Very curious to see your thoughts on the Cloud Connossieur SS Zeal! New budget king?
What about the Omega from Cloud Connoisseur? It’s got a wireless head & multi size diffuser capabilities! Also the price is wonderful! I’m an Aussie & we don’t have too many national retail options let’s alone good price! Even with the exchange rate it’s a good deal! Mines on the way!
Phase3 has announced the ZXL (heater) along with the ZXLB (bowl), available in preorder right now.
It’s a scaled up ZX for a 20mm coil with an 18mm fitting, still filled with 3mm ruby balls.
ZXLB: ~I will never let it go. Nonetheless, I had been nearly caught off guard, finding that the media was not 3mm rubies as sold. Good thing I refrained from a 900deg burn-off without checking.
Still, the 4mm soda glass (alike) delivered just fine for the character. From experience a 4&3mm ruby mix will further the mission. Watch your incoming balls.