The Lotus Vaporizer is an old-school dry herb vape with timeless charm and wicked good vapor.
It’s a butane-heated vaporizer, and it’s been on the market since 2010.
Table of Contents
First Impressions & Build Quality
The Lotos Vaporizer looks and feels like an artisan-made pipe or a desktop puzzle trinket. Its wooden and metal flower-shaped top comes from a different era. It’s classy and cool looking.
The Lotus Cap doesn’t look or feel like a vaporizer, and without its bowl or a demonstration, most would be clueless as to its use. The metal Lotus Bowl has a 14mm male joint and a handle. It’s a one-piece design that holds .15 or less. The Lotus bowl has proven the test of time and cross-compatibility. This bowl works with many other vapes and is a must-own for many vape geeks.
Lotus Vaporizer Ranking
The Lotus Vaporizer is hard to compare to other dry herb vapes. It’s older than all of them and it’s still in a different league.
This vape did not make my list of Best Portable Vapes. The Lotus is rated an 8.8 out of 10. It scores high 8s and low 9s in all of the sub ranking categories.
How it Works: Dancing with Fire
The Lotus is a manual vaporizer. You torch the top of the cap while inhaling, but it’s not brute force—it’s finesse.
The Lotus cap disperses the flame’s heat into a mix of convection and radiant heat. A slow inhale creates convection as the air passes through it. With some practice, you’ll be milking tasty clouds in no time.
There’s no indicator, but there’s a sweet spot. Once you learn it, it’s one of the most satisfying and intuitive analog vapes around. The sweet spot involves a slow, effortless inhale while gently heating the center of the flower with a circular heating pattern. This creates the perfect blend of radiant and convection heating, resulting in thick, beautiful vapor.
With aggressive torching and a slower inhale, the Lotus will churn out thick clouds, but fast extraction is not this vaporizer’s specialty. This vape is a flavor chaser.
Performance & Vapor Quality
The Lotus delivers flavor like a champion. In its prime, this vape was one of the most flavorful dry herb vaporizers out there. In the hands of an experienced user, the Lotus stands up to the most flavorful convection vaporizers.
Vapor strength is entirely dependent on torch technique and inhale speed.
Inhaling too fast without sufficient heating will result in weak vapor. Torching harder and inhaling fast can produce thick vapor but it may get harsh and hot at the upper end of performance.
Inhaling too slowly and torching too hard will result in combustion.
Overall, vapor from the Lotus is smooth and flavorful. The bowl size is perfect for this style of vaporizer.
What’s in the Box?
The Lotus vaporizer and its accessories have changed over time. it originally included a long metal pipe-like mouth-piece and the 14mm metal bowl was an add-on accessory sold as a water-pipe adapter.
The $159 Lotus Vaporizer Kit includes the Lotus Cap, the 14mm metal bowl, and a glass J-hook mouthpiece. This bundle includes a nice semi-hard case as well as a concentrate pad.
Lotus Caps are available individually in a variety of woods and design options. Purpleheart, Walnut, and Olivewood Lotus Caps are available for $109. The 14mm metal bowl is $39.
Is the Lotus Right for You?
The Lotus is a special vape and it may not be right for everyone. It’s not hard to use, but it’s not easy either.
This vape is great for flavor chasers with patience. If you enjoy putting together models or puzzles, you’ll enjoy the ritual of the Lotus.
If you enjoy figuring things out, the Lotus has a quick learning curve and a rewarding smoke. It’s fun to use and easy to pack. The Lotus is 100% manual. You’re in full control.
You need to be comfortable with a small torch. Don’t worry about burning yourself. This vape is easy.
Cleaning & Maintenance
The Lotus Cap doesn’t require any maintenance. If it gets dirty, wipe it down or brush it off.
The Lotus Bowl will require standard cleaning. The screen can easily be cleaned or replaced. I like to remove the screen and clean everything with isopropyl alcohol.
With heavy usage, the Lotus Bowl will need to be cleaned weekly. Cleaning the Lotus takes less than 5 minutes.
Where to Buy
Click Here to buy the Lotus directly from INHALE. They’re a small business, buying direct helps support the community.
The Lotus is also available from VGoodiez for about $20 more.
Final Thoughts
The Lotus is a must have vaporizer if you’re a collector of dry herb vapes. If you’re building a collection and looking for fun new ways to vape weed, the Lotus is a great vape to add.
It’s not a “One Vape to Rule Them All” vaporizer, unless you’re one of those off-the-grid and living off the land type of people.
It’s a unique vape that has withstood the test of time. It’s still around for a reason. The Lotus has a special charm. It looks and feels like a magicians tool. This vape is very capable and extremely charming.
Pros & Cons
Lotus Vaporizer
The Lotus Vaporizer is an old-school dry herb vape with timeless charm and wicked good vapor.
8.8
Pros
- Great Flavor
- No Batteries
- Beautiful Craftsmanship
- Glass Friendly
- Full Control
Cons
- Learning Curve
- Torch Powered
- Not good for sharing
- Not good for windy environments
Feature | Lotus | Dynavap |
|---|---|---|
Heating Method | Butane or Induction | Butane or Induction |
Vapor Type | Convection / Radiant Hybrid | Mostly Conduction |
Learning Curve | Novice to Master in 5 bowls | Figure it out in 3 bowls |
Flavor | Smooth, Pure, Terpene-Rich | Roastier and more robust |
Ease of Use | Requires some finesse | Less finesse, more moving parts |
Portability | Less portable, but barely | Very small vaporizer |
On a Bong | Incredible performance through glass | Great through a bong |
Price | $109-$159 | $39-$250 |
The Dynavap is more versatile and a better value overall, but the Lotus is a more flavorful experience.
The Lotus is more fun to use, but slightly harder to learn. The Dynavap interface may feel like smoking crack to those of us who have never smoked crack. I’ve been told that smoking crack looks very different, at least to the people who smoke crack.
The Lotus is more of a mindful sipper. Both vapes are agile and capable of big rips, but the Dynavap is easier to get consistently thick vapor with. Click Here to see my Dynavap Buying Guide
Lotus vs Vapman
Feature | Lotus | Vapman |
|---|---|---|
Heating Method | Butane or Induction | Butane or Vapstation |
Vapor Type | Convection / Radiant Hybrid | Conduction Hybrid |
Learning Curve | Less than 5 bowls | Less than 3 bowls |
Flavor | Smooth and Pure Convection | Rich and Tasty, delicate |
Ease of use | Requires some finesse | Muscle memory & timing |
Portability | Case + torch | Case + torch |
On a Bong | Great on a Bong | Not Great on a Bong |
Both of these vapes are classics. The Vapman is one of the best portable vapes for traditional hash.
Both of these vaporizers are ritualistic with micro-sized doses. The Vapman is a bit more stoney with its conduction effects and the Lotus is a bit more cerebral due to the convection.
They’re both unicycle vapes – and they’re both worth owning and learning. Click Here to see my Vapman Click Review.
Great review, Troy! May need to add a Lotus to the vape collection. I love Dynavaps for the ritual experience and analog use. This Lotus seems like more of the same with a classic design and the look of the device will elevate the session.
I’m surprised you don’t have one already! It’s a great Dynavap companion since you already have the torch and butane and technique. Cheers!