Vaporizing has become the preferred method of ingesting cannabis for many users, both for the potency of various forms of cannabis concentrate, and the health benefits vaporizing has over smoking. There are countless vaporizer products on the market, for both dry flower and concentrates, and exciting new products are coming on the market all the time. This spotlight is focused on one particularly innovative concentrate vaporizer, the Saionara (or Sai) atomizer, made by Humboldt Vape Tech.
Traditional glass dab rigs were the first devices for concentrate vaping to become widely popular, and they are still the gold standard for cannabis vaping enthusiasts. But dab rigs are fragile, eye-catching, and typically not very portable. Humboldt Vape Tech has adapted some of the technology from e-cig nicotine vapes to create an atomizer that performs similarly to a dab rig, with the convenience and portability of a nicotine vape. The Sai is much more than a standard wax pen or cartridge-based system, with adjustable airflow, temperature control, and a huge selection of different coils to choose from.
To use the Sai, you’ll need a vape mod – the box with batteries that powers the atomizer. And to get the most out of it, you’ll want a somewhat more advanced mod with variable wattage and temperature control. Fortunately Humboldt Vape Tech sells Sai kits that include an appropriate mod, like the Eleaf Pico 75watt. But if you already use nicotine vapes, and have a temperature control mod, you can use the Sai with your current mod because it uses the standard 510 connection that nearly all mods use. And one of the benefits of the Sai is that it looks very similar to standard nicotine atomizers, making it a discrete option that anyone will assume is just a nicotine vape – as long as they don’t smell the vapor.
The Sai uses one of 14 different kinds of coils, which are heart of the atomizer. The coils use a variety of kinds of metal as heating elements, combined with ceramic or quartz for even heating. All of the coil options are top loaded, meaning you take the top cap off the atomizer and add concentrate directly into the coil.
Some of the coils use kanthal wire, a standard resistance wire that has been used in nicotine vaping for over a decade. Kanthal doesn’t allow for temperature control, but the other coil options use metals such as titanium or stainless steel, which do. The basics of temperature control revolve around the increased electrical resistance that most metals have when heated. The mod reads the changing resistance as the coil heats up, and calculates the temperature based on the metal’s TCR (temperature coefficient of resistance), reducing the wattage sent to the coil once the desired temperature is reached. In practice this allows you to dial in the temperature you are vaping at, reducing the risk of burning concentrate, and figure out the ideal temperature to best bring out the flavor of your concentrate.
HVT has released a few different versions of the Sai, improving on the design and adding new coil options with each version. The most recent Sai is the top airflow version, which adds a titanium bucket atomizer option ideal for isolate powders or less viscous liquid concentrates such as terp sauce. The Sai is a 22 millimeter atomizer, meaning it will fit nicely on most standard vape mods. HVT also has a larger 25mm atomizer, the Sequoia, which uses even bigger coils allowing for more concentrate with each fill. And they also make water bubbler attachments for the Sai, giving you the option to get even closer to the traditional dab experience.
Whether you are a long time dabber who is looking for a portable option for when you are out and about, or you are new to concentrates and want something that’s both performance oriented and user friendly, the Sai atomizer is definitely worth checking out.