Delta 8 THC comes in many forms, including tinctures, capsules, gummies, concentrates, and more.
However, there’s one format that is particularly desired among delta 8 users — vape carts.
They’re convenient, easy to use, portable, and most importantly, they provide the fastest way to enjoy the benefits of delta 8 THC.
Delta 8 vape carts are also legal on a federal level.
Today, we highlight the best delta 8 THC vape carts from the top brands that sell certified products from hemp.
We’ll also cover an all-around buying guide, including the pros and cons of delta 8 vapes, where to look for the best products, and which companies you should avoid.
Let’s get started!
Top 3 Delta 8 THC Vape Carts
- Area52 Delta 8 Vape Cartridges
- Finest Labs Delta 8 Vape Cartridges
- Delta Effex Cartridges
1. Area52
Area52 is a California-based manufacturer that has earned a stellar reputation thanks to its commitment to the quality of ingredients and integrity in farming and lab testing. The company offers several delta 8 THC products, such as tinctures, gummies, and vape carts. Each product comes with an up-to-date certificate of analysis that shows the results for its potency and purity.
Area52 offers three types of delta 8 THC vape carts — each suited for different needs and times of consumption.
The Pineapple Express cart contains 900 mg of pure delta 8 THC distillate with cannabis-derived terpenes from the Pineapple Express strain. The bud used for extraction is mostly Sativa, so the effects will go hand in hand with daytime users, thanks to the energizing and elevating buzz.
There’s also a vape cart based on the award-winning Granddaddy Purple strain. As an Indica variety, the terpenes from this strain provide a chill vibe accompanied by physical relaxation that can make you feel a little bit mellow, especially when you take a few puffs more than usual.
Finally, Area52 offers a hybrid vape cart containing terpenes from the Berry Gelato strain, which gives you the best of both worlds and can be vaped throughout the day without a mental fog or bodily laziness.
2. Finest Labs
Finest Labs is another premium company specializing in delta 8 THC distillates from organic hemp. Similar to Area52, the team at Finest Labs offers delta 8 THC tinctures, gummies, and vape carts for beginners and experienced users alike.
These products are a bit less potent than the competition, although the vape cart features a standard concentration of 900 mg of delta 8 THC. In addition, the cart comes infused with cannabis-derived terpenes from the Strawberry Cough strain, which provides an uplifting and energizing set of effects thanks to its fruity and citrusy terpenes. The vape actually deserves to be named after this strain, as it can really get a newbie cough a lot.
We’d like to see more variants of the Finest Labs vape carts in the future. It’s a shame that a company with such great commitment to quality only offers one type of d8 vape.
3. Delta Effex
It seems as if the majority of the best delta 8 THC vape carts were produced in California. Delta Effex is a brand owned by a popular vape company Savage Enterprises. The company has become one of the most reputable suppliers ever since its launch in 2013, thanks to its high quality and transparency standards combined with smart marketing.
Delta Effe offers three flavors of their vape carts: Granddaddy Purple, Cali Orange Kush, and Strawberry Cough.
Granddaddy Purple tastes like sweet grapes; Orange Cali stays true to its name and offers a refreshing citrusy flavor dominated by fresh oranges; Strawberry Cough is a Sativa-dominant hybrid with a hint of sweetness and citrus notes.
Delta Effex is that there are no mentions of the source of their hemp, so that they might be using mass-produced plants. The company also doesn’t have any cruelty-free or vegan products on top of a very strict return policy — you can’t return the products once they have been opened.
What Are delta 8 THC Vape Carts?
A vape cart means a cartridge for short. A cart refers to a prefilled container with E-liquid. For example, a delta 8 THC cart contains delta 8 THC distillate and a blend of other cannabinoids and terpenes. Most of the time, the manufacturer adds cannabis-derived terpenes to leverage the entourage effect.
Vape carts are more cost-effective than disposable vape pens because the battery components can be used once you’ve emptied the cart.
There are plenty of companies offering delta 8 THC vape carts, but most use the same standard threading, which fits into most tanks available out there. That being said, some carts may use another type of threading (not 510), so it’s best to double-check the label before you order your delta 8 THC cart.
You can dispose of the cart once you’re through it. There’s no need to refill them and create a mess with e-liquids or distillates. You get another one and attach it to the battery.
How Does Delta 8 THC Make You Feel? Does It Get You High?
The effects of delta 8 THC are similar to the ones provided by delta 9 THC — but milder.
The potency of delta 8 is about twice as low as delta 9, so you need to consume twice the amount to experience the same intensity of high.
Breaching a certain dosage with delta 9 THC may trigger mental discomfort, including anxiety and paranoid thinking, which is extremely rare among delta 8 THC users. However, with fewer side effects overall, delta 8 THC has quickly become an appealing alternative to regular weed, especially for sensitivity to its cognitive effects.
Why Vape Delta 8 THC?
Delta 8 THC comes in many forms, such as tinctures, capsules, gummies, concentrates, and delta 8-sprayed hemp flowers.
So, why are people so much into vaping delta 8 THC?
That’s because vaping delta 8 THC offers:
- Convenience
- Ease of use
- High bioavailability
- Consistent dosing
- Reusability
- Portability
- Long duration (several years of shelf life)
How to Store Delta 8 THC Vape Carts
Delta 8 THC is a more stable isomer of delta 9 THC. Therefore, it has a much longer shelf life.
That being said, you shouldn’t keep it within reach of sunlight or close to a direct heat source. Doing so may cause delta 8 THC to lose potency.
The best place to store delta 8 THC carts is a dark container, cabinet, or drawer away from light and heat.
How Much Delta 8 THC Should I Vape?
Finding the right dose of delta 8 THC is a bit tricky, just as with other cannabinoids. The amount of delta 8 THC that produces a psychoactive buzz depends on the force at which you inhale the e-liquid and the temperature settings.
Lower temperatures will activate more terpenes, resulting in a milder high with a more specific character. The effects may be more energizing or relaxing depending on the type of terpenes and their concentration in your vape cart. The higher the temperature, the more delta 8 THC is released, which will get you higher.
The best way to assess how certain doses make you feel is to start at the smallest amount possible and slowly increase the dose where the smooth high is combined with other health benefits. For example, Delta 8 THC is known to ease inflammation, pain, stress, nausea, and vomiting. It also has appetite-stimulating and neuroprotective properties.
Most people enjoy the optimal effects after 5-6 puffs. This is because this dosage provides them with relatively potent effects but without any cognitive or physical impairment.
Can You Build Tolerance to Delta 8 THC?
The worse part is that tolerance to delta 8 THC raises faster than tolerance to delta 9.
If you vape delta 8 THC regularly for, say, a month, you can expect your tolerance to increase after that period.
On a positive note, tolerance to delta 8 THC decreases as quickly as it builds up. So you only need a few days of break to bring it back to its previous levels.
Is Delta 8 THC Legal?
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and its derivatives, such as recreational products and health supplements, so long as they contain no more than 0.3% delta 9 THC.
Hemp-derived delta 8 THC vape carts meet these conditions; they are legal on a federal level.
Extracting delta 8 THC from hemp has become possible only recently, thanks to the advancements in extraction methods.
However, 13 states have banned delta 8 THC products. As a result, you won’t purchase delta 8 THC locally in the following states:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Montana
- New York
- Rhode Island
- Utah
Is Delta 8 THC Safe?
There aren’t many studies on the effects of delta 8 THC; most of the evidence regarding its health benefits and safety profile comes from anecdotal reports. However, there have been no reports of a fatal overdose from delta 8 THC products to date. That’s because the body doesn’t have any cannabinoid receptors in the brain stem responsible for respiratory function.
The incidence of anxiety, paranoia, and racing heart is also much lower than with regular cannabis.
Still, there are a few possible side effects that you should be aware of when using delta 8 THC vape carts:
- Dry mouth
- Dry eyes
- Difficulty concentrating
- Impairment of motor functions
- Slight mental distress (very rare)
Potential Risks of Using Delta 8 THC Vape Carts
Delta 8 THC alone is relatively safe — but the chemicals some manufacturers employ during extraction can make delta 8 THC vape carts dangerous.
Hemp plants produce only trace amounts of delta 8 THC because cannabis doesn’t synthesize it naturally. So instead, manufacturers convert CBD into delta 8 THC, which involves toxic chemicals, such as zinc bromide and zinc chloride.
These chemicals must be completely purged from the final products; otherwise, your vape cart can be dangerous for your health. You should always check for relevant certificates of analysis to double-check its chemical profile.
Companies that don’t publish certificates of analysis might want to hide something — and that’s an evident red light.
How to Buy Delta 8 THC Cartridges (Things to Keep in Mind)
There’s a large degree of difference in the quality of delta 8 THC vape carts. The delta 8 THC market is an evolving space, with many great brands selling high-quality cartridges and an equal number of fly-by-night vendors.
Here’s how to separate premium delta 8 THC vaper carts from sub-par products.
1. Certificates of Analysis
Delta 8 THC companies should send samples of their products to a third-party laboratory for content analysis. “Third-party” means that the laboratory isn’t affiliated with the manufacturer in any way.
Lab testing is the golden standard in the cannabis industry and tells you quite a lot about the product’s quality. Knowing what the extraction process looks like, lab workers should carefully test any delta 8 THC product.
Third-party testing is legitimate proof of the product’s safety in this unregulated industry.
The lab analysis should feature:
- The delta 8 THC content
- Cannabinoid profile
- Terpenes
- Pesticide testing
- Residual solvent testing
- Heavy metal testing
- Bleaches
If the company you’re looking at doesn’t test its products in a third-party laboratory, you don’t want to waste time with a dishonest vendor.
Companies avoid posting their lab reports for the following reasons:
- First, the product didn’t pass the test — this could result from a lower d8 concentration or the presence of the aforementioned contaminants.
- The company didn’t bother to test it — some companies don’t care about their products. So why would you care about buying from them?
- The company doesn’t know the importance of lab testing — a lot of entrepreneurs entering the delta 8 THC space aren’t aware of their niche and the standards they should abide by. A company that wants to reap the benefits from a booming market isn’t worth your money.
2. Ingredients
Many companies are cutting corners on the quality of ingredients, introducing harmful chemicals to their extracts, including vitamin E acetate, which can cause serious damage to the lungs. In addition, some manufacturers infuse their distillates into MCT oil, which is good for sublingual use but should never be used due to the risk of lipid pneumonia.
The only ingredients you should see on the label of your delta 8 THC cart beside the d8 distillate are the minor cannabinoids, terpenes, vegetable glycerin, and propylene glycol.
3. Source of Delta 8 THC
The source of delta 8 THC doesn’t affect its chemical profile.
However, it does affect its legal status.
The only federally legal delta 8 THC products are those made from hemp. You can purchase them online and have them delivered to your doorstep even when buying from another state.
Delta 8 THC from marijuana is legal only in the states that have legalized the plant for recreational use. It’s actually safer to buy marijuana-derived delta 8 THC vape carts in a legal market because extraction from marijuana requires fewer chemicals than obtaining d8 from hemp.
Black List of Companies Selling Delta 8 THC Cartridges (Avoid Them)
The biggest culprit of the delta 8 THC space is the lack of regulations regarding the manufacturing and labeling standards of delta 8 products.
It’s easy to find a decent company that offers high-quality products, but it’s also easy to stumble upon a sketchy vendor that doesn’t see much beyond your wallet.
The purity of delta 8 THC results from the way it’s extracted.
As mentioned earlier, delta 8 THC isn’t naturally synthesized by cannabis plants. Instead, it results from the degradation of delta 9 THC over time.
Most cannabis extracts are made by extracting the desired compounds directly from the plant material. However, making delta 8 THC is more demanding; it requires well-trained staff to purge the end product from the toxic chemicals used during extraction, not to mention the high-tech equipment to perform it properly.
Reputable manufacturers will take time to invest in the right extraction method to minimize the risk of contamination. Of course, this will make the final product more expensive than cheaply produced distillates, but on the other hand, you’ll get a pure and safe product in your hands.
The only way to avoid companies using the aforementioned chemicals is to look for third-party lab reports. The lab chemists and assistants will analyze the chemical composition of the tested sample and provide a report in the certificate of analysis.
The main manufacturers to avoid are Honey Creek Labs, CannaClear, Truelive, Skyhio, Terp Flex, Cake, and CannaAid.
What Other Forms of Delta 8 THC Can I Take?
Delta 8 THC vape carts are the most popular format of this compound, but you can also find delta 8 THC in tinctures, edibles, concentrates, and capsules.
Key Takeaways on the Best Delta 8 THC Carts in 2022
Delta 8 THC has quickly garnered a lot of attention from avid cannabis users, especially those who have become sensitive to the trippy effects of delta 9 over time. Not only does delta 8 THC deliver a smoother and more clear-headed buzz, but it also has a lower incidence of anxiety and paranoia. So if you’re looking for a golden mean between CBD and delta 9 THC, delta 8 vape carts may be the answer to your call.
On top of the lower potency and fewer side effects, delta 8 THC offers similar benefits to delta 9 when easing pain, inflammation, stress, nausea, and vomiting. It’s also a potent appetite stimulant and neuroprotectant.
The most sought-after form of delta 8 THC is a vape cartridge; most of these products are compatible with the standard 510 threading of vaporizers. As a result, such products are not only effective but also portable, discreet, and easy to use.
That being said, not all delta 8 vape carts are created equal. Many companies are selling sub-par products with contaminants such as pesticides, residual solvents, or heavy metals. There are also many brands whose products are less potent than advertised, which is a straight line.
If you’re searching for the best online delta 8 THC vendors, we suggest that you check out the products offered by Area52 and Finest Labs. These brands use top-shelf ingredients and use rigorous testing practices on different stages of production to ensure the right potency and purity of their extracts.
Have you already vaped delta 8 THC carts? Are they YAY or NAY? Leave us a comment below!
