Like peanut butter and jelly, cheech and chong, or grilled cheese and tomato soup…vaporizers and grinders go hand in hand. The number one accessory I can recommend with the purchase of a vaporizer is a grinder.
A grinder can easily break down your dry herbs into a much more consistent texture and allows for an even vape of your herbs without having to stir or mix your bowls. This maximizes the surface area of the herbs that are heated which helps your vaporizer perform more efficiently.
Even the best dry herb vaporizer needs a grinder to fully maximize it’s potential.
Here’s why you need a grinder:
- More consistent material
- Improves efficiency of your vape
- Faster to break down herbs
- Storage for herbs
All in all, if you have a vaporizer, you should buy a grinder because it will make your life much easier.
What are the best grinders for vaping?
The first thing you should know when looking for the right type of grinder is that different grinders produce different consistencies that work best for certain vaporizers. You should also find out if you have a conduction or convection vaporizer.
For the most part, if you have a conduction type vaporizer like the Pax 3, Davinci IQ Pax 2, Pax, Haze v3, Ascent, G Pen Elite or Solo, you should be using a fine type of grind. If you use mostly convection type vaporizers like the Volcano, Herbalizer, Firefly 2, CloudEvo, or Grasshopper, then you should be using a more coarse type grinder.
Below I will recommend 3 of the best herb grinders for vaping that I personally use on a daily basis and what vapes they work best with. I’ve owned these grinders for years and I can attest to their strength, quality and type of grind you can expect.
#1 – Santa Cruz Shredder (4 Piece Large)
Price: $74.95 | Grind Type: Coarse | Shop: POTV or Vapeworld
The first grinder that I recommend is the Santa Cruz Shredder. The SCS is in my opinion one of the best engineered grinders that you can buy. It’s made in the USA, uses an innovative technique to “shred” herb, and never sticks or catches on anything. It literally shreds everything without a problem.
I recommend the SCS for convection type vaporizers because it produces a coarser type of grind. This type of grind performs better with convection type vaporizers because the herbs are not as condensed and allow for more air flow.
SCS Tip: You could get away with using this type of grinder for other portables if you flip it upside down and re-grind the material. I still recommend picking up something like the MFLB finishing grinder for the Pax to get the best results.
The Santa Cruz Shredder will work best with the vapes like the Firefly 2, Firefly, Crafty, Air, Mighty, CloudEvo, Solo and the Volcano.
#2 – Space Case (4 Piece)
Price: $89.95 | Grind Type: Medium | Shop: POTV or Vapeworld
The next grinder I recommend is the Space Case. I consider it middle of the road as far as grind type. It produces finer herbs than the SCS but more coarse than the third option. I’ve used this grinder for years and it’s pretty popular among vaporist.
I recommend the Space Case for vaporizers life the Pax, Haze, V2 Pro Series 3 and most above.
#3 – Magic-Flight Launch Box Finishing Grinder
Price: $39 | Grind Type: Fine | Shop: POTV or Vapeworld
The third grinder I recommend is the MFLB Finishing Grinder. This grinder produces a really fine grind and works perfect for conduction vaporizers. It basically turns the herb to a powder which makes it extremely easy to pack tight.
*I definitely recommend this if you already have the MFLB. It attaches directly to the trench and makes loading super easy.
I recommend the Finishing Grinder for vaporizers like the Pax 3, Davinci IQ, Pax 2, Ascent, Pax, Haze V3, Puffit-X, and FlowerMate v5.0S.
There are many more grinders to choose from out there but these are the three that I use on a daily basis. Click here for a complete list of grinders available to buy. These are also the three that I’ve had the best results with the combination of vaporizers that I’ve tested.
Let me know in the comments what kind of set up you have and what grinder produces the best results for you so other people can see what works and what doesn’t.
Thanks for checking out my site and feel free to hit me up with any questions about the best grinders for vaporizers.
Reviews by Buzz Danklin
17 Comments
Can I use the finishing grinder with the mighty vaporizer for better aromas and fragnancies and how to pack a chamber with “the dust”?
You can but I don’t think it makes all that much of a difference in the Mighty/Crafty vs the Pax 2. Any grinder works in the Mighty but I recommend something like a Space Case or Santa Cruz Shredder.
do you have any alternatives to the MFLB grinder?
You could try a grinder card or coffee grinders but people say they get too hot and aren’t good. You could also just use a regular grinder and flip it over (upside down) with your herb in and continue grinding. This will break down the herbs a little more.
A mortar and pestle work really well. I was going to buy a MFB finishing grinder when I decided to try the mortar and peatle first. I have both a stone one and a stainless one. The stone works the best and doesn’t get hot It can even grind the herb to a fine sand consistancy.
Excellent alternative!
What a great idea! I’m going to give that a try.
I have a conduction vape but the Santa Cruz Shredder. Would Santa Cruz still be your top pick even if it’s for a conduction vape. Possibly with the MFLB finishing touch
Thanks
SCS will work just fine. Flip it over while you are grinding so all the herb stays in the teeth and you can grind it up to a smaller consistency. Then flip the grinder back over and let it fall through.
Why would you not want a fine grind in a volcano? WHen i use more finely ground bud i get more vapor every time. A whip style vape has problems with air flow if u grind to finely but the volcano has no problem forcing air through because of the fan. i will say a more coarse grind leads to better taste tho.
Fine grind on convection vaporizers usually means more cleaning but you can definitely do it.
Buzz,
Thank you so much for putting so much information into your site. You really have the most respectable reviews online today!
For this reason, I’d like to ask if you are interested in creating a grinder review section on your site. Like you say, grinders and vapes are like peanut butter and jelly.
To be honest, you review 3 grinders here, and I’m not sure what grinder to get. How does the Santa Cruz Shredder and the SLX 2.0 compare? How about Kannastor’s offerings? I’m hearing a lot about Black Tie Grinder, and Lift Innovations as well. Which grind more coarse or fine? Warranty offerings? etc.
Just thought I’d ask since you have gained my trust from your previous reviews to date.
Thanks,
Palmak
Hey Palmak, you are absolutely right my man. I need to add in some more vaporizers to this page. I have kannastor, lift, and the ID grinders so I will work on getting them on this page. I don’t have the slx 2.0 or the black tie but I’ll check into them and see if I can get a couple for testing. Thanks for the idea and I really appreciate the feedback/support. Let me know if you have any other ideas!
I am a confused, The solo is listed for both fine and coarse grinds: “if you have a conduction type vaporizer like the Pax 3, Davinci IQ Pax 2, Pax, Haze v3, Ascent, G Pen Elite or Solo, you should be using a FINE type of grind” and then this “The Santa Cruz Shredder will work best with the vapes like the Firefly 2, Firefly, Crafty, Air, Mighty, CloudEvo, Solo and the Volcano.” which refers to a coarser grind.
Hey John, the Solo works well with both types of grinds but I prefer a coarse grind with the Solo because it makes cleaning easier. Finer materials will clog up in the screen and increase draw resistance. Sorry to confuse you man. I’ll clear it up in the article soon.
Hi Buzz,
Would love to see reviews of some of the more budget friendly grinders. Can’t afford the SCG or SC. Even the MFLB is twice the cost of many well reviewed grinders on Amazon.
Also, Masterdam told a customer on Amazon that a two piece grinder works better for a fine grind. Do you agree? Would love to understand 2 vs 3 vs 4 piece grinders and best applications for each.
Keep up the great work, Buzz, love your site.
Leslie
Hey Leslie great ideas. I definitely need to include some more options for grinders. You can make a 2 piece work by just flipping it upside down and not letting the materials fall into the chamber. Just keep grind until it’s basically a powder. Truthfully you can make any grinder work but the reason that I love my Santa Cruz Shredder so much is because I’ve had ZERO problems with it going on almost 5 years now. I’ve ran countless pounds through it and never even had to clean the thing. It just works. Other grinders I’ve had the seals come apart, teeth break, tops seize…. just all kinds of weird stuff. I will definitely work on getting some more products on this page and thank you for taking the time to comment!