Photo courtesy of Dynavap
As a staunch antismoking advocate, DeForest, Wis.-based entrepreneur George Breiwa sought a healthier, more responsible way to extract active compounds from plant materials. Utilizing today’s technology, he began experimenting with ways to produce a simple, durable device that allows users to extract compounds from whatever material they wish to consume, without burning those materials. The result is DynaVap’s line of VapCap non-electronic devices that utilize almost any heat source to heat a temperature-indicating cap on a conduction chamber.
Many vaping devices, also known as e-cigarettes, e-vaporizers or electronic nicotine delivery systems, require some sort of e-liquid and releases large clouds when exhaled by the user. “That’s more of an atomizer and requires the use of synthetically compounded materials in order to function correctly. They almost all require the use of electronics or batteries and are made with heavy metals. And with very few exceptions, almost all of them are manufactured in China,” Breiwa says.
DynaVap’s VapCap devices are all manufactured in DeForest and do not require any type of e-juice or cartridge. The user can place various plant matter into them. “Many people choose to put types of cannabis or hemp into them, or tobacco. Some people even put coffee, tea, or other botanicals like ginger or chamomile into them. That’s why it’s important that we draw this line of distinction between the vape and a VapCap. There’s no electronic component in the products we manufacture. Zero,” he emphasizes.
Breiwa likes to refer to DynaVap’s VapCaps as devices that inspire freedom and independence, allowing the owner of the device the freedom to source whatever materials one chooses to put into the device, from wherever he or she chooses. “You can literally grow whatever kind of herb you want to put into one of our devices in your garden. Then you can put it into our device without any processing. Put the cap in the end and heat it up with anything that gets hot—and that’s where the independence comes in—a lighter, a torch, a candle or a stick out of the campfire.”
Not for Smoking
The user heats the DynaVap device to achieve thermal extraction temperature, and then the cap clicks, indicating it’s ready. “You don’t heat it up too far that it initiates combustion—then it would become a smoking device, and we do not make smoking devices,” Breiwa reiterates. “It’s a sweet spot that’s above vaporization temperature of the compounds, but beneath the temperature at which that material would ignite.”
According to Breiwa, DynaVap’s VapCap devices are the only products in the dried herb vaporizer category that do not require batteries and are energy source independent. Product categories include the Omni, which are constructed from titanium; and the “M” line, which are made from medical-grade stainless steel and are dishwasher-safe. The extraction chamber generally holds .1 gram of ground material. The newer design accommodates micro-dosing with an adjustable extraction chamber where the user can move the screen into a number of positions to further reduce the chamber size.
Accessories and replacement parts are also available. There are demonstration videos on the website, dynavap.com. Breiwa believes that alternative delivery methods like the VapCap are growing in popularity because myriad research shows how damaging smoking can be to the body and to those exposed to second-hand smoke. “People are grasping for a reasonable alternative where they can enjoy what they used to smoke, but to do it in a healthier way,” he says.
Local DynaVap retailers include Pipe Dreams, Knuckleheads, Urban Myst Alternatives or Cosmic Corner, in Racine. The full product line is also available on the website.
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