America’s coolest carts of 4/20 ’24

Having trouble onboarding to cannabis? It doesn’t get any easier this 4/20 than with a smooth, tasty, hard-hitting vape cartridge, pod, or all-in-one.

Don’t get confused by the jargon. Just place the device to your lips, inhale for 5 seconds, remove the vape from your lips, and keep inhaling for 5 seconds more. Hold the vapor in for a few seconds, and exhale. That’s it. Just keep the Doordash app open—because you are almost certainly gonna get lifted.

The year 2024 sees vapes become purer, more authentic, more widely available, and better than ever. Our golden age of vapor is innovating around “live rosin pens” that emit the essence of the plant while avoiding volatile solvents like butane. “Live resin” drenches the land as “fresh frozen” harvests take over from traditional dried and cured weed. And of course, classic distillate pens find new price points and looks. The average legal vape runs just $18 per gram, Leaflink reports, down 11.8% from 2023; making a mockery of inflation.

Below, we walk you through the coolest vapes for 2024, starting with the lineup of sweet all-in-ones in California, then expert picks for several legalization states.

Dope disposables in California

Disposable vaporizers make concentrates accessible for everyone, but can still be quite elite. Below, we celebrate the companies making the best oils and rosins possible for cutting-edge devices. The most fundamental element of why these products shine in a flooded marketplace is their source material. It’s “fire in, fire out,” and the folks on this list have had that figured out for a long time. A lot of these vape makers rule the flower market as well—allowing you to get at the best terps and experiences on offer. —Jimi Devine

Zeuz Pod

As the Z strain dominance continues into another decade when it comes to some of the best-tasting hash ever, The Original Z team continues to crush on the vape scene. The Original Z pod continues to reign as one of the elite offerings available on the recreational market. Every pull has a bit of that Mendocino magic that has helped the Z transcend everything that has come since on the hash scene as it continues to win contest after contest when the material is in the hands of the right people. —J.D.

Alien Labs

The pride of Sacramento has provided California with some of its favorite flavors over the years, most recently we saw Dark Web come onto the scene. It’s no shocker that the quality control they have put into every aspect of the brand is seen in their vaporizer offerings. The new full-gram disposables launched at the beginning of the year are now at full steam. The live resin inside is loaded with terps and heated by a mesh coil mechanism meant to preserve the experience through the life of the vape. —J.D.

Paper Planes

The team at Paper Planes has been producing top-shelf concentrates for years. We remember the badders they were bringing up to Sonoma for the OG High Times Cups back in the day, absolutely hitters. They were one of those companies that lost a little shine during the rosin revolution, despite the quality of the product never dipping at all. That quality led to them being one of only two 510-threaded cartridges mentioned on this list. It’s also not just the terps, but the delivery method. The Palm Pilot battery system they recently put out is top-notch. Beyond the stealth aspect of it looking like many of the popular nicotine vaporizers of the moment, the opaque shell also provides a lot more protection from light and heat degrading your oils than those types of carts would typically see. —J.D.

Dee Thai

When you’re a company that’s built its name on exotic flavors, you can’t play around when it finally comes to dropping some disposable rosin pens. Dee Thai made sure to check the boxes. Separately it makes a lot of sense since they’ve been one of the companies helping lead the way on solventless gummies made with rosin instead of other infusions. While the flavors won’t be quite as exotic as their Jackfruit or Tamarind gummies (yes they are a thing) they’ll certainly be up to snuff for anyone looking for a solid rosin pen. The company has been backboned by good rosins the whole time. —J.D.

Kalya

There is a solid argument to be made that Kalya’s disposables represent the most award-winning rosin available in that format. Kalya’s is a team that has spent years burying the hatchet with some of the best producers in Northern California in addition to the flower they are growing themselves in search of pristine resin heads to do their magic on. During their recent Piattella drop, Uncle’s Farm from Barcelona said that Kalya’s Z full melt was the cleanest hash he had ever seen in his life. We’re not surprised. The Kalya team has been crushing it across a spread of different flavors for years to take home plenty of trophies. They also put a lot of time into making sure the Kalya experience would not be degraded in a disposable format, you can certainly taste the results of those efforts until the last pull on the cartridge. —J.D.

Fidels

When it comes to hype levels driven by heat, few names surpass Fidel’s, post-pandemic. I’m a little biased from The Transbay Challenge win last year for his fantastic KMZ, an excellent pairing of Kush Mints and Z that is deserving of every accolade it’s received. But even if you cancel out the Jimi compliments, Fidel’s is one of the most popping brands in the galaxy. From Barcelona to Los Angeles, fans line up to get their hands on anything they can get, be it hashholes, seeds, or fashion collabs. While the vapes haven’t driven the masses as hype-thirsty as some of Fidel’s other products, the quality is the same level. So on a positive note, if you love disposable vapes, Fidel’s might be a pinch easier to get your hands on than some of his other offerings but even then, good luck. —J.D.

Jungle Boys

As far as storied Los Angeles cultivators that have rolled with the punches, it’s hard to put a name higher on the list than The Jungle Boys in the rec market. Even before getting their hands on their famed TLC headquarters back in the day, they were constantly filling the community with free game and tech via the forums where Ivan was an early king when it came to industrial-scale cultivation. Alongside their growth, they have always had their extraction efforts running on parallel tracks to their continued expansion across Southern California.

With the amount of flowers they produce, it’s no surprise they have found a lot of great hash flavors over the years. It’s also important to note The Jungle Boys seem to have one of the most original flavor lineups across the board, you don’t see a lot of Z and Papayas like you do with other companies. The vapes are available at all their locations in Southern California. —J.D.

Ridgeline Farms

Many people believe the best sungrown terps in the world are produced in Southern Humboldt County when the season hits just right. I count myself among those people. Many people believe that Ridgeline Farms is the best of what SoHum has to offer, I’m also one of them. Now things are taking a wild turn as Ridgeline’s multiple-time world champion terps have found their way into a disposable format from the multi-award-winning Arcata Fire. These will likely be the most difficult ones to get your hands on, given how coveted they are going to be, but you should start looking now. And don’t be surprised when you see this season’s work from Ridgeline Farms on the podium in the months to come. —J.D.

Flavorade

The newest face on this lineup of absolute hitters, but deserving—Flavorade is the personal start-up of one of the best extractors in the state, Nick Coburn. Given Coburn’s award-winning pedigree, these 510-threaded carts are flying. There is currently a few-month waiting list in California for new shops to get in the mix. But once you taste the results, it’s quickly apparent why everyone had such high expectations for the latest company to see Coburn take the lead on making elite extracts. —J.D.

Community Cannabis

It’s easy to put Community right near the top of the list as one of the top hash producers that identifies as veteran-owned. Their rosins and the Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance Sour Diesel melt are the two things that stick out the most with that description. Community is a sister company to Kalya, so they have a lot of that great tech that’s supported Kalya’s trophy shelf in play, too. But the flavors are what really matter, and those are always more than exceptional. While the brand still feels rosin-heavy, the disposables are starting to pick up for sure. If you see them on shelves you’ll have the chance to smoke some heat from some folks that served their country. —J.D.

See also from California

See also: Muha Meds disposables; PAX Era live rosin pods

The Cannabist + Edie Parker Petal Puffer

Launching in six states, The Cannabist teams up with fashion brand Edie Parker on the stylish and conversation-sparking ‘Petal Puffer’ all-in-one vape. Available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, New York, Maryland, and Virginia. Carried by Curio. This little pocket rocket blends in to the contents of your purse, no bigger than a tube of lip gloss and just as decadent. It’s a distillate vape with terpenes, but it has been my companion on many a night bopping around New York City nightlife. My hybrid was the perfect balance of bubbly and calm, letting the conversation flow and music pump; and if it didn’t, all I needed was one discreet puff. —Amelia Williams

Live rosin pods in Arizona

Aeriz, a nationally recognized Aeroponic cannabis cultivator known for its sustainable aeroponic grow process, keeps taking home trophies for including 14 wins at the Arizona Spring 2024 Errl Cup and six additional awards at the Arizona Growers Cup. Aries has vapes three ways: full-spectrum, live resin, and live rosin.

Fresh Illinois vape flavors

Revolution in Illinois has all your 4/20 vaping needs including live resin and terp tanks in strings like Cookie Dos, Mac and Cheese, Grandi Guava, and Crockett’s Dawg.

Even more:

93 Boys Gelonade cart

Cresco TK91 cart

Interstate 420 The Glove cart

Rhythm Jet Fuel OG cart

FloraCal Air Gelato #23 cart

Michigan vape deals and elite picks

Michigan has emerged as the second biggest legal weed state in the nation after California. Producers are battling it out to deliver the best vapes at the lower margins—a boon for consumers. For example Gage Green is running a 5 for $55 vape deal. That’s $11 per tested, taxed, potent and pure vape. What a time to be alive.

More picks from Michigan:

710 Labs Persy Pod Bad Apple #7, or Queens Zugar Cookie #9

Pressure Pack Super Pure Runtz hash rosin disposable, or Rainbow Z

East Side Alchemy Live Hash Rosin Cake Pop all-in-one

Bloom Blueberry Gushers live vape

Eureka Apples and Bananas live resin disposable

Washington’s coolest vapes

The Washington vape scene improves in 2024 with Kung Fu vapes’ hardware and High Tide’s extract. Look at the Yellow Mermaid #13 rosin pod, for example—the best rosin pod in the state at this year’s Leaf Bowl.

Freddy’s Fuego—One of Washington’s top indoor growers moved into the vape space this year with disposables and carts. They got Terp Sauce carts of Big Baby with a high terpene extract for mucho flavor. And Freddy’s has some new MicroBars live diamonds HTE.

Maryland live resin pods

Moroccan Peaches by Beezle Vapes (Maryland)

Airo KMAC live resin pod

Organic Remedies Face Fat live resin cart

Strane Jokerz Candy live terp cart

Colorado live resin, live rosin, and disposables

The Clear Lemon Haze Disposable.

Green Dot Labs Creme Brulee live resin

710Labs Persy Pod Black Mamba

Lazercat Live Rosin Disposable Blu Mon Group

Airo Purple Plumeria Live Rosin pod

Big Terps in the Big Apple

New York has gotten the memo—people want solventless carts. Multiple local brands have stepped up to the plate to serve hash heads and newbies alike.

Olio live rosin all-in-one

The brand from Denver has landed in New York with their same solventless sensibilities. Their limited range (for now) of both disposable pens and carts are all rosin-based, made from strains that (for me) thankfully stray from a traditional Gelato or Purple Punch. I opted for the all-in-one of Banjo, the perfect strain for this transition into spring. Its Tangelo parentage was on full display with OJ terps laced with an underlying kushy bite. Smooth and lovely for daytime. —A.W.

MFNY live rosin carts

I must admit, there’s nothing from MFNY’s lineup of vapes and edibles that I haven’t enjoyed. They grow their own flower and curate a lineup of hype strains that earn their reputation. I’ve had their Poddy Mouth disposable—delicious, minty, like acupuncture to the brain—and now their Hash Burger cartridge. This has terps by the quarter pound, full of onion, beef, and dare I say a little cheese; they render the Skunk House proclivity for stank and savory palate perfectly. —A.W.

See also: Rezinators Chem Fruit live rosin cart

Oregon rosin and live resin pods

Happy Cabbage Fruity Hut Jr. rosin pod

Sauce live resin Z pod

Happy Cabbage Trop Boof cart

Happy Cabbage Banana Brulee rosin pod

Missouri sauce carts, live resin and disposables

Proper Cannabis GMO Rootbeer sauce cart, or Rainbow Belts 2.0

Mirth Provisions Lemoncello disposable

The Clear Lime Sorbet cart

Cookies Cake Mix cart

Illicit Animal Star Cookies live resin cart, or Dog Lemons, or Sherb Cake

Maine live rosin carts

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Helios Collective StrawGuave live rosin cart

Massive terps are in the works in Maine. At the recent NECANN Cup Awards, solventless carts reigned supreme, and the Pine Tree State leads the pack. Eglo Clash 2021 winner Helios Collective, a craft, medical-focused cultivator won Best Overall brand, and took multiple trophies in the Non Solvent Concentrate category. Their StrawGuave live rosin cart also won third place for Best Vape, proving that fruit salad terps still got it. Their line of concentrates and carts are a collaborative effort with fellow Maine cultivator and producer Firefly Organics, whose Albarino flower was some of the best I ever had in 2023. The focus on soil-grown, hand-trimmed, and flower-as-medicine approach is evident from the first hit. —A.W.

See also: Maine Craft Cannabis Corpse Paint hash rosin cartridge

And that’s more than 2,000 words of what’s cool in carts, pods, and disposables from more than 10 legalization states. Shout out more of your faves in the comments below.