The most common mistake with a cannabis vape has nothing to do with strain or strength: it's buying a cartridge that doesn't fit the battery you own, or buying one when you don't own a battery at all. A cart on its own is a small tank of oil with nothing to power it.
The short answer. There are three systems. A 510 cartridge screws onto any battery with the standard 510 thread. A pod clicks into a battery made by the same brand and nothing else. An all-in-one has the battery built in and needs nothing. If you don't own a battery, an all-in-one is the simplest first buy. If you do, match the cart to it.
| System | Works with | On our menu |
|---|---|---|
| 510 cartridge | Any 510 battery | Animal, Curepen |
| Pod | Same brand's battery | Stiiizy, Plug |
| All-in-one | Nothing extra | Curebar, Dabbar, Animal 2 g |
510-thread cartridges
The 510 thread is the industry's standard screw connection, and the name of the battery that fits it. Any 510 cartridge goes on any 510 battery, whichever brands made them, so one battery can last you through many carts.
On our menu, Animal sells its carts as exactly that, a 510 thread cartridge, and West Coast Cure's CUREpen battery is, in the producer's words, a "510 threaded device" with "variable heat technology (3.2V-3.8V)." Its matching cartridge is the CUREpen 1 g cart.
What to know before you buy:
- The battery is a separate item. A 510 cart with no battery is a two-item order.
- Settings vary by battery. Some 510 batteries have adjustable voltage. If yours does, start on the lowest setting and work up.
- It's the flexible option. If you vape regularly and like switching brands, one 510 battery covers most of the cartridge shelf.
Pods: Stiiizy and Plug
A pod is a cartridge built to fit one brand's battery and no other. You get a cleaner click-in fit and a battery tuned to the pod, and in exchange you're tied to that brand.
Stiiizy. The company is explicit: "STIIIZY pods are designed for the STIIIZY pod system. The Pro, Pro XL, and BAR are the current compatible devices," and "pods sold after March 20, 2026 are compatible with these batteries only." So a Stiiizy pod needs a Stiiizy battery, such as the Stiiizy Pro on our menu, and won't go on a 510 battery. If you have an older Stiiizy battery that isn't one of those three, check it against the brand's list before you order new pods.
Plug. Plug's pods are made for its own PLAY battery: the brand's instructions are to "insert the pod into the battery (magnetic connection)." A Plug pod goes with the Plug PLAY battery, not with a Stiiizy or a 510 battery.
Our menu lists both brands' pods as "1g Cartridge," and the battery is a separate product, so the name alone won't warn you. Before you add a pod, check that you own, or are also adding, the battery from the same brand. Browse Stiiizy and Plug.
All-in-ones and disposables
An all-in-one has the oil and the battery in one device: nothing to match, nothing to screw on. For a first vape, or for someone who vapes now and then, it removes the whole compatibility question.
They come in a few versions:
- Disposable: used until the oil runs out, then thrown away. Dabwoods sells its Dabbar as "a premium 2G disposable vape," and Animal's 2 g line is labeled disposable in the name.
- Rechargeable all-in-one: still one device, but with a charging port so the battery lasts as long as the oil. West Coast Cure calls its CUREbar 2.0 "ready-to-use" and a "rechargeable device." Its CUREbar FLIP holds "two separate 0.5g tanks" with a different strain in each.
- Pod kit: a pod sold together with its battery. Plug's AIO "pairs our… rechargeable battery with your favorite PLUG," and the brand describes it as "non-disposable": once the pod is empty, the battery takes another Plug pod.
The trade-off is cost over time. A disposable means buying the battery again with every gram of oil; a 510 or pod setup only buys the oil after the first purchase.
What's in the oil
The oil in any of the three is a concentrate: cannabis resin with the plant material removed. The name on the listing usually tells you how it was made:
- Distillate: refined until little besides the cannabinoids is left. Flavor usually comes from terpenes added back afterward, which listings often describe as "naturally derived" or "botanical" terpenes.
- Live resin: extracted from plants frozen fresh at harvest. West Coast Cure describes its CUREpen cart as made from "flash-frozen, freshly harvested buds."
- Live rosin: made without solvents, usually pressed from ice water hash.
Concentrates explained covers these in more detail. Whichever it is, the THC percentage on a cart, often in the 80s and 90s, describes the oil, which is far denser than flower. A short draw goes further than it seems. If you're unsure whether a cart is the real thing, how to spot fake vape carts covers the packaging, the lab report and where it came from.
Before you add a cart to your order
- Pick the system. Own a 510 battery? Any 510 cart. Own a Stiiizy or Plug battery? That brand's pods. Own nothing? An all-in-one, or a pod plus its battery.
- Check the size. Most carts and pods are 1 g; some all-in-ones are 2 g.
- Mind the limit. Cart oil is concentrate, and a retailer can't sell one adult-use customer more than 8 grams of concentrate a day, "including cannabis concentrate contained in cannabis products." A handful of 2 g disposables reaches that quickly.
- Charge it before first use. A battery or rechargeable all-in-one may arrive with little charge.
Using it the first time
Take one short draw, then wait several minutes before deciding on another. Vaping kicks in within minutes, like smoking, and the vapor is smooth enough that it doesn't feel like much at the time. How it lands differs from person to person, and nothing on a cart's label predicts it. If you're new to cannabis altogether, the beginner's guide to cannabis products explains why an all-in-one is a reasonable first pick and an infused pre-roll isn't.
Vaping follows the same rules as smoking in California: not in public, not where tobacco smoking is banned, and never while driving. In a car, a cart that's been opened goes in the trunk. The guide to buying cannabis in Los Angeles covers where you can use it.
Common questions
Can a Stiiizy pod go on a 510 battery? No. Stiiizy lists the Pro, Pro XL and BAR as the devices its pods work with, and says pods sold after March 20, 2026 fit those batteries only.
Do Plug pods fit a Stiiizy battery? Plug makes its pods for its own PLAY battery, and Stiiizy's list of compatible devices doesn't include anyone else's hardware. Buy each brand's pod for that brand's battery.
What's the difference between a disposable and an all-in-one? Every disposable is an all-in-one, but not every all-in-one is disposable. Some, like the CUREbar 2.0, recharge; a pod kit like the Plug AIO takes a new pod when the first one runs out.
Is a 2 g disposable twice as strong as a 1 g cart? No, it holds twice as much oil. Strength per draw depends on the oil and the device, not the tank size.
The short version
Match the cart to the battery. 510 carts fit any 510 battery, pods fit only their own brand's battery, and an all-in-one needs nothing. If you don't own a battery, start with an all-in-one, or order a pod together with its battery. Everything on the vapes and carts menu is for adults 21 and over, with ID checked at the car.
Compatibility statements are quoted from Stiiizy's and Plug's own sites and from the producers' descriptions on our menu, checked October 28, 2026; the daily purchase limit is California Code of Regulations, title 4, § 15409. Hardware changes; check the brand's own compatibility list before buying a new battery. This guide is general information, not legal or medical advice.
