Walk up to the vape shelf and you'll see two very different-looking things sitting next to each other: slim, finished-looking pens you use once and toss, and small glass cartridges sold on their own, next to a rack of little metal batteries. That's the whole decision in a nutshell — an all-in-one disposable, or a reusable battery plus a 510 cartridge. Neither is better across the board; they just suit different shoppers. Here's exactly how they differ, and which one fits how you actually buy and use cannabis.

If you're still deciding between vaping at all versus flower or edibles, start with our broader flower, vape, or edible guide — this one picks up one level down, once you already know you want a vape.

What's the actual difference between the two?

It comes down to what you keep and what you throw away.

• Disposable (all-in-one). The battery, the oil, and the mouthpiece are sealed into a single unit at the factory. You take it out of the box and it works — no screwing anything together, often nothing to even turn on. When the oil runs out, the whole device is done and gets recycled.
• 510 cartridge + battery. The cartridge is just the tank of oil with a standard threaded base. "510" is simply the industry-standard thread size, so nearly any cartridge screws onto nearly any 510 battery. You buy the battery once and keep reusing it; when a cart is empty you unscrew it, recycle it, and thread on a fresh one.

Which one is more convenient?

For pure grab-and-go, the disposable is hard to beat. There's no battery to keep charged for the small ones, nothing to assemble, and no learning curve — many are draw-activated, meaning you just inhale and it works. It's the closest thing to a no-thought option on the shelf, which is why it's the usual pick for a first vape or an occasional one.

A 510 setup asks for a little more up front: you thread the cart on, and depending on the battery you either just inhale (draw-activated) or tap a button a few times to turn it on and hold it while you inhale. It's a two-minute thing to learn once. In exchange, restocking later is faster and simpler — you're buying just the cartridge, not a whole new device each time.

Which is cheaper over time?

This is the real trade, and it's about where the battery cost lands. With a disposable, you're buying a fresh battery every single time, bundled invisibly into the product. Buy a disposable a week and you're re-buying that hardware a week.

With a 510 setup, the battery is a one-time buy that lasts across many cartridges, so after the first purchase you're only paying for the oil going forward. If you vape regularly, that adds up in your favor. If you vape rarely — a few times a month, or just now and then socially — the math barely matters and the disposable's simplicity often wins. (Menu prices change and we don't quote them here; the point is the *structure* of the cost, not a number.)

Can I control the flavor or how big the hits are?

Mostly, this is where 510 batteries pull ahead. Many of them have adjustable heat — a few voltage settings you cycle through, usually by clicking the button. That gives you a genuine lever:

• Lower heat tends to bring out more of the terpene flavor and gives a smaller, cooler, smoother draw.
• Higher heat produces bigger, warmer vapor and empties the cart faster.

Most disposables run at one fixed setting the maker chose, so what you get is what you get — which is fine, and often well-tuned, but it's not adjustable. If dialing in a flavor-forward, low-and-slow draw is part of the appeal for you, a variable 510 battery is the setup that lets you do it. If you'd rather not think about settings at all, a fixed disposable removes the decision entirely.

Flavor also rides on what's *in* the cart, not just the heat. If you want to shop by aroma and profile, our terpenes guide covers how to read what's on the shelf.

What about charging?

Small disposables are often single-charge — the built-in battery is sized to outlast the oil, so you never plug them in; you just use it until it's empty. Larger, higher-capacity disposables are increasingly USB-C rechargeable so the battery doesn't die before the oil's gone — worth checking the box if you're buying a bigger one.

A 510 battery is always rechargeable — that's the point of keeping it. Most charge over USB-C or a small screw-on USB charger, and a charge lasts a good while. The only habit it asks of you is keeping it topped up, the same as any small gadget. Store either kind, and any spare cartridges, upright and away from heat and direct sun so the oil doesn't thin or leak — the same storage logic in our keeping-it-fresh guide.

What about the e-waste?

Worth being honest about: every vape here contains a lithium battery, and that has a real disposal cost. A disposable means a battery goes out of circulation each time one empties; a 510 setup means one battery serves dozens of cartridges, so it generates far less hardware waste over time. If the environmental footprint matters to you, that's a genuine point for the reusable route.

Either way, the disposal rule is the same and it matters: a lithium battery does not go in your household trash. Batteries in the trash are a fire hazard in trucks and facilities, and Vermont keeps them out of the landfill. Bring a dead vape or empty cartridge to a battery or electronics recycling drop-off, or ask us at the counter how to hand it back — don't toss it in the bin at home.

So which should you get?

Match it to how you actually shop:

• First-timer or curious: a disposable. Lowest commitment, nothing to learn, no extra hardware to buy — try vaping without buying into a system.
• Occasional / social user: a disposable, usually. If you reach for it a handful of times a month, the convenience is worth more to you than the long-run savings, and a battery won't sit around going flat between uses.
• Daily or regular user: a reusable 510 battery + carts. The one-time battery pays off, restocking is just the cartridge, and you get heat control in the bargain.
• Flavor-chaser: a variable-voltage 510 battery. The adjustable heat is the tool that lets you run low-and-slow and taste more of what's in the oil.

What's on Float On's shelf

You'll find both routes in stock: all-in-one disposable vape pens for the grab-and-go crowd, a rotating selection of 510 cartridges across different strains and profiles, and reusable 510-thread batteries — including variable-voltage ones — if you want to build a setup you keep. Everything is Vermont-grown or Vermont-packaged and lab-tested when it leaves the store.

Browse what's in stock right now on the live menu, or come in and see them side by side at our shop in downtown Burlington, just off Church Street. New to all of it? Start with what to expect your first visit. It's adult-use for 21 and older, public consumption isn't permitted anywhere in Vermont, so keep it for private use at home, and cannabis can't legally cross state lines.