Properly storing your cannabis flower and gear is crucial if you want to keep both in optimal condition. But it's not just storing your herb that will dictate the overall cannabis experience. You also need to store the rest of your cannabis gear carefully, too. Learn the best practices for storing cannabis flower, concentrates, and gear.
Storing cannabis flower
The optimal storage solution for your cannabis flower will include numerous factors.
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Consider these variables to keep your cannabis fresh for as long as possible:
- Light: Dating back to a 1976 study, research has found that exposure to light is the biggest contributor to the degradation of cannabinoids and terpenes. To avoid this, flower should be stored in a dark location.
- Air: The same 1976 study also found that oxidation due to contact with air was another critical factor in the degradation of cannabis, which is why storing your flower in an airtight container is also important.
- Temperature: Since mold and other forms of bacteria thrive in moist, humid conditions at temperatures between 32°F and 120°F (49°C), it's best to store your flower at temperatures slightly below 70°(21°C). It should not be so cold that your nugs freeze.
- Humidity: To avoid mold, keep your flower in a location where the relative humidity (RH) is between 55% and 62%. Anything above 65% RH makes your cannabis vulnerable to mold.
- Odor: If you would prefer to keep your stash discreet, consider purchasing odor-proof containers and storage boxes for your flower.
- Container: Stick with airtight containers made out of glass, metal, or silicone. It's best to avoid plastic containers, as they can produce static electricity that could potentially pull trichomes off your flowers.
Store your containers in a dark, cool location away from heat or direct light. You can find a number of products designed to control humidity at local head shops or online.
Storing concentrates
As with flower, cannabis concentrates should be kept in an airtight container away from heat or light and at low relative humidity. Since concentrates don't give off aromas as strong as flower, an airtight container will usually be good enough to trap any potential odors. Also, like flower, opt for storage containers made out of glass or silicone, as your concentrates will not stick to these materials and will be much easier to scrape out when you're preparing for a dab.
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Finally, it's usually a good idea to store your concentrate containers in some sort of sealable box. These often come with padding for extra protection, and many models feature extra space for storing dabbers, carb caps, and other simple dab tools. You can even get storage boxes with locking lids for additional security.
Storing glass pipes
When it comes to storing your glass pipes, the main concerns are protecting the glass and limiting odors from leftover resin. To address both concerns at the same time, store your glass pipes in one of the following:
- A sealable hard plastic container. These are affordable, simple, and trap odors relatively well. The downside is that they're not padded, so you'll need to be careful when handling your container.
- A padded box with a dedicated space for your glass piece. The best options are ones that are also airtight and odorproof.
- A small safe or lockbox. Just be sure it's padded so that your piece stays protected. This option is especially useful for those who have expensive custom glass and are willing to spend more to protect their precious paraphernalia.
Storing bongs and bong equipment
In most cases, bongs are a bit too large and unwieldy to store inside some type of container or box. Instead, simply keep your bong clean and store it standing upright in an out-of-the-way location where it won't get bumped, jostled, or broken. If you really need to be discreet, look for a padded lockbox or storage container that is large enough to hold your bong and that will do a good job of trapping odors.
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Beyond the bong itself, if you use glass attachments or adapters, it's a good idea to keep each component in a padded storage box. Just be sure there is adequate space for each component so that there's no risk of them knocking into each other inside the container and breaking.
Storing dab rigs and dab tools
Dabbing is unique since it requires specialized components such as nails, domes, carb caps, and more. On top of that, many dab-specific components have to be especially durable, as dabbing requires much higher temperatures than simply smoking flower.
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If you want to invest in the specialized equipment needed for dabbing, you'll want to store it all properly. Fortunately, the market is full of storage options for your dab equipment.
The most common types of dabbing-related storage options include:
- Storage jars or containers for concentrates, typically made out of glass or silicone.
- “Wallets” for storing multiple concentrate jars and tools like dabbers.
- Larger storage boxes with compartments for dab jars, nails, dabbers, carb caps, and other tools, or additional space for larger attachments in some models.
- Hard-shell or soft-shell cases with padded storage compartments for your rig and gear.
- Small safes or hard-shell cases that come with locks for additional security.
- Odor-proof, locking, and heavily padded traveling cases can keep all your dab gear safe, discreet, and secure.
Other cannabis storage considerations
Various consumable cannabis products and gear require their own storage devices that can help boost their longevity.
Storage for one-hitters
If you ever use a one-hitter, the best storage option is to get a piece that slides down into a dugout. Typically, dugouts include a cylindrical opening for your one-hitter as well as an open chamber into which you can drop some ground cannabis. That way, you can store your piece, take it with you on the go, and pack your one-hitter, all with a single storage device.
Storage for joints, spliffs, and blunts
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You can find a number of small cylindrical storage containers perfectly designed for storing and transporting single pre-rolled joints, spliffs, and blunts. If you bought a pack of joints, you can store them in tins with a lid that can give it a tight seal.
Storing vape pens
Smart storage can go a long way in maintaining the performance and overall state of your vape pen. As with any type of cannabis product, it's best to store it — or, more specifically, the THC cartridge portion of it — away from direct light and out of extreme temperatures. Beyond that, find a safe place to leave it — no one wants to reach for their vape pen only to find the glass cartridge has cracked and the precious, sticky concentrate has spilled all over the place.
Finally, it's best to store vape pens upright and in a tall glass or any other skinny cylindrical container so that the oil in them doesn't flow away from their heating elements. If this happens, you should wait to hit your cartridge until the oil has once again settled on the bottom and is covering the small holes near the heating element.
On-the-go storage
Obviously, traveling with anything related to cannabis is a stealth operation, so focus on finding storage cases that account for discretion. Fortunately, there is now a wide variety of travel gear designed specifically to keep the strong odors of cannabis in check while flying under the radar.
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Your traveling bag should not alert people or attract attention, and it should be easy to carry with you wherever you go. These days, you can find odor-proof carrying bags, handbags, purses, duffel bags, and backpacks.
Since most cannabis gear is made from fragile materials like glass, quartz, and others, look for carrying cases or travel bags that are fully padded. Even better, look for traveling cases that include compartments for specific components as well.
Written by Lesley Nickus | Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps
