THC Pods Explained: How Pod Systems Differ from 510 Carts

A 510 cart screws onto most vape pen batteries. A THC pod fits only the device it was made for. The oil inside can be much the same, but the hardware decides how hot it runs, how many brands you can choose from and how much you learn about the batch.

PAX built its Era vape around sealed, single-use pods in 2016. Pods and carts now share the same weak points and the same travel limits, so the choice comes down to habits.

Key takeaways

• A closed pod vape takes only pods made for its own battery, while a 510 cart screws onto most pen batteries.
• Launched in 2016, PAX Era pods were sealed, single-use 500 mg pods, sold at first only in California and Colorado.
• FDA chemists measured ceramic cartridges above 430°C at elevated power, a good reason to keep settings low.
• Nickel and chromium turned up in every device that California health scientists took apart for a 2020 study.
• Federal postal rules make vaping devices generally nonmailable, and the FAA keeps them out of checked bags.

Closed pods and open carts

A pod system vape has two parts: a battery body and a pre-filled pod that slides into it. A closed pod vape takes only pods built for that body, so your oil comes from the brands that make them. Each pod is sealed, and you cannot refill it. A 510 cart works the other way. It screws onto any battery with the common 510 thread, so one pen battery fits carts from many brands.

New York's medical cannabis rules show what regulators want from this hardware. Devices for concentrates shall be a closed system with a pre-filled single-use cartridge that attaches to a rechargeable battery, or a single-use product, and they need temperature controls and a heating element made of glass, ceramic or stainless steel, not plastic or rubber. By that definition, a pre-filled cart on a battery is a closed system too, so in shop talk "closed" usually means locked to one brand.

The PAX Era and its sealed pods

Engadget's September 2016 review described a vape operating on a pod-based system, with each 500 mg pod fully self-contained and single-use, so the oil never touched your hands or mouth. The pod design was standardized so other companies could make and sell pods, and at launch Bloom Farms and The Lab were licensed to fill them. The pods could be sold legally only in California and Colorado. The Era cost $60, the pods $40 each, and its app set the temperature from 480°F to 730°F.

The Era Pro followed in January 2020 at $70. A tiny NFC chip in each pod let the device read it, and a feature called PodID pulled up the lab results for that exact batch. Apple had just banned vaping apps from its App Store, so the app worked on Android only, Engadget noted. That chip gave PAX's THC pods something a standard cart lacks.

Inside a 510 cart

A 510 cart is a small tank of oil with a mouthpiece on top and a heating element at the bottom, usually a ceramic coil that the oil soaks into. FDA chemists who tested a variety of ceramic coil vaping cartridges in 2021 noted that ceramic wick carts are common for THC concentrates, with coil resistances typically between 1.3 and 2.2 ohms. The power reaching the coil depends on that resistance and on the voltage the battery applies. When the team ran carts at elevated power, average peak temperatures topped 430°C (806°F), with a range of 375°C to 569°C (707°F to 1,056°F).

In our experience, a variable-voltage battery set low gives a cooler, smoother hit, while most pod systems handle the power for you, with a few presets at most. The setting shows the most in flavor. Oil from fruit-forward flower such as Jealousy, a Gelato 41 and Sherbert Bx1 cross at 28% THC with sweet citrus and pine notes, or Bubblegum Gelato, a Gelato 45 and Indiana Bubble Gum cross at 32% THC with a sugary bubblegum flavor, tastes flat when the coil runs hot.

The unexamined day is a wasted opportunity. Reflect on what you did, what you learned, and how you can improve.

John Dewey

THC pods vs. carts, side by side

Weighing THC pods vs. carts comes down to a handful of trade-offs. In our experience, they line up like this:

Lab data on a chip is only as good as the lab behind it, though, since lab shopping can inflate THC results when growers send samples to whichever lab reports the highest number. In our experience, the choice usually comes down to habits:

• Pods suit anyone who wants one device, no settings and no sticky threads.
• Standard 510 batteries make more sense for people who switch brands and strains often.
• Variable-voltage 510 batteries give the most control over heat.

Metals, counterfeits and labels

Pods and carts share the same weak points: the metal parts that heat the oil, the fakes sold outside licensed stores and the labels that say who made the hardware.

Nickel, chromium and other metals

California Department of Public Health scientists took apart 48 components from eight used and unused vaping devices for a 2020 study. Nickel and chromium components were detected in all devices, and others contained copper, lead, tin, gold, silicon-rich rubbers or fluorinated microplastics. The two cartridges used by lung injury patients showed charred ceramic heating elements, a sign of very high temperatures. The authors add that the findings do not mean harmful exposure happens under all conditions and matter most for avoiding high internal temperatures.

Counterfeit carts

In 2019, during the vaping lung injury outbreak, NBC News had 18 THC cartridges tested, bought from legal dispensaries and unlicensed dealers. The three from licensed California stores showed no heavy metals, pesticides or residual solvents, while 13 of the 15 unlicensed carts contained vitamin E, and all 10 unregulated carts tested for pesticides came back positive. Pods can be copied too, so buy either one from a licensed store.

Labels and maker records

Some states now track who made the hardware. Massachusetts requires licensees to keep records of the maker of any cartridge, battery or atomizer coil, to identify the materials in the coil and to give buyers an information insert. It also bans white labeling of vape devices, meaning one licensee's brand label on a product another licensee made. California requires every cannabis vape cartridge and integrated vaporizer to bear the state's universal symbol, at least a quarter inch wide, engraved, printed or stuck on.

Mail and air travel with pods

Consumers cannot mail a pod or cart. Since October 21, 2021, Postal Service rules have covered electronic vaping devices of every kind, and such items are generally nonmailable, subject to a few exceptions. The rule adds that vapes containing THC were already nonmailable under the Controlled Substances Act. Flying brings its own rules:

• The FAA treats vapes as dangerous goods because of their lithium batteries, and passengers should keep them in the cabin, not in checked bags.
• Vapes must never be used or charged on a plane, and they were the leading cause of lithium battery incidents on aircraft in 2022.
• TSA officers do not search for marijuana, but the agency will refer any it finds to law enforcement.

Pods or carts, matched to your habits

A pod system vape trades choice for simplicity, with one brand's sealed pods, heat set by the device and, on some models, lab data read from a chip. A 510 cart fits most batteries and most brands, and a variable battery lets you keep the heat low for better flavor. Whichever you pick, buy from licensed stores, check who made the hardware, keep the device in your carry-on and never mail it.

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