The vape industry has not stopped its momentum since entering the cannabis space. But after a near-decade of developing hardware and extraction methods that feature the best flavor or vapor, the market is still far behind in consumer safety. That is precisely why Corey Mangold founded PurTec in 2020 — their company mission is focused on consumer safety, specifically when it comes to wholly tested and safely built vape technology. Before PurTec, Corey founded Orchid Essentials in 2017, but since 2020 his focus has been on designing, engineering, and manufacturing PurTec products.
“The reason why consumer safety is so important to me is that it’s the one thing that this industry has not done that is a massive threat to the industry,” said CEO and Founder Corey Mangold. “If we’re putting out products that are unsafe yet people think they are safe, we’re going to have a major issue on our hands.”
PurTec works with manufacturing partners in Shenzhen, China, and testing partners in Switzerland, Canada, and California. PurCore F1 and PurCore R1 are the only vape delivery systems on the market that are emissions-tested and engineered with medical-grade surgical stainless steel. U.S. vape regulations only require heavy metals testing but cannabis labs tend to analyze the oils at room temperature. The issue with this is that consumers heat the oil before inhaling it. Applying heat not only changes the cannabinoids and terpenes, heat can also promote the degradation of cartridge components.
Vape components can contain nickel, cadmium, chromium, and lead. Corey has unpacked low-grade ceramic vape components that came out of their box with a puff of ceramic dust. When vape cartridges use these products, the dust can leach into oils and be inhaled. Unfortunately, inhaling any of these metals or ceramic dust can lead to serious health complications. PurTec’s testing lab partners all apply long-accepted AFNOR standards emissions tests.
“There’s not a single cartridge out there that I will use aside from PurTec and that’s not because it’s my company, it’s because I’ve seen the proof in the science,” said Corey.
PurTec goes out of its way to build safe products that produce a tasty vapor. The company has an exclusive relationship with its manufacturing partner to stay hands-on with product development and quality control. Their manufacturer also owns the only Grade A ceramic plant in the country, has manufacturing sophistication, and has achieved every standards certification available.
The second step to ensuring products are safe for consumers is to send them out for testing. Independent third-party labs test every PurTec component, raw material, and assembled product. After products are approved, they are emissions-tested in Switzerland and Canada. Slowly, U.S. cannabis labs are offering emissions testing but many lack the standard operating procedures.
When testing for harmful emissions, the team also gathers data on the best temperatures and methods to vape individual terpenes and cannabinoids. They use this data to create products programmed to activate specific terpene profiles and guide the consumer experience. Research showed that slowly ramping up the temperature enables the consumer to both vape and inhale each cannabinoid, terpene, and flavonoid at the optimal boiling point. In response to the data, they designed products that reach exact temperatures in a customized time frame to guide the consumer experience.
“We can custom develop a device that’s perfectly tailored to somebody’s cannabinoid profile and terpene profile, and we can ramp up the temperature to fire off the right cannabinoids and the right terpenes at the right time and the right temperature. When it comes to how cannabis oils are being vaporized, I believe we’re years beyond where other people are right now,” said Corey.
PurCore F1 is the first all-ceramic, cotton-free coil that uses a nano fusion film rather than a metal heating element. Nanofilm is printed directly on the ceramic coil and can be controlled down to a degree. They also offer PurCore R1, a familiar 510-threaded form factor that uses 80% fewer heavy metals than other vape tech options. In addition to cutting heavy metals, all products use no adhesives or glues, no cotton, and stainless steel 316L. Additionally, even with high-quality materials and advanced technology, switching to PurTec products can be cost-effective, if not cheaper than alternatives, due to their manufacturing scale.
The company’s mission of public safety doesn’t stop with vape design. Most recently, PurTec launched PurGuard, an age restriction software that can keep vapes out of the hands of minors. In 2022, the team will turn its focus to eco-friendly products, something that has been needed in vape tech.
PurTec technology appears in compliant cannabis products in California, Florida, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Canada, and soon, the European Union. To find PurTec powered vapes in your area or learn more about this safety-focused brand, check out their website at purtecdesigns.com.