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What Are Carts?

Walk into any licensed dispensary today and one category will consistently command its own dedicated section of the display case: carts. Short for cartridges, carts are pre-filled vessels of cannabis oil that attach to a small battery and deliver vaporized cannabinoids and terpenes with a single draw. No grinding, no rolling, no torch. Just a clean hit and a cartridge small enough to disappear in a jacket pocket. In a very short window of time, they have become one of the defining cannabis product formats of the modern legal market.

The anatomy of a cart is elegantly simple. A modern cartridge is an assembly of four primary components: a mouthpiece at the top (made from plastic, ceramic, metal, or wood), a tank that holds the cannabis oil (typically glass or high-grade plastic), an atomizer that serves as the heating element responsible for vaporizing the oil, and a threaded base at the bottom that connects the cart to a battery. When activated — either by pressing a button or simply drawing through the mouthpiece — the battery sends current to the atomizer, which heats the oil just enough to convert it to inhalable vapor.

The 510 Thread: An Accidental Standard

Almost every cart you’ll encounter at a dispensary is a 510-thread cartridge, and the origin of that standard is more interesting than the name suggests. The name “510” originates from the physical specifications of the male connector on the cartridge. The standard was first introduced by the vaping company Joyetech in the late 2000s and features ten threads spaced at a 0.5-millimeter pitch — a design that became the industry standard, creating universal compatibility between cartridges and batteries from different manufacturers.

The 2010s introduced what is arguably the most significant shift in vaporizer history: the cartridge revolution. While advances in battery technology made portability possible, standardized cartridges are what truly transformed how cannabis was consumed. Around 2011–2012, the launch of O.pen Vape and the widespread adoption of the 510-threaded cartridge created a universal system — for the first time, consumers could use a single battery with interchangeable cartridges, delivering reliable performance without being tethered to a wall outlet.

Today, 510 threading is used by an estimated 95% or more of all cartridge-based vaping devices worldwide. The remaining portion consists of proprietary pod systems (like PAX Era and Stiiizy) that intentionally chose to lock users into their ecosystem — a strategy that works for brand loyalty but limits consumer flexibility. The beauty of the open 510 standard is practical: any 510-thread cartridge will fit into any 510-thread battery, regardless of brand, which allows consumers to experiment with multiple different cartridge brands without purchasing multiple batteries.

From E-Cigarette Technology to Cannabis Culture

The lineage of the modern cannabis cart traces directly back to nicotine vaping. The technology that would unlock the future of THC vapes didn’t come from the cannabis industry at all — it came from a pharmacist in China named Hon Lik who was trying to quit smoking cigarettes. In 2003, he patented the first modern e-cigarette. While Hon Lik’s focus was entirely on nicotine, the cannabis community immediately saw the potential.

The period from the mid-to-late 2000s was the veritable Wild West for THC vapes. There were no established brands, no standards, and no instruction manuals. Early adopters began buying e-cigarette kits online and attempting to modify them for cannabis concentrates, which were themselves becoming more refined. The results were inconsistent at best. Cannabis oil is fundamentally different from nicotine e-liquid — it’s incredibly thick and viscous, and early e-cig atomizers, designed for a thin, watery liquid, just couldn’t handle it. Clogs, burnt wicks, and leaks were the order of the day. It took years of hardware refinement before a cart could reliably do what consumers expected it to do.

Cannabis oil cartridges have undergone significant changes since their debut in legal cannabis markets. These small vessels borrowed technology and form factor from e-cigs and e-juice vapes, then tailored their design and heat distribution to better suit cannabis oils. The early plastic-and-wick designs gave way to ceramic heating elements, which proved transformative. Due to health concerns around heavy metal leaching, many manufacturers chose to switch to ceramic hardware — ceramic carts eliminate the chance of heavy metal leaching, and their porous nature and superior heat resistance make for a more functional product overall. Additionally, carts with ceramic heating elements can handle more viscous extracts than their cotton and metal counterparts.

What’s Inside: A Guide to Cart Types

Not all carts are created equal, and the most important variable has nothing to do with the hardware — it’s the oil. The extract inside a cartridge fundamentally determines the flavor, the effect profile, and the price point. Various cannabis oil concentrates — distillate, live resin, rosin, and CBD/THC formulations — are available in 510-thread cartridges, each delivering distinct flavors, potencies, and extraction qualities. Distillate offers ultra-pure THC or CBD with mild flavor, live resin retains a full terpene profile for pronounced aroma, and rosin uses solventless pressure extraction to preserve a rich cannabinoid-terpene balance.

Distillate

THC distillate is one of the most refined cannabis extracts available. Through a multi-step purification process, nearly all plant compounds are removed until a highly concentrated THC oil remains. Distillate is commonly used in vape cartridges, edibles, tinctures, and capsules because it offers reliable potency and consistency from batch to batch. Because distillation strips cannabis oil into nearly pure THC, some companies add terpenes back into their products for their aromas, flavors, and benefits. If you see a distillate product labeled with a strain name, it is because terpenes have been reintroduced to mimic that particular strain’s flavor and effects. Distillate is the most widely available and affordable cart format — the workhorse of the category.

Live Resin

Live resin is extracted from fresh-frozen cannabis plants rather than dried and cured flower. This process preserves a fuller spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes, resulting in a more aromatic, flavorful experience that more closely mirrors the character of the original plant. Live resin potency commonly ranges from 70% to 90% THC, and many consumers find that live resin feels stronger than its THC percentage alone would suggest because it contains a broader collection of cannabinoids and terpenes than distillate products. For consumers who want their cart to taste like the cultivar it came from, live resin is the go-to.

Live Rosin

Live rosin is completely solventless and relies on mechanical extraction methods using water, heat, and pressure. Live resin, by contrast, uses hydrocarbon solvents to extract cannabinoids and terpenes from fresh-frozen cannabis. Live rosin is a top-shelf cannabis concentrate that stands out for its pure, full-spectrum experience, made without any solvents. It commands a premium price but rewards with an experience that connoisseurs consistently describe as the most complete and true-to-plant available in cart form.

Market Dominance and Cultural Reach

The numbers reflect just how thoroughly carts have embedded themselves in cannabis culture. The growing legalization of cannabis in U.S. states and Canada has driven 58% of new vape cartridge unit adoption in 2024 from THC and cannabis oils, compared to 42% from nicotine-based liquids. Surveys in California in 2024 indicate that 44% of cannabis users prefer the vape cartridge format, versus 30% who prefer flower. That’s a seismic shift in consumer preference over a remarkably short period.

The appeal is intuitive. A significant part of why cannabis vapes have been so successful comes down to the convenience a THC cartridge can offer. Portable cannabis vapes have discreet profiles and produce substantially less odor than conventional smoking, making them fantastic options for on-the-go consumers who want to enjoy cannabis wherever they might be. Carts also lower the barrier to entry considerably — there’s no learning curve, no preparation, and the dose is relatively easy to manage one draw at a time.

Size options have expanded to meet demand. In today’s market, 510-thread cartridges are available in 0.5 gram and 1 gram sizes and serve as viable vessels for a wide variety of extract types, from distillate to live resin and rosin. Larger tank capacities like 2-gram carts are becoming more popular with consumers, and on the all-in-one disposable vape side, 3- to 5-gram options have begun hitting the market.

Hardware Evolution and What to Look For

Choosing a cart today means navigating a genuinely varied hardware landscape. Cannabis cartridges may all use the same 510-thread connection, but the oil inside, the extraction method, and the resistance of the coil all influence how they perform. Understanding these differences makes it easier to choose the right cartridge and dial in settings that suit your preferences without wasting oil or sacrificing flavor.

Battery selection matters more than many consumers realize. A 510-thread vape battery powers cartridges by delivering current through its internal cell to heat the atomizer and vaporize cannabis oil, with fixed-voltage and variable-voltage models offering different levels of control and stability. Fixed-voltage batteries deliver a constant power level, while variable-voltage devices let users fine-tune output for specific oil viscosities or personal preferences. As a general rule, most 510 carts perform well between 2.4V and 3.3V — starting low (around 2.4–2.6V) for live resin and rosin carts to preserve flavor, and going higher (3.0–3.3V) for thicker distillate oils or more vapor production.

The Leafly deep dive on cartridge evolution and the Weedmaps comparison of live resin versus distillate carts are both worth a read for anyone who wants to go further down the rabbit hole. For the curious, the differences between extract types are where most of the real nuance in the cart category lives — and where most of the fun is.

Carts have earned their shelf space. They represent the clearest expression yet of cannabis becoming a genuinely consumer-friendly product: consistent, portable, and available in formats that reward both the budget-conscious and the flavor obsessive. Whatever your priorities, there’s a cart for that.