This week’s cannabis strain review is something new for The Collegian‘s cannabis desk: a concentrate cartridge review and a battery review rolled into one.

As someone who’s smoked most forms of cannabis, I’ll admit cartridges aren’t my go-to. However, they’re super convenient and fill the quick-to-rise, quick-to-fall niche. The high often doesn’t last too long, and they’re great for getting high fast in a controlled way — if you know your tolerance.

I decided to give Green Dragon, the new recreational weed dispensary on College Avenue, a try for the first time. I knew I wanted a half-gram cart of a strain that wouldn’t glue me to the couch, but that’s pretty much it. I told the budtender my preferences, and they helped me pick out DabLogic’s Strawberry Danish hybrid cartridge, which was originally priced at $50, but it was on sale, and I used a $5 coupon from joining the loyalty program at the register to get the cart for $33.

My Strawberry Danish cart was 77.9% THC with no CBD. It was a little more expensive than other brands because it’s not cut with anything and it’s solventless live rosin, meaning the wax was made from flower that was immediately frozen after harvest instead of dried before extraction, and the extraction process used just water and ice instead of chemicals.

I also wanted a small battery that holds the cart on the side of the device, not one of the long, skinny ones. Green Dragon had a few options but not exactly what I was looking for, so I walked just down College to one of my favorite smoke shops, Wild Side Smoke Shop.

Wild Side, of course, had what I wanted. After some consideration and discussion with a Wild Side employee, I bought a Lookah Snail battery (how could I turn down a battery that looks like a cute little snail with the cart attached?) for about $27.

“I smoked the Strawberry Danish cart on a few different occasions, and I found myself absolutely entranced by whatever was in front of me each time, whether it was friends talking, a TV show or a project I was working on.”

At first, I was excited to see the Snail instructions neglected to mention anything about charging the device for a long while prior to using it for the first time. The instructions just said the battery is fully charged when the light on the device shines cyan, which happened quickly after I pulled the Snail out of the box and plugged it in for the first time.

This must’ve been a fluke though — you’ll definitely need to charge the battery for at least a few hours before using it for the first time. Without doing so, the Snail didn’t heat up as much, and the preheat function didn’t really work, leaving my hits severely lacking.

After charging the Snail for a few hours, I gave it another shot. This time the preheat functioned well, though I disliked the green-and-blue-alternating, quick-flashing light that indicated the cart was preheating. I also would’ve preferred that the preheat started after two clicks of the on/off button instead of three (switching temperature settings takes two clicks on the Snail).

Despite the issues I encountered with the Snail, the Strawberry Danish cart was wonderful. The wax is a pretty in-the-middle color for concentrates, and DabLogic’s logo looks really cool printed on the glass of the cart.

I didn’t get much of a distinct taste, which was disappointing because strawberry danish sounds delicious, but at least the smell was pleasantly fruity on the exhale.

I played around with the Snail’s heat and found Strawberry Danish smoked super smooth regardless of the battery’s heat setting. Carts and wax in general are known for being able to cause intense coughing, but I found a good pull of Strawberry Danish on the Snail’s medium heat was the perfect blend of a full hit that’s still breathable.

Overall, I enjoyed the high. I smoked the Strawberry Danish cart on a few different occasions, and I found myself absolutely entranced by whatever was in front of me each time, whether it was friends talking, a TV show or a project I was working on. I was very uninterested in paying attention to small details in my work, though, and it was nearly impossible to focus on anything I didn’t want to.

However, I was still able to think through the haze, which I appreciated. I could also pretty easily and consistently control the high by paying attention to how many and how long of hits I took.

While the Lookah Snail is definitely the cutest vape battery I’ve seen, it’s not one I’d recommend based on my experience so far. On the bright side, I highly recommend DabLogic’s Strawberry Danish cart to anyone who wants a mild to intense high that doesn’t completely shut off your brain. 7/10 rating.

Reach Rachel Baschnagel at cannabis@collegian.com or on Twitter @rachel_basch.