Hometown Hero Disposables Review: Quality Backed by Hemp Advocacy

Product intro and specs

There’s no sugarcoating it: opportunists are rampant in the hemp sphere. Too many companies want to capitalize on the demand for legal cannabis products, without putting in effort to improve the space they’re squeezing into. That’s exactly why Hometown Hero is a breath of fresh air.

Since emerging in 2015, the Hometown Hero team has left a valuable mark on the CBD and psychotropic hemp industries. They’ve fought to keep delta 8 products legal in their native Texas, collaborating with advocacy groups and lobbyists to shut down would-be anti-hemp legislation.

Not only do they care about the products they sell, but Hometown Hero also donates a portion of its profits to nonprofit organizations aiding veterans in need. Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), and Operation Finally Home are just a few they support.

Hometown Hero sent me eight disposable vapes to try out:

It's just a sliver of the brand’s catalog. Beyond vapes, Hometown Hero manufactures hemp capsules, tinctures, and full-on confectionery of edibles: gummies, cereal bites, taffy, brownies, and more.

Price: $42-$59.99 
Products (strains) 
5g THCA (Pink Panther, Amnesia Haze, G13, White Rhino)
2g THCA (Train Wreck, Maui Wowie, Grand Daddy Purple, Critical Mass)
2g Blue Lotus + Delta 8 (Liberty Haze, Purple Kush, Blueberry, Sour Diesel)
2g HHC (Jack Herer, Bubble Gum) at Hometown Hero

What is Blue Lotus

Blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) isn’t derived from cannabis. It’s a psychotropic plant of its own, commonly believed to relieve stress and improve sleep. Other users turn to it as a natural aphrodisiac. Research into blue lotus’s efficacy is limited, with what we know coming primarily from anecdotes and historical claims.

There’s no way to determine your body’s response without trial and error.  As with cannabis, everyone’s physiology is unique, and your experience could be entirely distinct from the next user’s.

Fortunately for U.S. consumers, blue lotus isn’t a controlled substance and is federally legal. Louisiana is the only state to explicitly ban it. The extract’s legal status is complex globally, being outright illegal in Latvia, Poland, and Russia. You’ll need to review national laws to verify that it's permitted.

Size, weight, and feel

Even before popping a vape out of the box, Hometown Hero’s packaging design caught my eye: the minimalist, gold-accented skylines are nice, but the jungle illustrations come out on top for me. You’ll find this unique touch on the boxes of their blue lotus products.

The vapes themselves are what you’d expect out of a modern disposable, save for the Hometown Hero logo and name embossed (two gram) or printed (five gram) onto the body. Minus the all-black HHC pens, each disposable is navy blue with bold, orange detailing, and a matte finish. All are relatively lightweight. 

While the HHC disposables I received were slimmer and less intricate than the others (totally button-free), this design seems exclusive to previous batches.

Getting started

Both HHC disposables are draw-activated and ready to vape out of the box. Just remove the mouthpiece cap and you’re good to go, then recharge via micro-USB (not USB-C) if you run out of power. Simple enough. 

Again, looking at the Hometown Hero site, this classic design appears to be unavailable. The six leftover vapes are more involved, even as far as hemp disposables go. 

Case in point: you’ll need to turn the device on (five button presses) before using it. Preheat functionality is a nice treat when you’re working with disposables, and that takes another two clicks. Press five more times to power down.

How does it hit?

Even before learning about their reputation and advocacy, I was eager to write a positive review about this brand—can’t say I have many complaints about quality. No clogging, tight mouth-to-lung draws, and impressive vapor output. 

While the heavy price tag is disappointing, I get where it’s coming from. Just don’t expect utter perfection. 

Hometown Hero products are generally full panel tested for microbials, mycotoxins, residual solvents, and other contaminants. Their latest batches seem to lack anything beyond potency tests, as of June 2024.

Potency and effects

These vapes stand out in terms of potency, even those containing less HHC than delta 8 THC. 

I felt the effects after the first few hits, varying from lightly stimulating (THCA) to dreamy (HHC and blue lotus), depending on the product. 

High-dose blue lotus is said to have psychedelic qualities, but Hometown Hero’s vapes had a far fuzzier, down-tempo effect on me. More mellow, less hallucinogenic. 

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect out of the blue lotus flower. Even now, it’s not entirely clear how much I can attribute to the extract itself, rather than the generous helpings of delta 8 THC and HHC. So is the nature of a “proprietary blend”: you don’t always know how much you’re getting out of every ingredient. 

While I’d be interested in trying other blue lotus blends, I can’t say I have any others to compare these ones to. Yet. 

Each blue lotus vape was on the low end of moderate, as far as intensity is concerned. The HHC vapes hit me the hardest (and made me the drowsiest), followed by the blue lotus line, and then THCA. Well, “THCA” is more accurate. Emphasis on those quotes.

Cannabinoid content

Which leads to my biggest complaint: mislabeled products. Even as far as psychotropic hemp sellers go, Hometown Hero is a bad offender. 

We're growing desensitized as consumers, but I’d appreciate it if brands would quit using “THCA” and “THCP” as buzzwords. If the product contains negligible amounts of a specific cannabinoid, don’t use it in the name and description. Simple.

Hometown Hero produces superb delta 8 THC and HHC products. Of the eight vapes I tested, none contain significant THCA—even those claiming they do right on the package. Two even mention THCP right alongside it. They don’t contain that cannabinoid, either. 

I’ll also throw up a caution sign: ease your way into the blue lotus products if you’re new to the extract. You never know how your body will respond to unfamiliar psychotropic substances, regardless of dose (unclear in this case).

Are the strains any good?

Excluding the bare-bones HHC vapes, each box features a short synopsis of the strain’s dominant notes. Each is pretty spot-on.

Seeing as Hometown Hero doesn’t test for terpenes, we can’t exactly take this beyond the surface. 

Pros / Cons

Gallery

Verdict

Given how fantastic Hometown Hero’s vapes are in terms of quality and effects, the THCA claims feel wildly out of pocket. Accurate branding could make a world of difference here. It might attract less attention, but sticking to accurate claims won’t exactly leave a bad taste in the customer’s mouth.

Remember, no matter what the package claims, each of these disposables is a delta 8 or HHC product—at least according to their COAs.

Blue lotus isn’t a staple for hemp sellers, so I won’t act like I had any true point of reference going in. This was my first ever experience with the extract. At any rate, both vapes’ soothing effects were pleasant, as was their low-moderate intensity. Not the most potent of the bunch, but not the least. Ease your way in if you’re a fellow first-timer.

If you’re a pickier vaper with spare money, by all means, invest in Hometown Hero vapes. Your purchase even lends a small hand to disabled veterans, all while supporting a brand that advocates for hemp. Worth it.

Hometown Hero Disposables