REVIEW OVERVIEW
Design & Build Quality
9
Oil Quality
9
Strength
10
Taste
6
Efficiency
9
Number of Puffs
8
Value
8

Cresco cartridges are manufactured by Cresco Labs. Started in 2010, it is a company that is among the fastest growing in the newly formed cannabis industry. Operating in 11 states and with 15 active production facilities, they’re a true powerhouse in the market. They create an array of cannabis products from flower to shatter, manufacturing everything in-house.

All of their products are classified into one of three color coded sections by strain. Rise, which is sativa dominant and color coded red. Refresh, which is a hybrid and color coded green. Rest, which is indica dominant and color coded blue. Their vape cartridges make use of CCELL technology and are available for retail purchase in California and Illinois.

In this review we’ll be checking out their Dream Walker cartridge and see if it can have us walking on the clouds.

Pros:

  • Strong live resin distillate
  • Consistent thick hits
  • Zero off flavors
  • Long lasting high

Cons:

  • Flavor nearly nonexistent

Recommendations: A more full bodied flavor profile and better packaging would make this cart able to compete with the best.

Check out our video review of the Cresco Labs cartridge below and keep reading on for the in depth review.

Cresco Labs cartridge hits as clean as its packaging looks

Cresco cartridge packaging front
Cresco uses simple color coded packaging for all their products.

The Cresco cart is filled with a high potency live resin that has a perfectly crystal clean taste. Perhaps a bit too clean in some ways, as its flavor is so light it’s almost not even there. To its benefit the flavor it does have is very clean and natural, a light floral toasty flavor that is never bitter or burnt. There isn’t even a hint of chemical or unnatural tastes either, something one would hope for at their high price point.

Cresco Dream Walker cartridge internal packaging
They have the cartridge securely packaged inside the box. Well secured to keep it from rattling around and possibly leaking.

CCELL hardware consistent as ever

Cresco Labs makes use of a pretty standard CCELL cart design, the M6T. A simple color band on the housing denotes whether it is a Rise, Refresh or Rest cart. The mouthpiece is a plain clear acrylic plastic tube and the Cresco brand name is printed across the oil chamber. The hits it provides are thick and consistent to the very end. There’s little to complain about but it would be nice for them to provide a more robust flavor profile to take advantage of the CCELL’s thick clouds.

Cresco Dream Walker cartridge internal packaging
They have the cartridge securely packaged inside the box. Well secured to keep it from rattling around and possibly leaking.

Cresco carts aren’t cheap but they’re not slouches either

While the cartridge is definitely one of the pricier ones out there it is filled with a very high potency live resin, which is more expensive to produce than standard distillate. The high hit heavy with just a couple hits even with my higher tolerances and lasted for a few hours at a time. The high is very chill and relaxing but mentally productive, a bit more physically sedative than some sativas but not in an unpleasant way. The cart itself lasted about five days of heavy use.

Cresco cartridge tube
The cartridge comes in a squeeze top simple plastic tube with a rubber stopper to prevent any possible leaking.

Cresco prices a bit high for its compromises

At a price point of $50 for a half gram, that’s not bad, but it’s not fantastic either. Overall I’d say you certainly get what you pay for on the potency and efficiency side of things, with each cart providing plenty of high potency hits. However it fails to deliver anything standout or overly memorable like the Korova Super Silver Haze cart did. They’ve got a bit of a way to go to compete on that level, one can hope that with as large a company as they are they can make the adjustments necessary.

Cresco cartridge out of packaging
The oil is a darker color than some others and highly viscous in consistency.

Not providing tests isn’t a good look for Cresco Labs

The packaging for the Cresco cartridge provides only incredibly vague unhelpful information and nothing in the way of any verification for what they have. No testing results is pretty common on carts, however at this price we did expect it.

This definitely negatively impacts the perception of the oil regardless of its otherwise seemingly good quality. When even cheaper carts like NUG freely provide their testing it’s not encouraging for higher end cartridge manufacturers not to. It makes one wonder if they have something to hide even if that isn’t necessarily the case.

 

Cresco packaging back
No testing information is provided on the packaging, unfortunately.

Cresco Labs cart could use some refinement

While the high it delivers is definitely pleasant and long lasting it falls short on flavor, leaving nothing memorable. Its packaging is also so simplistic that it leaves very little impression and, overall, this makes for a very unmemorable cartridge. Combined with the lack of testing and at the high price point it is that’s something that’s not easy to accept. An organization the size of Cresco should be showing lab results.  This definitely puts them on a losing foot against the likes of Kurvana, Jetty and Airo Pro.

 

Cresco cart on vape pen
This cartridge provides a very satisfying and relaxing high even if it does go lax on satisfying flavors.

In closing on this Cresco Labs cartridge review…

Cresco provides a good quality distillate but it falls short in a couple key areas that prevent it from ranking among the best. One would expect better out of such a well established company. Right now I can’t recommend this cart given how expensive it is and that there are better options for less. If you’re not bothered by the cost or you can get one at a bargain somewhere then it does provide a good high, but its lack of flavor and total lack of testing results makes it not something I could recommend at this point.

Cresco cart empty

The efficiency of the CCELL design leaves practically none of the distillate to waste.You can find Cresco Labs carts near you to try for yourself here. You can read more about Cresco Labs and their products on their website here.

15 COMMENTS

  1. Are these compatible with most vape pens? I have a G-Pen and was curious if it would fit before I make a purchase. Any insight is helpful. Thank you!

  2. The color band actually represents the flavor (Terpenes) not sure if I spelled that correctly lol. I personally love Cresco and thought it had great flavors. GG#4, Soljay Haze, Outer Space. All recommendations.

    • Wow just crazy prices out there, IL too is way too expensive. But things might change in the future. Nevada started that way, but now you often find comparable deals to CA. Hope all of it changes soon!

  3. I bought three Cresco cartridges at once (my first time; picked one indica, one sativa, and one hybrid to try them out). Two of them are fine but one of them (hybrid – Agathlan) feels ‘blocked’. I suck and nothing happens, then it’s as if a blockage were removed due to the suck pressure, and I get a sudden burst of vapor. But whatever is going on is not clearing up; after 3 days of mild use, the situation still happens; leaving the cartridge alone for an hour or so causes it to ‘re-seal’. So this would appear to be a manufacturing issue for this one cartridge. It does work and delivers a decent high, I’m just observing what appears to be a quality issue here. Of the three carts, this one has the oldest Mfr date (just over 1 year ago); don’t know if this is the issue.

  4. What year is this? In which state are you living? It’s 2021 in California, for me. I get very memorable carts and concentrates from Cresco. My packaging looks professionally designed. Yours looks almost counterfeit. I’ve never paid $50 for a half gram cart. Today was the first day I got a gram for $50: Honey Boo x Rocket Fuel.

  5. Excellent review & info. Work Cresco carts, what do you feel is the most efficient battery voltage setting? It’s my biggest struggle with the Cresco CCELLS

    Thanks!

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