What exactly should I look or smell for?

[Ignatius]

Thanks to this board and experiences from my 2 previous trips, I know to prefer shops that will let me inspect before I buy and will actually sell me the same stuff I inspect. Here at home there is no choice but I am glad when a new batch is coated in crystals and/or has a strong smell. In some threads on the board though I have read that despite buds looking good sometimes depending on how it was cured the smoke or high may not match the sight and smell.

So what exactly should I be looking for if not buds that are covered in crystals with a nice strong smell? I am partial to sativas and hazes but not sure what exactly I should be looking for when I am choosing? I know bud tenders will usually steer you the right way but there are only a few shops that I trust would not try to sell me what they are trying to get rid of or offer tourists. Ultimately I would rather be a more knowledgeable consumer that a trustworthy one. I would also appreciate the same advice for hashes and ices.

[Pauli Wallnuts]

personally i like to look at the bud & then smell it, the way it looks can tell alot about how it was grown, in dam i want my buys to all be on perfect gear, recently my cousin got some strawberry haze from greenhouse he looked at it 1st & and against my advise bought it because it smelt like strawberrys, but looked shit, after 2 puffs he was dissapointed, as long as you look for nice formed buds which dont look really thin,weak & pale as if they came from a part of the plant that was miles away from the light & then get that smell which only good bud has you should be o.k, i like central cs's system where you can look at all the gears then smell the ones which look best.

[Sir Niall of Essex-sire]

If you smell it and it jumps out at you with a smell that tingles your nose hairs and looks as is its been covered in a frost like cars windows in the morning, i would pick up a gram of that......