Complete Guide to Dab Rigs for Beginners: How to Use a Dab Rig

Using a dab rig can seem a little complicated at first glance, but don’t worry. We’ve got you, boo! In this guide, we’re breaking down all things rigs — including what they are, how to use a dab rig, what to look for when you’re on the hunt for one, and the answers to a couple of your most common burning questions. Check it out:

What is a dab rig? 

Your dab rig is the most important part of your dabbing setup. They go by a few different names, like oil rigs or wax rigs, but more or less, they’re just really small, simple water pipes that are capable of housing a dab nail instead of a bowl slide. Dab rigs come in different materials and offer all sorts of different percolators, filtration devices, and so on— but at the end of the day, dab rigs are a type of water pipe designed to help you get the most out of your concentrates.

Dab rigs feature a smaller, no-fuss design that typically involves one or two small percolators and no more than one water chamber. They also usually have narrow, angled mouthpieces that make it easier to hit them from a stationary position like a table instead of your couch.

How do you use a dab rig? 

Looking at a dab rig for beginners can feel a bit overwhelming with so many different moving parts and techniques involved. But at the end of the day, it’s easy once you get the hang of it. For a fully functional dabbing rig setup, you will need:

• A dab rig
• Quartz banger or other dab nail
• Carb cap
• Dab tool
• Butane torch
• Concentrates
• (Optional) Timer or stopwatch, or laser thermometer

How to use a dab rig setup:

1. Fill your rig to the water line and slide your banger into your rig.
2. Use a butane torch to evenly apply heat to the surface of the nail until it reaches your desired temperature. You can use the stopwatch method by letting it heat up until its red hot and allowing it to cool for ~45-50 seconds. You can also use a laser thermometer or terpometer to find the right temperature before you take your dab.
3. Once you find the best dab temp, use a dab tool to drop your concentrates into the hot nail, then promptly cap it with your carb cap.
4. Spin the carb cap on top of the nail to help distribute your concentrates evenly across the nail to ensure even heating.
5. Sip from the mouthpiece and pull the vapor into your lungs until your concentrate is fully vaporized
6. Let the nail cool down and hit it with a little isopropyl alcohol and a cotton swab to keep it clean and have it ready for the next dab.

What to look for when buying a dab rig

When shopping for a dab setup kit, you’re going to want to consider a few different things, such as the material the rig is made from, how big it is, what kind of joint it has, and whether or not it has too many chambers and percs to be useful as a dab rig.

• Mouthpiece: Dab rigs should utilize a small, narrow mouthpiece that looks more like a bendy straw than a PVC pipe. With dab rigs, the goal isn’t to clear the chamber. Dab rigs offer constant airflow, so you want something that you can sip instead of rip. The best dab rigs usually utilize an angled mouthpiece so its more comfortable to hit from a table while sitting down.
• Material: The most common types of dab rigs are made with silicone or glass. Silicone will work in a pinch but it tends to alter the flavor of your dabs and may be more difficult to clean. Heavy-duty borosillicate glass is the way to go since it holds up to heat well, is easy to clean, and doesn’t seep unwanted flavors into your concentrates.
• Joint Size: The best joint size for a dab rig is 10mm since its so small that it doesn’t allow for oxygen permeation. However, dab rigs come in many different sizes. The most important thing to do is make sure that the joint on your nail is the same size as the one on your dab rig, but the opposite sex. That said, if you have a female nail, you’ll want to buy a male rig and vice versa.
• Percolators: Less is more when it comes to dab rigs. While flower bongs really benefit from having a lot of extra chambers and filtration devices, you really only want one chamber and no more than two percolators on your dab rig. The more volume your vapor has to travel through before hitting your lungs, the more flavor and potency you’re filtering out. Opt for something with fewer bells and whistles in a smaller size for best results.
• Size: Size is the most important aspect of your dab rig. You want something pretty small since the less distance your vapor has to travel to get into your lungs, the better your hits will taste. Opt for something small with a small joint and mouthpiece and a no-fuss design that contains no more than two percs if you want to get the most out of your dabs.

Answers to your most frequently asked questions 

Q: How much are dab rigs? 

A: To calculate dab rig cost, you have to look at artistry and craftsmanship. There are a lot of really great dab rigs out there in the $50-$300 range, but in all honesty, you can find rigs as cheap as $20 and as expensive as several thousand dollars. It all boils down to the quality of materials and how well they were made. Price isn’t always a direct indicator of quality, but you want to make sure that whatever rig you buy is made from heavy-duty borosillicate glass. It helps if they’re on the smaller side and don’t come with a ton of extra bells and whistles which mostly increase the price without improving the overall experience.

Q: Bong vs dab rig — what’s the difference? 

A: There are a few differences between bongs and dab rigs and it mostly comes down to size. Bongs for flower are usually significantly larger than dab rigs and utilize a wider mouthpiece and joint size. They also usually have multiple water chambers and lots of percolators or filtration devices that are necessary for cooling and filtering the smoke from flower, which is harsh without any filtration. Dab rigs on the other hand are designed to reduce the volume that your dab vapor has to travel before it reaches your mouth. While dab rigs are also designed to help cool and filter smoke, they’re a lot more simple and much smaller. They often have small mouthpieces so you can sip from your rig instead of ripping it like a bong.

Q: How much water to put in your dab rig? 

A: There isn’t any one size fits all approach to filling your dab rig with water since every rig is different. A good tule of thumb is to make sure you have enough water in your rig to bubble as you draw vapor into the chamber, but not high enough that it splashes you through the mouthpiece, or worse, burps up the joint and into your banger. Make sure that you have water in each chamber and that your percs are all covered, for best results.