DAB RIGS

Dab rigs are the most important part of your entire dabbing setup, as they house all of your other working parts and provide a water-cooled vapor pathway for your dabs. Unlike bongs, concentrate rigs are specially designed to encourage the best flavors and hits from your concentrates. They’re usually smaller in size and built to support a dab nail or banger, which you’ll use to vaporize your concentrates.

Your dab bong is usually much smaller than a standard bong and less intricately designed. Small dab rigs are ideal for retaining the flavor of terpenes by keeping the vapor thick, dense and milky. The less space the vapor needs to travel, the more flavorful your hits will be. With that said, most dab rigs for wax usually don’t utilize percolators or additional filtration devices. Dabbing doesn’t require combustion, so the less diffusion occurs, the more flavorful your hits will be.

With that said, less is more with concentrate water pipes. There are all sorts of different designs out there from lazy to crazy, but the less your vapor has to filter, the better your dabs will taste. Keep it simple, economic and efficient, and make sure it’s compatible with your banger. Match the joint size, angle, and sex of your rig with your banger or nail for the best results.

What is a dab rig?

A dab rig, also known as an oil rig or a wax rig, looks a lot like a small bong. It’s typically made from glass or silicone and maintains a small stature that allows you to vaporize concentrates efficiently. They come in many different sizes and styles, including recyclers and water pipes with percolators and additional filters. However, since no combustion is involved with dabbing, you’ll get the best flavors and hits from smaller water pipes that don’t have percolators.

What is the difference between bongs and dab rigs? 

So, are dab rigs different from bongs? While they’re both used to consume cannabis, they each have their own purpose. Bongs are typically larger in size and contain many different percolators and water chambers that allow you to filter out ash and enhance the flavor of cannabis flowers. They usually come with a bowl head attachment, too.

On the other hand, dab rigs are much smaller and way less fancy. Since there is no plant material being combusted, there is no need for a bunch of percolators or extra water filtration. Most dab rigs have a single water chamber and a small pathway for the vapor to travel through so that you’re getting the most out of your dabs. They usually come with a banger attachment.

Do dab rigs get you higher?

Bongs and dab rigs get you the same level of high. The difference is the products you use with each. Flower checks in around 20-25% THC while dabs check in between 70-99% THC. Dabbing will get you much higher since the dabs themselves are concentrated. With that said, a wax bong used for dabbing will get you higher because you’re running dabs through it. If you swapped out your banger on your rig for a bowl head, you’d only get as high as you would smoking flower through an ordinary bong. Dab rigs get you higher because concentrates get you higher.

How to use concentrates with dab rigs?

Using concentrates with a dab rig is pretty easy, but you’ll need a few materials to get started.

  • A dab rig
  • A banger or nail
  • A carb cap
  • A dab tool
  • Your favorite concentrates
  • A torch or e-nail
  • Isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs

Once you have all your materials, here’s how to dab:

  1. Add water to the water chamber in your dab rig and attach your banger to the rig
  2. Use the torch or e-nail to heat up your banger to the ideal temperature. We created this guide for taking the perfect low-temp dab.
  3. Allow your banger to cool down if you’re using a torch, or come to the correct temperature if you’re using an e-nail. If you’re using a torch, wait about 30-45 seconds or use a terpometer to find the right temperature.
  4. Scoop a dab of your favorite concentrate with your dab tool and apply it directly to the bottom of your banger and inhale.
  5. Cap your banger with the carb cap and inhale deeply.
  6. When you’re done, allow your banger to cool down. Use a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to remove leftover dab residue from your banger.

What are the best types of dab rigs?

The best dab rigs are borosillicate glass dab rigs. Borosillicate glass is stronger than standard glass and heavier, so it tends to be more table stable and less prone to breakage. They also hold up to the heat very nicely so you can avoid heat-stress related cracks and replacements. The type of borosillicate glass rig design you choose mostly boils down to personal preferences in terms of aesthetics. But more or less, you’re looking for something small without a ton of percolators or unnecessary bells and whistles to preserve your flavors.

What to think of when buying a dab rig online?

If you’re buying a rig online, you’re going to want to look at 5 main things: the size of the mouthpiece, the material it’s made from, the joint size, whether or not it has water filtration and percolators, and the overall size of the rig.

  • Mouthpiece: Choose a dab rig that has a smaller mouthpiece. Dabbing doesn’t involve clearing the chamber. Instead, the banger allows air to pass through constantly. With that in mind, a small mouthpiece allows you to appreciate the flavor of your dabs without wasting them.
  • Material: Dab rigs can be made from glass or silicone. Silicon stays cool and typically lasts a long time, but it usually alters the flavor of your dabs a bit, doesn’t contain any percolators, and can be a bit more difficult to clean. Glass is always a good choice since they’re easy to clean, stand up to heat well, and contain water filtration and percolators. Out of all the glass rigs, borosillicate glass rigs are the sturdiest for all intents and purposes.
  • Joints: Not all glass joints are the same size, so if you already have a good banger, you’ll want to buy a dab rig that will fit it. Typically they come in 10mm, 14mm, and 19mm sizes with a male or female joint. 10mm joints are usually ideal for dab rigs because there’s more airflow restriction, which encourages the best flavors out of your dabs. Female jointed bangers tend to get stuck to a male rig due to reclaim buildup, so people typically prefer to buy a female dab rig and a male banger in the 10mm size.
  • Filtration and percs: If you’ve ever hit a bong without water in it, you know how much it sucks. A dab rig should have at least one chamber for water.  However, you don’t want to overdo it. Your dab rig doesn’t need a ton of percolators since there isn’t any combustion involved. Very little percolation is required for dabbing, but they do help cool off your dabs. With that said, choose something that has two to four percolator holes since they won’t bubble your water too much or increase the airflow volume.
  • Size: Dab rigs should be on the small, simple side. Larger water pipes mean more volume where your vapor can lose potency and dissipate from the amount of oxygen it has to travel through. The smaller the rig, the better the taste of your dabs.

How much do dab rigs cost? 

You may be wondering how much you should expect to spend on a dab rig, and what is the difference between expensive and cheap dab rigs. Dab rigs range from $50 to thousands of dollars based mainly on artistry, craftsmanship and design. Cheap dab rigs will do you right in a pinch, but they are more susceptible to breaking or not having appropriately sized joints. Joints that don’t fit quite right can alter your airflow and make it more difficult to get a good dab. But at the end of the day, the biggest difference between expensive dab rigs and cheap dab rigs boils down to the material used to make it, and the level of craftsmanship and artistry. More percs or intricate borosilicate glass designs in many different colors usually means a much more expensive dab rig. Cheaper dab rigs are very plain and may not be made as well as more expensive glass.