Dabbing From Scratch: What It Is and What Gear You Need

Dabbing sounds complicated until you see what it is made of. In short: a concentrate vaporizes on a hot surface, usually a quartz banger, and the vapor passes through a rig with a little water. Below is everything worth knowing at the start: the gear, how it works step by step, and the mistakes almost everyone makes at the beginning.

How a dab rig differs from a bong

A rig looks like a small bong, but instead of a bowl it has a banger. It is usually smaller too: according to the US retailer DankStop, a typical rig is 6-10 inches (15-25 cm) tall, while bongs run 10-20 inches (25-50 cm). A rig also needs less water. A shorter vapor path means less flavor sticks to the glass on the way.

Gear: what you need

• A rig. The heart of the setup. To start, a simple, compact model from our rigs category is enough.
• A quartz banger. This is where the concentrate vaporizes. It has to match your rig in joint size (10, 14 or 18 mm), gender (male into female and vice versa) and angle (45° or 90°). We cover shapes in our banger guide, and you can pick one from the quartz bangers category.
• A torch. To heat the banger. See the torches category.
• A carb cap. It covers the banger and restricts and directs the airflow. More in What Is a Carb Cap.
• A dab tool. A small spatula for loading a portion. Browse the dab tools category.
• A pyrometer. So you do not have to guess the temperature by eye. Why it matters is in our dabbing temperature guide, and the gear is in temperature sensors.
• Cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. For cleaning after every use. How to do it is in our cleaning guide, and swabs are in the swabs category.

Do not want to put it all together yourself? In our ready-made sets the parts already match. For example, the StarterGlass Full Kit #1 is a rig, banger and carb cap in one case, and the Phoenix Star Portable Recycler Starter Kit is a more affordable starter set with a recycler.

Prefer to skip the torch? An e-rig such as a Puffco is the alternative. It heats itself, and you choose the temperature with a button (the New Peak has four settings) or in the app (Peak Pro). The comparison is in Puffco Peak vs Peak Pro, and the devices are in the e-rigs category.

How it works, step by step

There are two methods. The first, classic one: heat first, then the concentrate.

1. Heat the banger with the torch.
2. Wait for the temperature to drop into your chosen range and check it with a pyrometer. The ranges are in our temperature guide.
3. Load a small portion with the dab tool and cover the banger with the carb cap.
4. After about 30 seconds, when the quartz is warm but no longer hot, wipe it with a cotton swab.

The second method is the cold start, which reverses the order. Glassmakers IC Glass and Encore Collection describe it the same way: the concentrate goes into a cold banger, you cover it with the carb cap right away, then heat the sides and bottom with the torch from a few centimeters away. Stop heating when the oil starts to bubble, usually after 6-15 seconds. The downside: the banger has to cool down completely before the next round.

Your first time: less is more

Concentrates are many times stronger than flower, so a starting portion is the size of a grain of rice, not a guess. That is the advice from both the retailer DankStop and the glassmaker IC Glass. Better to add more later than to overdo it at the start.

The most common beginner mistakes

• A banger that is too hot. In a study published in 2017 in the journal ACS Omega, benzene showed up at around 525°C, and you cannot judge the temperature by eye. Let it cool and measure.
• Skipping the swab after each use. Leftovers bake on during the next heat-up, and the quartz starts to cloud.
• Burning residue off with the torch. Most sources, glassmakers included, advise against it: burnt-on residue stays in the quartz for good.
• Hot quartz into cold liquid. Before soaking, the banger has to cool down completely, or it can crack.
• A wet banger under the torch. Isopropyl alcohol is highly flammable, so everything has to be dry before you heat it.
• The wrong joint size. 14 mm is the most common, but check your rig before buying a banger. The easiest way is to measure the opening with calipers.

Important

DabLab sells hardware and accessories. The legal status of THC concentrates depends on where you live; in Poland, possessing them is illegal. This guide covers equipment, technique and safety. Have a question about choosing gear? Get in touch.