Dab rigs are small metal or glass rigs that fit around a standard Bic lighter. Dab rigs allow you to roll a perfect fat dab every time without needing a titanium nail, e-nail, torch, etc.
While most people who smoke concentrates have an abundance of lighters lying around their house, a good quality dab rig can be hard to find. If you don’t know what a dab rig is, this is just the article for you.
A basic 2-inch long dab rig should only cost around $5, making it one of the cheapest yet effective dabs tools available on the market.
Table of Contents
Find the Right Size
The first step in using a dab rig is finding the correct size. A dab rig that is too big or small won’t fit a standard Bic lighter and will prevent a perfect seal from being formed. When the dab rig doesn’t fit snugly around your lighter, it can be quite frustrating to use, especially when you have a great deal of wax or shatter on the hot plate.
The right dab rig should fit the Bic lighter snugly, but it shouldn’t be impossible to slide on or off. When you hold the dab rig by its two flat sides, they should almost touch at all points, making a complete circle around your lighter.
Preheat Your Dab rig
Once you have found the size that best fits you, you will want to preheat the dab rig. Preheating the dab rig guarantees a smoother hit and maximizes your wax or shatter flavor profile.
The best way to preheat a dab rig is by heating it with an open flame for about five seconds without touching it. Don’t hold the dab rig over the flame because it could catch fire.
It is essential not to hold the dab rig over open flame because it causes the metal to lose its strength making it more brittle and prone to breaking.
Load Your Wax or Shatter
Once the dab rig is preheated, load the wax or shatter it on top of the hot plate. If you ten to use an excess of wax, use a q-tip to clean off the excess and stuff the right amount. Hold the rig in the middle and stuff the herb, allowing gravity to pull the concentrate down to the hot plate. This might be one of the best ways to load a device.
With enough practice, you will be able to tell when your fat dab is ready because the vapor bubbles will form on top of the hot plate.
Take Your Dab
To minimize any excess wax or shatter rolling off the top of the dab rig while taking your hit, you should use a straw brush.
Apply pressure to the concentrate with the straw brush while simultaneously pulling the dab rig away from the Bic. Dab rigs are designed to be removed from a standard Bic lighter within 3 seconds of drawing to prevent any wax or shatter from escaping the hot plate.
Maintaining The Dab Rig
Properly maintaining a clean dab rig will ensure you don’t experience any cross-contamination from previous dabs. If residue is left on the hot plate, consider using isopropyl alcohol to clean it before rinsing under warm water. Simply rinse the hot plate under warm running water to remove any remaining concentrate, and allow it to dry for a couple of seconds before sliding onto your next Bic lighter.
You must maintain your dab rigs by properly storing them, cleaning them, and checking for wear on the hot plate insert. It is also better to use different colored dab rigs for specific flavors or terpenes. Cleaning a dirty dab rig can be quite frustrating, even for an experienced concentrate user.
How to Choose the right Dab rig
There are various dab rigs in the market, most likely because they come in various shapes and sizes. Dab rigs can be roughly broken down into three main categories: portable, torchless, and electronic nails.
Portable Dab rigs
Portable dab rigs are easy to maintain and can be easily disposed of if necessary. Portable dab rigs require the use of dome perc for optimal filtration, glass slides that act as nail attachments, glass bowls, and glass pitchers.
Some portable dab rigs come with nails attached to them, but most users will have to add a titanium, quartz, or glass nail. Portable dab rigs are perfect for traveling and outdoor activities because they are lightweight and easy to use.
Torchless Dab rigs
Torchless dab rigs don’t require any open flames, which makes them safe for use indoors. Torchless dab rigs come with electronic nails. They can simply be plugged in to heat the nail. Once the nail is preheated, dabs can be taken as long as the tool is plugged in.
Torchless dab rigs usually come with a water filtration attachment that acts as a percolator and helps cool off any vapor before it enters your lungs. Some electronic dab rigs even come with their water filtration attachment for convenience purposes.
Electronic Nails
Electronic nails allow any user to take a dab without worrying about heat management, preheating the nail, or even having a lighter handy. They come in all sorts of shapes and styles, including dome style, banger style, and the bucket style.
Electronic nails require you to simply apply a fat dab onto the nail once it’s ready and inhale as if you were taking a normal dab from a domeless quartz nail. Depending on the quality and function of your electronic nail, it can take anywhere from 10 seconds to 30 seconds for your dab to cool down after hitting the electronic nail.
How to Choose a Dab Pen
After choosing an electronic dab rig, you will need a compatible wax pen battery to use it properly. Most vape pens for wax require a 510-thread connection with the heating chamber. If you are unsure whether or not your dab pen has a compatible thread type, please check the user manual or contact customer service for more information.
Dab rigs are an essential accessory for any concentrate user that wishes to take their waxes on the go. Using a clean dab rig will allow you to get more flavor out of your concentrates while still enjoying each hit of wax without any cross-contamination.
