Everything You Need to Know About Dab Rigs

Making the decision to escalate into the next step of smoking requires a little thought. Dab rigs are an excellent way to streamline your process and fine-tune the intensity and feeling of your experience. 

We’re going to take a look at dab rigs in this article, giving you some insight into the different parts of them and how to approach buying a new rig. Hopefully, the information below can put you in a position to make a great purchase of some high-quality equipment. 

Let’s take a look.

Understanding the Basics of Dab Rigs

Smoking dabs, if you’re not aware, is one of the most effective ways to get high as quickly as possible. Wax or oil is a far more concentrated form of THC and other cannabinoids that acts even faster than smoking cannabis does. 

There are other applications for dab rigs as well, but mostly the people who are using them are doing so to consume cannabis. It makes sense, too, because there is a distinctly different experience that comes from using a dab bong as opposed to smoking or vaping cannabis. 

The only barrier to entry is the knowledge of how to choose the right rig. Products can vary in cost and quality, but they can be a little spendy if you choose handmade or very ornate glass, so it’s important that you know what you’re getting into. 

Foundational Glass

The glass piece is the largest, and typically most expensive piece of the rig.  Keep in mind that larger glass pieces are a little more impactful, although smaller ones can help you enjoy the product a little bit more. 

The smaller the piece, the more access you have to fine-tune the flavor and your experience of the oil. It’s also important to note that smaller rigs offer more potency, so you’re getting more bang for your buck. 

The glass piece is the foundation and base of the rig. It’s where you put water and attach the rest of your pieces as needed. 

Pick or Nail

The nail is an essential piece of the process as well. This is essentially a separate piece that you use to pick up the oil and hold it over the quartz banger to produce the vapor. 

The type of nail that you use will impact the experience you have while you’re using the rig. Some nails last longer or stay hotter than others, but there isn’t too much variation in how this will go. 

Maybe as you start to get a little more savvy and particular about your dabbing, you can start to invest in different nails that have unique advantages. 

The Banger or Bowl

The banger, often called the quartz banger, is the extension of the glass piece that you heat up and apply wax to. It’s similar to the bowl of a water pipe. 

You buy this piece separately, and the type of piece that you buy is important. The biggest investment should be in the glass piece, but the banger will come in at a close second. 

Different sizes and materials will give you some access to different styles of smoking. Most importantly, make sure that the banger stays hot for long enough while you’re trying to apply the wax. 

Some bangers have a tendency to cool down almost immediately, and those issues can get in the way and have you running through a lot of gas in the torch. That said, most bangers will do a pretty good job if you get them from a quality business. 

There’s no shame in starting out small, either. If you’re looking to get an introductory dab bong, you’ll be just fine getting a banger that works well enough for you to use for a few weeks. 

The Torch

You’ll also need a small handheld torch to heat the banger with. This is the part of the equation that scares people away a lot of the time, but it’s important to note that you just have to be careful with your preparation. 

Make sure you’re using the rig somewhere that isn’t close to a bunch of flammable or valuable things. Light the torch and scorch the banger until it turns bright red. At that point you use the nail to apply the wax and start pulling from the mouth of the glass piece. 

The result is a highly-concentrated hit of THC that operates quickly. The fact that you’re using a torch isn’t as difficult as it seems to be, because you’re not torching and pulling from the rig simultaneously.

You light the banger, set the torch down, then apply the nail. 

Tips for Use and Maintenance

If you’ve ever used a pipe to smoke marijuana before, you know that things get dirty fast. The buildup of resin starts to smell and impedes your ability to use the equipment as effectively as you once did. 

Do you love collecting things? If you do, bongs are a perfect choice for you. There are so many designs and types of bongs to collect. You can go for classy, glass bong or beaker bottom bongs with an ice catcher, for example.

Why stick with a plain glass bong when you buy one with a skull design or one with a Darth Vader head? You’ll find some with dragon statues and more. Impress your friends with a collection of bongs on a shelf!

The trick is to just make sure that you’re cleaning all of the components after every few uses. Don’t let that water sit for days and certainly don’t leave a bunch of materials in the banger and the glass piece for that long. You’ll only have to clean it later, and things can get dirty enough to be stained permanently. 

For the sake of the quality of your rig, it’s best to clean everything out with isopropyl alcohol whenever you notice that it starts to look a little grimey. 

The quartz banger will have an inflamed look to it from the constant proximity to a torch, but there’s not much you can do about that. Other than the banger, though, there’s no reason that all of your equipment can’t be spotless as you continue using it!

Want to Learn More?

The world of dab bong is an interesting one, and there are plenty of rabbit holes that you can go down as you search for different parts to use. We’re here to help you get a grasp on those ideas and products.