How to Smoke Dabs: A Beginner's Guide to the World of Dabbing
These days, there are many different ways to consume THC. One popular way of doing so is dabbing. At first, smoking dabs may seem difficult if you’re used to smoking flower or taking edibles. However, dabbing is easy to learn, and anyone (of legal age) can do it.
Today, we’ll introduce you to the world of dabbing and show you how to smoke dabs. You’ll learn about the advantages of dabbing as well as the different rigs you can use.
Dabs 101: What is Dabbing?
Dabbing is the act of taking a dab. Put simply, dabs are THC concentrates available for consumption. Here’s a sampling of some of the most popular options:
Butane Hash Oil
Butane hash oil (also known as BHO) is the most common concentrate on the market. It uses butane to turn raw plant material into concentrates. While BHO is being made, heat removes much of the butane before you consume it. Oils work great with vape pens, but less so with rigs since they’re runny.
Wax
Wax is made from refined BHO. It’s a sticky substance, so you’ll need to use a tool to properly use it.
Hash
Hash is made by heating and pressing kief (made of marijuana trichomes) together. It can be sticky or powdery. If you’re smoking your dabs, we prefer the sticky kind.
Dry-Sift Hash
Dry-sift hash is made when someone sifts and shakes dry herb and selects the best particles for the concentrate. Sometimes, it’s pressed with resin to make it sticky, but it’s more commonly a powder. Dry-sift hash is also known as kief, which is what you collect from the bottom of a grinder.
Bubble Hash
Bubble hash is a higher grade of hash that’s made by placing cannabis buds in ice and cold water to separate the resin from the plant. Then, the bath is agitated to force the frozen trichomes to fall to the bottom of a sieve. Once collected, they are used to make a sticky paste for consumption.
Hash comes in different grades, depending on the plant matter content. If you’re looking for the highest-grade hash, try “full melt.” It gets its name from the fact that it fully melts away after you use it.
Rosin
Rosin contains some of the essential oils from the marijuana plant, and it’s made by heating dry buds, hash, or kief. It’s a relatively new form of concentrate, but your local dispensary is likely to have it. You can also use rosin in a vape, making it a good choice for people who prefer that method of dabbing.
Shatter
Shatter is a pure concentrate that’s typically flat, solid, and close to clear. Some lower-grade types of shatter may be yellow or amber-colored, though there are no distinct colors for high-grade shatter. Clear opacity is hard to achieve, so your shatter may be more opaque.
Live Resin
Not to be confused with rosin, live resin is frozen once it’s extracted from cannabis plants, and it’s maintained under these conditions until the final product is ready. This is an unusual process for preparing concentrates. The high level of terpenes gives live resin a nice aroma and flavor, and the consistency is easy to work with.
Terp Sauce
Also known just as “sauce,” terp sauce gets its name because it has a high level of terpenes. It has the consistency of gravy, though it often also has some granular crystals. The color could be yellow or amber.
Pull ‘n’ Snap
Also known as taffy, pull ‘n’ snap is a glossy concentrate that comes in a variety of yellow shades. While it looks similar to shatter, it doesn’t break quite the same way. Instead, it breaks like a piece of taffy, hence its name. To keep pull ‘n’ snap from getting messy, store it at cooler temperatures than other concentrates.
Crumble
Crumble is known for breaking when handled, making it a bit harder to work with than other concentrates. Up until a certain point, it’s made similarly to shatter. While it’s normally yellow, it sometimes comes in a darker color. Both are acceptable options. One advantage to using crumble is that it’s relatively cheap for its potency, giving you more bang for your buck.
Honeycomb
This concentrate is so similar to crumble that many people think it’s the same product. However, honeycomb’s distinct feature is its porous, cavity-filled look. Like crumble, it falls apart when you touch it with a dab tool.
While all different types of concentrates are a little different, they all have a few things in common. Dabs are very potent, with strengths between 60-90%. This may seem intimidating, but taking a dab is a safe and popular way to enjoy THC.
That being said, it’s possible to consume more than you can handle. One dab is the equivalent of multiple hits of flower, so pace yourself and start off with a very small amount. If it’s your first time dabbing, consider having a friend with you who isn’t partaking.
Extracting concentrates is complicated, and it can be dangerous to try it on your own. That’s why we always recommend you buy your concentrates from a local dispensary, where the dabs were extracted by professionals.
Advantages of Smoking Dabs
There are quite a few advantages to smoking dabs over flower. When learning how to do a dab, it’s important to know why dabs are often superior. Let’s explore why smoking dabs is such a popular option.
Dabs are smokeless, making them great for people with roommates with smoke sensitivities, renters who need their security deposit back, and people who don’t want their home to smell like marijuana. Dabs do give off an odor when smoked, but it’s not nearly as strong or long-lasting as the scent of smoking flower. Your guests and your landlord will have no idea you consume THC in your home (unless they see your equipment).
The potency of dabs means you need less of it to get the desired result, depending on the effect you are seeking. This could mean using less of your product, potentially saving some money over time. The potency of dabs also makes them faster, so if you’re using them for medicinal purposes, your symptoms could be alleviated quicker than if you smoked flower.
In addition to being more potent than flower, dabs are also purer. Flower contains chlorophyll and inactive metabolites that can be harsh on the lungs. They also offer no benefits to your health. Because flower is less pure than dabs, you likely won’t see concentrations higher than 30%. As we discussed earlier, this is not the case with dabs— they’re far more potent and pure.
Dabs are also more flavorful than flower. This is because you have more control over the temperature of your dab rig than you do a joint or a bong. Lower temperatures result in more flavorful dabs, so keep that in mind while you’re smoking.
How to Smoke Dabs: A Guide to Concentrates
In this next section, we’ll teach you how to take a dab. If you currently have no idea how to dab, you’ll be a pro by the end of the day.
Before you get started, you’ll need to gather up a few tools essential for the best dabbing experience::
- Rig
- Torch
- Water
- Dabber
- Concentrates of your choice
- Cotton balls
- Isopropyl alcohol
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do dabs:
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Prepare Your Materials
The first step in our guide on how to hit a dab is to prepare your materials. These include your dabber and rig. Place your dab on your dabber and add water to the base or percolator of your rig. If there’s already water in it, you don’t need to add more. Make sure you’re preparing your rig and concentrate on a flat, even space so they don’t tip over and spill.
2. Fire Up Your Rig
The next step in how to smoke dabs is to heat up the rig. How you do this will depend on whether you have a traditional rig or an e-rig. If you’re using a traditional torch, you’ll need to heat up the nail until it glows red. Once it’s glowing, let it sit to cool down. You don’t want to dab while it’s too hot; otherwise, you’ll have a less enjoyable experience.
If you’re using an e-rig, firing it up is easier. Simply set the rig to the correct temperature for your concentrates and wait for it to reach the desired degree. Keep in mind that lower-temperature dabs are superior to higher-temperature ones, ideally between 500 and 600 degrees Fahrenheit.
If your e-rig is set lower than 500 degrees, it won’t fully vaporize, which wastes product. If the temperature is too high, however, your concentrates will burn. Never heat up your rig to higher than 700 degrees to avoid burning your dabs.
When using a traditional rig, it’s harder to reach the right temperature. You’ll need to heat up your nail for the right amount of time to hit the temperature you want. To determine how long you need to heat up your rig, consider buying a temperature gun. This will let you test the rig without running the risk of getting burned. For low-temperature dabs, heat up your nail for 15-40 seconds; then, let it cool down for another 30-40 seconds.
3. Vaporize the Concentrate
The next step on how to use dabs is to vaporize your concentrates. Use your dabber to place your dab on the nail. Seal the mouthpiece with your mouth. Once the dab is vaporized, inhale similarly to how you would a bong.
Since it can take a while to get used to dabbing, we recommend starting with a concentrate you’re not terribly fond of to avoid wasting product while you’re still learning. When you’re better able to smoke dabs, you can start using the concentrates based on your preferences.
Smoking Dabs: Traditional Rig vs E-Rig
There are advantages and disadvantages to using both traditional rigs and e-rigs for your dabs. Let’s dive into the differences so you can find the right rig for your needs.
Traditional Rig
There are several reasons why people prefer traditional rigs over e-rigs. A traditional rig requires a few essentials, like a torch, the nail, the rig itself, and a dabber. Some people say that the flavor from a traditional rig is unmatched. You may achieve an excellent flavor the first time you use an e-rig, but it’s hard to consistently get that experience. With a traditional rig, an inexperienced smoker can still get a dab that tastes relatively good after a little trial and error.
With a traditional rig, you will have better control over the amount of vapor being produced. Even if it’s not cleaned often, the rig is still able to produce plenty of vapors. With an e-rig, you’ll need to clean it regularly to make sure it produces the amount of vapor for the desired experience.
E-Rigs
While it may seem like e-rigs aren’t preferable, they still offer many benefits for some people. The biggest advantage of using an e-rig is temperature control. If you’re still learning how to smoke dabs, it can take some time to learn how to get the nail to the temperature you want. Using an e-rig can simplify the process. This option displays the temperature in degrees, making it easy to control with precision. E-rigs are a great choice for beginners, even though the right flavor might not be as easy to achieve at first.
E-rigs are also safer to use than traditional rigs. They don’t use an open flame like traditional rigs, which reduces the risk of burns. E-rigs are also safer for your home by minimizing the risk of fire.
Taking a Dab: The Takeaway with Biohazard
Taking dabs is a popular way to partake in consuming THC. It’s safe and effective, and with some practice, it’s easy to do. There are many different concentrates to choose from, so it’s worthwhile to experiment until you find the ones you enjoy the most. If you’ve never dabbed before, give it a try today to see if you like the effects that dabs can offer.
Smoking dabs is a fun way to consume THC, and it’s worth learning how to do it the right way. If you’re just getting started with dabbing, you’ll need a dab rig and the right supplies to go with it. Biohazard offers traditional rigs, e-rigs, smoking essentials, and vaporizing tools for dabbing from a wide variety of brands.
When you purchase from Biohazard, we guarantee your satisfaction by providing honest and excellent service to all our customers. Contact us today or visit our website to learn more about what we have in stock.