A dab pen is a type of vaporizer that’s designed to work with wax-based concentrates, which are solid until they’re heated. This is in contrast with standard cartridge-based vape pens, which use oil-based concentrates that are runny at room temperature. Many people own both types of vaporizers, but dab pens have two benefits that cartridge-based vape pens usually lack.
- Because dab pens generally have exposed coils with very open airflow, they can often produce much larger clouds than standard vape pens.
- Wax-based extracts are often more potent than oil-based extracts. Between the high potency of wax and the excellent cloud production of the devices, dab pens are typically the best vapes for people who have high tolerance or simply want the most potent vaping experience possible.
This article is your comprehensive beginner-friendly introduction to dab pens. Reading it, you’re going to learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about what dab pens are, how they work and whether you should buy one. Let’s dive in!
Ready to make your choice? Our best dab pens for beginners include the Nomad ($66.99), the Tombstone V2 ($44.99) and the Starship (89.99). You can also view our full selection of vaporizers now.
What Does a Dab Pen Look Like?
Dab pens come in a variety of different shapes because some are designed to be portable, and others are intended primarily for at-home use. We provided three examples in this article’s introduction, ranging from the Nomad (uses a single wax coil and is very portable) to the Starship (uses up to three coils or cartridges and is generally most appropriate for at-home vaping). The one characteristic almost every dab pen has, however, is an exposed heating coil. That’s because you use a dab pen by putting your wax directly on the coil. If you can remove the device’s mouthpiece to access the coil, it’s a dab pen. A vape pen with a liquid-filled cartridge, on the other hand, isn’t a dab pen.
How Does a Dab Pen Work?
All vaporizers work by heating a substance until it turns to vapor. You then inhale the vapor to absorb the active compounds in the substance through your lungs. You use a dab pen by placing the wax directly on the device’s heating coil. The coil heats the wax, turning it from a solid to a liquid and eventually to vapor. Because a dab pen operates at a very high temperature, the entire vaporization process takes just a few seconds. A dab pen’s coil is typically large enough to hold a rice-sized dab of wax, which lasts a few puffs. When the coil is dry, you’ll need to add more wax. Want to know more? Learn how to use a dab pen.
What Are the Types of Dab Pens?
There are two different types of dab pens: portable dab pens and full-sized dab rigs. As you probably guessed, you can identify a dab pen’s type by its size. Although most dab pens are a bit too large to carry in your pocket, portable devices are small enough for you to enjoy a bit of on-the-go dabbing. It’s also possible to transport a full-sized dab rig from place to place, but devices like the Starship work best when you’re able to sit down for a while and have a place to put the device between puffs. A full-sized dab rig may have the ability to give you a more potent experience, but there’s also value in having a device that’s easy to bring wherever your adventures may take you.
What Are the Parts of a Dab Pen?
A dab pen consists of three required parts plus an optional fourth part. They are:
- The device: This is the main body of the vaporizer. Some people may call this component the battery, although it’s more accurate to say that it actually contains the battery. The device includes the electronics necessary for the vaporizer to work and the threading that allows you to connect the heating element.
- The heating element: This is the component that heats and vaporizes your wax. It can also be called the coil, the nail or the atomizer. The heating element for a dab pen may be an exposed metal coil, or it can also be a ceramic plate or chamber that transmits heat from a separate heating element positioned under it.
- The mouthpiece: This is the component that you inhale the vapor through. A dab pen always has a mouthpiece that’s easily removable to allow easy access to the coil.
- The bubbler: This is an optional component, but it’s fairly common for a dab pen to either include a built-in bubbler or to have one as an optional attachment. That’s because dabbing produces a great deal of heat, and a bubbler provides water filtration that cools the vapor before it reaches your mouth. The KR1 dab pen has a built-in bubbler. The Nomad includes a bubbler attachment.
How Much Is a Dab Pen?
Dab pens are typically some of the most advanced vaporizers on the market, and you can usually expect their prices to start around $50 and increase from there depending on their capabilities and advanced features. Here’s a sampling of the dab pens that we offer at Hamilton Devices along with their prices and what they offer.
- Tombstone V2 ($44.99): Works with up to two cartridges or dab coils simultaneously.
- Nomad ($66.99): Includes a glass bubbler, a water pipe adapter and a padded carrying case.
- KR1 ($69.99): Has a built-in bubbler.
- Starship ($89.99): Works with up to three cartridges or dab coils simultaneously.
- Jetstream ($169.99): Works with up to three cartridges or dab coils simultaneously and has an air pump that automatically propels the vapor into your mouth.
Do Dab Pens Smell?
An herbal extract will always smell somewhat like the herb used to make the extract. The smell of vaping, however, isn’t nearly as strong as the smell of smoking and is much easier to control because it dissipates more quickly. If you’re looking for a way to consume your favorite herb discreetly, you’ll find that using a dab pen is infinitely better for privacy than smoking.
