The Complete Guide to Dab Rigs

A dab rig is a water pipe set up for concentrates rather than dried flower. Health Canada defines dabbing as inhaling an aerosol made by vaporizing a solid or semi-solid cannabis extract at high temperature, and lists the extracts used in rigs, from wax and shatter to rosin and live resin.

As in a bong, water cools and filters what you inhale. The difference is the heated nail or banger that replaces the bowl. You can either swap the parts on a standard water pipe or buy a purpose-built rig; for a fuller comparison, see how a dab rig differs from a bong.

Health Canada lists the core parts as the water pipe, the nail or banger, the dome and the dabber. Add a carb cap and a heat source and you have a working setup.

Leafly's glossary lists quartz, titanium, ceramic and glass as banger materials. Domeless titanium nails have small holes that draw the vapour through the nail itself, so they need no dome.

Fit matters as much as material: bangers come in joint sizes such as 10, 12 and 14 mm, male or female, and Leafly notes the size and shape must match your rig to seal. For pipes in general, Health Canada recommends glass or ceramic, because plastic and some other materials can contain harmful chemicals that are inhaled when heated.

Concentrates are much stronger than flower. Health Canada lists solvent-made extracts such as shatter, budder and wax at up to 90% THC, compared with up to 30% for dried flower, and its lower-risk guidance tells new or occasional users to avoid extracts. If you do dab, start with an amount no bigger than a lentil, then wait: the same guidance says smoked or vaped cannabis can take up to 30 minutes to reach its full effect.

Colorado's state cannabis health guidance adds that highly concentrated THC raises the risk of an unpredictable high, that high-THC products may cause psychosis, and that there is limited information on the long-term health effects of dabbing. If you have a health condition or take medication, ask a doctor or pharmacist before using concentrates.

The torch brings its own risks. University of Delaware safety rules for butane and propane hand torches flag burn and fire hazards, and the basics carry over to home use:

This is a basic method for a domeless quartz banger; our step-by-step dabbing guide goes into more detail, and some people add terp pearls, small beads that spin under the carb cap.

How hot the banger is changes what you inhale. In a 2017 Portland State University study that recreated dabbing on a ceramic nail, the irritant methacrolein was not detected at about 322 °C (612 °F) but appeared at about 403 °C and rose as the nail got hotter, up to about 526 °C. Benzene, a potent carcinogen, showed up only in the hottest range tested. The authors noted that heating with a torch, the more common approach, gives no real temperature control.

Lower is not the same as risk-free. A 2019 follow-up study by the same group still measured methacrolein and benzene when pure THC was dabbed on an e-nail at about 370 °C, and found that added terpenes raised these by-products. It estimated far lower risk scores than for cannabis smoke, while stressing that the results were not definitive.

For a working target, Leafly's glossary suggests 400 to 600 °F (about 204 to 316 °C). An e-nail lets you set the number; with a torch, the cool-down after heating is your main control.

Dabbing and vaping both heat cannabis rather than burn it, but the gear differs. An e-nail swaps the torch for an electric coil that holds a set temperature. A dab pen is a battery device with a chamber that melts solid and semi-solid extracts; Health Canada notes these are often covered in steel because of their high internal temperatures. A cartridge vape uses a battery and heating element to vaporize oil held in a cartridge. See how a dab pen works for more, and remember that every one of these devices delivers a concentrate.

Health Canada's advice is to keep a dab rig clean by wiping it down and changing the water regularly. For the nail or banger, rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs after each use do the job.

Let the banger cool completely first. Isopropyl alcohol is a flammable liquid with a flash point of 53 °F (about 12 °C), so keep the bottle and any soaked swabs away from the torch. If you share a rig, Health Canada suggests using separate mouthpieces to avoid spreading infections.

GasDank offers same-day delivery across Toronto and the GTA, usually within one to two hours, and mail order across Canada. Toronto and Mississauga orders have a $40 minimum, with free delivery from $80 ($15 below that); outer GTA orders have a $60 minimum, free from $160 ($20 below that). Customers must be 19 or older (21 in Quebec), with ID checked at the door. Browse concentrates for your rig.