When dabbing first emerged, the common practice was to get it red hot fast and take it as hot as you can. Of course, that means you cough your lungs out like crazy, and most think of this as a right of passage in dabbing. However, you can enjoy your concentrates better when you do a cold start dab, and we’ll teach you how to do it right!
It’s easy to do a cold start dab when you have all the tools that you need in front of you. The trick here is to pay attention to your concentrates.
Stop heating once you see the concentrate sizzle.
Inserts are perfect accessories for cold start dabs.
You can still do a cold start dab even if you have an insert. It’s the same process, with one small difference. Instead of loading the dab in the banger, you place it inside the insert. Once you load the insert, you then plop it inside the cold banger.
Once you’re ready, cover the banger and heat it the same way. It may take longer, about 10-15 secs, to heat up as the hot temperature needs to spread from the banger to the insert.
A cold start dab is best suited for those who are dabbing for the first time or always find dabbing a bit harsh. This also eliminates the guessing game of heat-up and cool-down times that most seem to get a hard time with.
If you’re in a rush, cold start dabbing can cut down the waiting time. You don’t have to heat the bucket for a minute, and you don’t have to countdown until your banger cools down. Since you don’t heat the banger to glowing red hot, you prolong its lifespan as well.
Always, always start with a clean nail or banger so that you can see clearly when the concentrate begins to vaporize. If you only have one banger at the moment and it’s filled with residue, soak it in iso for an hour or so until you get the bucket clean.
Small dabs will do at first until you get the feel of the technique. Remember that any concentrate that doesn’t vaporize when heated to 350-500 is now resin that doesn’t taste as good. Conserve your dabs as they don’t come cheap.
Swab after each dab to prevent any residue that can interfere with the temperature and taste of your vapor.
Directional airflow carb cap works best for cold start dabs as it will help you get the most vapor out of your sesh.
If you want to get started with cold start dabbing, begin with a great dab rig. You can get our Headdie Glass Fixed Diffused Downstem Swirl Accent Dab rig that features a quartz banger as well as a reclaim catcher. This will help you capture any left-over dabs that didn’t vaporize, which you can use for topicals or edibles.
For experts, what’s your favorite about cold start dabbing? Do share your insights and techniques as well in our comment section below!
