The Essentials of 710: A Dabbing Crash Course

All about oil: everything you need to know about dabbing

Whether you’re new to marijuana, or you perfected the speed roll of the perfect hooter decades ago, there’s a chance some forms of marijuana aren’t as familiar. While everyone, including most non-smokers, has a good idea about the look, smell, and effects of regular flowery bud, dabbing might be an area where you’re not up to speed.

To be brief, dabbing or “710” refers to the realm of smoking or vaporizing various marijuana concentrates. There is a distinct assortment of concentrates, many of which require a sophisticated extraction process to create in a lab-type environment. Further, there are several methods for taking dabs, depending on the variety of concentrate you select.

Below, we’re going to cover the basics for each variation, beginning with some useful products we carry here for dabbing.

Essential Gear

For general setups, most of the following items are essential for your dabbing setup.

Torch

Unless you’re sticking with a vape pen, a torch is critical for heating surfaces to the proper temperature. A regular lighter doesn’t focus output enough, meaning whatever you’re using won’t get hot enough without extreme difficulty.

Dab Mat

These silicone mats come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They provide an ideal surface to collect drips as they’re easily to clean. Plus, they can help prevent a glass rig from slipping off a whatever surface you’re using to dab.

Silicone Containers

Unlike regular glass, which is ideal for storing regular bud, concentrates are sticky, so they’re best stored in a silicone container. Otherwise, you’ll be hard pressed to remove most kinds of containers made from other materials, often wasting some of the dabs in the process.

Dab Rag

Though it might seem like an unneeded extra, dab rags serve a specific purpose for easy cleanup. This is possible because the fibers in most use a combination of materials (typically, a polyester blend) that can be washed over and over, meaning you won’t burn through stocks of paper towels or ruin good cotton blend.

Dabbing 101: using various dab devices

Here, we’ll take a quick look at a few different methods for dabbing and link to other resources for more detailed explanations

Dabbing with a rig

For a quick tutorial on how this process works, refer to this video from YoungFashioned.com.

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The purist method for dabbing involves using a dab rig composed of a bong and either a banger or nail to heat the concentrate. After reaching the proper temperature using a torch, you’ll apply your concentrate with a dab tool then inhale much like you would with a regular bong. With a carb cap, you can get the most out of low temperature dabbing by capping your banger or nail, allowing you to maximize the amount of concentrate consumed in the process.

Using a nectar collector

In recent times, a more vertical spin on a regular dab rig has take hold, known as the nector collector. We covered how to use this device in a recent blog you can read by clicking here. These devices typically have built in percolators (like some bongs and down stems) for added filtration and cooling.

Vape pen

One of the most portable ways to smoke that also involves the least maintenance is with a vape pen. Most devices require an oil, meaning you can’t smoke just any kind of concentrate however, some are specifically designed for heavy waxes. We covered a bit about how to go about choosing the right device for your vaping needs which you can read by clicking here.