A dab rig is a device designed for use with cannabis concentrates. Most dab rigs are glass and designs range from simple straw-like objects consisting of little more than a tube that’s heated at one end, to large multi-chamber devices that bear a striking resemblance to bongs.
In this post, the team at the 710 Pipes Denver headshop will discuss the reasons why you may want to use an actual bong as a dab rig, and how you can adapt it for such use.
Will Your Bong Make a Good Dab Rig?
If you have little to no experience with dabbing, the idea of buying a dab rig might give you pause. After all, if you don’t like it you’ll be stuck with it. And high-quality rigs are not cheap.
The good news is that if you have the right bong you may not need to pony up for a dab rig straight away. You can adapt the bong to dabbing and decide later if you want to invest in a rig or not. But what do we mean by “the right bong”?
The consensus among the pipe shop staff here in Denver is that:
- The smaller the bong the more useful and efficient it will be as a dab rig. While big bongs may make for monster hits when smoking dry herb they’re not much good as dab rigs.
- Novelty bongs are another type of bong that is not going to adapt well as a dab rig. Many novelty bongs sport extreme designs and these tend to make adapting the rig difficult.
- Bongs with percs may also be unsuitable. It depends. If there’s one small, simple perc you may be able to use it. If there are multiple complex percs involved, probably not.
In our opinion the ideal bong to convert for dabbing is modest in size, has a straight tube, no perc, and removable downstem.
What You’ll Need to Convert Your Bong to a Dab Rig
- A quartz banger nail to use in place of the bong’s normal bowl.
- A carb cap.
- A dabber tool from our online head shop.
- A torch, as opposed to a convenience store lighter.
That’s it. With the right bong and these simple adapter tools, you can turn your bong into a dab rig.
Should You Convert Your Bong to a Dab Rig?
Maybe a better question than “Can you use a bong as a dab rig?” is “Should you?”
In our opinion, if you use your bong often you should only convert it for a short time until you get a feel for whether you like dabbing. The reason is that the detritus produced by dry herbs has the potential to alter the flavor of concentrates. That means going back and forth from dry herbs to dabs will require lots of cleaning. Lots.
So try dabbing a few times and if you like it pick up a dab rig from our online smoke shop. We have an incredible variety of heady glass and standard dab rigs to choose from.