Harsh Hits with a Dab Pen? Here’s What You Can Do
Compared to other methods of herbal vaping, dab pens can sometimes be fairly harsh to use – so if you’re getting harsh hits with your dab pen, you can rest assured that you’re not the first person to experience that problem. There are a few reasons why dab pens can sometimes be harsh.
- Some waxy herbal extracts are created solely by subjecting the herbs to heat and high pressure, and the extracts may not be filtered or refined to remove plant solids. Those solids may generate smoke when they come into contact with your dab pen’s heating element, and that will increase the harshness of the vapor.
- Even if the wax that you’re using is completely filtered and contains no plant solids, a dab pen typically operates at a very high temperature compared to some other types of vaping devices. Because of the high temperature of the heating element, the vapor can be very hot.
- The way that a dab pen is usually configured means that your mouth is positioned very close to the heating element. Because the vapor doesn’t have much space in which to cool off, it’s still very hot when it reaches your mouth.
If you’re having trouble enjoying your dabbing sessions because of harsh hits, keep reading because you’re going to find the solution right here. Here are six simple solutions that can make your dabs smoother and more enjoyable.
Use Your Dab Pen with a Bubbler
If you aren’t using a dab pen with a bubbler or water pipe, you really need to try it. When you use a bubbler or bong, the vaper passes through a tube of water before it enters your mouth. The water rapidly cools the temperature of the vapor, and it also removes any particulate matter that might happen to get caught in the vapor stream.
Rokin Vapes makes a dab pen with a built-in bubbler that’s well worth checking out. If a new dab pen isn’t in the budget for you right now – but you do own a bong – you can also buy a silicone adapter that will allow you to connect your dab pen to your bong’s stem. Many people use dab pens only with water pipes because of the inherent harshness of dabbing, so this is something you should try right away.
Make Sure You’re Using a High-Quality Wax
In addition to making sure that you’re using the right equipment for the job, it’s also crucially important to buy only top-quality wax that’s been filtered to remove all plant solids and other contaminants. These days, many companies are actually sending their herbal extracts to third-party labs for testing, so there’s no reason why you should ever have to buy an extract that doesn’t have a test report available for you to download and read. All dabs are definitely not the same, and it’s worth the money to buy a top-quality product.
Make Sure You’re Melting the Wax Before Inhaling Deeply
If you’re new to dabbing, you might not be aware of the fact that you can’t just drop a ball of wax on your device’s heating element and start inhaling. You need to preheat the wax first. The preheating process softens the wax and makes it spread over the entire heating element. If you don’t melt the wax before inhaling, your dab pen’s heating element may overheat – and that’ll be an extremely harsh experience.
To preheat your wax when dabbing, start by putting a little wax on your device’s coil or heating plate. If your dab pen is puff activated, take a few quick puffs without inhaling. If you have a button-activated device, just press the fire button a few times. At this point, you can remove your dab pen’s mouthpiece and look at the wax. If it’s melted, you can inhale. Some dab pens have preheating functions that melt the wax automatically.
Don’t Use Your Dab Pen when the Coil Is Dry
Speaking of dry coils, it’s also important to remember that a session with a dab pen is typically fairly short – just a few puffs. With most dab pens, you’ll put a rice-sized ball of wax on your device’s coil or heating plate, and the wax will just be enough to supply a few puffs. After that, you’ll need to add more. While you’re still getting a feel for how dabbing works, don’t be afraid to remove your device’s mouthpiece between puffs and look at the coil. If you’ve used all of the wax and still want to continue vaping, you’ll need to add more.
Lower Your Dab Pen’s Temperature
Does your dab pen have adjustable power? If it does, you should consider lowering the power level if you consistently experience harshness when using your device. Different types of dab pens have different ways of managing their power delivery. Your device may offer direct temperature control, or it may simply have a few different voltages that you can select with the fire button. If your device only has a single fire button for control, try pressing the button two or three times quickly. If the color of the indicator light changes, you’ve adjusted the voltage. Cycle through all of the voltage settings until you find one that delivers your desired level of intensity without the harshness.
Inhale the Vapor Differently
Did you know that there are different ways to inhale when you vape? If you’re used to using a different type of vaping device, you might be accustomed to inhaling the vapor directly into your lungs. Because of the heat that a dab pen generates, though, direct-to-lung inhaling can sometimes be harsh. Instead, you should try drawing the vapor into your mouth and holding it there for a moment before inhaling it. The extra time that the vapor spends in your mouth will allow it to cool a bit, and that’ll reduce the harshness. You can also try “sipping” the vapor instead of “gulping” it – take shorter puffs and inhale just a little vapor at a time.