How do we determine what the best dab pens are?
When we see a new and exciting product on the market, we like to bring in a sample and have our team of vaporizer experts revi ...
How do we determine what the best dab pens are?
When we see a new and exciting product on the market, we like to bring in a sample and have our team of vaporizer experts review it in terms of performance by looking at key features like vapor quality, manufacturing quality, and ease of use. In our review writeups, you'll be able to see paragraphs dedicated to these features along with an accompanying photo so that you'll have a good idea of how the wax pen works when you've finished reading. If you want to see more hands-on reviews, you'll also be able to see dab pen reviews on our 7000 subscriber Tools420 YouTube Channel.
What is the best dab pen?
As wax vaporizers continue to become of the fastest-growing categories of the cannabis industry, the amount of dab pens in the market continues to grow. If you're asking yourself, 'what are the top wax pens available right now?', Tools420 has got you covered as we only carry dab pens that we've put to the test ourselves and truly believe in.
While at the base level, they all might be quite similar with a heating element and a glass mouthpiece, our reviews will give you a snapshot of what separates them in terms of performance.
This section is all about the top wax pens out there and how to get the best experience when vaping concentrates. We handpicked each pen and evaluated based on many factors beyond vapor quality and the coil types. These devices are also ranked based on customer feedback and how they have performed to date. We update this list regularly to bring you the most up-to-date rankings.
What is a dab pen?
If you want to vaporize concentrates like distillates, shatter, live resin, or any kind of wax, then a wax, shatter, or dab pen is going to be your best friend. They all use a coil or atomizer that you place your dab onto that will melt and then vaporize your product for you to inhale. They are a quick, easy, and portable way to get potent THC hits in while on the go!
How do dab pens work?
Wax/dab / shatter pens are a much more portable version of the more powerful desktop dab units, known as Electric Dab Rigs. Most will come with a battery strong enough last one or two days' worth of very heavy usage and will come with an included dab tool to load your concentrates with.
Dab Pen Atomizers
Depending on your own preferences, you can choose between two different kinds of heating elements: A coil atomizer or a bucket atomizer.
A Coil Atomizer will have your dab sitting directly on coils that will heat up very quickly as an electrical current is run through them. They will have near-instant heating and bigger clouds but will be ultimately harder to clean and will need more replacements over time.
A Bucket Atomizer will have a layer normally made from metal or ceramic that sits above a heating element. This style will be better for people looking for a relaxed session style, as the barrier between the heating element will take a bit more time to heat your dab.
What temperature is best for dabbing?
Most of the dab pens we carry won't have precision temperature control, but instead, an LED lights display system with either three or four pre-set voltage temperatures. These voltages will vary, but on average be between 2V to 4V. For a low-temperature voltage of around 2 Volts, you will get a lot of flavors, but very thin and wispy clouds. For dabbers looking for big clouds, you will want to use your dab pen on one of the higher temperature settings closer to 4V. With a high voltage like that, your dab will vaporize much faster and you'll get very big clouds without a lot of flavors.
How do you clean a dab pen?
If you're using a dab pen with a ceramic bucket atomizer like on the G Pen Micro+, the only cleaning you'll need to do is with a vape cleaning stick after you've done your session. With a coil, it will be a bit more difficult to get into all of the nooks and crannies so you'll have to do a ten-minute soak in isopropyl alcohol when you begin to notice a change in taste or performance. After that, run a quick burn-off cycle to remove any lingering alcohol residue once you re-attach it to the body of the vape.
Most of the time, you'll also be unthread and soak your atomizer in 90-99% isopropyl alcohol to remove any hard resin buildups before a hot water rinse off.
Dab Pen Accessories
With popular models like the Utillian 2 and Utillian 5, you'll be able to use the Utillian Glass Bubbler for an added layer of water cooling. Most other popular models will also have a choice of two separate coils to use so that you can customize your vaping sessions depending on your preferences. Make sure you read the tips and tricks section of our blogs to see if there are any other additional customization that you can do with your sessions!
How much do dab pens cost?
In our current lineup, the price range of dab pens is between $30 - $115. The more budget-friendly options will have less battery life and smaller atomizers, whereas the best wax pens will tend to use powerful triple-coil atomizers or larger ceramic bucket atomizers. Heavy cannabis users will often pick up a backup shatter pen to take on vacations, as they tend to be smaller and more portable.
Do dab pens smell?
Dab pens will have much less scent than either smoking a joint or dry herb vaping. Instead of the traditional 'dank' smell, they will smell like baking sugar treats or honey depending on the strain. If you vaporize for maximum extraction at high temperatures, there will be a bit of a smoky scent left in the air, though.
As concentrated forms of THC are directly contrived from the cannabis flower, there will still be some terpene odors leftover. However, since there is much less plant material being heated in dabs, the smell is quickly dissipates in a room within minutes. As well, you won't get any sort of lingering smell on your clothes or hair so people won't notice when you rejoin them after your session. If you want to be even more stealthy, we recommend checking out our How To Remove Weed Smell Guide for even more cannabis scent tips.
Do dab pens get you higher than dry herb vapes?
In short, yes. Since dabs are a concentrated form of THC, you'll have a lot more THC being inhaled per session. Heavy users will tend to graduate from dry herb vaping do dabbing as their tolerance grows so that they can still have a powerful high.
Are nectar collectors still considered dab pens?
Some dab pens like the Boundless Terp Pen are also known as nectar collectors or concentrate straws. They will have their atomizers at the very far end on the opposite of the mouthpiece and can be used to pick up your dabs just like a straw. Even though they're a bit differently shaped, they still work just like a normal dab pen. The only difference is that you won't have to use a dab tool to scoop up your wax.
Concentrates vs. Cartridges
The main difference between oil cartridges and dab pens is that oil cartridges are already pre-filled and can only be used with 510-Thread Vape Batteries. With dab pens, you can load any kind of concentrate into the atomizer and most won't be compatible with oil cartridges. If you want a dab pen that also functions with cartridges, we suggest the G Pen Micro+, as you'll be able to use carts and its ceramic atomizer depending on what you feel like doing that day.
Where do you buy concentrates for your dab pen?
Concentrates can be bought through legal dispensaries, and CBD can be bought in all fifty states as it is fully legal.
Best Dab Pen 2023
The best dab pen of 2023 is the Utillian 5. It comes with a massive 1500mAh battery that will last a few days of heavy use. It also has an integrated dab tool on the mouthpiece so that you won't have to worry about using a stick dab tool. With a choice of either a dual kanthal coil or triple titanium coil, as well as four voltage settings, there will be a style of vaping for nearly everyone. Also, be sure to check out our picks of the Best E-Rigs on the market!
Atomizers will need to be replaced every 1-3 months
Are there any differences between dab pens, shatter pens, and wax pens?
For the most part, all wax pens work and perform quite similarly with all of the different types of concentrates. With higher quality dabs though, you might prefer sticking to ceramic bucket atomizers as they'll give you slower heat-up times and better overall flavor. If you do use your high quality concentrates on exposed coils, you'll get massive clouds, but you'll miss out on that awesome flavor.
At the end of 2021, Utillian released the long-awaited Utillian 5 V3 dab pen with updated key features like an integrated dab tool for your favorite wax and oil concentrate. With a black ceramic glass mouthpiece, you're sure to get the best vapor quality out of the supercharged titanium and quartz coils with an insane battery life on the side. We're sure that the Utillian 5 is here to solidify its position as one of the best wax pens for years to come.
The G Pen Micro Plus is a unique 510 thread vape battery and dab pen combination due to the smart coils it uses. You'll have access to three voltage settings and a small but powerful ceramic bucket atomizer. When you want to switch over to oil cartridges, simply unthread the atty and put your cart in! Read on as to why we love the value this nifty 2-in-1 vape pen offers.
The Puffco Proxy is here to bring new life to an old and timeless design - The Gentleman's pipe. Instead of wood, it uses modular glass. Instead of a wooden straight airpath, it has a ceramic glazed atomizer. Made primarily to be used for dabs and wax, in this review we'll be seeing how it fares compared to our list of the best dab pens of 2022.
With the latest wax pen release from Dr. Dabber, there has been a lot of buzz about the Stella and its powerful ceramic atomizer. As a wax and oil concentrate vape pen that has focused on maximum power output and USB-C convenience pros, is the limited battery con overpowering of its positive features? In this Dr. Dabber Stella review, we'll be going over all of the key features to help you decide if it's worth picking as your next dab pen or not.
Utillian has been putting out a lot vapes lately with improvements in quality with each coming release. With 4 voltage heating chamber settings, a small form factor, and easy operation, is the new Utillian 2 worth it? As a top budget wax pen vapes, the Utillian 2 packs much of the features from an electrical dab rig into a very small package that maximizes your vapor quality from its quartz coils. For small amounts of wax and oil concentrate vaping, look no further than this beginner friendly wax pen.
The Puffco brand doesn’t put out a ton of products, but when they do, they usually hit home runs. It looks like that should be the case with the Plus vape pen, which features a coil-free ceramic chamber, great vapor quality and a built-in tool for dabbing. Let’s dive into our Puffco Plus review and explore more about this solid wax pen.
The Pulsar APX wax pen / dab pen vaporizer is very compact, but it delivers some serious power. It’s only 3.5 inches tall, but don’t let its height fool you. Good things sometimes do come in small packages and that sentiment holds true with this small but mighty concentrate vape pen. With a true glass mouthpiece and included dab tool for the straight forward heating element, this is truly a one size fits all wax vape experience with very consistent vapor quality.
The G-Pen Connect is a wax pen alternative to an e-rig with the same results. Designed to slide on a standard 14 or 18mm joint, the G-Pen Connect promises to turn any bubbler into a high-quality and simple to use dab rig. Does it connect the dots the way we hope, or is it just another fun toy to add to the collection? With a powerful wax and oil concentrate heating element tank, the vapor quality shoots way above its price class in a unique vaping experience.
The Boundless Terp Pen XL is a bigger nectar collector wax pen that packs a good punch! As a larger version of the original Boundless Terp Pen, all of the features are a little bit bigger and stronger to give you more battery life and functionality. Learn more about these improvements and features in our in-depth honey straw review, as well as how it stacks up to competition.
If you've been looking for an easy-to-use wax pen with great vapor production for an easy vaping experience, be sure to check out the Yocan Magneto! Cut out the hassles of having to unscrew caps with an easy access magnetic heating elements! It also has a strong battery life, making it one of the best wax vape pens out there. It has an integrated dab tool for wax and oil concentrate so clean up is also non existent. If these sound like qualities you want out of your dab pen, then you might be interested in the Yocan Magneto.
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