Rig Shopping Tips

If your not the most familiar with dabbing, then picking a dab rig can feel like an overwhelming choice with all the options out there. The “best rig” will be different for everyone and that can change with time or depending on the moment. I have gathered an idea of what I find helpful when shopping for a rig, but please experiment and find what works best for you!

Cleaning Your Piece

One of the first things I think of when I shop for a rig is, how well is it going to clean? The mistake I have found most annoying in the past is trying to clean a piece with hard to reach spots. If your the type of person who can clean their rig at least couple times or more a week, then this may not be as big of an issue for you.  If you don’t clean your rig often at all or if your like me and have the best intentions to clean your rig, but life gets busy and its hard to keep up on cleaning, its important to think about how easy it will be to clean your rig when the time comes 

When you can’t clean your rig very often, pieces with multiple tiers of perks with small holes or glass tubes and perks inside glass like the ones to the right I find the worst to clean. It is possible with enough time and shaking you can clean it fully, but I myself am not always that patient.

I find the fastest way to clean a rig is to torch the glass to get the oil hot and to drip it out. That is why I often go for rigs like the ones on the left that have drop downs and no crazy perks on the inside. Large chambers and recyclers with tubes that go around the outside are the easiest to clean. 

Smoothness, or Flavor?

Another factor to consider when shopping for a rig is are you looking for a smooth hit, or flavorful hit? The size of your rig and number of perks will decide everything. I did not realize the size of your rig affected your flavor until I saw the “Terp-o-Meter” on this boxed rig from MiniNail shown on the right. After researching, I discovered that dabs are more flavorful the less distance it travels. I picked this rig up to give it a shot because it was about a third of the size of the rig I was using at the time and I was surprised by the difference. I instantly noticed the hit was more flavorful, but I also noticed that it wasn’t as smooth. I love flavorful dabs so I was ok with sacrificing some smoothness for more flavor, and with time my lungs adjusted to the smaller sized rig and I don’t cough as much as I used to. If you prefer a smooth hit, a larger size piece and/or more perks for filtration will help but you will sacrifice some flavor.

All in all, picking a rig is all in personal preference. Even though I don’t prefer some intricate pieces, if I found the right one I would buy it and use it. I would just have to make sure to clean it regularly or else it is going to take more time and effort to clean. I am all about the easy life so I prefer more simple rigs, and I love flavorful dabs so I am stuck on the smaller sized rigs now.  Locals Culture House has bongs of all shapes and sizes and numbers of perks for any preference, I can always find what I need there.