I’ve been dabbing for about six years and I thought I knew it all. But I was wrong. I took my first dab with the cold start method last week and I’m already convinced it’s THE superior method. While I admit using electronic dabbers has its benefits when it comes to temperature control, I still believe the cold start method has some obvious benefits over any other methodology.
Hot Takes
The cold start method simplifies the entire dabbing experience. You don’t need timers or any kind of electronic assistance with cords or batteries. You just need a torch, a quartz banger, and some terps. The cold start method also reduces the amount of heat you need, so you can pull off a solid dab even if all you have is a pathetic mini torch lighter. You need less overall heat because you’re no longer heating the nail red-hot and letting it cool down — instead, you’re putting your terps in the nail first and heat the nail up slowly beneath it.
In my short experience using the cold start method, I’ve found that my banger (nail) stays cleaner and my dabs hit better. I don’t have a lot of proof to back this up, other than the fact that I take dabs every day and it seems like heating the quartz up slowly directs the heat more accurately and releases the terps slowly which decreases your chance of destroying them and ruining the taste.
How To Cold Start Dab
- Drop or scrape some terps in the quartz banger (nail) cold.
- Optional: Cap the nail.
- Turn on the torch to medium-low
- Heat the quartz banger (nail) until you see the terps start to melt.
- Once the terps start bubbling and you see vapor — heat for one or two more seconds max
- Cap it if you didn’t already
- Enjoy the terps
- Rinse and repeat or save your reclaim
