I'm a dry-herb man. I have been since 2018, when I put the spliffs down after nearly twenty years and bought my first vaporiser. Grinding, packing, choosing a temperature — that's my world, and it's what most of this blog is about.

But HerbVape stocks concentrate hardware too — Puffco's range, Dr Dabber — and someone has to put it on the bench. That's been me. I've set up, heated, cleaned and generally faffed with the concentrate devices on our shelves: heat-up behaviour, controls, glass, how much of a mess they make, and how honest the manuals are. This piece is the explainer I wanted before I started: what dabbing actually is, what people are dabbing, and how the hardware fits together.

What Dabbing Actually Is

A "dab" is a small portion of concentrate — typically a blob smaller than a grain of rice. Dabbing means dropping that portion onto a heated surface, where it vaporises almost instantly, and inhaling the vapour.

The heated surface is the key bit. In a traditional setup it's a quartz "banger" (a small bucket-shaped bowl) heated with a handheld butane torch. In an electronic rig it's a ceramic or quartz chamber heated by a battery-powered element. Either way, the concentrate never meets a flame directly. It meets a hot surface, turns to vapour, and usually passes through water on the way to you.

If you've read what actually happens inside your vaporizer, the logic will feel familiar. It's the same idea as dry-herb vaping — get the good stuff to boil off without burning anything — except the plant material has already been stripped away before you start. You're vaporising the extract, not the flower.

What Are Concentrates?

A concentrate is what's left when the cannabinoids and terpenes are separated from the plant material. The resin glands on the flower hold most of the good stuff; extraction pulls it out and leaves the leaf and stem behind. What you end up with is sticky, potent and, depending on the method, anything from a glassy sheet to a thick golden oil.

Two broad families matter:

• Solventless — made with heat, pressure, water or ice only. Rosin is the one most people have heard of.
• Solvent-based — made by washing the plant material with a solvent (commonly a hydrocarbon such as butane), which is then purged out. Shatter, wax, badder and live resin usually come from this route.

Distillate sits slightly apart: it's a refined product, not a direct extract.

Concentrate	What it looks like	How it's made (high level)
Rosin	Amber to cream, sappy to buttery	Solventless: flower or hash pressed with heat and pressure. "Live rosin" starts from fresh-frozen plant material.
Live resin	Glossy, saucy or sugary	Solvent-based extract made from fresh-frozen (not dried) plant material, to hold on to more of the original terpenes.
Shatter	Hard, translucent, glass-like sheet	Solvent-based extract left undisturbed so it sets clear and brittle.
Wax	Opaque, crumbly or honeycomb-like	Solvent-based extract agitated during finishing, which changes its texture.
Badder / budder	Soft, whipped, cake-batter consistency	Solvent-based extract whipped during finishing. Easy to scoop and load.
Distillate	Clear, thick, honey-like oil	A crude extract refined by distillation until mostly cannabinoids remain; most terpenes are stripped out. Common in pre-filled cartridges.

Three Ways to Dab

1. The traditional rig and torch

The original method: a glass water pipe (the "rig"), a quartz banger on the joint, a butane torch, a carb cap and a loading tool. You heat the banger with the torch, wait for it to cool to the right temperature, drop the concentrate in, cap it and inhale.

It's cheap to get into and endlessly tweakable. It's also the least precise way to do this. The "right temperature" is guesswork unless you use a timer or an infrared thermometer, and you're handling an open flame and glowing quartz on a coffee table. Too hot and the flavour turns harsh and burnt; too cold and half your dab pools in the banger.

2. The electronic rig (e-rig)

An e-rig swaps the torch for a battery and a heating element. You pick a heat setting, press a button, and the device heats its chamber to that temperature and holds it for the session. Most have water filtration built in through a glass top. The Puffco New Peak Pro and New Peak are the best-known examples; Dr Dabber's Switch 2 and Boost EVO are the other names you'll hear.

If this is the bit you want more detail on, I've written a whole piece on it: what is an e-rig.

3. The dab pen and the portable

A dab pen is the pocket version: a battery, a small heated chamber or coil, and a mouthpiece. No water, minimal setup, discreet. The compromise is less control and, usually, less flavour than a rig.

In between sit the portables — the Puffco Proxy and Puffco Pivot — which use Puffco's 3D chamber in a handheld body. They're closer to an e-rig's heat control than a basic pen, without the countertop footprint.

Method	Heat control	Water filtration	Best for
Rig + torch	Manual — timing and judgement	Yes	Tinkerers who like the ritual and accept an open flame
E-rig	Preset or app-set temperatures	Yes, via glass top	Home use; people who want repeatable results
Portable (Proxy, Pivot)	Presets, real-time temperature control	Optional, via glass attachments	Out-of-the-house use with more control than a pen
Dab pen	Basic presets	No	Maximum discretion, minimum setup

Why People Dab

Having benched the hardware, the appeal is easy to see even from a dry-herb chair:

• Flavour. Good concentrate at a sensible temperature is terpene-forward in a way that's hard to match. Live resin and rosin in particular are prized for it.
• Small, quick sessions. One short heat cycle, one or two draws, done. No bowl to finish.
• No plant material to deal with. Nothing to grind, no spent herb to empty.
• Strength. Concentrates are considerably more potent than flower. For some people that's the point; for everyone it's the reason to start with tiny amounts and low temperatures.

That last point deserves emphasis rather than celebration. The margin for "oops, that was too much" is much smaller with concentrates than with a bowl of herb, and nothing about better hardware changes that.

Dabbing vs Dry Herb Vaping

Both are vaporisation. Both avoid combustion. After that, they're different hobbies.

	Dry herb vaping	Dabbing
Material	Ground flower	Extracted concentrate
Amount per session	A bowl of herb	A very small dab
Typical temperatures	Roughly 160–220°C (see our temperature guide)	Higher — e-rig presets generally sit around 250–320°C (see the dab temperature guide)
Session style	Several minutes, flavour evolves as the bowl cooks	One short heat cycle, one or two draws
Cleaning	Spent herb plus resin in the airpath	Sticky reclaim in the chamber and glass; swab after each session helps
Hardware	Portables and desktops	Rigs, e-rigs, portables, pens

The devices are not interchangeable either. Puffco's range is built for concentrates only — if you're wondering, we've covered whether you can put flower in a Puffco (short answer: no). And most dry-herb vaporisers don't want concentrate in their ovens without a pad or insert. If you want the fuller picture of the three material types, our editorial piece on dry herb vs extracts vs e-liquid goes deeper.

The UK Legal Picture, Briefly

This part is short because it needs to be accurate rather than long.

• Cannabis, including extracts made from it, is a Class B controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Possessing or supplying THC concentrates without a prescription is illegal.
• Since 1 November 2018, doctors on the General Medical Council's specialist register have been able to prescribe cannabis-based products for medicinal use.
• In practice, most UK prescriptions are for flower or oils. Some private clinics also prescribe vape cartridges and a limited range of other extract formats; what's available depends on the clinic and the clinician's judgement. The classic dab-rig concentrates are not a routine part of UK prescribing.

If you're a patient wondering whether a concentrate format is appropriate for you, that's a conversation for your prescribing clinic — not a hardware shop. HerbVape sells devices, not anything to put in them, and nothing here is encouragement to buy from anywhere else.

What HerbVape Covers

Our concentrate coverage lives in two brand hubs:

• Puffco — the New Peak Pro and New Peak e-rigs, the Proxy and Pivot portables, and the Hot Knife loading tool. Owner's guides: Peak Pro, Proxy, Pivot and Hot Knife.
• Dr Dabber — the brand's e-rigs, including the induction-heated Switch 2 and the Boost EVO.

Once you've got a device, the two pieces you'll actually use are the dab temperature guide and how to clean a dab rig. Concentrate hardware punishes lazy cleaning faster than any herb vape I own.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is dabbing?

Dabbing is vaporising a small amount of cannabis concentrate on a heated surface — a torch-heated quartz banger or an electronic rig's chamber — and inhaling the vapour, usually through water.

Why is it called a "dab"?

Because of the amount: a small dab of concentrate, picked up on a tool and dabbed onto the hot surface.

Is dabbing the same as vaping?

It's a form of vaporisation, so the principle is the same — heat without combustion. The material, the amounts, the temperatures and the hardware are all different from dry-herb vaping.

Do I need a torch to dab?

No. E-rigs, portables like the Puffco Proxy and Pivot, and dab pens all heat electrically. A torch is only needed for a traditional glass rig with a quartz banger.

Can I use a dry herb vaporiser for concentrates?

Only if the manufacturer supports it, usually with a concentrate pad or insert. Most dry-herb devices are designed for flower, and loading concentrate straight into the oven makes a mess of it.

Are concentrates legal in the UK?

THC concentrates are controlled Class B drugs outside a specialist prescription. UK prescribing is mostly flower and oils, with a limited range of other extract formats at some clinics. Ask your prescribing clinic — not a retailer — what's appropriate for you.