Dr. Dabber Stella Dab Pen Review

Dr. Dabber Stella Video Review 

Should you buy the Dr. Dabber Stella?

The Dr. Dabber Stella has gained a solid reputation since its initial release in June 2020. 

As a wax pen focused on maximum power output and flavor, while also having USB-C convenience, there is whole lot to love at face value. 

Does its limited battery hold it back in the market, though? 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 up or not.

Dr. Dabber Stella Specs + Ratings

Unique TCR Coils

With a unique take on a heating chamber, the Stella features a floating ceramic chamber with TCR (Temperature Coefficient Resistance) on the battery that will provide more accurate temperature control to prevent any kind of burning or guesswork while you’re heating your dab. 

This works especially well since your wax won’t be directly on the coils – It’s an added measure of vapor quality control that helps boost the pen’s overall value.

How to use the Dr. Dabber Stella?

To use the vape, the first step will be to remove the magnetic mouthpiece. From there, you can load the ceramic chamber with the dab tool included in the kit with your favorite kind of concentrate. 

Once you reseal the mouthpiece, you can turn the power on with five clicks of the power button, and then cycle through the three pre-set temperatures with three clicks. The three preset temperatures are as follows: 

1. Green – 550F/288C
2. Cyan – 630F/332C
3. Orange –  775F/413C

There is also a fourth temperature option to double tap the power button, which will preheat your dab at 460F/238C for 15 seconds to get it melting before you begin manual heating by holding the power button on your temperature. 

Tips and Tricks 

• Because the ceramic bucket chamber is a bit on the smaller side, it will work best with rice-sized grain dabs. 
• During use, you’ll want to keep the pen upright to keep the product dripping to the bottom of the cup, and not up through the mouthpiece. 
• If your dab isn’t fully extracted within the fifteen second heating window, you can just start another one by re-holding the power button
• If you don’t like using a sticky dab tool, you can consider the Puffco Hot Knife to make chamber loading more neat

Dr. Dabber Stella Vapor Quality

One of the nice things about the Stella is the unique airflow that works its way under the ceramic bowl, through the coils, and then through your wax and up into the mouthpiece – Dr. Dabber calls this the ‘cyclone’ effect.

With this setup, there is little to no draw resistance, and it also adds a bit of convection and cooling to the vapor quality.

The middle and lowest pre-set temperatures are full of flavor and won’t be harsh on the throat. For beginners, the pre-heat setting will also work and be very easy to inhale, and full of flavor as well. 

 As the third temperature is close to 800F, it’ll be best for heavy users looking for face-melting cloud production setting with less importance of flavor.

Ease of Use 

The high voltage/temperature settings make the Stella great for mowing down on any forms of concentrates including rosins, dabs and shatter without any burning in the chamber.

The only thing you can really screw up with on the Stella is by adding too much concentrate to the chamber, as this will lead to pooling and uneven vaporization.

Overall, the Stella has a great design and beginners and dab connoisseurs will love how easy it is to use. 

One thing you will notice is that if you’re doing multiple sessions in a row, the metal mouthpiece is going to get very hot to the touch. If this will annoy you, we recommend picking up a DynaVap Fat Mouthpiece. It will add an extra layer of cooling, and can also act as a 14mm male port which can be used as with a 14mm curved bubbler for a lot of added session fun and creativity.

Comparable Devices

Puffco Plus vs Dr. Dabber Stella 

The most comparable wax pen on the market to the Stella is the Puffco Plus due to having a similar style of ceramic chamber and metal build quality.

They both excel at producing excellent flavor, but the Stella pulls a bit ahead in vapor quality on the highest temperature as the Plus doesn’t get hot enough to pump out big clouds to satisfy heavy users. The Plus does have an integrated dab tool on its mouthpiece though, which can really help beginner dabbers just starting out. 

One other standout comparison is that the Stella uses the more universal USB-C charging compared to the threaded USB charger on the Plus, which will make it a much better option for travelling with. 

Utillian 5 vs. Dr. Dabber Stella 

If flavor is less important to your dabbing sessions, and you prefer face-melting clouds over anything, the Utillian 5 will be the better choice for you to buy. Instead of a bucket atomizer, the Utillian 5’s coils are exposed and quite large and really zap any kind of concentrate that you want to use. Like the Puffco Plus, it also has an integrated dab tool on the mouthpiece which helps with loading. For a more even mix of flavor and clouds though, the Stella is definitely the better option. 

G Pen Micro+ vs Dr. Dabber Stella 

The Micro+ is basically a lite version of the Stella. It has the same button functionality and similar ceramic bucket chamber atomizer, but uses lower temperatures and a cheaper rubber mouthpiece.

• If you like the idea of the Stella but want a more affordable version, the G Pen Micro+ is a great alternative.

Is the Dr. Dabber Stella portable?

The Stella is about the same size as an everyday pen and will be super easy to carry and fit into pockets.

With USB-C charging, you’ll also be able to carry around a battery bank for easier charging if you have the space for it in your bag. If you’re a heavy user that likes to keep other vaporizers on hand, we recommend picking up a Stashlogix Silverton Vape Case which is lockable, has a hard exterior, and comes with lots of different storage sections. 

What is the Dr. Dabber Stella’s battery life?

After 20-30 minutes of live usage, you’ll know that it’s time for a recharge when the logo flashes three times and vibrates.

A charge will take about an hour and a half & your vape will blink green before eventually turn solid green to let you know that it’s fully charged. 

• A small knock on the Stella is the limited 600mAh battery which doesn’t really stack up at all to modern wax pens like the 1500mAh on the Utillian 5

Although USB-C charging with pass-through usage is nice, it’s not really applicable to most users. People buy wax pens for the portability, as that’s what separates the category from E-Rigs for use at home. 

How to clean the Dr. Dabber Stella?

As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to keep the inside of the ceramic chamber as clean as you can with Vape Cleaning Sticks to prevent any nasty resin buildups. This will also keep your vapor quality at its highest by preventing any sort of burnt flavor.

• If you get any resin that’s not coming off easily anymore, you can unscrew the atomizer and soak it in isopropyl alcohol for 15 minutes and using your dab tool to scrape off anything left over afterwards. 

On the actual mouthpiece, you’ll also be able to use your dab tool to remove the silicon cooling insert for a quick cleaning with a Vape Cleaning Wipe to get rid of any resin buildup. For the glass mouthpiece, you can also remove the metal insert, and soak the glass in some Orange Chronic Glass Cleaner. 

Warranty

Dr. Dabber has a one-year warranty on Stella pens that will cover you against any sort of product malfunctions not caused by accidental damage. In general, their customer service team is easy to get a hold of and to work with.

Dr. Dabber Stella Pros

• High-quality parts
• Easy to use
• Excellent airflow
• Excellent taste
• Good temperature range

Dr. Dabber Stella Cons

• Smaller capacity battery 
• Struggles with large dab loads
• Mouthpiece can get hot with back to back sessions
• Doesn’t stand upright easily 

Conclusion

We think that the Dr. Dabber Stella is a great addition to our dab pen lineup, earning a spot on our best wax pens list.

With a good temperature range and excellent build quality, you’ll be able to have your sessions exactly how you prefer.

However, with only a 600mAh battery, it can be a bit of a hassle to make it through a full day of use, which makes it not the best choice for heavy users. If you are a heavy user, you’d most likely be better off with a Utillian 5, or a big battery E-Rig like the Dr. Dabber Switch.