How to vape shatter and wax

What’s all the buzz about?

As cannabis concentrates gain more and more popularity over time, we here at Tools420 are starting to get more and more questions regarding concentrate vaporizers and what they are compatible with. As two of the most popular kinds of concentrates, wax and shatter are two forms of cannabis dabs that will melt and evaporate in dab pen heating elements.

In this blog, we’ll be talking about the differences between them, and how they perform differently between different devices.

What are wax and shatter?

• They are both made using a solvent to separate THC from the plant-based material of the cannabis material
• Most commonly, butane will be used as the agitator of the flower, which is then removed at a later time
• ‘Wax’ gets its name for its sticky consistency
• ‘Shatter’ gets its name from the glass-like consistency, and pieces that you’ll commonly break off pieces

How is THC Wax made?

To get the honey look and feel, frozen cannabis flowers are mixed with butane to remove the trichomes from the plant, filtered, and then left to evaporate the butane away while being boiled and stirred to give the famously sticky consistency wax is known for. The result will be a concentrate of around 60% THC.

How is THC shatter made?

Making shatter is a very similar process to wax, except that there is no additional stirring as the butane evaporates at low temperatures, leaving fewer oils and making the crystals harden into thin sheets of yellow glass. The result will be a concentrate of around 80% THC.

How to know you’re getting good quality wax or shatter

As a rule of thumb, the more golden yellow your wax/shatter is, the higher quality it is. If you’re seeing a green or dark tint, your concentrate contains chlorophyll and will contain plant matter that will lower the potency of your dabs. Especially with shatter, you’ll know that you’ll be getting good hits when it looks like see-through yellowed glass.

Hash has more plant material and keeps its brown or green color

Dabbing wax and shatter

When these concentrates began to make it mainstream at the start of the 2000s, the common method of consumption was through smoking with cotton, and then gradually moving to ‘dab rigs’, or the glass bangers and torch combos through a bong that you’re probably familiar with.

Along with these types of devices are the nail and the swing, along with the development of carb caps. This would eventually lead tinkerers to develop E-Rigs, otherwise known as electric dab rigs that automate and streamline the whole process in a simple and convenient package.

Differences between vaping shatter and wax

While they might both be under the same BHO (Butane Hash Oil) category of concentrates, they’re quite different in the way that they perform when consumed.

• Shatter will vaporize slower because the molecules are more tightly bound from the stirring process, AKA it will last longer in your bowl
• Shatter is harder to handle, so we recommend handling it with a PuffCo Hot Knife
• Wax works very well with 3D ceramic chambers that will evenly melt your dab down and prevent pooling
• Shatter will have better flavor and aroma than wax, but that doesn’t matter if you’re vaping at a high temperature

Aside from these three main differences, it does mainly come down to preferences over time as to which you prefer.

People often ask me what I think the best vaporizer for either wax or shatter is, but because of how modernized E-Rigs have become over time, they’ll often be able to accommodate all kinds of concentrates you throw in their atomizers.

Dab pens can be a little more specialized in what they can handle, but I’ll be breaking down both categories with my recommendations. If you’ve never vaped them before, most users will find that the high is more powerful and ‘cleaner’ than the flower, with the high, also lasting less time.

Best E-Rigs for Shatter and Wax

#1 Puffco Peak Pro 

The PuffCo Peak Pro is a beloved device in the industry for its functionality as an ultra-high quality E-Rig that can pump out ridiculous clouds or flavor. With a nice ceramic atomizer, you’ll get a good extraction from your wax or shatter, and with its smartphone application, you’ll also be able to fully control settings from your phone including the heating and LED lights.

#2 Focus V Carta 2 

Like the Peak Pro, the Carta 2 is an absolute beast in the dabbing front. Unlike the Peak Pro, it comes out of the box with a stock 3D 14mm ceramic atomizer that blows most of the competition out of the water. With similar smartphone app control to the Pro, there is a whole lot of customization, and for the actual vapor quality – The Carta 2 is super efficient at ‘milking’ your dabs and producing more vapor than other rigs.

#3 Dr. Dabber Boost Evo 

The Dr. Dabber Boost Evo is a super unique E-Rig because of how closely it can emulate the results of a traditional dab rig’s quartz banger system. By that, I mean the ceramic chamber is hidden underneath the bubbler, and that the airpath of your wax or shatter is direct ceramic to quartz, resulting in an unbelievably clean high, and super clean taste.

Especially with shatter, this will give you an amazing cloud with a hint of terpenes that dabbing connoisseurs will love.

Best Dab Pens for shatter and wax

#1 Utillian 5 

Excluding hash, the Utillian 5 is an absolute monster for vaping concentrates. With either exposed triple titanium or twisted kanthal coil, your wax or shatter will be nearly instantly evaporated into thick and milky clouds.

With an integrated dab tool on the mouthpiece, you can also have an easier way to load your concentrates without having to worry about the stickiness of wax.

#2 PuffCo Proxy 

As a new arrival on the market, the Puffco Proxy offers a unique dabbing experience thanks to its traditional pipe design. It also features a large and spacious 3D Ceramic Atomizer that you’ll be sure to love when it comes to popular concentrates like wax. You’ll have a super-even extraction with little pooling as you comfortably sip away.

While the heater isn’t as strong as competitors, it’s a high-class experience full of flavor.

#3 XMAX Qomo 

Although technically an E-Rig, the diminutive size of the XMAX Qomo makes it a great choice as a hybrid wax pen. It features a ceramic bucket chamber that users are sure to love because, unlike other ceramic chambers, it is optimized for very fast heating and vapor output.

Especially with shatter, if you’re someone that enjoys huge clouds over terpene flavors, the Qomo is going to be right up there with the best of them and performs similarly to a traditional dab rig without any of the hassles of using a torch.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this blog has helped you in understanding the different kinds of dab pens and electric dab rigs there are for vaping wax and shatter. While the two forms of concentrated cannabis are similar, they do have their differences that you should know about.

As a rule of thumb, you’re going to want to stick to ceramic or quartz bucket-style atomizers, especially 3D if possible to give yourself the best melting and extraction from your dab.

This is one of the most important parts about shatter and wax as you want as little pooling as possible to give yourself even hits until your product is fully evaporated!

If you haven’t tried concentrates yet, buy yourself a dab pen for under $100 and jump into the game. While it can be intimidating at first, just start small and you’ll get used to the relaxing head rush – I certainly wish that I had tried it earlier!

One last thing to consider is the new type of wax vape on the market, vapor cups, which will let you utilize a glass vapor holding chamber so that you can sip away on your vapor whenever you feel like it. A top example to look at would be the Zenco Duo!

As always, to health and high times!