Tired of scorching your dabs and harsh throat hits?
Cold start dabs or reverse dabbing is the opposite of traditional dabbing. With traditional dabs, you heat your banger first, then drop your dabs in. Cold start you reverse it by placing your dabs in a cold, unheated banger, then slowly torch-heat it. Lower dab temperatures release cannabinoids gradually rather than scorching them.
Benefits:
- Reduces toxins: Traditional dabbing heats cannabis concentrates above 500°F, causing terpenes to break down into benzene, a toxic compound. Cold start dabbing keeps temperatures lower (300-350°F), so you get clean vapor with no toxins.
- You get more of the good stuff: Traditional dabbing’s high temperatures destroy up to 35% of beneficial compounds like CBD and CBG. Cold start dabbing protects these fragile cannabinoids by keeping temperatures low enough to vaporize without degradation.
How to do it:
- Load concentrate into cool, clean banger
- Heat bottom of banger with torch (circular motion)
- Watch for bubbling in dabs (around 10 seconds)
- Inhale after bubbling, cap and inhale more
- Reheat if any dabs left in banger (repeat steps)
How to cold start dab
To cold start dab, place your concentrate into a clean, unheated banger. Aim the flame of the butane torch a few inches from the banger’s base, and move the flame in circular motions evenly heating the floor and walls. When you see the concentrate start to bubble (about 10 seconds), stop heating, cap the banger, and inhale.
Let’s break down each step in detail:
Step 1: Load your dabs
Cold start dabbing gets its name from the crucial first step. The reason why it’s a “cold” start dab is because you're putting dabs into a cold banger.
Start by placing your cannabis concentrates in a clean, unheated quartz banger. Make sure you do this with a dab tool (dabber) to transfer the dabs from its container into the banger. Dab tools let you grab and place sticky, runny, or brittle extracts into the nail without a mess.
The point of this step is to get the dabs into a cold banger so we can heat the banger (step 2) with the dabs inside. We are doing the reserves of traditional dabbing where you heat the banger first, then drop dabs into the hot banger - that’s why it’s called “reverse dabbing”.
Step 2: Torch the banger
Step 2 is heating your dabs in the cold banger with a dab torch.
Hold your torch at a 45° angle 3-4 inches away from the cold banger (with dabs in it). Shoot the flame of your torch into the banger so the blue flame “licks” the banger’s bottom and sides.
Focus on the bottom corners of the banger (where the wall of the banger meets the floor). Move the flame around the corners of the banger, side of the walls, and the bottom so the heat spreads evenly into the bangers wall.
The entire time your eyes should be focused on the dabs. Be on the lookout for your dabs boiling (tiny bubbles rising). The bubbles is your cue to inhale and this usually takes 10 seconds or more, depending on the type of banger you have (some bangers heat much faster or slower).
Step 3: Inhale and carb cap
When your concentrates begin bubbling, stop torching and immediately place a carb cap on top to prevent any vapor from escaping the banger.
After you cap the banger you want to continue inhaling through the mouthpiece to pull the vapor through the dab rig’s water chamber into your lungs.
Rotating the carb cap also helps circulate the air flow in the banger so more concentrate gets exposure to more of the heated walls in the banger (improves potency).
Step 4: Reheat or clean up
The final step only applies if you didn’t vaporize (melt) all the concentrates in the banger. If any wax is left over, give the banger another quick re-heat until the dabs bubble again.
After you see bubbling, cap and inhale again (step 3).
Once all the dabs have been melted and turned into vapor, you’ve finished a complete cycle of cold start dabbing! Congratulations - places stick on forehead.
Don’t forget to immediately wipe out any leftover wax residue with a cotton swab and Isopropyl alcohol. Removing oil residue off the banger prevents it from burning the next round, which taints the flavor of your dabs.
Why you'll love cold start dabs
Cold start dabs deliver incredibly smooth, flavorful hits that won’t scorch your throat or dabs. By heating concentrates slowly, you get to taste every terpene note as it vaporizes, giving you the full spectrum of compounds that traditional dabs can’t match.
Plus, you can watch your concentrate bubble and vaporize at a much slower pace, giving you perfect control over your session, whereas traditional “hot” dabs can instantly scorch all the concentrates at once.
Benefits of cold start dabbing
The main benefit of cold start dabbing is it preserves delicate terpenes and cannabinoids that usually burn away with traditional hot dabs. You'll get much smoother hits, more flavor, more terpenes, more cannabinoids, and a cleaner high while extending the life of your quartz banger.
The benefits of cold start dabbing include:
1. Easier on your lungs
Cold start dabbing is much easier on your lungs (less coughing). Research by the European Respiratory Journal found that hot vapor irritates the lungs more than cooler vapor.
- Cold start dabs produce much cooler vapor than traditional dabs (315°F to 450°F)
- Traditional dabbing produces much hotter vapor (500°F to 600°F)
The gentler vapor temperatures from reverse dabbing puts less heat stress on your lungs and throat, which prevents coughing fits and throat irritation. By cold start dabbing you’ll avoid that familiar chest burn and coughing you get from traditional dabbing.
Torch-tip: Give your banger just enough flame to make the oil bubble. Overheating (harsh hits) can still happen even with reverse dabbing if you blast it too long, so keep that torch moving.
2. Unlock every cannabinoid
Think your concentrate is just about the THC? There's a whole world of beneficial compounds you might be burning away by not cold starting your dabs.
Cold start dabs protect delicate cannabinoids by releasing them gradually instead of scorching them instantly. The National Library of Medicine found that hot dabs can destroy up to 35% of beneficial compounds like CBD and CBG. That's a third of your concentrate's potential going up in smoke.
Here's why: While THC can handle intense heat, compounds like CBD and CBG are more fragile. By starting cool, you're keeping all those beneficial cannabinoids intact for a more complete experience.
CBD-rich concentrates do especially well with cold starting. You'll notice those calming, therapeutic effects that usually get fried away with traditional hot dabs.
3. No more burnt dabs
Dabs change viscosity (thickness) as they heat sort of like honey.
Cold start dabbing lets you control that melt, warming the concentrates nice and slow for a much more even vaporization, unlike hot dabs where parts of your concentrate get scorched before other parts even begin melting.
When concentrates heat up gradually through cold starting, they become more “liquidy” and spread evenly across your bangers floor. This slower melt gives your dabs a chance to vaporize evenly, instead of scorching and burning spots from high heat.
Pro-tip: Watch how your concentrate moves as it heats up. You'll see it transform from solid to liquid before it starts bubbling. You can tilt your dab rig to encourage more concentrates to slide across the floor of the banger.
4. Experience every terpene
Terpenes are the delicate flavor compounds in your dabs that get destroyed the second they hit high heat.
Unlike traditional high-temp dabbing that burns away terpenes instantly, cold start dabs let each terpene release at its natural boiling point. When one terpene vaporizes at 300°F and another at 350°F, you get to experience both instead of burning them away instantly with traditional hot dabbing.
Similar to dry herb vaporizers and terpene surfing, cold start dabs heat at much lower temperatures so the first inhale is usually much heavier in terpenes. Whereas the second and third inhales are more cannabinoid-rich.
5. Pure clean hits everytime
Traditional “hot” dabs blast your concentrates past 500°F, which causes terpenes in the dabs to degrade into benzene. Benzene is the same nasty chemical found in car exhaust and cigarette smoke.
Cold start dabbing prevents this by keeping temperatures low enough to prevent this chemical breakdown into Benzene. Your terps and cannabinoids vaporize smoothly around 300-350°F, well below the point where they transform into harmful compounds.
The science is simple: the higher the heat, the more unwanted reactions occur. Cold starts give you control, letting you stay in that perfect vaporization zone for clean, toxin-free vapor.
For best results: Watch your vapor quality. Thick white clouds with harsh hits mean you're running too hot. You want light, flavorful vapor that feels smooth in your lungs.
6. Zero anxiety and paranoia
Traditional hot dabs can rock you from zero to overwhelming in seconds.
When you blast concentrates at high temps, you're forcing a massive amount of THC into your system all at once. Just like chugging versus sipping a drink, this rush of cannabinoids and terpenes can trigger anxiety and racing thoughts.
Studies have shown that when THC enters your system too quickly, you’re much more likely to experience paranoia and anxiety compared to cold start dabbing which gives you the terpenes and THC in gradual layers that’s far less overwhelming to the nervous system.
7. Extend your banger’s life
Ever noticed how bangers get cloudy and brittle after too many hot dabs?
- Traditional hot dabs stress your banger with extreme heat changes.
- Cold starts warm everything gradually, preventing the micro-cracks that lead to broken bangers.
Gentle heating from reverse dabs preserves quartz's crystal structure. That's why cold start bangers stay clear and strong while hot dab bangers turn cloudy and weak within weeks.
Quartz care: A clean banger is a happy banger. When you cold start right, you'll only need a quick swab between dabs to keep your quartz pristine. No more black spots or chazzing.
Tools for cold start dabs
To cold start dab you’ll need the classic dab rig setup: glass rig (body), quartz banger (where dabs go), dab tool (transfer dabs), carb cap (prevent vapor from escaping), and torch with adjustable flame settings.
- The tools are identical to a regular set up, the only difference with cold start dabbing is how you heat up your concentrates.
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A smaller rig will deliver more potent vapors, with less chance of vital compounds turning into condensation inside of the rig (common in larger rigs).
Check out our line of mini rigs that create a much shorter path of vapor, perfect for reverse dabbing.
Why cold start dabs taste better
Cold start dabs taste better because you’re inhaling more terpenes (flavor and aroma). You inhale more terpenes compared to traditional “hot” dabs, because cold starting heats the terpenes gradually, compared to traditional dabs where high temperatures destroy most of the terpenes.
Terpenes do well with lower heat. Think of it like slow-cooking herbs. Each terpene releases its unique aroma and flavor profile as temperatures slowly rise.
Challenges of cold start dabbing
While cold start dabbing is awesome, it does have a few downsides.
Back to back hits can be a bit complicated. Reverse dabbing requires a bit of patience between sessions because your banger needs to cool completely. This can slow down group sessions or if you like to take back-to-back dabs.
For group sessions, try having a second or third banger ready to rotate in. Speaking of bangers, in the next section we’ll talk about which banger is the best for cold start dabs.
Best bangers for cold start dabs
A flat-top quartz banger is your best choice for cold start dabbing. The design lets you load concentrates easily and the quartz's superior heat retention transfers heat beautifully into your dabs. The flat top helps the carb cap sit flush on the banger so no vapor leaks into the air.
Is cold start dabs wasteful?
Cold start dabbing saves more of your concentrate by using lower heat. While you might see some leftover residue at first, you’re actually getting more out of your dabs compared to traditional hot dabbing, which burns away the good stuff instantly.
Final thoughts
Cold start dabbing preserves the flavor and smoothness of your concentrates. By heating slowly, you keep all the subtle terpenes and cannabinoids that traditional hot dabs burn away, making each hit smoother, more potent, and more flavorful.
Starting with your dabs in a cold banger and heating slowly and methodically helps to create the perfect temperature progression that gives reverse dabbing such a beautiful vaporization compared to hot dabbing.
In closing: Long-time dabbers choose cold starts to taste every subtle note in their concentrates, experience the true entourage effect of the strain, and get a much cleaner and smoother inhale.
