Cool Carb Caps
Cool Carb Caps
Dank deals for your dab rig
Dab heat capture cool
Capturing the best in dabs means keeping the heat with uncommonly cool carb caps! The best banger nails and this premium buddy dab gear are definitely in a ‘dro’mance and true oilheads know a personalized piece of glass feels right in hand, even when small like a carb cap.
Like the clever lids we wear on our own heads like fancy hood ornaments, carb caps come in a wide range of styles, colors, materials and other options to sit pretty atop that nail. So, choosing the best carb cap is all down to personal taste (and doing the critical research is always fun).
Come along with this Dankstop Guide to incredible carb caps to make your choice a little easier! We’ll look at a little cool history of the carb cap, how they work, all about low temp dabs and different types of carb caps from the simple to the fantastic!
Why use carb caps
Carb caps had to wait for the right kind of nail. One of the earliest forms of dabbing was called ‘hot knifing.’ Two metal knives are heated by stove top or torch until glowing red hot, then a glob of bud, resin or hash was pressed between the two, sucked into a funnel (usually made from a plastic bottle with the bottom cut off). The results were intense.
Dabs would not be denied and as paraphernalia progressed, nails changed to sit atop a water pipe to become a dab rig. Titanium nails were the next big progression, designed to endure red hot dabs, often exceeding 1,000º F. The emphasis was on complete, flash vaporization. Problem was, everything tasted the same- burnt.
Dabs have flavor because terpenes, the compounds that create different plant smells, are also captured in the concentrate extraction. To savor the flavor of individual varieties of weed, concentrate nails moved more to glass or quartz. These 'bangers' held heat better than metal allowing for lower temp dabs.
Once the carb cap was discovered, the game would change again.
Inventing the carb cap
In 2013, dabs got real with the invention of carb caps, the ultimate way to retain nail heat and efficiently vape oil puddles away. Before that, domed nails became an early design in glass, a good way to retain heat. YouTuber and cofounder of the dab accessory company Highly Educated, Task Rok, realized you could carb a domed nail, controlling heat with his finger over the dome’s opening, and the airflow intake, just like a car’s carburetor.
The next thing you know, the first carb cap designs were being sketched on the back of cardboard boxes (hey- when inspiration strikes, you use any tools you can!). They were announced on TR's Instagram and a month later, the first real carb caps were for sale!
Highly Educated started with improving upon the titanium nail but with quartz nails and glass carb caps, whole new doors opened up to low temp dabs. Glass blowers had been creating hand pipes for years from borosilicate and now they would get the same chance to show artistic flair with carb caps.
How carb caps work
With an ordinary Ti nail, dabs are pulled through as soon as they hit that hot metal to avoid waste. It’s the same with glass, ceramic or quartz banger nails too, without a carb cap. Heat and vapor are being lost immediately.
With a carb cap, suction is created as the heat is contained, lowering pressure and the temperature required for the oil to boil. So, lower temp dabs are possible with pressure. As long as there’s an airtight fit for lower temp hits, rotating the cap gets the oil spread completely.
Suddenly, dabs became all about flavor. Potency is also arguably better with lower temp dabs because it releases all the goodness without such destructive heat and lets you use less product for more mileage, conserving your stash!
Different types of carb caps
A carb cap only has one criteria- that it covers the top of your banger nail completely. So, there are different sizes, shapes and designs to match your nail’s width and depth. Carb caps are made of metal like steel or titanium or can be plain glass, opaque or clear.
Let’s look at plain carb caps and directional airflow carb caps of all kinds, from disks to bulbous shapes to cool, artistic glass sculpture. There are simple and intricate glass carb caps in any shape or design imaginable, and some of these get pretty funky!