Cannabis has always gone hand in hand with human ingenuity. Looking at the history of concentrate smoking, we’ve gone from oil-soaked cotton balls and hot knives to swing sets and nails to now infrared temperature readers and e-rigs that seem pulled from the pages of science fiction. With so many options for the casual and dedicated concentrate smoker, we thought we’d look at some fan favorites and new additions to the arsenal.

This week, we’re checking out the Daab e-rig from Ispire, the company that brought you The Wand. Released in January, this dynamic unit heats your concentrates using a proprietary induction method. Instead of dropping your dab into an atomizer, the Daab features two stacked glass buckets.

Electromagnetic currents heat a metal ring at the base of the inner bucket, bringing the glass up to temperature and eliminating the need for additional equipment.
Ispire said the goal here was to create “the look and feel of OG glass dab rigs, combined with the portability and safety of innovative e-rigs…a smooth, premium-quality user experience from beginning to end.” Right out of the box, it’s clear the Daab looks to close the gap between torch and double-tab while also providing a sleek presentation. Inside the pelican-style hard case and underneath an instruction sheet that doubles as a dabmat, the unit comes partially charged and ready to activate.

The base looks like an elegant power tool and has the feel of a futuristic ray gun. Sitting snugly in your hand, the spot where your index finger naturally rests does heat up quite a bit, so watch those digits, but Ispire includes a bright yellow sticker to remind you (I recommend leaving it there for at least the first week). The main water percolation chamber snaps magnetically into the base over a pair of stacked borosilicate glass chambers. The inner one is where you’ll load your concentrates, and the outer one catches any reclaim before it reaches the water reservoir.

Besides “eliminating the need for butane, a blowtorch, an atomizer, and a thousand tools to measure the heat of your dab,” Ispire’s induction method also makes the unit a breeze to clean. The glass-to-glass air pathway means vapor never touches the unit’s base, so there’s no heating element to take out and soak or tiny recesses to clean. Instead of needing a neverending supply of q-tips and paper towels, this is almost as simple to clean as a straight tube bong. However, we highly recommend regularly deep cleaning the inner glass to avoid chazzed buckets. Thankfully, Ispire also includes an extra inner bucket so you can also switch them out.

This machine delivers powerful hits while dialing down to give you all the subtle flavors fresh rosin can hide in the background. The Daab goes from 250-800 degrees Fahrenheit in five-degree increments. While there isn’t an official expectation of battery life, since we all dab to a different beat, one of their followers, @macdizzle420, was able to take 29 dabs on her 29th birthday without having to stop for a charge. We got nine dabs right out of the box. The unit should completely charge in about 2 hours, but Ispire also included passthrough charging, so if you find yourself loaded up with no juice left (it’s happened to all of us), you can quickly get back to business.

Some experienced e-rig users will find a couple of other notable differences, such as the untethered glass carb cap. Much more like that classic rig vibe, this does mean sometimes you’re juggling the unit, the dab tool, and the carb cap all at once. The Daab also uses a pair of rechargeable 18650 3000-3500mAh batteries, making this curiously perfect for vacations. The rugged case is TSA-ready. There’s no need to pack extra atomizers, and you can pick up replacement batteries at any large retailer.

Another big difference is the absence of haptic feedback. Thanks to the gadgets in our lives, we’ve become used to a constant stream of buzzing alerts. This e-rig instead opts for flashing lights and a beep that lets you know when it’s ready to dab. That way, if you set the unit down while it’s heating up, there’s less chance of missing the starting bell. You can toggle off the alert sound if you’d like. However, the lights, while dim and pleasant, aren’t adjustable. So bear that in mind when taking those late-night, incognito dabs.

To put this unit through the paces, we tried a selection of FIELD live resins and rosins at 450, 550, and 650 degrees and varied between cold and hot starts. Like any new smoking device, there’s always a bit of a learning curve in getting the ideal setting, but even at the higher temperatures, you could still pick up some of the same flavors as the first round. The Papaya Ice live rosin with its feet & taffy aroma and the fresh fruit notes in the Sour Skrawberry live resin were both big hits. Cloud seekers will find solace in knowing that there was never a burnt-tasting hit even when we attempted those high-temperature lungbusters.

To Ispire’s credit, there is a difference in the overall experience between this and other electronic rigs. The title that best describes this unit is “a desktop dab rig for the person whose office isn’t always in one place.” The smoking experience felt much more like a marriage of traditional glass and portable e-rigs. But, while easy to set up and use, this does lack some of the always-on-the-go feel of other electronic units. It’s the difference between a nice pop-up tent and a bed built into the back of your truck. Both represent convenience and luxury, but they complement different styles of “roughing it.”

The Daab seems right at home at a desk or resting on the entertainment system. The lack of necessary accessories or apps means it’s an easy-to-use device that fits practically anywhere. The glass passthrough system gives it the capability to supply you with that breath-taking, sweat-inducing hit while also limiting the amount of maintenance. Plus, who doesn’t like pulling up to the sesh with a professional-looking black case that screams, now we can start.