Types of Carb Caps: A Dabber’s Guide
A carb cap is a wonderful dabbing accessory that goes with any banger. It works in a similar way to a lid on a soup pot. It restricts the airflow through the banger and lets you do low-temperature dabs, which preserve the flavor of your wax.
With a carb cap, you get a nice, tasty hit of concentrated vapor. There are many different styles of carb caps.
What Is The Purpose of a Carb Cap?
While it isn’t 100% necessary for dabbing, it makes your dabs a lot nicer. It retains both the vapor and the heat. When you’re using a carb cap, you don’t need to heat your rig up as much as you do without one.
This means you get more of the flavor. You also retain more concentrate because it does just get vaporized into thin air. Overall, we’re just cuckoo for carb caps!
5 Most Popular Types of Carb Caps
Carb caps come in all shapes and sizes. Here are the most popular styles.
1. Spinner Carb Cap
Spinner caps are extremely popular right now, and it’s easy to see why. It’s got a terp or dab pearl in it that spins around when you take your dab. This way, all the oil heats evenly and no puddles form in your banger.
Looking for one of the latest and greatest in carb caps? Our handcrafted spinner cap is sure to delight you.
2. Directional Airflow Carb Cap
A directional airflow cap is a carb cap with an angled bottom. When you twist it around, you can move the airflow in different directions. Sometimes puddles of oil form in your quartz banger, but with a directional airflow cap you can hit those puddles easily.
We’re fond of this direction airflow cap by SWRV Glass.
3. Bubble Carb Cap
This is a simple yet stylish type of carb cap. It’s basically a sphere or “bubble” of glass with a hollow stem that allows you to control the direction of airflow. Bubble carb caps work best with flat-top buckets.
Our favorite bubble carb cap is this cosmic bubble cap. Try not to get too lost in its out-of-this-world look.
4. Vortex Carb Cap
This is the latest and greatest in carb cap technologies. Vortex caps make the air in your banger spin around, which in turn makes the oil spin around your banger.
When you add terp pearls, it ups the vaporization efficiency of your dab rig.
Our green vortex carb cap will give you a nice, even dab. No more puddles of oil left in your banger!
5. Carb Caps with Dabbers
If you don’t already have a dabber, you might just wanna get both at the same time. Some nails and buckets come with a carb cap as a set. This is a great way to make sure your dabbing accessories fit together.
Our cold start banger is a great set for anyone looking to buy a dabber with a fitted carb. What’s really cool about this banger is you don’t need to heat it up before you drop your concentrate in.
With this set, you can drop in your concentrate and then torch the outside for 5-10 seconds. It’s a super easy way to get a nice low-temp dab.
Types of Carb Cap Materials
Just like with all other smoking devices, you’ve got a range of materials. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common material you’ll see carb caps made of.
1. Titanium Carb Cap
Titanium is one of the most durable materials out there. Looking for a carb cap that won’t quit? Titanium will not break– no matter how many times you drop it.
Titanium does come with two notable downsides though. The first is the cost: it’s just an expensive material. The titanium also tends to affect the taste of the dab a little bit.
People who are crazy about dab flavors tend to not like the metallic undertone titanium gives your dab.
2. Quartz Carb Cap
This is one of our favorite materials when it comes to carb caps. Why? Because quartz is a durable material that does a great job of retaining the flavor of the dab. It’s also very easy to clean.
The only downside is that quartz doesn’t retain heat super well.
3. Ceramic Carb Cap
Ceramic is the best material to use when it comes to dab flavor. That said, it’s also very fragile. If you’re all about flavor, you might want to get a ceramic carb cap, and a backup.
4. Silicone Carb Cap
Looking for something you can’t break? Silicone will never break no matter how many times you drop it.
It's also the least expensive type of carb cap you can get. That said, it really doesn’t do a great job at heat retention.
What Are The Benefits of Carb Caps?
There are three main reasons to use a carb cap while you’re dabbing:
- Control airflow
- Improve dab taste
- Reduce concentrate waste
By limiting the airflow of the dab, you retain heat in the banger. This lowers the air pressure in your banger and increases the thickness of your vapor.
Your carb cap can also help you prevent or melt concrete puddles that naturally form in a banger, thus overall reducing waste.
Basically, if you’re gonna get a dab rig, you want a carb cap to go with it.
How to Choose the Right Carb Cap
When it comes to choosing a carb cap, there are three factors to consider. They are:
- Size of your rig
- Style of carb cap
- Material
The most important thing to get right is size. If your carb cap doesn’t fit, it’s useless. Next, you’ll want to look at your rig and see what styles of carb caps work with it.
Flat-top bangers tend to have more options for carb caps. Last, you want to choose a material for our carb cap. When in doubt, quartz is a great choice.
Carb Cap FAQs
We know you’ve got red-hot questions about carb caps. We’ve got answers.
Are all carb caps the same?
No. Carb caps vary in size, style, and material. Some come with additional terp pearls that add extra vaporization at lower temperatures.
That said, all carb caps have the same basic design and function. They all seal off the nail or banger while providing a little hole at the top to control airflow.
What kind of carb cap do you use for a slanted banger?
If you’ve got a slanted banger, a flat cap or bubble cap might not work. A slanted carb cap or universal carb cap will fit over it perfectly.
What carb cap makes terp pearls spin?
If you’re using terp pearls, you’ll want a vortex carb cap. This is the style of carb cap that makes the terp pearl spin.
This means you get a nice dab with no oil puddles forming in your rig. They’re one of the best kinds of carb caps out there.
Carb Caps: Editor’s Choice
Now you know all there is to know about carb caps. Still having trouble choosing the right one for you? We love the cold start banger. It significantly reduces heating time and comes with a perfectly sized cap.
We hope this guide to carb caps has cleared up some of the mystery for you. Carb caps make dabs delicious!