7 Best Cheap Dab Rigs: Your Buyer’s Guide

The 6-inch vapor bubbler provides a lot of functionality at a low cost. It comes with a regular bowl that fits on the joint, so you can switch attachments when you want to smoke traditional bud.

For dabbing, it includes a vapor dome with a nail. Nails with domes tend to be more efficient and make your concentrates go further. The dome helps contain the vapor when you dab, and feed it into the dab rig.

The recycler design means that water circulates through multiple chambers while you inhale. As it returns through those tubes attaching the chambers, any residue generated by combustion (like ash or tar) will get stuck to the walls. (It also creates a swirling visual effect!)

This added filtration means it may get dirty — and it looks difficult to clean. However, most of that residue will get trapped in the colored glass section. (They thought of everything!)

This piece also features a bent neck and flared mouthpiece for ergonomic toking. This is the perfect dab rig for the consumer who wants smooth, filtered dabs, but doesn’t want to spend much.

Of course, you’ll want to replace the glass nail with something that can withstand the high heat of your dab torch. Luckily, this model comes with a 14.5mm joint, which is the most common size. You can easily order a quart banger or titanium nail separately, and it will fit this wax rig perfectly. 

Beakers: They’re not just for scientists anymore. Everyone loves a good beaker design. When it comes to smoking through beaker-shaped glass, you tend to get a cooler and more filtered hit. That’s because the wider base provides room for more water volume. (So there’s more water to cool and filter your smoke, before it reaches your lungs.)

Plus, the beaker design provides a wider base. You’re less likely to tip it over. Although, after five dabs, all bets are off.

The drum percolator helps filter your hit, by breaking up your smoke into smaller bubbles. These bubbles mean your smoke has more surface area to get filtered by the water.

At 7 inches tall, this dab rig is perfect for passing with your friends. The bent mouthpiece makes it easier to hit while reclining. (Again, after five dabs, this could become a critical feature.)

Like most cheap dab rigs, this comes with a glass nail. This model has a “banger nail,” which means it’s shaped more like a bucket than a nail, but it’s still made of glass. Glass can’t withstand the temperature changes exerted by many dabbers. Especially if the nail has reached cool temperatures before you start heating it with your butane torch. The nail is likely to crack. This one is designed for a 14.5mm joint, which is the most common size, so it will be really easy to order your quartz banger or titanium nail separately. Happy shopping — and happy dabbing!

For an affordable price, this dab rig includes a drum percolator, which disperses your smoke into tiny bubbles to maximize filtration. 

Your third eye, according to some Eastern philosophies, is invisibly located on your forehead, allowing you to look inwards. Now you can have your third eye on your dab rig.

If this eye is looking inwards, it will see clouds of dab vapor. It would embrace that, at 6.5 inches tall, it’s the perfect height for passing. It might experience feelings of inadequacy when it realizes that its banger nail is made of glass, instead of quartz or titanium. It might start to feel fragile. Because it is.

But this is true of all cheap dab rigs: the glass nail is likely to crack when you’re heating it with your dab torch. It could be difficult to order the correct size replacement (in a superior material.) Because the product listing does not say what size joint your replacement nail would need to fit. One reviewer suggested that it was a 10mm joint. You could order a “universal nail,” which will fit joints of any size.

It’s too bad the seller doesn’t specify the joint size, but then again, many Amazon sellers are intentionally vague about their cannabis-related products. (Cannabis is still federally illegal.)

In fact, on Amazon, this dab rig is categorized under “Eye Drops, Lubricants & Washes.” Please don’t try to lubricate your eyes with this product. (Except maybe your third eye.) It is a dab rig. And, according to Amazon customers, it works just great for taking powerful, smooth dabs, and it’s a hell of a deal for the price.

You’ll just have to be patient during the shipping, which could take up to a month. And then you’ll have to be patient again, if it arrives broken, and you have to wait for the seller to ship you a new one. (Although it sounds like this is happening less frequently, now that they’ve improved their packaging process.)

Still, if you want an affordable wax rig (or you’re really into third-eye-related philosophy), this is about as cheap as it gets. 

If you dab enough high-potency concentrates, this oil rig could start to look like a teacup character from a Disney movie, with its hand on its hip. This slender, looping design could also make it fragile, so be careful with this glass rig. The seller says it’s made from 3-5 mm glass, but it still looks fragile — and pretty likely to get knocked over.

It’s packaged in tons of bubble wrap, so it’s likely to reach you fully intact. But then it’s up to you.

However, for such a low price, if your home isn’t too rambunctious, this could be the perfect budget oil rig for you. Especially if you love elegant glass decor — this pipe will fit right in with your home aesthetic.

Of course, the part that’s most likely to break is the glass dab nail. Glass is not an optimal material for dab nails. They are not built to withstand the rapid heating that occurs when you heat your nail with a dab torch.

When the nail breaks, you’ll have to buy your banger or nail separately. That’s no problem — the seller specifies the joint size in the product description. (In fact, that’s the only information they provide in the product description, perhaps assuming that everyone will buy their own titanium nail or quartz banger.) The joint size is 14.5mm, which is the most common size, so you’ll have no problem finding a replacement dab nail for this dab rig.

This affordable dab rig stands out as one of the quirkiest dabbing devices around. And perhaps, depending on the situation (and your acting skills), the most discrete.

It’s marketed as a portable dab rig, because you can stroll into the office while carrying your rig in one hand, cell phone in the other. Try to look busy. And important. Like you’re definitely not going to be doing dabs in your cubicle later.

And while it may be the cheapest and sneakiest model around, it’s not the most likely to get tipped over. Unless you find yourself frequently knocking over Starbucks cups.

You’ll probably want to buy your own dab nail, like with all the budget-friendly dab rigs for sale on this list. Most customers recommend replacing the included nail with a banger immediately. 

Whether you choose a quartz banger, or you prefer ceramic or titanium nails, make sure the nail you choose is a 14mm female joint. That should be easy — there are plenty of quartz and titanium dab nails out there that fit 14mm male joints like the one on this rig.

And you’ll have plenty of time to order one, because this quirky portable dab rig can take several weeks to arrive.