Cannabis concentrates are available in different forms, such as crumble, wax, honeycomb, and shatter. A shatter allows you to smoke weed in the most unique and concentrated ways.
It is a brittle crystalline substance with more potent cannabis than other forms. Manufacturers extract cannabinoids and condense them into oil using specific solvents such as Butane or Isopropyl alcohol to make shatter. Some people might confuse it with smoking wax, but it is a different concentration of the cannabis compound.
Though both substances have almost the same amount of THC or CBD as other cannabis concentrates, shatter is clearer and more brittle than wax. Now that you’ve identified what shatter looks like, let’s discuss how to smoke shatter.
What Is A Shatter And How To Smoke Shatter With A Dab Rig?
Dab rigs are one of a popular way to smoke shatter, and weed lovers do it using a rig or a pipe. You can burn shatter using different methods but using an oil rig is the most efficient and easiest way. An oil rig or dab rig is a glass pipe that looks like a bong but has a mouthpiece, a hole, and a vertical chamber. The hole is there for you to put a metal or glass nail on and make the dab rig work.
Some people call it a ‘special bong’ as it looks very similar to a bong. However, a rig is designed specially to burn concentrates like shatter or wax instead of dried cannabis buds. Thus, the nail and the dome are two essential components that make a rig unique. To smoke shatter with a rig, you must heat the nail made of glass or metal. You can heat the nail using a blowtorch and then place the shatter on the hot nail. When you heat the nail, you’ll see it turn red; at this time, use a dabber to take a small amount of shatter and put it on the hot nail. Now use the dome to cover the nail; you’ll see the vaporizing shatter due to the heat of the nail.
The dome protects the smoke from escaping away and thus keeps all the good stuff safe for you inside. When the shatter burns, it produces thick fumes for you to inhale using the mouthpiece of the dab rigs. After you’ve finished smoking, you’ll notice a small amount of oily substance on the nail. This is the leftover shatter which you can clean using alcohol or burn the nail again to vaporize dabs. 
Always scrape the nail after using the rig to keep your dab rigs clean and well-maintained. However, you should ensure you don’t chip the glass; instead, scrape the surface lightly. You can dip the nail in 91% isopropyl alcohol for ten to fifteen minutes and then wipe it off.
Components Of A Dab Rig
If you ask people who smoke shatter, they’ll tell you that the best way to smoke it is through a dab rig. Dabbing with a dab rig is one of the most common ways to smoke shatter because it produces the best effects. Besides the main components of a dab rig (nail and a dome), there are other things that you’ll need to smoke shatter. These components include a butane torch, carb cap, and a dabber or a dab tool. A blow torch or butane torch allows you to heat the nail.
Ensure you get a few cans of butane so you don’t run out of it when you need to refill the torch. A carb cap is a tool that improves the heating and airflow in the device, and this helps you get smoother hits and consistent smoke. After dropping a dab on the hot nail, use a carb cap to cover it and improve the airflow. Lastly, a dabber will help you dab properly as the concentrates are sticky. These concentrates are primarily available in silicone jars, and you’ll need a dabber made of metal, glass, or ceramic to take them out of the container.
Dabbers are also available in various shapes, which include spatula, scoop, blade, shovel, paddle, and pick. An optional component includes a dab mat that allows you to keep the dabbing area clean and dirt-free. Plus, some dabbers also use a dab timer that helps them get the perfect high temperatures to heat the nail.
How To Smoke Shatter With A Portable Vaporizer?
Since shatter is a cannabis concentrate, you can smoke it, vape it, or dab it to get a potent high compared to other conventional ways. However, hash oil or butane hash oil offers the most concentrated cannabis extract besides shatter. There are a few ways to smoke shatter, and you can try out either of them to check what method suits you the best. Vaping shatter through the Delta-8 disposable vape pens is similar to vaping other cannabis concentrates or flowers using a vape pen or dab pen.
However, when you smoke shatter using a vape, you must keep the temperature higher than you use for vaping a flower. It is also essential to read the specifications of a vaporizer before using it for smoking shatter, as not all vape pens are for shatter. Some vape pens might be designed to be used with vape juice only, or they might be compatible with pre-filled cartridges only. Good quality and expensive portable vaporizers will help you control the temperature according to your preference. You can increase or decrease the temperature to burn and vaporize different cannabis products such as shatter.
However, a vape pen is a bit complicated; you’ll have to change the settings and customize it to your preference before smoking. To smoke shatter using a portable vaporizer, put a small piece of shatter in the vaporizer. Now switch on the fire button to turn on the heat, the heat will vaporize the shatter, and you can enjoy smoking through it. When you learn to tweak the settings on your portable vaporizer, you’ll be able to get the same results as you smoke shatter with a rig. Besides that, you can also control the potency of a vaporizer; just choose a device with an excellent capacity to collect shatter in it.
What Is The Best Portable Vaporizer?
The best portable vaporizer is the one that gives more flexibility to the user. A compact yet powerful device will allow you to smoke concentrates and herbs for a varied experience. Many vaporizers come with advanced smoking technologies; these devices have specialized chambers that heat the concentrates and flowers instead of burning them. Another essential feature to consider here is the temperature setting.
Some high-end vaporizers have three to four settings that allow you to be more flexible with the temperature settings. Besides that, they have long-lasting batteries that can last for eight to ten sessions and charge quickly with the USB method. Extra mouthpieces are always handy; most of the complete vaporizer kits have them.
If you like a better smoking experience, consider different oven lids or concentrate inserts for perfect heating. Plus, consider a portable vaporizer with an excellent warranty to get a tension-free puffing experience. 
How To Smoke Shatter If There Is No Rig?
Don’t worry if you don’t have a rig because these alternatives will help you smoke shatter. You can use a shatter with a rolled joint and blunt too. However, you’ll have to break it into pieces. After breaking it into small pieces, spread shatter on the blunt or the rolled joint evenly and then roll it. For pre-rolled joints, you’ll have to open them, add shatter and then construct again. Some people melt the shatter and then roll it around the sides of the rolling paper. This is also called twaxing a joint. To twax a joint, add shatter using a dabber on the inner side of the rolling papers. A tip is to use hot knives if you don’t have the hot dab nail that comes with a rig.
This will help you twax a joint more easily. For a beginner, using a rolled joint or a blunt is easier for smoking shatter. Apart from that, you can also use a bowl and a pipe to smoke dabs if you don’t have a rig.
The first thing you have to do is pack the bowl with shatter. Start with filling the bowl with ground weed, drop the dab into the weed, and then pack the bowl with the rest. We put the dab halfway in because the direct flame can damage the quality, and the THC might become harmful to inhale.
Thus, the trick is to pack, dab, and then pack again, so the flame burns the shatter without igniting it. So, if you don’t have a rig, you can try this simple method using a bowl.
What Are The Best Ways To Smoke Shatter?
Smoking shatter is fun; it gets you a high quickly, and the good thing is that the effects last longer. If you’re new to dab and yet figuring out how to smoke shatter, we’ve got you covered.
With technological advancements, cannabis lovers have developed unique ways of using the latest technologies to consume cannabis concentrates and other cannabis products including CBD gummies, vapes and tinctures. Have a look at these smart and easy ways to smoke shatter:
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Smoking Shatter With An E-Rig
If you want to savor the authentic flavors of a dab, use a dedicated e-rig and thank us later. An electronic dab rig is powerful and efficient enough to heat your dab within a few seconds. It is a compact and portable device that gives you more flexibility and control over the smoking experience. An e-rig has a titanium coil and atomizers that work together to produce thick clouds of smoke. E-rigs are also equipped with automatic modes so that you can fix a heating level according to your preference. An e-rig comes with a high-power battery that runs long and allows you to smoke for numerous sessions. Since these devices are customizable, you can choose the size of the smoke clouds too. If you’re a beginner, consider an e-rig that is easy to use and doesn’t have too many complex features. Plus, look for a durable device with an aluminum alloy body and titanium heating elements.
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Smoking Shatter In A Pipe
A pipe offers a smooth smoking experience, and luckily there are many options for high-end pipes available on the market. To smoke shatter through a glass pipe, you’ll need to sprinkle the shatter in the bowl. Some people add more weed or flower to pack the bowl evenly for a more consistent and smooth burn.
However, you must remember that the more you add to your bowl, the more intense high you will achieve. Plus, shatter is one of the most concentrated forms of cannabis, so you must ensure you’re comfortable with it. These days there are more advanced pipes with microchannel design, an anodized aluminum body, stainless steel filters, and more. These high-end and unique designs also feature a mechanical heat extraction process, so you don’t have to use water.
A good quality pipe with filtering and cooling features provide. Investing in a good quality pipe or dab rig is the best way to enjoy the most potent concentrate smoke experience.
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Smoking Shatter Out Of A Bong
You can also smoke shatter out of a bong. In fact, a bong can be the best homemade dab rig if you don’t have an actual rig. To smoke shatter out of a bong, use a small device because anything over 15 inches won’t give good hits. The vapor will take longer in a tall bong to travel all the way and reach your mouth for inhalation; thus, the quality will be affected. Also, most joints have female joints, so you’ll have to get a male-jointed dab nail to fit perfectly. Some universal dab nails are also available with both female and male compatibility. Using a bong is easy, and it works like smoking pipes. To smoke shatter out of a bong, fill the bong halfway with ground or cut cannabis flower and top it off with a few pieces of shatter on the top. You can add more ground bud to pack it off for a consistent burn. Then light up the bong, and you’re good to go.
What Is The Best Shatter Or Dab?
Before buying shatter or dab, you must learn to distinguish between a good and bad dab. Beginners may not have the experience to differentiate between the quality of the concentrates. Also, these concentrates are made from chemical solvents like butanes, so you must get them from a licensed technician with professional tools for making them. If you’re looking forward to buying the best shatter or dab, consider these factors:
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Potency
When you are out to buy a dab, you should first determine your tolerance level and usage. If you’re a new user, you should start with the THC-free dose dabs or those with a low THC content. Later, you can build up according to your desired potency and effects. One gram of this cannabis concentrate can last for a couple of weeks if you’re a new user.
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Flavor
Flavor can broadly impact your overall experience of smoking a shatter. The cannabis concentrate may look good outside but may not taste as good. Thus, buying dabs from a reputable brand or licensed manufacturer is essential for the best results. A good brand continually tests its products from a third-party lab for purity and potency. Terpene testing can determine the strain’s smell so that you know where it comes from. The extraction method for reaping the resin also affects the dab’s flavor.
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Appearance
Shatter looks like a slab of hardened sugar or toffee. You can also compare it to honey or wax as it has a sticky appearance. Good quality shatter has a translucent amber shade and is not soft and dark. If you see that the shatter has irregular colors, stay away from it as it is low-quality. Though shatter is more complicated to make, it is more long-lasting than smoking wax and more stable.
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Texture
Dabs are available in various consistencies and textures, and shatter is the most popular form of concentrates. If you like a hard texture, choose the glass-like or hard shatter. For soft texture, shatter is available in the form of crumble or budder. Besides that, if you like to change the texture of shatter, you can always change it using a good dabber.
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Aroma
Dabs don’t smell like weed smoke, and since they produce vapors, they are not harsh on the throat. You can describe the aroma of dabs as earthy and herby and more like the dominant terpenes. The quality of the cannabis strains play an important role here; the better the quality of a dab, the more pungent the smell it has. Besides that, a small dab will smell less than a larger one.
Conclusion: How Safe Is Smoke Shatter?
Whether you’re a weed lover looking for a more profound experience or just about to step into the world of cannabis, smoking shatter is a whole different thing. It is a complicated process, but the effects are worth a try. Shatter is high in THC, and since the extraction method isn’t difficult, it is cheap too. However, you must remember that it is two to three times stronger than a potent flower; thus, its effects are intense.
Apart from that, you should also remember that the high you get from smoking shatter also depends on the cannabis strain and the smoking method. To be on the safe side, you must start with small amounts of shatter as it is highly potent and can stay in your body for an extended period.
