Wax Pen vs Dab Pen - What is the Difference

Is a Dab Pen and a Wax Pen the Same Thing?

As vaping continues to increase in popularity, dab and wax pens are popular items that continue to pop up in both physical and online retail stores alike. However, what’s the difference between the two? Is there a difference?

No, there is no difference and whichever terminology is used, is mostly based on preference. Both of these terms refer to the same type of vaporizer product! It largely depends on what term you heard first or what you are most familiar with. A dab or wax pen uses a wax concentrate to create vapor (hence the wax pen terminology). Historically, the wax used in this process has been referred to as dab and has been used in stationary dab rigs (hence the dab terminology). There is no difference between the two terms.

What Defines a Dab Pen? (aka Wax Pen)

There are a lot of different vape pens on the market whether for wax, oils, or dry herbs. You are going to come across these products while shopping and sometimes differentiating between them can be difficult. It is useful to know what specifically makes a vape pen a dab (wax) pen, so we have provided the basic attributes that are needed below.

1. Uses a Vape Battery

This is pretty straightforward. For a vape pen to be a vape pen at all, regardless of what it vaporizes, it needs to have a vaporizer battery to be considered and used as a vape pen.

2. Equipped with a Wax Coil

This is much more specific to wax pens. The wax coil is what vaporizes the concentrates, versus a dab nail which is found when dabbing with a traditional dab rig. Wax will be placed directly on the coil, just like a dab nail, and the coil will be heated to heat the wax and produce vapors for enjoyment.

3. Designed to Vaporize Wax Concentrates

Is it designed with wax concentrates in mind? Most vape kits will clearly make this known what the vape is designed for – this is useful if you don’t know the difference between various vape coils and cartridges. Some pens have vape coil attachments that can be used to modify a vape pen into a wax pen. Just remember to think, does it have all the necessary components to properly handle wax concentrates?

Is a Wax Pen the Same as an Oil Pen?

No! A wax pen is designed specifically to create vapor using wax concentrates. An oil pen, on the other hand, will be designed to handle e-juices or other oil vaping products that are much more liquid-like (like CBD oil). These two different vapes require very different features to function as designed. A dab pen coil and design is very different from an oil pen which utilizes cotton to absorb the oils.

With that being said, there are pens that are specifically designed to handle both wax and oil – whatever you want to call that vape is entirely up to you. These pens will have removable vape coil attachments that allow you to vape not only wax, but also oils and even dry herbs if you wish.

Does the Shape of my Vaporizer Define it as a “Vape Pen” or not?

Vape pens can come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes nowadays. The term vape pen comes from when smaller vaporizers started coming out and, as you could probably guess, they were similar shapes and sizes to pens. Of course, as the market has matured, you can find vape pens in a variety of shapes and sizes. Generally, the term vape pen and vaporizer will be used interchangeably, however there are situations where it would make more sense to use this or that one. For example, a desktop vaporizer is definitely not a vape pen, and there are even some portable vaporizers that are big and bulky too.

Wax Pen vs Dab Pen – what some people say

As we said, these terms are technically the same, however, some make a distinction between dab pens and wax pens depending on the features available or how close the device comes to recreating the dabbing experience of a dab rig. Because dab rigs offer the biggest wax puffs possible (like bongs with dry herbs), the dab pen term is sometimes used to refer to larger, more powerful wax vapes. These vapes can also usually handle multiple vape coils, have a larger body, a larger battery, and a larger variety of heat settings.

However, this is a distinction that is not used by all, and though a large, powerful dab pen might provide a different experience than a smaller wax pen might, they both are able to handle the exact same kind of product: wax concentrate. If you are in the market for a more powerful dab pen, then you would likely be interested in box mod vapes which are basically the most powerful and versatile vape batteries.

Box Mod Vapes are the Ultimate Dab Pens

If you are interested in an easy-to-use, power dab pen, then a box mod vape is likely going to be your best option. Box mod vapes house an extremely large, powerful battery that offers a lot of features to customize your vaping experience (including precision heating adjustments). They are also compatible with a large library of vaping attachments, including wax attachments that function best with a large power base.

If you are looking for the option to customize and add variety to your wax vaping experience, box mods are going to provide an experience most other dab pens cannot match. The ability to precisely control temperature is an especially important feature for wax vaping, as variations in the heat being produced can create a wide range of different flavors, strength of the hit, and size of the vape cloud. Sometimes the large selection of wax vape pens might be overwhelming when trying to make a purchasing decision. If this describes you, a box mod vape could be an easy solution!

Steam Cloud Mini 2.0 vs Steam Cloud Box Mod - Wax Pen Comparison

Both of these vape batteries are capable of handling wax concentrates when using a wax cartridge attachment, but how do they compare in the experience they provide? The Steam Cloud Mini 2.0 is a smaller, more discrete battery. It has three pre-set heating options; 3.4V, 3.7V, and 4.0V. It has a respectable 650mAh battery that lasts surprisingly long. The heating coil doesn’t require a ton of power to heat, plus they are affordable when you need to change them out. The Mini 2.0 is very easy to use and less complicated than the box mod.

The Steam Cloud Box Mod has the power most are looking for in a long-lasting wax pen. It houses a 1600mAh battery, which is more than 2x times the capacity of the Steam Cloud Mini 2.0. It also offers a wider range of voltage options, ranging between 1.8V to 6V, and it offers the ability to precisely tweak the exact watts you want to send out to an attached vape coil. No preset limitations! The variable voltage options allow you to experience the full range of flavors from the wax concentrate, be it smooth, flavorful hits from a low-temperature setting or the big, thick clouds produced by higher temperature settings. The power it provides also allows it to be compatible with a broader range of wax attachments that you may want to use (as long as they have a 510 threaded connection!)

What is the Best Dab Pen?

The best dab pen is the one that provides the experience you want at the price you are willing to pay. If you really do not plan on playing around with temperatures, traveling for long periods of time without access to an outlet, or vaping for extended periods of time, you may be throwing money away on a large, powerful box mod when you would be happy with a smaller, more discreet pen-shaped wax vape. On the other hand, if you want the option to use lots of attachments, experience your wax concentrate at varying temperatures, or want to be able to reach high temperatures, then you may be disappointed if you get a smaller, less power wax pen.

The key to finding the best dab pen is to take inventory of what you want to get out of your wax vaping experience. Then, once you have determined your needs, look for the wax pen that best fits your expectations!

Wax Pen Synonyms

1. Dab Pen

2. Wax Vape Pen

3. Dab Vape Pen

4. Wax Vaporizer

5. Dab Vaporizer

6. Wax Vape

7. Dab Vape

8. The list can go on forever, but you get the idea, so we will stop it here. Feel free to add any terminology we missed in the comments below!

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