The Dabbler is a pen style oil vaporizer produced as a joint venture between pen vaporizer manufacturer Vape-Pen and one of the most established vaporizer manufacturers in the business Vapor Brothers. The very first thing that jumped out at me when I received my Dabbler was the quality of the carrying and storage case that comes with the kit, the case has a sophisticated feel to it. The small black leather-like bound case accented with a gold rim (or silver) reminds me of an old style cigarette holder. Upon seeing the stylishly printed “Vapor Brothers” printed on the “leather” I can’t help but to be thrown back into the 20’s & 30’s. A classically inspired case for a modern vaporizer is a clever juxtaposition, but more importantly, functions perfectly!
The case pops open with the push of a button. Once you’re inside, the contents are snugly secure in a plastic mold with a plush coating that feels similar to velvet.
The contents are simple yet elegant:
- Vape-Pen/Vapor Bros. branded high capacity lithium polymer battery
- Dabbler branded heater and (unbranded)mouthpiece
- Mini USB swivel charger
- Small glass/metal dabbing tool.
The mouthpiece reminds me of a cigarette holder and, once again, just adds a classy factor to the whole package with its slim profile.
Upon removing the contents from the box, I unscrewed the end cap on the battery so that I could start the charging process. The unit I received already had a charge, but I noticed that half of the area around the mini USB port that glows red while its charging lit up when I plugged it in. The red light will turn off once the unit is full charged.
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- Endcap can be removed to expose charging port
The Dabbler can also be used while charging which is an added benefit. The swiveling mini USB charger can be used with any USB to wall plug adapter, which means that you’ll be able to charge the Dabbler anywhere you have access to a USB port or a wall outlet.
Once the Dabbler was charged (topped off) I was ready to start using it. The battery can be locked to prevent the Dabbler from heating up when the button is pressed accidentally, and ships in the locked state. To unlock your Dabbler for you, simple press the (only) button on the battery six times quickly, the button will flash to confirm that it has been unlocked. The same procedure will also lock the battery if its currently unlocked. A quick way to check if your battery is locked or unlocked is to quickly tap the button, if it lights up, its unlocked.
The heater and mouthpiece come already assembled so you just screw that assembled piece onto the battery. The top part of the mouthpiece/heater then unscrews to reveal the heating coil. Because the heating coil is so close to the top it makes loading this pen an absolute breeze. You just scoop a bit of your material onto your Dabbler tool and then smear it onto the coil. Remember that the coil is a fragile piece and not to use too much force to smear your material onto it. Once you’ve got your dab on your heater coil just replace the mouthpiece and click the button as you inhale. You will be treated to a delicious blast of vapor that just gets the job done. I was getting 2-3 large pulls off of one small dab. That small dab got me exactly where I needed to be.
One of the coolest features, at least to me, is that the mouthpiece can be removed from the Dabbler and the pen will then mate with 14mm ground glass joints seamlessly. It screams to be used with a small hydratube such as the PlanetVape f-Bomb or the Pinnacle Water Tool. The Dabbler works, plain and simple. It will produce vapor until the last drop and it does it well. This has to be in part to the coil itself as it is made from heavy duty Inconel wire, which is completely inert. The heater model I am using has a glass fiber wick that the coil is wrapped around, but ceramic units are also available that wick with a porous ceramic rod.
After I had spent some time with this unit I noticed that the heater chamber was almost self cleaning. Very little residue or left over oil can be found within the chamber after a thorough use. By holding the unit vertically while in use, most of the material is vaporized by the coil with the wick soaking up most of the remnants. Some oil does spill to the bottom of the ceramic cup, but in my use it has not pooled heavily. I find that holding the unit vertically upside down can move this slight bit of oil toward the coil. A toothpick or similar thin and pointed object can easily be used to lightly scrape the heater chamber clean of any remaining residue.
My Dabbler came from Vapor Warehouse which stocks anything that you may need to keep your Dabbler running for a long time to come. Extra heaters, mouthpieces, batteries, and chargers are some of the accessories you will find. The borosilicate glass heater tube is something that I am very much looking forward to trying out.
When all is said and done, I have a hard time finding any negatives when it comes to the Vapor Brothers Dabbler. The current market is just absolutely flooded with pen style vaporizers for use with assorted oils. There are so many options that it can really make your head spin. The name Vapor Brothers has been synonymous with quality in the vaporization community since 1999. While you may be confused as to which pen vaporizer may be the right one for you, you can always count on Vapor Brothers to not only provide a fine product, but to stand behind it, all while trying to improve on it as well. I believe that they’ve done an excellent job separating the Dabbler from the crowd, it has become my go-to oil pen.
