Banger Styles and Sizes

Bangers are becoming increasingly popular, now being considered essential components of a successful dabbing setup. These nails offer a great way to enjoy nothing but the smoothest, most flavorful and most potent vapor of concentrates possible, while minimizing waste.

But, as bangers have increased in popularity, so has the variety of options available for users to enjoy. Besides the fact that bangers come in all sort of different materials and thickness levels, there are two other factors to consider, which are the design and the diameter.

Banger Basics

Before we break down the different types of bangers dominating the market today, it’s important to understand the nature of bangers in case you’re a beginner. A banger is a type of dab nail, which means that its job is to reach a high temperature (through application of a butane torch) before the concentrates make contact with it. This allows a chemical reaction to occur that vaporizers the concentrates so that they can be inhaled through the mouthpiece of a rig.

The banger is attached by a rig’s joint, and acts as an extension to the rig that can come in various shapes, sizes, and so on. Overall, all bangers achieve the same purpose, but different styles and sizes can affect many aspects of dabbing including temperature distribution, flavor, harshness, potency and how the heat is maintained between dab hits.

Banger Styles

First, we gotta cover the most popular banger styles of the year, and what each one can do to improve your overall dabbing experience.

Banger Style #1: Flat Top

Flat top bangers have maintained high popularity for years and look like the most basic style while actually having design elements that greatly improve one’s dabs. A flat top banger looks a lot like a bucket that’s cylindrical in shape and maintains an even width from top to bottom. The top and base are both flat, which allows heat to get distributed very evenly so that all of the concentrate makes contact with the same temperature at once. The key advantage is consistency between dab hits, since the concentrate itself is evenly heated. This also prevents both burning of one’s product and waste.

Banger Style #2: Trough

Trough bangers are another popular choice and get their name from their similarities to feeding troughs used on farms. They’re wide, with a curved base that looks like a semi-circle, and an angled top. These are extremely wide, and so they can hold a lot of product while heating it evenly. Also tend to make dab hits smoother and less harsh, plus less potent. How? Because there is a lot more negative space in them due to their larger size, which keeps a lot of the vapor circulating rather than making its way into the mouthpiece.

Banger Style #3: Thermal

Thermal bangers are like the similar flat top design discussed earlier, but they come with a secondary heating chamber that sits in the center of the banger and is elongated. This thermal portion gets just as hot, and acts as another heat source that maintains heat within the banger. Thermal bangers are awesome for anyone who likes high-temp dabbing since they keep the product hotter for longer.

Banger Style #4: Angled

Angled bangers are a popular style that look just like flat tops, except the top is angled, usually at 45 degrees. What this does is offer improved flavor by changing the direction of air circulation, so that more air circulates around the concentrates and thus preserves the terpenes that are responsible for the flavor experience.

Banger Style #5: Terp Slurp

Terp slurps are relatively new to the scene, and incredibly popular at the moment. It looks like a standard bucket with a tube at the bottom that goes down to a skillet, and the tube has carefully located slits that improve airflow to offer a percolator effect. This results in a vacuum design that keeps your concentrates constantly moving so that they’re far less likely to burn. This also does wonders for flavor, as it keeps the terpenes, which are particularly fragile compounds, from burning and losing their flavor molecules.

Banger Style #6: Opaque Bottom

An opaque bottom banger looks just like a flat top, but with a white opaque base. This isn’t done for aesthetic reasons – the base actually gets hot much faster than clear quartz, which saves you torch fuel as well as time. The base is still made of quartz material, but one that’s crystallized. Note that if you like to dab at low temperatures, you’ll have to be extra careful not to burn your concentrates.

Just Something Quick to Remember: These are the main banger styles that are available, and do not cover every intricate design feature that’s on the market. Companies can take these main styles and change some design elements around to offer their own unique take on a more traditional banger. And, with so many manufacturers out there today, there is always going to be a new precise model making its way onto the scene. So, always keep a lookout for what’s out there if you’re very particular about your dabbing hardware.

Banger Sizes (Diameters)

Another important thing to keep in mind is that the diameter of your banger makes a big difference as well. You’ll find that bangers come in 10mm to 19mm, with 14mm being the most popular by far. In fact, 14mm seems to give the best balance of flavor, potency, and smoothness. The larger the banger, the more diluted the vapor is, as we touched upon with trough banger styles earlier. The smaller the diameter, the less airflow there is, and the more concentrated the vapor will end up being. This can lead to more potent hits but also more harshness. Because 14mm is the most popular, it’s a great starting point, since most people find that it offers the experience they’re looking for.

Choose Your Banger Wisely

The world of bangers is evolving as dabbing is becoming increasingly popular. Once upon a time, there was only the flat top, and now bangers are expanding to offer more precise adjustments to one’s overall dabbing hobby. Basically, we have more options available to us than ever before that can change the way we experience the taste of terpenes, the potency of cannabinoids, and whole lot more! Remember, the banger style and diameter can impact how you experience your dabbing sessions, which is why we encourage you to get your ‘mad scientist on’ as much as possible.