Dr. Dabber XS Review | The Little Nano Rig That Could

The Dr. Dabber XS is a new vaporizer (e-rig) released by Dr. Dabber in late 2022. It is one of many new dab rig vaporizers in the concentrated concentrate vape space – yes that was a pun. 

The Dr. Dabber XS differentiates itself from the pack by claiming to be the smallest,  most portable e-rig and delivering quality dabs at only $150. A price point well below competitive devices such as the Peak Pro, Carta 2 and even Dr. Dabber’s very own Boost Evo. 

But can you really get comparable quality and function from this mini rig ? Check out our Dr. Dabber XS review to see what we think. 

One of the biggest appeals of the Dr. Dabber XS is it’s low price. At only $150 this is the cheapest electronic rig on the market and it’s made by one of the top established brands in Dr. Dabber; it’s not just some Chinese rebrand. After some use with the XS I would have thought a higher price would be warranted.

This is a first for me to say it is priced well when doing these vaporizer reviews. Newly released vaporizers are generally priced ambitiously to capture the hype and then work their way down. However with the Carta Classic and Puffco Peak being only $199 now, I can see why Dr. Dabber wanted to price its new mini rig 25% cheaper and this price point is a deal in my opinion.

The Dr. Dabber XS arrives in a nice 6″ x 7″ package about the size of what the old Dr. Dabber Boost came in. For anyone who isn’t a veteran in the vaporizer industry, the Dr. Dabber Boost was a small e-nail which set the stage for the improvement and evolution of the electronic dab rigs which we are seeing today. 

The packaging is compartmentalized and compact, making it perfect for both storage and travel. The presentation is pretty dope too with small little details like the blue tinted cover (not shown above) giving off that neon blue pop the Dr. Dabber brand is known for.

The Dr. Dabber XS has three main parts. The base, the Quartz chamber and the glass attachment. 

The base is made from the same proprietary polymer that the Boost Evo is encased in. The Dr. Dabber XS takes on a very similar look and feel – almost like a miniature Boost Evo when you hold it in your hand. 

The Quartz chamber is also the same durable build and same material with a stainless steel casing, you will find on the Boost Evo. On the XS the chamber threads in however instead of being magnetic like on the Boost Evo. I am not sure the reasoning here as magnets really do make assembly and use much easier. The threading can lead to some pain when you get started out of the box and even when you clean. You need to find the right balance of pressure to spin the atomizer in place. 

The glass chamber is your standard glass filtration bubbler with a single percolating down stem. This thing can really rip despite it’s size.

Dr. Dabber has really kept with this hourglass design and shape on their Switch, Boost Evo and now the Dr. Dabber XS. The lighting features even drive the futuristic Dr. Dabber style home more. 

• Dr. Dabber XS
• Glass Carb Cap
• Seal / Tether
• Loading Tool
• USB-C Charging Cable
• Glass Filling Funnel
• Iso-Snaps (Q-Tips)

The Dr. Dabber XS operates using a single button control. This is alot like the original Puffco Peak or the Carta where you have to use a sequence of presses and holds of certain durations to change temperature, check battery life, turn on/off and engage the heat.  This can  be seen as a disadvantage over a device that offers multiple intuitive buttons and a screen read out, but at this price point and size you are not going to find anything good with those options. 

Single button functions can be annoying, especially if you have multiple vaporizers and you have to remember sequences of pushing and holding to trigger your desired operations. This was why I rarely ever use the original Puffco Peak.  Not knowing what mode or temp my unit was at because everything is done via one button with a neon light being your only guiding insight into temperature, battery life and standby status.

While the Dr. Dabber XS is pretty straightforward with only 3 functions from the singular home button, it still leaves a desire for some more insight, especially given that the latest releases from Ispire and Focus V have LED screens and Focus V offers an app on both their devices.

Therein lies the trade off, with the size and price of the XS you get a great manual e-rig that can rip for as cheap as it can be. If you want these other bells and whistles you are adding costs and can see why the Carta 2 is $200 more than the Dr. Dabber XS.  

If you have any experience with e-rigs the XS will be a breeze to get started out of the box – minus filling the water chamber. One thing that we have seen with vaporizers like the AirVape Legacy Pro is the total absence of any user guide or manual.

The Dr. Dabber XS is just like that and has no hard copy user manual but instead has a QR code  which brings you here for the e-manual. If you do not have a smartphone,  just Google “Dr. Dabber XS directions”  from your computer to get started.  We also have a quick run down below.

• On/Off  x 5 clicks 
• Change temperature x 3 clicks 
• Engage heat x 3 second hold 

Filling the glass chamber is the one thing which is not intuitive at all. In my XS review notes I even wrote, “The mini bubbler is a pain in the ass to fill.” I filled it incorrectly out of the box and was pretty confused why water struggled to enter the chamber.  Well turns out I was doing it all wrong. I had thought the funnel included was for use as an oil funnel for those who wanted to vape some less viscous materials like pure oil. Alas no, it is to fill the water chamber via the percolation section. I guess reading the instructions is pretty vital 😉

To fill the XS glass you need to insert the funnel provided into the percolation section of your glass.

Emptying the glass is of a similar pain. I found that by covering the bottom and sucking helps take some of the water out of the chamber pretty quick. The flip side is that you can have your glass filled for travel and not need to worry much about major spilling. 

Dr. Dabber does recommend you cold load your XS. I agree 100% with this recommendation. The small chamber size makes for easy misses when dropping in if trying to hot load, which will just make a mess and not give you your desired results.

You can session with friends with your XS but with the small chamber and the amount of splashback you get with large dabs you would want to pack a small little half rice sized dabs, finish it then pass it on. This is not a vaporizer you can pack a large dab in and pass it back and forth like you can with the Dr. Dabber Boost Evo or Peak Pro. 

You will see how quickly the water chamber fills with vapor. This thing packs a tiny precise punch which make it rather difficult to pass back and forth. It is almost like taking a shot every session.

From a cold start the XS will reach 625°F in 22 seconds. The unit stays heated for 20 seconds, but you can always disengage the heat by pressing the home button at any time during the session. After 20 seconds the XS goes back into standby for an easy start up again by just pressing and holding the home button for three seconds.

This thing can rip for it’s size. It’s a big hitter and can easily finish a small little dab in one inhale. The way the glass delivers the vapor gives you a precise and fast inhale feel. The last big hitter I reviewed was the Carta 2 and the XS packs a less forceful but more precise punch. 

Where it hits hard and while providing the ample texture and smooth delivery you would expect from Dr. Dabber, it lacks the flavors I can get with the premium cups of the Dr. Dabber Switch or all glass build of the Ispire Daab. 

All in all it is a good vapor, the best you will get for $150,  and for those of you like me who do not like super large hits, you can pull your vapor into the water chamber and sip it out over 2-3 draws instead of taking one big punch.

• Purple – 475 °F
• Blue –  525 °F
• Cyan – 575 °F
• Green – 625 °F

The Dr. Dabber XS has an internal 900 mAh battery which charges via USB-C. The USB-C has been adapted by most if not all new vaporizer releases for the faster charge times offered. The XS can charge in as little as 30 minutes if you have the super fast adapter cables, however with the one Dr. Dabber provides it was taking me 75 minutes to get a full charge from dead.

An added benefit of the Dr. Dabber e-rigs is the pass through charging, allowing you to use them when they are charging. Nothing is a bigger bummer than crawling into bed and grabbing your vaporizer off the night stand only to find out it’s in need of charging.

On a full charge I got 21 sessions, some of which were multiple heating cycles, some of which were one heating cycle. Some on low temp and some on high. These variables will affect how long your battery life lasts and how many sessions you get. However for being so small, this is quite a surprisingly effective battery life.

What the Dr. Dabber XS fails to deliver on is the promise of a truly portable dab rig. This isn’t anymore portable than my Boost Evo, it’s just smaller. The device would be really hard, if not impossible to throw in your pocket and head out. There is  still a giant glass piece hanging from the side and any aftermarket glass which is water filtered would need to be of a similar size. 

It is certainly very easy to carry around the house and I even took it with me on a stroll to my mailbox. I would not pack it up and head out to the Mountains with it. For me I can’t find why I would want something this small in an electronic rig. I am perfectly fine with my standard sized ones and the XS size wise doesn’t offer me anything I can’t already do with the former. 

If you want something truly portable, it is not going to be an e-rig, you are going to have to spring for a top quality dab pen like the Dr. Dabber Stella.

Another alternate title I was considering for the review was “Dr. Dabber XS Review, wow this little thing gets really dirty”. I have never seen any other rig vaporizer get this dirty this fast. I would assume the small chamber size lends itself to a considerable amount of backsplash. The carb cap is designed to mitigate this with the cylindrical extension but regardless little splashes were making their way into the water chamber and onto the carb cap.

The narrow deep chamber also make it a tad difficult to wipe down after each use. What worked best for me was waiting until it cooled down and then taking the glass and chamber off and hitting them with a Higher Standards Cleaning Dot Wipes. I used to think these cleaning wipes were pretty hokey , trying to charge people a bunch of money for an ISO wipes seemed absurd. Then I started dabbing and wow do they help keep something which gets really dirty, like the XS, fresh and clean.

The Dr. Dabber XS is deep cleaned the same way you would attack the Boost Evo or Peak Pro. Toss the chamber in an ISO bath for at least 30 minutes and scrub, boil and wipe the other parts as best you can.

Price is the one standout here for the Dr. Dabber XS. However in my current line up I see no room or need for something like the XS. Between portable pens and at home rigs for my own homemade Rosins, I don’t see where a mini rig fits in. Like I am not hitting my Peak and thinking to myself, “ You know what would be cooler ? Something like this that is 33% smaller.” 

If you don’t already have an e-rig for at home use, this one is going to be the best quality vapor and other check marks for the price. Even the original Puffco Peak is still $199. If you are looking for something truly portable, I would recommend checking out the Dr. Dabber Stella, a truly portable vaporizer that gives out  quality vapor for being a standard pen.

It will be interesting to see how the XS evolves with 3rd party glass, etc. The current set up is more than sufficient in providing purified quality vapor and with price being the stand out feature here, adding 3rd party glass which is likely going to cost more than the unit, you mine as well pick something more befitting of customization.

If  you are new to dabbing and want a solid welcome, buy the Dr. Dabber XS.  If you already own an assortment of concentrate vaporizers. This one is not going to do anything different for you than what you already got.