Dab pens come in various sizes, but they usually resemble a thick vape pen. They have a mouthpiece like a vape pen, but no cartridge with oil—concentrate is placed directly inside the pen.
The mouthpiece usually unscrews, revealing the oven or bowl, and they have a button to turn on and adjust temperature, which needs to be pressed when inhaling, similar to a vape pen.
Dab pens typically utilize conduction heating—a small oven inside the dab pen heats up, and concentrate is applied directly to its surface. This differs from vape pens, which usually rely on convection heating—a coil heats air, which then vaporizes cannabis oil, with no direct contact.
A good example of a dab pen with a bowl is the Puffco Plus.
In some older dab pens, concentrate is placed directly on coils that heat up, but this can scorch dabs, ruining terpenes and flavor, and lead to a burnt taste.
Ovens, often ceramic, will evenly heat concentrates to avoid scorching. They also produce consistent draws, tastier vapor, and make the dab pen easier to clean.