Happy Spring! What better a day than today to review this dab kit from HappyKit. You may have seen this product in such publications as High Times Magazine, The Daily Dot, and Herb.

HappyKit’s founder Moshe started this company with the intent to bring quality, discreet travel smoking accessories to the masses. To paraphrase their about page, “HappyKits mission is to make life easier, convenient and add happiness in all areas of life.”

I’m a pretty active person myself, I hike quite a lot. Being on the move and medicating isn’t always the easiest task. Enter the HappyKit Dab Kit. A sleek smell-proof, shockproof, water-resistant case that contains a nectar collector, titanium tip, tip clips, 2 silicone concentrate containers, a dab tool, and a torch. Priced at $39.99, this is a fairly inexpensive product.

Pros:

• Very affordable
• Very  flavorful
• Large, but portable
• Ease to use

Cons:

• Zippers are made of a soft metal
• Glass is very thin
• Hard to clean
• Weak Torch lighter

Recommendations: Some improvements to the materials used would be welcome

Let’s put it to the test, shall we? 

Full disclosure: my first review unit spontaneously cracked down the sidewall where the titanium tip seats. This was no fault of mine, I made sure to heat the product properly. Upon inspecting the faulty unit it’s pretty clear that the glass is a bit thin. For $40, you get what you pay for. That being said, the company was extremely responsive and shipped me a replacement – very quickly I might add. This unit arrived intact. No issues with this unit save for the internal tubing being off-center. This didn’t appear to degrade the function of the nectar collector at all, wet or dry. Purely aesthetic. 

Once you get the heat and timing down, the flavor on this, especially dry (no water in the inner chamber) is one of the most flavorful ways of dabbing in my opinion. But be warned. It’s very easy to burn the dab and throw yourself into an unfun coughing fit. 

How to use it

A nectar collector is pretty self-explanatory, but just in case you’ve never seen or used one before here’s a walkthrough:

1. Decide if you want to use this wet or dry. I recommend using this dry your first few times so you get used to it. Adding water adds an added risk of greater thermal shock, and risk of breakage. Plus it makes it a bit fiddly to use as the water can leak out between dabs unless you find a way to stand it tip-up. 
2. Put the metal top into the female end of the nectar collector. ONLY heat the very tip of the titanium tip. Do so until it glows a slight orange/red. Once it’s cooled an appropriate amount you can lightly press and ‘rake’ it over your concentrate, either in the jar or on a dab tool. Usually good for 1 to 2 hits before you have to reheat it.
3. I take the tip out of the glass and use pliers to hold it while I heat it up to burn off any residue from leftover concentrate. Let it cool completely before reseating it in the nectar collector or you can cause the glass to break. 
4. If using water you can change it by blowing into the mouth end over a cup. Filling it is difficult, so I use it dry. 

Some of the materials used can be problematic

Zippers are made of soft metal. If you aren’t careful, the strain from zipping/unzipping can wear down the zipper and cause it to come off. The strain is likely due to their thick, odor-and-water-resistant zipper design. It requires quite a bit of force to open and close. I’d wager a stronger metal for the zipper would solve this issue.  The glass is on the thinner side, so take care when heating the tip. You need to be careful to only heat the tip and not overheat it. The included torch lighter isn’t strong enough to use in windy conditions, so I would recommend that you bring your own when traveling. 

Some advice

I would highly recommend NOT using the included silicone containers. They’re horrible for storing concentrate as they leech the terpenes and make your dabs smell and taste like plastic after a while. I put my normal jars in place of the included silicone ones and had no issues closing the case or anything breaking or rattling. Your mileage may vary – jar size depending.

Clear the nectar collector frequently to prevent internal staining and buildup. The design leads to buildup quite fast with frequent use. 

I didn’t use the included plastic tip clips. I found that the tolerances were tight enough that the tip fit snugly inside the nectar collector without them,  especially so after a few dabs. I found that the residual concentrate inside the neck between the tip and glass really secured it well. Plus I don’t like the idea of plastic anywhere near a high ambient heat source like the titanium tip. 

Concluding this review of the HappyKit

In conclusion, I found that this was a super easy-to-use device. Especially out on the trails. The case fit easily into the side webbing on my pack. Given the material the case is made of, I’m not worried about it getting light rain either. This frees up space inside my pack for less weatherproof items. Even after quite a few uses without cleaning the thick sealing zippers blocked any smell. You do want to take care when zip/unzipping the case. The zipper material is a bit weak for the kind of zipper they’re using. As mentioned before I did have to bring my own torch with me as the included one was insufficient given any kind of wind. I also swapped out the included silicone containers for my own. I don’t recommend storing your concentrate in these. 

All in all, not a bad product given the price. Very efficient, smooth flavor out of this tiny little nectar collector. I just wish they’d use slightly thicker glass, their QC was a little better, and they’d strengthen the zippers so as to prevent failure.  

You can find out more about HappyKit here.

Have you tried the HappyKit? Let us know in the comments or on our forum.