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We didn’t think dabbing could get more enjoyable until we met the terp pearl.
Terp pearls aesthetically make dabbing a fascinating experience. It’s fun to watch them float and spin around, especially when they come in cool colors that sparkle and shine.
But terp pearls serve a bigger function than just visuals alone. Because they spin and move around in your banger, they help spread your concentrates around more evenly.
The result is better heat retention and a more flavorful blast from your terpenes. Plus, you won’t have to use your torch as much during your session. Always a good thing.
Terp pearls have become the ultimate accessory for low-temp dabs for fun and flavor. They come in various shapes and sizes, materials, and price points.
We’ve tried dozens of terp pearl brands, and here we present the top four from our experience. Look forward to quality and flavor with every rip:
Top 4 Terp Pearls 2023
- Best Overall: Bear Quartz Terp Pearls – 6mm
- Editor’s Choice: Bear Quartz Terp Pearls – 3mm
- Best Glass Terp Pearls: Pulsar Diamond Cut Terp Pearls (100 ct)
- Best Glow-in-the-Dark Terp Pearls: aLeaf Terp Pearls – Glow in the Dark
What Are Terp Pearls?
Terp pearls — aka dab pearls or terp balls — are small, bead-like balls that are placed at the bottom of a banger (aka a dab bowl) to enhance dab flavor and potency.
Once heat is applied with a torch, terp pearls begin to move around, spinning quickly as you inhale. This spinning motion effectively moves your waxes and concentrates around the banger more evenly.
Terp pearls help dabbers to retain more heat in the banger and deliver flavorful vapor more smoothly for a next-level experience. They’re designed for low-temperature sessions for bigger draws and increased potency.
Terp pearls are made with a few different materials, including glass, quartz, and ceramic. Certain materials are considered more durable, but all in all, terp pearls are designed to be reused for a lifetime. You can keep terp pearls forever, provided you clean them regularly and take care of storing them securely.
Terp pearls for dabbing also come in a variety of sizes that will affect your hits differently. Which size(s) you use will depend on your device, the size of your banger, and your preference. You can experiment with multiple sizes and quantities until you find the perfect combination of terp pearls for massive rips on your device.
Benefits of Using Terp Pearls
Why use terp pearls at all? Any terp pearl user will tell you that they make dabbing more fun, and you may even hear that terp pearls give you a better blastoff. That’s because they’re known to improve low-temp dabs for bigger, cloudier draws.
Anecdotes aside, here are the fundamental benefits of using terp pearls for dabbing:
Improved Heat Distribution
Dab pearls make your hits deeper, richer, and more flavorful by helping to distribute heat evenly in the banger.
These little gems prevent the banger from getting too cold before all of your wax/concentrate is vaporized. This means less vigilance on your part, along with enhanced flavor and power, since lower temperatures are dispersed evenly throughout the banger.
With terp pearls, you can get longer low-temperature sessions that utilize the entirety of your concentrates with no waste.
Enhanced Flavor, Less Puddles
Because no amount of concentrate gets wasted or fails to heat, terpene flavor is significantly stronger when using terp pearls. It’s also a cleaner taste, the maximum sensory experience you can get from hemp terpenes and flavonoids.
Another benefit is that terp pearls make dabbing cleaner. No longer will you have to clean sticky resin from the bottom of your banger. Terp pearls prevent these puddles and help you get the most out of every last drop of your concentrates.
Better Vaporization + Bigger Draws
Perhaps the best part of using terp pearls is that they just help you get better overall vaporization. This means bigger draws and more billowy clouds than your standard dab session provides. At the end of the day, you can expect bigger, more flavorful rips when using terp pearls versus without them.
Best Terp Pearls in 2023
Best Overall: Bear Quartz Terp Pearls – 6mm
6mm is by and large considered the best size among users. That’s why we selected Bear for our top pick, which comes with a handy jar to keep your terp pearls clean and secure.
The best overall terp pearls out there today are these quartz beauties by Bear. These are perfect for all your low-temperature dabs and help release a big boost of flavor from your favorite strains.
Bear quartz terp pearls come in jars of six and offer great value for the price. What we really love is the simple, secure ISO container they come with. This will help you keep your dabs clean, secure, and ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Bear quartz terp pearls are glowingly reviewed by verified users for their flavor-boosting prowess. They work by helping you keep all the heat possible in your banger, which is what gently releases terpenes for an enjoyable session.
Whenever you’re in the mood for a flavorful, low-temp session, these are your go-to. It’s recommended to use a directional carb cap to get the pearls moving around as much as possible.
Look forward to long-lasting usage and fantastic value with these standard-sized terp pearls, perfect for any collection.
Pros:
- Glowing online reviews
- Big boost of flavor
- Comes with ISO jar
- Great value
Specs:
- Size: 6 mm
- Count: 6 terp pearls
- Material: Quartz
- Color: Assorted
Editor’s Choice: Bear Quartz Terp Pearls – 3mm
3mm terp pearls work better in some devices and generate awesome spin. Bear clinches another top spot on our list with their smaller option.
Our editor has chosen the same terp pearl brand as #1, but in a smaller, 3mm size. Which size terp pearls work better for you will largely depend on your device and the size of your banger.
While you may use just one 6mm terp pearl in your banger for low-temp dabs, two 3mm terp pearls often work better in the same-sized chamber. If you want something different than the more-standard 6mm quartz, this is the best choice.
Like the 6mm terp pearls by Bear, these come with a secure ISO jar that will keep them secure. Just be sure to clean your terp pearls regularly and store them in the jar so that you can ensure long-lasting life.
Another benefit to these smaller quartz terp pearls is that you can mix and match them with different sizes. For example, you can add a 4mm and one of these 3mm for a great effect recommended by both our editor and online users.
Experimenting with different sizes and quantities of terp pearls is a fun experience that lets you curate your dab sessions. With Bear’s 3mm quartz pearls, the world is more your oyster than ever, helping you experiment to find your best spin, no-splash session loaded with flavor and potency.
Pros:
- Better spin
- Comes with ISO jar
- No splash
Specs:
- Size: 3 mm
- Count: 12 terp pearls
- Material: Quartz
- Color: Assorted
Best Glass Terp Pearls: Pulsar Diamond Cut Terp Pearls (100ct)
Glass terp pearls are more affordable than quartz and are known to generate higher-speed spin. Check out these twinkling gems by Pulsar to light up your dab sessions.
The most fun, most nostalgic glass terp pearls that deliver spin and flavor have got to be these literal gems from Pulsar. This affordable option gives you a whopping 100 terp pearls at 10mm diameter each, all under $35.
Because of their large size, Pulsar’s glass pearls are recommended for bigger bangers (think 30mm). They’re also a go-to for those who want super-large hits on the regular.
Glass terp pearls are known for their spin, but the awesome gemmy design from Pulsar takes it over the top. Relax and watch as your pearls glitter while you soak in all the flavonoids and terps from your favorite strains.
Remember that glass terp pearls are not as heat resistant as quartz, so they wane in function over time by changing their shape. That’s why we intentionally chose Pulsar’s 100-count, since they give you great value, with plenty to keep on hand for the long term.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Fun, gem-shaped design
- Lots of spin and flavor boost
Specs:
- Size: 10 mm
- Count: 100 terp pearls
- Material: Glass
- Color: Assorted
Best Glow-in-the-Dark Terp Pearls: aLeaf Terp Pearls – Glow in the Dark
Glow-in-the-Dark terp pearls are just plain fun, a total crowd-pleaser. For our money, aLeaf makes the best.
All the dabber connoisseurs out there need these terp pearls! Like our #3 pick, it’s all about getting more fun out of your sessions while, of course, increasing the surface area of your banger for tastier rips.
aLeaf’s glow-in-the-dark terp pearls are made with high-quality glass that gives an extraterrestrial, greenish glow in the dark.
You get just four terp pearls here, but we love that aLeaf gives you multiple sizes. This means that no matter the size of your banger, you’re sure to have a fun experience.
The variety is also great for experimentation with whatever device you’re using. Leverage trial and error to find your oh-so-sweet spot with a huge flavor burst.
aLeaf’s glow-in-the-dark terp pearls are made with non-toxic materials, and we’ve found that their glowing function does not decrease over time. Get ready for fun solo sessions at night and crowd-pleasing fun with fellow dabbers.
Pros:
- Under $10
- Great for bangers of all sizes
- Just plain fun
Specs:
- Size: Assorted
- Count: 4 terp pearls
- Material: Glass
- Color: Greenish glow
How Do Terp Pearls Work?
Terp pearls deliver a more potent flavor and better rips by increasing the surface area of your banger. Once lit, terp pearls move around and spin, which creates better heat retention and more consistent vaporization.
Terp pearls are most efficient when you use a carb cap to give you multiple airflow directions, as this increases surface area even more.
How to Use Terp Pearls for Dabbing
- Place your terp pearl(s) inside your quartz banger.
- Heat the banger and let it cool until you’ve reached the temperature you want.
- Load your wax/shatter/concentrate.
- Put on a compatible carb cap.
- Take a rip from the mouthpiece of your device to launch the terp pearls into a spinning motion.
- Wait for your terp pearls to cool down after your session, and clean them with isopropyl alcohol to ensure lifelong usage.
What to Consider When Buying Terp Pearls
If you’re new to terp pearls, you might be wondering where to start. Different materials and different sizes of terp pearls will equate to different experiences and price points. Here’s a quick breakdown of what to expect:
Material
Quartz: Perhaps the most popular material is quartz, beloved for its durable heat-retention abilities. Quartz terp pearls are known more or less as the standard, especially since the majority of bangers are made from the same material. Quartz dab pearls are innately more resistant to heat than glass and generate deep, rich flavor profiles.
Glass: Glass terp balls are the most affordable category and a great choice for those who want to get started. They provide rich flavor and all the functionality needed to increase surface area and generate big draws. The only downside is that they are not as tolerant of heat as quartz, so they can get damaged over time.
Ceramic: Ceramic terp pearls aren’t as popular as quartz or glass, but some users assert that they provide the best flavor. Ceramic terp balls are more fragile than other materials, so they’re a bit dicier to clean. However, they provide pretty good heat retention and are considered more of a hipster option.
Silicon carbide: Silicon carbide terp pearls look and feel similar to the ceramic version. This material is relatively new among dabbing accessory manufacturers. SiC terp balls are easy to clean and provide a high level of heat retention, though they’re not as common as the above materials.
Sapphire and ruby: These materials are produced in a lab before they are formed into terp pearls. Sapphire and ruby terp pearls are considered the gold standard by many dabbers, as they’re more expensive and produce the richest flavors. Besides price, the only downside is that these terp pearls aren’t as easy to clean as their quartz and glass counterparts.
Size
Terp pearls come in different diameter sizes, ranging from 3mm to 10mm. By and large, 6mm terp balls are considered standard and most versatile, as they work well in most banger sizes.
4mm and 3mm terp pearls are more common with smaller, handheld devices. Larger sizes of 9mm and 10mm are for users who want the biggest rips possible with big globs of concentrate and for those who use bigger bangers.
You can mix together different sizes of terp pearls, too. This can be a really fun experimentation process to find out which combos work the best for the blastoff you want, as well as the device you’re currently using.
Carb Cap
Remember this final point because it’s super-important– not all carb caps will work with terp pearls. If you don’t get a compatible cap, your dab pearls won’t spin. To make sure you get the right one, check the product’s description before you buy. Carb caps that are compatible with terp pearls are often called ‘spinner caps’ or ‘spinning caps.’
FAQs:
Can I reuse terp pearls?
Yes, terp pearls are meant to be reused again and again. Provided you clean them properly, you can use them for countless sessions over time. Note that glass terp pearls may not last as long as they are less heat-resistant than other materials.
How do I clean my terp pearls? How often should I clean them?
It’s best to clean your terp pearls after every session to prevent residue from building up, as this will cause them to not work as well. Luckily, cleaning terp pearls is super-fast and easy.
First, wait for them to cool off so you don’t burn yourself. Mix them gently in rubbing alcohol until all the resin is removed, and gently wipe them off. Wait for your terp pearls to dry completely before using them in your next dab session.
How long do terp pearls last?
High-quality terp pearls made from quartz should last a lifetime with quality care and use. Be sure to clean them after every session to keep them forever. Glass terp pearls can get damaged by excessive temperatures and may need eventual replacements.
Can I mix different sizes of terp pearls?
Yes! In fact, using different size combinations of terp pearls is recommended by more experienced dabbers. You can experiment with different sizes and quantities to figure out what works best with different devices and what combos deliver bigger flavor profiles.
Get bigger draws and bigger flavor
The major benefit of terp pearls is that they deliver bigger, more flavorful rips at low-temperature settings. And admittedly, it’s just plain fun to watch them float and spin around.
The majority of terp pearls will last a lifetime, provided they’re properly cleaned and cared for. The exception would be the more-affordable glass option that may change its shape over time.
Overall, terp pearls are pretty cost-effective and they take dabbing to another level. We hope you enjoy our vetted list of the best options to take you to infinity and beyond or wherever you want to go. Happy dabbing.
Hearst Newspapers participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may earn a commission when you click links in this content. Our professional curators independently research and recommend products and services, with no newsroom involvement.