The Nugsmasher families of presses are purpose-built machines wholly designed for Rosin extraction. After years of researching and testing, their Rosin experts together with their design and engineering teams have put together an impressive set of features needed for the perfect and consistent extraction process that have earned them one of the most widely recognized positive reputations in the industry.
What is a rosin press anyways?
A rosin press combines both heat and pressure to extract cannabinoids from cannabis flower, hash, or crystalline kief. It is a simple method to produce a quality product, within seconds.
The combination of heat and pressure works to create a potent extract—rosin. The resulting concentrate is absent of harmful chemical solvents found as a result of traditional BHO extraction methods.
You may be wondering, if rosin only requires the combination of heat and pressure, then why not opt for the $30 flat iron?
Important factors come into play when considering your extraction method. All of these components are vital for a high-grade product and are maximized with the use of a Nugsmasher rosin press.
If you want to see a wider variety of presses ranging from hand-operated to fully-electric industrial solutions check out our Best Rosin Presses of 2023 guide.
If you’re just looking for something for small scale home/personal use though, the Nugsmasher is the best-selling option on the market.
What is the Best Extraction Temperature?
Temperature is key to making good rosin! A good rule of thumb to remember is:
- Lower temperatures (190°F- 220°F) = more flavor/terpenes, less yield, end material is more stable (butter-like/honey consistency)
- Higher temperatures (220°F- 250°F) = less flavor/terpenes, more yield, end material is less stable (sap-like consistency)
The Nugsmasher product line-up offers precise temperature control of the heat plates. Just set your desired temperature and the controllers will bring the plates to temp and keep them consistent throughout your pressing session.
Note that these heated presses are for rosin extraction. For other extracts like full-spectrum live resin you would be starting out with frozen fresh (or cured in some cases) plant material.
Their top plates are thermally isolated. This design minimizes undesired heat transfer away from your pressing area. This helps maintain efficiency as well as maintaining your desired temps on the plates.
What is the Optimal Pressure for Extraction?
While it’s tempting to go out to build or buy a rosin press with the highest capacity, science has shown that higher pressure does not necessarily equate to higher yields.
Sometimes the higher pressure can produce less desirable results because the increase in pressure forces less desirable materials such as lipids and other fine particles into your rosin.
To explain it further, flower rosin needs more pressure than kief and hash rosin to squeeze all the juice out.
Thus, the ideal pressure range for flower rosin is between 550 – 1,500 PSI at the plate, with maximum quality being on the lower end of that range.
What are the Optimal Pressing Times?
The time it takes to produce rosin varies depending on the material, a strain that you’re using, and if there’s enough pressure. Use the timetable below as a starting point to determine how long you should be pressing based on your starting material.
Material Temperature Time
Flower 190°F-220°F 15-60 seconds
Good Quality Sift/Bubble 150°F-190°F 20-60 seconds
Average to Low-Quality Sift/Bubble 180°F-220°F 20-60 seconds
Which Nugsmasher Press Should You Buy?
There are different types of Nugsmasher rosin presses on the market. Here are a few guiding questions to ask yourself to help you determine which rosin press you should buy:
- Will you be using this for personal or commercial purposes?
- How much demand will you need out of this press?
- How important is space for you?
- Do you want something portable?
- Would you mind buying extra accessories for the press? (An air compressor for the Nugsmasher Pro)
Generally, our rule of thumb is first determining your goals/final destination. If you only ever want to extract for a small group of homies, then there is no point in investing in a commercial sized unit.
However, if you are starting a legitimate business and have plans to expand your distribution, then buying a press that you can “grow into” is a better option. This way you avoid multiple transactions (and associated shipping/tax costs) and you don’t have to worry about upgrading.
Also, because of Nugsmasher’s impeccable reputation for quality AND the consistent growth of the extracts industry, it is very easy to recuperate costs if you end up wanting to sell your press in the future.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the extensive world of Nugsmasher rosin presses.
NugSmasher Mini: Best for R&D/Low Volume
The NugSmasher Mini Rosin Press is the smallest rosin extraction system in the Nugsmasher line and is perfect for casual home use.
Key Features:
- 2 Tons of Pressure
- Press up to 3.5 Grams of Material Per Press
- Made from Extremely Rugged Solid Steel
- Large 2.5″ Aircraft Grade Aluminum Smash Plates
- 2x 70W Heating Elements that heat up fast and stay hot
- Temperature Control with Pinpoint Accuracy
- Circuit Protection for Added Safety
- Safe & Fast Smash Plate Release Lever
- Manual Pump Lever
- Full Manufacturer Backed Lifetime Warranty
The mini press comes in a few cool bundle options, including the “basic bundle” and “essentials bundle“, and the differences are the accessories that come with it, with the essentials having more than the basic, making it, well, more than just the essentials.
If you’ve already been pressing and are just looking to upgrade the press you can also just buy the NugSmasher Mini without any added accessories and save a hundred bucks or so.
NugSmasher OG: The “Startup Sized” Press
No other press at this price can handle 14 grams at once. Large 4 by 4-inch plates combined with 12 tons of pressure make the NugSmasher Original the best value rosin extraction system on the market. And it’s not just the cost that’s low: it stands only 17.75 inches tall and 9 inches wide.
That is one key advantage of NugSmasher presses, because of their relatively small footprint, that you can put it anywhere. Plug it in and start pressing right away. Handles any input material with ease. You’ll never be without fresh, pure rosin again.
Key Features:
- Solid steel construction
- Fast heat-up time
- Large 4″ x 4″ smash plates
- Dual heating elements
- Accurate temperature control
- Circuit protection
- Fast retract plate release
- Manual pump arm
- Lifetime warranty
NugSmasher XP: Pint Sized Powerhouse
The NugSmasher XP (Expert Edition) Rosin Extraction System takes the regular NugSmasher to the next level. It also delivers 12 tons of pressure via large 4 x 6-inch pressing plates, but it adds LED illumination to the workspace, 2 additional heating elements, and a pressure gauge.
All of this makes for easier and faster operation and will press up to two 14 gram bags at one time.
Key Features:
- Solid steel construction
- Fast heat-up time
- Large 6″ x 4″ smash plates
- Quad heating elements
- Accurate temperature control
- Accurate pressure gauge
- LED lights
- Circuit protection
- Fast retract plate release
- Manual pump arm
- Lifetime warranty
NugSmasher Pro: We’re Growing Fast!
This is the press to take you from home production to commercial operation. You can get started immediately with hand operation, like all the other NugSmasher presses. But the Pro can also operate pneumatically. Or to ramp up production, simply add an air compressor and start churning out product.
The NugSmasher Pro can processes up to 112 grams at once, which is why we named it the “statewide expansion press” because at 112 grams per go, this unit could easily help grow a small garage-based startup into a statewide competitive brand in terms of volume/output potential.
And with three 160 watt heating elements in each plate, the unit is ready to go in as little as 5 to ten minutes. Heat is evenly distributed for consistent rosin extraction throughout the pressing area.
Once you’ve dialed in the perfect pressure, the built-in pressure gauge ensures you hit that same pressure every single time. Process more. Process faster. Produce higher quality rosin.
Key Features:
- Solid steel construction
- Fast heat-up time
- Large 7″ x 10″ smash plates
- Six heating elements
- Accurate temperature control
- Accurate pressure gauge
- Circuit protection
- Fast retract plate release
- Manual pump arm
- LED lights
- Lifetime warranty
NugSmasher Touch: The OCD Special
The NugSmasher Touch was designed to make rosin extraction as simple as possible. It features NugSmasher’s all-new Interactive Extraction Brain, a powerful computer with a 5-inch interactive color touchscreen display that will aid you every step of the way.
Wireless connectivity means the whole system will continue to grow with future updates (with amazing new tools on the horizon).
Having a wifi-enabled rosin press is insane and indicative of just how fast this industry is moving as a whole.
The touchscreen interface also gives you unprecedented levels of granular control over your pressing PSI, temperature and time, which is why we call this one the “OCD Special” because if you are obsessive compulsive about your rosin, the customizability of your pressing here should strike a cord.
The NugSmasher Touch is manually controlled and delivers 12 tons of pressure. It features a surface area calculator to help you figure out the target pressure and automatic extraction.
The large 4 x 6-inch quad-heated pressing plates can process up to two 14 gram bags at once and are also compatible with the 3.5 Gram and 7 Gram bags.
Key Features:
- Solid steel construction
- Interactive Extraction Brain
- 5 Inch Touch LCD Display
- Large 6″ x 4″ smash plates
- Quad heating elements
- Accurate temperature control
- Extraction timer
- Surface Area Extraction Calculator
- Accurate pressure readouts
- LED lights
- Fully adjustable settings
- Quick-start settings
- Circuit protection
- Fast retract plate release
- Manual pump arm
- Lifetime warranty
Nugsmasher vs Dabpress vs Rosinbomb vs Dulytek: How to Choose
If you’re looking for a new press then you’ve probably heard a lot of chatter over the above mentioned four brands.
Honestly you can’t go wrong with any of them as they all offer quality warranty programs and each have their respective dedicated and loyal fan bases.
A lot of what will ultimately dicate which press you get is budget and then required feature sand then of course, volume/capacity.
For higher volume pressing and more commercial oriented applications we feel Dulytek, Dabpress, Pure Pressure and Sasquash are all great products.
In terms of most-feature-rich press for home/personal use we feel both Nugsmasher and Rosinbomb are both great options. Check out this guide for a more in-depth look at Rosinbomb’s press offerings
Unique Selling Features & Advantages of NugSmasher Presses
Below are a few reasons why we think Nugsmasher might just win out as one of the best value-for-dollar options out there:
1. Plug-N-Play Setup & Operation
NugSmasher’s are all Plug-N-Play presses. Simply plug into your power supply and turn unit on and you are ready to start extracting! The Nugsmasher Pro version has a built-in pneumatic function as well.
2. Circuit Protection
NugSmasher’s are well-equipped machines requiring multiple power circuits to make everything run properly.
With safety in mind, their electrical engineers have routed each of the 3 sub-circuits as well as the primary power circuit through high quality, resettable circuit breakers which are neatly mounted to the front panel for easy monitoring and access to reset them if needed.
3. Precise Temperature Controls
NugSmasher offers precise temperature control of the heat plates. Just set your desired temperature and the controllers will bring the plates to temp and keep them consistent throughout your pressing session.
4. Built-In Pressure Gauges
Increase your chances of having repeatable results by ensuring you are pressing the same each time you load your press.
The built-in gauge allows you to find the perfect amount of pressure for your material and apply the same amount on your next press with ease. Gauges are only available on Nugsmasher Pro and Nugsmasher XP.
5. Thermally Isolated Heat Plates
The top plates of the Nugsmasher line-up are thermally isolated. This design minimizes undesired heat transfer away from your pressing area. This helps maintain efficiency as well as maintaining your desired temps on the plates.
6. Illuminated Work Area
Both the Nugsmasher PRO and Nugsmasher XP features 2 LED lights focused on the pressing area and have this built-in option standard.
7. Steel and Aluminum Construction
Solid interlocked USA structural steel creates the frame of the Nugsmasher product line-up offering well beyond the individual pressing abilities. Aircraft-grade aluminum is fully CNC machined in-house and is used for the pressing plates.
8. Heaters
NugSmasher’s are equipped with specific purpose designed heat cartridges on each of the top and bottom plates allowing for a quick start-up, more even heat disbursement, and better-maintained target temps throughout your pressing session.
9. Made in the USA
The cannabis industry sets itself apart from other commercially available products in that from the get-go it has always been a very intensely community-driven market.
Probably partially based off it’s previous underground legality status in many states, good cannabis and extract came down to who you knew, not which massive corporate brand marketed the hardest.
For this reason we have to acknowledge and commend NugSmasher on keepng their business USA based, creating domestic jobs in this wonderful green industry. Support USA-made whenever you can!
HerbCEO Conclusion
NugSmasher is to rosin presses as PAX is to vaporizers and yes, you’re sick of hearing it, but what Apple is to the smartphone.
Are their bigger presses out there? Yes. Are there cheaper presses out there? Of course. Are there more high-tech feature-laden presses? Naturally.
However in terms of finding the sweet spot in the value/affordability venn diagram that is also stupid simple to use, NugSmasher strikes a unique balance and that is why it is one of the best selling most trusted brands out there, and also why you keep seeing their units in the background of extracts companies dope Instagram posts 🙂
