Here’s something we never thought we’d hear: “Now I’ve quit, I’m ready to commit”.
Remember the Nokia 3310? Of course you do. The retro phone has become the hipster must-have that has virtually no features, but it served its purpose back in the day. People needed a phone that could be carried outside of their home. Having an alarm was handy, but honestly, there’s a limit to how entertaining keeping that snake inside the walls can get.
Smokers also needed something. An alternative in their hand that would deliver vapour, nicotine and the best game ever. It’s called I Will Live. Much like phone owners, vapers wanted more. So the bigwigs sat down, put their thinking caps on and let the genius flow. We’ll make better vapes...you know. With, like, stuff.
DEVICES THAT ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN SMOKING ALTERNATIVES
When we opened our seventh store, we noticed something about the people walking through our doors.
“I quit smoking nearly two years ago. This tiny thing is still my saviour, but what else do you have”
Put it this way. In 2007, Kanye West released his Graduation album. The guy now runs a fashion empire and sells everything from cutting-edge streetwear to the Yeezy Boost trainer. Stealth friendly starter kits might have gotten their boost with the funky, teardrop design you’ll see in the Suorin Drop, but the devices now available are more Sheldon Cooper than high school dropout.
WHY STARTER KIT USERS ARE UPPING THEIR GAME
Upgrading from a starter kit usually comes with the same requests:
·Way more power
·Tailored control of wattage, voltage and temperature
·Kissing goodbye to dry hits
·Longer battery life
Vaping any e-liquid, from coconut cream to grapefruit, cucumber and tonic
A ROUNDUP OF THE BEST MID-RANGE AND ADVANCED MODS
If the itsy bitsy vape pen is something you want to keep for popping outside the office (or having something to puff on the way there), good decision. If you want to upgrade to a more advanced mod that’s the iPhone X of vaping, even better decision. We compared vape pens vs. box mods here. We recommend:
MID RANGE
·Eleaf iStick Power for vaping at any temperature for hours (and hours and hours). Ease of use and battery performance are what surprise vapers the most with the iStick from Eleaf.
·Wismec Ravage for 230W of raw power that completely lives up to the name. Probably the best Wismec release of the last year.
ADVANCED
·Lostvape Skar DNA 75 for the whistles and bells of a DNA chipset that deliver intuitive, high-tech, high-performance vaping in a beautiful package.
·VGOD Pro 150 for venturing into the world of mech mods. Requires a fair amount of physics swotting, but the experience is unparallelled.
DIPPING YOUR TOES IN THE SUB-OHM WATERS
Without lecturing you on the weird symbols that constitute Sub-Ohm vaping (although you can nerd out here), here’s what you need to know. No matter what you choose in terms of gear, vaping involves inhaling vapourised e-liquid. How you inhale it comes in two ways:
MOUTH-TO-LUNG VAPING VS. DIRECT LUNG
If you want a cigarette-like drag, mouth-to-lung is where it’s at. The two-step process involves taking a draw into the mouth before inhaling again into the lungs. Mouth-to-lung churns out less vapour, but it keeps the quitting smokers happy.
If you want maximum hits and beastly clouds, direct lung is where it’s at. Direct lung inhalation is a one-step process- right into the lungs without holding any vapour in the mouth first. Direct lung turned from niche to mainstream with the rise of Sub-Ohm-capable tanks. Vastly increased airflow means that drawing directly into the lungs increases the vapour produced. Cloud chasers make a beeline for anything Sub-Ohm. If you didn’t click on the blog link breaking it all down, here is Sub-Ohm in a nutshell:
Sub-Ohm Vaping is a tank fitted with a coil rated at less than 1.0 Ohm. The coil’s low resistance allows it to produce tons more vapour per puff than you’d get in a regular tank.
THE BEST SUB-OHM TANKS AND COILS
Sub-Ohm tanks use disposable, pre-made coil heads. You’re looking at more of a hands-on experience than all-in-one pod kits, but you’re nowhere near the knowledge required for mech mods. The best Sub-Ohm tanks include the Atlantis Evo and Smok TFV8 Baby. If “they all look the same” is your reaction to this, just ask. We know tanks inside out.
The replacement Sub-Ohm coils you’ll need for Sub-Ohm vaping don’t need to be complicated. Your knowledge base will just be: a resistance below 1.0 Ohms. Trusted favourites include Aspire Triton Clapton and Kangertech SSOCC.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT BATTERY (AND HOW TO CHARGE IT)
If you’re using a beginner-friendly vape pen or pod kit, the built-in battery will only come with one requirement: remembering to charge it. When you’re ready to upgrade to the kind of box mod power that the SMOK Alien and other advanced kits offer, batteries are something you’ll find yourself paying a little more attention to.
The temperature your battery reaches while in use is directly linked to how long it lasts. The quality of the battery is directly linked to avoiding “a really rubbish experience”. Crumby batteries operating at high temperatures will cause premature ageing, damage and they can be dangerous. Sorry, but we don’t stock the crumby type.
We always recommend that you ask before choosing a battery, although the majority of advanced kits use 18650 batteries. These last donkey’s years, are very robust and generally a better option over disposable batteries.
It’s generally recommended that you charge your batteries externally if you’re using a box mod. Yes, many come with micro-USB charging, but for longer life and better performance, we recommend doing it externally with a charging bay. You’ll save money in the long term.
REDUCING NICOTINE
When you’re making the switch, you’ll care about one thing the most: nicotine. It’s what kept you smoking all those years, and e-cigarettes will be the new delivery system for a substance that is addictive. Although TPD laws limit nicotine in e-liquids to 20mg max, most transitioning smokers find that it’s more than enough.
Just to have “less chemicals floating around my system”, lowering your nicotine is something you can do in your own time, at your own rate. You could start at 12mg, lower to 6mg, then eventually tweak your own strength with cheaper Short Fill e-liquids that come with a free nic shot. Mixing one of these into a 60ml Short Fill filled to 50mg will give you a 3mg strength. Adjust as you wish. The refine tool at the top of this page gives you the option to select your strength.
Getting more popular by the day, are rapid absorbing nic salts that enter the bloodstream at similar speeds to cigarettes.
HIGH VG LIQUIDS (AND WHY YOU SHOULD EVEN CARE)
E-liquids aren’t big on the number of ingredients. The flavour is where it’s at. Your e-liquid bottle will always show its PG (propylene glycol) vs. VG (vegetable glycerin) ratio. While 50/50 suits some vapers, upping your VG is worth considering for a smoother, naturally sweeter experience and increased vapour. It will, however, give slightly less of a throat hit. Experience-seeking vapers who left the “nicotine first” realm will be using higher VG for longer coil life (and less gunk), plus the vapour perks.
Trailing ahead for higher VG with a minimum 70/30 are:
·Dinner Lady Vapes- Lemon Tart, Cornflake Tart and Rice Pudding, plus the summer specials you’ll spot in their entire range
·Twelve Monkeys- Congo Cream and even higher VG Tropika or Harambae
·Element- Crema and Banana Nut for 80/20
·Vape Superstore’s in-house Heisenberry, Caramel Coffee Custard and Dragon Fruit Punch
·Decoded Davinci Code, Double Drip Lemon Sherbert and Dessert or Fruity Menthol bundle packs which include Attitude, Cosmic Fog, Liquid State and Charlie’s Chalk Dust for way high VG
SOME HONEST TRUTHS ON COST AS YOU UP YOUR GAME
Regardless of how you vape, you’ll be spending less than the £3000 a year that a 20-a-day smoking habit costs. Sure, more advanced mods are pricier. That said, you’re also looking at quality builds, unbeatable experience and endless customisations- if you own a phone that feels like “my phone”, we’ve made our point.
As to e-liquids, the higher the wattage and temperature, the faster you’ll go through it. Pick an efficient device that you take care of though, and you can save a lot of cash. Equally, while the start-up cost of nic salts is higher, the instant absorption vs. buildup method of regular e-liquids will mean you go through less. If you wind up being a cloud chaser, prepare to end up one of the happy lot who saved money with Short Fills.