For the person who is looking to make the switch to vaping, the many products and accessories that go with them can be overwhelming to someone trying to figure out what type of equipment to buy.
Below are some of the different vapor products and the type of vaper they are the most appropriate for. Someone just starting out will benefit most from something economical and easy to use. After you’ve been vaping a while you may decide to upgrade to something else on this list that will better suit your needs down the road.
These are all the vapor devices from small mini e-cigs to the big powerful mods. The term “battery” when referring to mini e-cigs, means the bottom of the device that plugs into the charging piece. Internal batteries are batteries that are not removable and charge inside the device. External batteries are batteries that are removable and charge outside the device with a battery charger like the Nitecore Digicharger or Efest LUC.
Cig-a-like Devices (mini e-cigs)
Brand names: Blu, (disposable and rechargeable) Green Smoke, Halo G6, Smokeless Image Volt, and V2
These little guys are the ones that most resemble traditional cigarettes in shape, size, and appearance. The battery portion of the device is white while the top portion ( called a cartomizer) may be a different color or look like a cigarette butt.
The battery life of these devices is pretty limited. Most of them run at about 380mah and require frequent charging for heavy vapers. Out of all the vapor products, they produce the least amount of vapor due to the low milliamp hours of the battery, but they are the most like tobacco cigarettes for someone wanting a low-cost alternative that still feels like smoking. Mini e-cigs are designed for new vapers who may still be smoking cigarettes. Because they are so similar, making the switch is easier for some.
Disposable Mini-ecigs
These are meant to be used until the battery runs down and thrown away. They are not rechargeable and just let the user try it out to see if they may like e-cigs or that particular brand. Some brands that come in disposables are NJOY, Naked 100, Blu, Vapor4life, Green Smoke, V2 and Mark 10. The advantage for some disposables is that they are economical to try at $4.99 – $9.99 and have a higher nicotine level for users who may still be smoking.
Pod Mod Systems
Brand names: The JUUL, Sourin Drop, Cue, Mini Fit, Aspire Breeze
Pod mods are what the smaller vape pens that use pods or cartridges are called. The pods snap in and are easy to change when empty. Some are refillable using your own e-liquid and some have pods that you order in refill packs of 4 or more.
Vape Pens
Brand names: eGo, Halo Triton, Mig Cig, eGo AIO, and Kanger Evod
These vape pens are referred to as second-generation devices because they are an improvement in style and function. The batteries are longer and have longer battery life than the mini e-cigs. The eGo batteries come in 600, 900 and 1200 mah. Some come with a glass or plastic tank that holds 2 mils of e-liquid. These tanks are called clearomizers or glassomizers (if made of glass) and have a replaceable coil head and cotton wicks. These devices are very simple to use and are great for beginners to get a feel for what vaping is like. Because they have a larger battery, they also produce more vapor than the smaller ones. Some new vapers skip the minis and go straight for the vape pens because they want longer battery life and more vapor.
Vape Mods
Regulated mods or APV (advanced personal vaporizers)
Brand names: Smok Priv V8, Wismec Reuleaux, Smok Mag, Smoke Alien, and Kanger Subox
These devices are in a class known as vape mods. They are bigger, provide longer battery life, produce more vapor and are compatible with different tank systems and rebuildable dripping atomizers (RDAs). Some are box-shaped and called box mods, some are rounded and more like cylinders. They are capable of hitting between 50 – 200 watts of power. These devices have an external battery (batteries that are taken out and charged) and menu systems to help the user customize their vape settings. These devices are typically for intermediate vapers, ones that may have started out with vape pens and want to upgrade.
Mechanical mods
Brand names: Limitless mech mod, Tuglyfe mech mod, VGOD mech mod, Ragnarok Full Copper mech mod, Smoktech Magneto mech mod, and Tugboat mech mod.
Mechanical mods are simple devices consisting of a tube or box-shaped casing, removable battery, firing switch and connection point for an atomizer. It has no built-in protections because it has no circuit boards or chipsets. Some have magnets and springs but the basic workings of a mech mod are similar to turning on a flashlight, which may sound simple enough, but is actually dangerous unless you have some knowledge of electricity and what makes a circuit. In this instance, think about connecting two electrical wires (hotwiring) to create a circuit. Or like touching a hot wire to a battery to make a spark, it’s the same idea. Mechanical mods are recommended for the most advanced vapers only.
Vape Tanks
These are the atomizers that sit on top of your mod or vape pen. They may be standard resistance or low resistance as with sub-ohm tanks. Standard resistance is between 2.0 – and 2.4 ohms. Low resistance is from .07 – 1.8 ohms. Sub-ohm coils are between .05 down to .15 ohms and are very, very low resistance. Vape tanks are often made of plastic or high-quality glass and are designed to hold between 2 mils and 6 mils of e-liquid on the average. Larger glass tanks are good for filling up and vaping all day., while the smaller tanks are good for on-the-go trips.
Clearomizers
Brand names: CE4 clearomizer, CE5 rebuildable clearomizer, 5S adjustable airflow clearomizer, Aspire BDC Mini Nova, Aspire BDC CE5, Innokin iClear 16D clearomizer, and Smok Aro Pyrex glass tank. Typically uses low-resistance coils to 1.5 ohms.
Tanks
Brand names: Kanger Protank 2, Protank 3, Mini Protank 3, Aspire Triton tank, Aspire Triton mini, Smoktech Vivi Nova, and AnyVape BDC Mini. Typically uses coils from 1.8 to .07.
Sub-ohm tanks
Aspire Atlantis, Aspire Nautilus, Kanger Subtank, Kanger Subtank Mini, Eleaf Melo 3, Aspire Triton 2, Innokin iTaste iSub, Smoktech TFV4, TFV8, and TFV12. This type of tanks use the lowest-resistance coils at .05 and below.
