Vaping is a great, safe way to give up or cut back on cigarette smoking. If patches, gums and other quitting methods haven’t worked for you in the past, choosing to vape could be the way you finally cut back on, or cut out, smoking for good.
The process of inhaling vape liquid has a similar effect to inhaling cigarette smoke and by including small levels of nicotine you can help to satisfy the cravings usually associated with quitting smoking.
But, all the terminology and gear associated with vaping can be a bit overwhelming for someone who has never vaped before.
From choosing the right vape kit to finding a vape juice flavour you like and figuring out your preferred nicotine strength, it’s a lot to consider.
While a good shop employee should be able to help you get set up, if you’re looking to buy online or just want to get some information and understanding before making a purchase, our Vape Town guide to beginner vape kits can help you to know what’s best and where to start.
So, read on for an explanation of the different types of beginners vape kits to see what will best suit your vaping needs.
Components of a vape system
No matter the format, all vape setups contain four essential elements that allow you to vaporise and inhale your chosen e-liquid. Let’s quickly run through them before we take a look at the different types of vape kits.
Drip tip
A drip tip is the top of the vape mod and the section you’ll place your mouth around to inhale your e-liquid vapour through.
Tank
The tank is where the e-liquid is held. Due to the EU TPD regulations, all vape kits are limited to having a 2ml capacity as standard.
Coil
The coil is the section of your vape system which heats the e-liquid into vapour for you to inhale. It consists of a metal wire surrounded by a wicking material which is usually cotton. As the battery charges the wire, the heat from the wire will transfer to the e-liquid soaked wicking material which in turn creates a vapour from the e-liquid.
This is the part of your vaping hardware that will need changing the most often as a burnt-out coil can result in a harsh tasting vape experience. You can read all about proper care for coils in our dedicated vape coil guide.
Battery / Regulated Mod
This contains the power needed to heat your coil and create the vapour. Battery capacity is denoted as milliampere per hour (mAh). The power output of the vape mod is shown as Watts (W) or Volts (V). You can read more in our comprehensive vape battery safety guide.
Beginners guide to vape pens
Vape pens are a good entry point into the world of vaping for beginners. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to set up so beginners shouldn’t feel daunted by this vape set up.
Most pen-style vapes are ready to go straight out of the box, just charge them up, fill with your desired flavour of e-liquid and you’re ready to go.
As the name suggests, these vape setups are in a pen-shaped style, long and thin making them easy to hold in the hand and more subtle than the larger vape mods.
Recent advances in vape technology mean that vape pens can now be as powerful as larger vape mods while still retaining their smaller and more portable and discrete appearance.
Generally, pen-style vapes are more suited to mouth-to-lung vaping rather than more intense sub-ohm vaping. However, some vape pens are now equipped to facilitate sub-ohm vaping.
Vape pens tend to have fairly good battery life and can last a full day of moderate use. However, if you were a heavy vape user on a night out or unable to charge midway through the day, you may want to carry around a spare battery to avoid being caught out without your vape.
Beginners guide to vape pod systems
Pod vape systems are great for people who will be carrying their vape around with them. They’re a great mid-point between the basic capabilities of a vape pen and the more advanced variable wattage box mod systems.
Pod mods use cartridges of e-liquid that are ready built with the coil, wick and measured e-liquid ready to go; simply slot into the mod and are ready to go with a press of a button.
Where other vape systems are usually activated by inhaling through the tip, vape pod mods are generally activated by pressing a button on the mod to release a puff of vapour.
If you want to know more, we’ve got a full guide about vaping with pod mods available for you to read at Vape Town.
Beginners guide to vape box mods
Vape box mods are generally seen as the next step up from vape pens. This is because they can be more expensive and are slightly more advanced to operate due to the range of customisable and changeable parts.
Once you are comfortable with vaping with a pen and are looking to advance to a more intense vaping sensation or want to begin customising your vape kit, then vape mods are for you.
Because vape mods are more powerful than vape pens, they are more likely to be able to accommodate sub-ohm coils for a more intense direct-to-lung vaping experience.
There are hundreds of different ways you can customise your vape mod to create your desired vaping experience. Speak to one of our Vape Town vape experts to see how they can help you build your ideal mod.