Over the last few years, vaping has come a long way from being a relatively obscure and strange pastime to something which hundreds of millions of people worldwide do each day. Whilst some do it to try and quit smoking because vaping is a much healthier and less risky alternative, others do it to participate in so-called “vaping games” and because it looks cool.
I’ll be the first to admit that some of the tricks and shapes which experienced vapers can do are pretty impressive, and some of the scents of the various vape juices are to die for too! Picking a vape juice, however, can be a difficult task; there are thousands of vape-related companies and manufacturers out there all producing their own wares, pieces of equipment, and vape juices. Figuring out which of these are any good requires some research and due diligence on your part.
There are plenty of high-quality vape juice manufacturers and retailers out there such as brokedick.com, however, choosing where to buy your vape juice from is the easy part. When you have settled on where you are going to buy from, you need to decide which vape juice you are going to buy, and part of choosing one of these is weighing up all your options and figuring out which one is the best for you, not just in terms of flavor but in terms of what you want to use it for.
#1: Choose a Flavor
This is the very first step in settling on a vape juice. If you don’t like the flavor, then you are going to have a pretty bad vaping experience, and the e-liquid will end up not being used… not the ideal situation when you consider that they can be expensive. Fortunately for you, however, vape juices and e-liquids come in virtually any flavor you can imagine: sweet, savory, fruity, food, tobacco blends and even ones which are cocktail or alcohol-inspired. Even you can try disposable vape devices like Elf Bar.
Most new vapers begin with tobacco flavored e-liquids which closely match the taste of tobacco, and many manufacturers will create e-liquid blends which mimic the taste of many popular tobacco and cigarette brands. Eventually, however, new vapers will become more adventurous and start to try new e-liquid flavor blends.
Whilst some people prefer sweeter flavors such as birthday cake and strawberry, others will opt for more outlandish stuff such as wafer or pizza flavors… yes, you can get food-inspired e-liquids too!
With all the different flavor combinations that are available, you are virtually guaranteed to find something that you will like. When you first start experimenting with more unique e-liquid flavors, start with ones that you know you will 100% like, such as your favorite fruit. When you have a decent inventory of flavors you like, you should then begin experimenting with new and adventurous ones. This way, you can always revert to your other flavors should you buy something you don’t like.
#2: Nicotine Content
Some vapers are ex-smokers, whereas others still smoke alongside vaping or have never touched a cigarette in their lives. As a community, vapers are very diverse, and it is only natural that e-liquids have a range of different nicotine strengths to suit everybody.
When you have settled on your flavor, your next task is to determine which nicotine strength best suits you personally. Generally speaking, e-liquid nicotine strengths follow this line –
- Nicotine Free: 0mg for non-smokers
- Low: 6mg or less, for light smokers (half a pack per day or less)
- Medium: 9mg to 16mg, for the average smoker (half to one pack per day)
- High: 18mg to 36mg, for heavy smokers (chain smokers, more than one pack per day)
Choosing the right nicotine content is important. If you are a heavy smoker and pick an e-liquid with a low nicotine content, you will end up vaping more often to compensate for the nicotine deficit in your blood, whilst having too high a nicotine content can give you headaches and other nasty side effects.
Unless you are a non-smoker, starting with medium-strength e-liquids is a good rule of thumb. You can then adjust up or down according to how you find it or remain at the medium level should it be suitable for your needs.
#3: PG vs VG E-Liquids
All e-liquids are made from either one or two bases: Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycol (VG) or a blend of both.
E-liquids with a PG base provide a lot more flavor but the vapor they produce is generally weaker, whereas VG e-liquids are far more viscous and sweeter (which can dampen stronger flavors) but makes the vapor much thicker. When you see people making huge clouds of vapor, then they are using an e-liquid with a VG base.
Because both bases provide a dramatic difference in vape quality, manufacturers tend to produce all their flavors in both PG, VG and PG and VG blends. For PG/VG blends, they are usually made in a 40:60 ratio which provides strong flavors whilst still creating thick clouds of vapor.
The one which is right for you depends on what you want to use your vaporizer for. Are you doing it simply to help cut down on smoking and don’t really care about producing vape clouds? If so, PG would be suitable for you. If, however, you want to produce thick clouds of vapor or perform “vapor tricks” then you should go with a VG e-liquid.
When you decide to dive into the world of vaping, choosing the best e-liquid can seem like a daunting task. This blog post has shown you that despite all the different flavors, nicotine contents, and technical terms, it is actually very straight forward.
As long as you know what you want, choosing an e-liquid should be a very quick task. Your first flavor should be something that you are familiar with and know you like, and when you have gotten to grips with vaping you can begin trying out new flavors and techniques.
I live in a small Georgia town that you most likely have never heard of and I LOVE it! My house is more than full as I am a single mother of four & caregiver to my aging mother and uncle. Lover of all things Outlander. Goes to the beat of her own drum woman.
Maranda Hymes says
Trying to get into vaping rather than smoking a half a pack a day. I’m totally clueless. I appreciate posts like this!
Rita says
You’re welcome. My mother quit smoking last year and my uncle has cut down by vaping. ‘
ellen beck says
I know several people that vape. This was quite interesting. I thought they were all sweet flavors. I would likely try pizza and get all crazy with it. I am hooked on real pizza I can only imagine vaping it.