There are lots of reasons people have for wanting to try vaping for the first time. It’s been suggested as a great alternative for people looking to cut back on their cigarette or cigar habits. You’ve probably seen videos online of folks using their vape tech to do cool tricks with the vapor produced. Maybe you want to give it a try. Others have caught a whiff of a passing vaper’s pen. (Is that Cotton Candy? Watermelon?)
Research from the NHS and from Cancer Research UK has shown that vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking cigarettes and cigars. If you’ve never vaped before and you’re not sure where to start, here are some pointers that you can use.
What is a Vape Device?
The first thing you’ll need to start vaping is to choose your vape device. There are thousands of products out there for you to try and it can be a bit overwhelming.
Basically, the vape device is an electronically powered handheld device made up of a tank (which acts as a reservoir for the vape juice), coils or some other heating element (which superheat the vape juice until it hits the vaporization temperature point), a power source, and a mouthpiece.
It’s a pretty simple system, but the variations for how these pieces can come together are many.
There are many vape devices that are specifically designed for beginners or are recommended by seasoned vapors for the beginning aficionado. These include the Avoc 22, Smok Novo, Joyetech Penguin, and the legendary Caliburn by UWell.
Many of these beginner devices put a high emphasis on simplicity so that you can get the hang of things. They also feature child-safe measures and long-lasting cartridges, or tanks, which allow you to enjoy your vape devices for longer without having to constantly refill with new vape juice.
What to Think About When Choosing Your First Vape Device?
Do you want something rechargeable?
Vapes with rechargeable batteries maybe a little more expensive, but of course it means you’ll never have to buy a replacement device. You simply plug the vape’s rechargeable power source in and you’re good to go.
How big do you want it to be?
What kind of look do you want your vape device to have?
Some are super-minimalist and sleek. Others have modifications like souped-up cars. It’s all up to your personal preference.
Many retailers who sell vape juice also sell vape devices. Check out the top reviews and see what suits your price point and personal preference.
How to Choose Your Vape Juices
After you’ve outfitted your self with a good starter vape device, you get to the fun part: choosing your vape juice!
Like with the case of the vape device, there are thousands (upon thousands!) of options available to you. These vape juices come in all sorts of flavors, nicotine combinations, and formulations, and are available in all sorts of brick-and-mortar stores, marketplaces like eBay, and vape-specific online retailers.
A mistake that many beginnings vape enthusiasts make is to buy from unreputable sources. The reason it’s so important to trust the source you’re buying your vape juice from is that safety should be your #1 concern. Quality control checks are hugely important when it comes to vape, and while there are many retailers who share that concern and will put the necessary checks in place, there are many retailers who don’t care.
Avoid buying from marketplaces like eBay. Because it’s an open online marketplace, eBay doesn’t quality control its sellers, making it pretty difficult for you to hash out who the reputable and trustworthy sellers may be. You might think you’re getting a great deal, but it’s nearly impossible to know what the seller’s quality standards are. Don’t take the chance, especially since there are all sorts of reputable online retailers who can compete with (and oftentimes beat) the prices you’ll see on sites like eBay.
At the other end of the spectrum, you may want to buy vape juices from a brick-and-mortar store, whether it’s the local convenience store or a smoke shop in your neighborhood. While quality control standards are perhaps a little higher in these cases, vape juices from these storefronts is oftentimes priced way higher than is necessary!
You’ll be overpaying for a less-quality item.
Your best bet is to visit an online retailer like indejuice.com, where their number one concern is safety so you don’t have to worry about it. The UK has safety standards and requirements which online retailers like indejuice.com have already used to vet their offerings. It’s also important that you pick a vape juice that has a suitable nicotine content. Safe and trusted online retailers will give you a leg up on trying to determine what vape juices you should start out with as you figure out what you like best, both in terms of flavor and nicotine content.
With the retailer taking care of the safety standards, you can sit back and just enjoy their huge offerings of high-quality, low-priced vape juices. You can shop the indejuice.com site from the convenience of your mobile phone or desktop and have your new products shipped fast. The site allows you to read dozens of customer reviews so that you can be assured that other vapers just like you have already had a chance to try the vape juice you’re interested in.
Another advantage of a site like indejuice.com is the enormous amount of product offerings available to you. You would never see an inventory like this anywhere in a shopfront -; there just aren’t enough shelves!
Types of Vape Juice
Vape juice is sometimes referred to as e-juice. This is a reference to the other name for vape devices, e- or electronic-cigarettes.
Vape juice is the liquid you add to the tank of your vape device which gives vapor its flavor and its nicotine (if nicotine is part of your vape juice formulation). There are zero-nicotine formulations available. The vape device heats up the vape juice and produces a super-smooth vapor that you inhale through the mouthpiece.
Because vape juice is interchangeable (you can even mix some inside your device’s tank if you’re feeling creative and adventurous), vaping opens up a world of exploration as you experiment with different flavors and different nicotine combinations.
The Variety of Vape Juices Available
Vape juice comes in a variety of nicotine ratios, VG/PG formulations, and flavors.
Vape juices should always tell you the nicotine strength. Typically, they’re anywhere from 0% – 2%. Start out with something low (or zero-content if you’ve never inhaled nicotine) to assess what your preference is.
What does VG/PG refer to?
VG and PG refer to vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol. These are both additives in vape juice that affect the way the vapor will taste and feel.
Generally, PG is a thinner liquid than VG and tends to enhance flavors better.
VG is thicker than PG and a bit sweeter (which may affect the flavor profile of your e-juice), but because of its viscosity, the vapor produced is much thicker than what you might get with a PG-based e-liquid.
Different e-juices will have different VG/PG ratios. They each have their pros and cons, so have fun and keep an open mind as you try them out and discover what your preferences are. You may find that VG-based e-liquids intensify the flavor too much, or you might find yourself wishing for bigger plumes than you can get with your PG-based e-liquid.
But now for the best part of vaping -; the enormous world of flavors. When it comes to the smells and tastes of vape juice, you’ve got a way bigger spectrum of available options than things like nicotine and PG/VG strength. This part is entirely about personal preference!
Flavors are often categorized into groups. These can include:
- Fruit
- Baked
- Drinks
- Icy
- Vanilla
- Tobacco
- Sour
Within each of those larger groupings, there is a huge assortment of flavors for you to try and experiment with. Strawberry, Butterscotch, Fruit Loops, Peanut Butter, Lime Jelly Bean, Marshmallow -; you name it, there’s probably a brand (or twelve) who’ve made an e-juice you’ll want to try.
And here’s where we return to the importance of where you buy your vape juice from. While a low-quality vape device might give you a less-than-satisfactory smoke or bum out on you shortly after purchase, low-quality vape juice is downright unsafe. There are tons of black-market e-juice sellers and retailers out there which have ignored national safety standards entirely. They still may have fun flavors like Apple Pie and Lemon Custard, but it’s impossible to know if the ingredients list is even remotely accurate.
Your top choice is always going to be shopping for your vape juice online from a trusted retailer that is 100% in line with UK safety standards. Not only will you be sure that you’ve got a safe product to use, but you get the huge advantage of large inventories and access to other user reviews in one place.
