One of the first and most asked questions from smokers who want to try vaping is what is an e-cigarette, or vaping device.
Before we get too far along, the terms “e-cig” or “e-cigarette” are a little misleading. Cigarettes contain tobacco – these e-devices do not. The only thing they have in common is nicotine. Just to clear that up – they are a reduced risk alternative to smoking, but there is no smoke involved – only vapor.
Being that most vapers are also gear heads, this is where it gets confusing to newbies. The gear-head answer tends to be overcomplicated and admittedly a turn off to making the transition from smoking tobacco to vaping.
There are several categories of vaping devices and its all really quite simple.
E-Cigarettes (also known as vaping devices) are made up of 3 sections:
A tank holds the vaping juice.
An atomizer turns the juice into vapor.
A battery powers the whole thing.
Where most new people become confused is the point where veteran vapors start customizing the whole thing. There are countless possibilities, but don’t let this keep you from trying the whole vape thing. There are some recommended starter kits below that will show you the easiest way to get out of smoking tobacco.
One-Use E-Cigarettes
One-piece e-cigarettes are vapor devices that most resemble the tobacco cigarettes. They are categorized by a small plastic tube with a hole in one end to puff from and an LED on the other end to indicate that the thing is working. These vapor devices are the easiest to use and all three parts are self contained in the device. You don’t see the battery, juice or atomizer. You just puff and they eventually die out. You can typically find these at gas stations and drug stores. These are difficult for tobacco smokers to enjoy as they usually try poorly to emulate the taste of tobacco – in fact some of these are downright nasty tasting. The power in these is often weak and they don’t feel like a tobacco cigarette when you’re smoking them. And finally, they are usually overpriced claiming that they will last the same time as a pack of cigarettes and usually don’t.
Most people have a negative experience with these and often will follow them up with a tobacco cigarette. Not a good way of quitting tobacco if the experience is bad.
Battery “eGo” Mods
One of the terms you hear thrown around a lot is “mod”. Mods simply refer to modular design vapor devices – meaning the parts are interchangeable and you can customize or “modify” your vaping device. Want a better battery? Screw a new one on. Want a different tank? You can do that to. Want a different atomizer? That’s covered as well. These are easy to mix and match and make a “kit” out of.
“eGo” is a type of battery mod popularized by the Joyetech company.
eGo mods are the recommended place to start for people who want to quit smoking traditional tobacco products.
A good place to start is something that uses a 510 connection. 510 connections are widely used and a great place to start if you want to customize vaping to your specific taste. You can easily find batteries and heads that will work. 510 refers to the connection and thread for screwing things together.
One logical place to start is with a Joyetech C-Twist battery. C-Twists have a feature where the bottom of the battery turns so you can change the voltage up and down from 3.8 volts to about 4.8. This is nice because you can dial the strength of the vape up and down if its too weak or too strong. Get two of these along with a USB charger. That way you always have one ready. Batteries are rated in mAh (milliampere-hours). The higher the number the longer the battery lasts. I’d recommend 900mAh or higher. 900mAh is a big enough battery to last all day, in fact I usually get about a day and half out of them. If you go with something lower like a 600, you’ll find yourself running out of power and charging too often. Its worth the extra money just to start at around 900. It will save you time and irritation.
Next you need a tank/atomizer. The simplest thing to go with is something like the Kanger T3 or EVOD. These tanks are typically referred to as “clearomizers”. Its a clear tank that holds the juice with an atomizer built into the bottom. The coil units are replaceable and typically run under $3. These are great vaping units and are pretty trouble free. The Kanger units are
VV/VW Mods
The next class of “mod” that’s seen quite a bit are what are known as VV/VW mods or sometimes PV (personal vaporizer) Mods. These mods are pretty simple – its a tube that you put rechargeable batteries in. The tube has circuitry and typically some kind of LED readout that let you vary the voltage or wattage to dial in the perfect vape. There is a wide selection of devices made in China very cheaply that fit this category. These include the Vamo, the Segelei Zmax and many others. The American made VV/VW mod of choice seems to be the Provari – which is 2-3 times as expensive as a Vamo, but has a much higher quality. This is a great choice of mod as it tends to perform much better than the basic “C-Twist” type of battery. The majority of committed vape users wield a device from this category.
Mechanical Mods
The advanced category to vaping is the mechanical mod. Its the preference of vapers who know the performance they like and prefer a very simplistic mod for their vaping needs. Its similar to the kind of person who buys a Jeep. Its mechanical, there’s no frills, they like to build things and they’re not afraid to tinker. The basic setup is the tube/rechargeable battery thing, but there’s no buttons for varying the voltage or wattage. Typically the mechanical mod user knows the power output and often builds their own coils for the output they want from their vape. This is not for beginners obviously as you’ll get frustrated and never vape. Once you know what you like these can be fun setups for those who like to tinker. The only variance you can get is by using what’s called a “kicker”. Its a small disc that goes in the tube with some screws that let you dial in the power settings somewhat.
Mechanical Mods are simple, they are no-frills, they are what they are. But they are distinctive and a huge source of pride and prestige to those who vape with them.