Vape Juice Guide: The Best E-Liquid for Pods, Mods & More

Vape Juice Guide: The Best E-Liquid for Pods, Mods & More

Nic salts. Freebase. Shortfills. Longfills. High VG. Low VG.

It’s no surprise that even experienced vapers can get lost in the jargon.

But choosing the right vape juice matters - it affects how long your coil lasts, how your throat feels, and how your vape hits.

So in this guide, we’ll cut through that jargon so you can confidently choose the right e-liquid for your device and vape style.

Contents

From freebase to nic salts: Key terms explained

Nic salts: A form of e-liquid that uses the salts found in tobacco leaves to create a smoother throat hit.

Freebase e-liquid: Nicotine in its purest form. Great for replicating the sense of smoking, but can be harsh at higher nicotine strengths.

Shortfill: A large bottle of nicotine-free e-liquid. There is a space at the top of the bottle to add one or more nicotine shots.

Longfill: A bottle that only contains flavour concentrate. There is space at the top to add both nicotine and an e-liquid base.

Nicotine shot: A small bottle of usually flavourless e-liquid that can be added to a shortfill.

MTL: Mouth-to-Lung inhale. When you inhale into the mouth and hold vapour briefly before inhaling into the lungs.

DL: Direct-Lung inhale. When you inhale directly into the lungs. See MTL v. DL for more info.

PG: Propylene glycol. A flavourless alcohol used in e-liquid, it is thinner than VG, and creates more of a throat hit.

VG: Vegetable glycerine - another flavourless alcohol used in e-liquid. Thicker than PG, it is slightly sweeter, smoother on the throat and creates larger clouds of vapour. See PG v. VG for more info.

Best vape juice for pods and vape pens

Pod kit and starter kits such as the Xros Series work best with nic salts and regular 10ml (freebase) e-liquids, or shortfills with a VG:PG ratio of 50:50.

This is down to two factors. First is the design. Most pod kits come with a coil and airflow optimised for VG:PG 50:50 e-liquids. Secondly, they also provide a lower power which works well with these e-liquids.

Explore 10ml E-liquid Ranges

Vampire Vape Heisenberg 10ml e-liquid against straw.

Best vape juice for mods and pod mods

Mods and pod mods (advanced pod devices) often offer the most flexibility. Many come with a wide wattage range, airflow controls and a range of compatible coils that means you can adapt the device to different e-liquids.

Want a restricted airflow? Use a higher resistance coil, reduce the airflow and choose a 50:50 nic salt or freebase e-liquid. Want clouds? Drop the coil resistance, ramp up the wattage, use a high VG e-liquid and open that airflow wide!

That said, mod kits like the Innokin Adept Zlide are designed for beginners and work best with VG:PG 50:50 ratios. However, these are very much the exception rather than the norm.

Explore High-VG E-liquid Ranges

Just Juice Apple and Pear on Ice e-liquid bottle surrounded by apples.

Choosing the right nicotine strength

Jacques Houzec is a scientist who has spent a lot of time training vape shops and helping smokers to switch to vaping.

His experience is that most vapers choose nicotine strengths that are too weak for them to successfully switch. (Bear in mind that the maximum nicotine level allowed in the UK is 20mg/2%), which is far lower than the 5% levels that are sold in some other countries.)

If you’re smoking 15-20 cigarettes a day or more, you are best off using stronger e-liquid. 20mg is best for smokers, with a minority finding a lower strength such as 12mg works best for them.

If you smoke less, or if you prefer light/mild cigarettes (e.g. Silk Cut), use e-liquids with a strength of between 6mg and 12mg.

Social smoker? Drop the nicotine down as low as possible - 3mg (0.3%).

Don’t smoke? In that case, we strongly advise you don’t take up vaping. However, if you do decide to vape, you should use zero nicotine e-liquids.

For a more detailed guide, see our post: E-Liquid & Nicotine: Choosing the Right Strength.

Several bottles of Halo Classic Virginia e-liquids in multiple strength options.

The best vape juice for a strong throat hit

Cigarettes can be harsh on the back of the throat, and many people actually miss that when they stop smoking. If you are looking to replicate that throat hit, you need an e-liquid with plenty of propylene glycol.

The key here is to look at the VG:PG ratio of your e-liquid. A freebase e-liquid with a VG:PG ratio of 50:50, such as Halo Vapour Co. or WizMix, gives enough throat hit for most smokers. Looking for an even stronger throat hit? Try a VG:PG ratio of 40:60.

When you first use a high PG e-liquid, Dr Houzeq advises taking a long drag and not allowing too much air in, as this can cause coughing. With both high PG and high nicotine e-liquid it's best to use vape hardware that is designed for Mouth-to-Lung (MTL) vaping such as the devices from the Xlim Series.

It’s not just e-liquid that affects throat hit. For more tips, see our guide 7 ways to tailor your throat hit experience.

Explore freebase e-liquid ranges

Halo Menthol Blast e-liquid bottle.

The best vape juice for a smooth throat hit

There are two ways to soften the throat hit of an e-liquid.

The first is to use nicotine salts. These were originally introduced because vapers found the nicotine hit with high-strength freebase e-liquids too harsh.

Nicotine salts, which utilise the original form of nicotine found in tobacco leaves, create a much smoother throat hit. Nic salts also increase the speed of nicotine delivery, making them more satisfying.

Nicotine salts are very popular with new vapers and are ideal for smokers who prefer light/mild cigarettes and tobacco. However, if you are used to a strong hit on the back of the throat, they may not be for you. Examples of nicotine salts include Halo Max, Elfliq and Elux Legends.

Another way to minimise the throat hit is to use a higher VG e-liquid. However, high VG e-liquids are best used with more advanced equipment. We talk more about this below under cloud vaping.

Explore Nic Salt E-liquid ranges

5 SOLT e-liquid bottles in various flavours.

Riot Bar EDTN e-liquid bottles.

The best vape juice for a cigarette-style vape

If you are looking to replicate the feeling of a cigarette, there are two options.

The first is an e-liquid with more propylene glycol, typically with a VG:PG ratio of 50:50, which gives a similar throat hit to that of a cigarette. These e-liquids, best used with pod systems and lower-powered devices, are also best for a tight, restricted draw that more closely mimics a cigarette.

But recently, many vapers have reported that pod systems that use a combination of nicotine salts and regular e-liquid, such as the Hexa range, create a very realistic smoking experience.

Red Hexa Pro pod vape kit.

The best vape juice for cloud chasing

If clouds are your thing, you need high VG e-liquids. That’s simply because VG creates more clouds than PG.

High VG e-liquids come in both 10ml and larger shortfill versions. However, shortfills are often the best choice as they cost less per ml, and you can use a lot of e-liquid when you blow large clouds.

Remember that to handle the thicker e-liquids and produce those clouds, you also need more powerful devices and lower-resistance coils (typically well below 1ohm) with wider holes that help absorb the e-liquid.

Also see: Best e-liquids for Clouds.

3 Doozy Temptations shortfill e-liquid bottles.

Which is the most cost-effective e-liquid type?

The most cost-effective type of e-liquid is 50/50 shortfills. These come in larger nicotine-free bottles with space for nic shots to be mixed in.

Because of their larger size, they cost less per ml. What’s more, VG:PG 50:50 e-liquids usually last longer than high VG e-liquids because they are used at lower power levels.

You can learn more with our guide to 50/50 shortfills.

A Seriously Pod Fill e-liquid bottle next to a pod vape device.

Choosing the best e-liquid flavour

While flavours are very personal, we have found people are more likely to switch from smoking to vaping if they use a non-tobacco flavour.

That’s backed up by numerous studies showing that people are more likely to switch to vaping when they use a mint or fruit flavour.

So even if you love smoking, it’s well worth experimenting with non-tobacco flavours from the off. If you can’t bear to ditch tobacco completely, try a hybrid flavour, which combines tobacco with another flavour such as vanilla.

For inspiration, see our picks for Best E-liquid Flavours.

8 Double Brew Bar Series e-liquid bottles in various colours/flavours.

TL;DR: Quick vape juice selector

Goal

Best E-Liquid Type

Best Device Type

Strong throat hit

Freebase, High PG (50:50/40:60)

Pod systems, MTL kits

Smooth throat hit

Nic salts or high VG

Pod kits (nic salts), Mods (VG)

Cigarette-style experience

Nic salts (50:50), Freebase

Pod kits, restricted MTL airflow

Cloud chasing

High VG, Shortfills

Sub-ohm mods, DL tanks with low resistance coils

Best value

50:50 shortfills

Pod or low-power mod

Social or light vaping

Low strength (3mg), Zero nic

Pod kits

Flavour experimentation

Fruit or minty - avoid tobacco

Any

 

Conclusion

Choosing your first e-liquid can seem like a minefield when you see all the alternatives. But if you can identify your needs using the guide above, you can quickly narrow down the type of e-liquid you need to start with. Then you can start exploring the wonderful and varied world of e-liquid flavours!

Read more

Previous Next