Lightning Vapes

Vaping With Vapinski

The next vendor comes with a story. Lightning Vapes is known for their wire and rebuilding materials and supplies. Most sub ohmers out there have tried various gauges of their kanthal wire to say the least and I found it to be a terrific product for my shop. They have a great variety beyond kanthal even from nichrome to Clapton wire, but one day when I was ordering I saw a NEW MaxVG eliquid line. I also saw Peanut Butter Bond. Then, I saw the price. I had been searching for that just right peanut butter flavor for my shop and their prices on the 120mls were incredibly fascinating. I grabbed a sample on a whim, and it ended up being just as good-if not better-than my favorite peanut better vape I was paying $22/30ml for off of my competitor because if wasn’t worth me carrying one flavor with their restrictions on bottles per order. CRAZY!!! I had struck gold. Not only was the flavor of these blends good, but I noticed how clean my cotton stayed as I vaped an entire 30ml of most of these eliquids. Clean, smooth, tasty, inexpensive, and massive clouds! What more could you want from an eliquid?!?

Since I work with Lightning Vapes on a regular basis, I had a chance to email and do some Q&A with the owner, Sean. The eliquid is mixed in a sterile lab environment and every process is done in a separate area from mixing to bottling. The utmost care and cleanliness of the areas and staff involved are taken into consideration as should be! Sean says, “Honestly, I started mixing for myself. In my opinion $20-$30 for a 30ml bottle of eliquid is absurd, short some state enforced tax. So, I started with a few flavor concepts that I liked, then tinkered with each one until I found the perfect blend. It was about 4-5 months into mixing that a friend suggested we launch the juice line on our site, and so begun the excursion.” Their original launch was a 70VG/30G blend that wasn’t as successful, so they revamped their labeling and bumped the blend to a MaxVG and it has definitely been a wise decision. They are having trouble keeping the flavors on their shelves now!! Sean focused more on complex dessert type flavors because that is where his palate led him for his starting line up.

The Lightning Vape story as Sean describes it, “What Lightning Vapes offers and was always meant to offer is more that just RBA supplies, e-liquid, & other vaping products. The value we bring to the table over and above high quality goods at reasonable prices, is shipping speed.”  Sean continues, “ The ‘Lightning’ in Lightning Vapes represents our quick shipping time. No order sits in queue for more than 24 hours with the exception of larger wholesale orders which may take 1-2 business days. As for the design of the logo, it was something I whipped up early on, but has gained so much recognition that I’m afraid to change it!!!” I’ll have a little more from Sean in the conclusion. For now, let’s get to these flavor profiles already!! 

Peanut Butter Bond

“This isn’t one of your cheap-y sup-par iterations of a peanut butter vape, it’s a smooth creamy spoonful of delicious roasted peanut butter dancing on your tongue. We can’t keep it on the shelf in the office, and I doubt we will be able to keep it on the shelf on our site either.”

     They aren’t kidding when they say they have issues keeping it on their shelves. I have a bit of an obsession with only one type of peanut butter, and only one type will do!! Yes, and I will throw a brand out there-because it’s JIF. I just can’t eat any other brand, ok-except the mix it yourself military type. I was on a great diet once and that was a super substitute, and I have a couple relatives currently in the military. <3 Ok, back to Peanut Butter Bond.

This is a knock your socks off peanut butter vape! It’s clean, smooth, and flavorful to the last vape. I didn’t get sick of the first 30mls either! In fact, I’ve had repeat customers on the 120mls. Yes, it’s that tasty. On the inhale, a delightful, creamy peanut butter flavor hits my palate and I just smile. If you have ever enjoyed eating a spoonful of peanut butter, you know what I’m talking about! The inhale reminded me of just that…my favorite spoonful. I’m actually still guilty of doing that from time to time. Peanut butter is a weakness. Peanut Butter Bond is a new one in my eLiquid realm. It’s creamy, and silky smooth. The flavor continues through to the exhale and then slowly fades into the humungous clouds. There was a mild throat hit with Peanut Butter Bond and my cotton lasted foreverrrrr. If you enjoy peanut butter, or a smooth vape…just get this already!I really enjoyed it around 50 watts. I’ll be using my Encom TNT box mod with a Popeye RDA and a .3 ohm coil build for these reviews. I will still be re-wicking between each flavor, no worries!!

Strawberry Stratus

     “Strawberry Stratus beats all of the strawberry milk vapes right into the ground. How you ask? Strawberry Stratus delicately balances a blend of real strawberries and rich vanilla bean ice cream to make one of the most delectable vapes on the market today. This is NOT your run of the mill strawberries-n-cream vape.”

     Strawberry Stratus is a really smooth strawberry and cream flavored vape. On the inhale, the rich real strawberry flavoring subtly rolls into rich cream and blends perfectly prior to the exhale. This is the first couple hits around 60 watts. The third and fourth hit, I notice that I taste the rich cream more first and the strawberry seems to creep into the blend more right before I go into the exhale. The exhale is still as smooth and just as tasty. It reminds me more of a silky strawberry milk. I found my happy place with Strawberry Stratus around 60 watts and even went up to 70 watts at times. If you enjoy even more strawberry, I suggest I lower wattage. I enjoyed the mix up. The throat hit was mild, the cotton stayed incredibly clean while I vaped this, and the vapor production was excellent!

Almond Joule

“A rich coconut & almond on the inhale, with a creamy hint of milk chocolate on the exhale.”

     Almond Joule is just another smooth and tasty vape from Lightning Vapes. This particular eliquid even manages to combine milk chocolate into a good way! On the inhale, I taste a nice and delicate coconut flavor mixed with a nutty undertone. Every once in awhile, I get a pop of milk chocolate in the inhale as well. On the exhale, a creamy milk chocolate with the flavors from the inhale as undertones. Almond Joule is really smooth and probably the best eliquid of this candy variety I have tasted to date. There was a mild throat hit and excellent vapor production with Almond Joule. I enjoyed it best at 63 watts.

     “Currently we boast one of the best lemon meringue vapes on the market, Meringue Monsoon. Many of us have tried a hand full of lemon vapes, and most of them left us with a puckered mouth, or a punch in the throat. Meringue Monsoon, however, is a smooth real lemon meringue vape on the inhale-without the bite of citrus one would expect. On the exhale, a smooth cream with notes of whipped cream and graham cracker crust.”

Meringue Monsoon

     Meringue Monsoon is pretty much exactly how they describe: a really smooth lemon meringue vape. The lemon flavor is smooth and subtle in the inhale so it doesn’t kick you in the throat. It doesn’t make me, one who does not normally like citrus vapes, turn away immediately after the first vape. The lemon seems to be mixed with a nice creamy meringue in the inhale. It’s delicate. The exhale is mostly whipped cream, but I do get a hint of graham cracker crust from time to time. This is a tasty rendition of lemon meringue pie and definitely not overpowering on any aspect of sour or sweet. The throat hit is mild and the vapor production is super. I enjoyed Meringue Monsoon best between 50 and 60 watts.

Fried Flurry

“This is a unique flavor based of fried ice cream from your favorite Mexican restaurant. Warm cinnamon batter over french vanilla bean ice cream. A BIG hit among the LV staff, and touted as their favorite flavor to this day!”

     Lightning Vapes newest flavor, Fried Flurry, is another hit! It is coming at a great time, too. One of my favorite vendors here is discontinuing a favorite sweet, bakery cinnamon custard flavor. My customers will be looking for an alternative pretty directly, and I think Fried Flurry will do the trick!! On the inhale, a smooth cinnamon hits my palate. It gets sweeter as the inhale continues and the vanilla bean ice cream mixes into the blend. The exhale is a nice blend of cinnamon, vanilla, and ice cream. It’s pretty darn tasty, and I’m not one for cinnamon blends. This flavor varies on wattage. I get more cinnamon at a lower wattage. I preferred Fried Flurry around 70 watts. The throat hit also varied from mild to medium depending on the depth of the cinnamon on the inhale. I enjoyed the variable factor. The vapor production was just as super as the other flavors.

     These are just 5 of the 11 flavors currently out by Lightning Vapes. I feel a part two coming on!!! Lightning Vapes retails for $8/30ml and $25/120ml at their online store, or definitely support your local B&M if they carry it. If you’re ever near Kittanning, PA, make sure to pop by Sweet Home Vapor Co PA and try the flavors out!!

YES, you are seeing that price correctly. This is great quality, MaxVG eliquid at a SUPER price. The owner, Sean also wants the readers to know, “Our company started as just myself, an avid vaping enthusiast who saw an opportunity to supply others like myself with the same materials and tools I personally needed, which no one else at the time was really supplying. Since February 2013, we’ve grown immensely in staff and product line. I’ve hired some of my closest friends early on, most of which are avid vaping enthusiasts themselves. I think that a great part of our success aside from quality products at reasonable prices and fast shipping, is that we are a company for vapers by vapers. We understand everything from basic to the most advanced issues, concerns, & delights in the vaping industry because we ourselves our vaping consumers. We want to bring everything we love about vaping to you. There isn’t a single product on our shelves that we don’t use daily ourselves.” So, follow them on Facebook and Instagram @lightningvapes.

My ratings are as follows:

Peanut Butter Bond: 5/5 stars

Strawberry Stratus: 4.25/5 stars

Almond Joule: 5/5 stars

Meringue Monsoon: 4.25/5 stars

Fried Flurry: 4.5/5 stars

     Vapinski