What is Vaping?
To the newcomer, the world of vaping can seem a confusing and complicated place. All these mentions of ohms, atties and amp rating is enough to make your head hurt. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be like that. Vaping is easy to try out, all you need is a helping hand. Here at Spinfuel we’ve pooled our knowledge to create a one-stop beginner’s guide to vaping that anyone can understand. In the first part of our six part guide we’ll look at what exactly vaping is, why it’s so popular and how it can work for you. Don’t worry if you’re not technically-minded, we’ll keep things jargon-free!
What Is It?
In very simple terms, vaping is inhaling and exhaling vapor from an e-cigarette or similar device. A typical set-up involves a battery that heats up an e liquid solution in a tank, converting it into fumes that you can breathe in through the mouthpiece. This e juice usually – though not always – contains nicotine, making it a useful and satisfying alternative to smoking.
Why Should I Start Vaping?
Why all the fuss? If you’re a smoker, you’ve probably heard about vaping, or even tried someone else’s vape, and thought about making the switch. These days, we’re all aware of the dangers of smoking – it’s well-known that one in five adults in America and the UK die from smoking related diseases – so most vapers start as a way to help them quit cigarettes while avoiding the unpleasant effects of nicotine withdrawal. It has quickly become much more popular than traditional ways of quitting smoking such as nicotine gum, patches and inhalers. One reason for its popularity is that it directly mimics the action of smoking and allows the user a lot more control over their nicotine intake.
Where Do I Start?
There are various options for anyone looking to try out vaping.
Cig-A-Likes – This is a popular option for newcomers to vaping. These disposable e-cigarettes are designed to look like actual cigarettes, and have a subtle, simple design. While they don’t offer the versatility or performance of other vaping kits, they are an excellent starting point. Companies such as Blu, Vuse and V2 dominate the Cig-A-Like market, and are widely-available. Many people are satisfied with these products, but the limited range of flavors and style of vape soon proves too restrictive for most users.
Battery Mod And Tank – This option is ideal for the newcomer committed to quitting cigarettes and looking for a good quality introduction to vaping. With this set-up you have a refillable tank that attaches to a rechargeable battery. Unlike the Cig-A-Likes you choose what ejuice goes in the tank, and have more control over the strength of your vape. There are many brands to consider, such as Eleaf, Kanger and Aspire – we’ll go through the best options in the final section of this guide.
Advanced Gear – Experienced vapers often progress to more advanced kits that not only improve particular aspects of vaping but also make it easier to rebuild and replace certain parts, helping saving money in the long run. These include mech mods, drippers and squonkers. You don’t need to concern yourselves with these yet, but it’s worth being aware that there are many ways to enhance your vaping experience in the future.
Why is Vaping So Popular?
Vaping isn’t just an effective tool for quitting smoking, there’s more to vaping than you might first think.
Cheap – Vaping is much cheaper than smoking. For a heavy smoker, the cost of a week’s worth of cigarettes can buy a decent vape set-up, along with months worth of e-juice.
Healthy – There have many recent studies showing that vaping is much safer than smoking. This 2015 report from the UK Government states that vaping is around 95% less harmful than tobacco. It can even help you lose weight by providing a full-flavored alternative to snacking.
Flavors – Rather than the one burnt tobacco taste, you’ll find a vast number of different flavors to try out. No matter, how unique your palate you’ll find something that suits you. And best of all, your clothes won’t end up smelling like an ashtray. Not only this, many diabetics and people with allergies use vaping as a way to sample flavors that they normally couldn’t.
Control – As well as the range of flavors, you also have an impressive amount of control over the actual vape itself. Airholes and battery power can be adjusted to change the intensity of what you inhale. Eliquid is on sale at various nicotine levels, meaning you can gradually wean yourself off if you wish. Compared to tobacco, there are countless ways of tweaking vaping to suit your personal tastes.
Fun – More than simply a way to quit smoking, vaping has become a lifestyle choice for many people. Vaping competitions and meet-ups are held all over the world, with people eager to share their knowledge and show off tricks.
It’s worth pointing out that vaping isn’t just a way for smokers to quit. Many people enjoy vaping nicotine-free e juice, as a low-risk hobby.
How Does it Work?
Vaping technology is advancing all the time. Although different items may look very different, they all work using the same basic process. Let’s take a look at a typical battery and tank set-up.
Drip Tip – This is the mouth piece that you inhale through. It sits on top of the tank and can be removed and replaced. The size and shape of the drip tip has a substantial effect on how the vape feels as you take it in.
Tank/Clearomizer – This is the part that holds your e-liquid. It screws into the battery using a 510 connector and is
usually made from glass or pyrex. At the base of the tank is the replaceable coil.
Coil – This heats the e-liquid when the battery is fired, and converts it into vapor. In this set-up, the coil needs to be replaced when it stops producing flavor, or gives off a burnt taste.
Airhole – Practically all tanks have adjustable airflow, and some even have two. This affects the way the vapor is inhaled, making it feel airy or tight, depending on the position of the airholes.
Fire Button – Pressing this button sends power from the battery into the coil, converting the e-liquid to vapor. Inhale through the drip tip while holding this button.
Power Controls – These buttons increase or decrease the battery power level. Most modern kits let you choose between voltage or wattage. Too low and you won’t feel much, too high and your vape may taste burnt. It’s important to increase the battery power by small amounts each time to avoid this.
Digital Display – This screen tells you various information about your kit, such as the voltage or wattage rating, the charge level of the battery and the strength of the coil.
Battery Casing – This houses the battery and other internal components. The casing helps keep these sensitive internal electronics safe from knocks and spillages.
Where do We Go from Here?
There’s much more to learn than this, but what’s here should be enough to help you understand the basics of vaping and why has it become so popular in such a short amount of time. Hopefully you too will decide to join the millions of people worldwide who have already made the switch. We’ll go into more detail about other aspects of vaping in the rest of this guide.