Pods
Pod-style vapes are slowly taking over the market, especially towards the beginners demographic who are looking to take their first careful steps into the world of vaping. These little USB sized devices can pack quite the hefty punch despite their diminutive size and their ultra-portable form factor makes them an easy pick for the busy vaper who's always on the go.
While pods are one of the easiest and simplest ways to get into vaping, there are a few things you need to know before making your first purchase. Don't hesitate to read on further on our bite-sized primer on everything pod related down below.
What is a Vape Pod Cartridge
Essentially a pod or a vape cartridge acts as an all-in-one mechanism that can be purchased and used right off the bat without any requisite setting up. Modern high performance box mods usually require you to separately purchase a mod and a tank. Vape cartridges give a much easier and more accessible avenue for those who don't have the time or patience to learn all the intricacies of vaping with a standard electronic cigarette.
Vape pods are typically constructed out of a food grade PETG plastic designed to safely hold e-liquid. This is done without any danger of plastic material from leeching off into the e-liquid and potentially into your body when vaping. Each pod also comes with a coil right off the bat so there's no need to install one in your device separately. For those new to vaping, a coil is the heating element used to vaporize e-liquid, converting it into vapor which you can inhale.
Different Types of Pods Mods
Pre-Filled Pods (Closed Systems)
Just as the name says, pre-filled pods, also known as closed systems are cartridges purchased from the retailer with the pods already filled. The most common and prolific example of this type of system is the Pax Juul.
The main advantage of using a closed pod system is that it effectively removes one step from the process of setting up your pod-style vape. This is the process of refilling it with your own preferred nicotine salt. Despite the relative ease of use, there are a few drawbacks however to using a closed pod system.
For starters, the cost of pre-filled pods can ramp up quickly if you're a frequent or heavy vaper. Another con is the limited choices of flavors available to you as a buyer when selecting from your vaporizers list of pre-filled flavor pods. Another potential factor to consider is the lack of nicotine strengths to choose from when selecting a pre-filled pod. Juul, for example, sells most of their flavors in 50mg/ml nicotine strength with a few select flavors made available in 36mg/ml. If you plan on tapering your nicotine consumption over time you're simply out of luck unless you want to switch to e-Liquids.
Refillable Pods (Open System)
Refillable pods function exactly how the name describes. They're refillable with whatever variant of nicotine salt you wish to fill them with. One of the most obvious advantages is that you're pretty much free to use any flavor or brand of nic salt you want. Vaping on an open pod system is a lot easier on the wallet. Each pod can stand for multiple refills before the coil inside burns out and the entire pod needs to be replaced.
Another benefit to picking an open pod system device is it lets you directly control the nicotine strength of your vape. So if you started vaping at a high nicotine strength such as 50mg/ml but now want to taper the nicotine down, it's as simple as buying a lower strength liquid to help wean you off nicotine as time goes on.
Mouth to Lung Vaping
Direct lung vaping is mostly reserved to high output devices that have the battery power to fire up to 50-150 watts. Mouth to lung vaping is best suited for portable vapes with smaller batteries that fire at low wattage.
Another distinction between direct lung and mouth to lung vaping is how the vapor is inhaled. Since high wattage box mods produce a lot more vapor, the vapor is usually inhaled directly into the lungs. Pod-style devices produce less vapor, which is usually inhaled to the mouth first similar to a tobacco cigarette. Airflow is also another major difference between the direct lung and mouth to lung styles of vaping where the latter uses a more restrictive or “tight” inhale. Direct lung vapes have a loose and airy inhale.
Nicotine Salts
An old problem that used to exist with high nicotine strength e-liquids is the resulting harsh inhale that can produce an uncomfortable to almost painful sensation in the throat. Using low nicotine strength e-liquids has become the norm for more powerful box mods as these are capable of vaporizing more e-liquid per puff. Pod-style devices with their limited power range require higher concentrations of nicotine per ml to produce a satisfying puff. This is done without the drawback of creating a harsh and unpleasant inhale.
Nicotine salt solutions are a recent development created in the advent of the popularity of pod-style devices. E-liquids with nicotine salts can pack a lot more nicotine per ml than your regular e-liquid. It also manages to avoid the harsh inhale dreaded by most vapers.
Wholesale Pods
If you're not keen on using refillable cartridges or pods and prefer the simple setup but don't like the cumulative costs you can expect to incur over a year of vaping, buying pods wholesale might be a reasonable avenue for you to look into.
Whether you're a store, wholesaler or distributor, Smoke Tokes carried pods at the lowest prices. Wholesale pods can deliver a good amount of value for those with a tight budget.