While we are advocates for cutting back or even quitting smoking altogether (or not starting in the first place), it’s a free country and we know the surge in popularity of e-cigarettes in recent years and so if you’re going to do it you might as well know how to choose the right e-liquid.
For all of you aficionados and connoisseurs of e-cigarettes out there – we know how important your e-liquid is. It’s arguably the most pertinent part of your trusted companion, the vaporizer. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just started vaping, or you’ve been practically living in a cloud of thick, white smoke for years (people sometimes have trouble recognizing you without it), it’s always the right time to have a little chat about your beloved (or soon to become chosen) e-liquid.
So, if the batteries are full and the atomizer is on – take a few extra puffs to warm yourself up and get ready for the article which tells you all about the correct way to choose the right e-liquid.
What’s This All About?
In case you’re new to all of this, here’s a quick piece of info: e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly popular in recent years, due to many reasons.
First of all, they offer a great alternative to regular cigarettes. Secondly, you have a lot of room to experiment. E-cigs combined with e-liquids give you a variety of choices to make – whether you want the traditional smoking sensation, thicker/ denser smoke, more of a throat or a lung hit, etc. The number of different combinations, flavors, and ingredients is really endless.
E-liquid (e-juice, vape juice, vaping liquid, e-cig juice, ejuice – whatever you want to call it) is the liquid which e-cigarettes (vaporizers) convert to vapor. These e-liquids come in many different flavors and with diverse ingredients, ratios, and strengths.
It’s All About That Taste
Finding your go-to flavor is sometimes hard, just like with the regular tobacco blend. You’ve tried dozens of flavors, but you’re still not completely satisfied. Finding out your favorite taste can sound demanding and you might get overwhelmed by the number of different options out there.
Before we talk about nicotine strength, PG and VG ratio, and other things, it’s important to know what is it that you prefer. If you were smoking regular cigarettes before, and you’ve now switched to e-cigs, you might want to try some of the blends which try to mimic the taste of popular brands. As time goes by, and you feel like you’re ready to experiment some more, you can start testing all those flavors that everyone’s been talking about.
Fruity flavors, foods, drinks, cocktails, you name it – they’re all out there on the market. We are all very different, and our personal preferences when it comes to choosing the favorite e-liquid are matching those criteria. Some of us enjoy food flavors like cake, pizza, wafer, grape, mango, watermelon, to name a few. Others are more into mixed blends or alcohol-inspired flavors.
The best part about determining which flavor suits you the best is that you can act like a kid in a candy shop. You wouldn’t stop at your first candy, would you?
Don’t Shy Away From Experimenting… a Lot
That’s why we would recommend you to know thy e-liquid. Seriously, it’s the only motto you should have and live by when it comes to vaping. People continuously talk about how this flavor is the best, and how you can’t possibly top that ratio of ingredients and nicotine strength. But the truth is that all these things are very subjective. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that there’s only one good mixture out there, because there are literally hundreds of different flavors.
What you need to do is find the one that suits you best. Don’t shy away from experimenting – try to find your personal best e-liquid online, by ordering multiple different tastes for a tryout. These ’tester packs’ come in a set of 5, 10, or even 20 very distinct flavors and nicotine levels. We can’t stress out enough the importance of personally picking the e-liquid which suits your preferences the best. The same goes for nicotine strength also – you’re the one who’s going to get the best enjoyment out of vaping only if you put your mind (mouth, throat, and lungs as well) to it.
Know Your Nicotine Strength
Speaking of nicotine levels, the next thing you want to have in mind is the nicotine strength. Once you’ve determined which flavor (or flavors) suits you the best, now it’s time to find out how strong your e-liquid should be, nicotine-wise.
If you were smoking tobacco prior to e-cigarettes, then you probably know that there are different nicotine strengths for each brand on the market. The same goes for e-cigs and e-liquids.
And although this is something that you’ll also have to find out for yourself, there are a few guidelines for how to correctly asses the nicotine levels: 0-6 mg/mL (nicotine-free or low nicotine), 12 mg/mL (medium), 18-24 mg/mL (high nicotine). In case you’ve never smoked cigarettes before, we’d recommend you to start low. If you were a heavy smoker then the higher nicotine levels will probably suit you better.
Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerol (VG) – What’s the Right Ratio For You?
The last thing you want to know is how to choose your PG/VG ratio. This also depends on the vaping device you’re using.
The most important thing to know here is that both of these liquids are colorless and odorless. A 50/50 blend is probably the most common, but the ratio you like the best should also depend on your personal preferences – whether you like bigger vapor clouds and smoother sensation (VG) or a harder throat/ nicotine hit (PG).
Conclusion
People who truly enjoy vaping can talk about it for hours, as you’ll soon realize yourself if you’re just starting. The crucial thing to remember though from all the information and talk out there is the fact that you need to start exploring personally.
There are extremely useful tip-offs and details online that can help you start. But the truth is that none of those guidances and instructions can replace the first-hand experience. That’s why it’s so essential to figure out these things for yourself and by yourself. No one can or should tell you what’s best for you – other than you. And vaping is no different.
Article by Neil White
