The most crucial vaping device that you’ll ever buy is the very first. Your experience with that device will set the tone for your entire vaping journey. If the experience is a good one, you’ll have relatively little trouble quitting smoking because you’ll find vaping enjoyable in its own right rather than just an inferior substitute.
If your first vaping experience isn’t what you’re expecting it to be, on the other hand, you’ll lose interest rapidly and may even give up on switching altogether. We don’t want that to happen.
Many millions of people across the UK have successfully quit smoking by switching to vaping, and a large percentage of those people enjoy vaping so much that they don’t miss cigarettes at all. We want you to have an experience that’s just as good, and choosing the right type of vape for your needs is the way to make that happen.
These are the best vapes for quitting smoking.
Key Takeaways:
The best vape for quitting smoking is the one that you will actually use — even if it costs a little more.
Each type of vape offers its own combination of convenience, ease of use, performance and affordability.
Once you know what your preferences are in those areas, you’ll know which vape is right for you.
E-Cigarettes
Best E-Cigarette for Quitting: V2 Cigs (Shop Now | Read Our Review)
Key Strengths:
- Only type of vape that looks and feels like a real cigarette.
- Very easy to use.
- Very affordable refills.
Key Weaknesses:
- Limited flavour selection compared to refillable vapes.
When you choose your first vape, the biggest decision that you’ll need to make is whether you want to buy a pre-filled vape or a refillable one. Pre-filled vapes are easier to use because recharging your device is the only maintenance you’ll ever need to perform. When your cartridge or pod is empty, you’ll simply discard it and start using a new one. Because of the simplicity and user friendliness, most first-time vapers end up choosing pre-filled devices as their first vapes.
There are a few different types of pre-filled vapes for beginners, but e-cigarettes – also known as cigalikes – are special because they’re the only vapes that are designed to look like real cigarettes. You can comfortably hold an e-cigarette between two fingers like a conventional cigarette, and you can even let it dangle from your mouth if you like. Other types of vapes are too large and heavy for that. In terms of how the device feels in your mouth and in your hand, nothing is more like a real cigarette than an e-cigarette.
E-cigarettes are also extremely easy to use. All that you need to do is charge the battery, twist a cartridge into the battery and puff on the cartridge to vape. When a cartridge is empty, you’ll know it because the flavour will weaken considerably. At that point, you’ll simply discard the cartridge and begin using a new one.
Disposable Vapes
Best Disposable Vape for Quitting: SKE Crystal Bar (Shop Now | Read Our Review)
Key Strengths:
- Easiest type of vape to use.
- Only type of vape that’s ready for immediate use when you buy it.
- Encourages exploration since each device only lasts a few days.
Key Weaknesses:
- Limited flavour selection compared to refillable vapes.
- Higher long-term cost than other types of vapes.
Disposable vapes have the distinction of being the easiest vaping devices to use. A disposable vape is the only type of vape that’s ready to use as soon as you remove it from the package, and it’s the only type of vape that doesn’t require any maintenance. You can simply take it out of the box and begin puffing on it – you don’t even need to charge the battery. Another benefit of disposable vapes is that they tend to cost less than a complete vape starter kit would cost up front. Between the ease of use and the low cost for entry, buying a disposable vape can be a great way to try vaping for the first time and find out what it’s like.
The convenience of disposable vapes does, however, come with certain downsides. Compared to other types of pre-filled vapes, disposable vapes tend to have smaller flavour selections and often come in just one nicotine strength. Also, although the initial price of a disposable vape is lower than that of a full vape kit, a vape kit is a one-time expense. Once you’ve purchased that, you’ll only need to buy e-liquid, pods or cartridges. Disposable vapes, on the other hand, aren’t refillable – so when a device runs out of vape juice, you’ll need to buy an entirely new vape. A 600-puff disposable vape lasts about two days on average, so you’ll need a constant supply of devices if you’re going to use disposable vapes on a full-time basis.
Pre-Filled Pod Vapes
Best Pre-Filled Pod Vape for Quitting: Elf Bar Elfa (Shop Now | Read Our Review)
Key Strengths:
- Bigger cloud production than some other types of pre-filled vapes.
- Very easy to use.
- Low initial cost for a starter kit.
Key Weaknesses:
- Limited flavour selection compared to refillable vapes.
- Higher long-term costs than cigalikes, although lower than disposable vapes.
Pre-filled pod systems work in much the same way as e-cigarettes and are just as simple. Instead of storing its e-liquid in a twist-on cartridge, a pod system uses a push-in pod. Otherwise, though, the functionality is much the same. To use a pod system, you simply need to charge the battery, push in a pod and puff on the device to vape. Since you can always remove the pod to check your e-liquid supply, there’s never a question as to when the pod is empty. When you’re out of e-liquid, you can simply discard the pod and start using a new one.
Compared to e-cigarettes, pod systems have both benefits and drawbacks. Pod systems tend to have higher nicotine strengths and can produce bigger clouds, and both of those things are benefits if you have higher nicotine requirements and are worried that a smaller vaping device won’t satisfy you. On the other hand, pre-filled vape pods often aren’t available in the same range of nicotine strengths as e-cigarette cartridges – so if you want to step down to a lower nicotine strength, you may need to buy a new device.
Pre-filled pod systems are also more expensive than e-cigarettes over the long term, although they still cost less than disposables. The pods are proprietary, and they aren’t interoperable between brands. Since a pod system only works with the pods produced by that device’s manufacturer, there’s no competition. A pre-filled vape pod typically lasts about two days, and refill pods are generally sold in packs of two.
Refillable Pod Vapes
Best Refillable Pod Vape for Quitting: Voopoo Argus G2 (Shop Now | Read Our Review)
Key Strengths:
- Bigger cloud production than most pre-filled vapes.
- Widest possible range of flavours and nicotine strengths.
- Lower long-term costs than pre-filled vapes.
Key Weaknesses:
- Slightly more complicated than pre-filled vapes.
The final type of vape that typically appeals to people who want to quit smoking is the refillable pod system. A refillable pod vape is comparable to a pre-filled pod system in that the e-liquid is stored in a pod that pushes into the top of the device. The difference, though, is that you’ll buy bottled e-liquid and fill your own pods rather than using pre-filled pods. This means that using a refillable pod system requires a little more effort than using a pre-filled device. You’ll need to keep an eye on the level of e-liquid in your pod and refill the pod when it’s nearly empty.
Bottled e-liquid isn’t the only recurring expense when you use a refillable pod system. You’ll also need to need to replace your pod when its flavour quality starts to decline. Depending on how sweet your e-liquid is, you’ll find that a pod typically lasts anywhere from several days to multiple weeks. Because bottled e-liquid costs much less than pre-filed pods – and because you can usually refill a pod many times before its flavour quality declines – refillable pod systems are typically some of the least expensive vaping devices over the long term.
An additional benefit of using a refillable pod system is that you can use any e-liquid you like. Since all flavours and all nicotine strengths are available to you, a refillable vape can give you a much wider variety of different experiences than a pre-filled device.
Wrapping Up: What Type of Vape Should You Buy for Quitting?
Now that you have a better understanding of the four most popular types of vapes for beginners, let’s bring it all together. What type of vape should you buy for quitting? Here’s a brief summary.
- E-cigarettes look and feel the most like tobacco cigarettes, but they produce less vapour than other types of vapes.
- Disposable vapes are the simplest and most convenient vapes, but they cost more than other vapes in the long run since you need to replace the entire device when it’s empty.
- Pre-filled pod vapes are as easy to use as e-cigarettes and typically produce bigger clouds, but they’re also more expensive over time because the pods are proprietary.
- Refillable pod vapes give you the widest possible range of options for flavours and nicotine strengths, but they’re a little more complicated than pre-filled vapes.