6 Quick & Useful Vaping Tips for Beginners
There is no doubt: vaping is a much better and less harmful alternative to smoking. By switching from smoking to vaping, you can free yourself from thousands of dangerous chemicals, stop worrying about smoking related health conditions, and bring a multitude of extremely delicious e-liquid flavors in your daily life. However, due to the overabundance of products in the market, disinformation, as well as other factors, the switch itself can be quite difficult for some people.
Whether you have already ordered your first vaping kit online or plan to purchase it in the coming days, here are some useful vaping tips for beginners.
6 Useful Vaping Tips for Beginners
1. Don’t Save Money On Your First Setup
An eGo battery with an Aspire Nautilus Mini tank. Source: E-Liquid.eu
This is one of the most common mistakes smokers make when switching to vaping. The majority of people automatically assume that $100 for a decent vaping kit is a lot, as they are accustomed to spending only $5-$10 per day to feed their tobacco addictions. This is a completely wrong way of thinking, and these aspiring vapers usually end up getting the cheapest cig-a-like or an eGo kit with an outdated low-end clearomizer which, of course, doesn’t satisfy their expectations.
Although an eGo battery might work quite nicely for you in the beginning, at least don’t go with those generic CE4 or similar clearomizers, and get an Aspire Nautilus Mini instead – according to many vapers, that is one of the best low-budget beginner setups out there.
2. Don’t Become Obsessed with the Idea of Sub-Ohming
Sub-ohming – that’s an outstanding way to vape. It usually means huge amounts of vapor, enormous airflow, and organic cotton coils which deliver mouth-watering flavor. However, it might not always work for a beginner who is just making the switch from smoking. Here are some of the main reasons why:
- Too much clouds. The overwhelmingly dense vapor can make you cough. A lot. While e-cigarette vapor is definitely and obviously much better for you than tobacco smoke, this happens because your body is simply not accustomed to the vapor. Although it will pass, and you’ll be chasing clouds in no time without any issues, it might be a turn-off in the beginning.
- Too open airflow. If you’re an ex-smoker, chances are that you plan using your e-cigarette in the same way as a tobacco cigarette – by inhaling mouth-to-lungs. While most sub-ohm tanks offer outstanding direct lung inhales, they might not be suited for short mouth-to-lung style puffs, especially if no airflow adjustment is available.
- Too wide drip tips. As an e-cigarette advocate, I have introduced many smokers to vaping, and almost every single of them initially complained about the wide bore drip tips when trying out a sub-ohm device. While such drip tips go hand in hand with the wide open airflow and do their job helping to produce huge clouds of vapor, they might not work for some people because one simply needs to get accustomed with the relatively large diameter of the mouthpiece.
3. Make Sure Vaping Is Allowed When You Take Your First Puff
A sign prohibiting both smoking and vaping
While vaping is 95% safer than smoking for your health, as well as for people around you, you might want to be careful about where you vape. Just like in the case of non-smokers, let’s also respect non-vapers by not using our devices in close proximity around them. While in some places it is still pending, in many countries, legislation limiting where people can vape has already been passed, so make sure to always comply with your local laws and regulations regarding e-cigarette use. If you’re uncertain about the laws, just follow the basic rule of thumb and don’t vape in a place where you wouldn’t feel comfortable smoking a regular tobacco cigarette. And, of course, this is not an issue whatsoever if you vape in your own property.
4. Never Leave Yourself Without Supplies
Welcome to vaping, my friend! This should be your primary rule, your absolute commandment: never leave yourself without a charged battery, at least some spare coils and, most importantly, e-liquid. In most cases, these fundamental vaping resources are not so easily accessible as a pack of cigarettes, and, if you run out of them, you’re in big trouble – your risk switching back to smoking increases.
Always make sure your battery is in great shape. If your device has an in-built rechargeable battery, don’t forget to bring your charging cable even on shorter trips. If you have an 18650 powered mod, try to get at least two of those batteries, as well as a charger for them.
When it comes to coils, we recommend purchasing at least a 5-pack together with your first battery and clearomizer. While the lifetime of some of the recent coils can be as long as a month, some signs of burnt taste may appear after a week as well, so be prepared. This, of course, is not an issue if you live or work near a vape shop, but that’s not always the case.
5. Don’t Expect Vaping to Be Just like Smoking
While very similar, a cig-a-like still is heavier and feels different than a tobacco cigarette
Let’s be honest here: an electronic cigarette certainly isn’t an exact replica of a tobacco cigarette. Even if you choose a cig-a-like, the experience will simply not be exactly like smoking. The feel in your mouth, throat and lungs will be different, and so will be the form/weight/size factor.
Besides, no tobacco e-liquid tastes exactly like your nasty, smelly and harmful cigarette. Sure, some manufacturers have managed to almost replicate that taste, although it still isn’t the same – just because there is no combustion going on in an e-cigarette. This, however, should by no means hold you back from at least trying vaping. Quite the contrary, really – as there are thousands of delicious flavors, you shouldn’t stick with tobacco blends only but do your best to try out as many flavors as you possibly can instead. This way, you’ll soon realize what is vaping really about, and will begin to love the abundance of flavors.
6. Don’t Be Afraid of Experimenting
What works for me, may not be ideal for other people. So don’t let anyone (including us) tell you what and how to vape – you’ll find it out by yourself. Start with a decent but not too expensive setup, try out another tank after a while, mix up your e-liquid game and try to be in the know of new vaping products and innovations. By experimenting, you’ll be able to determine your optimal setup, favorite e-liquid brands, preferred PG/VG ratio, and each of those findings will make things much better. Before you find your favorite shop, we recommend starting on Vape Drive. It’s prices comparison website for vapers, with data from the majority of biggest US websites, the easiest way to grab a bargain for the beginning of vaping journey.
All of the above vape products – e-liquids, batteries, coils and hardware – can of course be ordered from an online vape shop. When purchasing online, shipping costs and delivery time should be considered. This is of course not a problem if you live or work near a vape store, but that is not always the case.
And what’s your smoking-to-vaping story? Let us know in the comments below!
Martin B.
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I realize this isn’t intended to be an ‘everything you need to know’, but telling new Vapers to drink a lot of water is important. Getting dehydrated while going through all the effects of newly leaving cigarettes behind and adapting to the new business of vaping can be tough.
Chris, thanks for your comment!
That’s a great point, we’ll make sure to add and further discuss this in future articles.
Also, the so-called ‘vaping dehydration’ can happen due to the nature of propylene glycol which is a water-binding molecule and ‘extracts’ some of the water from your mouth/eye/nose tissue.
I’ve been vaping for 4 years and cig free for almost 3. I have to say that the vape gear you can buy now has improved vastly over the last 2 years. You mentioned about not trying to save money on your first purchase, that’s bang on. Also I think that vape shops should give that advice.
You are right. My husband owns a vape shop. I go to the shop to visit and as always, I start to talk to the customer or help husband in any way possible. When I am with my husband customer if we should be respectful with an amount that they want to spend and try not to go over that amount. Usually they want to spend as little as possible. How do you mention to them that they should spend a little bit more money? You don’t want to push products or seem like you are miss guiding them to purchase items to benefit the shop?
Hey Denise, thanks for your comment!
Actually, that’s a great question. Although I do not own a vape shop, for me, one possible approach would be to simply limit the number of cheap, low-end products in the offer, and at the same time, use the presence of more expensive but higher quality products in your marketing strategy. Or, you could simply explain the situation to beginner vapers with the help of, say, some catchy posters and warn them about the risks associated with buying the cheapest products available. And you should also explain that with vaping, the initial investment simply is a bit high, but show them that it is certainly cheaper than smoking in the long-term.
Wishing you all the best with your business!
I love this site and the wealth of information!! I was recently introduced to vaping and the main selling point for me was that for the cost of a carton of cigs ($85-$90 in NJ) I was able to get a decent Kangertech EVOD setup with 2 batteries, 2 tanks, 5 extra coils, a USB wall charger, and some 10ml juices to see which flavors/nic levels work for me and I still have and use everything I bought on day 1 (although less juice lol) and that carton of cigs wouldn’t have lasted a week and would have been worse for my health. It may also be beneficial to give away some juice with the purchase of a decent setup. I have already purchased a Subox Mini also. I am glad I started with the EVOD though because that was closest to “conventional smoking” in my opinion. The Mod would probably have been too much too soon for me and may have scared me off what with with all of the watts and the mouth to lung hit vs. direct lung hit, etc. In the long run spending a bit more on a decent setup may save my life and keep me from going back to smoking. 🙂
i was using e-cig type devices when i stopped by my first vape store, i walked out with the Innokin T18 and was happy with that for a while. I have since upgraded to a Kanger Topbox mini. But what sold me on all these was the excellent customer service at my local shop and the fact that the had unites i could sample and find what i was looking for .
Number 4 is a big deal. E-liquid is hard to come by in my city. I wish they would get more popular, so I could just buy them on any corner and every grocery store like I used to do with cigs. They’re are a lot of car charger systems for battery issues.
Hi Stephen, you’re right about availability of e liquid. I usually go to a specialist ecig shop about once a week, I also stock up with liquid and spare coils etc. Regarding car chargers, all the batteries and units I use now have a mini USB connection, as does my mobile phone.
Great post. I was checking csnatontly this blog and I’m impressed! Extremely useful information specially the last part I care for such information a lot. I was looking for this particular information for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.
Great advice all round. I especially like point 5, since many people have been disappointed by the switch to ecigs. They have to remember why they’re doing this (avoiding noxious tobacco smoke), and to develop the vapour deep into their lungs, where the nicotine is more effective. We cover some breathing techniques in our book Flitting – A Beautiful Choice. The book is a guide for those who wish to “Keep the best and vape the rest!”
I totally agree about not buying cheap when you start. I got cheap pens and found that they made me cough or were just not producing enough to fully enable me to quit smoking. Luckily a friend at work gave me a good setup and then I bought the nautilus mini x2 to go on the ego one battery and haven’t looked back. Still can’t actually taste much of the flavour (second month no stinkies) I guess my taste buds are pretty stuffed after forty years of smoking. I do find I am constantly sucking on my vape after work and on days off ( mostly cos the wife lets me vape inside,which she never did when I smokes lol). The thing is I didn’t really want to give up smoking but did it more by accident.
Very good article. I started with a cig-a-like and found it uninspiring. I went to a local vape shop, looking for a cig-a-like, unaware that there were options other than that. Luckily I stumbled into a great shop with a wonderful owner, and he gave me all the right advice. I got what was, back then, a very good but not too expensive set up. I figured with my cigarette habit at 2 packs a day, it would pay for itself pretty quickly if it enabled me to quit. That was 3 years ago, and I haven’t smoked since.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It really can help others 🙂
Nice tips. Although, when I first started my entire setup, juice and all, was a whopping 48 bucks. Got me started, and didn’t break my bank. Of course, it didn’t take long to outgrow it either. My thought at the time was, if vaping is gonna work for me then great. If not, I didn’t want to be out all that money for nothing. Quit smoking Feb 18, 2014 at 12 noon. Never looked back. VAPE ON!!!
Hey Carl,
Thank you so much for your comment. Very happy that you made the switch, and it’s awesome how you remember the exact time when you had your last cig 🙂 My first setup was a generic eGo battery with a CE4 clearomizer. And, honestly, I hated it – simply because I couldn’t blow huge clouds out of it, and in my experience, that has been a deal breaker for many other people, too, who start out with simple & cheap setups. However, it got me off the cigarettes, and that’s the most important part!
So I’ve read through your article, which has a lot of good info (thank you), but there are A LOT of choices out there. I have been a smoker for a long time and I have been gaping for about 2 years. I started with an eGo type battery and then got an iStick 20w with a Kanger Protank 2, both of which I still have, but I am definitely in need of an upgrade and have no idea where to begin. I’ve been eyeing the new iStick Pico, and I like Kanger and have heard that Nautilus is good, but I really don’t know much more about camping then when I started. Any advice on how to go about upgrading?
Istick pico kit is a great setup, the melo 3 mini subohm tank that comes with it is also a really decent subohm tank. You might also want to get 2 18650 batteries and an external charger.
Hey man, just read this. 20 years a smoker and about 10 with chew. Started chewing while in the army, but went back to Marlboros when I got out.
I have hated cigarettes since I grew up and realized they made me smell like shit and presented very serious health risks, but by then I was hooked and just couldn’t quit, no matter how much I thought I wanted to.
Went to my local vape shop recently and dropped about a hundred bucks and I’m very, very, very happy with what I walked out off there with. Got an iStick Pico and all the goodies to go with, and a pocket full of different flavors ( still running through them all, really like the Babylon vanilla).
Anyway, props on this post. I’ve found it fairly difficult to find accessible info on the interweb, I’m kinda a crusty old punker and don’t want to associate with all the hipster kids who do these types of things, but I’m very happy with my choice to switch from smokes to vaping, I feel better already and haven’t had a smoke in over two weeks!
Take it easy man.
By the way, not calling anyone a hipster or being a jerk, just pointing out the fact that social stigmas can be a big barrier to trying new things.