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wrong way of thinking, and these aspiring vapers usually end up getting the cheapest cig-a-like or an eGo kit with an outdated low-end clearomizer which, of course, doesn’t satisfy their expectations.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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