The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Vape Juice
If you’ve recently purchased your first vape kit or are generally new to vaping, the journey to finding the right e-liquid can be overwhelming. The huge range of types of e-liquid available, combined with confusing jargon, often leaves vapers unsure of where to start. However, learning how to choose the right vape juice is arguably the most important step, as it directly affects your overall vaping satisfaction, the longevity of your coil, and how your vape performs.
This is the ultimate vaping for beginners guide, designed to cut through the jargon so you can confidently choose the right e-liquid and find your perfect vape.
Quality & Ingredients: What's In Your Bottle?
To choose the right e-liquid, start by prioritizing quality and transparency. Always select e-liquids from a reputable brand that uses high-quality ingredients and provides clear labels.
The Essential Ingredients: PG, VG, Flavoring, Nicotine
E-liquid, also called vape juice, vape liquid, or simply juice, is made up of three (sometimes four) primary ingredients. Here, you will find popular e-juice brands with a variety of flavors.
Propylene Glycol (PG): An odorless liquid that primarily acts to carry the flavour. It also provides the "scratch" or throat hit you'd expect from a cigarette.
Vegetable Glycerin (VG): Often referred to as vegetable glycerin, this is a thick, sweet liquid. Its main job is to provide vapour production (clouds of vapour) and a smooth inhale. VG is thicker than PG.
Flavoring: Used to give an enjoyable vaping experience, with a huge range of taste combinations from tobacco to fruity.
Nicotine: The addictive component, which is optional. You can get 0mg e-liquid if you're in it purely for the joy of vaping.
The Foundation of Experience: VG/PG Ratio
The ratio of PG and VG is critical because it dictates the viscosity of the e-liquid and your vape experience.
High PG (Flavor & Stronger Throat Hit):
What it's best for: If you are after a feeling comparable to smoking to vaping a cigarette, you’ll want a liquid with more PG. This delivers a more intense and stronger throat hit. A high PG ratio provides a great flavour experience but produces less vapour.
High VG (Clouds & Smoothness): What it's best for
If your goal is to make clouds of vapour, you must use a higher VG content (like 70VG:30PG and above). This creates thicker, more voluminous vapor clouds and a smoother throat hit. Choosing a higher VG e-liquid means you’ll need a more powerful vape device to vaporize the thicker liquid.
The Versatile 50/50 Ratio
A 50/50 ratio is the balanced option. It works well for most vape kit styles and provides a good balance between flavour and vapour production. It's an excellent starting point for any beginner.
Finding Your Nicotine Sweet Spot
Choosing the right nicotine strength is vital for satisfying cravings, especially for a heavy smoker.
Nicotine Type: Freebase vs. Nic Salts
There are two main types of e-liquid based on the form of nicotine:
|
Type |
Throat Hit |
Nicotine Delivery |
Ideal For |
||
|
Freebase |
Harsher, especially above 6mg |
Slower |
Higher wattage |
vapes, strong throat hit |
|
|
Nic Salt (Nicotine Salts) |
Much |
smoother |
Faster delivery |
Lower-powered |
pod kit systems, smoker who prefers light cigarette brands |
Matching Strength to Your Former Smoking Habit (Detailed Chart)
|
Former Smoking Habit |
Nicotine Recommendation |
|
|
Heavy Smoker (>1 pack/day) |
Max strength: |
20mg nic salt or 18mg freebase |
|
Average Smoker (up to a pack/day) |
10mg nic salts or 12mg freebase e liquid |
|
|
Light Smoker (<10 cigarettes a day) |
6mg freebase or 5mg nic salts |
|
|
Social Smoker (once/twice a week) |
3mg (lowest strength) or 0mg juice |
Choosing the right nicotine strength is crucial to help you quit smoking to vaping. Many
Vapers initially choose an e-liquid strength that is too weak.
How to Choose a Juice You'll Stick With
Choosing the best e-liquid flavour is a personal journey of experimentation. Finding the right flavour can make all the different e-liquids you try more enjoyable.
Familiar Flavors: Many vapers start with tobacco or menthol e-liquid flavour because it feels familiar after smoking a cigarette.
The Success of Non-Tobacco Flavors: Studies show that users are more likely to successfully switch when they vape a non-tobacco flavour (like fruity or mint). Don't be afraid to try fruity flavours and explore new flavour profiles. If you can’t completely ditch tobacco, try a hybrid that combines it with another flavour. This is your chance to find your favourites. The main flavour category is purely up to you.
Device Compatibility: Don't Burn Your Coil!
The most common mistake a beginner makes is mismatching their vape liquid to their vape device.
High-PG/50:50 for Pod Systems and Low-Wattage Kits
Simple devices like a pod kit or a pod kit or vape pen are designed to work with thinner liquid. These systems vape e liquid best with a 50/50 ratio e-liquid or nicotine salts. The 50/50 ratio is suitable for coils with an ohm resistance of greater than 1ohm.
High-VG for Sub-Ohm Tanks and Mods
If you want the best vape for clouds, you need a sub-ohm vape kit paired with high vg e-liquid. VG is a vegetable based liquid and a higher vg ratio (like 70:30 or 80:20). This thicker liquid requires a powerful vape.
Checking Your Coil's Ohm Rating
The quickest way to know which type of e-liquid you need is by checking the ohm resistance on your coil.
- Coils with less than 1ohm resistance must use a higher VG ratio.
- Coils with more than 1ohm resistance need a higher PG or balanced ratio.
Cost-Effectiveness: Getting the Best Value
Once you vape regularly and have settled on a flavour, you can move to more cost-effective options.
Shortfills and Nic Shots Explained: A shortfill is a large bottle of 0mg e-liquid that is intentionally not full. You add an unflavored nicotine shot to the juice to reach your desired nicotine level.
Why 50/50 Shortfills Offer the Best Value: 50/50 shortfills are the most cost-effective vape liquid because they cost less per milliliter due to their size, and they last longer since they are used in lower-power vapes.
Choosing the right e-liquid is simple when you match the desired experience (smooth vs. stronger throat hit) and the nicotine strength to your vape kit. The vast world of e-liquids is yours to explore!
|
Goal |
Best E-Liquid Type |
Best Vape Device Type |
|
Stronger Throat Hit |
Freebase, High PG (50:50/40:60) |
Pod systems, MTL kits |
|
Smoother Throat Hit |
Nic salts or high VG |
Pod kits (nic salts), Mods (VG) |
|
Cigarette-Style Experience |
Nic salts (50:50), Freebase |
Pod kits, restricted MTL airflow |
|
Cloud Chasing |
High VG, Shortfills |
Sub-ohm mods, DL tanks with low resistance coils |
|
Best Value |
50:50 shortfills |
Pod or low-power mod |
|
Social/Light Vaping |
Low strength (3mg), 0mg |
Pod kits |
If you are looking for the best vape juice collection at an affordable price, Vapor World — a premium vape shop in Dubai — is your smartest choice. Don’t forget to check out our other vape products.