What’s in a starter kit?
Every kit comprises five core pieces of equipment: a vape pen or mod, a tank, a battery, a charger and a mouthpiece.
The kind of vaping experience you want from your cigarette starter kit will determine what kind of components you’ll look for.
Vape pens & mods
These are both essentially terms for vaping devices. Pens look much as their names suggest, whereas ‘box mods’ (the most common mods, and those best suited to new vapers) are indeed box-shaped, and come with the benefit of holding a greater store of e liquid and a bigger battery. The benefits of box mods are that you can often go a full day without needing to refill or recharge – ideal if you’re a heavy user or have a long day away from civilisation planned. In contrast, vape pens are sleeker and more refined, but hold less liquid and smaller batteries, making these e cigarettes better suited for occasional uses such as during break times at work. Both styles are available in starter kits.
Tanks
The most common forms of tanks – which essentially hold both the store of e liquid and the atomizer coil, which heats up and vaporises the e liquid to create the vapour – is a clearomizer or cartomizer. Both perform a similar function and have similar equipment - the main difference is that a clearomizer is made of either plastic or glass, allowing you to see how much e liquid remains in the tank, while cartomizers are opaque. However, by the same token, cartomizers have fewer tendencies to leak, so both have their advantages and disadvantages.
The third type of tank is a straightforward atomizer, where no e liquid is stored, but must be dripped directly onto the coil prior to heating and vaporising. This is popular with more experienced vapers as it produces a much purer taste, but is both fiddly and messy when out and about, and also requires considerable knowledge of the set-up of atomizers, as the components need rebuilding quite often. This is something all vapers can aspire to enjoy, but not something we’d recommend for newcomers.
Batteries, chargers and wattage
E cigarette batteries are rechargeable, often via a USB port located on the side of the device. Most only take a few hours to recharge, and as with any small electronic devices, it’s not recommended to leave them charging for long periods of time i.e. overnight.
The main difference you will find between individual e cigarette brands and starter kits is whether they are variable voltage/wattage (VV/VW) or controlled. The latter delivers a consistent amount of power to the atomizer coil, always heating the e liquid to the same temperature. The former allows for the power level to be varied – so, for instance, some e liquids can be heated to higher or lower temperatures, depending on what brings out their best qualities.
Again, for new vapers, we suggest a controlled voltage/wattage device, purely for ease, until you are more familiar with the intricacies of vaping and feel confident experimenting with different adaptations.
E liquid
This is the main fuel for your vape pen or mod, and comes in a wide range of flavours, nicotine strengths and viscosities. Also known as e juice or fuel, this is the fundamental core of vaping.
E liquids are essentially made up of a carrier (usually propylene glycol or vegetable glycerine, commonly known as PG and VG respectively), nicotine and a flavouring. Most e liquids contain a majority ratio of PG as this is thinner and easier for the atomizer to vaporise, but some people have an intolerance of PG, and therefore combination or pure VG e liquids are available. The strength of nicotine can vary, depending on the brand, with 24mg commonly the highest concentration and 0mg the lowest. Flavours have also massively developed in the last few years, from simple fruit, menthol and tobacco themes to dessert-based, candy and even alcohol aromas.
