When you first start vaping, the sheer amount of choice when it comes to vape juice can be daunting. But once you understand the basics, choosing the best vape juice for you is relatively simple. The best vape juice for new vapers is one that stops you from smoking and keeps you vaping.
So, what is the best e-liquid to choose? Well let’s take a look at what e-liquid is, what the different types are and what is the best vape juice for new vapers.
What is vape juice?
You will hear different names for vape juice; e-liquid, juice, fluid, e-juice. But they are all the same thing. A fluid that is vaporised by an e-cig into an inhalable form.
The liquid is made up of four main ingredients (three in zero nicotine e-liquid);
- Propylene Glycol (PG)
- Vegetable Glycerine (VG)
- Flavouring
- Nicotine
PG and VG are diluents that help dilute the e-liquid down and also carry the flavour. PG is responsible for the throat hit part of your vape, the warm tingly feeling when you inhale. VG creates the clouds of vapour that you see.
Flavouring gives you the taste and the nicotine (if it’s in the juice) gives you your nicotine hit.
What strength e-liquid should you buy?
You will may have heard this before, but it really depends. What we can give you is a very general guide that uses the number of cigarettes you currently, or used to, smoke.
| 1 – 5 a day | 0.6% (6mg/ml) |
| 5 – 15 a day | 1.0% (10mg/ml) |
| 15 – 20 a day | 1.4% (14mg/ml) |
| 20+ a day | 1.8% (18mg/ml) |
You see this isn’t set in stone; nicotine strength is a very personal thing. You might be a 30 a day smoker, but only need a 0.3% (3mg/ml). On the flip side you might be a five a day smoker and require a 1.8% (18mg/ml) juice. Added on to of this is the type of e-cig you have. If you have an e-cig starter kit, the chances are you may need a slightly higher strength vape juice than if you have a sub-ohm vape kit.
While it can be frustrating, there is an element of trial and error here. The best way to approach nicotine strength is to use the table above as a guide and start at the recommended strength.
What is high VG vape juice?
E-liquids can contain different ratios of the diluents PG and VG that we spoke about earlier.
A high VG vape juice has a larger ratio of the diluent VG. But what doesn’t this mean for your vaping experience?
- The vape juice is much thicker. This means it isn’t ideal for some vape kits and coils, as they will struggle to wick these e-liquids.
- Much bigger clouds of vapour. VG is responsible for creating clouds of vapour that you exhale. So, the higher the VG content, the bigger and thicker the clouds of vapour are produced when you exhale.
- Less flavour. This might not be noticeable with some very strong juice flavours, but VG does not ‘carry’ the flavour as well as PG. There might be less flavour from a high VG juice.
- Less throat hit. As PG is responsible for the ‘throat hit’ part of your vape, a vape juice very high in VG will have a less pronounced throat hit.
What is high PG vape juice?
A high PG vape juice has a larger ratio of the diluent PG. But what does this mean for your vaping experience?
- The vape juice is thinner. This means for regular e-cigs and starter kits it is fine, but in sub-ohm vape kits it may be too thin and will wick too quickly causing leaking.
- Less clouds. As VG is responsible for producing clouds of e-liquid, e-liquid that have a higher PG content will produce smaller clouds of vapour.
- More flavour. As PG is the flavour carrier in vape juice, any e-liquid with a higher PG content will produce more flavour when you vape it.
- More throat hit. PG is responsible for the throat hit in your vape, so a juice with a high ratio of this will have a more pronounced throat hit similar to that of smoking.
What e-liquid flavour should I choose?
There are, in short, a lot of vape juice flavours. There are hundreds of e-liquids available for vapers to choose from.
But when you are a new vaper, the best advice we can give is to not buy a lot of flavours at once. While tempting, it is better to settle on the best strength before you start stocking up on flavours.
Some new vapers are more successful by starting off vaping with a tobacco or menthol flavour. This keeps their vape as close to the sensation of smoking as possible. So, the change from smoking to vaping is not as pronounced as it could be
On the flip side, some vapers have to move completely away from the flavour of tobacco or menthol so they eliminate their cravings.
At Totally Wicked we break our e-liquids down into groups. We have; Tobacco, Menthol, Fruits and Spice, Drinks and Cocktails, Sweet and Desserts.
If you are a bit lost at first and just want something simple, choose from the tobacco and menthol flavour profiles. Buy a bottle or two and try them. Again, there can be a bit of trial and error before you find your perfect all day vape. The important thing is to stick with it.
Are nic salts good for new vapers?
It depends on what you want your vaping experience to be, but yes nic salts can be good for new vapers.
Nic salt are just another type of nicotine, the main difference from standard (or freebase) nicotine is the feeling you get when you vape it. Nic salts are much smoother when you inhale them.
What does this mean for vapers? Well if you feel that you need a higher nicotine strength to combat your cravings, such as a 1.8% (18mg/ml). But this nicotine might make you cough as it will have a very pronounced throat hit, so you actually can’t vape it. Well if you had the equivalent nicotine strength, but by using nic salts there would be little to no throat hit.
You can vape a higher strength nicotine without a pronounced throat hit.
What is the best vape juice for new vapers?
Looking at what e-liquid is, how we choose e-liquid strength, what the different types of juice are and the flavours available, we can say what the best vape juice for new vapers is.
Something with a great mix of vapour production and throat hit. As well as a simple flavour that can be vaped all day and that has a range of nicotine strengths to go for.
Red Label e-liquid from Totally Wicked is ideal. It is manufactured in the UK, has a PG:VG ratio of 50:50 so there is the ideal blend of throat hit and vapour production, has over 50 flavours to choose from and six nicotine strengths.
If you feel that you will need a nic salt vape juice, then have a look at Switz Smooth range. Again, a UK produced vape juice, has a PG:VG ratio of 50:50 so there is the ideal blend of throat hit and vapour production, with four tailored e-liquid flavours and three nicotine salt strengths.
