What is a Pod Vape?

Electronic cigarettes come in all shapes and sizes, from slimline pens to chunky box mods. But pod vapes are sleek, simple and stylish, and they’re increasing in popularity. So just what is a pod vape? How do they work? What makes them different? And why should you choose one?

Let’s find out.

Types of Ecigarette – a Primer

If you aren’t familiar with the types of electronic cigarette on the market today, then that first paragraph might not have made too much sense. So let’s give you a quick primer. Broadly speaking, there are three types of ecigarettes (or vapes) – pens, mods and pods.

Vape Pens: Your standard vape pen. Long and slim, with a battery, coil and tank. Usually designed for standard eliquids.

Box Mods: Large, chunky vapes with a bigger tank, a sub-ohm coil and a more powerful battery. Designed for “cloud” liquids.

Pod Vapes: Small, sleek vapes consisting of a battery and either a self-contained pod or a refillable pod.

So Just What is a Pod Vape?

That one line sentence should pretty much explain it. A pod vape makes an ecig easier to use by packaging the tank and coil into one unit. But let’s look at what comes in a standard pod vape kit to make sure you don’t miss anything out.

          Battery Unit

This powers the vape. A rechargeable battery that delivers either a set voltage or a variable voltage to run electricity through the coil. The coil then heats up, vaporising the eliquid, and creating the vape for you to inhale. While most pod vapes have small, low-voltage batteries the thickness of a pencil, more and more pod ecigs are built using variable voltage batteries – the 88Vape Zillion or Antares being a prime example.

The battery unit is the largest and heaviest part of the vape, and it can usually be found in a variety of colours. It’ll also come packaged with a charger – whether that’s a magnetic charger designed specifically for that ecigarette (as with a Jool), or a multi-use micro USB charger (as with a Zillion). Either way, it should only be charged through a laptop or the USB port in your car, not via a phone charger stuck directly into the mains!

With a pod vape, you’ll see shorter battery life than a traditional vape, but the trade-off is a faster charging time, a lighter unit and a more discreet design.

          Pods

A pen or mod vape has a separate tank (that you fill with eliquid) and coil (that heats the eliquid). When the coil stops working properly after a week or two, you unscrew it from the tank and replace it. If the tank becomes damaged or begins to retain flavours from different eliquids, you replace it. Coils can cost anywhere up to ten to fifteen pounds for a box of three, and tanks can usually cost half as much as a whole new ecigarette.

With pods, it’s different. The tank and coil come as a single, self-contained unit. There’s no fiddling about screwing in coils, or a loose coil requiring some messy work to get your vape working. Once the coil goes, you pop in a new pod.

There are two types of pod on the market. Refillable and self-contained.

A refillable pod is, as you’ve probably guessed, refillable. You fill it as you would an ecig tank, with the eliquids of your choice. Want to change flavours? Refill it with something different. A refillable pod will get you through five to ten full tanks before the performance drops, but with each new pod costing less than £5, it’s still an affordable way to vape.

Self-contained pods offer even more simplicity at a higher price. You can’t refill these pods, so when they’re empty you toss them in the bin and click in a new one. With a pack of five refills retailing at upwards of £10, you’ll spend much more on them than you would a refillable pod and bottle of eliquid, but it’ll eliminate any risk of getting vape juice on your fingers.

So Why Use a Pod Vape?

One word. Simplicity.

No more fiddling with coils, no more carrying spare tanks, no more worrying about a large, heavy battery in your pocket or your handbag.

Just simple, easy vaping with a click of a pod.

Maybe it’s time to stop asking “what is a pod vape” and start asking “why don’t I have one?”