So many different types, varieties and flavours of e-liquids exist on the market today that no matter whether you are a vaping novice or expert, it can be easy to become overwhelmed.
Following the huge expansion of the e-cigarette industry over the past 10 years, it has never been so simple to get your hands on e-liquid. However, that poses a different problem – there are so many to choose from! Our e-liquid selection contains just shy of 400 products, so needless to say, you will certainly find something for you.
Of course, the fact that so many options are available is great news, as everyone’s vaping needs and preferences can be different and what works for some may not work for others, but needless to say, it can be daunting for a beginner. That’s where we can help.
Whilst trying a number of different varieties of vape juice is a surefire way of discovering which works best for you, we know that with this sort of purchase, a little research goes a long way. Much like our guide to choosing your first vape kit, our e-liquids guide will give you all advice you will need to find an e-liquid variety that suits you best.
What is e-liquid?
E-liquid—often referred to as vape juice, vape liquid, e-juice, as well as countless other names—is the liquid that fills the tanks of e-cigarettes. Vape juice is what brings flavour to your vape, but it is also what delivers the same nicotine hit into your body as ex-smokers have come to expect from conventional cigarettes.
E-liquid offers unique benefits to users over traditional cigarettes in that inhaling vapour from an e-cigarette is much less harmful to your body. Much to the delight of transitioning smokers, e-liquid doesn’t contain any of the chemicals capable of causing cancer. You only need to glance at research conducted by the NHS, Cancer Research UK, and many other reputable organisations to realise that when compared with smoking, vaping certainly comes out as the safer alternative.
As you may have realised from the numerous varieties available not just here at Legion of Vapers, but on the market in general, e-liquid can come in various forms, which we will explore in further detail.
How does e-liquid work?
As the name suggests, all types of e-liquids come in liquid form, so clearly, a type of process must take place in your device to convert the sticky, viscous ejuice into the vapour that you inhale and exhale as part of the process of vaping.
Vape kits contain individual elements which perform highly specific functions. In the vast majority of cases, the vape device you purchase will come with a vape battery that resides with the device’s body, a vape tank (or atomiser) which will be screwed on top, and a vape coil (or atomiser head) which will form part of the tank.
It is also certainly worth mentioning your device’s mouthpiece or drip tip. From here, you will breathe in the vapour produced by the device. However, when inhaling, your coil does the bulk of the heavy lifting.
Your coil is an outer casing that houses a thin wire that is most commonly made from Nichrome, Kanthal, Nickel, Titanium or Stainless Steel. This vape wire wraps around a wicking material (most commonly made from cotton). The e-juice that you add to your device saturates the wicking material. When you fire from your device, the battery sends power to the coil to heat up and in turn, vaporise the e-liquid that surrounds it, which is what you inhale from the device’s drip tip.
Your liquid needs to be made of the right substances to ensure that the wick is fully saturated. This will prevent the cotton material from burning out and save you from experiencing what is known as a dry hit – not a very nice experience! As the vapour also needs to be cool enough for your mouth, it couldn’t be more important that the composition of your juice is just right.
Which leads us onto our next question…
What are the ingredients of e-liquid?
Contrary to popular belief, e-liquids do not contain a wide array of ingredients. In fact, all licensed, TPD-compliant e-liquids include just four components, one of which is completely optional, and the rest are likely to be found somewhere in your kitchen!
The four key ingredients present in e-liquids are:
Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
Vegetable glycerin—also known as simply glycerol or glycerine—is a sweet, clear, odourless liquid derived from plant oil. It is a natural product that is not unique to vaping, as it is common in a wide variety of foods, as well as in cosmetic products, pharmaceuticals and more. However, when used in vape kits, its purpose is unique – it is the element that allows you to create the huge clouds of vapour that so many vape users strive for.
All vape juices contain VG to a certain degree, but the amount can vary greatly. Generally speaking, the more VG in your e-juice, the more possible extensive cloud production becomes.
Propylene Glycol (PG)
Propylene Glycol is a food-safe chemical that takes the form of a colourless liquid. It is not quite odourless like VG, but it is similarly sweet. Much like VG, it is used for purposes other than vaping, such as in the manufacturing of packaged foods and medicines. Its purpose in an e-liquid is to carry the nicotine that forms part of many vape juices, and to provide flavour. Without it, your liquid would be unable to vaporise.
PG also provides a throat hit to vape users. This is the sensation that most emulates smoking a conventional cigarette – the smooth feeling experienced by the back of your throat when inhaling.
Flavourings
Whilst both VG and PG contribute to the overall flavour profile of your vape juice, its food-grade flavourings are the biggest contributor in this area. No matter whether you opt for sweet, fruity flavours such as blackcurrant or blue raspberry, tobacco or menthol tastes or dessert-style finishes, the flavour will be provided by the same food-standard flavourings you will find in the majority of your favourite foods.
Nicotine
Nicotine is the only ingredient in a vape liquid that is dangerous to consume. The health risks of nicotine are well-known; it is a highly addictive substance that can even be poisonous in large enough doses, so you should use any nicotine-containing e-liquid—such as a nicotine salt or nic shot—with caution.
For a healthier vape, we provide vape juices with low nicotine strengths, as well as a wide range of 0mg, nicotine-free vape juices.
With so few ingredients, e-liquid is, in fact, surprisingly straightforward to create. When we take this into account, the fact that the industry has boomed over the past few years becomes a lot less shocking! No wonder so many types and flavours are available on the market today.
Let’s take a look at some of the different types:
Different types of e-liquid
As you can imagine, we do not only group e-liquids on the grounds of their flavour or size. E-liquids fit into different categories depending on the composition of each of the ingredients listed above.
In this way, vapers can be more specific on the type of vapour they would like to consume by selecting an e-liquid type that best matches their vaping style.
High-VG e-liquid
As the name suggests, High-VG vape liquids contain more vegetable glycerine. With VG’s thicker consistency, the vaping experience possible is much smoother. High-VG e-liquids most often have a 70% VG concentration.
In our opinion, some of the best high-VG juices available on the market are those by Dinner Lady (the world-famous Lemon Tart by Dinner Lady is definitely one to look out for!), Doozy Vape Co, and Double Drip Coil Sauce.
What type of hardware works best with high-VG e-liquids?
Denser clouds are possible with high-VG e-liquids, so it comes as no surprise that they are favourites of vapers who enjoy sub-ohming. Sub-ohm tanks are best used with e-liquids that are categorically high VG. The same can be said for sub-ohm mods and any coils with a resistance lower than 1 ohm – hence the name! It’s certainly worth checking out our range of RDA’s and RTA’s for use with your high-VG e-liquid too.
High-PG e-liquid
Contrary to high-VG e-liquid, e-liquids with a PG base are more weighted towards their PG content, as their ratios are often 70% PG to 30% VG.
PG e-liquids are most popular for their more intense flavour profiles, not their vapour production. Additionally, they are capable of delivering a throat hit that is most similar to that of conventional cigarettes, and as a result, they are most often the favourite of ex-smokers.
There are some great high-PG juices out there – our favourites are those by the guys at Vampire Vape. Our Vampire Vape high-PG e-liquid range includes 3mg, 6mg and 12mg strength options.
What types of devices work best with high-PG e-liquids?
It does not require a huge amount of power to vaporise propylene glycol, so high-PG liquids do not need to be used in the most powerful devices available. For this reason, smaller devices such as vape pens and pod kits are best for high-PG e-liquids – devices that adhere to a mouth-to-lung (MTL) vaping style.
50/50 e-liquid
50:50 e-liquids contain the same amounts of vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol. 50/50 blends are full of flavour, guarantee a considerate throat hit and can also blow large clouds. The best of all worlds! What’s more, these juices work perfectly with any type of device or tank, so they are suitable for both amateur vape users and those with more experience.
The nicotine strength of these e-liquids can be extremely varied, but they usually sit between 0mg and 10mg.
When it comes to 50:50 vape juices, one of our standout performers is the Soda King Bar 50/50 range, including excellent flavours such as Blueberry Pomegranate, Caribbean Crush, Watermelon Breeze, and more.
Nicotine salts
The nicotine strength of nicotine salts is considerably high, so they are most effective at delivering the nicotine hit that vape users who are in the process of quitting smoking crave the most. They are efficient and practical, as the stronger nicotine rushes mean that users are able to vape less frequently – a game-changer when all-day vaping isn’t possible!
Nic salts take the exact form of nicotine present in tobacco and blend it with e-liquid. A user will absorb them into their bloodstream a lot regular than can be possible with regular e-liquids due to their pH levels.
Along with providing standard e-liquid, many vape juice brands will offer ranges of nic salts also. Our favourites include Just Juice nic salts, Nasty Juice nic salts, and the many nic salts by the team at Riot Squad.
What type of hardware works best with nic salts?
Vape kits with lower wattages are the best match for nic salts, especially those with a smaller coil and tank. As such, the best vape kits for nicotine salts are pod kits and pen kits.
Shortfills
Shortfills are bottles of e-liquid that come in various sizes, but you will find them most frequently in 50ml, 100ml and 150ml bottles. No matter their size, they are always slightly less than full to provide space for a user to add supplementary nicotine shots. The reason for this is that users can increase the nicotine level of their e-liquid to reach their desired concentration. Shortfills get their name from being simply ‘filled short’ – the additional space allows vape users to personalise their vaping experience that much further.
It is worth mentioning that as the name refers to the bottle of eliquid, each type above can technically fit into the shortfill category. It is not a type of e-liquid, but rather a type of bottle.
Nic Shots
Nicotine shots—otherwise known as nic shots—are 10ml e-liquid bottles that contain pure nicotine. This is what a vaper will add to nicotine-free (0mg) shortfills to achieve a nicotine concentration that suits them best. As vapers add nicotine shots to receive additional nicotine instead of more flavour, nic shots rarely have flavours of their own.
We hope that this guide has helped you to become more familiar with what an e-liquid actually is, what happens to them when you use them in your device, the ingredients they contain, and the different types available. Hopefully, our recommendations will help you to choose an e-liquid that works best with the type of device you are using!
Even though the huge amount of e-liquids available may be rather confusing and even daunting at times, the prospect of having so many options to choose from is also an exciting one. It’s pretty incredible knowing that no matter what sort of taste you are hoping to get from your vape, be it fruit, dessert, candy, tobacco and more, there will be an e-liquid flavour that is perfectly suited to satisfy your cravings. If you don’t believe us, be sure to check out our full range of e-liquid flavours.
If you have any questions on e-liquid flavours, concentrations, whether your chosen selection will be suited to your device, or just about anything else relating to vaping, please do feel free to get in touch with us. We know just how great it is to find a vape juice that you enjoy, so we’d love to be able to do the same for you!
As always, thank you for reading, and happy vaping!
