Vaping Vocab: An A-Z Guide with 88Vape
Let’s be honest - vaping can seem like an alien world to a newcomer. With terms like atomiser, VG and throat hit being used by vapers, it’s easy to see why! That’s why we’ve come up with an essential A-Z guide of vaping terms to help anybody that isn’t fluent in vape-talk yet!
A
All Day Vape (ADV)
A well-balanced e-liquid flavour that is so good you could vape it all day. Morning, afternoon and evening - breakfast, lunch and dinner - it doesn’t matter, an ADV is so damn good that you can use it all day, every day.
Atomiser (Coil)
The clever little electric part of your vaping device that heats up the e-liquid and turns it into vapour. Nowadays, it’s more commonly referred to as the coil.
B
Box mod
A box mod is for the more seasoned vapers out there - it’s a more powerful vape device that will give you more vapour and longer battery life than other devices. The box mod gets its name from their box-like shape usually caused by their hefty battery.
C
Cloud-chaser
If you like to fill out rooms with thick, dense plumes of vapour (clouds) to the point where there is dangerously low visibility, you are a cloud-chaser.
Clearomiser
A clearomiser is the part of your vape device that holds the atomiser and liquid - it connects to the vape device at the bottom and has a mouthpiece at the top to inhale from. Put simply, it’s one of the MVPs (most valuable parts) of your vape device.
D
Dry Hit
When you get a dry hit, you’ll know about it - for all the wrong reasons. Probably top of the list of things to avoid, it’s when you inhale on your device and it tastes like all kinds of burnt things mixed together. Pro tip: your wick needs replacing or your e-liquid level is too low.
E
E-juice/ e-liquid
Don’t let this confuse you, they are exactly the same thing (and also the same as vape juice) - it’s the lovely flavoured liquid that you use to vape.
F
Flooding
If your vape device isn’t working properly and it’s making an ugly gurgling sound, it’s flooding. This is caused when your tank is overfilled or you’ve spilt some e-liquid into somewhere that you shouldn’t have.
K
Kick
A term that describes a throat hit or nice hit of flavour at the back of your throat - if you like PG heavy e-liquids or menthol flavours you love a good kick!
L
Leaking
Hands-down one of the most annoying things to happen, leaking is when e-liquid leaks out of your atomiser and onto your hands, over your vaping device and anywhere else it can get to. Once you get used to re-filling your device, leaking will become a thing of the past- thankfully!
M
Mod
When vaping first started, this was the term for sci-fi-looking vaping devices that had been put together (i.e. modified) by mastermind vapers. It is now a common term for all kinds of e-cigarette device.
N
Nicotine Shot (Nic Shot)
A nicotine shot is a 10ml bottle of flavourless and odourless liquid-nicotine that is added to a base liquid - perfect for vapers that still have pesky cravings.
Noob
Sorry - but if you’re reading this, you’re probably a noob. It means a newcomer to vaping, but don’t worry - vapers are friendly once you get to know them.
P
Priming
Priming guarantees a good vape and it basically means preparing your device for vaping. You just need to put a few drips through a hole in the coil to your wick and/or take a draw on the vape without heating the e-liquid. This looks after your device and prevents dreaded dry hits.
Propylene Glycol (PG)
Propylene Glycol (PG), is one of the main ingredients that make e-liquid. You’ll hear a lot about the PG/VG balance and how important it is to your experience. Here’s a quick lowdown on PG: PG gives more of a throat hit, and hold more flavour but produce less vapour. Simple.
S
Short Fill
A big bottle that’s perfect for never running out of juice. Short fills are flavoured, nicotine-free e-liquids that come in 60ml bottles. Simply add the nicotine strength that’s right for you and vape away.
Starter Kit
Starter kits contain everything you need to start vaping - usually a simple device, an atomiser and a charger, but we include an e-liquid too!
Sub-Ohm
Sub-ohm or sub-ohm vaping almost sounds spiritual but all it really means is using a special type of coil with a low-resistance to increase vapour production. This is a cloud-chaser’s best friend.
T
Tank
The tank is where the magic happens - it’s the middle part of your vaping device (between the battery and the mouthpiece) which transforms e-liquid to vapour via the coil.
V
Vape
A word which means two things: the action of vaping (i.e. ‘I’m going for a vape’) and the device (i.e. ‘Take a look at my new vape’).
Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
Vegetable Glycerin (VG), is one of the main ingredients that make e-liquid. Vapers will talk a lot about the VG/PG balance of your e-liquid and how important it is to your experience. Here’s a quick breakdown: VG has a smoother throat hit and produce more vapour, but are slightly diluted in flavour.
W
Wick
The wick is an absorbent material inside the coil which carries the e-liquid to the heating component to be vaporised. You want to keep your wick happy by priming and not leaving too long between replacements, or you might suffer some dry-hits.
Z
Zillion
This is one of our favourite vape mods, especially for ex-smokers. It is a simple device which fits in the palm of your hand and is suitable for all types of e-liquid. Win-win.
For those that are new to vaping, this is an essentials guide to ‘speaking vape’! There is plenty more vocabulary out there but if you learn these basic terms, you’ll be on your way to understanding the world of vaping!