When it comes to the great outdoors, you should enjoy your vaping experience just as much as vaping inside!
What matters most to any e-cigarette user is the vaping experience - we want this to be consistent wherever we are, at whatever time of day we choose to vape - so let’s look at the options for vaping outdoors, and if your choices are going to impact your ability to vape outside.
WHAT'S THE RIGHT VAPE DEVICE AND E-LIQUID
So you’ve been thinking about it for a while, and have decided it’s time to cut out the tobacco cigarettes - now it's time to take the plunge into the world of vaping. Where do you start? There are so many options out there, where do you even begin?
First things first, forget about using disposable vapes. They are a wasteful use of resources, like lithium ion batteries, that are currently in shortage. They are inefficient and not cost effective. If you consider yourself a green warrior, stay away from disposable vapes!
At SMOKO, our experience tells us that most smokers making the switch choose starter kits that are simple to use, close to a smoking experience, in a tobacco style flavour. I assume that being outdoors doesn’t change that, though I’ve been wrong before…
BEST QUALITY AND DURABLE VAPE DEVICE
What do we think we need for outdoor vaping? A sturdy device that will survive a drop? Does it need to be waterproof for the rain?
Unless you are planning on throwing your Vape Mod on the floor, there’s a good chance you aren’t going to intentionally drop it. So, assuming a certain amount of care is going to be taken, will your device survive an accidental fall?
The weight and shape of the box mods makes them awkward to carry, and more likely to get knocked on the floor if left sitting on a table. If it lands on the vape tank, it might well crack it, leading to leakage - time for a new one.
Electronic cigarettes or Cig-a-like devices, by comparison, are small and lightweight. What does this mean? I could calculate the respective terminal velocities to give you a number, but essentially the bigger the device, the harder it is going to hit the ground. Bye bye box mods!
At SMOKO, our E-cigarette is tested to a drop of a metre and a half onto a hard surface, with no impact on the performance of the battery. However, a colleague took two batteries on holiday, and after watching one roll off the table and hit the balcony floor, to then roll off the balcony and hit the ground four floor's down, he retrieved the battery in desperation - to find it still worked!
A VAPE DEVICE WITH GOOD BATTERY LIFE
Outside wedding, long afternoon walk - what do these events have in common? No place to charge your e-cig! Better be prepared!
If you know you won’t be able to charge your device for a while, having one with a decent battery life can be a godsend. There are a number of factors that impact battery life, but draining your sub ohm tank on a high powered device is a sure way to run out of charge!
A cigalike or small pod system has internal batteries that give a fixed power output, giving you a consistent experience over the battery life, with the battery life giving a certain number of puffs when fully charged.
Box mods or vape pens with variable wattage can’t give the same details. These devices let you use the batteries you choose, with a coil of your choice, with your favourite e-liquid - all variables that will impact the draw on battery power.
To my knowledge, there are no vape devices that use external batteries, but the larger devices do use replaceable batteries, meaning you can carry spares… yes, more spare parts to find a pocket for. Oh, and don’t forget to charge those spare batteries - you’ll kick yourself if you do!
At SMOKO, our batteries are pre-charged, so they are ready for use straight out of the packet! When you also keep in mind that the cigalike devices are much smaller, keeping a couple of batteries on you with a small number of refills and a battery pack is an option.
You’re welcome to apply this to the box mods too, but by that point you’re going to need a rucksack to carry all the extras. Do you want to be that guy at the wedding?
HOW LIGHT IS AN E-CIGARETTE OR VAPE DEVICE
Portability is a big deal for using your device outside, something that fits into a small wheelbarrow is probably about as large as you want to go. No? Too big? If you insist…
If you desire to be inconspicuous with your vaping, and maybe want to avoid irritating everyone at the event, then powerful box mods are problematic here, too. Sure you might have a pocket big enough for the device, but where are you going to keep all those spare parts?
Vape pens are going to be a better fit in terms of portability, but that still means keeping your vape juices, nic salts, and any spare parts on your person for the duration of your outdoor adventure.
The SMOKO E-cigarette, VAPE and VAPE POD Starter Kits are both small and convenient, with two batteries and a couple of refills for either device taking up much less space than a box mod unit on its own! If you aren’t hauling bags around with you, or you want your vape to be easily accessed, then it needs to be in a pocket.
If it needs to be in your pocket, it needs to be a SMOKO E-cigarette.
EASY TO USE VAPE
Ease of use is top priority for SMOKO customers. When smokers first make the switch, they are facing enough frustration from withdrawal and cravings - they don’t want to study engineering in order to operate and maintain their complex vape kits.
If this sounds like you, then the simple pod systems and cigalikes are the right choice. Two parts - refills and batteries - means cleaning, if it is ever necessary, is quick and easy. Aside from wiping the contacts before charging and before attaching a refill, there really isn’t anything else to do to clean or maintain these devices.
The same cannot be said for the big box mods… filling with your liquid can lead to spillages and liquid getting into the casing, potentially wrecking the device from the inside. Then there’s the coils that need replacing regularly, batteries that need to be inspected regularly, and the need to keep the device clean so you can spot a leak as soon as it happens.
You might see a pattern beginning to emerge here…
ACCESSORIES FOR THE VAPING DEVICE OR E-CIGARETTE
There could be a variety of reasons for being outdoors, many of which won’t hamper using your device, and vice versa, but if you plan to use your vape while engaging in a slightly vigorous activity - let me stop you there.
It is never going to be a good idea to be jumping around with a box mod kit in your pocket, around your neck hanging from a lanyard, or even in your hand. It is literally asking for trouble - leakages, flying vape tanks and rattling batteries is one way to turn your moderately expensive vape kits into a very expensive maraca.
Now, if you are using a SMOKO E-cigarette, it’s a bit of a different story. Our E-cigarette and VAPE POD systems are light and small, and as long as they are in a sealed pocket to stop them from flying off in a ballistic arc, they aren’t going to cause you much trouble at all.
I still wouldn’t hang one around your neck though. Bouncing up and down? It could have your eye out!
CHOOSING THE RIGHT E-LIQUID FLAVOUR
Does being outside change your taste buds? I didn’t think so. Some users may find they prefer certain flavours in summer or winter, but just being outdoors? Personally, the things I like don’t change whether I’m in or outdoors, so I tend to stick to the e-liquid flavours that work for me.
Other vape stores offer a huge variety in the selection of e-liquid and refill flavours, and as delectable as ‘banoffee pie’ and ‘vanilla almond butter cake’ sound, they don’t appeal to the more mature customers who are trying to substitute vaping for smoking.
At SMOKO, our customers are often looking for a tobacco or menthol flavour when they first make the switch from cigarettes, as this is what they are used to. The closer the flavour to the cigarettes they were smoking, the more successful they seem to be at quitting!
If you tend to change flavours when going outside, then fair enough! ‘Whatever floats your boat’ really is key to quitting, no single flavour is better for quitting than any other! Just be sure to buy your liquids from reputable sources, in countries with good levels of regulation, like here in the UK and the EU.
CHOOSING THE BEST VAPE DEVICE AND E-LIQUID FOR OUTDOOR VAPING CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, your preferred vaping experience is going to dictate what device you use, but if you like outdoor activities, or just spending time in nature, then it’s worth taking this into consideration when you drop in to your local vape shop to pick up your first kit.
If, like many SMOKO customers, you want an experience close to smoking when you’re outside, and don’t want so much stuff in your pockets your trousers fall down, the SMOKO Starter Kits are for you!
