A Novice Buying Guide: How To Choose The Best E-Liquid For You

When the vaping trend first hit the UK, there wasn’t much in the way of choice unless you were using mods or creating your own. Most of the devices available were small, and there were few options for vape liquids as most on the market were high PG. Now there is so much choice it can be confusing and almost intimidating to know where to start. In many ways, this is a good thing as more options available mean that vaping can suit the needs of every person. It can feel like a minefield when you first enter the world of vaping with how many options there are for liquids, and you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to deciding which flavours you want to try. Our guide can help you identify your needs to narrow down the type of e-liquid you want to start with. Once you’ve got going with your vaping and you’re feeling more confident, you can always try a new liquid if you want a change of pace.

Understanding The Terminology

One of the most confusing parts about vaping to a novice is the terminology that is used regularly, and we’ve broken down the terms you’re likely to see so that you can make a more informed choice. If you’re looking for more in-depth information, check out AquaVape’s guide on choosing vape liquids.

• DTL: Direct to Lung is where you inhale directly from your vape device into your lungs before exhaling.

• MTL: Mouth to Lung is the term used for when you inhale from the vape device into your mouth before inhaling again into your lungs.

• PG & VG: You will see these letters on the front of every vape liquid bottle, and they stand for propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine. Most e-liquid manufacturers use either one or both of these components in the ingredients. 

• Nicotine Salts: This is a form of vape liquid, and it uses the salts that can be found in tobacco leaves to create a smoother hit to your throat. Liquids that don’t use nicotine salts are referred to as freebase liquids. 

• Hybrid Vape Liquids: This type of liquid contains both nicotine salts and freebase liquids.

• Short-Fill: Short-fill is a large bottle of e-liquid that contains no nicotine. However, there is space to add a nicotine shot.

• Nicotine Shot: This is a small bottle of typically flavourless vape liquid containing nicotine that can be added to a short-fill.

Choosing A Nicotine Strength

If you’re going to be using vape without nicotine, you can skip this section of our guide, but for those of you who are making the change from smoking to vaping, it’s important to get the right nicotine strength. Typically, people who go from smoking to vaping often choose a nicotine strength that is too low for the amount they smoke a day. For example, if you smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day, you would be better off with the strongest vape liquid on the market, which is usually 18mg, also written as 1.8%, in 10ml bottles. However, if you smoke less than 15 cigarettes a day or you prefer lighter cigarettes, 12mg may be more suitable for you. If you find that you are vaping more than you were smoking, then you probably need a higher nicotine strength to achieve the same release as when you smoked. When you start vaping, it is always better to go higher with your nicotine strengths to ensure you don’t suffer from any cravings; over time, many vapers drop their nicotine strengths down, and some remove the nicotine content entirely.

Finding A Liquid To Provides The Right Hit

When it comes to finding a suitable vape liquid, it’s essential to have the right hit. As the vapour hits the back of the throat, some people prefer a harsh hit that replicates smoking, whereas other prefer something softer. 

If you’re looking for something harsh, you need something with plenty of propylene glycol, and the key is to look at the PG:VG ratio. A ratio of 50:50 will provides enough of a hit to replicate the feeling of smoking cigarettes for most ex-smokers. However, some prefer a more potent hit, and a ratio of 60:40, with PG being higher, will give you that. When you first use an e-liquid with a high PG, you need to take a long slow drag on your vape device while being careful not to allow too much air in as this can cause coughing. The best hardware for high PG and high nicotine vape liquids is those designed for mouth to lung vaping.

When it comes to finding an e-liquid that offers a softer throat hit, there are two options for the best results; nicotine salts and high vegetable glycerine. Nicotine salts are a newer innovation in the vaping world and were initially introduced when vapers using liquids with high nicotine levels were too harsh. It took time for nicotine salts to become popular in the UK as our laws cap the nicotine levels at 20mg, and the levels that were causing throat irritation or coughing were only available in the USA. As mentioned earlier, nicotine salts use the nicotine found in tobacco leaves to create a much smoother hit to your throat. It can also provide a faster delivery of nicotine into your system, which many vapers have said makes it much more satisfying.  

The other way to achieve a smooth hit is to use vape liquid with a higher VG ratio. However, e-liquids that have high VG are best used with more advanced hardware.