Best Brands of Electronic Cigarettes

It’s been almost 15 years into my new vaping journey and it has been a life changer! Over the years there have been dozens of brands of electronic cigarettes that have come and gone as well as the ones that have stuck around and continue to flourish.

Having personally tried just about every e cig on the market including hundreds of e liquid flavors. It is now time to share my experiences with the vaping community and welcome new vaping enthusiasts into this brand new vapor world.

In those years a few have stuck out as my favorite brands of electronic cigarettes that I continue to buy from over and over again cause they are dependable and bring me joy. This is what this site is about, personal experiences in vaping along with highlighting particular companies that can 'rock it' time and time again.

Cigarettes will soon become a chalk outline of itself (in other words, cigarettes are losing to vaping) due to these sub-ohm vaping devices that blow traditional smoke away.

Finally, vaping is getting noticed… and not from those crappy gas station e cigs that are made by the big tobacco companies which are inferior on purpose so you will switch back to tobacco. Because that’s where their real money is made, right? There are several independent companies that stand out due to their commitment to producing a solid product and providing a great customer experience.

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To help in your vaping journey we have supplied our readers our exclusive e cig reviews on what type of devices are available. If you want the biggest vapor production that vaping offers, then go for the most powerful competition cloud-churning monster on the plant. The sub-ohm mod will get you those clouds and then some.

Types of Electronic Cigarettes

1. Pen style: like a real cigarette, mimics the feeling and habitual sensation.
2. Tank style: bigger battery with an atomizer that you fill with e juice.
3. Mechanical mods: you choose the battery and atomizer, mix and match.
4. Sub Ohm mods: build your own, make your own coils, the most potent cloud chucking vape there is.

Pen Style E Cigs

These 1st types of electronic cigarettes was introduced to the masses around 2008. They have the same look and feel as a real cigarette as that was the main point at that time and to keep it as familiar as possible. The LED tip that lit up as you inhaled was enticing to others and the vapor that came out as you exhaled was amazing, this of course, depending on which company you purchased these e cigs from as not all are created equal.

The scams started to pop up left and right with bogus “free trial” offers where a person would unknowingly sign up for a monthly plan to have this inferior product sent to there home at a high cost. Trying to stop the madness was hard to do, most folks just had to do a charge back and learn from the mayhem. It is very possible to find cheap vapes with superior build quality as most of the top electronic cigarette companies have an entry level product so as to grow their future customer base.

Luckily some good electronic cigarettes companies did in fact gain a following as the internet and social media started to take off. It became well known as what e cig brands started to emerge from the crowd as a superior product. As an early customer myself it was easy to tell them apart from cheap knockoffs.

Even though these e-cigarettes may seem old school to some, the pen style electronic cigarettes are still the most popular choice for people looking to make the switch to vaping in the beginning. I still vape mine everyday, the tobacco flavor is the best compared to a regular cigarette and the vapor production is full flavored and dense, just like the smoke from a cigarette.

There’s even an electronic cigar available, it looks and taste just like the real thing, weird. But an e cigar will let you enjoy it in your house without stinking up everything around you including your family. These electric cigars are pretty cheap and make great gifts for someone who enjoys the old stogy. Check out our choices for the best e cigar brands and get one, you’ll love it.

Tank Style with Atomizer

Some would consider the tank as an upgrade from the vape pen electronic cigarettes, and it sort of is in a way. You need to buy e juice separate and pour it into the tank.

There are some benefits to this kind of e cig, firstly you can see how much e juice is left to vape on and when it’s time for a refill, and secondly the vapor production is usually more dense and flavorful – but that’s not always the case as it depends on the brand and e juice itself, more on that in a minute.

Are they messy? Yeah, they can be if you are clumsy or do not possess the patience to deal with dripping e liquid into a tiny tank without flooding the inhale chamber.

There are different styles of tanks, bottom loading and top loading. I find that the top loading tanks are better and do not leak! Again, it depends on the brand. Most are made of acrylic or plastic or even pyrex glass and the majority uses cotton wicks to soak up the e liquid flavors which in turn the battery heats up so you can vape. .

If you only have 1 or 2 tanks and 7 bottles of e-juice then you may be in a pickle if you want to change your flavor, this is where the cartridges (cartomizers) come in at an advantage. Tired of vaping vanilla and just want sweet tobacco? Screw it off and screw on a different one. With the tank you need to dump out the liquid, not fun. Or you can opt to have a few dozen tanks laying around with different flavors of e juice or blank like I do.

These tanks need to be cleaned on a regular basis as they are not disposable. It’s pretty simple, just take it apart (usually 3 pieces) and rinse them under warm to hot water and let them air dry. Try to avoid sticking a tissue or napkin in there to dry them as they can leave behind little bits of paper which can clog your tank later. Just let the air dry them instead. Vaporfi has great tank style vaping devices.

Mechanical Mods

The cloud chucking electronic cigarettes of the vaping world! You may think bigger is better, right? Well, not always as hopefully this will shed some light.

A mech mod is a powerful electronic cigarette experience, similar to a small metal flashlight. they use separate batteries (18650) and can either use a tank or coil set up on their 510 connection. The flow of electricity has to be carefully watched as these can heat up and cause damage if you are not careful. Think of them like an old hot rod; it has a lot of power but can get out of control if you do not pay attention to the details.

So you have the metal mod unit with brass or copper contact points, separate battery, and tank or coil setup (atomizer RDA) with cotton wicks that you drip your e-liquid onto. Mod heats up the wicks and you inhale like a Sasquatch to get big vapor clouds.

Most put out around 3.7 to 4.0 watts of power, but the voltage is much higher than a tank or pen style can produce. Most have a firing button on the bottom of the unit – it’s a pretty simple set up.

One trick to getting those huge clouds of vapor is the OHM output, in this case you want sub-ohm. The tank style electronic cigarettes above put out 2.0 to 3.0 ohms and the same goes for the cartridges. Now, there are some tanks like the Aspire (which leak in my experience) that have a 1.5 ohm capacity. But for really big clouds you need to go sub-ohm with a coil set up or a sub ohm tank like the Volt Hybrid tank.

The coil mod is tricky to pull off, you need to have an extreme amount of patience and be handy with tools and know your electricity. Perhaps you have seen the videos on YouTube or photos on Instagram of people showing off their mods and blowing enormous clouds of vapor. To get that you need to an OHM meter so you can see if your coil set up is firing properly. The goal is anything between .20 to .40 OHMS, this is where the magic happens for best flavor and big vapor, going any lower on the ohm scale and the vapor will be very hot and not produce much flavor.

Single coil and up; If you can get the flow right, a single coil design will chuck the vapor just fine. I’ve even seen a 6 coil design, to me that is overkill but if it makes ya happy then go for it. Mind you the wire plays an important part here, the lower the gauge the more heat can get to your wicks, that is the hypothesis. The standard for expert coil builders is 22 gauge wire. Or just buy pre-made clapton coils here.

And yet this is still more to learn here. OK, you are in sub-ohm territory and have a dual coil set up with 22g wire coils that you made yourself. Next is the airflow on the RDA (rebuild-able dripping atomizer). You need large air holes and a very loose draw because to get giant clouds you need to do a full lung hit inhale. Most RDA’s have large air-holes so you can achieve the big clouds.

Oh, and the electronic cigarettes “e juice” itself must be MAX VG, this produces the biggest clouds. It’s strange. You would think more vapor more flavor, right? Nope. While the big clouds are impressive, I prefer flavor. Most e liquids made with a higher PG mix has more flavor, but you lose on vapor production. See our sub-ohm vaping guide and determine if this is for you.

With a mech mod, there is a lot of tinkering to be done, like an old hot rod.

Adjustable Box Mods

There are also bigger vaporizer style electronic cigarettes for which you can control the voltage, watts, and ohms electronically through the device itself. Full temperature control is an option for a fully satisfying vaping experience.

They can be big, complicated, and clunky to deal with. So again, this type needs a lot of patience as well. Some even go up to 200 watts as that is some serious cloud chucking vapor right there.

These custom electronic cigarettes also use a separate battery and come in many styles; the long tube, box, and grip. Whichever one you prefer they all behave the same, adjust the settings via the mounted buttons and display window. They can use sub ohm tanks that have a 510 thread as well as RDA’s.

Since e juice flavors use different properties and vape different, meaning some need more/less watts or voltage to get a better taste and same goes for vapor production. By using one of these fully adjustable and variable mods you can achieve your ideal vaping experience… If you can get through the endless setting menu without tearing your hair out.

E Liquid Flavors

Once you start to get into you will want to try every flavor you can get your lips around the industry of electronic cigarettes that are available. Some of the descriptions sound so enticing like blueberry cheesecake, or death by chocolate. But keep in mind that most of the flavor comes from the same place as you would get in a piece of candy or flavored food or beverage. Real blueberries are not in vape juice.

• PG vs VG: to get the most vapor and flavor a blend of the two is ideal. For me personally a 100% PG e juice is too strong with less vapor an same goes for the VG, too light on flavor but better vapor. Since there are so many places to buy cheap e juice online it can be tempting I know, but remember they are not regulated (politics I know) so you really don’t know what’s in them.

This is why I prefer to buy my electronic cigarettes e-juice from reputable companies that want to stay in business and are in good standing with the FDA regulations because I trust them more, I mean you are inhaling this stuff. So it’s best to know what you are getting.

Vaping Side Effects

Yes there are side effects to vaping electronic cigarettes alright. For one, if you like the flavors you tend to vape more than you ever would have with a cigarette. It can be tough to pay attention and chain vaping can indeed take over if you are not careful. Consuming too much nicotine too fast is not good, so be mindful of that.

With a mech mod the vapor can be very hot! In my opinion, this could possibly cause damage to your throat and lungs over time. Even if you are vaping a low nicotine level, the heat itself is something to pay attention to. Also with a mech mod the vapor can be more “wet”, unlike dry vapor you get form a pen style or tank types. Why is wet vapor bad to inhale? Well, water in the lungs = pneumonia. I have heard of some people who swear that vaping wet gave them pneumonia. But that’s just a Internet rumor so I wanted to point out. I don't know for sure, I’m not a Doctor.

One more thing to consider when using a mechanical mod vaporizer. Since the vapor is condensed faster, you inhale more vapor. If you are used to 18mg nicotine, you may want to lower it to 6mg or even 3mg. If you ever try one, you’ll see.

The unknown is always looming over the vapor community. What will the FDA do about regulating electronic cigarettes and how will CASAA react? Will the government step in and regulate vaping with taxes just like tobacco? Will advertising e cigarettes become regulated like cigarettes, etc. Still unknown even going into 2025 as laws and bills change fast with each state and the all mighty federal government.

So after all these years I still stick to the brands of electronic cigarettes and online sources that I've always been using. Of course I try new brands and e juices all the time as vaping has become a fun hobby. But to keep it simple, in the end all I want is a way to relax and enjoy a vape. Now I’m enjoying a vape (electronic cigarette) instead of the nasty tobacco.