How Do You Start Vaping?
Most of the confusion around how to start vaping comes down to one thing: vaping isn't one product; it's a small set of choices that work together, and getting one piece right without the others still leaves you frustrated.
Broadly, starting to vape comes down to three things working together: a device that suits how you'll actually use it, an e-liquid that matches what you're looking for, and a way of drawing on it that takes a bit of getting used to. Get the device wrong and the whole experience feels off before you've even filled it. Get the e-liquid wrong and even the right device won't satisfy you the way you're expecting. And skip past learning how to draw on it properly, treating it exactly like a cigarette, and you'll likely end up frustrated for reasons that have nothing to do with the kit itself.
None of that needs to be complicated once you know what each piece is doing, and that's exactly what the rest of this vape guide walks you through, starting with the device itself.
Choosing Your First Vape Device
A beginner vape should do one job well: turn e-liquid into vapour. Skip anything covered in dials, menus and adjustable settings, not because those features are bad, but because you won't know what most of them do until you've been vaping for a while, and a wrong setting on a device you don't understand yet is an easy way to burn a coil or get an unpleasant hit before you've even worked out what a good one feels like.
Two device types have dominated this category, though only one is still legal to buy.
Why a Pod Kit Is the Best Device to Start
A vape kit with a dozen buttons and adjustable everything might look like better value on the shelf, and for someone who already knows what they're doing, it probably is. But for a first device, that flexibility might work against you.
Every extra setting is one more way to get something wrong without knowing why, whether that's an accidentally low wattage or an airflow setting closed off so far the draw feels wrong. A pod kit strips that risk out by design. You fill it, you press the button or just inhale, and it does the same thing every time, which is exactly what you want while you're still learning what "right" is supposed to feel like.
What a Pod Kit Gives You That a Mod Doesn't
Pod kits are built around a small refillable cartridge and a battery, and that simplicity is the entire point. Most ask nothing of you beyond swapping a coil every few weeks and topping up the liquid when it runs low. There's no wattage curve to learn and no menu to dig through when the device isn't behaving the way you expect.
Why You Won't See Disposables Recommended Here
You might have heard of disposables as the easy option, and for a while, they were. But single-use vapes were banned from sale across the UK since 1 June 2025, on environmental grounds and because they made it far too easy for under-18s to get hold of nicotine products. Any device sold legally now has to be rechargeable, refillable, and fitted with a coil you can replace, which is exactly what a pod kit already does.
What to Look for When Choosing Your Device
How to choose a vape that suits you comes down to a handful of specs, not just how it looks on the shelf. Two pod kits can look near-identical and behave completely differently once you're actually using them day to day. The specs below aren't there to help you compare numbers for the sake of it. Each one affects something specific about how the device fits into your routine, and skipping past them is how people usually end up with a kit that doesn't suit how they actually vape.
Battery Size
A battery under 1000mAh usually needs charging once a day, sometimes twice if you vape often. Look for around 2000mAh or higher if you want the device to comfortably last a full day without a top-up.
Airflow Adjustment
Airflow controls how the draw feels in your mouth, tight and restricted, or loose and airy. A tighter draw feels closer to a cigarette, which is why most ex-smokers get on with it best early on. Choose a kit that lets you adjust the airflow, so you can find what suits you without having to buy a second device to test it.
Coil Resistance Options
Coil resistance decides how much power a coil pulls and how the draw feels. Higher resistance, above 1.0 ohm, suits a tighter, cigarette-like pull, while lower resistance suits a looser draw with thicker e-liquid.
Cartridge Capacity
UK regulation caps every refillable pod and tank at 2ml, so capacity itself won't differ much between devices. What does differ is how many refills you get from a single coil before it needs replacing.
Picking the Right E-Liquid
The device gets most of the attention when people start vaping, but the e-liquid inside it matters just as much. E-liquid is simply the juice a device turns into vapour, and it comes down to three choices: the ratio, whether it has nicotine, and if so, how much.
VG/PG Ratio
E-liquid is made from two base liquids, VG (vegetable glycerine) & PG (propylene glycol), mixed in different ratios, and that ratio is what decides how the e-liquid actually behaves in your device. VG is thicker and produces more vapour, while PG is thinner and carries flavour and throat hit (the peppery sensation at the back of your throat that mimics a cigarette drag) more strongly.
A 50/50 e-liquid mix balances the two, and because it's thinner, it soaks into small pod kit coils properly and doesn't clog them, which is why it works with the lower-power devices most beginners start on. A 70/30 or high-VG mix is thicker, so it needs a higher-powered device with a coil built to handle thicker liquid; otherwise, it won't vaporise properly and can gunk up a small coil fast, making it better suited to higher-wattage kits.
Nicotine Salt or Freebase Nicotine
Nicotine salt and freebase nicotine are the two forms of nicotine used in e-liquid, and the difference comes down to a single added ingredient.
Nic Salt
A freebase nicotine with benzoic acid added, which lowers the liquid's pH and takes the harsh edge off the hit, letting it stay smooth even at strengths. That smoothness is exactly why nic salts pair with pod kits: pods run at low power and produce small amounts of vapour, so you need a higher strength to get a satisfying hit.
Freebase Nicotine
Without that added smoothing, it turns harsh at high strengths, which is why it's used at lower strengths in sub-ohm and higher-wattage devices, where the much larger volume of vapour spreads the hit out rather than concentrating it.
Go deeper
Our nic salts vs freebase guide covers the difference in more depth if you would like to compare the two properly.
Choosing a Strength
Nicotine strength decides how strong a hit you get from each puff, and the right starting point depends on why you're vaping in the first place.
| If you're… | Start here | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Switching from cigarettes | 10–12mg (pack-a-day), up to 20mg in nic salt form (UK's legal ceiling) | Matches the hit you're used to, then step down as vaping replaces the habit |
| Just trying vaping | Low strength, or nicotine-free | No habit to match, and it's easier to go up later than undo a strength you didn't need |
Our nicotine strength guide breaks this down by rough cigarette count if you'd like a closer starting figure.
Two Setups We'd Recommend to Start With
Working through every spec on your own isn't a waste of time, but it does take time you might not want to spend before your first purchase when getting into vaping, so we've picked two of the best vapes for beginners, covering the main paths beginners take: a pod kit, and a beginner-friendly sub-ohm device.
Pod kits run at low power and are built for simplicity, while sub-ohm devices run at higher power and produce noticeably more vapour, but that doesn't mean sub-ohm is off-limits on your first purchase, so long as the device itself keeps things simple enough to learn on.
We've also paired each with an e-liquid chosen specifically to suit how that device runs, choosing with less guesswork on your end.
OXVA NeXLIM 2 Pod Kit, Paired With Fantasi Liq
We'd recommend the OXVA NeXLIM 2 as the best vape for beginners picking up their first pod kit, since it removes nearly every decision a beginner has to make without leaving you short on anything you'd actually want.
2000mAh battery comfortably covers a full day, so you're not reaching for a charger halfway through
2ml top-fill cartridge stays TPD-compliant while giving around 30 refills per coil, keeping running costs down
Adjustable airflow moves between a tight, cigarette-like draw and a looser pull, so you're not locked into one style before you know which you prefer
One side button handles every setting, which matters more than it sounds for a first-time vaper who doesn't want to learn a menu system on day one
We pair it with Fantasi Liq, a nicotine salt range built around bold, well-rounded fruit flavours designed to stay satisfying puff after puff. Beyond the flavour, nic salts suit a lower-powered pod kit like this one because they stay smooth at higher strengths, which matters if you're coming straight from cigarettes and need a strength close to what you're used to, and the range gives you enough variety to find a flavour you'll actually want to keep reaching for.
Innokin Coolfire Z80 Nex Vape Kit, Paired With Ferocious E-Liquid
For anyone who'd rather start on a device with more room to grow, we'd point towards the Innokin Coolfire Z80 Nex.
Removable 18650 battery with output up to 80W, giving you power to grow into instead of a device you'll outgrow in a few months.
Dual draw styles covering both the tighter mouth-to-lung pull most beginners start on and a looser, restricted direct-to-lung style.
0.96-inch colour screen showing your wattage, coil resistance, puff count and battery status at a glance, making it easier to monitor essential information on different settings and modes.
Beginner-friendly despite the power so the same device still makes sense once your preferences settle in.
We match it with Ferocious E-Liquid, mixed in the UK across a wide range of flavours spanning fruit, menthol and dessert profiles, so there's enough choice to land on something you'd enjoy. It's available across 50/50 and 70/30 ratios in both freebase and nic salt form, giving you the room to match the e-liquid to how you want the Z80 Nex to perform.
Getting the Basics Right From Day One
Once you've settled on a setup and an e-liquid to go with it, there's one more thing standing between you and a good first vape: the coil inside it needs a moment to settle in before it's actually ready to use.
Prime the coil first
Fill the pod or tank, then leave it alone for a few minutes so the e-liquid works its way into the wick. Skip this, and you'll burn the coil within seconds, and a burnt coil can't be cleaned, only replaced.
Draw slowly, not sharply
Take a slow, steady pull rather than a quick puff, and hold the vapour in your mouth for a moment before it reaches your lungs. It looks like smoking a cigarette, but the action underneath it isn't the same.
Match liquid to device
A standard pod kit wants 50/50 or nic salt liquid, while thicker high-VG e-liquid will clog a small coil and shorten its life considerably.
What to Expect in Your First Few Days
Even with the coil primed and the strength matched to your old habit, your body still needs a few days to adjust, and that's worth knowing before it happens. A dry mouth and mild coughing are normal while your throat gets used to the vapour, so keep water nearby. If the hit feels harsh or you notice a mild headache, your nicotine strength is likely too high for how often you're using it, or you're vaping more than your body's ready for. Drop the strength a notch before assuming the device itself is the problem.
Listen to your body
Adjust strength or frequency before blaming the kit. Most first-week issues are calibration, not hardware.
Starting Doesn't Need to Be Perfect
Nobody gets their first vape kit, e-liquid and nicotine strength exactly right in one go, and that's a fairly ordinary part of getting started. If something's off once you get going, whether that's a strength that's too strong or a draw that doesn't feel right, it's a cheap thing to adjust once you know what to look for.
You're not expected to land on the perfect setup immediately. You're just expected to start somewhere sensible and go from there.