Vaping Jargon Buster

50/50 describes E-Liquid made with an equal ratio of 50% VG and 50% PG. It balances the smoothness and vapour production of VG with the flavour of PG, and suits most starter kits and pod devices.

70/30 describes High VG E-Liquid made with 70% VG and 30% PG. It's designed for Sub Ohm vape kits, giving a smooth vape and large clouds of vapour on the exhale. Ideal for Cloud Chasers.

80/20 describes High PG E-Liquid made with 80% PG and 20% VG. It's designed for vape pens and starter kits. The high PG ratio delivers strong flavour, with a stronger throat hit and less vapour than 50/50 or 70/30 E-Liquids.

A 510 connector is the universal threaded connection on the base of a tank, which screws into the mod. Because most tanks use a 510 connector, most tanks will fit most mods with no issues.

An All Day Vape (ADV) can mean an E-Liquid you enjoy enough to vape all day long. It can also mean a vape device whose battery lasts a full day on a single charge.

An AIO (All In One) device is a vape kit with its main components built into a single unit. AIO devices include vape pens, starter kits and pod systems. They need very little maintenance and remove the need for battery knowledge, which matters more with advanced kits that use removable batteries.

The atomiser is the part that heats and vaporises the E-Liquid, usually the coil. The term is sometimes used for the tank and coil together.

A build is a home-made coil once wicking material has been added to it. The complete coil and wick together is known as the build.

Cartomisers are screw-in cartridges that combine the coil and E-Liquid reservoir in one part. They were among the original e-cig designs and are rarely used today.

A clearomiser is a small, clear vape tank designed for vape pens and starter kits.

In vaping, a cloud is the vapour you exhale, named for how it looks.

A Cloud Chaser is a vaper who aims to produce the biggest clouds of vapour possible. Cloud Chasers use Sub Ohm or rebuildable coils with 70/30 E-Liquid. This combination gives a very smooth draw, letting them inhale more vapour and produce bigger clouds.

A vape coil is a length of resistance wire (usually Kanthal, Nichrome or stainless steel) wound around wicking material, usually cotton. The wick soaks up E-Liquid, and when you fire the device the coil heats up and vaporises it.

Most mods have a cut-off feature, a safety mechanism that stops the battery firing after a set number of seconds. This prevents the device from overheating and the battery from being overworked.

A deck is the area on a rebuildable atomiser where you install your coil and wicking material.

A drip tip is the mouthpiece on top of your tank that you inhale from. Drip tips are made from materials such as resin, plastic, Delrin or metal.

Dry burning is a way to clean rebuildable coils. You remove the wick and fire the bare coil at low power to burn off residue left by E-Liquid, then re-wick it. Only dry burn rebuildable coils, as dry burning a pre-made coil will burn its cotton and ruin it.

A dry hit happens when you fire your device before the wick has soaked up E-Liquid, or when your tank has run dry. You'll get an unpleasant burnt cotton taste. To avoid it, prime new coils with a few drops of E-Liquid, let them sit for 5 to 10 minutes before use, and keep your tank topped up.

Direct To Lung (DTL) vaping means inhaling vapour straight into your lungs, without drawing it into your mouth first. DTL tanks are usually Sub Ohm or rebuildable and are used with High VG E-Liquid.

E-Liquid (also called vape juice or e-juice) is the liquid you put in your vape tank or pod, which is vaporised and inhaled. It's made from a mix of VG (Vegetable Glycerine), PG (Propylene Glycol) and flavourings, with or without nicotine. Shortfill E-Liquids are sold at 0mg so you can add your own nicotine.

An eGo connector is an alternative thread type to the 510. It was mostly used on older starter kits and is rarely found on modern vape kits.

mAh is short for milliampere-hour, which measures how much charge a battery can hold. Simply put, the higher the mAh rating, the longer the battery will last between charges.

A mechanical mod has no circuitry or electronics beyond a simple circuit. Pressing the fire button completes the circuit and powers the attached atomiser. With no built-in protections such as a cut-off or short-circuit protection, mech mods are only recommended for experienced users with a working knowledge of Ohm's Law and battery safety.

Nicotine strength in E-Liquid is measured in milligrams per millilitre (mg/ml). A 6mg E-Liquid contains 6mg of nicotine in every ml, so a 10ml bottle contains 60mg in total (0.6% nicotine). An 18mg E-Liquid is 1.8% nicotine, and so on. In the UK, nicotine E-Liquid is capped at 20mg/ml.

The mod is the battery section of a vape kit, which houses the battery and fire button. The term is usually used for more powerful kits, especially those that take removable batteries such as 18650s.

Mouth To Lung (MTL) vaping means drawing vapour into your mouth first and then inhaling it into your lungs, similar to smoking a cigarette. Most MTL vapers use a starter kit, vape pen or pod system, as Sub Ohm kits are designed for the bigger draw of DTL vaping.

Nic is simply short for nicotine.

Nic Salt (nicotine salt or salt nic) is a type of E-Liquid made with nicotine salts, a form of nicotine found naturally in tobacco leaves. It gives a smoother throat hit at higher strengths than freebase nicotine. Read our Nic Salt Guide for more detail.

Nic Salt Shots work the same way as Nic Shots, but are made with nicotine salt instead of freebase nicotine.

Nic Shots are small, unflavoured bottles of E-Liquid containing freebase nicotine (the standard form of nicotine in most E-Liquids). They're designed to be added to 0mg shortfill E-Liquids, so you can buy a larger bottle at a lower price and set the nicotine strength yourself.

The ohm (Ω) is the standard unit of electrical resistance. Your coil's resistance determines the wattage your device needs to vaporise E-Liquid. Lower resistance coils need more power, while coils above 1 ohm need much less.

Propylene Glycol (PG) is an organic compound widely used as a food additive and in pharmaceutical products. In E-Liquid it acts as a carrier for flavour, which is why High PG E-Liquids taste stronger than 50/50 or High VG blends. PG is thinner than VG, so it suits coils of 1 ohm and above, such as those in starter kits, vape pens and pod devices. Using High PG E-Liquid in a Sub Ohm tank can cause leaking.

Pod kits (pod systems, pod devices, vape pods) are compact AIO devices that use refillable or prefilled pods instead of a separate tank and coil. Many pods have a built-in coil, so when it wears out you simply replace the pod, with no coil changes or tank cleaning. Others use replaceable coils inside the pod.

Rebuildable atomisers (RBAs) are the next step up from Sub Ohm tanks. There are three main types: RDAs, RTAs and RDTAs, explained below. RBAs require you to build your own coil and add your own wicking material on the deck. You can buy pre-made coils, but you still need to add the cotton yourself.

Rebuildable Dripping Atomisers (RDAs) have no tank. Instead, you drip a few drops of E-Liquid directly onto the coil to soak the wick. You'll need to re-drip every few puffs, which takes more effort, but RDAs give excellent flavour and cloud production and make it easy to switch flavours.

Rebuildable Dripper Tank Atomisers (RDTAs) combine an RDA-style deck with a tank, so you fill the tank rather than dripping onto the coil. The larger deck makes building and coil swaps easier than on most RTAs, though many RDA users find a pure RDA still gives the best flavour and vapour.

Resistance refers to a coil's electrical resistance, measured in ohms (Ω).

Rebuildable Tank Atomisers (RTAs) are similar to Sub Ohm tanks but use rebuildable coils instead of pre-made ones. You fill the tank directly, so RTAs are easier and less fiddly to use day to day than RDAs. The trade-off is slightly less flavour, and building on the more compact deck can be trickier.

Starter kits are beginner-friendly vape kits, usually with a built-in (non-removable) battery. They come with everything you need to start vaping apart from the E-Liquid, and many include spare coils or pods.

Sub Ohm refers to a coil with a resistance lower than 1 ohm. Sub Ohm coils are used for DTL vaping with High VG E-Liquid.

The tank is the top part of the vape kit, which holds the coil and E-Liquid.

Throat hit is the sensation you feel at the back of your throat when you inhale vapour. It's usually stronger with higher nicotine strengths and High PG E-Liquids.

TPD stands for the Tobacco Products Directive, the EU's regulatory framework for tobacco and vape products. In the UK, these rules now sit under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR). Under these rules, nicotine E-Liquid is capped at 20mg/ml, nicotine refill bottles at 10ml, and tanks at 2ml.

A vape pen is simply a vape kit shaped like a pen. Most are designed for MTL vaping.

Vaping is the act of inhaling vapour produced by heating E-Liquid in an electronic device.

Vapour is what you exhale when vaping.

Vent holes (airflow holes) are found on the tank, usually around the base. Many tanks have an adjustable airflow ring to open or close them for a looser or tighter draw.

Vegetable Glycerine (glycerol) is a clear, odourless liquid made from plant oils such as soy, palm or coconut. It's widely used in food and cosmetic products. E-Liquids with more VG produce thicker clouds and a smoother draw, making them ideal for higher-powered Sub Ohm devices.

A Variable Voltage (VV) device lets you adjust the voltage output to change how intense the vape is. VV is mostly found on older devices, as most modern mods use Variable Wattage.

A Variable Wattage (VW) device lets you adjust the wattage (power) output of the mod. Higher wattage heats the coil more, producing more and warmer vapour. Always stay within the wattage range printed on your coil.

Wicking material, usually organic cotton, absorbs E-Liquid and carries it to the coil. In pre-made coils, the wick already sits inside the coil. With rebuildable coils, you thread the wick through the coil yourself once it's built.