Choosing the pod mod that will suit you best is essential as this kit is the starting point for e-cigarettes. Get it right and you’ll give yourself the best chance of quitting. Pod mods have been all the rage since 2017, and every manufacturer has released at least one. It can be hard to know which are the best among them. But don’t panic, the Vaping Post is here to help. Here are the top 3 best pod mods right now. The Vaping Post is here to guide you through the world of pods. These are smaller sized e-cigarettes, but in spite of that they’re improving all the time.
Understanding how a pod works
Pods are fairly new in the vaping world. Let us explain.
- What’s a pod mod?
- The benefits of pod mods
- Which type of vapers use pod mods?
- What’s vaping like with a pod?
A pod mod is an all-in-one, small-sized e-cigarette. It consists of a battery and a cartridge. The cartridge is what makes pod mods unique and gives them their name: another word for a capsule is “pod”. With a pod mod, you can vape e-liquids with high nicotine levels (see below), which either use a nicotine base or contain nicotine salts that give a gentler hit in your throat. You can also vape e-liquids containing CBD.
The cartridge
What makes pod mods unique is their cartridge. The cartridge has a tank for e-liquid, a coil and a mouthpiece for vaping. It usually holds 2 ml of e-liquid, which is the limit allowed by the European TPD Directive. It may or may not be closed, i.e. sealed. With closed cartridges, you have to throw out the cartridge when it is empty, which is not very earth-friendly. Luckily you also can get cartridges you can refill with e-liquid once they’re empty. That increases their lifespan and lowers the cost of using them. The other benefit of refillable cartridges is that you can use whatever e-liquid you want! The high-resistance coil is usually 1 ohm or more. This high resistance means you don’t need much power to vaporize the e-liquid, so you can use it with small batteries and still have a decent battery life.
The battery
Pod mods use compact batteries with enough power to vape for between several hours and a day, depending on how often you use them. Their capacity is shown in mAh (milliamp/hour) and varies from 350 to 800 mAh for the longest lasting batteries. You recharge them using the USB cable usually supplied by the manufacturer. To make them easier to use, the batteries are usually automatic, so you don’t have to press a button to vape. The pod mod activates as soon as you suck on the mouthpiece, a bit like a tobacco cigarette. Normally, an LED on the pod mod shows the battery charge level.
High nicotine levels
The high-resistance coils in pod mods mean you can use e-liquids containing nicotine salts. They deliver high nicotine levels without severely irritating your throat, making pod mods another tried and tested way to stop smoking.
Ultra compact
The compact size is at its best in this type of vape. Lightweight and slim, you can slip a pod mod into your pocket and take it anywhere, unlike some bigger e-cigarettes (e.g. box or tube mods).
Easy to use
This is the easiest option out there right now. If yours is automatic (i.e. no activation button), just clip on a cartridge filled with e-liquid and inhale. At worst, you have to press the only button on the device, which is pretty simple. To recharge it, just use a basic USB cable. It doesn’t get much easier than that! And they’re usually quite affordable too.
Pod mods are aimed at novice vapers and at vapers/smokers who want to cut down on cigarettes or quit completely. Experienced vapers also use them as a back up device when they want a discrete vape.
Their small size gives them extra aesthetic appeal, including for vapers after a more feminine look. Their discretion and practicality are still their main plus points.
If you want to make big vapour clouds, give them a miss. Pod mods aren’t designed for cloud chasing, although a few models can manage it. If you want to quit smoking, however, a pod mod will definitely meet your expectations. Pod mods make quite a small quantity of vapour and use indirect inhalation, i.e. it’s like smoking a tobacco cigarette where you first take the smoke into your mouth and then draw it into your lungs. It’s also very common to use nicotine salt e-liquids with pods. This form of nicotine has a different pH, is gentler on your throat and lets you vape strong nicotine liquids without the usual discomfort you get from standard, high-dose e-liquids. Nicotine salts make an interesting alternative for people who are sensitive to nicotine and who might cough or feel excessive irritation in their throat. To find out more, take a look at Everything you needed to know about nicotine salts.