Exploring Performance, Customization, and Convenience
The world of vaping has expanded by leaps and bounds in recent years. This rapid growth has also caused navigating the many options available out there to become a little more complex. For example, you can now find vape mods, pod vapes, disposable vapes, and popular vaping devices called pod mods at vape shops and smoke shops across the country.
Even for an experienced vaper, the sheer volume of choices can be overwhelming. In this post, we’ll look at two of the more popular devices being sold today—the vape mod and the pod mod—and examine their differences and similarities and, hopefully, point you in the right direction when making your next big vaping decision.
What is a vape mod?
Think of mods as the high-octane sports cars of the vaping world. These devices offer optimum vaping control and performance, leading to those big, dense, and wonderfully delicious puffs that seasoned cloud chasers love.
Almost any vape mod or box mod today is loaded with features that allow users to customize the vaping experience, including airflow control, battery output, temperature, an endless array of coils to choose from, and more. Vape mods also allow users to choose virtually any e-liquid and sub-ohm tank on the market. Most vape mods come with a tank, but they are interchangeable, and you’re free to choose any tank you find in your local vape shop.
In a nutshell, vape mods offer the freedom to vape precisely as you want to vape. But freedom, as they say, has its price, and there are some drawbacks to mods we’ll get into later in this post.
What is a pod mod?
Pod mods are dialed-back versions of vape mods—and we don’t mean that in a bad way. In fact, just the opposite. Pod mods came about because folks using disposable vapes or traditional vape pods wanted to up their games but weren’t quite ready to move into fully loaded devices.
Pod Mods are smaller, sleeker, lighter devices that offer similar performance to vape mods (though nothing equals a vape mod in the cloud-making category) but do so with unmatched ease and convenience. Pod mods fit into pockets and purses with no problem, and you won’t feel like you’re carrying around a heavy brick the way you might with some of the heavier vape mods.
Pod Mods are unquestionably easier to use and deal with than vape mods, but there are some downsides as well. Let’s explore the pros and cons of vape mods and pod mods to learn more.
Vape mods: more tank and flavor options.
Vape mods operate with powerful batteries and a removable tank that attaches to the top via standard threading. You can use any tank from any manufacturer with a vape mod. Don’t like the one that came with your device? Ditch it and try another.
You can also use any e-liquid in a vape mod – though for big, dense clouds and ultra-smooth hit, heavy VG (vegetable glycerin) juices are best as they stay smooth even at the higher power outputs of vape mods.
Pod mods: these devices are not universal.
Probably the biggest drawback of pod mods is that they are not universal like vape mods. In other words, you must use a compatible manufacturer’s pod and coil with your device. If you do not like the performance or are looking for a change, your options are limited to whatever the manufacturer provides. Or you move onto a different device. Most reputable pod mod brands like SMOK offer great performing products, but you are limited to the products your specific manufacturer offers.
Vape mods: heavier and more maintenance.
While vape mods are maxed out when it comes to performance, you pay when it comes to convenience. Though they’re getting smaller and smaller, vape mods are still more significant, bulkier, and heavier than most pod mods, so it can be harder to vape discreetly. Vape mods also must be cleaned and maintained regularly for optimal clouds and maximum flavor. If you’re not a stickler for taking proper care of your toys, it could become a problem.
Pod mods: minor, if any, maintenance required.
Pod mods don’t require much maintenance other than filling your pod with nicotine e-juice once it runs out. But that poses another problem. You can’t clean a pod, so when you replace one flavor with another, some of that initial flavor inevitably lingers. Some people don’t notice it. But, for many seasoned vapers, this co-mingling of flavors is unacceptable. Some pod mod users even have multiple pods – one for each of their favorite flavors. This, of course, also costs extra.
Vape mods: the true flavor profile of glass tanks.
Vape mod tanks are almost always made of glass, which is a big advantage for purists. Glass is an inert substance, so it in no way impacts the flavor of any e-liquid contained.
Mod pods, however, are usually made of plastic, and some are convinced that plastic can compromise the flavor profile of e-liquids. Oddly enough, most e-liquids are shipped and sold in plastic bottles, so this argument may be a moot point. That’s for you to decide.
Vape mods: these devices may last longer.
This is particularly true if your favorite vape mod has a removable battery. Eventually, all lithium batteries used to power both vape and pod mods lose their capacity to hold a charge. If you have a vape mod that uses removable batteries, pop in a new one and keep puffing. Pod mod batteries are contained inside the device. It's time to lose the device once they lose their ability to take charge.
Pod mods: greater durability
Pod mods are made of impact-resistant plastic and are made to take a beating. It'll probably hold up even if you drop it, squeeze it, or toss it on a desk or counter. Additionally, unlike vape mods, pod mods are virtually leak-proof. Vape mods are more susceptible to problems due to the additional required parts. Additionally, the glass tanks of vape mods are susceptible to cracking if dropped. They’re also screwed on using threads, and if not appropriately attached, mod tanks can leak.
What’s best? Mod or pod mod?
It depends on who you are, how long you’ve been vaping, how much you want to spend, and your expectations regarding cloud control and performance.
Today’s pod mods are feature-rich and almost always deliver a great vaping experience. They’re easy to use, require little or no maintenance, and are more affordable than vape mods, making them great for folks new to vaping who still like the idea of having some power and control over those puffs.
Vape mods, while indeed not rocket science, are probably best left to seasoned cloud chasers, who have spent some time honing their preferences, demand maximum control over their puffs, and are willing to deal with the routine maintenance vape mods require.
Ultimately, the right vaping choice works best and feels right for you. This might not even be a mod or pod mod at all. It could be an e-cigarette, a disposable, or a traditional pod vape.
Vaping is a personal passion. Doing it your way is the path to happy vaping.
