The best closed pod vaping systems buying guide

The Best Closed Pod Vaping Systems: Buying Guide

When the JUUL e-cigarette hit the American market in 2015, it’s not an exaggeration to say that the vaping community was forever changed. Before JUUL, every e-cigarette marketed to beginning vapers looked as much like a tobacco cigarette as possible. The small “cigalikes” that filled the shelves at gas stations and convenience stores were fine for first timers, but people quickly upgraded from those devices to refillable vape pens or mods once they became accustomed to vaping.

Pod systems, on the other hand, were something entirely different. Although they were barely larger than tobacco cigarettes, they were satisfying enough that new vapers who used them didn’t necessarily feel compelled to immediately upgrade to bigger and more powerful vaping devices. In fact, many experienced vapers actually began to “downgrade” from their larger mods to the more compact but equally satisfying pod systems.

Today, JUUL remains one of the best-known makers of pod vaping systems, but the most popular product in a category isn’t always the best product. Further adding to the difficulty in choosing the best pod vaping system is the fact that – just like the cigalikes of old – most closed pod systems look fairly similar to one another. Their differences aren’t relatively apparent on the surface.

What Are Pod Vaping Systems?

Pod vaping systems are small vaping devices that store their e-liquid in disposable plastic pods. A pod is a self-contained unit that contains about enough e-liquid for a full day of vaping and a heating coil that vaporizes the e-liquid. Since each pod includes a new heating coil, replacing the pod effectively gives you the same vaping experience that you’d have with a completely new device. The drop-in pod system also makes it easy to change flavours when the mood strikes you.

Pod systems are incredibly easy to use. All that you need to do to maintain a pod system is keep the battery charged and replace the pods as necessary. Just puff on the device to vape – that’s it!

Should My First E-Cigarette Be a Pod System?

Pod systems are some of the best e-cigarettes for beginners because they are reliable and require virtually no tinkering or troubleshooting while having excellent vapour production for their small size. Pod systems are also generally more satisfying than cigalikes because they use an innovative type of vape juice called nicotine salt e-liquid that has only been in common use for the past few years. Nicotine salt e-liquid has a more neutral pH than standard e-liquid, so it is very smooth and easy to inhale even at the high nicotine strengths that a small vaping device requires to deliver the same satisfaction as a tobacco cigarette. 

Because pod systems can deliver nicotine about as efficiently as tobacco cigarettes, switching to vaping with a pod system is much easier than switching to vaping with a cigalike. Cigalikes tend to deliver less nicotine than tobacco cigarettes.

Should I Try a Pod System if I Already Vape?

Some existing vapers have switched from larger mods to smaller pod systems. You might be a good candidate for switching if you’re tired of using a device that produces enormous clouds and goes through a huge amount of e-liquid. If you can’t help but feel a bit obnoxious when you’re blowing huge clouds across a room, you might love using a pod system. With a pod system, you’ll also use significantly less e-liquid while still getting roughly the same amount of nicotine.

If you are already a full-time vaper, one important thing to keep in mind about switching to a pod system is that the device you’re currently using – if it isn’t a pod system – doesn’t deliver as much nicotine as a tobacco cigarette. The highest-strength pod systems have more than 50 mg of nicotine in each ml of e-liquid. That’s much more nicotine than you want if you have already quit smoking. Look for a nicotine strength of around 25 mg instead.

Pod Systems vs. Vape Pens

Some vape pens may look similar to pod systems, but they’re different in that, in most pod systems, the entire pod is the disposable component of the device. Each time you replace a pod, you’re getting both a new tank and a new atomizer coil.

With a vape pen, on the other hand, you keep the tank while removing and replacing just the atomizer coil. Some people find atomizer coil replacement inconvenient and messy and prefer the cleanliness of replacing an entire pod when it’s out of e-liquid. Vape pens, however, do have certain benefits of their own. Vape pens tend to produce more vapour than pod systems. Since vape pens typically have borosilicate glass tanks, they often produce very pure flavours. Since an atomizer coil for a vape pen often lasts through several refills, a vape pen may also be less expensive to own than a pod system.

Closed vs. Open Pod Vaping Systems

The difference between closed and open pod vaping systems is that closed systems use pre-filled pods that are designed for just a single use each. That’s the most convenient way to vape because you’ll simply use a pod until it runs out of e-liquid, and you’ll then throw the pod away and start using a new one. Closed pod systems are the best vaping devices for beginners, and those are the devices that we’ll discuss in this article.

Open pod systems use empty pods that you fill yourself with bottled e-liquid. You can refill each pod several times, and since bottled e-liquid is less expensive than pre-filled pods, an open pod system may be less costly to use over time than a closed system. Open systems aren’t the most beginner-friendly vaping devices, though, so you’ll probably be happiest if you start with a closed system as your first vaping device.

The Best Closed Pod Vaping Systems

The pod system category is the fastest-growing segment of the vaping industry, and companies all over the world have developed or are developing systems of their own to market to buyers in that segment. A few of those systems have claimed positions of clear industry leadership, though, and those are the systems that we’ll discuss here. These are the best closed pod systems currently on the market.

JUUL

With a share exceeding 70 percent in the world’s biggest vaping market – the United States – the JUUL e-cigarette is the single most popular vaping device in the world. In a sense, it’s true to say that buying the JUUL means that you’re buying the best. When you buy the JUUL, you know you’re getting a reliable device backed by years of testing and refinement. You also know that the pods will be easy to find because practically every shop that carries vaping products stocks JUUL pods.

The standard nicotine strength for JUUL pods is about 59 mg/ml, although lower-strength pods are beginning to make their way around the world. JUUL pods hold 0.7 ml of e-liquid each, and the JUUL battery has a capacity of 200 mAh.

One of the best features of the JUUL is that its pods have temperature-sensing coils. As long as you use the device with the official pods, you’ll never experience a harsh “dry hit” if you puff too aggressively, or a pod runs out of juice. If the wick in a pod is dry, the JUUL simply stops producing vapour until you resolve the issue. 

If you’re not sure which JUUL flavour to try first, we highly recommend the Mango flavour. It’s probably the single most popular e-liquid flavour in the world, and that makes it difficult to find at times. It’s a good thing that so many companies make JUUL-compatible pods. 

MyBlu

The MyBlu e-cigarette is the new pod system from one of the oldest brands in the vaping industry. With more than a decade of industry experience, Blu has its flavour development down to a science. Each product in the Blu flavour range is delicious and satisfying.

The MyBlu pod system is slightly larger than the JUUL, and the increased size translates to a larger pod size and better battery life. MyBlu pods hold 1.5 ml of e-liquid. That’s more than double the capacity of the JUUL, and most people find that a single MyBlu pod holds enough e-liquid to last through two full battery charge/discharge cycles. The capacity of the MyBlu battery, meanwhile, is 350 mAh. 

MyBlu pods are available in lower nicotine strengths than what you’ll find with many other pod systems, and that makes MyBlu a perfect choice if you already vape because you’ve already adjusted to consuming a lower amount of nicotine than what you’d get from smoking cigarettes. The two nicotine strengths available for MyBlu pods are 9 mg and 18 mg. The 18 mg strength uses nicotine salt e-liquid.

Bo One

With flavours like melon, lemonade and raspberry wafer, the people at Bo Vaping have obviously worked overtime to develop e-liquids guaranteed to please anyone with a sweet tooth. The Bo One has some of the most unique flavours that you’re likely to find in the world of pod vaping systems, and that alone merits a recommendation of the Bo One device. The other feature that makes the Bo One pod system stand out is the incredible appearance of the device. The Bo One device is designed from the ground up to look like a completely modern and fashionable vaping device, and it makes the JUUL look positively old in comparison. 

Like the MyBlu system, the Bo One device is a little larger than the JUUL. The Bo One has a battery capacity of 380 mAh. The pods contain 1.2 ml of e-liquid with a nicotine strength of 30 or 50 mg. A fully charged battery will provide more than enough life to drain a full pod, and a full pod can easily provide more than enough e-liquid for a full day of vaping.

The Bo One may cost a bit more than some other pod systems, but it also comes with something that you’re not likely to find anywhere else: a lifetime warranty. If your Bo One device stops working – and it’s not due to misuse or modification – you can get a replacement device. The Bo One lifetime warranty can potentially save you an enormous amount of money over the long term.

Myle

If you want a pod vaping system that truly looks like an Apple product, you should look no further than the incredibly stylish Myle pod system. The Myle pod system is made from aluminium, so it’ll look great next to your laptop while feeling great in the hand and offering plenty of durabilities. The Myle device is also great for pocket carrying because the pods are extremely resistant to leaking.

The Myle pod vaping system has a battery capacity of 240 mAh. The pods hold a bit more e-liquid than JUUL pods at 0.9 ml, and they’re available in a nicotine strength of 50 mg. There are plenty of classic flavours available for the Myle system – including some delicious tobacco and mango flavours – but if you want something really unique, you should head straight to the wonderful Poundcake flavour. Bakery flavours are very rare in the world of pod vaping systems, and Myle’s Poundcake flavour is so delicious that you’ll surely want to vape it all day.