How To Vape Like A Pro (Step By Step Guide)

Learning how to vape is easy — as long as you plan correctly and follow a few essential steps.

First, you need to identify the vapor delivery style you prefer. Next, pick a vaping device that suits your vaping habits and preferences.

This step-by-step guide will walk you through everything you need to know about vaping — from the basics of vaping e-liquids and nicotine strengths to nicotine side effects and helpful FAQs.

We’ll wrap it up by introducing you to a high-quality nicotine-free vape (from Cyclone Pods!)

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Types of Vapor Delivery (MTL & DTL)

Before picking your preferred vaping device and nicotine strength, you must choose the vapor delivery style you’ll best enjoy. Luckily, there are only two options to choose from — mouth-to-lung and direct-to-lung vaping.

Let’s look at them in depth.

1. Mouth-to-Lung Vaping

With mouth-to-lung (aka MTL) vaping, you pull the vapor into your mouth before inhaling it into the lungs. It’s similar to using a straw to suck up water or pulling on a traditional cigarette.

MTL vaping has characteristics that influence the taste, mouth feel, throat hit, and overall vaping experience.

For starters, an MTL vape device has restricted airflow and lower vapor production, allowing a concentrated flavor delivery. MTL vapes use high-nicotine e-liquids to account for these restrictions in airflow and vapor production — and pack quite a punch!

Did you know? Although most MTL vape juices have high-nicotine content, nicotine-free e-liquids (like from Cyclone Pods) are gaining popularity in the MTL world. They offer the same rich flavors and smooth throat hits, minus the nicotine.

Despite delivering high flavor and nicotine levels, MTL vapes have a very smooth throat hit.

2. Direct-to-Lung Vaping

With direct-to-lung (aka DTL) vaping, the vapor is inhaled directly into the lungs by taking a normal breath. This allows for longer, deeper pulls, creating a unique vaping experience.

DTL vapes have unrestricted airflow and large power output to create these large vapor clouds. To account for the high level of vapor production, the flavor and nicotine levels in DTL vapes need to be toned down.

Once you’ve chosen your preferred vaping technique, you can pick a suitable device and e liquid.

Now, let’s learn how to vape — because that’s why you’re here!

How To Vape Like a Pro (Step By Step Guide)

Follow these steps to start your vaping journey and make it both safe and pleasurable:

Step 1. Purchase a Vape Kit

Before you start vaping, you’ll need a vape!

Choose a vaping device (nicotine or nicotine-free) that best suits your desired vaping experience. Ensure you buy a device from a trusted vape supplier and get all the essential equipment you may need (charging cables, cleaning kits, etc.)

Step 2. Pick an E-liquid Strength

Once you have your device, you must choose an e liquid strength that best suits your nicotine requirements.

Seasoned cigarette smokers or vapers prefer an e-liquid with higher nicotine content. In contrast, casual smokers switching to vaping would enjoy a lower-nicotine e-liquid or even a nicotine-free e-liquid.

If you're in a rush, jump to our e-liquid nicotine levels and strengths breakdown.

When you have your device and e-liquid, it’s time to puff!

Step 3. Inhale, Hold, and Exhale

Inhaling a vape is simple if you follow the instructions for your vaping style - MTL or DTL.

Here’s what to do:

  • Draw or inhale from the vape
    For MTL vapes, take a slow and consistent “pull” from your device until the vapour has filled your mouth. This may feel like a cigar or cigarette smoking (if you're into that).

    For direct lung vapes, take a short but deep breath from your vape, ensuring you pull the vapor directly into your lungs — but don’t strain them. Only pull an amount that makes you feel comfortable.

  • Hold & exhale
    If you want to get the most out of your flavor with an MTL vape, hold the vapor in your mouth for 3-5 seconds before inhaling it into your lungs. This’ll allow you to get an intense flavor sensation.

    For DTL vapers, simply exhale right after the inhale (as if you were breathing normally). There’s no added benefit from holding in vapor during DTL vaping.

  • Wait before your next puff
    Give yourself a few seconds before taking another puff from your vape. It takes around eight seconds for the nicotine in your vapor to fully absorb. While it isn’t necessary to wait between puffs, it can elevate your vaping experience (and taking in some oxygen in between will do you good.)

    When you’re ready, repeat the steps and enjoy!

And there you have it —the basic steps you need to master the vaping technique. As promised, here’s a rundown of the types of vaping devices you can choose from.

Types of Vape Devices

Whether you prefer MTL or DTL vaping, nicotine vapes or nicotine-free ones, you have several types of vaping devices to choose from. Each type of device gives you a unique experience, and you should pick one that suits your vaping lifestyle.

Let’s look at the popular types of vapes available on the market today and which is ideal for you:

1. Disposable E-Cigarettes

Disposable e-cigarettes are the most popular and easy-to-use MTL portable vapes available. A disposable e cigarette is a prefilled vape lasting between 300-5000 puffs per device.

Ideal for: First-time vapers looking to try out new flavors frequently and experienced vapers who need a no-hassle backup device.

2. Vape Pens/E-Cigarettes

A vape pen (dab pen or electronic cigarette) is a step up from disposable vapes as they have a refillable vape cartridge and can be recharged. Besides nicotine, vape pens are also commonly used with cannabis oil cartridges.

While a vape pen requires more maintenance, it’ll save you frequent trips to the vape shop (a lifesaver when your disposable runs out at 2 am.)

Ideal for: First-time vapers looking for a reusable vaping system and smokers looking to transition away from cigarette smoking or other tobacco products.

3. Vape Mod

A vape mod (aka box mod or a mechanical vape) is a powerful direct lung (DTL) device that uses a large vape juice tank, a large vape coil, and high power output and airflow to produce massive vapor clouds.

While these large clouds are impressive, they are secondhand smoke hazards.

Ideal for: Experienced vapers looking for a customizable vaping experience and cloud chasers.

4. Pod Vapes (Pod Mod)

Pod mod devices are either reusable or disposable MTL vapes. These portable vapes typically use nicotine salt based e-liquids to deliver high doses of nicotine and flavor. They use a smaller sub-ohm vape coil and restricted airflow to produce less vapor.

Ideal for: Smokers who want to switch from a traditional cigarette or tobacco products to a vape kit or a regular vaper looking for a convenient second vape device.

5. Dry Herb Vaporizers

A dry herb vaporizer uses conduction or convection heating to vaporize dry herbs. While a dry herb vaporizer is commonly used for vaping cannabis flowers, it’s also growing in popularity among tobacco users.

Dry herb vaporizers use a ceramic coil that cannot heat mediums such as cannabis oil, waxes, or liquids. This means you can’t use traditional e-liquids with them either.

Ideal for: Tobacco or cannabis users looking to reduce their exposure to harmful chemicals found in regular cigarettes and cannabis products.

Note: Vaping marijuana is largely illegal in many states of the US.

Next, we'll look at the different types of e-liquids and nicotine strength options available on the market.

A Quick Intro to Vaping E-liquids & Nicotine Strengths

Vape juice is a liquid that carries flavor and nicotine and is vaporized by your vaping device.

E-liquids usually contain four main ingredients — vegetable glycerin (VG), propylene glycol (PG), nicotine (unless nicotine-free), and flavoring.

E-juice makers may use varying ratios of VG and PG to tweak vaping characteristics like flavor intensity, throat kick, vapour production, and nicotine content (learn more in our article about nicotine vape levels.)

Before we get started, here’s a quick overview of the two types of nicotine, their strengths, and who they’re for:

  Nicotine Strength Used in Ideal for
Nicotine salts 25 to 60mg Low-powered mouth-to-lung vaping (MTL) devices First-time vapers, Ex-smokers who need a high nicotine intake with a smooth throat kick
Freebase Nicotine 0 to 20mg High-powered, direct-to-lung vaping (DTL) devices Smokers and vapers who puff in short bursts and prefer a strong throat kick

A. Nicotine Salts

A nicotine salt based vape juice combines nicotine alkaloid (extracted from tobacco plant leaves) with benzoic acid.

The result?

An e-liquid that can hold more nicotine than freebase e-liquids while still creating a smooth and pleasant feeling in the throat.

This is because nic salts have a lower pH than freebase nicotine and use a more VG-dominant juice as their base. A higher VG ratio allows for lower vapor production and more intense flavors.

They are also more bioavailable (higher nicotine absorption rate in the body) than freebase nicotine.

This type of e-liquid is primarily used in low-voltage, sub-ohm coil devices, such as pod-based mouth-to-lung (MTL) systems, vape pens, and disposable e cigarette devices.

Why?

These low-voltage devices have lower vapor production, preventing you from inhaling high nicotine levels with each puff.

B. Freebase Nicotine

A freebase nicotine e-liquid is made by changing nicotine from its natural “salt state” into a pure nicotine concentration.

Even at low doses, this pure nicotine creates a high nicotine strength e-liquid, making it a popular and cost-effective choice for nicotine vapers.

The higher potency of freebase nicotine creates a strong throat hit, which is often harsh to vape at higher nicotine levels.

The solution?
Relatively low nicotine level in the e-juice (than nicotine salt based juice).

Freebase e-liquids are commonly used in mod vapes with high power output and unrestricted airflow. For this reason, they need to be toned down in the flavor and nicotine departments to account for the large increase in vapor production.

What you’re left with is a perfect balance between vapor production and nicotine potency.

The best part?

If you are a “cloud-chaser” who enjoys doing the occasional vape trick with an electronic cigarette, freebase e-liquid is the perfect choice for you!

While these two types of nicotine-e-liquid are very different, they share one commonality — nicotine. And we all know that nicotine is a highly addictive substance that brings many health problems with it,

But what if you want to take a safer route and completely avoid vaping nicotine?
We’re glad you asked!

C. Nicotine-Free

Nicotine-free e-liquids are similar to regular e-juices but exclude nicotine!
Like nic salts, nicotine-free e-liquids use a VG-dominant base to create a smooth throat kick and a rich flavor profile.

Nicotine-free e-liquids are growing in popularity, especially in pod vapes and disposable devices.

Why?

Vaping without nicotine exposes you to far fewer harmful chemicals than traditional e-liquids. This reduces the risks of side effects like nicotine addiction!



Voila! Everything you need to know about the art of vaping. If we missed some of your questions, let’s answer some FAQs about vaping.

4 FAQs About Vaping

Here are the answers to some vaping-related questions that may pop up in your mind.

1. How Does Vaping Feel at First?

First-time vapers using nicotine e-liquids will likely experience a “nicotine buzz” (headrush).

A nicotine buzz makes you lightheaded, a side effect that occurs less as use continues. Your brain and body will gradually build up a tolerance to nicotine, reducing the impact of a headrush.

If you’re an ex tobacco cigarette smoker, you may already be familiar with headrushes.

2. How Much Should I Vape?

It’s difficult to give you an exact number of puffs, but if you’re an ex-smoker, these comparisons to a tobacco cigarette may help.

  • If you’re a heavy smoker (one pack a day or more), consider vaping between 1-2ml of e-liquid daily (around 1-2 pods).

  • If you’re a moderate smoker (half a pack daily), you may need between 0.5-1ml of e-liquid daily.

  • A light smoker (10 regular cigarettes or less per day), you’ll enjoy vaping less than 0.5ml of e-liquid daily. A light cigarette smoker may also enjoy nicotine-free e-liquids, which may help you gradually get off your nicotine completely.

3. What Are the Side Effects of Vaping?

Unfortunately, there are many side effects linked to vaping nicotine e-liquids. Here are the six main side effects you may experience when vaping nicotine:

 

  • Asthma: Vaping can increase the risk of developing asthma and other lung conditions. Vaping can also worsen existing asthma or lung conditions.

  • Organ damage: Nicotine has been found to affect brain development in youths. It can also raise your blood pressure and narrow your arteries. Vaping also contributes greatly to increased lung disease and lung injury cases.

  • Nicotine addiction: Nicotine is a highly addictive compound that causes changes in your brain that result in cravings and withdrawal.

  • EVALI: E-cigarette, or Vaping Product, Use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) is a severe lung condition caused by vaping a chemical called vitamin E-acetate — an ingredient found in low-quality vaping products that causes severe lung injury.

  • Cancer: A recent study from the National Institute of Health suggests that nicotine has the ability to promote the growth of existing cancer cells in the body (such as lung cancer cells).

  • Headaches: Ingredients in e-liquids such as propylene glycol (PG) and nicotine cause dehydration by repelling water absorption in the body. Ensure you drink plenty of fluids when vaping.

  • Nausea: Nicotine in high doses is known to cause nausea and abdominal discomfort.

4. Where Can I Buy High-Quality Vapes?

If you’re looking to buy high-quality vapes free from harmful chemicals like nicotine — look no further than Cyclone Pods!

What’s Cyclone Pods?

It’s a US-based online vape shop that provides a world-class vaping product range that is free from harmful substances like:

  • Nicotine
  • Diacetyl
  • Vitamin E-acetate
  • Formaldehyde


Looking to test out nicotine-free vapes for yourself?
The Gust Super from Cyclone Pods is a great pick! It comes in 11 delicious flavors, packs in over 5000 puffs, and is rechargeable.



If you seek a vape with replaceable pods, try the Thunder Device from Cyclone Pods.

The Thunder Device is a pod-based vape that’s sleek and powerful, with a large internal battery that lasts days at a time!

Vape Safer With Cyclone Pods

Learning how to vape properly may seem daunting at first, but with some prep and practice, you’ll be a vaping pro in no time!

Ensure you find a high-quality device and the right e-liquid nicotine strength before diving deep to avoid unnecessary side effects. Alternatively, you can skip the hassle by checking out Cyclone Pods instead!

Cyclone Pods only provides the highest-quality nicotine-free vaping product range, giving you the confidence that you’re vaping with a health-first mindset.

So what are you waiting for?

Head to Cyclone Pods today to kickstart your journey to a safer and more fulfilling vaping experience.

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