Reference
The vaping glossary
Every term the spec sheets throw at you, defined plainly — and then the part most glossaries skip: what it actually means for the devices on this shelf. Sometimes the answer is that it means nothing, and that’s worth knowing too.
30 terms
Devices and formats
What the thing itself is, and what you throw away.
- Pod system
Any device where the e-liquid lives in a self-contained pod rather than a tank you fill yourself. That's the whole definition — charging, screens, and detachable pods are variations on top.
On our shelf: Everything in our disposables category is a pod system, including the sealed ones. "Pod system" and "disposable" aren't opposites.
See also:DisposablePod kit
- DisposableSealed disposable
A pod system where the pod and battery are built into one body and discarded together. Nothing detaches and nothing is replaced.
On our shelf: The Geek Bar Pulse 2 and Meloso MINI. When the liquid is gone, a battery you didn't wear out goes in the bin with it — which is the cost of the convenience.
See also:Pod kitPod system
- Pod kitKit · Detachable pod kit
A device split into a battery body and a replaceable pod. You keep the expensive half and replace the cheap one.
On our shelf: The Off-Stamp X-Cube Kit and the Foger Switch Pro. The X-Cube's refill is the Classic Cube pod; Foger's is the Switch Pod. Both are stocked here.
See also:PodDisposable
- Pod
The sealed container holding the e-liquid and the coil. On a kit, it's the part you replace.
On our shelf: Off-Stamp Classic Cube pods are 18mL and fit the X-Cube body. Pods are replaceable, not refillable — you swap the whole thing rather than topping it up, and we don't sell e-liquid.
- Nicotine pouch
A small pouch of nicotine you park against your gum. No burning, no battery, no draw — the nicotine is absorbed over a session rather than inhaled.
On our shelf: ZYN at 6mg in a single can, WYN at 10mg in a five-can sleeve. Both are tobacco-free formats, which is not the same as nicotine-free.
See also:Tobacco-freemg (pouches)
- 510 thread510
A threading standard connecting a battery to a cartridge — named for ten threads across five millimetres. Any 510 cartridge screws onto any 510 battery.
On our shelf: The RayGun Penjamin. Compatibility questions are almost never about the thread — electrically it always fits. They're about whether the cartridge fits the housing.
See also:CartridgeVariable voltage
- CartridgeCart
A pre-filled container that screws onto a 510 battery. It holds its own oil and coil; the battery only supplies power.
On our shelf: We sell the battery, not cartridges. The Penjamin holds 0.5g–1g inside its body and takes 2g-plus on top using the included adapters.
See also:510 thread
Numbers on the box
The specs that get quoted at you, and which ones actually predict anything.
- Puff count
A manufacturer's estimate of how many draws a device gives, measured by a machine taking short uniform draws at the lowest power setting until the liquid runs out.
On our shelf: The least useful number we print. It's liquid divided by liquid-per-puff, and manufacturers raise it by changing the second term — which is how a 25,000-puff Pulse 2 holds 16mL while a 25,000-puff Off-Stamp holds 18mL, and a 9,000-puff RAZ TN9000 holds 12mL. Compare millilitres.
See also:mL (millilitres)Boost mode
- mL (millilitres)E-liquid capacity
How much e-liquid the device physically holds. A volume, so it can't be optimised by changing test conditions.
On our shelf: The one spec that reliably predicts how long a device lasts. Our range runs 5mL (Meloso MINI) to 18mL (Off-Stamp). If you only read one number, read this one.
See also:Puff countPrice per mL
- Price per mL
Device price divided by e-liquid capacity — the honest way to compare cost across sizes.
On our shelf: The Meloso MINI is $9.99 for 5mL (~$2.00/mL); the Pulse 2 is $14.99 for 16mL (~$0.94/mL). It only counts liquid you actually finish, though — buy 16mL of a flavour you hate and your real cost per mL is far worse.
See also:mL (millilitres)
- mAh
Battery capacity. Higher means more charge held, and therefore longer between recharges — it says nothing about how much e-liquid there is.
On our shelf: The ratio to capacity is what matters. 16mL behind 800mAh (Pulse 2) means several recharges before the liquid is done. 5mL behind 550mAh (Meloso MINI) means they finish together, which is why it has no port.
See also:mL (millilitres)USB-C
- 5% / 50mgNicotine strength
Two ways of writing the same figure: 5% means 50 milligrams of nicotine per millilitre of e-liquid.
On our shelf: Every disposable we stock is 5% / 50mg. It's the category default rather than a choice, so there's effectively no strength decision to make within disposables — the range lives in the pouches.
See also:mg (pouches)Nicotine salt
- mg (pouches)
On a pouch, the nicotine content of one pouch — not how much reaches you. That depends mostly on how long you keep it in.
On our shelf: ZYN 6mg, WYN 10mg. Don't try to line these up against the 5% on a disposable: different format, different absorption, and the numbers don't convert.
See also:Nicotine pouch5% / 50mg
Inside the device
The parts that do the work, and the words printed next to them.
- Coil
The part that heats e-liquid into vapour. Originally a wound wire wrapped around a wick, which is where the name comes from.
On our shelf: Every device we sell has a sealed, non-replaceable coil. There is nothing to swap and no coil to buy — when the coil is done, the device is done.
- Mesh coilDual mesh
A flat perforated metal strip in place of a wound wire. Far more surface area against the wick, spread evenly rather than concentrated in a spiral, so it heats without hot spots. "Dual" means two of them.
On our shelf: Most devices we stock are dual mesh. The RAZ TN9000 lists mesh, without the dual. It matters when comparing against something elsewhere that doesn't mention mesh at all.
- Airflow
How air enters the device as you draw. Adjustable airflow lets you tighten or loosen it, which changes both the draw's feel and how harsh it seems.
On our shelf: The Off-Stamp Classic Cube lists 2-level airflow control; the RAZ TN9000 lists adjustable airflow. Airflow changes perceived harshness at identical nicotine levels — worth trying before assuming a device is too strong.
See also:Auto-drawThroat hit
- Auto-drawDraw-activated
The device fires when it senses you inhaling, rather than when you press a button. It needs a certain airflow to trigger.
On our shelf: This is why a device can read as dead when it's fine: a very soft or short pull can land under the sensor's threshold, and a blocked intake stops it triggering at all. Try a slower, longer draw before concluding anything.
See also:Airflow
- Boost modePulse mode · Turbo
A higher-power setting. More power vaporises more liquid per puff, so you get a bigger, warmer draw and the device runs out sooner.
On our shelf: The honest half of the spec sheet. Geek Bar rates the Pulse 2 at 25,000 puffs regular and 15,000 in Pulse; Foger names Boost and Normal on the Switch Pro without a second puff figure. Roughly, the marquee feature halves the marquee number.
See also:Puff countWattage (W)
- Wattage (W)
How much power the device drives its coil with. Higher wattage means more heat, more vapour, and faster consumption.
On our shelf: None of our current disposables publish wattage figures. Foger names Boost and Normal modes without watts; Geek Bar names Regular and Pulse the same way. Cross-brand power comparisons usually aren't possible.
See also:Boost modeVariable voltage
- Variable voltage
A battery setting that changes how hard it drives the cartridge's coil. Hotter gives bigger, warmer draws and faster consumption; cooler gives more flavour detail and longer life.
On our shelf: The RayGun Penjamin's four levels — 2.7V, 3.0V, 3.3V, 3.7V. Start new cartridges at 2.7V and step up only if the draw is too small. A burnt taste means step down, not push through.
See also:510 threadPreheat
- Preheat
A low-power pulse that warms thick or cold oil so it flows before you draw on it.
On our shelf: On the Penjamin. It's a fix for a cartridge that won't pull in the cold — not a step in normal use. If the draw is already fine, it just spends battery.
See also:Variable voltage
- USB-C
The charging connector used by essentially every rechargeable device in this category.
On our shelf: The Pulse 2, X-Cube, RAZ TN9000 and Penjamin all charge over USB-C. None of them lists a cable as included — check you own one. The Meloso MINI has no port at all.
See also:mAh
Liquid and chemistry
What's in the pod, and why the strength is what it is.
- Nicotine saltNic salt · Salts
Nicotine with an acid added — commonly benzoic acid — which lowers the pH and takes the harshness off. That's what made high strengths tolerable to inhale.
On our shelf: Why the whole shelf is 5%. Freebase nicotine gets harsh as strength rises and is rarely sold above about 20mg; salts removed that ceiling, and the disposable category standardised at 50mg.
See also:Freebase nicotine5% / 50mg
- Freebase nicotine
Nicotine in its plain, unmodified, alkaline form. Harsher as strength rises, which is the practical limit on how strong it can be sold.
On our shelf: Not what you'll find here. If you've read that 3mg or 6mg is a normal strength, that's freebase territory and a different class of hardware from anything on this shelf.
See also:Nicotine salt
- E-liquidVape juice · Juice
The liquid a device vaporises. Sold in bottles for refillable hardware; sealed inside the pod on everything else.
On our shelf: We don't sell e-liquid. Every device we stock arrives pre-filled and sealed, so there's nothing to top up and no VG/PG ratio for you to choose.
See also:mL (millilitres)Pod
- Tobacco-free
Contains no tobacco leaf. It does not mean nicotine-free, and it is not a safety claim.
On our shelf: Both our pouch brands are tobacco-free formats. They contain nicotine, nicotine is addictive, and they're for adults who already use nicotine.
See also:Nicotine pouch
Things going wrong
The vocabulary for what you're experiencing, so you can name it.
- Dry hitBurnt hit
The sharp, burnt taste of a coil firing without enough liquid feeding it. It's the coil you're tasting, not the flavour.
On our shelf: On a sealed device this means it's finished, even if the window still looks like it isn't. Continuing to draw won't recover anything — the coil can't be replaced.
- Throat hit
The sensation at the back of the throat on an inhale. Driven by nicotine strength, but also by airflow, power mode, and temperature.
On our shelf: Worth knowing because every disposable here is the same 5%. If one feels harsher than another at identical strength, that's airflow and power — not nicotine.
- Spitback
Small droplets of liquid reaching your mouth on a draw, usually with a faint crackle. Caused by liquid pooling in the coil rather than vaporising.
On our shelf: Most often after a device has been shaken, carried loose, or stored on its side. Store it upright, mouthpiece up, and let a warm one rest before drawing.
See also:Dry hit
- Short-circuit protection
A safety cutout that stops the device firing when it detects a fault, usually reported by a blinking light.
On our shelf: Why a blinking device with liquid still visible often isn't empty — protection has tripped. Rest it, charge it if it charges, and try again. The blink pattern varies by manufacturer; check the packaging.
See also:Auto-draw
Now you know the words. Which device?
The buying guides put these terms to work — which numbers matter, which are marketing, and what to actually buy.