The 7 Best Alternatives To Disposable Vapes In 2025
With the UK government recently announcing its plans to ban disposable vape devices, now is the time to get your hands on some of the environmentally friendly, reusable kits on the market.
With these devices, you're not only saving the planet but also saving yourself a few quid.
The batteries in these kits are rechargeable, so they can be reused again and again.
Plus, once you've bought the kit, the only other things you need to buy are the coils and vape juice, which cost considerably less than replacing your disposables every week.
All things considered, investing in a reusable vape kit over buying disposables is a no-brainer.
We've chosen the most sustainable, high-quality alternatives right now. Which of our picks takes your fancy?
In this article
- Vaporesso XROS 3 Mini
- Aspire Flexus Q
- SKE Crystal Plus
- Elf Bar Mate 500
- Elf Bar Elfa
- Geekvape Wenax H1
- Vaporesso XROS Pro
- Frequently asked questions
1. Vaporesso XROS 3 Mini: Best all-round alternative to disposables
Price: £17.99
User review
“This kit is convenient and easy to use. It’s just like a disposable, but definitely more worth your money.”
Lucy Kiey — verified Vapekit customer
Quickfire summary
- Pocket-friendly, ergonomic design
- 1000 milliampere-hour (mAh) battery capacity
- Battery charge indicator
- Includes a 2ml refillable 0.6ohm pod
- Built-in mesh coil
- Inhale activated
- Output of 16W
- Intelligent chipset
- Comes with Type-C charging cable
- Supports different vaping styles
What’s to love about it
We chose the Vaporesso XROS 3 Mini as our top pick as we couldn’t single out one feature we most liked about it.
It’s our second highest-selling Vaporesso product at the time of writing, and it’s got a bit of everything.
It’s stylish, thanks to its gradient and 3D diamond-texture fascia.
It’s pocket-friendly, thanks to its dimensions of 99.2mm (H) x 23.6mm (W) x 13.8mm (D).
It's easy to use, thanks to its buttonless inhale activation technology — you just puff on the mouthpiece, and away you go (but if you're filling a new pod for the first time, allow for five minutes for your juice to saturate the cotton before you begin).
It's also suited to both mouth-to-lung (MTL) and restricted-direct-to-lung (RDTL) vaping, thanks to its pod compatibility.
This kit has a built-in 0.6ohm mesh coil, but as it’s compatible with the highly-ratedXROS pods, you can choose replacement pods with coils boasting resistances of 0.8 ohm, 1.0 ohm, and 1.2 ohm, depending on your preferences.
Powered by a 1000 mAh battery, it guarantees a consistent all-day vaping experience and will last you many hours between charges.Considering some disposables will only last you up to two days before you throw them away and buy another, this is a hugely advantageous feature.
The XROS 3 Mini will appeal to vapers of all levels, especially beginners, and it confirms why Vaporesso is such a well-respected hardware brand.
2. Aspire Flexus Q: Best for fast charging
Price: £19.99
User review
"I've used this kit for years. It's reliable and produces a good hit. It's also small, compact, and great to throw in my bag."
Samantha Hegarty — verified Vapekit customer
Quickfire summary
- Super fast charging capability with USB-C port
- 700 mAh battery capacity
- Inhale or button activated
- Three output settings
- 12-18W output range
- Contains 2ml refillable pods that are compatible with theAspire Flexus Q AF replacement coils
- Comes with 0.6ohm and 1ohm mesh coils
- Adjustable airflow slider for a customised vaping experience
What’s to love about it
The Aspire Flexus Q reaches 80% battery capacity in — wait for it — 10 minutes.
Yes, you read that right. 10 minutes to reach almost full charge.
This insane charging speed is made possible by the Flexus Q's 3A USB Type-C charging port and is ideal if you're time-poor and regularly vape on the go. You can charge this kit at home or in the car, and you're good to go.
Another major benefit of this kit is its adaptability. Its output range and choice of coils means it can support both MTL and RDTL inhalation styles, as outlined in our above summary, and its adjustable airflow slider allows you to choose how much vapour it produces.
You can also pick from two activation methods, which, of course, not all vape kits have. (Note:If you opt for the button activation, five clicks will fire up this device. When it’s in use, you’ll be shown one of three types of indication light. Green indicates that it’s got over 60% charge, blue indicates 30-59% charge, and red indicates 30% or below.)
The refillable pod enables you to vape your favourite e liquids and is easy to refill. We recommend that you top up with50/50 e liquids, as these are the most suitable for the set-up.
Like the Vaporesso XROS 3 Mini, this kit is lightweight, easy to carry around, and cold to the touch. But despite its sleek design, it’s also durable as it’s made from zinc alloy material, meaning you have the perfect balance of style and sturdiness.
All of these examples pose the question — do Aspire make bad kits? We don’t think so!
Related:The Best Aspire Kits
3. SKE Crystal Plus: Best for look and feel
Price: £7.99
User review
“This vape bar has really changed my vaping experience. I went from buying a disposable every day to being able to spend less and protect the environment.
It’s a perfect invention for someone who wants to save money on disposable vapes and do better for the environment.”
Aaron Whiting — verified Vapekit customer
Quickfire summary
- 400mAh battery capacity
- Inhale activated
- Compatible with a wide range of prefilled pods
- Comes with a type-C charging cable
- Supports MTL vaping
What’s to love about it
If you know your vape kits, you’ll have come across this one countless times. And if you don’t know much about it, you’ll see what the fuss is about by the time you’re done reading.
We’ll get to its performance features, but the standout feature of this device is its aesthetic appeal.
It doesn’t look like just any other vaping device — its inner tube is wrapped in a colourful metallic material, giving it a glistening effect.
It’s available in five striking colours, most of which are unorthodox. For instance, the blue is a minty blue, and the aurora blue and aurora green options are amalgamations of different colours. It goes against the norm in terms of what you expect a vape kit to look like.
Its shell feels soft to the touch, and it’s made from stainless steel, so it doesn’t compromise on durability.
It’s compatible with the SKE prefilled pods, each of which contains 2ml of salt nicotine e liquid, andthese pods are available in 15 different flavours at the time of writing. You can see the full list of flavours by clicking on the related link below.
These nicotine salt e liquids will give you lots of flavour. They’ll also provide instant relief of your nicotine cravings and a smooth throat hit, which is ideal if you’re coming off the cigarettes and want to make a seamless transition to vaping.
For the ridiculously low price of £7.99, you can't go wrong with this kit. Even if you're a fairly frequent vaper, you won't pay much more than £10 per week for the prefilled pods.
Considering you’d probably be paying about double that per week for a disposable, you can see where the long-term value is here.
Every bit as convenient as a disposable but also rechargeable, it’s proven to be one of the best — and you can see why it’s one of the most searched-for kits on our website.
Related:Everything You Need To Know About the SKE Crystal Plus Pod Kit
Related:The Best SKE Crystal Flavours
4. Elf Bar Mate 500: Best for flavour variety
Price: £7.95
User review
“This kit is very easy and simple to use, it provides a great flavour, and it’s cheaper than disposable vapes with no coils or refilling to do.
It helped me stop smoking, and I would recommend it.”
Helen McGrath — verified Vapekit customer
Quickfire summary
- Slick matte finish
- Eight colour options to choose from
- Compact, portable design
- 500 mAh battery capacity
- Compatible with prefilled and refillable pods
- Adjustable airflow for a customised vaping experience
- Inhale activated
- LED battery indicator for easy monitoring
- Comes with a USB Type-C charging cable
What’s to love about it
If you’ve used Elf Bars before, the Mate 500 is compatible with all the disposable vape flavours you know and love — only this time, you won’t have to feel guilty about causing further damage to the environment.
It’s compatible with the Elf Bar P1 prefilled pods, which come in 33 different flavour options!There’s so much choice that you’re bound to find a flavour that whets your appetite.
You can view the full range of podshere. When you scroll through the list of flavours, you’ll see why the Mate 500 is widely considered to be the best prefilled pod vape kit on the market.
Alternatively, you can opt for the refillable P1 pods, which allow you to vape with a range of e liquids or nic salts. The choice is yours.
A close rival to the SKE Crystal Plus for overall design, the Elf Bar Mate 500 screams premium from the moment you lay eyes on it.
It’s made from aircraft-grade aluminium and has a refined matte texture, so it’ll not only feel smooth in your hand, but it’s a solid piece of kit too.
Its design is pretty clean and minimalist, save for the distinctive Elf Bar logo, which further adds to its slick vibe.
It’s also very slim, so it’s perfect for carrying around in your pocket.
You’ll find it easy to use, thanks to its inhale activation, lack of buttons, and LED battery indicator. This indicator lights up when the device is charging and the light goes from red to green once it’s reached full charge, which typically takes around two hours.
Elf Bar is a quintessential name in vaping hardware, and it lives up to its reputation with this versatile, elegant piece of kit.
5. Elf Bar Elfa: Best for ease of use
Price: £7.99
User review
“This kit is much better than the Elf bar disposables. It holds its charge for a long time and the mouth feel is so smooth. I would highly recommend it.”
Emma Bradley — verified Vapekit customer
Quickfire summary
- 500 mAh battery capacity
- Includes a 2ml refillable pod
- Supports MTL vaping
- Compatible with theElfa and Elfa Pro prefilled pods
- Comes with 1 xBlue Razz Lemonade Elfa pod
- Inhale activated
- USB-C fast charging capability
What’s to love about it
You might be wondering why we’ve included the Elf Bar Mate 500 AND Elf Bar Elfa in our article. Whilst they look similar, there are notable differences between them.
Arguably the biggest difference is that the Elfa more closely resembles the Elf Bar 600 disposables in how it looks and feels.
It’s more sleek and pen-like, so if you want the familiar feel that you’re used to, this is the safer bet of the two. It also has the same soft-touch material and ergonomic, duck-shaped mouthpiece as the Elf Bar 600 (as alluded to by our customer, whom we’ve quoted above). To activate it, you simply inhale — there are no complicated buttons or controls to deal with.
You won’t feel like you’re using a different device to the Elf Bar 600, which is why we’ve chosen this as the easiest kit to use from the ones we’ve selected.
Like the Elf Bar Mate 500, it has a stripped-back design. The only difference between the two is that it has the letters E L F A emblazoned along the bottom, which look pretty cool.
As we wrote in our summary above, the Elfa contains a 2ml prefilled pod. When this pod is empty, you simply pull it out and replace it with another one.
All of the pods with which this kit is compatible have a 50:50 ratio of Vegetable Glycerin (VG) and Propylene Glycol. They are therefore best suited to MTL vaping and will deliver the same discreet vapour you get from smoking a cigarette.
Although you don’t get the same range of flavours as you do with the Mate 500 (13 compared to 33), you still get all the same classic flavours as if you were vaping an Elf Bar 600.
The 500 mAh battery will last you up to 600 puffs between charges — around four days for the casual vaper — and this device accepts type-C USB charging (although it doesn’t come with a charging cable). As a general rule, it should reach full charge within an hour.
We don’t want to keep hammering the cost point home, but for £7.99, and considering everything it’s got going for it, the Elfa is clearly a better option than its disposable counterpart.
Related:The Elf Bar Elfa vs the Elf Bar Mate 500 – 6 Key Comparisons
6. Geekvape Wenax H1: Best for leak resistance
Price: £17.99
User review
“Geekvape claims this kit is leakproof and I have yet to see it leak since using it, so I am led to believe them.
It vapes really nicely thanks to the mesh coils, and you’ll get through a whole day of vaping without having to charge it up thanks to the battery life.”
VapingwithTwisted420 — YouTube
Quickfire summary
- Leakproof design
- 1000 mAh battery capacity
- Comes with 0.7ohm and 1.4ohm mesh coil pods
- Includes 2x2ml refillable pods
- Three different power modes
- 7-19W output range
- Inhale or button activated
- USB-C fast charging capability
What’s to love about it
If you’ve struggled with leakage before, as have many angry vapers all over the world, then the Wenax H1 for you.
Geekvape guarantees a leakproof performance with this kit, due to the five-layer protective silicone structure within the 2ml pods.
And if the reviews of this kit are anything to go by, Geekvape is true to its word.
Let’s face it, five layers is a lot to go through, so it’s a pretty safe bet that any loose droplets will have nowhere to go.
The Wenax H1’s battery capacity is another major selling point, as highlighted by the reviewer whom we’ve quoted above. 1000 mAh should give you a day’s usage before you need to recharge.
You’ll love this device if you’re a mouth-to-lung vaper due to its built-in mesh coil pods. Because the coils are made from mesh, they’ll heat up quicker than other coils and give you a more intense flavour. The 0.7ohm pods work best with freebase nicotine and higher VG e liquids, while the 1.4ohm pods are better suited to nicotine salt e liquids.
The three different power settings give you total control over how much vapour you produce, which is a big pro.
Although this pod kit is slightly more expensive than others we’ve featured at £17.99, all of the above points should sell it to you. And being able to refill your pods without crippling anxiety is surely worth every penny?!
You can see this kit in action by clicking on the link in our user review section, or by checking out Mike Vapes’ reviewhere.
7. Vaporesso XROS Pro: Best for battery capacity
Price: £26.99
User review
“I have been getting along so well with this battery. When I’m around the house and around the world with many pods in my hands and pockets, the XROS Pro has outlasted all of them.”
Quickfire summary
- 1200 mAh battery capacity
- 5-30W output range
- Compatible with 0.4ohm, 0.6ohm, 0.8ohm and 1.2 ohm pods
- Supports, MTL, RDTL and DTL vaping
- Adjustable airflow for a customised vaping experience
- Includes a mechanical lock switch
- Seven colour options to choose from
What’s to love about it
We've started and ended our article with a Vaporesso entry (because, you know, their kits are amazing), and the XROS Pro is the perfect final entry on our list, given the premise behind our article, i.e., that you should say goodbye to short-lived experiences and hello to sustainability.
Unlike disposables, this kit is built to last, as proven by its battery capacity.1200 mAh should give you up to two day’s worth of charge if you’re a casual vaper. If you're a fairly heavy vaper, it’ll give you a full day's worth of charge in the worst-case scenario.
You’ll get the most from this fantastic feature if you use the 0.6ohm, 0.8ohm and 1.2ohm pods, as they allow you to use Eco Mode to preserve battery life.
On that point, the XROS pods that this kit is compatible with come in four different resistances, as we summarised above. As Vaporesso states on its website, this kit is the first in the XROS series to feature a 0.4ohm pod and adjustable power up to 30W, offering a restricted-direct-to-lung experience.
The fact it supports three different inhalation styles (including direct-to-lung) sets it apart from other kits we’ve featured in this article, and makes it suitable for every type of vaper.
Its adjustable airflow gives you an even more tailored experience, allowing you to find your perfect draw.
Then there’s the lock button, a neat security feature which stops the power coming on and gives you peace of mind. You won’t have to worry about draining the battery or feeling an unwanted hot sensation on your leg when you’re sitting on the bus!
Like the Elf Bar Mate 500, this kit comes in a wide range of colours, which will appeal to the more style-conscious vapers out there.
Those are our main takeaways for this kit. As with every summary we’ve written, we don’t want to hurt your eyes by listing every single thing we like about it!
If you want to see it for yourself and find out more about it, you can do so by checking out the YouTube review we linked to above.
Frequently asked questions about reusable and disposable vaping devices
Why are disposable vape kits considered harmful to the environment?
When a disposable vape is thrown away, non-biodegradable plastic waste is released into the environment. This waste is difficult to recycle, which leads to pollution and endangers wildlife.
Furthermore, the lithium in disposable vapes can be a fire hazard if you don’t dispose of them correctly. So, you’re not only endangering the environment and wildlife, but also potentially yourself.
Brits throw away a staggering 5 million disposables a week, according tothis articlefrom Greenpeace.
What makes a vape kit eco-friendly?
An eco-friendly vape kit is designed with sustainability in mind.
Its features include rechargeability, use of recyclable materials, refillable tanks or pods, single coils, and a durable construction to reduce the need for frequent replacements.
These features minimise waste and the environmental footprint associated with vaping.
Are eco-friendly vape kits more expensive than disposables?
In a word — no.
A reusable vape kit is more expensive than a disposable vape kit in a single transaction, but in the long run it’s far more cost-effective. This is because you’re only paying for replacement e liquid and some new coils every few weeks.
Whilst we don’t want to go into specific numbers (as every vaper goes through e liquid at different rates) we can say with confidence thatyou’ll spend half as much on a reusable kit per month than you would on a disposable, possibly even three times less.
Now is the time to steal a march on the disposable vape users paying over the odds and be kind to your wallet.
Can eco-friendly vape kits provide the same quality of vaping experience as disposables?
Yes, eco-friendly vape kits offer a comparable, if not better, vaping experience compared to disposables.
As shown by our inclusions of the Elf Bar Mate 500 and Elf Bar Elfa, these kits are designed to match the flavour intensity you get from using disposables, while still giving you a swift relief of your nicotine cravings.
Plus, many of them come with advanced features like adjustable power settings, adjustable airflow, and improved vapour production to enhance your overall experience.
What should I look for in an eco-friendly vape kit?
The best eco-friendly alternatives to disposables include rechargeable pod systems, vape pens, and mod kits that are refillable and made from sustainable materials.
When choosing an eco-friendly kit, you should look for devices with long battery life, refillable tanks or pods, and compatibility with a wide range of e liquids.
How can I ensure that my vaping habit is as eco-friendly as possible?
To make your vaping habit eco-friendly, follow these steps:
- Choose reusable and refillable vape kits
- Buy liquids that come in recyclable packaging
- Properly recycle your vape waste such as pods
- Opt for e liquids made with sustainable ingredients such as Vegetable Glycerin, Propylene Glycol, natural flavourings, nicotine, and water.
Check out our full range of beginner vape kits
We’ve only included a snapshot of the kits we believe to be the best disposable vape alternatives. There are plenty more where they came from.
You can explore our full range of pod kits by clicking on the button below, or you can read our write-up of the best pod vape kitshere.
Save the planet and your penniesNeed some new coils to go with your kit?
Even if you’re a casual vaper, you’ll find that you need to change your coils every few weeks.
It’s easy to forget to do it until you get a few dry hits and a burnt taste!
Don’t let it get to this point and keep yourself well stocked by purchasing our vape coils.
We sell coils from Aspire, Innokin, 88vape, Geek Vape, SMOK, Vaporesso, VooPoo, and many more.
Explore our full range by clicking on the button below.
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