Which Vape Kits Work With Nic Salts?

Nicotine salt e-liquid has been a key part of the vaping industry’s growth over the past several years. It’s so popular, in fact, that it’s almost impossible for you not to have at least a little familiarity with it if you’ve spent any time reading about vaping.

If you’re a new vaper, or are getting ready to make the switch from smoking to vaping, nic salt e-liquid is very likely what you will end up using and with our buying guide for nic salt vapes you'll be able to find the perfect device for your vape juice.

Reading this article, you’re going to learn what the best vaping devices are for nicotine salt. If you’re still trying to choose your first vape, we think that any of the products on our list will be perfect for you. Before we begin discussing specific products, though, let’s learn a bit more about what nic salt is and why it might be the best type of e-liquid for you if you’re new to vaping.

Table of Contents

• What Is Nic Salt And How Is It Different From Regular E-Liquid?
• What Are the Differences Between Freebase Nicotine And Nic Salt?
• Will Nic Salt Give Me A Stronger Nicotine Rush?
• Should My First Vape Be A Nic Salt Vape?
• What’s the Best Type of Vape for Nic Salt?
• The Best Nic Salt Vapes of 2022

What Is Nic Salt And How Is It Different From Regular E-Liquid?

We’ll begin this guide with an explanation of the two forms of nicotine used in vape juice. In its original form within the tobacco leaf, the nicotine molecule is a protonated salt that isn’t particularly volatile and for that reason isn’t very easy to isolate and collect. Companies need to isolate the nicotine from tobacco, though, and that’s not just because it’s necessary for e-liquid production. Tobacco-derived nicotine is also used in the production of nicotine replacement products like gums and patches.

The vaping and pharmaceutical industries require a lot of nicotine, so tobacco processors need their extraction yields to be as high as possible. To accomplish that, they use alkaline solvents such as ammonia, ethanol and ether. The solvents are removed after extraction, resulting in a pharmaceutical-grade product that’s over 99 percent pure.

Extracting nicotine with an alkaline solvent allows for increased yields because adjusting the pH of the nicotine breaks the proton binding the molecule to a salt. The nicotine changes from a salt to a free base, becoming more volatile in the process.

Until the invention of nicotine salt e-liquid, all of the vape juice on the market used freebase nicotine.

To make nic salt e-liquid, companies actually begin with the same freebase nicotine that’s used in all other vape juices. To that base, they add a mild acid — benzoic acid is common — that reduces the alkalinity of the nicotine and restores the missing proton, converting the nicotine back into a salt.

So, that’s what nic salt e-liquid is — it’s freebase nicotine e-liquid with an added acid. What’s the point? That’s what you’re going to learn next.

What Is Nic Salt And How Is It Different From Regular E-Liquid?

Now that you have a better understanding of what freebase nicotine and nicotine salt are, let’s discuss what the differences between the two are from a usage point of view. You know that freebase nicotine is more volatile, while nic salt is less alkaline. What do those things actually mean? Here’s a quick summary.

Freebase nicotine is more volatile. That means it travels through the air readily when it’s heated and higher volatility means that freebase nicotine is also more bioavailable. However, some people find that freebase nicotine tends to cause unpleasant throat irritation at higher nicotine strengths due to its alkalinity.

Nicotine salt is less volatile and therefore less bioavailable than freebase nicotine. Because it is less alkaline than freebase nicotine, though, people typically find it smoother and easier to inhale at high nicotine strengths.

Will Nic Salt Give Me A Stronger Nicotine Rush?

You may have noticed that e-liquid manufacturers often advertise nicotine salt e-liquids as if they “hit harder” or provide “more satisfaction” than traditional freebase e-liquids. That, however, could lead you to draw an incorrect conclusion about the difference between freebase nicotine and nic salt. Remember that freebase nicotine is more bioavailable than nicotine salt. Higher bioavailability means that freebase nicotine absorbs more readily into your bloodstream. Therefore:

• If the nicotine strength of the two e-liquids is the same, freebase nicotine vape juice will absorb into your bloodstream more quickly and will therefore be more satisfying.
• However, some people find it difficult to use high-strength freebase nicotine e-liquids due to the throat irritation issue that we mentioned above. Using nic salt may make it possible for you to use a higher nicotine strength than you would be able to use otherwise.
• If using nicotine salt e-liquid enables you to use a higher nicotine strength, then you will find nic salt more satisfying than freebase nicotine.

Another important difference to note between freebase nicotine and nicotine salt is that e-liquid with freebase nicotine tends to produce a stronger, scratchier throat hit. People interpret the scratchy throat hit in different ways. Some people find it irritating, but others find it extremely pleasurable. If you try nic salt e-liquid and find that it feels weak to you, it might be a good idea for you to try freebase nicotine instead. You may appreciate the stronger throat hit.

Should My First Vape Be A Nic Salt Vape?

After reading the information in this article, you probably have a much better idea of whether nicotine salt e-liquid is the right choice for you or not. You can’t really know whether you prefer freebase nicotine or nic salt until you’ve tried them both, but here’s the good news: A vaping device that’s good for nicotine salt e-liquid will also be good for high-strength freebase nicotine. If your first vaping device is a nic salt vape, you’ve probably made the right choice.

What’s the Best Type of Vape for Nic Salt?

The best vape for nic salt is one that’s small and has narrow, tight airflow vents. We’ll explain why.

• A small vaping device will generate small vapour clouds, and that’s important because you’ll be using high-strength e-liquids. The higher in nicotine your e-liquid is, the smaller your device’s vapour production should be.
• A vaping device with small airflow vents mimics the tight draw of a cigarette. That’s important because it helps to make vaping feel as close to smoking as it can.

We’re going to conclude this article with our recommendations for the best nic salt vapes of 2022. If you’re not sure which vaping device to choose, we think you’ll be happy with any of the devices on the list. Though, as long as the device that you choose has the two qualifications listed above, it’ll give you an excellent experience with nicotine salt.

The Best Nic Salt Vapes of 2022

Uwell Caliburn A2

Price: £16.99 | Buy It Now

If you’re new to vaping, the Uwell Caliburn A2 is a pod system that offers just about everything you could possibly want. The product designers at Uwell have always been famous for their commitment to flavour, and the Uwell Caliburn range brings that commitment to a nic salt vape that’s simple enough for a beginner to use but flexible enough to suit different needs and priorities.

What makes the Uwell Caliburn A2 a great nic salt vape?

• The 0.9-ohm mesh coil produces some of the biggest clouds that you’ll ever get with a device designed for nicotine salt e-liquid.
• The Caliburn A2 supports both automatic and button-based firing, so you can choose between bigger cloud production or a more cigarette-like experience.
• Uwell’s PRO-FOCS technology gives you the flavour quality of a full-sized vape tank in a device designed to fit in your pocket.

Vaporesso Xros Mini

Price: £12.99 | Buy It Now

Designed to look like a true luxury device, the Vaporesso Xros Mini is a nic salt vape with a huge level of visual appeal. If you’ve ever managed to drop a vaping device and damage it, you’ll also love the fact that the textured finish of the Xros Mini lends a grippy feel that makes the device unlikely to slip out of your hand. The Xros Mini uses automatic draw-based activation and features a 1,000 mAh battery that lasts up to two days between charges.

What makes the Vaporesso Xros Mini a great nic salt vape?

• The pod features a thick bottom gasket that allows for ample airflow while ensuring that the pod can’t leak.
• The pod has a top filling port, making it possible to refill the Xros Mini without removing the pod from the device.
• The Xros Mini supports the USB-C charging standard, allowing you to recharge a completely dead battery in about 60 minutes.

Innokin MVP Pod

Price: £15.99 | Buy It Now

With its fashionable metal exterior and assortment of terrific colours, the Innokin MVP Pod truly sets a new standard for visual appeal. If you want to own a nic salt vape that really stands out and will draw approving glances everywhere you go, this is definitely the one you want. The MVP Pod is easy to fill and operates at two different power levels to help you achieve your ideal vaping experience.

What makes the Innokin MVP Pod a great nic salt vape?

• The MVP Pod features both automatic and button-based firing.
• The pod’s filling hole is much larger than in most vaping devices, making it easy to fill the pod without creating air bubbles that can cause leaks and messes.
• An optimised airflow pattern keeps the pod’s atomizer coil cool while focusing the vapour on your palate for maximum satisfaction.

Aspire Vilter

Price: £12.99 | Buy It Now

In recent years, vaping devices have moved further and further away from their origin as replacements for cigarettes. While the first e-cigarettes looked very much like tobacco cigarettes, most of today’s beginner-oriented vaping devices look more like USB thumb drives with mouthpieces than cigarettes. The Aspire Vilter is something completely different. With its disposable paper filter tip, it delivers a vaping experience that feels more authentically like smoking than perhaps any other device on the market.

What makes the Aspire Vilter a great nic salt vape?

• The disposable paper tip feels like a real cigarette filter. It also helps to catch stray droplets of e-liquid before they can enter your mouth.
• Using a mesh coil allows the Aspire Vilter to produce surprisingly large vapour clouds despite the device’s small size.
• The paper tips are available in a variety of different colours. The Vilter may feel like a real cigarette, but it doesn’t have to look like one.

SMOK Novo 4

Price: £21.99 | Buy It Now

Although the SMOK Novo 4 is definitely simple enough for a beginning vaper, it’s a device that really deserves your attention if you’ve already owned a vaping device or two and are looking for something that offers a bit more power and flexibility. With its selection of three coils and adjustable power level, the Novo 4 feels like a vape mod without sacrificing the simplicity that you love in pod-based devices.

What makes the SMOK Novo 4 a great nic salt vape?

• With three available coils and fully adjustable airflow, the Novo 4 can give you anything from a tight cigarette-like draw to a fuller-flavoured cloud chasing experience.
• Full power regulation allows the Novo 4 to operate at up to 25 watts and gives you the ability to adjust the intensity of the vapour to suit your taste.
• Each replaceable coil has three silicone o-rings to make leaking almost impossible.