The Guide to Pod Kits

Closed Pod Systems

Perfect if you want zero fuss. These come with pre-filled pods that typically contain 20mg nicotine salt e-liquid. When the pod's empty, you just pop it out and click in a fresh one. No refilling, no mess, no complicated choices about what e-liquid to buy.

Open Pod Systems

Give you much more flexibility. You can fill them with any e-liquid you fancy - whether that's 50:50, nic salts, or even try different flavour combinations. They're brilliant if you want to control your nicotine strength or experiment with different brands. When the pod eventually wears out, you just need replacement pods rather than buying a whole new device.

Which Pod Kit Type Is Best For You?

The answer to this one is fairly simple - you answer it by looking at your smoking habits.

• Closed pod systems come pre-filled, typically with a high dose of 20mg nicotine salt e-liquid. If you were a heavier smoker (around the pack a day or more mark) these ones will be great for you. Nic salt pods give a quick (near instant) nicotine hit with great flavour and a fairly mild throat hit. When you’re done with a pod, just take the empty one out, pop a fresh one in and vape away.

• Open pod kits are refillable, which means you can put just about whatever liquid you like in them. They’re suited to higher PG liquids (50:50 e-liquids are generally best) which gives you a stronger throat hit and more flavour. When it comes to nicotine strength you can vary this more too. Closed pods are more limited in the strengths they have available but with an open system you can gradually reduce your nicotine over time.

Start as high as you want, whether that’s at a 20mg nic salt strength or an 18mg or 12mg freebase nicotine option and work your way down to a 3mg 50/50 shortfill. This means if you smoked a bit less (the 10-15 mark) a day, an open pod kit will allow you to play around more. If you like the idea of an open pod kit but smoked a lot, they’re still an option for you - just fill them up with a nic salt e-liquid instead.

What E-Liquids Work Best With Pod Kits?

This is crucial to getting a good experience from your pod kit. Most pod systems use higher resistance coils (usually built into the pod), which means they work best with certain types of e-liquid.

For most pod kits (especially refillable pod kits and lower-power pod mods):

Best e-liquid types for pods:

• 50:50 e-liquids - Thinner blend (50% PG / 50% VG). Good throat hit, good flavour, good wicking in small coils. This is the “safe bet” for most refillable pod kits. Browse our 50-50 e-liquids.
• Nicotine salts - Smooth inhale, higher nicotine strength (often 10–20mg), fast satisfaction. Ideal if you’re switching from smoking or disposables and need something that actually hits. Browse our nicotine salt e-liquids.

If you’re picking up a prefilled pod kit, you don’t need to buy bottled e-liquid separately — just add extra replacement prefilled pods in the flavours/nicotine strengths you like.

What Are The Benefits Of Pod Kits

As mentioned, they’re great for transitioning smokers. There are a few reason for this. When you use a pod kit, typically you’ll inhale with a mouth to lung draw. What this means is you draw some vapour into your mouth then down into your lungs, the same way you would with a conventional cigarette.

• Easy to use and discreet. Due to having a higher PG level (which creates less vapour) and a higher Ohm coil, they’re very subtle to use. They aren’t massive cloud producing devices so can be used for stealth vaping when you’re out and for this reason are also popular even with vapers who aren’t recent quitters.
• Long lasting. In the last few years, vaping technology has improved a lot and pod mods are no exception. Even the super tiny ones often feature larger batteries which will keep you vaping all day with no need for a recharge. Big puff closed pod kits can carry 4 pods in one kit giving you up to 2,400 puffs. As far as e-liquid use goes, open pod systems are pretty impressive here too as you’ll get multiple refills out of a single pod before you need to put in a new one.
• Mess free. With no tank to speak of, refilling is simpler and they’re more leak resistant than pen vapes or mods. If you have a closed pod kit it’s as simple as removing your empty pod and popping in a new one. If you have an open kit, just pop the bung out of the pod and top it up. Unlike a lot of tanks, this design is very leak resistant meaning you can safely store your pod mod in your pocket without worrying about any spills.
• No need to replace coils. There’s less fiddling involved with pod kits as the coil that heats your e-liquid is built into the pod itself. When the coil stops producing vapour, it’s time to change to a new pod. No sticky fingers in sight. Pods also mean that if you get bored of one flavour you can just switch one pod out for a different one containing another flavour.
• Intuitive to use. Pod kits are completely foolproof. They’ll either have a single button which you click a few times to switch on/off and to vape. Some are even simpler than that, rather they’ll feature a “manual draw” design. What this means is the vape can sense airflow and will only fire when you inhale from the mouthpiece.
• Affordable. After the initial cost of buying a vape, which in itself is still very low, they don’t cost a lot to maintain after that. Purchasing e-liquid and new pods now and again are the only ongoing costs you’ll have.
• Consistent. Pods are optimised for a certain type of e-liquid and the battery they’re powered by will give you a steady wattage output, giving you a consistent vaping experience with every puff. Even with an open pod system, as long as you’re using the right PG level liquid (50:50 is the safest bet for any pod kit you’ll find at Vape Superstore) they’re super reliable.
• Great for recent smokers. Particularly compatible with nic salts and high PG liquids, they’re an ideal option for vapers who need a high nicotine level or a stronger throat hit (or both!). They’re highly satisfying meaning you can get a quick nicotine fix and carry on with your day.
• Pocket friendly. Easily portable so take up no more space than your wallet (or a packet of cigarettes). Some are small enough to fit into your wallet itself, others are the size of a matchbox but still have a 2ml capacity.

MTL vs DTL: How Do You Want to Vape?

Most pod kits are designed for mouth-to-lung (MTL) vaping - the same draw style you'd use with a cigarette. But some newer pod systems can handle direct-to-lung (DTL) vaping too.

• MTL vaping - Draw vapour into your mouth first, then inhale to your lungs. Works with 50:50 e-liquids and higher resistance coils.
• DTL vaping - Inhale vapour directly to your lungs. Needs lower resistance coils and higher VG e-liquids.

Want to understand vaping styles better? Our MTL vs DTL guide covers MTL, DTL and everything in between.

Choosing Your First Pod Kit

If you're still not sure which type suits you, here's our simple recommendation:

• Complete beginners: Start with a closed pod system. Pop in a pod and vape - no decisions about e-liquids or nicotine strengths needed.
• Want more control: Go for an open pod system. You can experiment with different e-liquid flavours and gradually reduce your nicotine over time.
• Heavy smokers: Either type works, but make sure you use 18-20mg nicotine strength (whether in pre-filled pods or nic salt e-liquids).

Related Pod Kit Guides

• How Refillable Pod Kits work
• Complete Guide to Nic Salts
• Vape Kit Buying Guide

If (having read all of that) you're still not sure, of course you can get in touch with us and we'll be able to make you a recommendation.