The wattage wars – they're nothing new, having raged pretty much since the first mass produced dual-18650 box mods that could deliver 100 watts of power started hitting the market back in 2014. Now, it seems 200 watts is almost a starting point for most serious vaping devices – the Smok Alien, one of our best sellers, can deliver 220 watts. Sigelei's flagship goes to 213. But is it really necessary?

For some people, especially hardcore RDA builders, it very well may be. But I'll be honest – I've gone over 100 watts a grand total of twice in the half-decade I've been vaping. Both times were just to see if I could (yes), but even with a throwaway coil tank advertising 130-watt capabilities or a hand-made set of staggered fused Clapton duals ohm'ing out to 0.15 with a wide-open RDA, I can get plenty of warm, fluffy clouds while staying under (often well under) 80 watts.

As a bonus vaping at more moderate wattage puts less strain on your hardware, particularly your batteries. With a solid set, like LG's 3000 mAh HG2, it's easy to vape pretty much all day at around 50 watts without needing to charge or carry a set of spares out of the house. And vaping at lower wattage opens up the possibility of having a stealthier, more pocket-friendly single-cell mod like the now-classic Pioneer4You IPV D3 for out-and-about use.

Wicks and coils also seem to perform better when they're not being pushed toward the breaking point, and it's not uncommon for me to run 200 ml of liquid through a single build. Given the cost of throwaway coils for some of today's best tanks, that's certainly a relief.

That said, every mod in my regular rotation is capable of hitting at least 150 watts, and it's unlikely I'd take a dual-cell seriously these days if it offered anything less. There's nothing wrong with having the power available, and like with a computer or any other piece of electronics, running with a safety margin is probably better than constantly pushing a device to its limits. So even though the march toward bigger and stronger devices is likely to continue unabated, don't feel bad if you have no need to take full advantage.