Ultra Portable Vape Pod Mods Vs Full Starter Kit: The Pros and Cons

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Whether you're looking for a deal for yourself or a friend, new-generation cigalike style 'pod mods' and larger, more traditional starter kits offer different benefits and each appeals to a particular style of vaper.

Starter kits are a great fit for beginner and intermediate-level vapers who are looking to quit smoking but still want to get their nicotine fix and are working on a budget, or who want a fuller experience from their vaping. Pod mods, meanwhile, are small, discreet, and simple for beginners.

This choice ultimately comes down to the particular vaper and what they look for in their kit. Here’s a general overview on what a vaper should look for when they’re ready for their next kit.    

Ultra-Portable Vape Pod Mods

The pod mod, or cigalike, is rapidly becoming the preferred setup for new users - it's the device that comes closest to resembling the size, shape, and weight of an actual cigarette, and for users that don't want to be bothered with filling or maintaining their gear there's an option to purchase pre-filled 'pods' of e-liquid that just snap into the battery.

Benefits include a leak-free, mess-free, maintenance-free design that's essentially plug-and-play. Just charge your battery, pop in a pod, and go. Unlike traditional vaporizers, there's not even a fire button to press - just inhale from the tip and your device starts generating vapor.

These devices do have some downsides, though. First, battery life is going to be an issue - even though the power draw is much lower than from a traditional coil, the limited space inside a cigalike's body means one battery probably isn't enough to get through the day. Also, because the power output is low, don't expect to be able to produce the giant clouds you may have seen in vaping videos or in public.

There's also a limitation of choice - once you pick a system, you're locked into it, and the selection of juice available for pre-filled pods isn't going to be as broad as the industry in general. And most of the pods on the market have an incredibly high nicotine content - 50 miligrams of nicotine per mililiter of juice or more, compared to an average 3-6 mg/ml for standard e-liquid. If you're first transitioning away from cigarettes the extra nicotine may give you the push you need to make your quit last, but if nicotine is one of the chemicals you're trying to limit by quitting look for an open system where you can select your own juice to fill your pods with.

Probably the most popular example of a cigalike system is the JUUL Starter Kit, which features interchangeable pods, a four-pack of different flavors (Fruit Medley, Creme Brulee, Cool Mint, Virginia Tobacco), and a USB Cable. It’s the perfect product to curb your cravings for nicotine while not actually smoking.

Another great option that doesn't get nearly enough attention is the Wismec & MyVapors MyJet Express Kit - you'll get the features of the JUUL at an even lower price of entry, plus you'll be able to choose your own favorite e-liquid flavor and refill your cartridges, saving money over throwing them away at every refill.

The world of pod mods is also expanding beyond the simple cigalike - for users who want the set-it-and-forget-it simplicity of the pod system but are willing to sacrifice on size a bit to get better batteries and liquid capacity, look at newcomers like the Smoking Vapor Mi-Pod - it works similar to the other listed devices, but has a battery with nearly triple the capacity and larger, refillable juice pods.

Full Starter Kit

Starter kits pair more traditional 'mods' (control units so named because early vapers modified their own boxes to home-engineer e-cigs that would outperform the paltry offerings of the early 2010s) with clearomizers, larger glass tanks that hold a disposable coil for creating the vapor and monitoring your e-liquid level.

Until recently, a mod kit was far and away the preferred means of vaping, and most experienced vapers will eventually want to own (at least) one. Benefits over the newer pod systems are many - the user experience is customizable, with users selecting how much or how little air they want flowing through the device, how much power to be applied to the coil, and even the preferred temperature of the vapor that's produced!

In addition to being better able to take advantage of the literally thousands of flavors we offer here at Breazy, clearomizers offer the benefit of replaceable coils, which both outlast and cost less than disposable pods. Mods themselves are usually powered by removable, rechargeable batteries, meaning you can always have a backup pair ready to go and, when your batteries eventually die, your whole vaping device doesn't have to be trashed.

Oh, and clouds - if you ever want to consider 'cloud chasing,' this is the minimum level of gear that will even get you close to puffing like a dragon.

There are some drawbacks - mod/tank kits do involve some maintenance, such as occasionally taking the tank apart to replace a coil and removing batteries (you'll also want a separate battery charger that's capable of charging high-discharge lithium ion batteries, which are very different than the old nickel-cadmium style rechargeables). They're bulkier and heavier than the newer compact setups. You'll also have to put in the effort to experiment with different power and airflow settings until you find your favorite style of vaping.

SmokTech, often stylized SMOK, makes a number of popular starter kits featuring various mods paired with their popular TFV series of clearomizers. Take, for example, the T-Priv 220 Starter Kit, with a mod capable of producing 220 watts of power (we assure you this is more than you'll ever need). Sigelei is another popular and long-trusted brand, and their Kaos Spectrum 230 Kit is on sale right now at half off!

Whichever direction you head in for a new mod, quitting smoking is always a great decision, and any of these products can be immensely helpful in taking the first step toward a smoke-free tomorrow.