Pod Mods vs. Vape Mods: Which Is Better?
When you shop for a new vape kit at a site like jointhevapelife.ie, making your selection will involve sifting through literally dozens of different products. There’s so much out there today in terms of different styles of vaping devices that it can make your head spin – and these days, choosing a new vape kit isn’t just a matter of choosing between a pod system, a vape pen and a vape mod. Recently, manufacturers have begun to offer hybrid devices that members of the vaping community call “pod mods” – devices that essentially combine the power of a vape mod with the convenience of a pod system.
On the surface, the idea of a pod mod might sound a bit like trying to bolt a Corvette V-8 into a Mazda Miata. If your experience with pod-based vaping devices is limited to e-cigarettes with pre-filled pods like the JUUL, the idea of combining a tiny pod with the power of a full-sized vape mod might not make much sense to you at all.
As you’re about to learn, though, the pods that companies are using in their pod mods are nothing like the pods that you may have used in the past. Vape pods have become far more capable, and that’s because they now use the same types of coils that you’d find in a full-featured sub-ohm tank. The only difference is that pod mods store their e-liquid in plastic pods instead of glass tanks.
So, how do pod mods vs. vape mods compare from an ownership standpoint? These are the differences that you should consider before you choose your next vaping device.
Pod Mods May Be Proprietary Products
The first thing you need to understand about pod mods is that they’re sometimes proprietary products. That’s by design. One of the reasons why the manufacturers of vaping products have focused so much of their energy on pod systems in recent years is because they’re incredibly profitable. If you can only use a vaping device with the pods and coils designed for it, then you’re locked into that product’s accessory ecosystem for as long as you use that device.
On the bright side, some manufacturers have noticed that more experienced vapers are often reluctant to buy proprietary devices. For that reason, you can now find some pod mods that use the industry-standard 510 threading for attachments. When you buy a pod mod conforming to the 510 standard, the device will often have a magnetic dock that connects to the 510 threading. You’ll still enjoy the convenience of a drop-in pod, but you can also use the device with a traditional vape tank if you like. The one drawback of this system, however, is that having a 510-threaded dock will increase the size and weight of the device to a small extent.
Pod Mods May Not Be Best for Flavor Chasers
Do you consider yourself a flavor aficionado when it comes to vaping? If you do, it might be a good idea for you to try a less expensive pod-based device before you invest in a more costly pod mod. The reason for that is because a vape pod always stores its e-liquid in plastic. While the glass enclosure of a traditional vape tank is chemically inert, there is some chance that the plastic in a vape pod may interact with your e-liquid at a molecular level.
Of course, it has to be said that the vast majority of today’s vape juice bottles are plastic rather than glass. Therefore, it’s possible that your e-liquid already experiences molecular interactions with plastic to a certain extent. In a vape pod, though, those interactions are assisted by the heat of the atomizer coil. Some people swear that they can taste the difference between a glass vape tank and a plastic pod. If you have a sensitive palate, you might be one of those people as well – and if that’s the case, you might prefer the experience of using a vape mod with a traditional glass tank.
Pod Mods Often Feature New Technologies That Vape Mods Lack
In the past, a traditional vape mod was always the style of vaping device to buy if you wanted to enjoy the latest and greatest technologies the vaping industry had to offer. More recently, though, that trend has begun to change because the manufacturers are now focusing their resources on the development of new pod-based devices. That’s where the majority of consumer interest is right now, and – as we mentioned above – pod-based devices are also more profitable for the manufacturers than tank-based devices.
Because the manufacturers have worked so hard on their pod mods in recent years, they often feature new technologies that haven’t made their way into the world of traditional vape mods yet. For instance, some manufacturers have begun to experiment with the use of alternating current (AC) power instead of the direct current (DC) power that most vaping devices use. In addition, a pod mod will often configure itself automatically for the best possible performance with the installed atomizer coil. Since a pod-based system only works with a limited range of coils, the device can configure itself very accurately with no user input.
Pod Mods Usually Don’t Have the Longest Battery Life
The final thing to consider when choosing between pod mods vs. vape mods is that a pod mod typically isn’t the type of vaping device you should buy if you want to enjoy the longest possible battery life. That’s because vape mods are generally the only dual-battery vaping devices on the market, so they give you the ability to enjoy roughly double the battery life compared to pod mods.
Pod mods tend to have less battery life than vape mods for two reasons. First, they’re usually designed for maximum portability because most of the people who buy pod-based devices want vapes that are small and light. The second reason why a pod mod usually has just one battery is because, compared to vape tanks, vape pods usually operate at lower wattages. If you want a vaping device that’s sleek and light, you’ll probably enjoy a pod mod. You should buy a vape mod, though, if you want the greatest possible battery capacity.
