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Sub Ohm Vaping: A Complete Guide for Beginners

by Aaron Cadena on Dec 01, 2020

Sub Ohm Vaping: A Complete Guide for Beginners | Juice Head

Do you like vaping big, blowing clouds? If you do, sub ohming is a must!

Cloud chasers blow big clouds with their vapes. It's natural for cloud chasers to be constantly on the lookout for new ways to bow the biggest clouds of vapor. The way to do this is to use low-resistance vape pens with higher wattages and lots of airflow. Cloud chasing is always done with a sub ohm vape.

What is Sub Ohm Vaping?

The standard definition of sub ohm vaping, or sub ohming, refers to using a vaporizer e that has a coil with a resistance of less than one ohm. Most cloud chasers use vaping devices with a resistance under 0.5 ohms.

Reducing resistance lets the atomizing coil heat faster. It vaporizes more ejuice. And it generates thicker clouds with a punch of flavor because more current passes through the coil.

All cloud chasers are sub ohmers. But not all sub ohmers are cloud chasers. Some sub ohmers do it for the warmth and the extra-intense taste.

    Why Sub Ohm Vape? What are the Advantages of Sub-Ohm Vaping?

    Why Sub Ohm Vape

    What is it about sub ohm vaping that its fans enjoy so much?

    • Really big clouds. If you enjoy big clouds, you need low resistance. If you are a competitive cloud chaser, you have to use a sub ohm device.
    • A warmer vape. Higher wattage and lower resistance (sub one-ohm) produce hotter vapes.
    • More airflow. Cloud chasers need more airflow to cool down the vape cloud. But they want more airflow to get the full effect of the vape directly into their lungs.
    • Intense flavor. Sub ohmers vaporize more eliquid at one time, so they get a lot more flavor.

    What Type of Device is Ideal for Sub Ohm Vaping?

    How to Sub Ohm Vape

    Many vaping devices have resistance between 1.5 and 3.0 ohms. This means that they won't heat up e-liquid fast enough for cloud chasing, or hot enough for the extra punch of flavor that even vaping fans who don't chase clouds enjoy with sub ohm vaping. The vaping device you use for sub ohm vaping has to have less resistance so more current can flow to heat the vaping liquid.

    Beyond that, there are some features that are useful for sub ohming:

    • Rebuildable dripping atomizers, also known as RDAs. An RDA is a customized coil that the vaper wraps with a cotton wick. There is no tank. The vaper drips e-juice on the wick until it is saturated and then heats the coil. The Vaporess Delta is an example of this technology.
    • Rebuildable tank atomizers, also known as RTAs. An RTA is a vaping tank with a rebuildable deck. Users put their own coils inside the tank. The e-juice is stored in the tank so there is no need for dripping. Looking for an example of a rebuildable tank atomizer? Check out the Coil Master Elfy RTA.
    • Sub ohm tanks are stainless steel and glass containers for users who cannot or who choose not to build their own coils. Examples are the cascade tank, the NGR tank, and the Vaporesso skrr tank.

    What Type of eLiquid is Best for Sub-Ohm Vaping?

    Best Vape Juice for Sub-Ohm Vaping

    Choices in eliquids differ by PG, VG, and nicotine. It's easy to get PG and VG mixed up, so let's review.

    • PG stands for propylene glycol. It has a lighter consistency than the other major component of e liquids, VG. it has a sweeter taste. It produces bigger clouds.
    • VG stands for vegetable glycerine. It has a thicker consistency than PG. It prevents menthol vape flavors from having a cooling effect in your mouth.

    When you are sub ohming, you want less PG and more VG. That's because VG produces thicker clouds, but it has a milder hit on the throat. It produces showy clouds that will not have a harsh sensation when they are inhaled. It lets natural flavors come through on their own without making them sweeter.

    The other major component of vape juice is nicotine.

    Because you inhale more vapor when you are sub ohming, you want less nicotine in your vape juice. That way you are consuming an excessive amount of nicotine.

    At Juice Head eLiquids, we offer a great selection of e liquids that in nicotine strengths of 0mg, 3mg, and 6mg that offer a great balance of VG and PG. Check out our full selection here: https://juiceheadeliquid.com/collections/juice-head

    So now that you know what sub ohming is and why people enjoy it and the kind of eliquid to use in your vape, there are three more things you need to know.

    3 Factors to Consider Before You Sub Ohm Vape

    Scientists agree that modern vaping technology is safe, provided the right equipment is used.

    The most critical factor in choosing equipment before you do sub ohming isn't coil resistance, wattage, or battery voltage, although all of those factors are important to the quality of your experience. For safe sub ohming, you want to make sure your mod is property vented. You can't have too many vents in your mod. These vents allow heat to escape in everyday use, but they also allow gases to escape should the battery go out. You never want to use an unvented device for sub ohming.

    Another safety consideration in sub ohm vaping is voltage drop. Voltage drop is the loss of electrical potential as current travels from the battery through your device to the coils. When you lose voltage, you lose cloud production power. Telescoping tubes, multiple piece tubes, threaded contacts, and spring-loaded contacts are convenient but they cause a loss of voltage which reduces sub ohming effects.

    Then there are three factors to consider that relate to the pleasure you will get from sub ohming.

    Coil resistance. Coils that have greater surface area conduct more current and produce a bigger cloud. If you are new to cloud chasing, look for a variable voltage/variable wattage device with resistance of 0.5 ohm.

    Battery voltage: The higher the voltage, the greater the power and the bigger the benefits for cloud chasing. If your battery doesn't have enough voltage, your vape will underperform. IMR or hybrid lithium batteries are less likely to vent gases explosively than ICR, Li-ion, or LiPo battery types. If your battery is dented, don't use it.

    Wattage. Here is the general rule: More wattage, more heat, bigger clouds. But be aware that high power with good control can give you bigger clouds than low power without variable control.

    When you are just starting out, the easiest thing to do is to buy a variable power/variable wattage vaping device that lets you experiment to find the settings you like while giving you a way to get the same power every time once you find them.


    Thanks for joining us for our latest article. If you have any questions or comments, please share your thoughts in the comments and don't forget to visit our vape blog for more guides, tips, news, and more.

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