Top 10 Vaping Terms

Published by Emma Logan on 16th Sep 2014

For those new to the wonderful world of vaping, the early days can be a little daunting. Not only do you need to pick your way through a minefield of hardware and e-liquids, you also have to contend with a dizzying amount of jargon.

Never fear, JAC is here to help as always. Below is our list of the 10 most common bits of vaping terminology you should be aware of.

  1. ADV
    This one’s easy. ADV stands for All Day Vape, or that one e-liquid you’d be happy to vape forever. Not all e-liquids will fall into this category; some stronger flavours are best as a mid-morning pick-me-up, other more mellow flavours are better just after dinner. An ADV is a flavour that hits all the right notes and can be enjoyed from breakfast till bedtime.
  2. PG
    Propylene Glycol. A clear, colourless liquid which is the base ingredient of many e-liquids. Viscous, but not as thick as VG. Used for its efficient delivery of flavour and throat hit. Often also commonly found in asthma inhalers. A mix of PG and VG is used in all of JAC Vapour’s e-liquids in order to offer the best balance of flavour, throat hit and vapour.
  3. VG
    Vegetable Glycerine. Another clear, colourless liquid also commonly used as a base in many e-liquids. VG is thicker than PG, and naturally sweet. It is used for its impressive vapour production, but doesn’t transmit flavour or throat hit as well as PG.
  4. Stealth vaping
    The act of minimising, or cutting out completely, the vapour exhaled after taking a draw from your device. This can be achieved in a number of ways, and the kit or e-liquid used can have a big effect on your success. For a guide to stealth vaping, take a look at our Stealth Vaping article. Essential for those situations where billowing clouds of vapour needs to be avoided.
  5. Atty/Atomiser
    The heart of the vape kit, the atomiser is what vaporises the e-liquid and produces the vapour. Powered by a battery, this wire coil acts like heating element and works in much the same way as the filament in a light bulb. Also commonly referred to as simply a ‘coil’.
  6. Carts/Cartomizer
    A standard housing for an atomiser, particularly when using smaller, ‘cigalike’ style batteries such as our V3i range. These cartridges hold the atomiser, which is fed e-liquid by a layer of saturated wadding. The terms ‘cartidge’ and ‘atomiser’ have been mashed together, leaving us with ‘cartomizer’, or ‘carts’ for short.
  7. Ohm
    The unit of measurement used to describe resistance. Different coils (or atomisers, see above) have different levels of resistance – which has a big effect on the amount of vapour produced by your device. In simple terms, the lower the ohm, the higher the resistance. Higher resistance means that power is passed across the coil less easily, resulting in more heat and vapour being generated. Too much heat and you can lose taste. Resistance isn’t the only factor in vapour production, but it’s useful for new users to have some idea of how it affects performance. For more information, take a look at our Tanks Help Guide.
  8. VV
    Not all batteries are created equal – some give you just that little bit extra control. Variable Voltage batteries (or Twist in the case of our 510 range) allow the user to adjust the power output (from 3.3v to 4.8v). This added flexibility is great for finding the sweet spot that’s just right for each user.In combination with which coil is selected, a VV battery can have a big effect on vapour production and throat hit.
  9. Analogue/Stinky
    Two common names for the tobacco cigarettes so many of our customers choose to leave behind.
  10. Tank/Clearomizer
    An alternative to the cartomizers discussed above. Tanks are another delivery mechanism, which house the atomiser necessary for vapour production. Tanks tend to be at least semi-transparent (hence the ‘clearo’ part), and usually hold a great deal more e-liquid than a cartomizer. Instead of wadding, tanks use lengths of wicking material to feed the coil. Most tanks also allow the user to swap out the coil when it has been exhausted (after around 10 fills or so, on average), with a wider range of resistances available (see Ohm above).

As always, if you hear or read something that doesn't make sense to you simply ask us – our customer service team will be sure to help!