Mar
Kick the Crave
Keeping the Balance with MHJ Nicotine Salts
Before we handed in our large box mod devices for sleek, portable pod systems, most of us delightfully experimented with a wide range of VG/PG ratios in order to find the perfect sweet spot for our individual vaping needs. With a max VG e-juice, we could enjoy monstrously massive clouds that were as thick as could be. With higher PG levels, we could zero in on the perfect combination of throat hit and flavor.
Those days are behind us now. With nicotine salt e-juices, the ratio doesn’t vary that much. So, are nicotine salt manufacturers trying to deprive us of our pleasure by forcing us to submit to a 50/50 ratio? Or, could it be that e-liquids made with nicotine salts are so different from the vape juices that we’re used to that the ratio just doesn’t really matter that much anymore?
Before we answer that question, we’re going to help you understand how salt-based nicotine and freebase nicotine differ from each other so that you can better understand why rules regarding ratio are different depending on which type of vape juice you’re consuming.
Difference Between Salt Nic and Freebase Nicotine
Freebase nicotine is what we all consumed before the days of pod mods. A chemically altered version of the nicotine that naturally occurs in the tobacco plant, it’s uniquely potent and used by the majority of cigarette manufacturers to make each puff of an analog that much more pleasurable and intense. Freebase is highly unstable due to its chemical structure, meaning that even mild changes in temperature can make it go from smooth to unbearably harsh when inhaled.
Now, we have salt-based nicotine, the form of nicotine that’s extracted directly from the tobacco plant and added to e-liquid. It’s not nearly as unstable because its chemical structure hasn’t been messed with by chemists. It’s combined with benzoic acid so that it can be vaped at low temperatures while providing profound satisfaction. When vaped, this type of nicotine feels more like the experience of smoking a cigarette, making it the preferred type of nicotine among former analog lovers.
What’s the Ideal Ratio of VG to PG for E-Juices Made with Nicotine Salts?
The ideal balance of vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol for a vape juice made with nicotine salts is 50/50. While you can find 60/40 ratios out there, they’re pretty rare. In fact, there’s a good chance that you’ve been vaping salt nic e-liquid for a while and don’t even know the ratio that you’re vaping. This is because this type is so satisfying that most of us don’t feel the need to adjust the ratio at all.
But Why is a 50/50 Ratio Popular When it Comes to Salt Nic E-Liquid?
There are three main reasons behind the madness:
1. It Affects the Smoothness and Intensity of Your Throat Hit
Before there were nicotine salts, we used to adjust our level of propylene glycol as that largely determined the smoothness and intensity of the throat hit. Because of freebase nicotine’s unique properties, it wasn’t really capable of giving us that punch to the throat that we craved. Therefore, we turned to PG to turn up the dial on these aspects of vaping. Being thinner than vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol evaporated in a way that hit the throat beautifully.
Now that we have salt-based nicotine, the nicotine gives us the throat hit that we need so that we don’t need to alter the PG level any longer.
2. It’s Ideal for a Pod-Based System
Because pod mods are low-wattage devices that don’t really allow us to play around with a wide range of output settings, the balanced ratio pretty much works across the board. When we were using highly customizable sub-ohm devices, we enjoyed the wide range of ratios because it allowed us to find the right one for our unique output levels. Most pod mods have fixed wattages, meaning that we don’t need to change the ratio to accommodate a specific combination of settings.
3. It’s Best Suited for This Type of Nicotine
It seems that a 50/50 ratio best carries nic salts because the e-liquid is heated in a very particular way, giving us vapers the most satisfying nicotine experience possible. It’s widely believed that an even ratio promotes the most pleasurable nicotine buzz when we vape.
For instance, if we tried a high VG salt nic e-juice, there’s a good chance we wouldn’t get that nicotine buzz at all. That’s because VG is more viscous, meaning that it requires an uptick in work to become vapor. This can alter the way in which nicotine salts interact with the body when inhaled.
Enjoy that 50/50 Ratio While You Vape Your Salt-Based E-Juices!
It’s safe to say that a 50/50 ratio is the way to go when vaping e-juices that are made with salt-based nicotine. This ratio seems to provide the most satisfaction because of the unique way in which nic salts differ from freebase nicotine.
