Best vapes of 2020

The Aspire SkyStar Revvo features a number of firsts when it comes to vapes, making it a strong contender for the best vape of 2020. It has an RRP of £74.99, but it can be bought much cheaper via Amazon and provides a great overall vaping experience.

Let’s first talk about the mod; it boasts a 1.3in OLED touch-sensitive display, negating the need for annoying, fiddly buttons. Everything is controlled via taps and swipes, and though it does take some getting used to, the intuitive design makes the transition easy. The fire button is hidden in plain sight, camouflaged amongst the black border of the display. Paired with a range of stunning, unique designs, it’s definitely one of the best-looking vapes on the market right now.

It offers a maximum 220W of power, more than enough for even advanced vapers, and comes with a range of protectors (overheating, overcharging, reverse polarity, short circuit, etc) for those concerned about vape safety.

It’s the tank that really completes the experience though; it boasts a new type of coil design dubbed the Aspire Radial Coil. The flat, circular coil maximises the surface area and provides a better flavour and more vapour than standard coils.

And when you need to re-fill the 2ml tank, you don’t need to take the vape apart, oh no. It features a single spring-loaded fill port, allowing you to fill the vape via the mouthpiece. It’s incredibly simple, and after using it, it’ll be hard to go back to traditional tanks.

When it comes to small, portable vapes that still pack enough power to billow plumes of smoke as you walk along the street, the Vaporesso Tarot Baby is a great option. At 42 x 25 x 114mm, it’s small enough to fit into the palm of your hand and disappears into your pocket when not in use, and the various colour options and artwork available make it stand out from a sea of brick-like Mods available right now. 

But of course, there’s more to vaping than looks, and the Tarot Baby has you covered there too. It offers 85W of power – more than enough for most everyday vapers – and comes with a 4.5ml NRG SE Sub-Ohm tank with an insta-fire fast heating system that provides an intense blast of flavour with every pull. The clouds produced are impressive, especially considering the small dimensions of the kit. 

You’ll also find a 0.96in TFT colour display that provides information not only on wattage, but an estimated overall charge time when charging and support for (limited) fast charging too – very handy when you’re in a rush and need a top-up. 

The Tarot Baby has a built-in 2500mAh battery that can last all day with average use, but this will largely depend on the wattage you opt for and the frequency of use. The built-in nature means you won’t have to shell out for additional rechargable batteries, but on the flip side, once the battery does begin to deteriorate, you’ll have to get an entirely new vape. 

Though it can’t quite compete in terms of Wattage when compared to the Alien and SkyStar, the Jac Vapour B-Series DNA could well be your next purchase. One of the main draws of the DNA is the look; designed in the UK, the sleek, slim form factor of the box mod allows it to comfortably sit in the palm of your hand while not compromising on the vaping experience. It’s 25mm too, making it compatible with most popular tanks.

The metal body is weighty, and the brushed ‘Sandstorm’ finish is sure to stand out in sea of plastic mod boxes. There aren’t many buttons to fiddle with either, giving it a clean, premium look. 

It’s not just about the look though; when combined with the S22 Stainless Steel topfill tank (at an additional £9.99), the B-Series DNA provides a smooth, simple vaping experience.

You can swap between high-resistance MTL (mouth-to-lung, included) coils and low-resistance DL (direct lung, optional extra) coils depending on your preference, and there’s also Temperature Control support for those that prefer longer drags. Just be sure to have a suitable TC coil material (sold separately) if that’s the case! 

It’s a good-looking versatile vape with decent battery life, and a personal favourite of ours at Tech Advisor. 

When it comes to producing thick clouds of vapour, the Smok Alien 220W is a solid choice. At around £59.99 (retailer dependant), it’s a decent starting point for those that want to up their vape game, although it’s worth noting that you’ll probably have to shell out an additional £10 for rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries which aren’t included.  

For the price, you’ll get both a V8 Baby Q2 Core and a Baby T8 Core – the former performs best at around 40-80W, while the Baby T8 offers a slightly higher range of 50-110W for those that really want to blow clouds. Both cores are incredibly small and help keep the overall size of the vape down, although these can be swapped out for a range of other coils/tanks up to 220W to further customise your vaping experience.

You’ll find a squeeze-to-fire mechanism utilised by many popular vapes, making it easy to activate in-hand and provides space for the ‘best in class’ OLED display. The display is bright and offers a range of information from temperature/wattage to the Ohm output and even how long your last drag was. It’s not a required feature, but provides insight to those that want it and provides an easy way to select the exact wattage you want.

Oh, and it’s compatible with the vape liquids you find online and in stores across the UK, providing access to a wide range of flavours and nicotine strengths.

If you’re still relatively new to the vaping game and premium vapes like the Alien and SkyStar Revvo look too complicated for you, then maybe an all-in-one like the Innokin Pocketbox is for you. It’s a fixed-wattage vape meaning there’s no external display or controls beyond the firing button, providing a simpler vaping experience.

It’s also tiny (6 x 4.4 x 2.4cm) when compared to more premium vapes, and will comfortably fit into the palm of your hand, and is easily slotted into most pockets and bags when not in use.

But despite the simplicity and small dimensions, the 40W power and low resistance (0.35ohm) coil mean that you still produce clouds. The vaping experience itself is smooth, and ideal for direct-to-lung vaping, though you’ll find yourself refilling fairly often due to a small 2ml tank. The good news is for those that want a more cigarette-esque vaping experience can switch out the coil for a stronger 1.2ohm coil, though this doesn’t come in the box.

It features a built-in 1200mAh battery that should comfortably get you through the day, and provides a three-colour LED system to let you know (roughly) how much battery is left at any given moment. It’s also available in three colours (Black, White & Blue) so you can find the Pocketbox that best suits your style.

The Pax 3 is a little different to other vapes mentioned here – while still technically a vape, the Pax 3 doesn’t use the same liquid as other vapes. Oh no. Instead, the Pax 3 utilises natural herbs to provide an aromatic smoking experience.

The choice of herb is up to you – you can use anything, from lavender which is said to boost blood flow and act as an anti-depressant, to chamomile which is said to help aid relaxation and sleep. If you’re into aromatherapy or are looking for a natural alternative to vaping, you won’t get much better than the Pax 3.

It’s a stunningly good-looking device too – people reference the Pax 3 as being the ‘Apple of the vape world’ and we somewhat agree. The shiny, premium look combined with Bluetooth connectivity is enough to impress even the most experienced vaper.

There’s a well-designed and easy-to-use app available for iOS and Android that lets you customise not only the temperature of the vape, but also different smoke modes for different effects – more clouds, etc. Just connect to it via Bluetooth and swipe across the screen to adjust the different options.

It is fairly expensive at over £200 though, so make sure that the herbal vaping route is definitely the one you want to go down before making a purchase.

If you’re new to the world of vaping and the idea of coils, resistances and wattages confuses you, then Jac Vapour’s Wee Vim is a good starting point. It’s not a full-on vape like the B-Series DNA, but it’s not quite as low-powered as the Vype Pebble, it’s a bit of a hybrid of the two.

It’s a small, cheap vape with a built-in 900mAh battery that admittedly doesn’t last all day on a single charge, but if you’re an office worker or have access to a microUSB cable during the day for top-ups, it shouldn’t present a huge issue. The plastic body has no display and only a firing button, as the settings are fixed – nice and simple for new vapers.

The highlight of the Wee Vim is that it’s compatible with e-Cig-style Vim Pods for easy refilling with no need to clean tanks or replace coils. The mechanism is smooth too, simply click in and twist to remove and secure Vim Pods. Then, when you’re ready to move up a level and start using refillable tanks compatible to try more exotic flavours, you can pick up a specially designed refillable Vim Tank (£9.99/$12.53). No need to invest in a new vape!