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Vaping 101: how to vape using different techniques

We often see articles on the web about how to vape, many of them from us here at Vaporesso. While these articles are certainly useful - particularly for beginners - they seldom go into any detail about various vaping techniques. Knowing how to clean your vape tank or learning the ins and outs of RDA atomizer dripping is all good and well, but what about the actual act of vaping itself? There are various inhalation techniques you can use while vaping to get different experiences, and in this article we'll outline some of the most popular to help you get started. Once you know how these different techniques work, you can experiment whenever you like and settle into a style that suits you.


When taking a 'hit' or puffing your vaping device, there are effectively two main ways to making it happen. The first way is 'mouth to lung', often noted simply as MTL, and the second way is 'direct lung inhale' or DLI. Those who have experience with smoking cigarettes will already be familiar with MTL, even if they don't realise it, whereas those who take naturally to DLI might have more experience with pipe smoking. Resistance, battery strength and airflow all play a major role in what kind of vaping experience you get, but what many people don't realise is that how you interact with your vaping device can also have a major impact.


Let's look at MTL and DLI in a little more detail...

Mouth to lung inhalation (or MTL)

Mouth to lung is a fairly simple approach to vaping, and one that many will naturally default to if they have experience with cigarettes. You take the vapour into your mouth before inhaling into the lungs, much like you would suck on a straw. This has become the norm for many smokers, as early commercial cigarattes were basically built to be smoked this way. Vaping however, gives us a little more freedom. 


What are the effects of MTL?

It's widely noted that the effects of MTL are a little softer and milder than DLI. More flavour is usually apparent too as the vapour stays in the mouth for longer - ideal if you like vaping for the various e-juice flavours on offer. It's also a better choice of technique for those moving to vaping as a way to quit smoking, as the two styles are so similar.


Advantages:

  • Juice goes futher - Inhalation with MTL is slower, which means your favourite vape juice will last a lot longer. If you like savouring your vaping moments, MTL may be for you. 
  • Your vaping device will stay cooler - less battery power is needed with MTL as the rate of vaping tends to be slower and softer. This means your batter isn't having to work quite so hard your device will remain cool. 
  • Good for quitting smoking - MTL is the same basic techniqie as cigarette or cigar smoking, so those making the switch to vaping will have something familiar to help them transition.
  • Flavour, flavour, flavour - If you like vaping for the flavours, MTL is a great choice. Your juice will have more exposure to your taste buds and you'll be able to hit all the notes easily. 

Direct Lung Inhalation (DLI)

Whereas MTL is a little like sucking through a straw, DLI can be compared to sucking the air out of a balloon or taking a sharp intake of the breath. Dense vapour from your vaping device will fill your lungs, much in the same way it would when smoking a shisha pipe or something similar. If you're interested in sub-ohm vaping, this is a technique you'll want to get familiar with. 


What are the effects of DLI?

You'll experience a more intense 'hit' with DLI than you would with MTL. Some vapers find this extremely satisfying but those used to a more mellow experience may be a little overwhelmed. It really just comes down to preference. Liquid or juice will be heated to higher temperatures so quick, sharp draws are needed which can result in faster vaping and stronger nicotine hit, so your levels will need to be adjusted accordingly.


Advantages:

  • Can be very satisfying - If you like intense vaping or are familiar with intense, heavy hit smoking, you may derive a lot of satisfaction from DLI. 
  • Cloudchasing - Cloudchasing is all about creating big, dense clouds and DLI is the perfect method for producing nice foggy plumes. 
  • Staying low key - Contrary to cloudchasing, you can also vape quite stealthily using DLI. By holding the vape in your lungs for longer, you can make the cloud dissipate before you exhale. It's perfect if you want to keep things low key in a public place where aren't sure of the rules or vaping ettiquette. 

Other vaping techniques

DLI and MTL are the two main techniques that vapers use, but occasionally you may hear terms like 'hybrid hit', 'french inhale' or 'snap inhale'. These are all clever variations on the above, but different enough to be given their own names.


Hybrid hit basically entails drawing vapour into the mouth than half way through your draw, open your lips and let some fresh air into your lungs as you inhale deeply. It's effectively a combination of MTL and DLI. It's a good way to allow your taste buds to enjoy the flavour while still getting an intense hit at the end of the draw.


Snap inhale is all about letting vapour build in the mouth, before exhaling slightly and then sucking it all back into your lungs. You effectively get two draws for the price of one, both at different intensities.


French inhale is all about flavour. You take a deep draw into your mouth, before slowly letting the vape escape and drawing it back through your nose. This more of a showy trick than a style of serious vaping, but it can be used to immerse yourself in the flavours.

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