What Is a Pod Vape?
A pod vape, or vape pod kit, is a rechargeable battery with a clip-in pod that holds the e-liquid and the coil together. You charge it over USB-C, fill the pod from a bottle or click in a sealed prefilled pod, and inhale. Most fire automatically when you draw, and some have a button.
UK law caps the pod at 2ml and nicotine at 20mg, and every device must be MHRA notified before it goes on sale. A pod kit works at roughly 10W to 35W, far below the 60W and up of a sub-ohm kit, which is why it gives a tighter, cigarette-style draw. If you have never filled one, start with our guide to choosing your first pod kit.
Open and Closed Pod Systems
An open pod system is a refillable pod vape you fill yourself from any bottle, and a closed pod system is a prefilled pod vape that takes a sealed pod you click in and swap. The battery, the draw and the charging are the same on either. Brand new to vaping, start prefilled. Already sure you want your own flavours and strength, go refillable. Coming off bars, our guide to switching from disposables covers both routes.
|
Open (refillable) |
Closed (prefilled) |
How it works |
Fill the pod from a bottle |
Click in a sealed pod |
Flavours |
Any UK e-liquid |
30 to 40 per brand |
E-liquid |
10ml bar salts or 50/50, 0mg to 20mg |
Comes filled, mostly 20mg |
What you replace |
Coil or pod every 1 to 3 weeks |
The sealed refill pod when empty |
Liquid per 10ml |
One bottle fills a 2ml pod five times |
Five sealed pods |
In an open pod, use a 10ml nic salt or a 50/50 e-liquid. High-VG shortfill is too thick for a pod coil and floods it. Coming off a bar, bar salts bottle the same flavours, and the nic salt strengths guide covers which strength to start on.
Change a refillable pod or coil every one to three weeks, or as soon as it tastes burnt, gurgles or loses flavour. On an integrated pod you replace the whole pod. On a removable-coil pod you swap only the coil, which works out cheaper over a year. On a closed system you swap the sealed pod.
Best Pod Vapes in the UK
The best pod vapes in the UK, going by what our customers buy most:
Refillable series |
Draw |
Best for |
Vaporesso XROS |
MTL and RDL |
The all-rounder, with COREX mesh pods and the widest choice of body sizes |
OXVA Xlim |
Tight MTL to RDL |
The widest range, from the GO Lite up to the Pro 3 |
Uwell Caliburn |
Pure MTL |
The classic first pod vape, auto-draw with nothing to set up |
VooPoo Argus |
MTL and RDL |
Switching between draws on one device |
Vaporesso Armour |
MTL to DTL |
Pod mods, the Armour G at 3000mAh and 80W |
Lost Vape Ursa |
MTL and RDL |
Metal and leather finishes, small bodies |
Most prefilled pod kits come from Elf Bar, Lost Mary, IVG, Hayati and Al Fakher, each with its own sealed refill pods. Buy into a series whose pods and coils you can still get in a year, because the pods carry across models.
Pod Kits, Pod Mods and Pod Systems
A pod system is any vape built from a battery and a clip-in pod, a pod kit is the small auto-draw version most people start on, and a pod mod is the most powerful, with more wattage, a bigger battery and a screen in a body still small enough to pocket. For the difference between draws, see MTL, DTL and RDL explained.
Stage |
What to look for |
Typical device |
Pod kit, coming off cigarettes or bars |
Auto-draw, fixed wattage, pod with the coil built in |
Caliburn G4 Mini, Xlim GO 2, Sonder Q3 |
Pod system, vaping daily already |
5W to 35W adjustable, replaceable coil, airflow control |
XROS 5, Xlim Pro 3, Argus G3 |
Pod mod, want one device for both draws |
Up to 80W, MTL and RDL pods, screen |
Armour G, Armour GS |
Coming off cigarettes, start on the top row with a 20mg nic salt, as a beginner does not need wattage control in the first month. The full beginner range is on the beginner kits page.
Small and Pocket Pod Vapes
The smallest pod vapes are barely bigger than a car key: auto-draw with no buttons, a 2ml pod and USB-C on the bottom. The Xlim GO Lite is the lightest at 41.5g, the Aspire GoteK range is the simplest, and the XROS Mini Retro is the smallest XROS at 18W and 1000mAh.
Smaller means a smaller battery. A compact pod kit at 500 to 1000mAh gives about a day of normal vaping, a 1500mAh device a day and a half, and a 3000mAh pod mod two to three days. Every compact kit, pod or otherwise, is on our small vapes page.
For a slim pen shape instead of a pod body, see vape pens.
