Mods

Vaping Mods

Mods came onto the vaping scene a number of years ago as little more than removable, rechargeable batteries for vape pens, but the ecosystem has evolved significantly since then. The atomiser-and-mod setup is now the most popular ecig configuration, and this popularity has led to an explosion of innovation and experimentation in the mod world.

Your bog-standard mod

At its most standard, a mod is a box containing a battery and a circuit that modulates the flow of electricity out of the battery. Sometimes the battery is integrated into the mod itself, and sometimes the batter is itself removable, which facilitates replacing if the battery stops holding a charge.

Every mod will have a fire button, which triggers the circuit to let some juice out of the battery. This current flows up out of the mod through the 510 connector, to which the tank is attached.

More complicated mods

Once everyone had agreed upon this basic recipe, ecig manufacturers started to get creative with their mods. Many installed circuits with more complicated configuration, so users can vary their wattage and temperature to adjust their vape to their own preferences. Some others have installed touchscreens to control the new capabilities that these mods have.

Still others have invested in interesting and attractive form factors, aiming to turn the unwieldy box mod into a fashion statement or marvel of ergonomics.

And some manufacturers have chased pure power, building ever more complicated circuits to harness as much of a battery’s power at once as possible in order to drive bigger and bigger clouds.

Yeah, it gets even more complicated

With the emergent popularity of rebuildable atomisers, some manufacturers have been developing so-called ‘squonk’ mods. These squonk mods include a plastic bottle filled with e-liquid that can be squeezed to push e-liquid into the wick of a rebuildable atomiser, removing the need for repeated dripping. They also circumvent some of the TPD legislation on tank sizes: a squonk bottle, after all, not being a tank, it can contain up to 9 or 10 ml of e-liquid at a time.

The mod world of the future

The world of vape mods continues to innovate apace, and doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.