# How to choose the best vape, a method you can check > The best vape depends on how you use it. Five criteria, a weighting for each profile and a calculation anyone can redo from makers' data. Every shop publishes its list of the **best vape**, and every list happens to feature what that shop sells. The problem is not that these rankings exist, it is that none of them shows its working. Readers cannot check the criteria or see how much each one counts. This guide does the opposite, with five criteria, a weighting for each profile and a calculation anyone can repeat from the makers' own specification sheets. ## There is no best vape, only a best fit There is no best vape in the absolute. There is a device that fits the way you vape better than the others, and you can find it in three steps. First, score each device from 0 to 5 on five checkable criteria, namely draw, simplicity, battery, consumables and size. Second, weight those scores to suit your profile. Third, add them up and compare the totals out of 100. The device that comes out on top with your weighting is the right choice for you, not necessarily for the person next to you. ## The five criteria in the grid Each criterion rests on data the maker publishes rather than on an impression. That is what allows two readers applying the grid to the same device to reach the same score. ### Draw and coil range A tight mouth-to-lung draw calls for a higher resistance, often around 0.8 to 1.2 ohm, and little power. Direct lung vaping calls for a low resistance and far more watts. A device scores 5 when the coils its maker offers cover the draw you want, and 0 when they do not. ### Simplicity in use Top, side or bottom filling, firing by draw or by button, settings on a screen or no settings at all. The score reflects how many steps stand between opening the box and the first draw, and how clear the manual is. ### Battery and charging Capacity in mAh and the stated charging current form the basis. Capacity always has to be read against the power in use, since a low-resistance coil run at high wattage empties a battery far faster than a higher resistance at low power. ### Consumables and compatibility A device is also worth what its pods are worth. The score rewards a wide range of pods or coils, shared across several of the brand's devices and documented value by value by the maker. ### Size and weight The dimensions and weight the maker publishes are enough. A device 16 mm across does not travel like a pod mod more than 30 mm wide, and this criterion weighs heavily for anyone who keeps their kit on them. ## Weighting the grid to your profile The same scores do not produce the same ranking once you know what you want from the device. The weighting turns those expectations into numbers, and each column adds up to 100. | Criterion | First device, tight draw | Switching tight and direct | Size comes first | |---|---|---|---| | Draw | 25 | 35 | 20 | | Simplicity | 30 | 10 | 20 | | Battery | 15 | 20 | 15 | | Consumables | 20 | 25 | 15 | | Size | 10 | 10 | 30 | These weightings are our editorial choice, and you are free to change them. What matters is to set them before looking at devices, so the grid is not bent to fit a favourite. ## The sum step by step, two devices and three profiles The calculation fits on one line. For each criterion, multiply the weighting by the score divided by 5, then add everything up. The scores below are examples to show how it works, not measurements of real devices. Take a compact pod scoring 4 for draw, 5 for simplicity, 3 for battery, 4 for consumables and 5 for size. With the first-device weighting it totals 20 + 30 + 9 + 16 + 10, which is 85 out of 100. The same pod scores 80 for the profile that switches draw styles and 87 for the profile that puts size first. Against it, a pod mod scoring 5 for draw, 2 for simplicity, 5 for battery, 5 for consumables and 2 for size totals 76 for a first device, 88 for switching draw styles and 70 for size. The ranking flips from one profile to the next, which is exactly what a single league table hides. ## Worked choices by profile Applied to the devices we have looked at, the grid points to families of kit rather than to one winner. The examples below use makers' data only. ### First device and a tight draw A simple pod without a screen, with higher-resistance pods, ticks the boxes that count most here. Vaporesso's Luxe Q2 comes with 0.6 and 1.0 ohm pods and an airflow slider, while Geekvape's Wenax M2 takes 0.8 and 1.2 ohm pods. Our [comparison of the Vaporesso Luxe Q2 with two entry-level pods](/uk/vaporesso-luxe-q2-first-pod/) runs this logic in detail. ### Switching between a tight and a direct draw Here draw and consumables dominate. A pod mod supplied with two separate pods, such as Vaporesso's Luxe XR Max 2 with its 0.8 and 0.2 ohm coils, scores where a simple pod runs out of range. ### Size comes first Size carries 30% of the score. A cigar-shaped device like the Wenax M2, listed at 124.8 mm tall and 16 mm wide, then pulls ahead of a taller, wider pod mod. ## What the grid does not measure An honest method also states its limits. Three points sit outside the grid and are judged differently. How a draw feels and how an e-liquid tastes remain personal, and trying a device in a shop settles that better than a spec sheet. Reliability over several months appears on no specification at all. Capacity, finally, does not separate devices sold legally in the UK. The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 cap a refillable tank at 2 ml, refill bottles of nicotine e-liquid at 10 ml and nicotine strength at 20 mg per ml. A listing that shows more than 2 ml is worth checking against the version actually on sale. ## FAQ These questions extend the method to points the criteria alone do not settle. ### Which vape brand should I choose? Brand is not a criterion in the grid. It counts indirectly through the quality of its documentation. A maker that publishes dimensions, capacity per market version and the wattage range of every coil makes fair scoring easier. ### Do I need a vape with a screen? A screen mainly helps when power can be adjusted. On a pod with automatic power it adds little beyond a battery indicator, and it gives you one more thing to handle. ### Is a built-in battery a drawback? Not in itself. It simplifies charging and keeps the device small. The trade-off is well known, as the device's life follows that of its battery, whereas a device with a removable cell lets you replace it. ### Can I trust customer reviews? They tell you about reliability and feel, two things the grid does not cover. For specifications, the maker's own page remains the reference, because a review sometimes describes a different version of the same device. ### Where can I check a device's specifications? On the maker's official page, taking care to spot the market version. Several makers publish different box contents per version, for example a TPD version with 2 ml pods and a global version with 5 ml pods. ## Finding the best vape with your own grid Five criteria scored from published data, a weighting fixed before you look at devices, and a total out of 100. The method fits on one sheet of paper and points to the kit that suits the way you vape, without relying on any shop's catalogue. Run the numbers again whenever you change kit. It is the most dependable way to find the **best vape** for you, rather than the one on a list written for somebody else. ## In this issue - [Vaporesso Luxe XR Max 2 in use, against two rival pod mods](/uk/vaporesso-luxe-xr-max-2-in-use/) - [Geekvape Wenax M2, the tight-draw pod up close](/uk/geekvape-wenax-m2/) - [Where can you vape UK-wide, law, venues and the railway](/uk/where-can-you-vape-uk/) Written for adult readers only. Vaping products usually contain nicotine, which is addictive, and nicotine vapes are not for sale to anyone under 18 in the UK. Nébuleuse Mag sells nothing and this piece is not a buying recommendation.