When you make the switch from smoking to vaping, you’re making a major statement about your life and the direction that you intend to take in the future. Regardless of what anyone might tell you, switching to vaping isn’t easy no matter how reliable and satisfying today’s vaping devices may be. If you’re going to make that leap, it’s understandable that you might want to flaunt that change a little bit and show off your new lifestyle to your family and friends.
The manufacturers of vaping products long ago outgrew the need to make their devices look like cigarettes. Today, just about every smoker in the developed world knows what a vaping device looks like and what it’s for. Freed from that constraint, manufacturers now make vaping devices in a huge variety of shapes and colors – and that means your first vaping device is likely to look pretty nice right out of the box.
What if you want to go a bit further, though, and have a unique vaping setup that’s completely your own? Here are 4 ways to personalize your vaping device.
Buy a Vaping Device With a Design That Matches Your Personality
You may have bought your first vaping device from a local retailer like a convenience store, but when you shop for your second device, it’s likely that you’re going to go to a vape shop like V2 Cigs. When you do, you’ll see that there’s a huge amount of creativity going into the designs of today’s vaping devices. Take advantage of that by buying a device that meshes well with your personality out of the box.
Some of the most popular materials that you can find in today’s vaping devices include carbon fiber, stabilized wood, printed vinyl, colorful resin and a variety of different metals – and when you buy a full vape kit, you’ll also receive a matching tank.
Although you’ll get a tank when you buy a vape kit, you’re also free to use a third-party tank if you see another vape tank that’s a better match for your sense of style. Feel free to choose a tank that matches or contrasts with the design of your vaping device.
You can further customize your vape tank by installing a mouthpiece – also called a drip tip – other than the one included with the tank. There’s an entire industry devoted to making custom drip tips for vape tanks using materials like stainless steel, hand-blown glass, heat-resistant plastics and exotic stones like jade.
Buy a Wrap for Your Vaping Device
If you aren’t completely happy with the stock design of your vaping device, you can customize it by installing a wrap. A wrap is a printed decoration – usually made from vinyl that’s sticky on one side and printed on the other – that covers nearly the entire surface of your vaping device.
Since a wrap is printed from a digital image, it can have virtually any design that you can possibly imagine. For the most popular vaping devices, you can already buy wraps in literally thousands of different designs ranging from tie dye and marble to images of popular celebrities and sports teams. Many of the companies that produce vape wraps will also print your custom images on laser-cut vinyl, which essentially gives you the ability to design your own vaping device.
The only drawback of using a vape wrap is that you can generally only find wraps for the most popular vaping devices. If the device that you’re using is a bit more obscure, you’re unlikely to find wraps for that device due to the amount of labor involved in creating the laser cutting plans.
Find a Shop That Customizes Vaping Devices
There is a niche market for vaping devices that are either made from extremely high-end materials or customized according to buyers’ expectations. The companies that manufacture custom vaping devices typically make mechanical mods, which are really only for experts – so that type of company may not be appropriate for you if you’re new to vaping. When you gain experience, though, you can find precision-made vaping devices machined according to exacting specifications and made from beautiful materials such as stainless steel, brass and wood. It’s even possible to find gold-electroplated vaping devices.
If you’re not ready to step up to a mechanical mod, consider looking for a shop that can customize the device you have. Would you like a vape mod that’s decked out with Swarovski crystals or covered with glossy auto paint? Anything is possible. You can find just about any kind of customization service you can imagine if you look hard enough.
Replace Your Tank’s Original Glass With a Hand-Blown Alternative
If you’re not ready to spend the money for a vaping device that’s custom made or modified by a shop, you can personalize your vaping setup in a much more affordable way by replacing your tank’s original glass. The glass enclosures for vape tanks are generally made in standard sizes that don’t vary a great deal – if at all – from one tank model to the next. What that means is that a good glass blower can make a hand-blown glass tube that’s a perfect drop-in replacement for your vape tank’s original glass.
A custom glass enclosure for a vape tank may have a colorful or whimsical design, and it’ll work with your tank’s existing hardware and stock coils. To install it, you’ll simply disassemble your tank and gently rock the original glass enclosure until it comes loose. Lift the enclosure away from the tank’s hardware and put it somewhere safe; you’ll be glad to have a backup if you ever drop your tank and break the glass. Reassemble the tank over the new glass, and you’re good to go!
There are so many different vape tanks in the world today that finding a custom glass enclosure isn’t as easy as it used to be. If you’re not able to find a hand-blown replacement for your tank’s glass, you can always customize your tank by putting a silicone wrap called a vape band around the tank instead. A vape band isn’t just a fun way to customize your vaping setup; it can also help your tank’s glass last longer by insulating it from everyday scrapes and bumps.