In vaping, nicotine salts have had one of the biggest impacts on helping people quit smoking. This is because they offer a smoother hit and satisfying & fast nicotine delivery even at lower wattages. In this guide, we will show you the top nicotine salt brands and flavours currently on the market, as well as recommendations from us. Additionally, we are going to go over the pros and cons of nicotine salts, also known as nic salts.
Table of Contents
- What Is Nicotine Salt?
- What is the Difference Then?
- The Pros and Cons Of Nic Salts
- Best Nic Salts Brands
- Bar Juice 5000 10ml Nic Salts
- Elfliq E-liquids (Elf Bar Juice) 10ml Nic Salts
- Cuttwood Bar Salts
- Just Juice Bar Juice Nic Salts 10ml
- Five Pawns Nic Salts 10ml
- Gold Bar Nic Salts 10ml
- Riot Squad Bar Salts 10ml
- Sadboy Nic Salts 10ml
- Joes Juice Creme Kong 10ml Nic Salts
- Elux Legend Nic Salts
- Best Devices for Nic Salts
- Best Rebuildable Coil For Nic Salts
- A Nic Salt Deal Like No Other
- Summary
What Are Nic Salt?
Nicotine salt is the form of nicotine found naturally in tobacco leaves.
In its natural state, nicotine salt requires a higher temperature to vaporise and doesn't easily bind to nicotine receptors in the body, making it less efficient for nicotine delivery compared to the de-protonated freebase form.
However, companies have developed a method to use nicotine salt in a way that allows for high nicotine concentrations, such as 20mg, to be more tolerable than traditional e-juices.
The key ingredient in this process is benzoic acid, which plays two crucial roles in salt nicotine:
- Vapour and pH Levels: Benzoic acid helps nicotine salt vaporise at lower temperatures and lowers the pH level, resulting in a smoother throat hit.
- Absorption: A chemical reaction occurs that makes the nicotine more absorbable, similar to freebase nicotine.
This allows for comfortable vaping at high nicotine levels, such as 50mg, and enhances nicotine absorption by the body.
What is the Difference Then?
From a vaping standpoint, the main difference between freebase nicotine and nicotine salt is how they influence your vaping experience.
One noticeable difference is the harshness associated with higher nicotine strengths. Freebase nicotine has a higher pH level, which increases its basicness and makes it harsher at higher nicotine concentrations. In contrast, nicotine salt has lower basicness due to the addition of benzoic acid, providing a smoother throat hit.
The Pros and Cons Of Nic Salts
We are going to explain the fundamentals of nicotine salts and why people prefer them over freebase style nicotine. As they have many advantages and a few drawbacks, understanding these can help you determine if they are right for you.
Pros Of Nic Salts
- Smoother Hits: Nicotine salts are great for beginners or anyone who finds regular vape juice too harsh. They provide smooth hits. This smoother sensation enhances the vaping experience, particularly at higher nicotine strengths.
- Quick Nicotine Absorption: Nicotine salts can mimic the nicotine absorption rate of regular cigarettes, which is a key advantage. This helps satisfy nicotine cravings faster, making them a great choice for people switching from smoking to vaping.
- Lower Power Needs: Nicotine salts work best with small devices like pod systems because they don't need high heat to turn into vapour. This compatibility allows for a more compact, discreet vaping setup and extended battery life.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Nicotine salts deliver nicotine more efficiently, so users may vape less often and save money in the long run.
Cons Of Nic Salts
- Limited Vaping Styles: Those who enjoy cloud chasing or direct-to-lung (DTL) vaping might find nicotine salts less satisfying. Nicotine salts are typically better suited for mouth-to-lung (MTL) vaping, which closely mimics smoking a traditional cigarette.
- Flavour Limitations: Some vapers think that the focus on nicotine satisfaction in e-liquids can overshadow the variety of flavours available.
- Higher Nicotine Dependency Risk: Nicotine salts can make you more dependent on nicotine, especially if you were not a heavy smoker before.
- Compatibility Issues: Nicotine salts may not work well in all vaping devices, especially those made for high-wattage, sub-ohm vaping. Users need to ensure their devices are compatible with nicotine salts to avoid damage or a disappointing experience.
Best Nic Salts Brands
Bar Juice 5000 10ml Nic Salts
People know Bar Juice 5000 as the best nic salt brand in the UK. Bar Juice with thier research have found that some lines of flavours are better suited for a 40/60 vg/pg mix, there than a 50/50 as it benefits with that extra push of flavour, making it stand out from the competition. This gives much more flavour than others; it's crazy other brands have not copied this one simple thing. This is the best nic salt juice in the UK.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, and 20mg
- Flavours: A huge range, covering almost all disposable flavours
- Compatibility: Perfect for users who prefer MTL vaping.
Pros
- The Biggest Range: Bar Juice has the best range of flavours compared to any other brand, covering almost any palate.
- The Disposable Flavour: The best brand if you're looking for a flavour that tastes like a disposable bar juice have cracked the code.
- Good Strength Choice: Now that it has been out for some time, Bar Juice now offers their flavours in four strengths: 5, 10, 15, and even 20 mg.
Cons
- Too Many Flavours: With over 30 flavours to pick from and 4 nic strengths to pick from, it is overwhelming to a new user.
- Odd VG/PG: While have some flavours 40/60 VG/PG mix is a great things because you can more flavour our of some of the flavour some people extra it's an overkill & can make them to rich.
Choose from over 32 flavours of disposable vapes, including favourites like strawberry, raspberry, cherry, and blue sour raspberry. Available in 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, and 20mg nicotine strengths. You can see why it has such a wide audience.
Elfliq E-liquids (Elf Bar Juice) 10ml Nic Salts
One of the biggest brands on this list is Elfliq Nicotine salts which, if you didn't know, is Elf Bar's own disposable juice. The juice is now extremely famous and well-known. Other companies will copy it by using a similar name, like Elf Juice.
The best brand is if you're looking for the same flavour you get in an Elf Bar that tastes the same but even better.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg
- Flavours: A good range of disposable-style flavours
- Compatibility: Perfect for users who prefer MTL vaping using pods or any AIO.
Pros
- Brand Name: Elf Bar, a well-known brand that produces disposable vapes, manufactures the popular brand Elfliq.
- Same Juice: With Elf Bar making the Elfliq range of juice, it is pretty easy for them to just bottle the juice and get the same flavours.
- Good Strength Choice: Good range in strength with 5mg, 10mg, and even 20mg, so you have a good choice to pick from.
Cons
- Changing Names: Over the time that Elfliq has been out, they have changed the name of the flavours so many times to the point it is confusing now.
- Still No Shortfill: With how popular Elf Bar has been, they absolutely should have a shortfill bottle by now or even a longfill.
Elf Bar is extremely popular. They should consider selling a shortfill 50/50 or longfill bottle. This would cater to different preferences and attract more customers.
Adding these options could help Elf Bar expand its product line and increase sales. Staying competitive in the market, Elf Bar must offer a variety of choices to consumers.
Cuttwood Bar Salts
Cuttwood, what to say about this giant vape juice manufacturer other than it has been making juice for many years now. This is the 1st USA brand to make a disposable style juice.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 10mg and 20mg.
- Flavours: Solid pick of flavours with a few from the shortfill ranges they make.
- Compatibility: Great for MTL vaping with starter kits.
Pros
- The American Brand: The 1st American brand to dip its toes into making a disposable style nic salts & has a few standout flavours.
- Good Range Of Flavours: Has many of the flavours you know like blue sour, kiwi passion.
- Good Strength Choice: Now that it has been out for some time, Bar Juice now offers their flavours in four strengths: 5, 10, 15, and even 20 mg.
Cons
- Too Many Flavours: When you see the brand, you may think it doesn't offer many flavours. However, I'm referring to unique flavours like fizzy cherry, cherry cola, and blue razz ice. Having their own flavours with the disposable flavour twist is better than just copying others.
- Missing 5mg: Disposable juice is mainly for beginners and people trying to quit smoking. It is important for them to have the option to go as low as possible.
Just Juice Bar Juice Nic Salts 10ml
Just Juice, known for their nicotine salts and shortfills, has recently entered the disposable juice market. Just Juice is now in the disposable juice market.
They have a reputation for their nicotine salts and shortfills. They have decided to focus on creating authentic fruity flavours instead of generic options. This is in line with their brand.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg
- Flavours: A huge range, covering almost all disposable flavours
- Compatibility: Perfect for users who prefer MTL vaping.
Pros
- Biggest Brand In The UK: Just Juice is a long-standing brand that is well known & has been making juice for years
- Not Disposable Flavours: Just Juice has not been a copycat and has made their own flavours which people have been loving
- Good Strength Choice: Quick to know that people want a 5mg choice with nic salts.
Cons
- Late to the Game: Just Juice is behind on the disposable juice trend. This has had a negative impact on them because they have not embraced it while working with OXVA.
- No Blue Juice: Just Juice does not offer any blueberry flavours. This was evident during a recent store promotion when many customers requested blue sour flavours.
Five Pawns Nic Salts 10ml
With Five Pawns now true in the UK and at a good price at only £2.95 a bottle rather than the crazy price of £5.99 per bottle 6 months ago, this American brand has really made a splash this year with the nic salts and the shortfill 50/50 range. Now you can try this brand without breaking the bank and it's no longer a freebase nicotine e-liquid.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 10mg & 20mg nicotine strengths
- Flavours: Classic flavours from a USA brand
- Compatibility: Perfect for users who prefer MTL vaping.
Pros
- High Quality Ingredients: Being a USA brand, only the best flavours and ingredients are used
- Complex Flavours: Being a Five Pawns Vape Juice, it has the most complex flavour profiles you could think of.
- Trusted Brand: Has been in the vaping industry for many years now and is a brand that can be trusted.
Cons
- Known For Being Expensive: While this is not true now, Five Pawns was known as being that brand that was nearly £7 for a single 10ml bottle even a year ago, which has changed now that Vaping 101 has the brand.
- The Right Coil: With such complex flavours comes needing a far better coil to get the flavours to come out, as some profiles are muted if you use cheap coils or if your wattage is too low or even too high.
While the flavours that Five Pawns make are not for everyone, it is clear to see that complex flavour profiles are what people love as it really opens up your mind to great flavours & now being a nic salt flavour as well means you get a far smoother throat hit.
Gold Bar Nic Salts 10ml
Now a classic at Vaping 101 at least in-store, local customers can't get enough of this salt vape, purely based on the disposable Gold Bar. Keep that classic gold box now you can try the notorious Oasis flavour that people are going crazy for.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 10mg and 20mg nicotine salt strengths.
- Flavours: Flavours are straight from the disposable
- Compatibility: Perfect for users who prefer MTL vaping with pods and boro mods.
Pros
- Iconic Brand: Well-known brand, at least in Scotland, Gold Bar has made its name known
- Iconic Flavours: Gold Bar has a few flavours which people know them for, like Oasis & Hawaiian Sunrise
Cons
- Missing Flavours: While Gold Bar Nic salts are new, it’s still missing a few known flavours like Super Mix, Prime, & El Dorado
- A Bit Late: While this is a well-known brand on the high streets of Scotland, Gold Bar has taken far too long to come out with nic salts which has hurt them a bit because it's not well known in the online space.
While it is missing a few of the main flavours that people buy the disposables for, I doubt it will take long for them to update this line of nic salts.
Riot Squad Bar Salts 10ml
Riot Squad, the brand with a mouth on them when it comes to marketing, are bold and make their voice known when it comes to how good their juice is. The bottle style has always been a great touch. As soon as you see the bullet bottle, you know that’s a Riot Squad Nic Salt.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 5mg, 10mg, and 20mg Nicotine Salt Strengths
- Flavours: A huge range, covering almost all disposable flavours & even non-disposable style flavours
- Compatibility: Great for pod, pens & starter kits.
Pros
- Huge Range: As Riot has been building this brand over 2 years now, it now has 35 flavours.
- The Disposable Flavour: They’ve done their best to make solid disposable style flavours while also adding a lot of new ones to the mix.
- Best Marketing: Riot Squad's bold stance has always been amazing to watch with amazing marketing plans, from their quit smoking campaigns to the Rishi Sunak Vape Shop which highlighted the crazy plans by the government.
Cons
- Too Many Flavours: With 35 flavours, it makes the product page become overwhelming with a wall of text with flavours.
- No New Shortfills: While it’s great that Riot Squad has been doing well with the Riot Squad Bar Edtn vape juice, it seems it’s taken over the brand to the point they have dropped making a few iconic flavours in the shortfill lines.
While Riot Squad has made its name known now that disposable style juice is a thing, they have been going hard on the bar salts line with updates almost once a month. Now they keep adding even juice from the Punx line because they just know how to make good nicotine salt bursting with flavour while keeping it nice and icy.
Sadboy Nic Salts 10ml
A brand that kind of just came back out of nowhere as just one day it just showed back up after being gone for almost 3 years but only in shortfill form. The new nic salt line has the same flavours you know, like the cookie line, cotton candies and jams. But now they have repriced themselves to be more affordable as it was an expensive e-liquid last time we had it at Vaping 101.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 10mg & 20mg nicotine salt strengths
- Flavours: Same great flavours from back in the day.
- Compatibility: Perfect for users who prefer MTL vaping.
Pros
- Old Brand Come Back: Bar Juice has the best range of flavours compared to any other brand, covering almost any palate.
- Great Cookie Line: One of the best cookie flavour profile lines out of all nic salts.
Cons
- Gone for Too Long: Being that Sadboy was not for sale for a long time, many people will just look at it as just a random brand.
- No New Flavours: While you have all the same flavours it had many years ago, it had no updates for 2024 which is quite odd.
Joes Juice Creme Kong 10ml Nic Salts
Joes Juice took their time to turn their classic brand into nic salts. Joes Juice recently transformed their traditional brand into nic salts. The manufacturer designed the original 200ml shortfill juice for sub-ohm vapers. Now, the same biscuit and custard creme flavours are available in nic salts.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 5mg and 20mg
- Flavours: Unique flavour profile, just custard cremes.
- Compatibility: Perfect for users who prefer MTL vaping.
Pros
- The Best Custard Creme: The only brand to make a really good tasting custard creme flavour
- The Disposable Flavour: The best brand if you're looking for a flavour that tastes like a disposable bar juice have cracked the code.
Cons
- Limited Flavour: Custard creme is a great flavour, but there are limited ways to use it before it loses its taste.
- No 5mg: While being a limited line, it’s very odd not to see a 5mg choice for people who love to vape at a lower nicotine level.
Elux Legend Nic Salts
Elux, one of the biggest brands within the disposable market, now has its nic salt based on its main line disposable, the Legend, and yes, they made sure to get the main flavours like Tiger Blood and Strawberry Watermelon Bubblegum, as it’s not Elux if you don’t have these flavours.
Key Features
- Nic Strengths: Comes in 10mg and 20mg
- Flavours: A good range of flavours based on disposables.
- Compatibility: Great for MTL vaping for people who have just quit smoking
Pros
- Has Most Well-Known Flavours: Being that it’s Elux, it’s the only brand that has a Tiger Blood flavour and a few others which are known by Elux
- The Disposable Flavour: Strong disposable style vape juice with double concentrated flavours.
Cons
- Too Many Side Brands: This has only been a problem with Elux, where they pick making a new side brand nic salts, e.g., Firerose, then stop updating the main line nic salts.
- Slow to Update Line: It takes far too long to add new flavours to the main line nic salts. The last update was about 5 months ago, only just hearing about new flavours this month as of 30th May.
Best Devices for Nic Salts
While most pods are suitable for nic salts, certain vape devices with better coils can enhance performance and flavour. Here are a few devices designed to bring out the best in nic salts, especially when compared to older models that might not deliver the same quality of flavour as the latest pods from 2024. So let’s go over 2 of the best vape devices for nic salts in the UK you can get right now.
OXVA Xlim Pro
A standout in the pod market, the OXVA Xlim Pro is a solid device that has evolved over time, updating its pods three times to meet the needs of modern vapers and new juice styles.
The 0.8-ohm pod is particularly renowned for nic salts, offering a perfect balance for MTL (mouth-to-lung) vapers. It provides just the right amount of flavour and vapour production, avoiding excessive cloudiness while delivering rich flavour. The Xlim Pro also comes in a wide range of colours, from pinks and blacks to wood-style finishes, catering to every aesthetic preference.
Vaporesso Xros 4 Pod Vape
The acclaimed Xros series has been a staple for years, known for its user-friendly design. The Xros 4 features a snap-off style pod that's easy to fill, and its straightforward design makes it a fill-and-go device with no screen, ideal for simplicity.
Vaporesso has enhanced the Xros pods with the new Corex technology, making them more compatible with modern disposable-style nicotine salts. Additionally, the updated Axon chipset ensures reliable performance and a satisfying vaping experience.
Best Rebuildable Coil For Nic Salts
Andrew's Personal Pick
The Coilology Handcrafted Sandvik MTL Alien 0.70 Ohm is a great coil for rebuildable. Andrew has recommended this coil to be the best coil for nic salts. He tested this coil with the Hell Vape Dead Rabbit MTL RTA & Boro RBA's and got great coil life and flavour.
Specs for the Coil Below
- Configuration: 3-32/40GA
- Inner Diameter: 2.5mm
- Wraps: 5/4
- Resistance: 0.703Ω (0.352Ω Dual)
- Best Match: BORO/AIO Bridges, Single Coil RTA
A Nic Salt Deal Like No Other
Here at Vaping 101, we pride ourselves on giving the best value for our customers. That’s why we have an unbeatable deal for all nic salts. You can get any brands and mix and match 4 for £9.50. This allows you to pick from over 110 brands and over 2000 flavours while also giving you free postage anywhere in the UK if you spend over £50.
Summary
Nicotine salts (nic salts) have changed vaping by offering smoother hits and faster nicotine absorption, making them ideal for those transitioning from smoking. This guide reviews the top nic salt brands of 2024, highlighting their unique features, pros, and cons.
Key brands include Bar Juice 5000, Elfliq E-liquids, Cuttwood Bar Salts, Just Juice Bar Juice, Five Pawns Nic Salts, Gold Bar Nic Salts, Riot Squad Bar Salts, Sadboy Nic Salts, Joes Juice Creme Kong, and Elux Legend Nic Salts. Additionally, we recommend the best devices for nic salts to enhance your vaping experience.
Don’t miss our special deal at Vaping 101: mix and match 4 nic salt bottles for £9.50 with free UK postage on orders over £50. Happy vaping!
