Electronic cigarettes have a pretty challenging role to play. To get die-hard smokers to ditch the tar and the barrage of chemicals in tobacco cigarettes, an e-cig needs to offer ample vapor production, a strong throat hit and plenty of the nicotine they crave. White Cloud Cigarettes is one of the leading brands of e-cigarette, because their products have a reputation for doing just that. They’ve been featured widely in the media, in high-profile publications like Forbes, and have amassed a loyal following amongst the vaping community, but does the e-cig really deliver?

White Cloud e-cig is a Florida-based company founded in 2008. The three co-founders started working as distributors, gaining experience before securing their own factory in China to start producing their own. They’re proud of their Chinese manufacturers, having carefully chosen the highest-quality facilities and subjecting every battery and cartridge to multiple quality checks before they’re shipped to customers. They’re also constantly researching and developing, as well as incorporating feedback from vapers to improve their products. As a result, there are 31 retail stores which carry White Cloud Cigarettes.

The Cirrus Variety Starter Kit comes with three batteries (the Cirrus II, 3 and 3X), five cartridges, USB charger and wall adapter. It’s currently priced $109.95 (as of April 2013), and there are more affordable options if you choose one battery type (the II kit is the cheapest and the 3X is most expensive. Any starter kit is still a considerable investment, though, so it’s well worth finding out more before you make your purchase.

Packaging and Design

The Starter Kit comes in a small cardboard box, with a lid that must be pulled upwards to remove. The more chest-like magnetic opening system is much more efficient, but the goods slip out easily enough if you hold the box without supporting the bottom. The branding is excellent, with a deep navy blue and crisp white color scheme and silver “WC” logos around the sides of the box, the “C” looking like a sharpened sickle-blade. The other kits are more cloud-themed and colorful, but are still very appealing. Inside, the three batteries are nestled in a foam upper layer, and everything else you need is underneath.

Quick look at the Cirrus 3x White Cloud Cigarettes:

The batteries themselves are well-designed, available in either plain white or brushed metal, with no faux-rings in sight. They’re blue and white, with a choice between grey, black and crystal tips, which light up a warm, fiery orange on inhalation. The two-piece design means they’re intuitive to use, screwing together snugly and functioning automatically. White Cloud also offers cool skins for your batteries, which come in numerous designs and shrink to size under the heat of a hair drier. There’s also the “Phantom” kit, draped in black with matching, StealthDraw cartridges.

Nicotine Levels

This is one area where White Cloud really blows the majority of the competition out of the water, with six nicotine strengths to choose from. You have the choice between Nicotine Free, Ultra Light (6mg), Light (16mg), Full (24mg), Extra (36mg) and Double Extra (54mg). This is absolutely perfect for the heaviest smokers, although the “steps” might be a little widely spaced for those looking to reduce their intake. However, White Cloud caters for the heaviest smokers much more than the vast majority of brands you’ll find on the market – V2 only go up to 18mg and Green Smoke to 24mg, as a comparison.

Flavors and Vapor

The vapor production from the White Cloud e-cig is exceptional, regardless of battery size. You do indeed get crisp, white clouds of vapor with even a single puff, and even more when primed with a couple of introductory drags. The throat hit is more than satisfying, and when combined with the plumes of vapor the entire experience feels just like smoking a cigarette. The SmoothDraw technology works really well, keeping every drag gentle on the draw without compromising the realistic sensation. This is one area where there are no complaints at all; it’s right up there with V2 for best vapor production. The StealthDraw cartridges reduce the output by around half in combination with one of the ordinary batteries, but it’s easy to remove entirely by holding the vapor in a little longer.

Inside the White Cloud SmoothDraw cartridge

The flavor profile is also excellent, with 16 different options including three tobacco cartridges (Regular, Apache and Bora Bora), two menthols (Menthol and Snap), four fruit options (Peach Pit, Bad Apple, Strawberry, and Lime and Coconut), three spicy cartridges (Clove, the cinnamon and honey Kick, and the chili-pepper Diablo), two sweet flavors (Vanilla and Chocolate) and other such as Espresso and Moscow Mule. Apache is the best of the tobacco flavors, with the characteristic edge of rustic American tobacco, and Snap gives menthol-lovers a mint chocolate combo you can’t get enough of. There are plenty of great flavors, but the Kick is perfectly balanced and the stand-out option for me. The Bad Apple is a little disappointing, but all the others are very vape-able. Great cartridges: right up there with the flavor selection from V2 and Green Smoke – despite some not quite hitting the mark.

Battery

The three White Cloud batteries all work impressively well, with the shortest option (the Cirrus 3) lasting 200 puffs (around a 20 pack of cigarettes). The Cirrus II lasts 280 puffs, and the 3X gives a massive 600. In practice, the figures are something of an exaggeration (these are always quoted for the best case scenario), but you won’t run out of battery as long as you top it up before you go out. With the II and the 3X, you don’t even need to worry about taking a spare with you.

Charging is also pretty quick (taking around three hours), and the short lead between the USB connector and the screw-port for the e-cig means that it doesn’t poke out of your computer precariously when you’re charging.

Manufacturing and Warranty

The manufacturing quality of the White Cloud e-cig is excellent, which is attested to by the CE and RoHS compliant stamps of approval on the kit. The 3X battery in the starter kit had a slightly loose connection, but the others had no issues whatsoever. Plus, after pushing the end back into position there were no issues at all. It even survived a perilous drop into a glass of wine, functioning perfectly again after being dried out.

Even if there are problems with your e-cig, White Cloud offers a six month warranty, which is extendable to a massive two years for an additional $19.95. As usual, the cartridges aren’t covered by the warranty, but if they genuinely malfunction and it isn’t your fault, you can get replacement at no additional cost. Overall, very good manufacturing quality and a robust warranty.

Overall

There is very little to criticize with the White Cloud e-cig, thanks to an excellent battery life, thick clouds of vapor, delicious flavors and more than enough nicotine levels. For heavier smokers, the combination of brilliant battery life and plenty of nicotine makes it easily one of the best options on the market. Perhaps smaller gaps between nicotine levels would be better, and it would be nice to have manual batteries or e-liquid available, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a better e-cig. It’s on par with V2 Cigs for vapor production, and the flavors are up there with Green Smoke’s, making White Cloud a fantastic all-round brand.

White Cloud Cigarettes Comparison Chart:

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White Cloud E Cig Review Breakdown

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