Vapers come in all shapes and sizes and in my 8 years of vaping I’ve never seen two people who vape exactly the same. We’re all different but we’re still united in our love of vaping. However, like every subculture out there, we’re prone to stereotyping and putting people in boxes. It’s just our human nature.
Some of those stereotypes are funny, some are just a little bit awkward, while the third kind is down right mean. Still, there’s a bit of truth in every one of them. I’ve decided to compile a list of most common types of vapers – and it’s a pretty sizeable list. I’m sure you know at least one vaper who’s can be comfortably placed in each of these categories but where would you put yourself?
What type of vaper are you?
The Quitter Vapers
A lot of vapers started on this route. The quitters are interested in one thing and one thing only – staying off the stinkies. They are willing to try and do anything that might help them accomplish that goal. At the beginning, they have no idea about the finer details of vaping and they couldn’t care less about huge clouds, RBAs, types of coils, and things like that. All they know is that vaping delivers the nicotine they crave. Somewhere down the line, they will either completely stop vaping or morph into one of the other types.
The Casual Vaper
These are the flip-flop guys of the vaping world. You know, the types of people who go to parties wearing flip-flops and a hawaiian shirt and look like they don’t have a care in the world. If they’ve decided to invest in a mod, their batteries would probably vent in their pocket on the second day. They are well aware of that so they sticks to their vape pen.
The Hardcore Vapers
There are a couple of subsets of hardcore vapers. What ties them all together is their unprecedented love of vaping – they can vape all day long. They can also talk about vaping equally long. You will find them clutching their vape gear at all times and if they are traveling anywhere the first things they pack are their vape juices and spare gear. Don’t worry – they’re taking their #1 mod and tank on the plane with them!
The Activist Vapers
These are the vapers who will talk your ear off when discussing vaping benefits, the latest news in regulation, and those totally fake vape accidents. Yes, they are unrelenting and boring – I’m sure you have a vaper friend like this who you dread going out in public with. However, we owe these people a huge debt of gratitude. Without them, we would have no vaping advocacy organizations (yes, they are generally spearheading the advocacy movement) and the Big Tobacco would steam roll over vaping in a matter of days. Activist vapers are fighting the good fight – remember that the next time you’re tempted to roll your eyes at one of them.
The Cloud Chasers
Sometimes it seems as though these vapers believe that it’s their duty to make sure that clouds appear in the sky every day. No one knows exactly how they look like because their heads are always enveloped in vapor. If you invite them over, be prepared to grope around your house, using your hands to identify objects. Cloud chasers swear by 200W mods and 0.2 ohm coils – anything other than that is out of the question. The vaping community refers to them as ‘bros’ – which, if you know one, will come as no surprise whatsoever.
The Flavorists
The flavorists are always on the lookout for that perfect flavor. Everything they do, vaping-wise, is devoted to one single goal – finding the perfect setup to get the best possible flavor there is. They can spend hours making their own coils and experimenting with airflow to find that elusive sweet spot. Although they will have a selection of favorite flavors, they are always looking for something new and you will find them sitting in vape shops for hours on end, sampling different blends.
The Veteran Vaper
These are the guys that everyone turns to when the shit hits the fan. Problems with coils? You know where to turn! Bad connection? Again – see these guys. They’ve been vaping since…well, probably since the invention of the hookah and they have all things vape-related memorized. They are the type of people who will spend hours answering questions on Reddit and vaping forums and they usually do that with the patience of a saint. Veteran vapers are pure gold but they are also a dying breed. If you know one personally, I envy you. If you are one, I salute you and thank you for your service!
The Drifter Vaper
These vapers are stuck in limbo between smoking and vaping. One day, they will be happily puffing away on their vape pen, the other they’re buying a pack of cigarettes and have a defeated look in their eyes. They can’t seem to switch completely but they are truly giving it a 110% – it just doesn’t seem to be enough.
The Trendist Vaper
One day they saw someone vaping. It looked cool and edgy so they decided to give it a shot. To this day, they vape sporadically and without any real interest. They are the trendist vapers. Basically, they are doing it because everyone else around them is. Trendist vapers have no clue about rebuilding coils, battery safety, drippers, and all that nonsense. Their vaping knowledge covers refilling a tank and pressing the fire button. And that’s as much as they need to know, thank you very much.
The Hobbyist Vaper
Hobbyist vapers are just those types of people – the wors…erm, the hobbyist kind! They view vaping as a project and set out to collect as many different vape devices and vape juices as they can. There’s no rhyme or rhythm to their actions – they don’t seem to enjoy the act of vaping nearly as much as they enjoy cataloging their huge collection. Also, they are not the slightest bit shy when it comes to showing it off. And no, you can’t borrow anything!
The DIY Vaper
These vapers are popularly called tinkerers or mixologists, depending on what they enjoy playing with. Tinkerers will take apart every piece of vaping equipment they can in order to see how it works. They will often try to improve upon it, usually with varying degrees of success (and success is defined as everything that doesn’t cause the mod to blow up in their face). Mixologists, on the other hand, played with children chemistry sets when they were kids. As grown-ups, they are most comfortable when they are mixing different flavors. Both kinds of DIY vapers are good to know, just make sure not to be a beta tester for any of their designs.
The Vape Bunny
It would be untrue to say that female vapers are rare but it’s a fact that most of the vape shops I hang out in have a serious deficit of ladies visiting them. However, just google ‘lady vaper’ and you will be blown away by the images. They are of what I came to call ‘vape bunnies’ – gorgeous women in bikinis who hold a mod almost as an afterthought. While it might all be a marketing ploy, it’s one I wholeheartedly applaud.
The Trickster Vaper
This particular subset of cloud chasers is interested in one thing only – clouds so bent out of shape that they look like they’re out of this world. You will find them blowing huge clouds and doing weird motions with their lips and hands. They might seem like dorks but the vapor they exhale turns into a piece of art, at least for a little while. They mostly keep to themselves and organize cloud chasing competitions to see who can blow out the perfect dragon shape.
Which Type of Vaper Are You?
Don’t worry if you don’t belong in any of these categories because there are dozens of more subsets to choose from! Stealth vapers, noob vapers, snob vapers – granted some are worse than others but you can’t deny the versatility that exists in the vaping world.
Did you recognize yourself or your vaper friends in any of the categories? If you did, leave a comment and let me know. If you didn’t, well, there’s no need to be shy. I’ll be glad to know which specific breed of vaper you are. That is if you’re willing to share!