Disposables have really improved over the past few years. Before, they were simply a passable – if short-lived – way to have a little trial of vaping. But they tended to be “cigalike” devices, which had a low power output and were generally pretty unsatisfying. Since pod systems rose in popularity, disposables took on the core design and, crucially, the high-strength nicotine salt e-juice. This makes them substantially more satisfying, and gives them much more potential as a general way to vape. VaporLax has two major lines of disposables: the standard VaporLax disposables ($14.99 on sale/$17.99 RRP) and the Sirius line ($16.99 sale/$21.99 RRP). We’ve tested both of these out for this VaporLax disposables review: are they a good introduction to vaping?
Is it worth buying?
Both lines of disposables from VaporLax are well worth trying out. They perform well, have impressive battery life and offer a wide selection of enjoyable flavors. They’re admittedly limited if you’re looking for a long term solution. But as a “taster” of vaping or something to use occasionally, they’re a really solid option for the price.
VaporLax Disposables Review
The Design
Appearance
The VaporLax and Sirius disposables have the same basic design: they’re tube-shaped devices in different colors that represent their flavors. They have the same type of mouthpiece, too, with translucent black tips that taper in towards the opening in the end. There are a couple of minor differences between the VaporLax and Sirius devices. The most obvious is that the Sirius ones are substantially thicker. Also, they have their logos and flavor names in different places, but the core elements are the same. Overall, though, the disposables both have a basic, tube-style pod system design that works well without overcomplicating things visually.
Adjustable Airflow System
Unlike the vast majority of disposable vapes out there on the market, the disposables from VaporLax have adjustable airflow. You can find this on the base of the disposables, which rotates and has arrows showing the way to open it up. If you twist the base clockwise, you open up two small, arc-shaped slots and allow more air to flow through. Thanks to the design, you can also partially open the slots. This means it really gives you full control over the airflow, on par with the level of control you get with sub ohm tanks and more traditional devices.
VaporLax Disposables Review – In Use
Performance
The vapor production from the VaporLax disposables is excellent. With the standard disposables, a few-second puff or a couple of shorter ones gives you plenty of vapor. This is easily on par with most higher-end pod vape systems or vape pens. When it comes to flavor, the standard disposables produce clear and strong flavor from the juices. The system seems perfectly tailored to their e-liquids.
The Sirius disposables take this all to the next level. While the difference isn’t huge, it’s noticeable from the first puff – you get a thicker, more substantial cloud of vapor immediately. And the flavor is just as good as with the standard version. We’ve also tried the nicotine salt juices from VaporLax, and trying the same flavor through their Athenaz rechargeable pod system and this disposable shows just how well the flavor comes through. The flavor from the Athenaz and juice combination is great, but it’s easily just as good – and possibly more consistent – from the Sirius.
The performance is really hard to fault. If you want something more substantial you’d really have to go for a rechargeable device that also has adjustable wattage. Unless you’re a long-term vaper with very high standards it’s hard to imagine many complaints in this department.
Responsiveness
The disposables work automatically, so you just take a puff to vape. This is a very convenient operation method for smokers in particular, because you basically use it in the same way as you would smoke a cigarette. However, devices like this need a sensor that tells them when you take a puff. For some devices, the sensor doesn’t activate as reliably as you’d hope. However, they respond immediately when you take a puff, even if you only inhale gently. This might not seem like a huge deal, but when they don’t respond properly it gets very frustrating to vape.
The only issue I did have with the disposables (the Rainbow Mix Sirius, to be specific) was one instance of auto-firing, or, more accurately, not deactivating after a puff. This only happened once and out of 12 disposables total, but it still isn’t ideal.
Airflow Options
The airflow options on the VaporLax and Sirius disposables cover all of the ground you could realistically need. The most closed-off option is perfectly suited to mouth-to-lung vaping. It gives you a very tight draw that basically requires a two-step inhale. For me, the perfect setting for mouth to lung is with the slots partially opened, but the option is there if you want a tighter draw. Both the Sirius and VaporLax do equally well when it comes to tightening up the draw.
For the highest airflow settings, there is a little bit of a difference between the Sirius and VaporLax. The Sirius opens up slightly more. This makes it a viable option for direct-to-lung draws (think more like how you inhale from a shisha/hookah). For the VaporLax disposables, the draw does open up substantially, but not enough for a direct-to-lung draw. So it’s still more suited for mouth to lung vaping overall. That said, this is a pretty natural way to vape with higher-strength liquids, so for me it doesn’t cause an issue at all.
How Long Do the Disposables Last?
Each VaporLax disposable has a 1000 mAh battery, with 6.5 ml of e-juice in the pod. This is supposedly good for 1,500 puffs. While I haven’t fully counted – I tried but I vape without thinking about it too often – the disposable lasted me for a few days before the battery died. This is really good for a disposable. Even though my inclination is that it falls well short of 1,500 puffs in practice (I’m not even convinced there would be enough juice for that), the battery life is still pretty awesome for a disposable.
The Sirius disposables are substantially bigger, with a 50% increase in battery life to 1,500 mAh. There's 10 ml of juice in each one. The marketing claims this gives you 2,200 puffs, but again this is overstated and it’s debatable whether there’s even enough juice for this much vaping. However, the disposable lasted me around four to five days before running out. Again, this is pretty awesome compared to the standard for disposable devices.
VaporLax Disposables Review – The Flavors
There are 25 flavors available for the standard VaporLax disposables and 18 for the Sirius disposables. These overlap a lot, and if you’ve tried the nicotine salt e-liquids from VaporLax, you’ll be familiar with the offerings here. Essentially, you can get every Sirius flavor in VaporLax too, but there are also some extra options for VaporLax. I tried out 12 flavors for this review:
- Banana Ice: This is a banana and menthol combination, and it does a great job of capturing the banana in particular. The menthol is a little more subtle, but it does come through, and the combination works really well overall.
- Lush Ice: This is a watermelon and menthol combination. Here the menthol hits a little harder, and they've also captured the watermelon beautifully. The fruit gives some sweetness, but the menthol is powerful enough to give an icy feel to your draw.
- Tropical Punch: This is a mix of guava, watermelon and lemon. The result here is very interesting: the guava and lemon are definitely the stars of the show. The watermelon ends up being more of a background flavor. But it works really well, and is one of my favorites of the bunch.
- Lemon Bar: This is a lemon custard and meringue flavor, with the dessert elements hitting you right away. They've done a great job with the lemon custard, and while meringue isn’t exactly a robust flavor, it really adds to the dessert element of the juice.
- Crush Grape: As well as grape, this also has guava and lemon components. The guava in particular does hit you throughout. Grape is the dominant flavor, but alongside the sweetness and juiciness it brings there is some complexity from the guava backing it up. The lemon is subtle but pulls everything together nicely.
- Icy Fruits: The fruit here is lychee with elements of citrus, and both aspects come through nicely. The lychee really carries the flavor, but the lemon provides strong support throughout and balances the sweetness nicely. The “ice” is more of a cooling hit than necessarily menthol, but it all works beautifully together.
- Cool Mint: This is described as a mix of sweet menthol flavors, with wintergreen. If you’re looking for a punchy menthol vape juice, this is a fantastic option: it’s powerful, ice-cold and with a real kick to it. The sweetness does come through, but the strong hit of mint drowns it out somewhat.
- Blue Razz: This is a blueberry and raspberry mix, a classic combination for vaping and one VaporLax has pulled off very well. The blueberry gives most of the character to the juice but the sweeter elements from the raspberry balance it out nicely and keep you coming back for more.
- Rainbow Mix: This is a mixture of sweet and sour candies, and a great choice if you’re looking for something very sweet. The flavor is a little generic – as the description and very vague name suggest – but it’s undeniably tasty.
- Peach Ice: This is a pretty straightforward peach and menthol combination and it works very well on the whole. The peach is nicely replicated and very gentle in flavor, adding some sweetness but at a comfortable level that doesn’t get tiresome with continued use. The “ice” element isn’t hugely pronounced but it all works well.
- Strawberry Banana: This is exactly what you’d expect based on the name, and the combination works really well. The strawberry is the most notable element, with the banana tones coming through more on the exhale. Really the strawberry carries it, but it works well enough that the fairly subtle nature of the banana isn’t an issue.
- Strawberry Cream: This was my favorite juice after trying the e-liquids, and in disposable form it’s just as good. The strawberry comes through strongly and clearly, and the cream really softens the fruit and rounds out the whole juice perfectly. This is one you can easily keep coming back to, highly recommended.
Conclusion
The disposables from VaporLax, especially the Sirius line, do an excellent job of introducing people to vaping. They're also a pretty solid option if you’re looking for something simple to use out of the house every so often. Although they’re better value for money than most disposables out there, it’s still debatable whether it’s worthwhile as a long-term solution. But they are closer to being viable than most options out there. But they’re perfect if you want to try some flavors out or only vape on nights out or something like that. And if you like it, the Athenaz with the nicotine salt juices from VaporLax give pretty much the same experience.