Disposables are better than they’ve ever been before. Nicotine salt liquids make it easier than ever to produce a satisfying disposable, offering high nicotine strengths without making the disposables too harsh to vape. So while disposables used to purely be used for a little “taster” of vaping, now it’s actually feasible to use them regularly as one of your main ways to vape.
Zaero Vapes is one of the many companies with disposable vapes that could actually make this work, with an impressive range of flavors, a Juul-like design and high enough nicotine levels to make it plausible to use them on a full time basis. But do they achieve their goal? Our Zaero disposables review puts the disposables to the test to find out.
Is it worth buying?
Overall, the Zaero disposables are definitely worth picking up if you’re looking to try vaping out. Some of the flavors are excellent, and the performance is pretty damn good for such a simple vaping platform. The main issue for full-time use is the lifespan, because you’d need more than one each day, and a five-pack will run you $30. However, if you’re looking for something for casual use they’re a solid choice.
Zaero Disposables: The Design
Appearance
The Zaero disposables have a pretty basic design: an all-black rectangular body, with a slightly U-shaped curve at the top for the mouthpiece and the “Zaero” logo printed in white at the bottom. Each disposable also has a little icon (or two) above the logo, to represent the main flavor notes of the disposable. This is really useful because you can see at a glance which disposable you have, even if you’ve already removed the (somewhat excessive) packaging. They also come covered with silicone toppers, so everything stays completely fresh during shipping, and you can also re-cover them pretty easily.
The Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece has a slight curve to it, which makes it easy to tell which way up the disposable should go (avoiding some embarrassing moments) and also makes it a reasonably comfortable fit in your lips. It’s completely flat on the faces, though, and a little inward slope would have made it more comfortable to use. The vapor comes up through two oval-shaped holes in the top. You can also see the coil and wick through these holes, so you get a pretty direct hit of vapor when you inhale.
The Airflow System
There’s a small hole in the bottom of the disposable for airflow up to the mouthpiece. This isn’t huge, so it works for mouth-to-lung draws, but it doesn’t feel tight when you take a puff. This is really a great balance for stronger e-liquids and people who are just making the switch over from smoking. If you’ve been vaping for a while and prefer an airy draw with bigger clouds, there are better disposables out there, but for most people using them this is perfect.
LED Indicator
The bottom of the Zaero also has a small LED indicator light, which illuminates when you take a puff on the device. The light isn’t very easy to see, so you need to put your hand or a finger close to the bottom if you want to check that it’s working.
Overall
The design of the Zaero disposables doesn’t do anything special, but it’s simple and effective. It has a minimalist look and doesn’t over-complicate anything for new users.
Zaero Disposables: The Flavors
- Grape: The grape disposable has a pretty mild flavor. You get enough of the flavor to identify what it is, and it is recreated well, but it could use a bit more punch.
- Peach Mango: This is a really tasty one. Again the flavor isn’t too intense, but both elements come through well and the combination works perfectly.
- Menthol: This is basically what you expect. The menthol is quite light, but it has just enough of a punch to satisfy ex menthol smokers. It’s just straight menthol though, so not too exciting if you aren’t looking to replace menthol cigarettes.
- Blue Razz: Blue raspberry is one of those flavors that instantly evokes memory of those luminescent, over-sweet drinks from your youth. This captures the core flavor quite well, but like the others it’s a little too mild for my tastes.
- Banana: Zaero didn’t really get the taste right with this one. It has a strange overtone that mainly comes through on the nose, almost like an alcohol-y taste but more of a generic chemical taste. You can see what they were trying to do – it almost tastes like banana – but they definitely missed the mark.
- Sweet Orange: This is a great flavor, with an unmistakably realistic backdrop of orange and a wave of sweetness riding in on top of it. The result is a flavor that it’s really difficult to put down, powerful enough in taste to keep you coming back for more and mouthwateringly sweet.
- Tobacco: This is quite a generic-tasting vape version of tobacco. It has that uncanny valley like quality where you know it’s supposed to be tobacco but it’s actually just a few components of the flavor turned up to 11. It’s kind of nice, but don’t go in expecting to have a perfect cigarette replication.
- Blueberry Lemonade: This is another overly-sugary-child’s-drink flavor, but if you like that type of thing – like me – then it’s pretty awesome. The blueberry isn’t the most realistic, but the combination works really well and both aspects come through clearly.
Zaero Disposables: In Use
Performance
The Zaero disposables perform surprisingly well for such a compact disposable. The vapor production isn’t going to rival a dual-battery mod or a refillable pod system with variable wattage, but you get a satisfying amount of vapor with each puff.
The automatic operation means it works better if you give it a couple of short puffs before your main one, but after that, the performance is easily on par with a vape pen or a standard pod system. It’s great if you’re just trying vaping out for the first time, and even if you’ve been vaping for a while you’ll likely find it satisfying.
Nicotine Strength and Throat Hit
There are four options for nicotine strength with the Zaero disposables, 0, 1.8, 3 or 5% nicotine. The latter two options are really recommended if you’re just switching over from smoking, especially the 5% option, which is roughly on par with a Juul pod.
The throat hit is a little weak for the lower-nicotine options, but either the 3 or 5% give you a satisfying punch on the inhale. As for nicotine, the disposables perform quite well, but they aren’t great so it’s better to stick to the higher-strength options even if you don’t normally go for such high levels.
Automatic Draw Style
Like most disposables, the options from Zaero work “automatically,” so you just have to take a puff to start vaping. Automatic devices can sometimes be unreliable (for example, not responding when you take a puff or having a notable delay), but the Zaero disposables perform exactly like they should.
You start producing vapor pretty much as soon as you vape, and it stops quickly at the end of your puff too. Throughout testing I didn’t have any glitchy behavior from the disposables, which is quite a statement –even rechargeable pod devices have little hiccups every so often.
Airflow
The airflow from the Zaero disposables is perfect for the mouth-to-lung style draws that smokers are used to. The airhole in the bottom is quite small, but balanced well, so you don’t feel like you’re sucking milkshake up through a straw but it isn’t overly airy either. The draw is genuinely similar to a cigarette, which makes them ideal for smokers trying out vaping for the first time or just making the switch to vaping.
How Long Do the Disposables Last?
Lifespan is one of the main issues when you’re choosing a disposable, because it pretty much determines whether or not they’re worth the money. For the Zaero disposables, their small size does limit their lifespan a little, but they do a pretty good job considering that.
For heavy use (realistic if you’re solely using them for your day’s nicotine) you can get about 5 hours out of one disposable. If you’re using a little less, you could get through a workday on a single disposable, but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to use one morning-to-night without it dying on you.
This isn’t too bad in comparison to other simple disposables, but there are definitely better options out there if you want something that lasts as long as possible.
Conclusion
The Zaero disposables have a great design, are easy to use and pretty reliable. While the flavors could be better and the lifespan leaves a little to be desired, they’re a good choice for occasional use or just trying vaping out. The price of $6.99 each or $30 for 5 is a little high to keep using them on a daily basis, but as long as that isn’t your plan, they’re definitely worth picking up.