When you begin to explore your vaping options, you will probably come across terminology that you are not familiar with. One of the terms that you might have already noted is 'dripping'.
If you are thinking that the word dripping could refer to a leaking tank or pod, think again!
Dripping isn't a symptom of faulty hardware. It is a vaping style that dates back to the time before vape tanks were available. It isn't for everyone, but many vapers still favour dripping.
If your interest has been piqued, here's everything you need to know about dripping:
Dripping or drip vaping involves dripping e liquids directly onto a vape coil. Most vaping devices feature a tank or pod that acts as an e liquid reservoir. With dripping, you use a set-up that does not feature such a reservoir. Your set-up would boast a rebuildable dripping atomiser (RDA) instead and this enables you to drip e liquid directly onto the coil's wicking material.
All vapes feature an atomiser head to which a coil is fitted. The coil heats up to vaporise e liquid. That coil or heating element has wicking material which soaks up e liquid. An atomiser head is a component that usually slots into a tank or pod and that is then enclosed by that reservoir. An RDA is an atomiser head that is not a component of a tank. It leaves the coil exposed so you can drip e liquid directly onto the wicking material.
RDAs can accommodate larger coils than conventional atomiser heads and so can deliver more intense flavour and bigger clouds.
If you want to learn more about atomiser heads and coils, our guide will provide all the information you need.
Dripping originated at a time when vape tanks were yet to become available. Vapers began dripping because the existing hardware did not deliver the flavour or the clouds they were looking for.
In the early days of vaping, an e-cigarette stored its e liquid in a hollow sponge-filled plastic cartridge that snapped over a semi-permanent atomizer. Sponges proved to be unreliable e-liquid delivery mechanisms.
The first e-cigarettes were cigalikes that offered unimpressive vapour production, and they could be unreliable in terms of performance. An e-cigarette would often randomly stop producing vapour even though the sponge in the cartridge was still wet.
The vaping community found that dripping was a good way to make those early e cigarettes more reliable. The user would pull the sponge out of the cartridge, drip e-liquid directly on the bridge of the atomizer and replace the cartridge minus the sponge before vaping. Putting e-liquid directly onto the coil wicking ensured that the wicking was always wet and so provided juice to be vaporised. The device would deliver vapour with every puff rather than occasionally failing.
Eventually, people replaced the cartridges with hollow mouthpieces called drip tips. These enabled vapers to send e liquid down the drip tip's centre hole before vaping.
Dripping significantly improved the performance of the available e cigs. But it quickly became obvious that the experience of dripping could be even better if it were possible to use an atomizer head specifically designed for the task.
Enterprising vapers with the appropriate machining equipment created the first rebuildable atomizers, allowing anyone with some heating wire and cotton to build their own coils and mount them to the atomiser heads. It is the coils that are the rebuildable element of the atomiser heads. Compared to the first-generation e cigarette atomizers, rebuildable atomizers offered infinitely better airflow, flavour quality and vapour production.
A few boutique businesses are still crafting rebuildable atomisers. But the big vaping brands such as SMOK and Aspire now offer inexpensive RDAs for their devices and they perform very well.
RDAs have come a long way but so have vape tanks and vape coils. The gap in performance has narrowed as a result.
No! If you are interested in trying dripping and do not wish to invest in a costly artisan RDA, you will need a sub ohm device and one for which the manufacturer produces an RDA. Read product listings carefully to discover which coils are compatible with it and whether an RDA is available.
Vaping technology has advanced dramatically in a few short years. The latest hardware can deliver exceptional performance to the extent that for many people, dripping wouldn't offer a noticeably better experience. But it is possible to vamp up your vaping life by dripping. Here are benefits to consider:
Nothing is perfect in this world and so as you would expect, there are downsides to dripping:
If your primary focus is relieving your nicotine cravings while enjoying tasty flavour, you won't need to drip. But if you wish to go large on flavour or vapour and enjoy tinkering with your gadgets, dripping is certainly worth trying. Thanks to advancements in technology, there are now devices and compatible coils to satisfy most vapers' needs. Dripping is for those vapers who wish to further fine their draws and who are motivated to spend a little time to achieve the perfect puffs.
