In It To Win It? The Vaping Off-Shoot That’s Cloud Chasing

If you’re a novice vaper, you’ll have probably heard about it; even if you’re not a vaper, you may have likely seen it. It’s cloud chasing and it’s a particular type of vaping that’s becoming increasingly popular, right across the world.

Yes, as the activity, the hobby, the community, the culture that’s vaping has grown and grown over the last 15 years, so has cloud chasing emerged, become hugely popular and enormously fashionable. To begin with, it may have been fairly described as a fad but a passing phase it most certainly isn’t now; cloud chasing has carved out for itself an enviable niche in the vaping world and one that serves to add tincture and texture to the culture. In short, it’s here to stay, just as much as is the trusty e-liquid outlet online or in any town centre, such as a vape shop Washington.

Cloud chasing – the lowdown

Now, all that’s very well but what actually is cloud chasing? Well, it’s fairly simply explained really. In short, it’s when an experienced vaper exhales plumes and plumes of e-liquid transformed into vapour (after inhaling it from their e-cig device); specifically and deliberately to exhale as much of the stuff as possible and in, er, as artistically and aesthetically appealing a manner as possible.

You’ll likely find that many cloud chasing enthusiasts tend to choose to vape e-juices whose ingredients are dominated by vegetable glycerin (VG) – and, thus, inevitably with low levels of propylene glycol (PG) – in order for the vape juice to possess a chemical base that enables larger, rather than average-sized or even smaller, clouds of vapour to be generated.

How did it start – and what’s going on today?

You may not be surprised to learn that, it’s believed at any rate, cloud chasing first emerged on the United States’ West Coast; although the exact spot from which it sprang is yet to be determined (and may never be). Either way, what’s unquestionable was that, once invented and established, it gained popularity rapidly – which is no surprise; the e-cig’s own inventor, Hon Lik, observed of cloud chasing just three years ago: “When automotive manufacturers first started out, they were not thinking about a sport to be called Formula One. You always have groups of people who are looking for excitement”.

Today, cloud chasing’s pursued by many of its adherents as a purely recreational twist on regular vaping; something to make the act of vaping even more fun – and more sociable, as it can naturally be indulged in with friends and acquaintances you make in the vaping community. Yet, that’s far from all, for others who are fully signed-up members of the cloud chasing love-in dabble in it more seriously; in fact, they might even be said to border on the professional.

Getting competitive

This is because some cloud chasers are so passionate about the activity that they enter cloud chasing competitions here, there and everywhere – sometimes travelling around the world, in fact. Yes, really. Not all these cloud chasers – or even ‘cloud gazers’, as they’re sometimes referred to – enter competitions for prize-money (on occasions it’s more like vaping products, such as a Smok Stick V8 kit UK, that are on offer to the winners), yet those who do enter competitions offering monetary rewards don’t do so casually, so much so they’re now often called ‘professional vapers’.

Aside from their amateur and professional statuses, cloud chasing competitions can be roughly split into two categories; those that seek participants to produce the largest vape plumes possible and those that seek participants to showcase the best skills. So, when it comes to ‘cloud size’ contests, the furthest a vaper can propel their cloud, the better they’ll likely be judged – some can manage to exhale a staggering six feet! Whereas in ‘skill-based’ contests, it’s all about the creativity. For instance, vapers’ll be expected to pull off impressive tricks, such as ‘The Dragon’, which sees a cloud chaser manage to exhale vapour from their nose and either side of their mouth, simultaneously. And then there’s ‘Pushing the O’, which is manipulation, by hand, of exhaled vapour rings. Fun stuff – and impressive to see in person, for sure!