Mouth-To-Lung And Direct Lung: Which Do You Prefer – And Why?

The act of vaping’s simple, right? Well, essentially, yes; but novices to the practice may be surprised to learn there’s more than one way to vape. That is, there’s more than one way to pull the vapour – transformed from e liquid UK – from the e-cig device and into mouth and then down into the lungs. And the technique you come to prefer and come to adopt as you become a more experienced vaper is likely to depend on exactly what you like to get out of vaping most of all. So then, let’s take a look at two of the most prominent – and most contrasting – vaping techniques…

Mouth to lung (MTL) vaping

Especially favoured by enthusiasts of the sort of vaping that might most closely replicate the effect of smoking a tobacco cigarette, MTL-vaping involves an inhaling technique that sees the vapour an e-cig device ably transforms out of the vape juice it’s filled with sucked into the mouth and then, having allowed it sit on the tongue usually for a second or two, sucked down (sometimes deeply) into the lungs.

It’s not just about deep pulls, though, because – as it involves holding the vapour in the mouth (for however brief a time the vaper so desires) – it affords a great opportunity to savour the flavour profile of e-liquid in all its glory. That said, MTL-vaping is, of course, primarily about delivering a strong, satisfying throat hit, just the sort you’d get for a languorous drag on a cigarette, and in this way, it can deliver dividends for recent ex-smokers or, indeed, for any ex-smokers who tend to miss the throaty hit that’s a hallmark of cigarette-smoking.

For best results, MTL-vaping’s recommended at low wattages, which often involves using a mod or pod device that’s been designed or set up to be able to handle working at such settings. This is, in part, because vaping at low wattages tends to produce less vapour, ensuring the vapour that is produced is easier to suck into the mouth and then deeply inhale. Note: MTL-vaping’s not ideal then should you want to produce masses of big, pluming vapour as your exhale – quite the opposite, in fact.

Direct lung (DL) vaping

Unlike MTL-vaping, DL-vaping foregoes any of the holdings of the vapour in the mouth once it’s been sucked out of the device’s drip tip; instead, it’s all about taking a pull and sucking it straight down into the lungs, in one compete, big draw.

To this end, it’s ideal for creating voluminous, dense clouds of vapour on the exhale – and so a favoured vaping technique of many a ‘cloud chaser’ (hobbyist and semi-pro vapers whose biggest interest in vaping is to produce as large clouds as possible, often in competitions around the world). How so? Well, because there’s no pause between the sucking draw and the vapour passing down into the lungs, there’s practically no time at all for it to evaporate; thus, preserving as much of it as possible on the exhale to generate clouds.

You should be aware, however, that (inevitably in contrast to MTL-vaping) DL-vaping isn’t the technique to go with if savouring flavour from your prized Riot Squad e liquid is a deal-breaker for you when it comes to vaping. The flavour will almost always be less pronounced, simply because it doesn’t get time enough and the opportunity to develop on the mouth’s palate before being drawn out and into the lungs.

Moreover, throat hits aren’t on the agenda much either; the wattage used for DL-vaping isn’t as low as for MTL-vaping. Indeed, a high wattage is much more preferable because it aids in the generation of properly thicker, more abundant vapour. Plus, nicotine-enthusiasts who vape aren’t likely to get the satisfaction they crave from DL-vaping; as it’s all about pulling the vapour straight and right down to the lungs, a large level of nicotine in the e-liquid may result in just too harsh a throat hit, even for those who definitely favour one.