The most famous electronic cigarettes are American, but they are also Chinese. It’s rare for a device to be made in the USA although many are designed here. Where high-performance e-cigs are concerned, China dominates the industry, but American brands still make their mark. Most brands are independent. Mark 10 and Vuse are subsidiaries of tobacco companies.
Branching Out
A more interesting example of wing-spreading comes from the herbal-vape market place. Pax Labs released their JUUL E Cig two years ago to considerable acclaim and excellent reviews. This is a miniature electronic device, yet different from a mini cig. It’s not a tube but a narrow memory-stick-style unit that looks like a piece of office equipment at your desk. If this is in someone’s mouth, he could be accused of chewing on his thumb drive.
Popular E Cigs, No Branching
Most companies these days try to cover all of their bases with mini cigs, eGos, and advanced products. A few notable examples have retained their simple format and chosen not to advance. They include BluCig, Green Smoke, White Cloud, Bull Smoke, and 21st Century Smoke. These firms sell e cigs only; the types which look and feel like analogs although colors vary. A large audience of smokers and recent ex-smokers rely on cigalikes to convince them they are still smoking. They might never upgrade to an eGo, could be e-cig fans for the rest of their lives, or they will give up both e-cigs and analogs in the long run.
Branching Out in a Different Way
Hawaii’s Volcano is a rarity in this industry because they chose to do away with their cigalike, the Magma. This is the only device they dropped. Volcano chose to concentrate on advancing their VTube, promoting the Inferno eGo, and developing new mods like the LavaBox DNA 200 and LavaBox DNA 75.
Chinese Competitors
Americans might not know this, but Joyetech makes a miniature electronic cigarette called the eRoll. It’s tiny, offering only 90mAh, but it comes apart into four pieces. One of the most important innovations in the electronic cigarette industry was combining atomizers with cartridges to form cartomizers in order to prevent over-use of coils and dry hits. In China, maybe they consider the 4-part electronic cig more efficient and cost effective. It sure looks sleek.
Top US Brands
The top-ten of American e-cigs, talking about minis only, is as follows but not necessarily in the following order. Vaporfi, V2, Apollo, Halo, and Mig are usually in there. JUUL, Vapor4Life, South Beach Smoke, Green Smoke, and NJoy often represent the second half of the list. They exchange places all the time; the winner is based on numerous factors which change. Others you might discover, but which probably will not make it to the top-ten, include names listed above plus Smokeless Image, Fin, and Eonsmoke.
Factors in Common
Almost all of the brands in the top-ten have been operating since e cigs were first introduced to the United States. JUUL, Mig, and Vaporfi are the exceptions. The others came out shortly after except the JUUL which was launched late in the game. The other seven have witnessed new launches and the demise of assorted brands. They have seen top names drop in popularity where they still cling to life. Usually, customer service is a deciding factor in what makes a name great. Customers really appreciate how they are treated by the firms above. They also approve of loyalty programs which reduce costs.
Out of the top-ten names above, only JUUL and Green Smoke fail to extend their reach to eGo users. Mig, Vaporfi, and V2 not only sell e-liquid devices but also products for vaporizing oils, concentrates, and herbs. Eonsmoke is another company which promotes vaping from all angles. Apart from JUUL and Green Smoke, all the e cigarette brands in the top ten design and market advanced devices like eGos and APVs. NJOY only goes as far as level 2 (the eGo), but Halo’s Triton was joined by a Tracer APV and Reactor Box Mod a while back. V2’s Pro Series 7 is more than an eGo, although marketed as a 3-in-1 unit. Vaporfi makes several mods including the intimidating Rebel III, VAIO all-in-one device, and a VEX mod with TC and VW functionality.
Mig covers their bases, and so does Apollo. When South Beach Smoke added the Storm, Curve, and Thunder to their line-up, there was lots of excitement, not to mention plenty of colors to choose from. Customers love their “build your own starter kit” feature and the chance to buy e liquid.