Should pods be standardised?

[MarylinC37]

With all this talk around banning disposables I’ve been thinking about how we can try to make sure we avoid losing all the smokers who have been attracted away from cigarettes and towards vaping.

I’m not suggesting standardising the juices and coils in pods. I’m thinking about the shape of the tank and type of connection so that any pod will fit any brand of pod device in the same way phones now all have to use USB-C connectors.

In my view the disposable boom has mainly been driven by people who just want simple easy solutions and don’t have time to spend figuring out all the different vaping technicalities. Disposables are everywhere and so easy to find in every shop that has cigarettes on sale. My feeling is that if we could get to a situation where we made it equally as easy to find pods that come with a full tank of juice and a new coil no matter which shop selling cigarettes they happen to walk in to there would be less chance of losing those people back to smoking.

I’m only one individual vaper but I know there are several members on here who work in the vape industry so I’d be interested to know what you think about the pros and cons and if it is something manufacturers might consider.

 

[vapervince]

Maybe if the ban is introduced and proves to be effective some forward thinking company will come up with a decent rechargeable battery mod with a standardised fitting and pre-filled pods, necessity is the mother of invention.

 

[Crispycritters]

I don't believe any manufacturer will consider this because replacement pods and stock coils makes up the bulk of their profits. It would be great for the consumer and the vape shops - but the manufacturer's have to face the reality that someone may buy one of their devices but buy coils/pods from a manufacturer that has a reputation of making superior coils - and they make very little profit from a one-off sale of a vape kit. They know that standard fitment means they won't have the sole market for replacements and they will only get a one time profit from selling the kit - and one of their competitors would clean up with repeated monthly/weekly profits from sales of replacement coils/pods.

 

[Mutley1]

Will never work, there are too many different styles of pods out there DL MTL Rdl & those need a different coil so one device for all never gonna happen

 

[vapervince]

If you buy in to the lazy vaper theory, they`d probably buy refills from the nearest shop.

 

[vapervince]

Will never work, there are too many different styles of pods out there DL MTL Rdl & those need a different coil so one device for all never gonna happen

It`s happening with disposables.

 

[Crispycritters]

There always has been a simple alternative to disposables - the simple non power adjustable Caliburn etc etc style mod that uses pre-filled replaceable pods. They already meet every criteria - they can be recharged so they aren't single use, only the pod is disposable so millions of lithium batteries won't be going to landfill every bin day and they tend not to have brightly coloured cheap plastic casings that 'appeal to kids'.

Anyone that realises you don't throw your phone away when the battery goes flat as it can be recharged, probably can figure out how to use one as there is no requirement to prime coils - just 'plug and play' with the pod.

The stumbling block is going to be they cost thirty quid from a high street shop - and disposable users are used to paying a fiver. They can't think as far ahead as a week or so when they break even.

There already are disposables that can be recharged, I wouldn't be surprised if they evolve into having a plug in sealed pod, so they are basically exactly the same as the basic pods that have been around for years, but are still marketed as disposables to appease the morons. But I cant see any of them adopting a universal fitting replacement pod as they will be playing Russian Roulette with their future profits.

 

[MarylinC37]

Thanks everyone. Great responses.

I knew this point about manufacturers wanting to protect the profits from selling their own devices would be the first thing that people would think of.

I honestly think that would be a very short sighted move for manufacturers.

If disposables have shown one thing they have shown that the biggest market in terms of sales is in selling simplicity. They have taken away the confusion and provided people with the easiest and quickest solution.

Disposable users don't want to travel too far or have to put in too much time to find the right pods. They want to be able to walk into any ciggie shop and know that they can find what they need with no effort. Of course it would mean that manufacturers would need to compete for their share of that market but to my mind you're better off in the end competing for a little slice of a gigantic pie than in having a very small pie all to yourself.

Once you've got them hooked and they've left ciggies behind then, of course, for those who want it you'll still have all the more complex devices available to sell them.

The perfect example of this is Jac Vapour. When do you ever see them getting a mention around here these days? I bought my first vape from them but moved away because they weren't using the standard 510 pin on their tanks. They're still out there selling devices to their own little niche but they'll never be back up with the big players the way they're doing things.

Over time I may well be proved wrong when it comes to disposable users but my fear is that if you just take away the simplest option and then throw too much confusion into the mix then once legal disposables are gone you run the risk of people either going back to ciggies or buying black market disposables.

 

[LordOdin]

I think it's something that won't be done with Vapers wanting to make their own choices regarding juice and coils. The thing i tend to do most and spend the most time doing is looking for e-liquid i will enjoy. Though the worst part of that is buying liquid that looks and sounds great but turns out to be pure rubbish, i find this happens most with liquid that they rate as premium liquid. I think pre-filled Pods would take the fun out of vaping for me. We all have different tastes and styles of vaping as well which would make it harder for companies to produce, plus they would be losing money if the make Pods filled with juice that nobody actually likes. The idea of doing rebuildable devices is to save money and to have the best experience vaping. Buying Pods that are pre-filled would just ruin the vape experience for a lot of vapers plus a lot of vapers don't tend to use Pods anymore.

 

[Mutley1]

It`s happening with disposables.

hmm now see i dont class dispos as pods they aint nothing like a vaporesso luxe or vaporesso target pm80 se or the wotofo manik, with just those most you change the battery coils & pods, dispos you just toss too the kerb or thats how it seems