IVG Intense

Two reasons, really. The first is the range: because IVG is a flavour house, the Intense line stretches past the cold-fruit comfort zone into desserts and sweets that the bar-brand salts mostly skip. If you want a Vanilla Biscuit or a proper cola in a pod, this is one of the few places to get it. The second is the formula, tuned smooth, so even the 20mg is easy on the throat for an all-day vape.

It is not the right pick if you are chasing one exact disposable flavour. For a like-for-like Crystal Bar or Lost Mary taste you want that brand's own salt, SKE Crystal V2, MaryLiq or ELFLIQ. But for the widest, most dessert-friendly range with a soft hit, IVG Intense is the one to browse.

IVG Intense comes in two, and no 0mg, so it is a nicotine product through and through. 20mg (2%) is the firm hit that matches the disposable bars and suits anyone fresh off a heavier smoking habit. 10mg (1%) is the gentler option, good once the worst of the cravings pass or if you vape steadily through the day and find 20mg too much.

Because the Intense formula is tuned for a soft throat hit, even the 20mg goes down smoother than you might expect, which is part of the appeal. A sensible move is to start at 20mg and drop to 10mg when you notice you are reaching for it less. To taper lower than 10mg you would mix in a 0mg shortfill or move to a freebase line, since IVG Intense itself stops at 10mg.

If you are coming from sealed pods, filling your own takes about 20 seconds and is what unlocks the savings.

Any mouth-to-lung pod kit or AIO. The 50/50 mix and salt nicotine suit low-power, tight-draw devices best, the kind people move to after disposables, running coils around 0.6 to 1.2ohm at roughly 8 to 18W. Popular matches are the Vaporesso XROS, the OXVA Xlim and the Uwell Caliburn, and if you already vape an IVG device it is the obvious bottle to reach for.

It is not for big sub-ohm clouds. High-wattage sub-ohm tanks will burn through it fast and 20mg would be far too harsh at that power, so keep IVG Intense to pod kits and MTL coils.

Yes, and it is one of the cheaper salts we stock. At 10 for £13.99 a bottle is about £1.40, and a 10ml bottle is roughly 3000 puffs, so you are paying near 0.05p a puff once you own a kit. One bottle is around five pod refills, so a ten-pack keeps a moderate vaper going for weeks.

Against sealed pods it is no contest. Bottled salt works out a fraction of the per-ml price of buying prefilled pods, because you are not paying for a fresh coil and a plastic pod every couple of millilitres. The trade is that you supply the kit and do the filling, but if you are happy to refill a pod, this is among the cheapest ways to vape a proper flavour range.

A few small habits keep every bottle tasting right. Give it a gentle shake before you fill, store it somewhere cool and out of the light, and screw the cap back tight so the top notes do not drift off. Most salts are ready to vape straight away, though the sweeter dessert flavours can reward a day or two settling in the pod.

If a flavour ever tastes flat, it is almost always a tired coil rather than the juice. A coil near the end of its life mutes everything, especially the dessert profiles, so a fresh pod or coil brings the taste back. Let a freshly filled pod soak its few minutes before the first pull and you will dodge the dry, burnt note that puts people off refilling.