Vape pod systems offer many advantages over tank style vape systems, but the market for these sleek and convenient devices is fiercely competitive—and it isn’t always easy to know what product will serve your needs best.
That’s why we’ve broken down and compared the key specs of 3 popular pod systems below. Use what you learn here to make an informed buying decision, then enjoy your new vape device and all the flavours that come with it.
Why pod systems beat tank systems
Pod systems use integrated pods instead of separate tanks to hold e-liquid. Compared to tank style vape devices, pod systems have the following advantages:
- More affordable
- Easier to use
- Easier to maintain
- Lighter and more portable
Many users prefer the cigarette-like experience pod systems provide. This also makes them more useful than tank style devices for people who are trying to wean themselves off of traditional tobacco products.
3 Popular Pod Systems: STLTH, JUUL, & VUSE
STLTH, JUUL, and VUSE each offer a popular pod system with its own dedicated following, but which one will be right for you? Below, we’ll rank each of these devices according to the following criteria:
- Ease of use: How convenient is it to charge, prepare, and use the pod system?
- Available flavours: do you get lots of options with your pod system, or just a few?
- Value: how much pod system do you get for your money?
- Portability: can you travel with your pod system, or is taking it on trips a pain?
We’ll start with a brief overview of each device. Then we’ll list its flavours, key specs, pros, cons, available colours, and provide scores (out of 4 stars) based on the criteria above.
STLTH
The STLTH device is designed in Canada by ex-smokers. Their mission was to create a device that provided a real alternative to traditional tobacco products for adult smokers. With a low profile and a practical, no-nonsense design, this easy to use product delivers on that promise.
What we love: The STLTH comes in plenty of flavours and colours, proving that a straightforward vape device doesn’t have to be boring. It’s 420 mAh battery also gives you the ability to enjoy a heavy day of use without having to stop and charge.
What we don’t love (as much): The STLTH only comes with a single 2 mL pod, so we docked it half a point in the value category. The pods also aren’t refillable, so it loses half a point for ease of use as well.
Key Features
- E-liquid Capacity: 2mL
- Strengths:Nicotine Free, 20mg/mL, BOLD 35, BOLD 50
- Refillable: No
- Activation Type: Draw activated
- Battery Capacity: 420 mAh
- Battery Level Indicator: Yes
- Charging Port Type: Micro USB
- Charge Length: Approx. 90 minutes (with supplied charger)
- Size (with pod): 105.1mm x 191.1mm
- Weight: 26g
Shop Available STLTH Flavours
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STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack - Flavourless
STLTHOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)Description For those who prefer no flavour at all, STLTH offers their flavourless pods. Each STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack contains 3 pods pre-fille...
View full detailsOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml) -
STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack - Tobacco Blend
STLTHOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)Description A smooth blend of rich medium tobacco, perfect for those who like their tobacco flavour a bit more robust. Each STLTH E-Liquid Pod ...
View full detailsOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml) -
STLTH X E-Liquid Pod Pack - Cubano
STLTHOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)Description Luxuriate in this classic cigar flavour with opulent vanilla notes. The new STLTH X pods feature a custom-designed absorbent materi...
View full detailsOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml) -
STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack - Frost
STLTHOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)Description Combining a peppermint inhale with a spearmint exhale for a perfect menthol blend. Each STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack contains 3 pods pre...
View full detailsOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml) -
STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack - Honeydew Menthol
STLTHOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)Description The cool and refreshing taste of honeydew combined with menthol for an even cooler vape experience. Each STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack co...
View full detailsOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml) -
STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack - Savage Strawberry Kiwi Watermelon
STLTHOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)Description Yes, this really is as delicious as you think. Each STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack contains 3 pods pre-filled with 2ml of premium quality ...
View full detailsOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml) -
STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack - Berry Blast
STLTHOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)Description A sweet and tart blend of raspberries, strawberries, and exotic berries. Like berries? Love this juice! Each STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pac...
View full detailsOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml) -
STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack - Savage Rocket
STLTHOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)Description The taste of frozen goodness! Cherries, blue raspberries, and icy menthol! Each STLTH E-Liquid Pod Pack contains 3 pods pre-filled ...
View full detailsOriginal price $19.99 - Original price $19.99Original price$19.99 ($3.33/ml)$19.99 - $19.99Current price $19.99 ($3.33/ml)
STLTH Pros
- Affordable
- Easy to use
- Draw-activated
- Flavours have various nicotine strengths
- Similar to the experience of smoking a cigarette
STLTH Cons
- Only 1 x 2 mL pod included with starter kit
- Pods cannot be refilled
Available STLTH Colours
- Rose Gold Metal
- Green Metal
- Gold Metal
- Blue Metal
- Red Metal
- Grey
- Rose Gold
- Black
- Navy Blue
Our Score for STLTH
- Ease of Use: 3.5
- Flavours: 4.0
- Value: 3.5
- Portability: 4.0
- Final: 3.75 out of 4 stars
JUUL
Juul offers one of the best-selling pod systems on the market. It has a sleek and modern look, but gives up some functionality to create a lighter and smaller pod system than the STLTH or Vuse systems.
What we love: The JUUL certainly makes an impression, and it’s so light you’ll barely even know it’s in your pocket (although that might also be a drawback, depending on how easily you lose things).
What we don’t love (as much): For a pod system with such a cool design, the JUUL is limited to just 2 boring colour options, and it doesn’t offer much in the way of flavours, either—so it loses some serious points in that category.
Then there’s that 100 mAh battery, which needs to be charged often. Fortunately, the JUUL comes with a magnetic charging attachment that makes it easier to connect to power—but we think they should have just given it a better battery instead.
Key Features
- E-liquid Capacity: 0.7mL
- Strengths: 15mg/mL
- Refillable: No
- Activation Type: Draw activated
- Battery Capacity: 100 mAh
- Battery Level Indicator: Yes
- Charging Port Type: Proprietary USB charging dock
- Charge Length: Approx. 50 minutes (with supplied charger)
- Size (with pod): 94.8mm x 15.4mm
- Weight: 14g
Available Flavours
- Mint
- Virginia Tobacco
- Golden Tobacco
- Cucumber
- Fruit
- Vanilla
- Mango
JUUL Pros
- Futuristic design
- Lighter than other systems
- Magnetic charging attachment
- Draw activated
JUUL Cons
- No controls or menus
- Smaller battery than other systems
- Pods cannot be refilled
- Only 7 flavours
- No flavourless option
- Only 2 colours
Available JUUL Colours
- Rose Gold Metal
- Slate
- Silver
Our Score for JUUL
- Ease of Use: 3.5
- Flavours: 2.0
- Value: 3.5
- Portability: 4.0
- Final: 3.25 out of 4 stars
Vuse ePen
Vuse used to be called VYPE, but their ePen 3 is largely the same—in fact, it can even use the same cartridges (assuming you can still find any with the original branding). It also has a pretty substantial battery and a wide variety of available flavours, although they only come in low concentrations, which heavier smokers may not appreciate.
What we love: The Vuse ePen 3’s battery is a whopping 650 mAh, which means you should have no trouble going all day with this pod system. It also has 11 different flavours—not quite as many as the STLTH, but significantly more than the JUUL’s paltry 7. Finally, this device lets you vape while it’s charging, which is pretty cool.
What we don’t love (as much): A high quantity of flavours is great, but quality matters too—and that’s where the Vuse ePen 3 falls a bit short. The low nicotine strengths of its pods might be good for ex-smokers who have been out of the woods for a while, but most other users will likely want more from each hit.
The ePen 3 is also significantly bulkier than the other devices on this list, so we have to dock it some points for portability as well as flavours. Plus, it doesn’t come with any cartridges—so it suffers in the value category as well.
Key Features
- E-liquid Capacity: 2.0mL
- Strengths: 12mg/mL, 18mg/mL
- Refillable: No
- Activation Type: Draw activated
- Battery Capacity: 650 mAh
- Battery Level Indicator: Yes
- Charging Port Type: Micro-USB
- Charge Length: Approx. 75 minutes (with supplied charger)
- Size (with pod): 123mm x 27mm
- Weight: 39g
Available Flavours
- Original Strawberry
- Strawberry Smash
- Fresh Apple
- Classic Peach
- Peach Whirl
- Tropical
- Infused Vanilla
- Crisp Mint
- Dark Cherry
- Blended Tobacco
- Golden Tobacco
Vuse ePen 3 Pros
- Long battery life
- Wide range of flavours
- Compatible with VYPE ePen cartridges
- Can vape while charging
Vuse ePen 3 Cons
- Larger and heavier than other systems
- Only low nicotine strengths available
- Pods cannot be refilled
- Does not come with cartridges
Available Vuse ePen 3 Colours
- Rose Gold Metal
- Gold
- Rose Gold
- Silver
- Red
- Blue
- Graphite Black
Our Score for JUUL
- Ease of Use: 4
- Flavours: 3.0
- Value: 3.25
- Portability: 3.0
- Final: 3.25 out of 4 stars
Choosing between the STLTH, JUUL, and Vuse
Make no mistake: all of these are strong pod systems for users who want to decrease their dependence on cigarettes, and each of them have their own advantages. In a direct, head-to-head comparison, though, we feel that one of these devices clearly comes out ahead of the others when it comes to our specified criteria:
Ease of Use:Vuse’s ePen 3 just slightly edges out the competition here. The ability to use it while it’s charging is a big plus, although none of these devices are difficult to use per se.
Flavours: STLTH wins this one, hands down—in terms of both quantity and quality. There are tons of available flavours, they come in a nice range of nicotine strengths, and they all taste great.
Value: This one’s a toss-up between STLTH and JUUL. Both of these are highly economical pod systems where you get a lot for your money. VUSE’s ePen 3 falls short here for not including any pods (or cartridges) with its kit.
Portability: STLTH and JUUL tie again in this category. The JUUL is lighter, but its smaller battery means you won’t be able to take it far away from a power source for long—whereas the STLTH offers longer battery life and fits on your person very naturally.
Final Verdict: Tying for victory when it comes to portability and value—and winning outright in terms of flavours—we’re handing the victory to STLTH.
In addition to what we’ve covered above, it’s nice that STLTH is a Canadian product—and its intentionally-restricted pull makes it feel very close to smoking a real cigarette. Learn more about choosing a pod system by contacting us, or check out the STLTH device product here.
