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Nic salts vs freebase
submitted over 6 years ago by trucknjoe

I normally do my DIY with nic salts and all of my friends love that it has no throat hit. What I don't understand is why do most big companies use freebase? They make great flavours but some are unvapeable at 6mg just because it's too harsh. I get some people like a throat hit but so many don't. So why is freebase even a thing still?

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16 points
 
by PlasmaTuneover 6 years ago

I'm a person who will turn down a juice completely if the company exclusively uses Nic Salts. I enjoy a throat hit and it's what has kept me smoke free for so many years.

  • I'm freebase until I quit.
2 points
 
by kylbornover 6 years ago

I started vaping around 5 years ago and it got me off of smoking. I smoke about half a pack a day of “light” cigarettes for about 20 years. Now I vape 12mg freebase which is pretty much what I started at 5years ago. I’m not that interested in reducing that level.

Maybe I’m just used to my setup and haven’t really investigated moving to nic salts (other than trying the juul). I use MTL setups (currently an Aspire Tigon @1.2ohms/11Watts). I don’t chase clouds. I only feed the nicotine monkey on my back.

I’m not against nic salts but I know freebase nicotine does it for me. So unless I have a compelling reason n to switch to salts, I’m sticking with freebase.

Like PlasmaTune says, whatever it takes to stay smoke free is the key.

1 points
 
by kvn4over 6 years agoSir-Mix-A-Lot

same here

10 points
 
by SlimPickin2600over 6 years ago

What are you talking about?

Unvapable to one person is a other person every day vape. They make it because people buy it. Just because you find 6mg to be harsh doesn't mean everyone agrees with you. Everyone has their personal preferences.

Even as a salt user, I buy 0 nic to mix with my salts to lower the nic in order to step down. Salts cost WAAAY MORE than freebase does.

I tend to use 3mg freebase in my subohm mesh tanks and such, and there is absolutely no throat hit at all. The assumption that freebase is somehow inferior to salts is an opinion, not a fact. It is also an assumption to say they are all rough. There was a time where they made 18mg and 24mg freebase and it was commonly used. Now THAT was rough. Then again, the devices were much less efficient.

Tl;Dr some people like using it even if you dont

0 points
 
by [deleted]over 6 years ago

The throat hit from freebase stopped me from switching over to vape. The day I tried Salt nicotine 25mg was the last day I smoked. I'm down to 5-10mg Salt now. Also I've read that Salt nic absorb better at lower watts 10-30w.

1 points
 
by SlimPickin2600over 6 years ago

Salt nic doesn't absorb "better". It's absorbs quicker. You get the same nicotine absorbtion overall. Wattage makes no difference besides volume of vapor

Again, to each their own. You thinking freebase has a lot of throat hit doesn't mean everyone does, and there are multiple producers/vendors of nicotine and they don't all feel the same.

1 points
 
by [deleted]over 6 years ago

Also you get people like this paid by big tobacco to suppress nicotine salts because of how effective they are to quit smoking. It does absorb better and wattage does make a difference. Don't buy the fakenews

-2 points
 
by trucknjoeover 6 years ago

Understandable some people like it but a LOT of people I know don't like the throat hit. Nic salts work out to be a very similar price if you buy it in the same concentration as regular freebase. I just don't understand why nic salts are as commonly used in lower mg juices as freebase when there is definitely a market for it.

2 points
 
by SlimPickin2600over 6 years ago

That doesn't make sense. No one is using salt nics at lower concentrations because there is absolutely no point. Low nic freebase has almost no throat hit to begin with. if you want lower concentrations salt nic, buy a salt nic and buy the 0mg freebase equivalent and mix your own, becauae they are going to charge the same amount for a 3mg nic salt 30ml bottle as they do for a 24 or 50mg 30ml bottle if they do make lower salt nics. The only way it's cheaper is if you mix your own; it will always cost more than freebase purchasing retail.

Skwezed makes 12mg nic salt and that's the lowest I've seen

0 points
 
by voxalasover 6 years ago

I make my juice @ 1.5mg/ml with Nic salts. I prefer the smooth hit and how quickly the nicotine’s effects wear off.

-1 points
 
by trucknjoeover 6 years ago

There is multiple sites that sell low mg nic salt juices. I know people that get horrible throat hit from 6mg freebase including me and I smoked 15-25 cigs a day. There is 100% most definitely a market for low mg nic salt juices for rdas rtas and subohm tanks and most people at vape stores agree with me

5 points
 
by Roc77over 6 years ago

Because its cheaper and the throat hit is desirable to some, especially smokers or ex smokers.

-3 points
 
by juthincover 6 years agoI improved Grack and all I got was this lousy flair

> throat hit is desirable to some, especially ~~smokers or ex smokers~~masochists.

FTFY.

Former smoker. Never liked 'throat hit'.

1 points
 
by Roc77over 6 years ago

Same here but it is the feeling of nicotine hitting the throat and being absorbed in an alkaline smoke or vapour. Salts are more acidic pH and don't have the same action.

4 points
 
by Foxer604over 6 years ago

Lots like the nic hit and honestly it's cheaper.

I mix with both and to be honest i don't notice a 'big' throat hit at 6mg. Not that i vape at that level very often, it's too much for me.

3 points
 
by noam_compsciover 6 years ago

I do not think it is possible to compare freebase with salt.

First, it depends on the type of salt. Benzoic acid vs other acids.

Second, when looking at manufactueres like Juul/PAX, they use 50mg salt nic for a reason. At that level, the throat hit can be equivelent to freebase 5mg. But the nicotine in blood over time is very different to freebase.

Just check out the Ruthlessvapor article on the subject....

2 points
 
by ButItsCollegeBroover 6 years ago

The clouds.

1 points
 
by trucknjoeover 6 years ago

I mix my juices at 6mg with nic salts. Are you saying if I used freebase the clouds would be bigger? 🤔

0 points
 
by ButItsCollegeBroover 6 years ago

Ahh, I figured you were using the normal 35 or 50 that salt nics come in.

Using 50 salt nic in a pod device won't produce as much vapor as 3 or 6 in a box mod.

1 points
 
by trucknjoeover 6 years ago

Well yeah I was talking about regular 0-12mg. Why don't people use nic salts for these levels of nic since there is literally no harsh throat hit.

2 points
 
by wonderfulpantsuitover 6 years ago

Is it simply down to costs? Salt nic is around 2.5x as expensive as freebase here in China.

I actually thought I was using freebase in my mixing for the first two months (I don't read Chinese very well). By the time I actually tried using freebase recently, I found it quite harsh and unpleasant for DTL vaping, even at just 4 or 5mg. IMO it detracts a wee bit from the flavour.

I'm using up what I have left of it now for simple MTL mixes, where I enjoy that kick, but for my ADVs and anything I'm going to be using on a DTL atomiser, it's salt nic all the way.

2 points
 
by futiledevicesover 6 years agoMixologist

I prefer the freebase throat hit. Good clean nic isn't overly harsh or scratchy. Salts give me a weird, unpleasant sharpness in the chest without anything on the throat. Also still have questions on the safety of salt.

2 points
 
by St1llFrankover 6 years agoThis flavor... This is not my kind of flavor

I also get an irritation. I can't exhale nic salts through my nose without it burning something fierce. It's worse the higher the concentration. But even as little as 3 mg is enough to cause that burn. I might be the only one though. I've never seen anyone agree with me.

1 points
 
by ReMaxxUTover 6 years agoTobacconist

Did you happen to get your salts from Nude Nicotine? I got a strange chemical taste from the Smooth, couldn't get past it.

1 points
 
by St1llFrankover 6 years agoThis flavor... This is not my kind of flavor

No I didn't. But I've noticed it with 2 commercial e liquids and the PurNic Smooth Salts I ordered. It's that chemically weird flavor though that burns my nose. I might be extra sensitive to it. Normal nic doesn't bother me. I still vape salts but always as a "mouth breather" lol.

1 points
 
by futiledevicesover 6 years agoMixologist

It makes me and a lot of my coworkers feel like they have to sneeze. It's weird. I kinda enjoy it but kinda don't. Definitely notice if with low mg stuff and higher mg alike.

2 points
 
by Vishousnessover 6 years agoMissing One Flavor

I use 3mg nic salt smooth from nic river in my mixers i get no throat hit whatsoever i do 85vg 15 pg blends using 100mg/ml

2 points
 
by juthincover 6 years agoI improved Grack and all I got was this lousy flair

Because 3mg/ml isn't usually harsh if you have decent nic, and you can always just vape more if you need more nic... And freebase does last longer in your system.

2 points
 
by syrik420over 6 years ago

Tbh I find that the low mg nic salts typically are a tiny bit better than freebase. I mostly smoke for the habit (smoked hookah for years but never really got into cigs except after a couple beers), so the nicotine hasn’t really been too important to me. I like the side effects of nicotine though. Nic salt juice seem to deliver more accurate flavor to me.

1 points
 
by Don_Bilover 6 years ago

I'll just chime in here and say that for me, 3/6mg freebase (depending on the juice) is much more satisfying than say a 20mg saltnic..I tried that once (dinner lady lemon tart) and it felt so pointless to me, couldn't get a decent hit out of it ..only time I've enjoyed salt nic is when it was at least a 35mg in a MTL device and I could actually feel the throat hit.

To each their own though. If you or your friends don't want a throat hit then go for it.

1 points
 
by SaintBurtover 6 years ago

My guess would be that most people haven't tried sub ohming low strength nic salts. There's the whole "salts are for pods, you'll die if you use them in a sub ohm setup" misinformation campaign too. As 3 mg and 6 mg salts become more widely available, people like OP who don't like throat hit will probably switch to them. We're in the early stages of that change right now.

1 points
 
by pavlikmmmover 6 years ago

I usually go with a 50/50 mix of salts and freebase at 6-9mg for a good throat hit and a solid rush, to stay smoke free.

1 points
 
by jay_dwover 6 years ago

A lot of us ex tobacco smokers need the throat hit. I like having the choice but I lean to freebase, even for high nic mixes.

1 points
 
by rclevenover 6 years ago

Salts are a different chemical compound than freebase. To you it is a smooth to the throat hit. I have heard many people complain about chest tightness after using salts for a week. I have used both. With salts I miss the throat and lung hit after smoking for fifty-three years. Was on Chantix and totally off nic. Chantix & Welbutrin will get you off nicotene but it doesn't solve the issue of hand to mouth and throat and lung hit. If salts take that away I just as soon go back to smoking as I did after cessation drugs.

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