NicSalt Shots vs. NicShots – nicotine salt shot and freebase nicotine shot comparison

Nicotine salts (nicsalts for short) are getting more popular among vapers. Every day more people are trying to figure out if nic salts are any good for them. Should you use nicsalt shots or stick to the good old nic shots? Let us try and explain a few things regarding nicotine salts and compare nic salt shots to regular, freebase nicotine shots.

Why freebase nicotine may not be your best bet?

Vaping started as a way for people to quit smoking but came a long way since then. When we started vaping, the market was limited to basic tobacco, mint, and fruit e-liquids with nicotine strengths of up to 36mg/ml being vaped on leaking vape pens. The industry was growing, more and more people were successfully quitting smoking with the help of their trusty e-cigarette. We have seen vaping getting regulated – limiting nicotine strengths, e-liquid bottle sizes, and tank capacities, forbidding online sales of nicotine liquids. Tobacco Products Directive hit us hard, especially the ones trying to quit deadly cigarettes via vaping. Limiting nicotine strengths in e-liquids has caused a lot of people to revert back to smoking. E-liquids use freebase nicotine, which at 20 mg/ml is not enough for some vapers. The nicotine hit of freebase nicotine shot is not comparable to a regular cigarette while the throat hit is too harsh on more powerful e-cigarettes. The financial aspect of vaping suffered as well. Since you could not legally purchase any nicotine liquids in bottles bigger than 10ml, you could not manufacture your own e-liquids at reasonable prices. You couldn’t even get a bigger, more economical bottle of your favourite e-liquid from your local vape shop. E-liquids became too expensive and not strong enough to convince people to start vaping and quit smoking. Luckily, with the introduction of TPD, vaping industry created shortfill e-liquids. Shortfills are concentrated, nicotine free e-liquids. To prepare shortfill for vaping, add a 10ml nicotine shot and shake vigorously to obtain a ready to vape e-liquid. This solved the 10ml bottle issue but greatly limited the nicotine levels available to vapers. The “nic shot” (or nicshot) is also limited by the TPD in terms of capacity and nicotine levels. This last hurdle has been defeated with the introduction of nicotine salts.

What are nicotine salts?

Nicotine salts (nic salts or nicsalts for short) are simply a different form of nicotine – they occur naturally in tobacco leaves. During nicotine extraction, nicotine salts change their state to freebase nicotine. Freebase nicotine is the type of nicotine we knew from traditional e-liquids all along. To obtain nicotine salts manufacturers add a specific acid to freebase nicotine, which turns it to a salt form. The final properties of nicotine salt depend on the acid used to achieve the salt. In general nicotine salts have lower pH compared to freebase nicotine. Lower alkalinity means you can vape higher nicotine strength e-liquids without the unpleasant harshness. Nicotine salts also get absorbed faster, giving users a nicotine hit similar to traditional cigarettes. We manufacture three types of nicsalts: Nicotine Salicylate (nicotine with salicylic acid), Nicotine Benzoate (nicotine with benzoic acid), and Nicotine Malate (nicotine with malic acid). Our NicSalt Shots are made using Nicotine Benzoate for smooth vaping experience. Acids used for Chemnovatic nicotine salts production are generally regarded as safe and are used in cosmetics and food industry, malic acid is a natural acid present in many fruits. You may check their individual properties here: https://chemnovatic.com/product/nicotine-salts/.

NicSalt Shots or Nic Shots?

There is no good answer to that question really. It all comes down to personal preference and the style of vaping one prefers – some like throat hit, some prefer a smooth vaping experience, some crave high strength nicotine while others are ok with 3mg/ml or less. We will try to guide you through some features and characteristics of and freebase nicotine shots to help you make an informed choice.

When a nic salt shot is a better option for you?

• When you are trying to quit smoking and need the nicotine buzz
• When you use MTL devices or pods rather than sub ohm tanks

When a regular nic shot is better for you?

• When you vape for the experience or managed to lower your nicotine requirement and the nicotine hit does not need to be strong
• When you love sub-ohm tanks and high-power devices

We have also prepared a simple side-by-side comparison of nicotine shots we manufacture. It may help you figure out which ones are better suited to your needs.