This guide covers the freebase e-liquids from Air Factory, a long-established vape brand whose range also takes in nic salts and long-lasting disposable vapes. The company puts its effort into quality ingredients and strict quality control, and the result is flavor that tastes clean and stays consistent from bottle to bottle. Below we explain what kind of juice this is, which devices suit it, and which flavors we rate highest.
What the freebase line is
These are affordable high-VG juices built for clouds and flavor. The essentials:
- Bottle size: 100ml for most flavors
- VG/PG: 70/30, a classic ratio that gives plenty of vapor
- Nicotine: freebase, in 0, 3 and 6mg
The flavor list leans on the profiles adult vapers buy most: tropical fruit, berries, drinks and candy, generally sweet and balanced. A 100ml bottle goes a long way.
Because the nicotine is freebase and the strengths are low, these are not the juices for a small low-wattage pod. If strong nic salt is what you are after, Air Factory Salts is the better match.
Which devices suit a 70/30 juice
High-VG liquid is usually vaped one of two ways. The traditional choice is a sub-ohm tank on a vape mod. The other, which keeps gaining ground, is a pod system: plenty of the more powerful pods now ship with sub-ohm coils and handle standard e-liquid very well.
Direct to lung and mouth to lung
The two main kinds of juice line up with the two main ways of inhaling. Air Factory’s freebase flavors are made for direct to lung (DL) vaping, where open airflow and a lot of vapor go straight to the lungs and come back out as large clouds. Powerful pod kits and mods do this best, with low-resistance coils.
Mouth to lung (MTL) vaping is very popular too. Disposables, low-wattage pods and the early cigalikes were all designed around it. It works best with less vapor, needs less power, and so the device can be smaller. Many consider the draw closer to that of a cigarette.
Freebase nicotine and nic salts
What separates a high-VG juice from a nic salt is mostly the nicotine inside it (some high-VG juices contain none at all). Freebase is the form vaping started with. It performs very well at low strengths but turns somewhat harsh above 18mg. Nic salts take that same freebase nicotine and alter its structure with benzoic acid, which brings the pH down and makes high strengths less harsh.
Nic salts could be used at low strengths, but freebase already does that job, so nobody bothers. Their value is at the other end: sold mostly between 25 and 50mg, they let a low-wattage pod perform in a satisfying way. Prefilled pods and today’s disposables exist because of them.
Our picks from the range
Blue Razz
A very popular flavor, done well. Air Factory Blue Razz eJuice mixes fresh fruit with hard-candy notes, and a measure of tartness keeps the whole thing in balance.
Synthetic Blue Razzberry
A relative of Blue Razz that comes across even smoother. Air Factory Synthetic Blue Razzberry eJuice is made with synthetic nicotine, which tastes more neutral than the tobacco-derived kind.
Berry Rush
Mixed berry blends sell well for a reason, and we count this among the better ones. Air Factory Berry Rush keeps its sweetness restrained, which suits a high-VG juice, while a tart edge gives the berries more depth.
Mix Berry
The other berry medley on our list. In Air Factory Mix Berry eJuice a saltwater-candy note lifts a bold blend of fruits and berries. This one is sold in 60ml bottles.
Melon Lush
Air Factory Melon Lush eJuice pairs honeydew with watermelon, part fruit and part candy, with plenty of both sweet and tart. Honeydew works remarkably well as a vape flavor; some vapers find it more appealing than the fruit itself.
Synthetic Aloha Strawberry
Not a plain strawberry. Air Factory Synthetic Aloha Strawberry eJuice adds bold, sweet pineapple and creamy coconut for a tropical blend, and the synthetic nicotine lets each flavor come through clearly, which shows how much clarity a high-VG juice can have. We did not get tired of it.
Mint
Cooling mint is mostly thought of as a nic salt flavor. Air Factory Mint eJuice shows it works in high-VG form as well: the mint is sweet and balanced enough to vape all day.
Custard Tobacco
Softening a tobacco juice with something sweet and smooth is a proven formula. Air Factory Custard Tobacco eJuice starts from a flue-cured tobacco flavor with an earthy sweetness and rounds it off with vanilla, landing between dessert and tobacco.