Going into my trip to the Philippines, I knew that vaping was a pretty big deal in the country. Some of the best rebuildable atomizers and coolest mods are made in the Philippines. Innovative vaping companies like Janty, creators of the bold MiD One, are based in the country. While some Filipinos use vaping to stop smoking tobacco cigarettes, there are some that use it as a status symbol (cigs are super-cheap in the Philippines and high-end vaping gear shows that you have money). Despite knowing all of this, I was still surprised by all the vaping I saw in the Philippines. Below are some assorted thoughts on Filipino vaping and a nifty photo gallery (Vapecon Manila and random vaping shots).
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Gear: For such a small country, the Philippines has a surprising amount of cool mod makers. For vaping devices, Edz Mods and Madz Modz are two of best companies. Both make sweet mechanical mods, including a few that incorporate the sun from the Filipino flag. Budz Worx makes some fantastic rebuildable atomizers (RBAs), such as the ERA and Hornet. Janty is one of the most influential companies in vaping, but it doesn’t get the credit it deserves; it created the original Ego e-cig and the RY4 juice — two of the most-copied products in vaping!
Shopping Malls: One of the biggest surprises was all the vaping stores I found in Manila. I went to five major malls and each one had at least four vaping stands. I also visited a bunch of small standalone vape shops, including one in a poorer section of Makati. It was nuts finding a vaping shop in a section of town most westerners would consider a barrio. By comparison, it’s hard to find many vaping shops in most American cities, especially in malls. Some towns have a nice standalone vape shop or two. Some malls have a vaping kiosk, usually a Volcano E-Cigs stand. In Manila, I stopped by more than 20 vape shops. In the immortal words of Brian Fellow, “That’s crazy!”
E-Liquid: This was the major surprise for me. I had no idea that there were so many juice vendors in the Philippines. There are dozens of the companies that make common flavors, as well as those that cater to Filipino tastes. It was awesome seeing e-liquids based on Filipino desserts like sago’t gulaman, ube halaya, sans rival, and buko pandan. I even saw an adobo-flavored juice. Check the photo gallery for some Adic’s Burn juices that I’m going to review in the future.
Bottom Line: So my two take aways were:
- Even though I had an idea that vaping was big in the Philippines, it was even bigger than I thought
- For such a small country, the Philippines has a vibrant vaping scene
It was fun learning a bit about Pinoy vaping and making these discoveries. If you happen to be visiting the country and want to pick up some unique vaping goods, my one suggestion is to bring cash, since a lot of the stores don’t accept cards.
HOT GIRLS!!!
could you name a few of the Filipino e juice manufacturers you discovered? I want to try that adobo flavor! lol