V2 Pro Pods Could Beat JUUL Pods by Becoming the K-Cup of Vaping

Vaping has officially been Keurigified.

It’s impossible to miss the similarities between the recently introduced V2 Pro Pods and the Keurig K-Cups that made their single-serving debut in 1998. V2’s pre-packaged, disposable containers make the entire process of loading a vape easier, faster, and cheaper than buying, say, a week’s supply. In some cases, the pull is much better as well.

Key to it all are V2’s Pro Pods: prepackaged, small capsules of its flagship flavors designed for easy, potent use. V2’s Series 3x and Series 7 pen-like vapes already give users 27 different methods of vaping, but none of them are as hassle-free or as satisfying as casually slipping a Pro Pod into the vape and puffing away. (You’ll need an adaptor for the Series 7, by the way.)

With casualness and ease-of-use in mind, there’s no wonder why they’re targeting JUUL pods, which are notably both smaller and more expensive.

All you need to do is pick your flavor, your nicotine concentration, pop the pod out of its packaging, slip the mouthpiece on the canister, and you’re good to go.

Like most V2 devices, the Pro Pods are secured with magnetic connectors, so functionally, you can drop a pod right into the vape and immediately begin smoking. There’s no need to manually fill up any chambers with liquid, and because the vapes use the same magnetic system in all sorts of adaptors, there’s virtually no need to ever clean the device if you’re just using the Pods.

The base device also allows you to smoke loose leaf, wax, or various kinds of e-liquids — pretty much anything you could possibly want.

The overall quality of the vape experience with the Pro Pods is unparalleled once you factor in the hassle-free part of V2’s magnetic technology.

The vapor is strong and dense with fluffier clouds than you might see from almost any other vape in this class, which is both gratifying and great for photogenic vapers. The temperature is always pristine and the draw is smooth.

One place where the Pro Pods come up short is the current array of flavors. In an era where devices can recreate the taste of Cinnamon Toast Crunch or mash together tons of exotic fruits, the current lineup of Pro Pods — while fun for their plumes of smoke — come in flavors that are a bit alienating for fruit-lovers.

Pretty much all of the available flavors lean heavily towards tobacco users. That makes it perfect for former cigarette smokers looking to “quit” via vaping, but far less pleasurable for people who aren’t looking to recreate the cigarette experience.

The V2 Pro Pods currently come in four flavors: V2 Red, Congress, Sahara, and V2 Menthol. Each of these popular V2 flavors come from the company’s tobacco-forward line of e-liquids.

For simplicity’s sake, you can consider the V2 Red akin to Marlboro and Sahara similar to Camel. The V2 Menthol is obviously like a minted menthol cigarette with Congress being something like a Parliament Light that blends Burley and Virginia tobacco flavors. So yeah, that’s a lot of tobacco (V2 also has liquids for more sweet, colorful flavors, but none have been made into Pro Pods just yet.).

On the other hand, you also have to consider that the sheer variety of vaping liquids out there and how that creates a degree of unpredictability in the packaging.

A liquid I purchased once came with a glass pipette as part of the cap, used to administer the liquid. But the narrow opening in my SMOK Q-Box vape was too small for the tip to fit inside. Every time I refilled the chamber, the liquid would leak over the side. Eventually, I unknowingly chipped a piece of glass off the pipette and into the chamber, where it sat for months until I cleaned it out.

In other words, you don’t always know what to expect when trying to combine different vapes and liquids. But when you’re dealing with the K-Cup of vaping, the entire experience gets that much more predictable. Would you rather have the easiest time ever vaping? Or would you rather get that exact flavor you want?

You can get a three-pack of V2 Pro Pods for only $9.99, and with 350 to 450 puffs per fill, you’re looking at close to 1,500 puffs for ten bucks if you’re lucky. And you get even better value if you spring for a 48-pack.

So the cost makes for a fairly good deal, especially when the V2 Pro Series 3X retails for only $99.99 directly from V2.

Welcome to Inverse’s Quick Hits, an ongoing series that looks at the future of vaping technology for both tobacco and cannabis with an eye to both new vapers and old hands alike. At Inverse, we focus on the science of anything and use our imaginations to help shape the future around us. With Quick Hits, we want to examine how these new and emerging technologies are transforming the vaping process and re-thinking consumption in tomorrow’s world. Inverse hopes to bring vaping to wider audiences by unlocking new experiences — and flavors — for our readers.