How to Do Vape Tricks
Vaping delivers diverse benefits. It’s less inflammatory than smoking, and represents one of the most efficient and effective ways to reap the therapeutic (and recreational!) benefits of cannabis, nicotine liquid, tobacco products, or even cessation products. However, vaping also has another unique advantage: it offers hours of fun for those keen to experiment with cool vape tricks. Vape trickery has even garnered its own name–cloud chasing.
The vapor produced by vape tanks is thicker than cigarette smoke, which means it can be manipulated to produce weird and wonderful shapes that can keep you and others endlessly entertained. As the popularity of vaping has grown, so too has the popularity of competitive vaping–known among the vaping community as cloud-gazing.
The great news is everyone–not just youth– can have fun trying out and practicing their favorite tricks. You don’t have to be a professional cloud gazer to master the French Inhale or the Tornado. Once you’ve mastered the basics, there’s a world of more complex, impressive tricks to try (and share on social media!)
Vape tricks for beginners
Beginner vape tricks are significantly easier with the right device. Sub-ohm tanks, for example, are ideal as they produce giant clouds of vapor. Vape pens and e-cigarettes are trickier to work with as they produce more discreet clouds of vapor. Check out our range of sub-ohm tanks, including products like the SMOK TFV8 Cloud Beast. It’s not called the Beast for nothing.
When you’re starting out, practice your tricks in front of a mirror for instant, honest feedback. Don’t be discouraged if at first you don’t succeed–most of these tricks have a quick learning curve, and become super easy after a few tries!
Here’s our list of vape tricks that are perfect for beginners.
Blowing O’s
Blowing O’s is one of the easiest vape tricks to start out with. Here’s how you do it:
- Inhale and keep the vapor in your throat.
- Rest your tongue at the base of your mouth, slightly pushing the tongue back towards your throat.
- Create an O shape with your top and bottom lip. Don’t pout your lips, rather, curve the upper and lower lip tightly around your teeth keeping them taut.
- Push the vapor out by pulsing the back of your throat–think of a movement similar to a silent cough. The vapor will emerge from your mouth in an O ring.
- You can start to play with the size of the rings by changing how large or small you round your mouth when blowing Os.
Check out this super straightforward “how-to” video:
Once you’ve mastered the single O, you can move on to double, triple, or even quadruple O’s. Take a deep inhalation from your vape device, then open your mouth in the O shape, and slowly exhale while tapping the side of your throat with your finger.
Waterfall
The poetically named Waterfall represents another popular vape trick among beginners. Not only is this trick visually impressive, it also has a certain level of nostalgia, channeling elementary school science fair projects that created copious clouds of vapor. Best of all, it’s pretty easy!
Simply take a small container like a plastic bottle, exhale a large hit into the container, hold it above a flat surface, and slowly pour it out. You should see an effect like water cascading over a waterfall. The heaviness of the vapor cloud means it will pool on the table, which sets you up perfectly for the next trick–the Tornado.
Here’s a video showing the Waterfall in action:
Tornado
Tried out the waterfall? Next stop, The Tornado! This super simple smoke trick simply requires a flat surface. Take a huge hit from your mod, hold it in, then place your mouth 2-3 cm from the surface. Exhale super slowly and quietly, allowing your vapor to form a dense pool. Then, for the final flourish–slide your hand across the middle of the pool like you’re going in for a handshake, and swipe upwards quickly, like you’re trying to high five someone. Admire as your vapor rises in a swirling motion. Magic or what?
Here’s an epic example of the Tornado:
Or check out this example of a helix (double-stranded) tornado which is a little more challenging:
Ghost Inhale
The ominously named Ghost Inhale is one of the most fun and straightforward vape tricks out there. Most can successfully do it on their first try, boosting morale for trickier moves down the road.
To achieve the Ghost Inhale (also known as the Snap Inhale or Mushroom Cloud), take a long drag from your vape mod and let it sit in your mouth for a few seconds. Then simply open your mouth in an O shape, gently pushing the vape bubble out with your tongue and then close your mouth right away. Don’t exhale! If you exhale, the vapor won’t be as thick and won’t look as good. As soon as the vapor has all left your mouth, inhale it rapidly back in. Hey presto, the Ghost Inhale! Did you see it or did you not?!
Here’s the ghost inhale, broken down into super simple steps:
Dragon
Joining the ranks of the Tornado, Waterfall and Ghost Inhale is the Dragon. An easy trick, but with full marks for dramatic effect. Take a full hit from your vape mod, pinch the center of your lips closed with your fingers, then empty out your lungs by ‘sighing’ the vapor out the sides of your mouth and your nostrils. The outcome? You’ll look just like a fire-breathing dragon getting warmed up to blow.
Here’s an awesome vid that breaks the trick down:
French Inhale
Ooh la la, it’s time for the French Inhale! Also known as The Irish Waterfall, the French Inhale is a slightly more advanced trick, but still very do-able for beginners.
Take a long drag from your vape mod, holding the vapor in the mouth (don’t inhale into the lungs). Keep your mouth shut so the vapor sits in the oral cavity for a few moments. Then slowly open the mouth, slightly extending the bottom jaw as if you have an underbite. Allow the vapor to slowly release as you inhale through the nose consistently.
Voila, that’s the ever-so-sophisticated French Inhale!
Here’s the how-to in video format:
Bane
Named after the infamous Batman villain, the Bane, or Bane Inhale, represents a fun twist on the French Inhale. The basics of the Bane are essentially the same as The French Inhale, but a little twist at the end creates an effect that leaves you looking like supervillain Bane. Here’s how it’s done:
- Take a long drag from your mod and allow the vapor to settle in your mouth. Don’t inhale it.
- Gently open your mouth and slightly push your lower jaw out so your bottom teeth touch your upper lip. You can also put your bottom teeth behind your top teeth and slightly smile for a different effect.
- Gently push the vapor out through your teeth, creating an effect like Bane’s mask.
- As the vapor is exiting the mouth, continually keep inhaling through your nose.
Check out this awesome video tutorial that explains the trick step-by-step here:
Tricks for advanced vapers
As the old saying goes, a little practice goes a long way. Once you’ve mastered the easy vape tricks above, such as the vape ring, you’re ready to start experimenting with more advanced tricks. The sky’s the limit (or better said, the clouds are the limit!)
● Vape Bending
Vape bending refers to the process of using a slightly cupped hand to direct the airflow of an O ring. Vape bending also requires a healthy cloud of vapor, so make sure your cartridge is full or near full, or the results won’t be as impressive. Once you’ve formed a large O and released it from your mouth, you can use your hand to spin the O or direct its path, taking care to move your hand slowly so you don’t break the shape. Dense O’s hold their shape better. Vape bending plays a part in some of the more advanced maneuvers, such as the Jellyfish, which we’ll explain below.
Here’s an awesome video showing vape bending at its best:
● Jellyfish
Unsurprisingly, this popular trick creates an effect that resembles a jellyfish gliding through the water. It’s also known as the Atomic Bomb. A jellyfish shape requires mastery of O-rings and vape bending, so make sure you have those down before you attempt this trick.
Here’s how you achieve a jellyfish (or atomic bomb) shape:
- Take a decent hit from your mod.
- Make a large O shape with your mouth (using the technique outlined earlier for O rings).
- Draw the O ring towards you by vape bending–directing it with airflow from your hands.
- After you’ve made an O, take another quick hit and release it directly into your flying O ring to create another smaller ring inside the first. To finish the effect, blow some more vapor through the middle to create jellyfish tentacles.
Here’s an epic video guide to help you master the perfect jellyfish:
● Bow Tie
Similar to the jellyfish, the bow tie requires perfect ‘O’ rings as a starting point. To begin, blow one large vapor ring and use the airflow from your hands to direct it towards your mouth. Inhale directly towards the center of the O, which should cause the center of the O to collapse, creating the two sides of a bow tie.
For some impressive visuals of a perfect bow tie execution, take a look at this video:
● Bull Ring
Once again, mastery of the classic O smoke ring provides the foundation for your bull ring. If you’re keen to experiment with how you’d look with a ring through your nose, this is the trick for you. Start by blowing a medium-sized ring. Lean carefully into the ring, and inhale the top part of the ring through your nose. For the next few moments, it will look like you have a massive septum piercing–or bull ring.
Here’s the bull ring in action: