What is Squonking? Beginners Vape Tutorial 101

To a moderately experienced vaper, “squonking” probably sounds foreign. But for any vaping veteran out there who’s been around the block, squonking represents a new and innovative experience for vape enthusiasts everywhere.

However, it’s not all fun and games. While this method is certainly revolutionary, it requires surgical precision. When performed incorrectly, squonking can literally blow up in your face.

So what is squonking? Let’s take an in-depth look at this method and see whether or not this new and exciting vape trend is right for you.

What is Squonking?

Simply put, squonking is a recently popularized, innovative vaping method. Thanks to bottom-feeding atomizers, this recent innovation turns the conventional rebuildable dripping atomizer system on its head. For drippers, squonking is a great way to expand their horizons.

Squonking vs. Dripping

Conventional dripping needs no introduction. Organic cotton is pulled through a heating element. You drip a few drops of E-Juice onto the cotton until fully saturating the wick. A few puffs later, the wick is dry and you need to drip some more e-liquid onto the cotton wick – rinse and repeat.

While RDA’s are considered to be vastly superior to your run-of-the-mill disposable pre-built coil (in terms of cloud production and flavor) constantly dripping e-juice onto your cotton wick is both inconvenient and time consuming. Squonking addresses these issues and provides a much more intuitive vaping experience.

At its core, squonking uses the same mechanics, with one major difference. Instead of dripping, squonk mods rely on an internal e-juice reservoir that can store significant quantities of e-juice. With a squeeze of the bottle, the e-liquid is fed upwards through the mod and directly into the RDA. The result is essentially a hybrid design between a standard mod and an RDA.

The liquid draws directly from the internal bottle, straight into the RDA – similar to conventional vaping. 

Keep in mind, however, that squonking doesn’t only require the purchase of a brand-new mod. It also calls for a specific RDA that has a feeding hole drilled into the center post for liquid to pass through (see below).

Method

Although similar to standard vaping, squonking isn’t quite as automated as your traditional device. Transferring the e-juice from the bottle inside to the RDA requires a bit of a helping hand.

Unlike your typical sub-ohm tank where the cotton wick is soaked automatically, squonk mods operate a little bit differently.

You’ll notice from this picture that the clear, plastic tank is exposed through the casing. There are two reasons for this.

First, you need to see how much liquid remains in the tank.

Second, users have to squeeze the container in order to force the juice through the small feeding tube and into the RDA.

After you gently press on it, watch the liquid slowly feed upwards into the RDA, then release. The container will cave in for a few moments. Once the bottle regains its shape, the liquid has effectively made it up into the RDA and hopefully saturated the wick. Only then can you fire up the device.

You’ll know it’s time to squonk again when the flavor starts to feel muted, the wick is dry, or you’re started to get a burnt taste upon vaping. Interestingly enough, the word “squonk” is a verb that’s used to describe this squeezing action.

This simple act of squeezing a bottle is a very small price to pay when trying to avoid the tediousness of dripping without sacrificing a genuine RDA experience. It also prevents the need to carry your juice with you everywhere you go.

Sounds great, right? Well, not so fast.

One Fatal Flaw

We established that squonking makes dripping comparably seamless and convenient. So what on Earth could possibly be wrong with that? Well, there is one major disadvantage – but it’s a big one.

Those of you out there who have mastered the complex art of building your own coils have no-doubt learned the importance ohms law, voltage, wattage and electricity. If you’re curious about squonking, then we say “go for it”. But if you’re new to building (or vaping in general), then squonking is definitely not for you (yet).

Many aspiring vapers are painfully aware (some more painfully than others) of the dangers associated with incorrectly built or unregulated mods. We’ve heard of cases where these vapes have exploded and caused severe damage—not just to the users, but to those around that were unfortunately caught in their disproportionately large blasts. Consumers these days avoid this problem by buying brand name, factory-built devices and batteries that are from a reputable source.

Unfortunately, squonking is still in its infancy. The advanced nature of this niche means that vape companies really haven’t had a chance to embrace this new technology and meet its increasing demand. Consequently, many of the pre-built squonk mods on the market today are unregulated.

Further complicating matters, is that even seemingly legitimate components could be poorly made or – worse still – deliberately mislabeled. Many of unscrupulous overseas vendors have taken defective or incorrect batteries and slap fresh casing onto them. What may read as a 2100mah battery could really just be an old 1600mah battery in disguise.

To all you vapers out there that’d like to try squonking with your faces intact, use extra diligence and only buy batteries from reputable companies like Sony, Samsung or LG. Period. Stay away from the allure of saving a couple dollars with companies like Amazon or Ebay, as top-notch batteries are generally very cheap from reputable vape vendors. Saving a couple bucks with Amazon or Ebay is simply not worth the risk.

The Bottom Line

Vaping is an amazing technology that opened the door to innovation beyond anything we could’ve imagined. We always love to see new advances in this area, but adjustments bring new challenges.

Long story short, squonking makes the RDA experience much smoother. Just be very careful when jumping in and don’t try it until you’re completely ready. Be sure that you have a strong understanding of Ohm’s Law and vape safety when dealing with rebuildables.