Longfill vape juice (sometimes known as shake'n'vape juice) is a 60ml bottle filled with 20ml-40ml of flavour concentrate, with 20ml/40ml of room left in the bottle. This left over room is filled up with nicotine shots and/or basemix. Basemix is an unflavoured VG/PG mix to top up any room left over after you've added your desired nic shots. Longfill e-liquid allows for a higher nicotine strength than a shortfill liquid, with longfill e-liquids allowing up to 10mg salt or 12mg freebase nicotine strength.
Some longfill vape juice comes with nicotine shots. You simply select the nicotine strength you would like, and everything you need is sent with the 60ml e-liquid bottle. This makes mixing a longfill straightforward and easier as no extra products are needed, it keeps the guesswork out of it which makes these types of longfills perfect for beginners.
Once you've got your nic shots and/or basemix and your flavour concentrate you're ready to mix. Remember not to vape the highly-concentrated 60ml bottle before adding your nic shots as this could damage your vape and your lungs. Take the cap off of all bottles and pour all nicotine shots into the 60ml bottle, then replace the cap of the 60ml bottle. Give the bottle a good shake for over 1 minute, and you're good to go.
Make sure your 60ml bottle is shaken up properly before vaping, as otherwise the nicotine may settle on the top of the bottle instead of the flavour being thoroughly mixed. Once adding the supplied nic shots, some people allow the mixture to "steep" for a few days to a few weeks to allow the flavour to really develop. Steeping is when a freshly mixed bottle of vape juice is left alone out of direct sunlight to let the flavours enrich with the PG and VG. However, this is not a necessary step as your longfill will be ready to vape once you've shaken the nic shots in.
Shortfills are bottles of vape juice that are filled with PG, VG, and flavourings. They only require nicotine to be mixed in, or they can be vaped without nicotine. Longfills are bottles of juice that contain the flavour concentrate only. VG, PG, and nicotine need to be mixed in separately.
Although longfills require slightly more work, the benefit of longfills is the many different variations of e-liquid you can choose from compared to a shortfill vape juice. Longfills are able to be mixed to a much higher nicotine strength, with the highest being 12mg. Shortfills can only be mixed to 3mg (some offer 6mg but it's much rarer). The other main difference is the available ratios for longfills. Rather than a set ratio found in shortfill juice, longfills can be customised to a larger variety of VG/PG ratios. The ratio of the longfill depends on the ratio of the nic shots and/or basemix used to top the bottle up.
Longfills can be mixed with salt shots to create high nic salt juices. This is beneficial for MTL vapers that need a higher than 3mg of nicotine, which is the maximum strength of a shortfill.
Each brand of longfill vape juice will offer varying ratios. Most longfills that come with 40ml of e-liquid feature a 50VG/50PG ratio, allowing for 2 nicotine shots that can slightly alter the VG/PG ratio. Longfills that feature 20ml/30ml of flavour concentrate are either 50VG/50PG or 100PG. As there is more room in the bottle, you can customise the ratio and nicotine further.
Every brand will vary so it's best to look at the brand individually and check the product description of the longfill. This will make sure you purchase the right nicotine shots for your longfill.
Longfill e-liquids vary from 0mg to 12mg. You can get 5mg, 10mg, or 15mg nic salt, as well as 3mg, 6mg, 9mg, and 12mg freebase. Anything over 6mg is only possible if you use a longfill that has 30ml or less of concentrate in a 60ml bottle. With some brands, like Nixer, the longfill vape juice comes with a mixer pack that includes all of the nic shots you need for one bottle depending on which nicotine strength you select.
A 10ml longfill can make up to 15mg
A 20ml longfill can make up to 12mg
A 30ml longfill can make up to 10mg
A 40ml longfill can make up to 6mg
All of these strengths are calculated using TPD regulated 10ml nic shots.
The best flavoured longfill will depend on your prefered taste. The three main categories of longfill flavour are fruits, desserts, and tobaccos. Most brands create many fruit flavours, however desserts and tobaccos are usually created by specialist brands. If you're an ex-smoker try out some tobacco longfills to help you transition from smoking. Fruit flavours are usually enjoyed by all types of vapers and are enjoyed by people who've just quit smoking to people who have been vaping for years. Dessert flavours are a more acquired taste however they can really elevate your vaping experience with the layers of flavours.
Depending on which longfill brand you choose, the nic shots you need will vary. This is because each brand use different amounts of flavour concentrate. The lower the amount of concentrate, the more nicotine can fit in the bottle. Most longfills come in a 60ml bottle so all of the below calculations are based on that.
A 20ml longfill can fit 40ml of e-liquid. If you use 4 x 10ml 18mg nic shots you can get a maximum of 12mg of nicotine.
A 30ml longfill can 30ml of e-liquid. If you use 3 x 10ml 18mg nic shot you can make 9mg. If you replace a 18mg nic shot with a 20mg nic salt shot you can make a maximum of 10mg.
A 40ml longfill can fit 20ml of e-liquid. If you use 2 x 10ml 18mg nic shot you can make 6mg.
