Home $ Archived $ Blu Cigs Review

Vapegrl

September 24, 2012

Blu Cigs Review

Archived | 6 comments

Archived Content

You've stumbled upon a little relic of vaping's ancient history. This article is no longer updated. Since you're here, though, maybe you're in the mood for a new experience! Try the Geek Bar Pulse Sample Pack, which includes three different flavors, for just $39.99. Lasts up to 15,000 puffs. While you're at it, take an extra 20% off with the coupon code VAPEGRL. Enjoy!

Blu Cigs was already one of the world’s best-known e-cigarette companies before it was purchased by tobacco giant Lorillard in 2012. However, the purchase catapulted Blu to the top of the headlines and made new and potential e-smokers around the world wonder how the landscape of the e-cigarette industry would change in the coming months. To date, Lorillard has made no significant changes to the Blu e-cigarette, nor have they announced any upcoming changes. Blu’s current product is successful, refined and unique in a few important ways, but it’s also expensive. So, is Blu any good? Find out in this Blu Cigs review.

Shop the selection of Blu starter kits. Blu Cigs starter kits ship for free and include a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and one-year warranty.

Blu Cigs Review

About Blu Cigs

A lot of people were introduced to Blu Cigs when they began to run rather seedy looking television commercials around 2009-10. A lot of people weren’t quite sure what to make of the image Blu Cigs was trying to portray, and the product wasn’t nearly as good as it is now. Back then, Blu sold a three-part e-cigarette with disposable plastic cartridges and Chinese nicotine liquid. That’s what most e-cigarette owners were using back then, whether they were Blu customers or not. Thankfully, the e-cigarette industry has evolved since then. If you’re getting ready to buy an e-cigarette for the first time today, you’re going to have a much better experience than I did — and we have Blu Cigs, in part, to thank for that.

In the years since 2010, Blu has taken three key steps to transform its product from a mediocre one to something truly compelling.

First, Blu Cigs improved the performance of its product by getting rid of the disposable plastic cartridges and switching to atomized cartridges or “cartomizers.” Cartomizers are standard on virtually all small e-cigarettes now, but Blu was one of the first companies to make the switch. Because a cartomizer seals the nicotine liquid in with the heating element, it produces more vapor and doesn’t leak like a disposable plastic cartridge can. This change made the Blu e-cigarette more reliable and more satisfying to use.

Second, Blu ditched its Chinese e-liquid supplier and signed a deal with Johnson Creek Smoke Juice, one of the oldest and most popular American e-liquid companies. To date, Blu Cigs is the largest e-cigarette company that doesn’t use Chinese e-liquids. Johnson Creek remains Blu’s e-liquid supplier to this day, providing seven different flavors exclusively to Blu.

The last thing Blu needed was a way to make its product truly different from the e-cigarettes offered by the competition. That came in the form of Blu’s social charging pack, which lights up and vibrates when another Blu user is within a 50-foot radius. The idea, of course, is that the pack can be an easy ice-breaker and help you meet people with whom you have something in common. Given Blu’s popularity, the chance of meeting someone via the social charging pack might be higher than you think. If you’re not looking to meet new people, though, you can always turn the feature off.

Blu Cigs Review

Writing a Blu Cigs review was an interesting experience for me as a long-term e-cigarette owner because Johnson Creek Smoke Juice has a completely unique take on the way an e-liquid should taste, which greatly influences the type of experience you have with the Blu e-cigarette. At times, I could almost swear that the Tobacco flavor was a real cigarette because of the smoke flavor that Johnson Creek adds to its tobacco-flavored liquids. If that doesn’t appeal to you, Blu also offers some sweeter flavors such as Cherry, Peach and Pineapple. Because of the way Johnson Creek designs its e-liquids, though, you’re always going to get a bit of that tobacco-like flavor.

I have tried literally hundreds of different e-liquids in the time that I’ve written professionally about e-cigarettes, and there just isn’t anything out there that tastes quite like Johnson Creek’s products. As a result, there’s no e-cigarette in the world that tastes like Blu Cigs. As a result, it’s fair to say that if you try the Blu e-cigarette and enjoy it, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another e-cigarette that satisfies you in quite the same way. At the same time, if you don’t like the taste of the Blu Cigs product, you shouldn’t give up on e-cigarettes entirely because the next product you try will be completely different. Thank goodness for Blu’s satisfaction guarantee, which allows you to try the product and send it back for a full refund if you don’t like it.

A few people out there are sensitive to propylene glycol, the liquid used as a base for most e-cigarette liquids. If you have that sensitivity, you probably already know it because propylene glycol is a common additive in foods, cosmetics and other products. This means that you need to buy e-liquids using only vegetable glycerin as a base — and Blu is the only mainstream e-cigarette I know of that uses no propylene glycol in its e-liquids. This makes Blu an obvious choice for anyone with allergies or sensitivities. In addition, vegetable glycerin produces a much higher volume of vapor than propylene glycol. With the Blu e-cigarette, you’ll be blowing vapor clouds that owners of much larger e-cigarettes will be jealous of.

So, I definitely find Blu Cigs to be a winner in the taste, performance and reliability categories. You’re probably wondering at this point if there are any cons to the Blu e-cigarette. Unfortunately, there is a bit of a downside. At $79.95, the price of the Blu Cigs starter kit is a little high — and if you want the Premium 100 kit, which gives you increased battery life and vapor production, you’ll spend $10 more than that. You can save $10 by going with the original Blu kit, which has the updated Johnson Creek cartridges but lacks the social charging pack.

As I come to the end of my Blu Cigs review, I conclude that Blu’s product is definitely worth the higher price if you’re looking for a small e-cigarette that produces a lot of vapor, are sensitive to propylene glycol or think that you might have some fun with the social charging pack. If you want to spend less and don’t mind getting an e-cigarette that’s a little larger, I’d suggest VaporFi as a good alternative.

Shop the selection of Blu starter kits. Blu Cigs starter kits ship for free and include a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and one-year warranty.

Blu Cigs Review: The Pros

  • Reliable two-part design
  • American-made e-liquids
  • Good for people with allergies or sensitivities
  • Social charging pack may help you meet new people

Blu Cigs Review: The Cons

  • Price is a little high

Latest Posts

6 Comments

  1. Sam Digby

    Do you know who the Chinese supplier was for the e-liquids for Blu? Desperately trying to find out

    • Vapegrl

      Hi Sam,

      I’m afraid that I do not know the answer to your question. I never tried a Blu product when they were still using Chinese e-liquids. Dekang was the best known Chinese e-liquid supplier at the time, though. You might start by checking them out.

  2. phil

    Blu ditched Johnson Creek a while ago and now Johnson Creek is out of business. They closed down a couple days ago. Lots of customers were complaining that the formula for their Red Oak Tennessee Cured (which was as close to the Blu formula as you could get) had changed drastically. JC blamed the flavor change on their vendors.

  3. Hector Medel

    Donde los compro?

  4. earlene webb

    i just bought my first blu kit I like it get a good hit from it I just wish you was able to refill the liquid pods,the kit came with the gold leaf liquid pods I like but that’s where its going to cost you a lot.it would be better if they came with three in a pack.

  5. Virginia Jordan

    I’ve been using Blu since I was introduced to them in Aug, 2018. That was during the time at Blu was selling the starter kit, charger, and Gold Leaf liquid pod, in the retail stores for $.99!
    I tried it ONLY because I wouldn’t pay the expensive price for the starter kit plus the expense of the liquid pods just to try them. I didn’t smoke cigarettes as much and WAS getting the satisfaction and thoroughly enjoying the fruity flavors of Blueberry, Mango-Apricot, Citrus, and Honeymoon
    .
    Lately, I’ve become totally dissatisfied with the service and satisfaction of the

    Eventually the flavor and satisfaction began declining with the 1-2% pods. I started going back to cigarettes.

    Then BLU came out with what they called the ‘INTENSE FLAVORS’ pods at 4% and that were more expensive. I thought I’d buy, when offering a special, in hope to again get back the full flavor and satisfaction.
    With the special deal I bought the, what you call, the Intense Flavor of Citrus at 4%. The more boxes you buy the less the cost so I bought 6 boxes of liquid pods and a starter kit for $5.33 per box.

    I have 12 liquid pods of Citrus at 4% which are SUPPOSED to provide the INTENSE FLAVOR of fulfilling Citrus flavor and with complete satisfaction.

    Unfortunately, THEY were pitiful and did NOT provide the added flavor and certainly did not provide any better satisfaction as promised. Instead, they were weak, not much flavor, nor gave me any satisfaction just as the 1-2% pods have been poorly doing lately.
    So, what do I do with
    being stuck with 12 defective liquid pods that I paid.

    I want to change to another brand if this is a decline and Never going to be the same!

    Regretfully yours,

    [contact information removed by editor.]