Based on what I see when I look around, I can’t help but wonder if box mods are actually the most popular e-cigarettes on the market today. I don’t know if it’s just that box mod users happen to be the ones most likely to vape in public, but I rarely see anything else — and why not? Box mods are relatively compact, they often last for hours with near-constant use, and they can produce an absolutely crazy amount of vapor. Vape pens have absolutely no chance of keeping up — the batteries simply aren’t powerful enough.

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So, join me as we learn all about box mods. We’re going to discuss what box mods are, find out whether any box mods for beginners exist and learn about the best box mods on the market in every price range. By the time we’re done, you’re going to know just about everything there is to know about these little dynamos.

What Are Box Mods?

History of Box Mods

A box mod, in short, is an e-cigarette that has the shape of a box rather than that of a cylinder. The term “mod” comes from the fact that all of the earliest e-cigarette mods were either built by hand or made from modified household objects. There were box mods made from Altoids tins, snus cans, craft boxes — you name it. People found items big enough to hold batteries and simply attached buttons and atomizer threading.

Today, box mods are highly polished consumer products. They include safety features, variable wattage settings and custom temperature controls. The earliest box mods had virtually no internal electronics — just a few wires. People made them because they were tired of the poor battery life and vapor production of the cigalikes available at the time.

The truth is, though, that the earliest box mods actually had quite a lot in common with the box mods of today. The earliest mod makers tended to use 18650 batteries and 510 atomizer threading. Most box mods still use those components today. In fact, the 510 thread is now so ubiquitous that you don’t even need to understand the term — virtually every tank or atomizer today uses the 510 connection. Back then, the 510 thread was just one of a great many choices. Sadly, I don’t think there’s a patent for the first box mod!

Box Mod Features

Today, box mods may be the devices on which the large e-cigarette manufacturers focus the most. Most of the big companies carry box mods in a wide array of sizes and power levels. There’s a sort of technological arms race between the e-cigarette manufacturers, with each company constantly trying to add new features that the other companies’ mods don’t have yet. These are just a few of the features that might find when you buy box mods online:

• Variable settings for wattage, voltage, temperature or all three
• Much higher power range than a cigalike — sometimes more than 200 watts
• Very high battery capacity — often more than 4,000 mAh
• Charging and/or firmware upgrades via USB
• Digital display showing current settings, atomizer resistance, battery charge level and error messages

These features, though, barely scratch the surface of what box mods can do. These are some of the more unique features that you can find in just a few box mods:

• Bluetooth support for tracking usage or changing settings on a mobile device
• Touch screen for changing settings quickly or displaying pictures
• Ability to adjust the thermal coefficient or any atomizer coil
• PC software for creating your own entirely customized vaping settings

Who Are Box Mods Good For?

With all of the advanced features that box mods have, you probably have the impression that they’re only good for advanced e-cigarette users. That’s not really true. Aside from the wattage setting — which changes the amount of power supplied to the atomizer coil — you can safely ignore most of the other settings on a box mod until you’re ready to tinker with them. Many box mods include tanks, too. If you use the tank included with your device, you never have to worry about using your box mod in a way that isn’t supported.

One thing you do need to know, though, is that box mods usually include very low-resistance tanks with unrestricted airflow settings. If you prefer to inhale from your mouth to your lungs, a box mod probably won’t include a tank appropriate for that. Most tanks work best if you inhale directly to the lungs. In fact, few companies still make large e-cigarette tanks appropriate for mouth-to-lung inhaling, which means that you’re probably better off starting with a cigalike or vape pen if mouth-to-lung inhaling is what you prefer. Look at my recommendation for the best e-cigarette for beginners.

So, you don’t have to be an experienced e-cigarette user to buy a box mod — but it may be better if a box mod is your second e-cigarette rather than your first.

Are Box Mods Better Than Vape Pens?

Only you can decide which vaping setup is right for you. If having more features and higher power settings makes box mods better than other e-cigarettes, though, the answer is “yes.” In terms of their capabilities, box mods are the best e-cigarettes on the market. The reason is that box mods simply have a lot more internal space than vape pens and tube mods. They hold larger batteries — or more batteries — enabling them to last longer, deliver higher wattage and offer more features.

Box Mods vs. Vape Pens: Comparison

Box mods are better than vape pens for cloud chasing. Not only can they reach higher power levels than vape pens or most mechanical mods, but they can do it safely. Any good box mod should display an error message and stop working immediately if you try to use it in an unsafe way.

Should I Buy a Box Mod With an Internal Battery?

Box mods with internal batteries are often very sleek in appearance. Since a box mod with an internal battery doesn’t need durable battery terminals or a removable cover, it’ll usually be smaller than a box mod with a removable battery. A box mod with an internal battery has a lower initial cost of ownership, since you don’t need to buy batteries and a charger.

On the other hand, if you buy a box mod with a removable battery, you can read the reviews for yourself and pick your own battery and charger. You’ll know exactly what battery is in your mod, and you’ll know the battery’s capabilities. When the battery’s capacity finally decreases after 300-500 charge cycles, you can simply replace it instead of replacing the entire mod.

There is one thing that you should consider, though. While box mods with removable batteries technically have the potential to last longer, you can generally expect a rechargeable vaping battery to last at least a year or so. Manufacturers are adding new features to their box mods constantly. In a year, you might want a new device either way.

Regulated vs. Unregulated Box Mods

Apart from the basic information provided right here, I do not discuss unregulated box mods in this article. The very first box mods — like the ones I describe at the top of this article — were unregulated. The people who built them were hobbyists and electricians who understood the risks. Before long, though, unregulated box mods became commercial products. People bought them — and continue to buy them — without understanding the massive power that lithium-ion batteries are capable of storing. There have been close to 200 e-cigarette explosions reported in the media. Nearly all of the explosions with horrific results occurred with unregulated mods.

There are hundreds — possibly thousands — of unregulated box mods in use around the world. Most of those devices’ owners will never experience a problem. Nevertheless, I don’t recommend unregulated box mods because they have no safety features of any kind. I only recommend mods that error out gracefully if there’s a problem.

Parallel vs. Series Box Mods

If you do buy an unregulated box mod, you should know that there are two kinds: series and parallel. The illustration on the right can help you understand the difference.

Let’s begin with the assumption that you’re using matched, married batteries. When you use multiple batteries in the same device, you should always marry your batteries — especially if the device has no safety features.

Parallel Box Mods

If you use a parallel box mod, you’re splitting the load across all of the batteries in the mod. So, you’re increasing the mod’s total charge capacity and amperage limit.

• If you have two 4.2-volt, 20-amp, 2,500 mAh batteries in a parallel box mod:
• Your device will still be 4.2 volts, but it will support a load of up to 40 amps and have a capacity of 5,000 mAh.

Series Box Mods

If you use a series box mod, each battery in the series handles exactly the same load. You’re increasing the voltage that your device delivers to the coil, but you are not increasing the mod’s capacity or amperage limit.

• If you have two 4.2-volt, 20-amp, 2,500 mAh batteries in a series box mod:
• Your device will be 8.4 volts, but it will still only support a load of up to 20 amps and have a capacity of 2,500 mAh.

Applying Ohm’s Law

As you can probably imagine, the parallel configuration should be the safer of the two since it supports a higher continuous current. Let’s look at what happens when you use certain coil resistances with the theoretical mods I’ve described above.

Unregulated Box Mods: Resistance Table

Parallel Box Mod: 4.2 volts, 40 amps

• 0.5 ohms: 8.4 amps
• 0.4 ohms: 10.5 amps
• 0.3 ohms: 14 amps
• 0.2 ohms: 21 amps
• 0.1 ohms: 42 amps

Series Box Mod: 8.4 volts, 20 amps

• 0.5 ohms: 16.8 amps
• 0.4 ohms: 21 amps
• 0.3 ohms: 28 amps
• 0.2 ohms: 42 amps
• 0.1 ohms: 84 amps

If you are going to use an unregulated box mod, you should understand the capabilities of your device, know your batteries and build accordingly. For everyone else, I strongly recommend buying a regulated box mod with safety features.

Unregulated Box Mods vs Mechanical Mods

People use the term “mechanical mod” to refer to two different things. Some people call unregulated box mods “mechanical mods,” but I don’t agree with that because unregulated box mods have electronic switches. I consider a mechanical mod a tube-shaped device with a button on the top or bottom that completes the circuit when you apply mechanical force.

So, how do unregulated box mods vs. mechanical mods compare? Usually, a mechanical mod is designed to hold one battery. Many unregulated box mods hold at least two batteries, though. That means an unregulated box mod will generally give you greater amperage headroom and battery capacity — or higher voltage — than a mechanical mod.

On the other hand, an unregulated box mod has an electronic fire button. The fire button in a mechanical mod is essentially just a piece of metal with a magnet pushing it away from the battery. It shouldn’t ever fail — and if it does, replacing it will be cheap. Replacing an electronic button in an unregulated box mod isn’t expensive either, but doing so might require the use of a soldering iron and other tools.

What Are Temperature Control Box Mods?

Nearly all of the best box mods on the market — and almost every mod I mention in this article — supports temperature control functionality. So, what are temperature control box mods?

Kanthal Coils: Stable Resistance for Wattage Vaping

To understand how temperature control vaping works, you must first understand Kanthal. Kanthal is an alloy of iron, chromium and aluminum. It’s one of the world’s most popular materials for heating wire, and its resistance changes very little when it gets hot. That makes it perfect for vaping. If you’re using a device with a fixed wattage — or a mechanical mod — you don’t want the resistance of your coil changing greatly while you use it. The resistance chart a couple of sections above clearly explains why.

Temperature Control Coils: Variable Resistance for TC Vaping

Temperature control vaping replaces the Kanthal coil with a coil made from a material that does change in resistance with heat — usually nickel, titanium or stainless steel. In fact, it changes in a predictable way every time. So, if you know the starting resistance of the coil, you can predict its current temperature during vaping if you know how much the resistance has changed.

When you tell your box mod the material of the coil you’re using, it applies the temperature coefficient of resistance for that material to estimate the temperature of the coil while you vape. The more the resistance of a coil changes during vaping, the more accurate the temperature prediction will be.

Important Note: You should never use temperature control coils in a box mod that only supports wattage mode.

Benefits of Temperature Control Vaping

Why are temperature control box mods good? Most atomizer coils use cotton wicks — and cotton burns when it’s dry. If you’re using the temperature control function on your mod, it’ll cut the power to the atomizer if its temperature rises rapidly — which can happen if you chain vape or your tank is empty. You’ll avoid dry hits and burned cotton. Your coils will also last longer.

Drawbacks of Temperature Control Vaping

Temperature control vaping has three drawbacks. First, some people aren’t certain about the safety of vaping with nickel and titanium coils. The fact is, though, that we don’t fully understand the safety of vaping with Kanthal, either. Second, some people feel that nickel and titanium coils change the taste of e-liquids. You’ll have to be the judge of that.

The final drawback of temperature control vaping is that some temperature control coils — particularly nickel ones — have almost no starting resistance. When cold, a typical nickel coil has a resistance of less than 0.1 ohms. In other words, the resistance is dangerously low for a box mod in wattage mode — and much more so for a mechanical mod. If you use a temperature control coil, you need to use it with a mod that supports the coil material.