Vaping and e-cigarettes have grown in popularity at an extraordinary rate, and with the growth is demand for better vape mods and high quality products. This is likely because the global vape and e-cigarette industry has targeted a younger demographic in their marketing and advertising campaigns; a group obsessed with self-expression.

Millennials, for example, are on a  quest to set themselves apart as individuals, and this manifests itself in everything—from customising the exteriors and interiors of their automobiles, to tattoos, wardrobe and individual tastes in personalising their respective social media pages.

Naturally, this extends to vape mods, many of which are about the size of a cellphone in a custom case. When you’re constantly looking for the next big thing, expensive vape mods make better symbols of individuality and social status.

The first and most easily discernible difference between vape mods in different price ranges is degree of customisability. The rule of the road is that the more control you have over your vaping setup, the more likely you are to be able to create your personal ideal vape experience.

This is particularly important to thrill seekers looking to take part in competitive vaping or “cloud chasing,” a pastime that has grown in popularity as quickly as vaping itself. Cloud chasing came into its own as a sport—complete with teams, judges, event sponsors and notability among your peers with consistent performance.

For most users, a reliable model like the Reuleaux RX200 will more than suffice durable and well-designed with up to 200w of power, throwing in days of battery life to boot.

The absolute top of the line (in terms of price) come with additional features from auto-lock mechanisms, overwhelming numbers of available presets, iconic logo engraving and even nightly updated firmware.

Vape culture polling, market reviews, and quarterly sales numbers that more power: all show  lower weight and aesthetic appeal are the top priorities among vapers.

However the truly dedicated are always looking for more control over their device electronically, freeing them to tweak and test different settings for hours on end and squeeze out as much performance from their setup as possible.

In this corner of the market, vape hobbyists are happy to part with large sums of cash for mods with up to 250w of power, LCD screens, the very latest firmware and over ten assignable presets.

Many people are also be looking to simply spoil a special someone with a shisha stick.

Marketing helps, by the way.

While it’s fair to say the prices for most high-end vape mods are justified, effective marketing campaigns and hype generation strategies certainly don’t hurt.

The global vape and e-cigarette market is well acquainted with its target demographic and understands the importance of sound marketing utilised in retail stores, television, social media and the internet itself. With an effective strategy, manufacturers can sell anything from cutting edge hardware to the simple novelty of wood exteriors and engraved branding at impressive premiums.

Performance, reliability and customisability might well be the trifecta for most vape enthusiasts—but there certainly seems to be a healthy market for cloud chasers, competitors and those vape hobbyists who simply come with more expensive aesthetic inclinations.

Fortunately manufacturers and retailers have taken care to ensure there is something for everyone; from the reliable vape mod to the diamond-encrusted, ultra-light fashion statement.