Let’s say there are three levels of vaper: Newbie or beginner, intermediate, and advanced or expert. These levels, which can be determined solely based on the type of device you use, more than likely determine the type of vaper you are. Whether you have settled on a particular device after significant search or you have stuck with one thing your entire vaping life, it says a lot about who you are as a vaper. Now, this is just my personal opinion and you may fall somewhere in between. So take this as a rough estimate of where you stand on the beginner to expert vaping scale.
I would label a beginner or newbie vaper as someone who vapes a cig-a-like device, or some sort of pod system setup. This type of device is something that many vapers start out with when they quit smoking cigarettes and would include: Vuse, Blu and JUUL. There are many others, of course, but those are among the most popular. For the most part, you can walk into any convenience store to purchase one of these vapes. These devices require no maintenance besides charging them and replacing any cartridges.
An intermediate vaper would most likely have a pen/stick style, or a box mod that includes a sub-ohm tank on top. These are the types of devices where you can use your own e-juice, refill when necessary and replace pre-made coils when needed. There is some maintenance associated with these types of setups. As far as the tank, there is no rebuilding necessary. Maybe there is a built-in battery if not replaceable batteries involved here.
An advanced or expert vaper will most likely have a box mod or squonking device with a rebuildable atomizer on top. The atomizer/tank would be an RTA/RDTA/RDA with possibly a squonking option. The most maintenance is required using these types of setups because you actually have to build and wick your own coils with cotton. You also can use your own e-juice. The most knowledge and customization are found when using these types of devices.
Most vapers won’t initially start with a rebuildable tank, although it is certainly possible that some do. Furthermore, some vapers may be very experienced and could be labeled an expert, but still prefer pod system setups or cig-a-like devices. This is a rough estimate of where you possibly fall on the vaping scale. Am I right? I would say in most cases I am. For various reasons, as vapers, we choose which vape product we think we would most enjoy.
I personally started with cig-a-like devices, eventually moved to a pen-style device, then on to an old school box mod with a sub-ohm tank on top. Today, I own a Voopoo Drag box mod with a Merlin Mini RTA on top. My next purchase will be a squonking mod for sure!