What Is a Drip Tip?

The drip tip is an alternative to the more common e-cigarette cartridge or cartomizer. It’s essentially a reusable hollow tube that screws on directly to the atomizer, allowing the user to drip e-liquid on to it. This not only eliminates the need for cartridges, but also allows for a a much more flavorful vaping experience.

Also known as a mouth piece, the drip tip comes in various shapes and sizes, and can be made out of different materials, like stainless steel, aluminum, plastic or ceramic. The material from which a drip tip is manufactured as well as its length greatly influence the temperature of the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette. Steel drip tips, for example, cool off the vapor as it passes through it, but long plastic drip tips are also known to deliver cooler vapor, because of the distance it travels to reach the mouth.

The term “dripping” means pouring e-liquid directly onto the e-cigarette atomizer, instead of using cartomizers, clearomizers or cartridges. Dripping is usually practiced by intermediate and advanced e-cig users who want a bit more flavor out of their e-liquids. Because you constantly have to drip juice into the atomizer to keep its wick nice and moist, dripping is considered somewhat of a hassle by most beginners and casual vapers.

Although it really brings out the full flavor of an e-liquid, using a drip tip can also be a very messy affair. Since there’s nothing holding the juice, like the filling material in cartomizers, it tends to leak out of the atomizer quite often. That’s where something known as a drip shield comes in handy. This little accessory is designed to collect any leaks, allowing users to vape without making a mess.

Mastering the process of dripping takes a bit of practice, but most experienced vapers swear by it. You have to learn how much e-liquid to add and when, in order to prevent the atmomizer from drying up and burning the wicks, but also when to stop, in order to prevent the juice from overflowing.