What are shortfills? The short answer is that shortfills are large bottles of e-liquid that do not contain nicotine at the point of sale. They do, however, have extra space within the bottle for adding nicotine shots. For a more in-depth explanation of shortfills, why vape juice manufacturers produce this type of e-liquids, and how to use them, read on.
What is A Shortfill E-liquid?
A shortfill e-liquid is a type of vape juice that is short-filled, meaning it is not filled all the way to the brim. That extra space in the bottle is allocated for nic shots (should you choose to add one.) And, yes, that means shortfills are nicotine-free from the point of sale.
So, why does this vape juice exist? Well, in the United Kingdom, it is illegal to sell e-liquids with nicotine larger than 10ml. This restriction is called the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). To bypass it, vape juice manufacturers produce nicotine-free 50ml shortfill or 100ml shortfill e-liquids that have enough room for the consumer to add nicotine shots.
What Is the Difference Between Shortfill and 10ml?
The difference between shortfill and 10ml is the permitted nicotine content. A 10ml bottle of vape juice can be sold with a nicotine strength of up to 20mg in the United Kingdom. Any larger container than this cannot legally contain nicotine at the moment of sale. However, the customer is legally permitted to add as much nicotine as they wish once the shortfill has been purchased.
How Do Shortfills Work?
Shortfills will often be sold with complimentary nicotine shots, which are flavourless 10ml bottles of nicotine concentrate.
Once the shortfill is your property, you can remove the lid of the shortfill bottle and add the nic shots, giving it a shake to ensure the nicotine solution spreads throughout all the e-liquid within.
This will result in a large bottle of nicotine-infused e-liquid that you can legally own and vape.
How Many Nicotine Shots Should You Add?
The amount of nicotine shots that you should add into a shortfill will depend on the bottle size, nicotine shot strength that you will be using, and your desired final nicotine strength. If this seems intimidating, don’t worry; it’s easy to get your head around how many nic shots you should add to your short-fill e-liquid. To help you with your shortfill calculations, you can refer to the table below:
| Shorfill Size | Number of 18mg Nic Shots | Total Nic Strength |
| 60ml (containing 50ml of 0% e-liquid) | 1x 10ml | 3mg |
| 60ml (containing 20ml of 0% e-liquid) | 4x 10ml | 12mg |
| 120ml (containing 100ml of 0% e-liquid) | 2x 10ml | 3mg |
It is worth noting that the majority of shortfills only provide enough free space and nicotine shots to reach 3mg. This is because most shortfills are intended for low-strength, high-VG vaping. This isn’t universal, however, and the MIST MTL Shortfills range offers bottles with room and nic shots to reach up to 12mg in nicotine strength.
Do I Need to Steep After Adding Nicotine Shots, and for How Long?
Yes, you will need to steep after adding nicotine shots to the shortfill. You should steep for at least 24 – 48 hours to allow the flavour concentrates to develop across the newly added nicotine shots.
Keep in mind that you can technically vape your shortfill as soon as the nic shots have been added, but you will notice improved flavour by the next day. This is especially true for shortfills that take more than a single nicotine shot.
Those who produce their own homemade shortfill e-liquids will sometimes steep them for up to 2-3 weeks, matching the brewing times used by traditional vape juice manufacturers.
We have more detailed information in our guide on how to steep e-liquid.
Can You Vape Shortfill Without Nicotine?
Yes, you can. You don’t necessarily have to add a nicotine shot to shortfill to enjoy the great flavours. You will, of course, not gain any nicotine relief from doing so. Still, many vapers who are reducing their nicotine intake will eventually begin vaping nicotine-free e-liquids to satisfy a mental habit even after the physical one has been overcome.
Can You Use Shortfills in Pods?
Technically, you can use shortfills in pods, but you have to double-check the VG/PG ratio of the shortfill and your coil’s homage. MTL coils (with resistances of 0.8ohms or higher) can capture and atomise 50/50 and high-PG e-liquids without issue but won’t be able to soak up high-VG e-liquids.
Similarly, DTL coils (with resistances of 0.7ohms or less) will soak and atomise high-VG e-liquids but are likely to experience spills and leaks if you try and use 50/50 or high-PG e-liquids with them.
Acquiring one of the best sub-ohm vape kits is essential if you’d like to use high-VG shortfills to enjoy producing large clouds from high-powered devices.
What Are the Best Shortfills?
With hundreds of shortfills available, it can be hard to tell which are worth your time, money, and taste buds. Luckily, we’ve used our long vaping experience to assemble a roundup of the best shortfill e-liquids.
The Best Shortfills Are:
- Just Juice Brutal Sour Strawberry Bubblegum
- Sweet Thief Cinnamon Danish
- Marina Vapes Kronuts Donuts
Just Juice Brutal Sour Strawberry Bubblegum
Best for: Sweets & Candy
9.7/10
Total
Features We Love
Candy Land: Deliciously sweet candy vape blend
Sour Shock: Rare use of sour strawberry flavouring
Penny Puffs: Very cheap for a 100ml bottle
Just Juice made its reputation off of affordable fruity vape juices, but the Brutal range saw them unfurl their creative wings with inventive flavours like Sour Strawberry Bubblegum 100ml.
The strawberry flavour nods towards Just Juice’s famed skill at conveying natural fruit flavours, however this time it’s enhanced with notes of chewy candy and sour flavourings. Sour strawberry is quite a unique taste, however it works magnificently, embracing the candy notes and delivering a profile that’s sharp and tart while also being playful and moreish.
This shortfill is bound to please fans of candy vapes, fruity vapes and sour vapes, and those of you like me who enjoy all three will soon consider this one of your favourite vape juice blends.
Pros
- Affordable for any sub-ohmer
- A unique blend of sour candy and strawberry flavours
- Nostalgic mellow bubblegum taste
Cons
- Sour notes may frustrate when session vaping
- Extra fruit flavours like raspberry would have worked well
Price
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£11.99
Sweet Thief Cinnamon Danish
Best Shortfill Vape Juice
9.7/10
Total
Features We Love
For All
50/50 and 70VG versions available
Pick Your Nic
Three nicotine strength options to choose between
Dessert Don
A rich combination of pastry, cream and cinnamon
The best shortfill vape juice is something that everyone can enjoy, and that’s precisely what Cinnamon Danish by Sweet Thief offers.
Buttery, flakey Danish pastry with a glossy sugar glaze, smothered in thick and sumptuous vanilla custard, with a final note of sweet and spicy cinnamon dusting.
It’s an outrageously indulgent vape juice, with the rare appearance of cinnamon making it very popular. But the best thing about the Sweet Thief range is that every vaper can enjoy it. The 3mg version is mixed at a cloudy 70VG, whereas the 6mg and 12mg units are brewed at an MTL-friendly 50/50 ratio.
The result is a shortfill vape juice that every vaper can indulge in, with a decadent taste profile you’ll never forget.
Pros
- Deliriously sweet flavour combination
- Wide range of nicotine strengths
- Available as both an MTL and a DTL e-liquid
Cons
- It can only be acquired through MIST!
- No 10ml nic salts available… yet
Price
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£14.99
Marina Vapes Kronuts Donuts
Best for: Pastry & Dessert
9.6/10
Total
Features We Love
You Ess Ay: Made in the United States
Unique Pud: Novel blend of croissant and donut flavours
Cream Filling: Rich and sumptuous creamy notes on the exhale
Sure, we Brits have some amazing puddings to our name, but in my opinion, if you want the most decadent dessert vape flavour possible, you’re going to need a collaboration between American and French pastries. Call me a traitor if you must; I’ll die on this delicious hill.
Kronuts Donuts 100ml, part of the US-made Marina Vapes range, is a bottleful of sheer sugary delight. Buttery, crispy croissant pastry is fried into a deliciously crunchy batter and then smothered with thick lashings of vanilla cream. Frankly, it’s a taste that puts our miserable jam doughnuts to shame!
Mixed at 70VG, Kronuts Donuts is intended for sub-ohm devices. It produces clouds as tasty and thick as the eponymous pastry.
Pros
- The best donut vape juice available
- Rich and buttery croissant flavour
- It comes with two nicotine shots for 3mg
Cons
- Not very attractive to fans of fruity sweetness
- It is a bit too sweet for extended vaping sessions
Price
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£14.95
Need More Help?
We hope you’ve found this explanation of shortfill e-liquid helpful. You should now be equipped with all the knowledge necessary to acquire a large container of your favourite e-liquid. If you’re ready to buy a shortfill vape juice, visit the MIST online store.
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