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:
- Fugly But Sweet Caramel Blondie
- Dr. Vapes Black Custard
- MIST Carabaco
Fugly But Sweet Caramel Blondie
Best Shortfill E-liquid
9.6/10
Total
Features We Love
Dessert Delight
Rich and indulgent dessert flavours
Blanco
Rare appearance of white chocolate flavour in this premium e-liquid
Grounded
Earthy note prevents rich pudding tastes from becoming cloying
Fugly But Sweet Caramel Blondie by Dispergo has been filling both my MTL and DTL tanks as of late. While wildly rich pudding flavour notes aren’t normally my preference, Fugly But Sweet hits a unique flavour balance with what should be an insanely overpowering blend of flavours.
The dark, sticky fudge notes are front and centre, wrapped within a layer of fiery hot caramel sauce with just the faintest detectable note of salt, before waves of velvety white chocolate roll over the brown hills and elevate the taste to heavenly heights.
And I mentioned my MTL tank at first because Caramel Blondie is also available as a 50/50 nicotine salt e-liquid!
Pros
- Incredibly indulgent blend of flavours
- Dark sweetness with a light and creamy edge
- Also available as a nicotine salt
Cons
- Not likely to please fruity vape fans
- Wide shortfill bottle shape can be tricky to transport
Price
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£14.99
Dr. Vapes Black Custard
Best for: Custard
9.3/10
Total
Features We Love
Pure Pudding: Delicious Dr. Vapes custard flavour without tobacco element
Size Selecta: Available in 50ml bottle if 100ml is too tricky to travel with
Specially Spiced: Rich taste of freshly picked Magagascan vanilla pods
Dr. Vapes made a real splash when they released Black Panther, which combined tobacco with sweet Madagascan vanilla. Our collective prayers were answered when they released Black Custard, which serves up the pure velvety spice elements of Black Panther but without the earthy tobacco.
Luxurious and creamy, Black Custard 100ml delivers a rich and eggy yellow custard profile with silky vanilla flavouring that promotes the dairy sweetness, making Black Custard the best shortfill e-liquid in the UK for anyone who adores custard vapes.
Pros
- Both 50ml and 100ml sizes available
- MTL vapers can try the nic salted version
- Beloved vanilla custard flavour without original tobacco notes
Cons
- Pudding fans may find the taste a little basic
- Doesn’t quite reach 80VG for maximum cloud potential
Price
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£14.99
MIST Carabaco
Best for: Tobacco
9.1/10
Total
Features We Love
Smoker’s Delight: Perfect for if you’re quitting cigarettes
Morning Mouthful: Comforting ‘cigarette and coffee’ notes
MTL Marvel: Blended with 50/50 ratio for MTL vapers
Tobacco vapes are always popular with heavy smokers looking to quit cigarettes, and Carabaco from the MIST MTL Shortfills range can help you break down the mental association between tobacco flavour and nicotine satisfaction by providing a tobacco blend no cigarette will ever match.
You get an earthy flavour profile of rolling tobacco which is sweetly enhanced with hot and sticky caramel sauce, much like the classic RY4 flavour, but then the taste is further deepened with the addition of rich coffee for a bitter, grounding twist.
It’s my personal favourite tobacco e-liquid, and suits my preference for MTL vaping thanks to its 50/50 mix ratio, making it the best 50/50 shortfill for anyone with nostalgic feelings towards smoking.
Pros
- Great choice for new vapers
- Wide selection of strengths to choose between
- Coffee and caramel work excellently together
Cons
- Pure tobacco fans may prefer a juice without sweet elements
- 12mg requires steeping after adding nicotine shots for full flavour notes
Price
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£14.99
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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