Best Vape Accessories: Must-Have Add-Ons for Your Kit

The vaping accessories market is full of products, but most vapers need far fewer of them than they might think. A handful of well-chosen accessories can meaningfully improve your experience, extend the life of your kit, and keep you safer. The rest are largely unnecessary purchases that end up in a drawer.

This guide is a practical, honest breakdown of vaping accessories - what is genuinely worth buying, what it does, who actually needs it, and what you can safely skip. For a broader look at vape hardware and maintenance, see our our full UK accessories hub.

Essential Accessories

These are the accessories that most vapers will use regularly and that have a direct impact on the quality or safety of the vaping experience.

Replacement Coils

Strictly speaking, replacement coils are a consumable rather than an accessory, but they are the single most important thing to keep stocked. Running out of coils and having no spares is how most vapers end up reaching for a cigarette. Keep at least one spare pack at home at all times. Most coils are sold in packs of five, which is a reasonable stock level for the average vaper.

Our guides cover Aspire coil compatibility, SMOK coil compatibility, and Voopoo PNP coils if you need help identifying the right coil for your device.

Drip Tips (Mouthpieces)

The mouthpiece your kit comes with is functional, but aftermarket drip tips can noticeably change the feel of your draw. There are two standard sizes in UK vaping:

• 510 drip tips - narrower bore, suited to MTL devices and tanks. The tighter opening produces a draw that feels more cigarette-like.
• 810 drip tips - wider bore, designed for DTL and sub-ohm tanks. The wider opening allows more airflow for a direct lung inhale.

Material matters too. Stainless steel and metal drip tips conduct heat and can become warm during extended sessions. Ultem (a golden-amber plastic), acrylic, and Delrin drip tips stay cooler to the touch and are more comfortable for long sessions. Drip tips cost very little and are an easy upgrade if the stock one feels uncomfortable.

Extra Pods or Glass Tanks

If you use a pod kit, having a spare pod pre-filled with a different e-liquid allows you to switch flavour without emptying a pod that is already in use. For tank-based devices, a spare glass section means that if the included glass cracks (which happens), you can replace it immediately rather than waiting for delivery.

Maintenance Accessories

These accessories keep your kit in good condition and extend the life of coils and tanks.

Cleaning Cloths and Cotton Swabs

Microfibre cloths are ideal for wiping down the outside of your device without scratching the finish. Cotton swabs are essential for cleaning inside the chimney of a tank, around the coil connection points, and inside the pod slot of a pod kit. These are cheap, widely available, and often overlooked.

Small Cleaning Brushes

Narrow interdental brushes or dedicated vape cleaning brushes reach into the threads and airflow slots of a disassembled tank far more effectively than swabs alone. Useful for periodic deep cleans rather than daily maintenance.

Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)

A small bottle of 99% isopropyl alcohol is one of the most versatile cleaning tools for vapers. Apply to a cotton swab to remove dried e-liquid residue from tank threads, drip tip channels, and device connections. Always allow parts to dry fully before reassembly and never use IPA on rubber O-rings as it can degrade them over time.

Our guide to cleaning your vape tank covers the full process step by step.

O-Ring Replacement Kits

The rubber O-rings that seal your tank and prevent leaks are small, easy to lose during disassembly, and can perish over time. Many tanks come with a small set of spare O-rings, but dedicated O-ring kits are available for popular tank models at low cost. Keeping a set means you can fix a leaking seal immediately rather than waiting for parts to arrive.

Safety Accessories

Safety accessories are primarily relevant to vapers who use devices with external batteries rather than built-in rechargeable cells.

Battery Cases

If you use a device that takes external 18650 or 21700 batteries, a dedicated battery case is not optional - it is a safety requirement. A loose battery in a pocket or bag can short-circuit if it contacts keys, coins, or other metal objects. Battery short-circuits can cause rapid, intense heat and in rare cases fire. A plastic or silicone battery case, costing around £1 to £3, prevents this entirely.

Our full article on vape battery safety covers storage, charging, and handling of external batteries in detail. If you use 18650 batteries specifically, our guide to 18650 batteries for vapes covers which brands to trust and how to spot fakes.

Quality Battery Charger

A dedicated external charger (such as an XTAR, Nitecore, or Efest unit) charges external batteries more accurately and safely than many in-built USB charging circuits. They monitor cell voltage, detect problem cells, and stop charging when full. If your budget allows for one upgrade to your safety setup, a quality charger is the best choice for external battery users.

Car Charger (USB-C Compatible)

Many vapers use their device's USB-C charging cable with a car charger for on-the-go topping up. Using a quality USB-C car charger rated for the appropriate amperage is fine. Avoid cheap, uncertified adapters - a poor-quality USB charger can damage battery cells over repeated charging cycles.

Convenience Accessories

These accessories do not affect performance or safety but make daily vaping more practical.

Carrying Cases and Pouches

A dedicated vaping pouch or hard-shell case keeps your device, spare coils, and a couple of e-liquid bottles organised in one place. Cases protect your device from scratches and impact when carried in a bag alongside other items. They also prevent accidental firing - a device loose in a bag can activate if the fire button is depressed against another object.

Hard-shell cases are better for larger box mod setups. Soft zip pouches suit pod kits and compact devices. Several vape brands include a basic pouch with higher-end kits; aftermarket options offer more capacity and organisation.

Lanyards

Lanyards designed for vape devices are a niche but popular accessory among vapers who use pod kits. They allow the device to hang around the neck or be clipped to a bag, keeping it accessible without occupying pocket space. Some pod kits include lanyard attachment points as a design feature.

Device Stands

A small desktop stand keeps a box mod or pod kit upright on a desk or beside table, preventing it from rolling and reducing the chance of tank leaks caused by the device resting on its side. Functional rather than decorative, stands are a low-cost accessory worth considering if you frequently set your device down during the day.

Coil Building Tools

Coil building is a niche hobby within vaping - most vapers use pre-made replacement coils. However, vapers who use rebuildable atomisers (RBAs, RDAs, or RTAs) will need a set of basic tools. If you build your own coils, the essentials are:

• Coil jig - a small mandrel tool for wrapping wire to consistent diameters. A good jig produces uniform coils much more quickly than wrapping by hand around a screwdriver.
• Ceramic tweezers - for squeezing and positioning hot coils safely. Ceramic tips do not conduct electricity, which prevents short circuits during the coil testing process.
• Small scissors or wire cutters - for trimming wire and cotton leads cleanly
• Organic cotton - Japanese or native wicking cotton designed for vape use. Standard cotton wool is not suitable as it may contain bleaching agents that affect flavour and safety.
• Precision scale - needed for DIY e-liquid mixing, not for coil building alone

Accessories Quick-Reference Table

What Not to Waste Money On

The accessories market includes plenty of products that are either unnecessary or offer minimal real-world benefit. Based on the experience of UK vapers, the following are generally not worth the cost:

• E-liquid steeping tools and machines - steeping (ageing) e-liquids can improve flavour, but it requires nothing more than leaving bottles in a dark, room-temperature location. Purpose-built steeping devices are unnecessary.
• Vape stands with built-in storage and lighting - decorative stands that light up your device on a desk look impressive in photos but add nothing to the actual vaping experience. A basic stand does the same functional job for a fraction of the price.
• Coil cleaning ultrasonic machines - marketed as a way to extend coil life, these devices do clean cotton-free coils, but the effort involved rarely justifies the cost for standard replacement coil users. Coil replacement is cheap enough that a cleaning machine rarely makes economic sense.
• Carbon flavour purifiers - devices claiming to remove impurities from e-liquid vapour are largely ineffective and may actually reduce the flavour quality of your e-liquid. No credible evidence supports their benefit.
• Cheap, generic battery chargers - unbranded chargers sold at very low prices may not accurately monitor cell voltage or stop charging at the correct point. The cost saving is not worth the risk to battery health and safety.

Buying Tips

Before buying any vaping accessory, a few practical questions are worth asking:

• Does it solve an actual problem? The best accessories solve real, recurring issues - spare coils solve the problem of running out, battery cases solve the risk of short-circuits. If you cannot articulate what problem an accessory solves, you probably do not need it.
• Is it compatible with your specific device? Drip tips, glass sections, and coils are all device-specific in many cases. Always check compatibility before ordering.
• Are you buying from a reputable UK retailer? Safety-relevant accessories like battery cases and chargers should always come from reputable retailers stocking recognised brands. Counterfeit or substandard safety equipment is worse than no equipment at all.

For a full guide to keeping your kit in top condition through proper maintenance habits, see our comprehensive vape maintenance guide.