Juul is almost certainly the market-dominating and most popular pod vape device globally. Fellow smokers designed it on a quest to find a viable alternative to cigarettes. Having found an opportunity to apply their product design background, the Juul co-founders introduced a much-needed pod vape with a simple yet innovative look to the smoking industry, with their target market being adult smokers looking to transition to and move towards e-cigarettes.
Blu, one of the many Juul alternatives on the market today, has amazingly a lot of similarities with the latter. It was also designed to appeal to smokers looking for an alternative to cigarettes to make the switch to vaping easier.
There’s not much distinction that separates the two. Blu puts their focus on crafting genuinely innovative products with the aim of redefining what satisfaction looks like, offering a wide range of flavors to choose from, and ensuring consumers find just the right one for them.
Juul VS Blu Quick Spec Comparison
| Juul Device with Pods | MyBlu Pod System | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.98 | $19.98 |
| Dimensions | 95mm X 14mm X 7mm | 106mm X 18mm X 9.65mm |
| Pod Capacity | 0.7 ml | 1.5 ml |
| Pod Capacity | 200 mAh | 350 mAh |
| Charging time | 25 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Additional Pod Pricing | $9.99 (2 pods) | $9.99 (2 pods) |
| Pod Flavors |
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Design and appearance
Juul is a lightweight, easy-to-use, and intuitive device with a unique, sleek, and slim and flattened design, unlike the usual rounded ones available on the market. Its mouthpiece is squared as well, and the pod holds 0.7mL of e-liquid. The Juul device has no buttons and instead utilizes an airflow sensor technology that is triggered when you inhale. Its compact and convenient design makes for great portability as it can easily be stored in your pocket without taking much space. For many, Juul’s overall design is very aesthetically pleasing.
Blu, on the other hand, has rounded edges and an oval design. It is 7 grams heavier, is slightly longer, and a tad bit wider than the Juul. Even so, it’s still small and extremely discreet. Its mouthpiece, as you might have already guessed, also has a rounded design. The Blu’s pods hold 1.5mL of e-liquid, which is more than double the amount of the Juul’s. Lastly, this device works similarly with the Juul with zero buttons and its utilization of breath-sensor technology.
Ease of use/user-friendliness
The Juul and the Blu are very easy and straightforward to use. Without any buttons and moving parts, and literally just consisting of a battery and a pod put together, absolutely anyone (and by anyone, we mean even those with no previous experience with vape devices) could pick them up and start vaping right away. Since all you have to do is inhale (thanks to their auto-draw nature), both devices bring the vaping experience extremely into people’s reach without requiring a lot of effort. Using either of them couldn’t be simpler.
Vaping experience and overall performance
Both the Juul’s and Blu’s pods have low resistance coils, with Blu’s having a lower resistance of 1.3 ohms versus Juul’s 1.8 to 2.0 ohms. The Blu also wins in the power output department, kicking out 10.5 watts than the Juul’s 8 watts. Although that’s the case, the two deliver a relatively comparable experience with strong, tight draws and smooth, flavorful flavor.
In terms of vapor production and quality, both devices perform quite consistently. The Blu produces larger and a bit more clouds than the Juul, which some might prefer. They both are pleasant to hit, though, which is likely the most crucial aspect vapers have to consider.
Now, this is mostly subjective, but something that is probably worth mentioning – the Blu’s hit may be overly smooth for some. We sometimes find ourselves double-checking if the device actually worked after taking a hit, failing to realize it until we go to exhale.
While the two deliver smooth hits (as expected from the nicotine salts they both utilize), the Juul delivers a more solid and powerful one, in our opinion. Nonetheless, both of them do a pretty good job at mimicking the feel you get from cigarettes, all while eliminating the harshness you’d often experience when smoking those traditional tobacco products.
Flavor selection and variety
When it comes to flavor selection and variety, it’s an easy win for the Blu. Blu offers a more expansive and a ton more flavor options, ranging from the standard tobacco and common flavors like menthol, blueberry, and strawberry mint to more complex ones such as eucalyptus lemon, ginseng ginger, bourbon caramel, and coconut breeze, among others.
Juul, on the other hand, has a fairly limited flavor selection. The Juul starter pack used to come with four flavors: Virginia tobacco, mint, mango, and creme brulee, with all of them producing really great taste – standing true and living up to their descriptions and names. These pods delivered a consistently excellent experience; however, the unfortunate thing is that the government has axed most of their flavors, leaving only the tobacco and mint options. There are third-party empty Juul pods available on the market, though, and they are perfect if you want to use your own nicotine salt e-liquids to expand your flavor choices somehow.
Price / Pricing
Both the Juul and the Blu devices currently retail for $9.99, and both of them also offer a pack of two pods for $9.99. The Juul also offers a pack of four at $15.99, though, so you’d save $3.99 if you decide to get that instead. However, considering Juul pods’ price and the mere 0.7mL of e-liquid that they hold, it’s not very cheap. In contrast, a Blu pod holds an impressive 1.5mL of e-liquid, so you get more value for money and bang for your buck with it.
Battery life and charging method
The Juul device houses a 200mAh battery, while the Blu houses a 350mAh one. The latter easily beat the former when it comes to battery life. A full charge on the Juul will give you around 200 puffs, and the Blu’s battery life is estimated to be around 30% better than it. There isn’t much difference in charging speed, and both take about half an hour to charge.
As for the charging method, the Juul has magnetic charging contacts on the bottom that connects to the proprietary USB charging dock.
The small size of this charging dock can be both a good and bad thing; the size means it’s very easy to throw into your pocket but also makes it easy to lose. We have to say, though, that the Juul’s charging method is pretty neat – you just drop the device into the dock, and it sits flush in an upright position; a blinking green LED light means that it’s charging, and a solid green light means your Juul is fully charged.
The Blu charger, on the other hand, charges via micro-USB and is, therefore, simpler to charge – all you have to do is connect your device to the USB cord and ensure that the charging contacts are properly aligned. A solid red light on the end means that your device is charging, and it turns off when your Blu is fully charged.
Verdict
Overall, both devices perform well, and choosing which one to go for would be dependent on one’s preferences. The Juul has a squared-off design while the Blu has rounded edges, but they both have an elegant look and are about equal as far as portability is concerned, albeit the Blu weighing 7 grams more than the Juul. Both devices feel great in hand and perform decently as well, with the Blu producing a little more vapor than the Juul. There’s also not much of a difference as for the long-term cost of using either of them.
Other significant things to be considered are probably flavor options and battery life. If having plenty of flavor options is important to you, it’s no question that you’d be better off with the Blu. With most of Juul’s flavored pods having been axed (it’s very unfortunate as we really loved the flavor quality of these Juul pods), flavor options are very limited, unless you’re okay with getting third-party empty cartridges and just filling them with your own e-liquid.
The Blu’s battery life is also better by 30% than the Juul’s. If this aspect is of huge importance to you, the Blu is obviously the device to go for.
To sum it all up, go for the Blu if you prefer larger clouds, a wide range of e-liquid flavors to choose from, and a fairly better battery life. And go for the Juul if you’re after a more solid hit, are satisfied with Juul’s current flavor offerings, and if a slightly shorter battery life is not that big of a deal to you.
