BLU Bar Disposable Vape Review – Catching Up With An Old Friend

Today I’m looking at an old friend with a new face. No I’m not talking Botox therapy, it’s the BLU bar disposable vapes.

I can remember BLU from my salad days of vaping. I’m going back to around 2015 and not long after I’d liberated myself from the stinkies.

I seem to recall an extremely tall, slim vape pen that may have included silica wicking and a range of E-liquid flavours to suit.

Anyway, it’s safe to say that BLU played an important role in keeping me smoke free!

We have to go further back than my nostalgic ramblings to understand how BLU became established.

It began in 2009 with a very frustrated founder sitting in a bar in Charlotte, in the US.

Tired of smoking bans of the period he concluded there must be an alternative. From that observation grew BLU into the massive global brand of today.

In many ways we have BLU to thank us for the likes of the Elf Bar Elfa and Innokin Innobar. These products borrow heavily from the BLU Plus device with its pre-filled, replaceable pods.

Of course they’ve dipped their toes in the sea of all things disposable. In fact going all out to appease new vapers with cigarette style designs.

The BLU bar is much more in keeping with current trends, as we’re about to discover.

What Can We Expect From the BLU Bar Disposable Vape?

These have been designed exclusively for the UK and EU market and are TPD Compliant.

They contain 20mg of salt nicotine (no other strengths appear to be available at the time of writing). This makes them ideal candidates for the first time vaper used to smoking on a regular basis.

The hit from this level of nicotine will be more than enough to stave off the cravings for a cigarette.

There are a total of 10 fruity flavours to choose from and the 400mAh integrated battery is designed to last for anything up to 600 puffs.

This means each disposable is capable of lasting as long as a pack of fags. It also relies entirely on auto draw so again, the budding vaper will feel very much at home.

Lightweight, pocket friendly and considered 10% smaller than your average disposable, the BLU bar comes pre-charged and ready to vape straight out of the box.

Specifications

• Dimensions: 989 x 20mm
• Material: PC / ABS
• E-liquid capacity: 1.9ml
• E-liquid ratio: 50VG/50PG
• Nicotine strength: 20mg (2%) salt nicotine
• Coil: Unknown
• Battery capacity: 400mAh
• Number of puffs: Up to 600
• Activation: Auto draw

Vape Club have been kind enough to send over five flavours in the range. Massive thanks for that.

So let’s give ’em a whirl and see what they’re like for flavour, vapour production, airflow and of course – battery performance and number of puffs.

Please note: The views expressed are mine and mine alone. They do not necessarily reflect what you, personally, will experience should you decide to partake.

Use my thoughts as a mere guiding light.

Banana Ice

BLU Says:

Banana Ice is a fruity vape with a frosty finish. The flavour of creamy and sweet Banana is complemented by an icy menthol exhale.

I Say:

The level of Ice impresses me with this one. It’s more of a throat soother and doesn’t distract from the flavour on offer.

There’s definitely a creaminess to the exhale but at the same time also a dry quality. It’s evident with every toot and does mar the overall experience.

Sweetness pulls through from the opening inhale and tickles the taste buds long after the vape has finished.

The Banana content has no natural taste at all. Maybe not that surprising for a disposable vape but I always live in hope!

It’s the usual artificial, foam sweet variety that, although disappoints me, is always going to be more than acceptable for the newer vaper.

So there’s plenty ’nuff flavour in Banana Ice, co-existing with a well-balanced layering of ice and smattering of sweetness.

Kiwi Passionfruit

BLU Says:

Kiwi Passionfruit combines the flavours of sharp Kiwi and sweet Passionfruit for a balanced, tropical vape.

I Say:

Kiwi Passionfruit represents a very tropical tasting vape.

I get an explosion of flavour on the way out where I can pick out Mango, Pineapple and believe it or not – Strawberry – as an after taste.

It’s a very pleasant blending of flavour and the exhale is silky smooth. I find most of the sweetness during the exhale too, creating almost a ‘sugar lips’ effect after the vape.

Is it overloaded with sweetener? Yes, I think so. There doesn’t need to be quite so much and that does upset overall flavour quality to an extent.

The Koolada has been applied very well. It’s not too intense and blends well with the fruits.

Luckily those fruits are rich and flavoursome enough to keep interest levels alive.

Mango Ice

BLU Says:

Mango Ice takes ripe, juicy Mango flavour and adds a layer of frosty ice for a fruity vape with a menthol finish.

I Say:

Cream is often stated as playing a pivotal role in the flavour experience of Mango. That’s the underlying texture found with this disposable.

It works an absolute treat and not a trait I often find with such low powered device.

I would however suggest that the icy content has been overdone a bit. It doesn’t take long for the throat to start stinging under the power of the cooling agent.

The flavour of the fruit is distinct, if slightly dry on the exhale but thankfully lacks the intensity often applied to these devices.

The usual characteristic floral tones are subdued in this version and I wouldn’t say it contains mouth-watering properties.

Still, I favour this version over the myriad of chemical tasting alternatives flooding the market right now.

Strawberry Ice

BLU Says:

Strawberry Ice delivers a juicy Strawberry flavour, layered with chilly ice for a vape that balances sweet and cool notes.

I Say:

I guess it was too much to expect a natural tasting Strawberry, wasn’t it?

What we have here is your typical chewy sweet variety. Think Strawberry bootlaces. Think Chewit sweets – if you’re old enough to remember those!

A Strawberry for the masses as I describe it.

I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s a highly accessible rendition of the fruit and one designed for the newer, casual vaper, virgin to the possibilities of flavour authenticity.

It pops along quite nicely and isn’t over loaded with sweetener which in my opinion, is always a plus.

The ice keeps things lively and quite refreshing so I’d suggest Strawberry Ice as being a favourite for the hot, Summer months.

Watermelon Ice

BLU Says:

Watermelon Ice features the taste of juicy, frozen Watermelon. The fruity flavour is present in every puff, with a frosty finish coming through on the exhale.

I Say:

Chemical tasting, oily and certainly the fullest flavour in the range tested. Even then the Watermelon still has a subdued quality to it.

Yes, this is your typical disposable vape Watermelon concentrate.

Yet it’s almost as if I’m not getting the full impact of the flavour. It’s missing the usual juicy, mouth-watering properties most disposables are capable of.

The sweetness seems to be appear later in the vape than it should do, making the whole experience of the exhale feel off kilter.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s enough flavour and you’ll certainly know you’re vaping Watermelon but there’s a chalky dryness to proceedings.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the icy theme running throughout.

Battery Performance and Number of Puffs

No complaints from me!

The disposables lasted for 9 hours continuous use. At times I was chain vaping and rarely was the device far from my lips.

Given that I was both Mouth To Lung (MTL) vaping and Restrictive Direct to Lung (RDL) vaping I’d say the BLU bar held up extremely well. We tell you what these terms mean in our Guide To Vape Styles.

Admittedly the flavour drops off rapidly towards the end of the battery’s life span but to get over 600 puffs in is awesome.

The BLU, sorry Blue LED indicator on the base (illuminates solidly during auto draw) will flash 10 times when it’s time to responsibly dispose of the device.

Blu Bar Final Review Verdict

I can’t quite put my finger on it but after sampling it does feel like the range is under powered. I’m not sure if that’s due to the coil type used as I have no knowledge of what BLU used.

It’s just something that gnawed at me while testing. A few seemed to have a drier quality. This stopped them from having the intense, juicy, mouth-watering properties many disposables contain.

Sweetness levels were also a bit subdued but trust me, I’m not complaining about that!

The MTL vape is good. Maybe a tad looser than I’d like but generally gets the job done for the newbie vaper.

I found the “Duck Bill” style mouthpiece is comfortable and ergonomic while vapour production is suitably stealthy.

The BLU bar disposable is a stubby little fella and you’ll have no problem with its weight while slipping in a shirt or trouser pocket.

Have you tried the Blu Bar disposable? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.