Best Alternatives to Vuse Alto and Big Tobacco Pod Kits

Apr 10, 2025

By Internal Author

Best Alternatives to Vuse Alto and Big Tobacco Pod Kits

Big Tobacco's Prefilled Pod Kits

The Vuse Alto is a product of RJ Reynolds. Designed to rival Juul, it was a distant also ran before the federal ban on flavors in prefilled pods in 2020.

Since that point, the Vuse Alto's larger pod capacity, slightly larger battery, wider distribution network, and slightly greater vapor production have elevated it to the sales leader ahead of Juul in the pre-filled pod game.

Yet compared to a modern disposable vape, the Vuse Alto is almost obsolete and costs many times more to own and operate.

Big Tobacco's Chinese Made Pod Kits

One of the attacks made on disposable vapes, with unread PMTA submissions sitting on FDA desks, is that they are "Illicit Chinese Vapes". No mass market and commercially available vaping hardware is currently manufactured in the US. The FDA's PMTA scheme can be blamed for this and the jobs destroyed.

The Vuse Alto uses Chinese made hardware and batteries. These are manufactured in Shenzhen, where most of the world's smoke and ash free cigarette alternatives are built.

Vuse e-liquids are described as being "Blended in the US", which of course explains nothing regarding the origin of the components and the supply chain of ingredients. It is safe to say, if the nicotine, VG and PG were "Made in the USA", Vuse would certainly claim their e-liquids were made here.

Juul also relies on hardware from China. Their e-liquids are both blended and filled in the US.

Most NJOY Ace device and pods are manufactured for NJOY under contract by Chinese vape company Smoore. They were accused of stealing patents by American-based Juul Labs in front of the ITC and lost.

Check out our feature: Is America Being Flooded by Chinese Made Vapes?

Vuse Alto

The Vuse Alto is a staple of gas station and convenience stores. It is extremely pricey to own and operate with minimal margins for the reseller. But it has a few commercial advantages. The first is that RJ Reynolds successfully navigating the FDA's PMTA scheme.

Vuse continues to sell their menthol pods while their two tobacco flavors in three nicotine strengths received the federal stamp of approval. Missing from this list is their once popular and now banned Mixed Berry flavor.

Another advantage the Vuse Alto has is that flavor bans increase cigarette sales. Customers deterred by the premium pricing of the Vuse Alto will find combustible cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and other RJ Reynolds products to purchase instead.

Vuse Alto Pod Flavors

Vuse Alto Pod Golden Tobacco
Vuse Alto Pod Rich Tobacco
Vuse Alto Pod Menthol

Vuse Alto Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 1.8ml
Draw-Activated
Nicotine Strengths: 1.8, 2.4, 5.0%
E-Liquid Monitoring: No
Display: Green and Red LED Lights
Battery: 350mAh
Charging: Proprieitary charging cable and dock.

Disposable Vapes

Trusted manufacturers such as Lost Mary have submitted extensive testing and adult-oriented marketing plans to the FDA for approval. Fifty Bar is a US assembled disposable, with further efforts at on-shoring in the works, and e-liquids formulated for Americans by Americans.

Vaping.com carries disposable vapes because these are the most popular product with adult vapers, The emergence of disposable vapes actually coincides with the lowest rates of youth vaping in a full decade.

In an ideal world, adult vapor consumers would use less wasteful refillable vape pod kits or modular disposable vape pods like the Off Stamp Collection where the battery and advanced electronics are reused.

But the FDA's PMTA scheme eviscerated the US vaping industry, shuttering vape shops and putting tens of thousands out of work. The availability of a reliable source of coils and bottled e-liquids has been limited by the PACT Act as well. Vaping.com is your one-stop shop ready to supply you with compliant products. But we also abide by all state and local regulations. Below is a tale of the tape that compares every competitor reviewed today.

Flonq Vapes

There are several tobacco flavored disposable vapes that absolutely crush the Vuse Alto in terms of value and flavor. Unfortunately, not all of these disposables have the nicotine strength options to compete with a Vuse Alto. If 50mg (5%) is more than you want, your choices in the disposable vape field are heavily limited. And the disposable companies that offer lower nicotine vapes, like the Lost Mary MT15000 Turbo, do not have a tobacco flavored option.

Flonq offers both. It has a great tobacco flavor and a pair of nicotine strengths. There are also two Flonq disposable vapes to choose from: the Flonq Max Smart and Flonq Max Pro. Both have high puff counts and a capacity equivalent to several boxes of Vuse Alto pods. The primary difference is that the Flonq Max Smart is equivalent to an upgraded Elf Bar BC5000 in terms of performance while the Flonq Max Pro is a boosted disposable vape like the Geek Bar Pulse. This means it has two vaping modes. Both feature a smart screen that shows e-liquid capacity and battery level within 1%.

Flonq Max Smart Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 14ml
Draw-Activated
Nicotine Strengths: 2.0% and 5.0%
E-Liquid Monitoring: LCD Real-Time Data
Display: LCD with E-Liquid and Battery Levels
Battery: 650mAh
Charging: USB-C
Mesh Coil

Flonq Max Pro Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 18ml
Draw-Activated
Nicotine Strengths: 2.0% and 5.0%
E-Liquid Monitoring: LED Real-Time Data
Display: LED Screen with Mode, E-Liquid and Battery Levels
Battery: 650mAh
Charging: USB-C
Dual Mesh Coil with Boost Mode

Gold Tobacco Fifty Bar 20K

Both of the Flonq vapes have a tremendous tobacco flavor but they are fairly traditional. Whilst the Fifty Bar 20K does not have the lower nicotine option of the Flonq, it has a couple of secret weapons. The first weapon is their US-made Gold Tobacco flavor. It was formulated by the experts at Beard Vape Co. and is tremendous. The second is that the disposable vape itself is assembled and filled in Thousand Oaks, CA. This pulls the rug out from under one of the most deceptive attacks on made disposables.

Gold Tobacco is a decadent tobacco flavor. The sweetness of the sun-kissed tobacco makes it almost dessert like in flavor depth and richness. Yet there is a bit of a throat bite to add a kick of authenticity. The actual hardware backing up the Fifty Bar is beyond reproach, with anti-burn technology, Always Active Boost Mode, an 800mAh Grade A battery, and a capacity of 18ml. A Vuse Alto pod holds less than 2ml and it is powered by a battery with a 350mAh battery. The wattage is not given, but the Vuse Alto likely hits at around 10W versus an estimated 18W for the Fifty Bar 20K.

Fifty Bar 20K Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 18ml
Draw-Activated
Nicotine Strength: 5%
E-Liquid Monitoring: Full Digital Display
Display: Digital Display with E-Liquid and Battery Levels
Battery: 800mAh Grade A Battery
Charging: USB-C
Dual Mesh Coil with Always Active Boost Mode
E-Liquids Formulated by American Master Formulators for Assembled in US Fifty Bar

Southern Tobacco Fruitia x Fifty Bar 20K

The hardware is the same as the Gold Tobacco Fifty Bar 20K. But the Southern Tobacco Fruitia x Fifty Bar is a more traditional tobacco flavor. It lacks the kiss of honey sweetness of the Gold Tobacco but fires away with a more robust tobacco flavor that is a bit more authentic. Head to head, it is an easy choice and maybe the best Vuse Alto alternative when comparing like to like.

Vanilla Bean Tobacco Fifty Bar 20K

The Fifty Bar 20K has a three-headed monster of great tobacco flavors. The Vanilla Bean Tobacco flavor adds sweet and creamy notes to smooth out an inspired flue-cured flavor. The main drawback is that with characterizing vanilla notes this great flavor may have more appeal to the typical adult vapor consumer but it runs afoul of most flavor ban laws.

Tobacco Geek Bar Pulse

Talk about a slam dunk. The hottest device in vaping is the boosted Geek Bar Pulse. If there was ever a product certain to knock Vuse Alto off its thrown as the best selling gas station tobacco vape, it would be this one.

This is not just another paint by numbers faux-bacco flavor. Geek Bar is great at flavor development and while not as wildly delightful as Gold Tobacco, it is not overly staid and claggy either. If you currently are spending a fortune on Big Tobacco pod kits, you owe it to yourself to give this Geek Bar Pulse a chance. The technological improvement and longevity will seem like night and day. So will the vapor production and smoothness. More impressively, they hit a home run with a perfectly balanced and well-executed tobacco flavored vape on their first shot.

Geek Bar Pulse Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 16ml
Draw-Activated
Nicotine Strength: 5%
E-Liquid Monitoring: Full Screen Display
Display: Animations, Pulse Mode, E-Liquid and Battery Levels
Battery: 650mAh
Charging: USB-C
Dual Mesh Coil with Pulse Mode

Tobacco Flum Pebble

The Geek Bar Pulse Tobacco is the newest face on the block. But they are not breaking new ground. The Tobacco Flum Pebble already proven the strength of the disposable vape concept when applied to tobacco vapes to compete with the Vuses and NJOYs of the world.

Sold at convenience stores and gas stations on the West Coast, the Flum Pebble is a traditional tobacco flavor. The capacity of 14ml is a full TWENTY TIMES greater than a Juul pod. The 50mg formula uses nic salts, so it will never be mistook for an old 70% PG gas station e-cig in terms of throat hit or chest burn. But the flavor is quite realistic, while it provides a smooth and satisfying vaping experience.

Flum Pebble Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 14ml
Draw-Activated
Nicotine Strength: 5%
E-Liquid Monitoring: No
Display: Battery Life LED Indicator
Battery: 600mAh
Charging: USB-C
Mesh Coil

Vuse Alto's Big Tobacco Rivals and Juul

Priced so as to never undercut cigarettes and available only in faux-bacco fake tobacco artificial flavors or menthol, there is a reason why disposable vapes from globally respected manufacturers are such a threat to Big Tobacco's Chinese-made pod kits.

An obvious alternative to RJ Reynold's Vuse Alto is the Juul. It is of similar vintage and the Vuse was benchmarked against the Juul in terms of size and performance.

Juul Labs has been uncoupled from Altria after a merger in 2018. While RJ Reynolds pushes tirelessly for PMTA Laws that will ban all their product and with product with the NJOY out of the picture due to patent infringement, Juul is still the primary rival. They are also attempting to recover from being cast as arch-villain during the 2016-2018 spike in underage vaping. MyBlu is the final competitor and a product of Fontem Labs, which is owned by Imperial Tobacco.

Of the big four prefilled pod kits, Juul alone is not manufactured by a company with skin in the game as a purveyor of combustible tobacco and oral tobacco products. Here is the lay of the land when looking at the gas station staples of the US market.

NJOY ACE

The other Big Tobacco prefilled pod contender is the NJOY Ace which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Altria. It has found itself in hot water with the International Trade Commission. As described in Juul Press Release:

"Juul Labs previously prevailed in its own ITC action against Altria’s NJOY ACE e-vapor product. On January 29, the ITC issued a Final Determination that Altria’s NJOY ACE infringed all four patents that Juul Labs asserted against it, and issued orders prohibiting Altria and NJOY from importing and selling the infringing ACE until the patents expire in 2034 and 2037. The orders are scheduled to take effect on March 31, 2025 following a two-month presidential review period."

NJOY Ace Flavors

Infringed on four Juul Patents according to the ITC.

NJOY Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 1.9ml
Draw-Activated
Nicotine Strengths: 2.4% and 5.0%
E-Liquid Monitoring: No
Display: Basic Indicator Light
Battery: 400mAh
Charging: Micro-USB

Juul Pods and Flavors

The FDA has essentially decided to ban all of the flavors adult consumers prefer and any device not manufactured by the tobacco industry, this limited selection is more or less equivalent to Juul's offerings of Virginia Tobacco and Menthol. Juul's primary limitation is the 0.7ml pod, which is less than 5% the capacity of most modern disposable vapes.

Juul Flavors and Nicotine Strengths

Virginia Tobacco (3%, 5%)
Menthol (3%, 5%)

Juul Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 0.7ml
Draw-Activated
Nicotine Strengths: 3% and 5.0%
E-Liquid Monitoring: No
Display: Basic Indicator Light
Battery: 200mAh
Charging: Proprietary charger cable and dock.

MyBlu

The original Blu cigalikes had a nicotine strengths nearly as high as a Juul, only they used freebase nicotine rather than nic salts. This made them ridiculously harsh, which was somewhat ameliorated by the pathetic vapor production. Logic was another competitor in this space.

The arrival of Juul sent these e-cigs the way of the dodo. Blu pivoted by purchasing the VonErl podkit for their own purposes. A bit leak prone, MyBlu did offer a wide array of flavors and nicotine strengths before the federal ban on flavors. You could enjoy both freebase and nicotine salts.

In Great Britain, where MyBlu's previous selection remains untouched and nicotine strength is capped at 20mg, they remain a much more viable product.

MyBlu Flavors and Nicotine Strengths

Rich Tobacco (3.6%, 2.4%)
Gold Leaf (2.4%, 1.2%)
Tobacco Ice (4.0%, 2.4%)
Menthol (2.4%)

MyBlu Specifications

E-Liquid Contents: 1.5ml
Nicotine Strengths: 1.2%, 2.4%, 3.6%, 4.0%
E-Liquid Monitoring: No
Display: Basic Indicator Light
Battery: 350mAh
Charging: Micro-USB

Final Thoughts

It is obvious why disposable vapes are cutting into the tobacco industry's bottom line. They are a premium product with superior technology and flavors. But they are not priced like a premium product because vape brands need not worry about cannibalizing cigarette sales. Instead, they undercut the cost of a Juul, Vuse, MyBlu or NJOY pod by an enormous margin.

Of the disposable vapes reviewed today, the Flonq makes the most compelling argument as a direct replacement. There are a pair of nicotine strengths and they both feature a very sturdy tobacco flavor. Flum and Geek Bar also impress, although the fantastic flavors of the American Masters at Fifty Bar really shine brightest in this comparison if you are looking for unique, elevated and rich flavor experiences inspired by tobacco- rather than an effort at mimicking the taste of cigarettes with artificial tobacco flavors because that is what the regulators and a small percent of adult vapor consumers want.

Best Alternatives to Vuse Alto and Big Tobacco Pod Kits

Big Tobacco's Prefilled Pod Kits