Watermelon and melon vapes: juicy, light and made for ice

Watermelon in vape form is usually sweeter and more candy-like than the real fruit, with a juicy, watery body and a slightly green edge in the more realistic versions. Honeydew is pale and gentle with a honeyed, almost floral note. Cantaloupe has orange flesh and a rich, musky sweetness that some vapers love and others find a bit much.

Generic melon liquids usually blend honeydew and cantaloupe, while watermelon almost always appears on its own or with ice. Melon is also a natural partner for greener, sharper fruits like kiwi, which keep it from tasting flat.

Watermelon is mostly water in real life, and the best way to recreate that refreshing, thirst-quenching feeling in a vape is cold. That is why watermelon ice became a benchmark for bar-style liquids: the chill fills in the crispness that flavourings alone cannot quite manage.

A plain watermelon without ice can taste a bit like a melon sweet, which is lovely if that is what you want. The iced version tastes more like a slice straight out of the fridge. The Elfliq Watermelon nic salt is a good example of the iced bar style.

Melons such as honeydew are more often left un-iced, because their floral notes are subtle and cooling can flatten them.

Melon is light, so it works well on almost any kit. A refillable MTL pod with a 50/50 nic salt gives a crisp, sweet watermelon ice that lasts all day. A sub-ohm tank with a 70/30 shortfill turns honeydew or mixed melon into a soft, juicy cloud.

Because melon flavours are delicate, they fade if a coil is tired or the power is too high. Keep to the lower half of the coil's range and swap coils as soon as the taste goes dull.

Nicotine is addictive, and a cold watermelon ice can make strength feel smoother than it is, so pick your number on purpose rather than by feel.

Realistic melon is one of the lighter fruit flavours, both in taste and in what it leaves on your coil. Honeydew and mixed melon in particular tend to be pale and not overly sweet, so coils running them usually stay clean for a decent stretch.

Candy-style watermelon is the exception. Bar-style watermelon liquids often lean sweet to give that sweets-shop taste, and the extra sweetener caramelises over time. Combine that with ice, which hides flavour loss, and you may keep vaping a coil that has stopped doing the flavour justice.

The checklist below keeps melon tasting like melon for as long as possible.

Melon is a team player. It softens sharp fruits and makes heavy ones feel lighter:

• Watermelon and mint: fresh, garden-party cool.
• Watermelon and strawberry: sweet, red and summery.
• Melon and kiwi: tangy and green, with dragon fruit or lychee for an exotic twist.
• Honeydew and lime: clean and sharp.
• Melon and cucumber: unusual but genuinely refreshing.

For the full story on cooling, read our ice flavours guide, which explains why some watermelon ices taste minty and others do not. Try a few combinations before settling on one, because melon's mild character means the partner fruit often decides whether you love it.