Starter Kit Reviews

Blu Bar Disposables

Blu have joined the disposable revolution with the inventively named Blu Bar range. Do they have what it takes to stand out in an ever crowded market? We take a look to see

by Si Davies
Jun 8, 2023

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Supplied by Blu for review
https://www.blu.com/en-GB/flavours/disposable-blu-bar
£5.99 each or multi-buy bundles available.

Blu are already well known for their closed pod systems, but believe it or not, the Blu Bar is their first disposable vape. It is an alternative to their rather good Blu 2.0 closed pod system which has similar flavours but with a reusable battery, I’m guessing Blu had to make this move into pure disposables due to the huge market they were missing out on.

Blu Bar Disposables taster selection

I was sent half of the selection to try out but there are currently ten flavours available:

Banana Ice
Peach Ice
Watermelon Ice
Mango Ice
Strawberry Ice
Kiwi Passionfruit
Blueberry Ice
Blueberry Sour Razz
Berry Mix
Grape Ice

Ironically the last five are more my cup of tea but they are all firm favourites in the disposables market so you should find ones you like amongst them.

Blu Bar Disposables up close

The Bar comes in the typical disposable packaging (box and foil-seal bag) but I did find the outer box a tad frustrating as it is sealed with those little circle stickers so you either have to use brute force to rip it open or use a blade/key to get into it.

Blu Bar Disposables unboxing

Once you pass Level 1, you are then faced with the next challenge. The sealed foil bag doesn’t have that usual notch to tear open, but if you look closely you will see a small slash which you simply grab each side then pull upwards and it tears the top off. Once I figured that out, it became easy enough.

Blu Bar Disposables contents

Aside from the device, there’s a little pamphlet with legal bumf, a bit of info, and flavour range, but there’s a very welcome advert for the more sustainable Blu 2.0 closed pod device which I reviewed a few months back:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/starter-kit/blu-20.html

Blu Bar Disposables getting vape ready

Level 3 is easy; just remove the silicone bung and the sticker on the base and it’s ready to vape. The device itself is pretty simple and compact, it has an all plastic body and a printed paper wrap. The flavour and strength is printed on the side, I also noticed the battery capacity, which is 400mAh, which ‘should’ give you the advertised 600 puffs but in my experience that number greatly changes according to how you vape, 1 second draws will easily reach over 500 but obviously a three second draw will last you a lot less.

Blu Bar Disposables label

Currently the Blu Bar only comes in one strength which is 20mg (2%) and is the ideal strength for those trying to quit smoking or those that need that higher nicotine fix.

Blu Bar Disposables lined up

Performance and Flavours

Pleasingly the Blu Bar appears to be ‘Nic Salts’ which is the preferred option for disposables, but there was something a bit different to other disposables I have tried. Any previous Blu users will feel right at home as it vapes very similarly to the Blu 2.0 but I found it quite dry and it made me thirsty. On the flip side, I did find it perfect along with a pint.

Banana Ice

"A banana flavour with added freshness"

I was off to a good start with this flavour, very b-b-b-banananaaaanary and thankfully not too sweet. They got the ice balance about right as it was very subtle and carried the flavour well in the aftertaste. There’s nothing complex about this flavour, it’s banana!

Blu Bar Disposables Banana Ice

Peach Ice

"A sweet and fresh flavour"

Again, this one is pretty good, clearly peach and not overly sweet. The ice is subtle and carries nice peachy aftertaste, almost a copy and paste of the Banana Ice in the fruit accuracy.

Blu Bar Disposables Peach Ice

Watermelon Ice

"A fresh watermelon taste"

Guess what this one tastes like? Take:

2 lemons
7 strawberries
2 digestive biscuits
2 teaspoons of sugar
A dollop of whipped cream

Mix it all together and it tastes nothing like this….it’s watermelon, simples! The developing pattern of the correct balance of sweetness/ice/aftertaste and fruit accuracy is on par with the others.

Mango Ice

"A tropical mango taste with a note of freshness"

I’m stumped what else to write here, it is just a very accurate mango with a good balance of sweetness and subtle ice yet again. By this point I am becoming very impressed with Blu’s blend of flavour vs sweetness. I tend to get sick of sickly sweet disposables but these were just right.

Blu Bar Disposables Mango Ice

Strawberry Ice

"A fruity and fresh strawberry taste"

By this point I am sort of glad they only sent me 5 flavours as I am starting to repeat myself and worse still I’m repeating myself, Blu did it again and nailed a hard to get right flavour, this is one of the most accurate Strawberry eliquids I’ve tasted and that well balanced sweetness makes it more vapable in my opinion.

Blu Bar Disposables Strawberry Ice

After testing these five flavours, I couldn’t but help feel impressed with the fruit accuracy and the sweetness is spot on for me. Too many disposables and disposable-like e-liquids are clearly over-sweetened which can become sickly, but not these, and to top it off, they also got the ‘ice’ balance just right too. There’s no menthol taste but carries the flavour into a pleasant aftertaste.

Blu Bar Disposables raised up

The £5.99 price tag felt steep though, but you can bring the price down with multi-buy which kicks in automatically as you add the quantities to your cart.

3 devices for £15 (or £5.00 per device)
5 devices for £22.50 (or £4.50 per device)
10 devices for £40 (or £4.00 per device)

There’s only one thing that didn’t suit my style of vaping and that’s the dryness which is quite typical to Blu vapes, I’m not sure what the coil and wicking is but I suspect that it could be ceramic coils which give a dryness when vaping. I did take one with me to the pub and enjoyed it with a pint, and those people that drink plenty of fluids won’t find it a problem.

Diss-Posables

I can’t in all consciousness ignore the perils of disposables, I get how handy and convenient they are, but they are just so wrong in many other ways, the e-waste is the main con and gives me the worst guilt-trip.

Blu Bar Disposables waste

Just look at all that waste from just five disposables, it put me on an instant downer. I did what I could by recycling the cardboard and paper, and I kept the little silicone bungs as they fit my MTL drip-tips perfectly.

Fortunately, Blu have a disposal scheme where they dispose of them responsibly and it won’t cost you anything but a few minutes of your time:
https://www.blu.com/en-GB/blu-product-disposal

It’s not ideal but is far better than binning them or lobbing them in the street gutters. And don’t forget there’s another alternative from Blu with the Blu 2.0 closed pod kit where you reuse the battery:
https://www.blu.com/en-GB/blu-2-0

Blu Bar Disposables little boxes

Si Davies

Reviewer at POTV

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My background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!