So you wanna cloud-chase. Well, join the club. We meet on
Wednesdays, letterman jackets are available for purchase, and club dues are due
on the 21st of each month.
All kidding aside, cloud-chasers
are a sub-culture within a sub-culture, and as vaping grows in popularity,
cloud-chasing is becoming increasingly prevalent, with more and more vapers
making the jump from lackluster poofs to chuckin’ clouds that are so big, they make the weatherman look bad. We’ve all had the same starting inspiration: as you watched huge clouds being thrown around your local vape shop or on the internet, you quietly and forcefully said to yourself, “…I wanna do that.” But how do you take that next step? Despite the
seemingly intimidating process, I think you’ll find that becoming a
cloud-chaser is incredibly easy. All it takes is a little skill and a whole lot
of preparation.
**Disclaimer**
Cloud chasing is only for experienced
vapers only! The terms, techniques, and technology covered in this guide
will be best understood by users with an in-depth knowledge of vaping. If you’re new to the world of vaping, we
appreciate the enthusiasm, but you should spend your first few weeks becoming
more familiar with vaping as a whole – Youtube is a great resource for this, as
well as ECR/ECF, the Steam Engine calculator, and our own handy Essential
Vaping Glossary as well as the helpful Battery Safety Guide. That said, any persons following this guide do so at their
own risk. We’ll give you all the safety tips we can think of, but in the end, your
safety is entirely the result of your actions – we can’t be held responsible for any unfortunate
events that may occur from a lack of safety, preparation, or knowledge on the
part of the user.
The Safety
Any reputable cloud chaser will tell you time and again: “Safety
comes first.” Just like how a surgeon meticulously washes their hands and wears
full surgical scrubs, cloud chasers need to take precautions to ensure that the
worst can’t happen. To do that, every prospective cloud-chaser needs to be
exceptionally familiar with their equipment. This means becoming exceedingly
familiar with the true continuous drain rating (CDR) of your batteries, testing
each and every one of their builds, knowing how low of a resistance is too low for their batteries, and how to properly
inspect their entire setup before putting it to use.
The Gear
Contrary to longstanding belief, expensive gear doesn’t
necessarily mean great performance, just how inexpensive gear doesn’t mean
subpar performance. What truly matters is getting dense vapor from your setup
however you can. By carefully weighing the benefits and features of various
devices, you can assemble a vaping setup in which the performance styles of the
batteries, atomizer, build, and mod perfectly complement each other.
Batteries
Batteries are THE most important aspect of your setup. Not
only will the quality of your battery impact how well your setup performs, it’s
also one of the only user-decided choices that directly correlates with the
safety of the setup. The first thing you should do whenever you’re installing
batteries is to carefully inspect your cells for any imperfections. Do NOT use your battery if:
It has any sort of rust or
corrosion
If the wrap has started
peeling, cracking, or has otherwise been damaged (even if it’s just small
nick)
It is bulging at any part
It is giving off an odor
It feels extremely hot to
the touch (a little warmth after use is to be expected, but if it’s too hot to
touch, it’s a goner)
The insulator in the
positive pole is damaged
Anything doesn’t look,
smell, or seem right (trust your instincts)
If your battery has any of those symptoms, your safest next
move would be to replace the cell entirely and dispose of it properly – most vape
shops will happily take your old batteries off your hands in order to throw
them away using the proper channels. If the only problem is a damaged wrap,
replacement battery wraps can be purchased and applied with relative ease, but
for now, your safest bet would be to wrap the offending cell in a paper towel or plastic bag and set it aside until the new wrap
arrives.
For the quick-burst high-drain applications for which
cloud-chasers use their batteries, the best choice would be batteries with a
CDR greater than 25A. This requirement will disqualify a good number of
≥1500mAh batteries, as a high mAh capacity usually means a low CDR, and vice
versa. To find the best choice in batteries, it’s a good idea to refer to Mooch, an independent member
of the vaping community who regularly tests batteries for their true CDR and
publishes the results on his blog in the form of very helpful charts and
graphs. Because battery manufacturers test the performance specs of their
batteries using conflicting methodology, Mooch provides a standard of testing
for a market lacking the necessary regulation.
Realizing when your batteries need to be recharged is also
an important aspect to proper battery care. But if you're not using a regulated mod with a convenient battery life indicator, how do you know exactly when to replace your
battery? Short answer: you don’t—all you can do is make your best guess. Thankfully, batteries tend to make this guesswork pretty easy. When you find that your once-popping
build is now giving a dull sizzle, it’s probably time to throw these batteries
in the charger and insert a fresh set.
However, keep in mind that you should never discharge your
batteries until they’re completely dead. Unlike a regulated mod that
automatically turns off once the battery falls below a certain voltage, the mechanical and unregulated mods used
by cloud-chasers will continue to function past this safety point until the
battery reaches the point of no return, about 2.4V—once it reaches that low of
a voltage, it can prove difficult to restore the now dead cell, and even if you
do, damage to the battery’s capacity and overall lifespan is almost certain.
Suggestions:
LG
18650 HB6 1500mAh
These highly
rated 32A batteries are THE cells that will push your competition build further than ever before. As one of the highest rated batteries available, these batteries perform exceedingly well under strain with very little voltage drop, making them perfect for nudging those
last few competition-winning wattage points out of your perfected build.
Samsung 18650 30Q 3000mAh
For those days of casual cloudage, these cells are a great choice for vaping on mid-ohm builds and have a huge capacity that is sure to last all day, if not even longer. Rated at 20A, these cells perform as well as 25Rs and last even longer than HG2s for satisfying performance whenever the desire to change the weather arises.
iJoy 26650 INR 4200mAh
For those big mods requiring equally large 26650 batteries,
the iJoy 26650s are an exceedingly good choice. Given a true 30A CDR, an extreme rarity
for 26650 batteries, these high-performance batteries can be hard to find in
stock—and when they are, they can be absurdly expensive—but a pair of these batteries do come
included with the Limitless
LUX Box MOD By LMC & iJoy, a fantastic device in its own right that gives you more bang for your buck.
Chargers
Because unregulated mods don’t feature any kind of USB
charging (not that it should be relied on heavily anyway), choosing the proper external
charger for your batteries is exceedingly important for maintaining healthy
cells that perform at peak levels throughout the entirety of their lifespan.
Both Nitecore and Efest make excellent and highly
reputable chargers that accommodate a wide number and variety of battery cell
sizes; some can even adjust the charging rates of the cells to better suit your
needs.
Suggestions:
Nitecore SC2
Battery Charger
Lauded as the Ferrari of battery chargers, the Nitecore SC2
is an extremely versatile 2-bay charger capable of charging your cells at up to
3A, which can cut the charging time for high-drain low capacity cells down to
less than an hour, leaving you with more time to get back to what matters:
vaping!
Efest LUC Blu6 Bluetooth Intelligent 6-Bay Charger
This fantastic charger holds up to 6 cells in its slots and can provide
up to 2A to two cells at a time. In addition, any information about your
charging cells such as charging rate and current charge level can be accessed and
adjusted through any Bluetooth-enabled phone by using Efest’s phone app
(available in both the Google Play store and Apple store).
Ohm Meter
Resistance meters are just as important as the device you’re using, if
not more so. Because cloud-chasers use primarily unregulated devices, we don’t
have the luxury of having an ohm meter built into our mod, so we must rely on
an external ohm meter to give an accurate measure of the resistance (and by
extension, safety) of our builds. Although, even if you’re using the ohm meter
of the regulated device you’ll be regularly vaping on, it’s not a bad idea to
give your build a quick test on an external meter. Think about it: if the regulated device
should read your build as a resistance higher than it really is, it’ll push the additional volts
necessary to bring it to the set wattage, which might be too much for the coils and batteries you have installed. In addition, always test your builds after every
single tweak, just in case you accidentally left a coil touching the positive post
or the top cap will be touching your build. It never hurts to be extra careful.
Suggestions:
Coil Master 521 Tab Ohm Meter
An excellent companion to your cloud-chasing gear, the 521 Tab is an extremely versatile piece of hardware. A perfectly capable ohm reader in its own right that can read all the way down to 0.01Ω, this device can also fire your attached atomizer, allowing you to heat, squeeze, fiddle with your coils before installing it on your mod. The 521 Tab is also a fully functional voltage meter that can tell you the exact voltage level of your mechanical mod and any battery cells.
Mods
Mechanical mods are simplistic electrical engineering at its
finest. Electricity leaves the cell, runs through the coil, and comes back to
the cell, super simple. Mech mods often come with a floating or spring-loaded
positive pin that transfers electricity from the battery to the atomizer, but
some have a 510 connection lacking any sort of positive pin, instead directly
connecting the positive pole of the battery to the positive pin of the atomizer—this
type of connection is referred to a hybrid connection.
Of course, mechanical mods also have a degree of danger:
what if the electricity, for whatever reason, skips the coils and just runs
straight back to the cell? A hard short, that’s what, which quickly leads to
venting, thermal runaway, and other nasty things, and no one wants that. That’s
why we always make sure our
batteries are pristinely maintained, our atomizers are carefully chosen, and
our builds are perfectly tested. Right? Quite right.
Single Cell Mech
As I’m sure you’ve heard before, single cell mechanical mods
are a great choice for cloud-chasing – for a time, they were the only choice.
If you wanted anything near 150W, you’d need a mech mod and an (uncomfortably)
low resistance build. These mechs originally became popular because of their
high degree of customizability and reliance on the skill of the vaper to get
satisfactory performance, and remain popular in cloud competitions for these
exact reasons. One factor that comes into play that doesn’t affect regulated
mods, however, is the build material: better conducting materials lead to
better performance. For example, a solid copper mech will typically perform much better
than a stainless steel mech—in fact, building lower than 0.3Ω on a SS mech can
lead to a “hot button”, in which electrical arcing noticeably heats the firing
switch because the internal resistance of the mod is higher than the build
itself. Mech maintenance is important as well — clean threads lead to a lower
internal resistance, which means a lowered voltage drop and more power being
provided to the attached atomizer.
Suggestions:
Legendary
Subzero Competition Mechanical MOD
One of the hardest hitting single cell mechs available, the
Legendary mod is nothing but: utilizing a proprietary switch that’s extremely conductive
and easy to throw, the Legendary is constructed entirely out of solid C145
copper and uses silver-plated copper contacts in the battery and 510
connections for an imperceptibly low voltage drop.
VCM2
Mechanical MOD by Vaperz Cloud
The VCM2 mech from Vaperz Cloud is a great choice for
prospective cloud-chasers, This single cell mech is made from solid copper and
uses Vaperz Cloud’s proprietary VC Tech firing switch alongside silver-plated
contacts for unprecedented conductivity. The VCM2 also comes with both a
floating pin and hybrid-type 510 connection for a wide range of possibilities.
SMPL
Mechanical MOD Clone by A-MOD
For penny-pinching cloud-chasers seeking a low cost
mechanical mod, there’s no better choice than the SMPL clone by A-MOD.
Constructed using a single solid piece of copper, this mech has no
voltage-dropping threads to maintain and uses a hybrid 510 connection for fantastic
conductivity.
Parallel Mech
Parallel mechs utilize two or more battery cells; each
battery provides a fraction of the output, evenly distributing the amp load and
multiplying the CDR by the number of cells in the circuit. This makes them
perfect for those super-sub-ohm builds too low for single cell mechs, with the additional
benefit of multiplying the battery life by the number of cells wired together.
Suggestions:
Cherry
Bomber Parallel Mechanical Box MOD Clone By Infinite
A low cost entry point into parallel mods, the Cherry Bomber
clone by Infinite is entirely mechanical and can be disassembled for super
simple cleaning and maintenance. It’s also available with a wooden or aluminum
alloy body, but both have a super clean appearance that complements most, if
not all, attached atomizers.
Series Mech
Series mechs are powered similarly to parallel mechs, in
that they both use multiple cells in the circuit, but series mechs wire these cells from end
to end, multiplying the voltage output while retaining the same CDR and mAh
capacity. This introduces an additional factor in cell instability, as
increased voltage means more amps being drawn from the unchanged source, but
with the proper knowledge and precautions, series mechs can be extremely
useful, especially when using big, higher resistance builds that would take too
long for single cell mechs to heat.
Suggestions:
Ohmega
26650 Stacked V2 Mechanical MOD
Constructed out of solid copper for superior conductivity, this tube-style mech mod accepts two 18650 batteries placed
in the device end-to-end to double the voltage output to 8.4V, a fantastic
choice for bulky builds that take a long time to heat with just 4.2V.
26650
VCP "Big Pig" Series Mechanical Box Mod By Vaperz Cloud
For those who don’t want to carry around a very large tube
mech, but still want amazing performance from their everyday device, the 26650
VCP from Vaperz Cloud is a great series mech mod that utilizes copper contacts
for outstanding performance and can also accept 18650 batteries by using the
included battery sleeves.
Regulated Mods
Don’t shake a stick at those regulated mods just yet. Sure,
their wattage caps can be restricting for low-ohm builders, but a slight
adjustment in building techniques alongside the right mod can produce clouds
you could never get from even a series or parallel mech. When using humongous cloud-chuckin' builds, what really matters is
the voltage output. For example, if you’re used to building 0.1Ω coils, try a higher resistance like 0.5Ω, but put
it on a regulated mod capable of hitting high voltages. A 0.5Ω
coil at 11V is 242W
and only 22A, as opposed to a 0.1Ω coil’s 49A draw at the same wattage. Of course, you'll most likely need a mod with many battery cells in order to reach higher voltages, as voltage-boosting but installing gigantic coils producing proportionately large plumes of vapor without any of the
drawbacks associated with super sub-ohm builds is so worth it.
Suggestions:
Smok Koopor Primus 300W TC Box MOD
Capable of pushing
up to 12V to your attached atomizer, this mod is a great choice for
cloud-chasers who want to avoid the hassle of series mods while also getting
the superb battery life of three 18650 batteries.
Reuleaux RX200S Box MOD By Wismec & Jay
Bo
Another triple
18650 regulated mod, the Reuleaux is an extremely popular device, and for good
reason: this device gets exceptional battery life and can provide up to 9V of
power to your build, a great choice for on-the-go cloud-chasers.
RDAs
Ah, good ol’ drippers. Despite the leaking, constant
dripping, and occasional life-shattering dry hit, we love the exceptional
flavor and simply unbeatable vapor production from these bad boys -- so much so, I decided to ignore RTAs/RDTAs for now: while they are starting to match drippers in airflow and ease of use, your best (and easiest) chance for huge clouds is with an RDA. But what exactly goes into
choosing the perfect cloud-chasing RDA?
Airflow
Because a huge part of your cloud is just hot air, you
should pick an RDA with a proportional amount of airflow. Generally, more
airflow means more clouds, but you can also be strategic with your choice.
Sure, an RDA like the Buddha is great for humongous builds that demand
sufficient airflow to match the vapor output, but for smaller builds, an RDA
with tighter, more focused airflow can better condense vapor in the chamber for
thick, dense clouds rivalling those of even the biggest coils. While one
source of side-feed airflow is standard in most RDAs, bottom- and top-feed
sources of airflow complementing the side-feed airflow can be highly
advantageous for coaxing additional vapor from your build.
Build Space
If you’ll be making big coils, you’ll want a build deck to
match. Large diameter RDAs (25mm+) are a great choice for this. You’ll also
want the build space to be relatively open and uncluttered, leaving room for
vapor to expand freely.
Posts
For cloud-chasing, you’ll want an RDA that fits at least two coils; of
course, this can mean almost any RDA, as two posts will usually fit dual coils
without an issue. Three post or T-post RDAs are nice for quad coils or super
easy dual coils, but Velocity-style posts are even better, as they free up the
center of the deck and promote healthy airflow. Large postholes can be a
godsend, but when your post holes just aren’t cutting it, you can use a drill to widen the opening -- just don't drill too wide! In addition, the recently introduced clamp-style posts of some RDAs are extremely useful for installing extremely thick wire builds such as
fused quad claptons in your RDA.
Conductivity
An RDA’s conductivity is often neglected, but can make or
break a good build. Usually, RDAs are made entirely of stainless steel, and
there’s not much you can do about that. Some forward thinking RDAs, however,
come with copper center posts, milled negative posts, and even gold-plated
decks for exceptional performance.
However, an extremely important aspect to take into account
when choosing an RDA is carefully inspecting the 510 positive pin: if you are
using a mechanical mod with a hybrid-type 510 connection that directly connects
the battery to the atomizer, it is absolutely imperative that the positive pin
of the atomizer protrudes well beyond (≥1.25mm) the 510 threading and cannot be
pushed back into the threading. Otherwise, if the 510 threading should touch
the battery, it will prematurely complete the circuit, resulting in a hard
short and a very, very bad time. I’ll repeat this because it’s pretty
important: don’t use atomizers lacking a
protruding positive pin with hybrid connections.
Juice
High VG, low nicotine. That’s all that really comes into play. High VG for the smooth, rich clouds, and the low nicotine to take into account the increased vapor production (so you don’t throw up halfway through a competition – yes, it’s happened). Beyond that, just pick your favorite flavor and vape away.
Suggestions:
Buddha
Z V3 RDA By Vaperz Cloud (25mm/30mm)
The Buddha Z V3 RDA is an impressively sized dripper made to
accommodate large and bulky builds while supporting them with massive airflow.
This iteration of the Buddha utilizes two distinct sources of airflow, the
first coming from the signature Buddha 42 hole side-feed airflow, the second
from two adjustable cyclops slots that provide additional top-feed airflow to
your build. The 25mm version of this RDA also comes with a completely
gold-plated deck, which includes the posts and 510 threading, garnering unreal
performance from this device.
Goldie
RDA By Beast Mode Industries
The Goldie RDA by BMI was designed to be an extremely heavy
duty piece of hardware that makes the most out of any build installed. Constructed
entirely out of solid brass for much better conductivity than traditional
stainless steel, the deck, posts, and 510 threading are also gold-plated for an
extremely low voltage drop and the massive postholes in the T-post positive and
milled negative posts fit almost any kind of wire.
Obese
Buddha RDA (LE) By Vaperz Cloud
Another piece of hardware from Vaperz Cloud’s acclaimed
Buddha series, the Obese Buddha is a 30mm RDA designed to provide more than
enough space and airflow to even the most bulky and cumbersome of builds.
Utilizing clamp-style posts, you can fit literally any type or size of wire in
this RDA with extreme ease. This limited edition version of the Obese Buddha
also completely coats the RDA in a layer of 24k gold for superb conductivity.
The Builds
Now that we've taken all the necessary care and precautions to ensure a safe setup, it's time for the fun part: building! This is where you can let loose or do things entirely by the book, it's up to you and your imagination. But if you want to start making builds to rival heavy duty fog machines, you don't want to just start building blindly: how can you optimize your build and building techniques to push even more clouds from your setup?
Fast Ramp-Up
Your build won’t be any good in a cloud competition if it
takes more than five seconds to ramp up. How can you avoid an awkward wait
while your opponent blows a huge cloud in your face? Chances are, you’ve been
using just Kanthal for your coils when there are a wide variety of materials
available that will turn your bubbling build into a popping cloud-chucking
machine. For example, nichrome (NiCr) is an extremely popular heating element
for instantaneous firing response times. While it has a lower resistance than Kanthal
which needs to be taken into account, it can be combined with Kanthal for a
full-bodied performance. Another such material is stainless steel (SS), which
can be used in both VW and TC modes, for those full-time cloud-chasers,
part-time flavor-fiends.
Large ID
Large inner diameters are essential for high-powered coils
and for obvious reasons: a small diameter means slow wicking that probably
won’t withstand more than a draw or two before producing a nasty dry hit,
despite appearing drenching in liquid. Staying above 4mm in diameter is a good
range for a build that be chain-vaped to your heart’s desire.
Strategic Placement
This is one of the most important aspects of a good
cloud-chasing build, but often the most neglected. It’s key that your build is not
only unfettered and free to produce vapor from all sides, but also perfectly lined
up with your airflow to maximize vapor production. So, that jumbled bunch of
cotton stuffed behind your coil isn’t doing you any favors – a good build has
short wicks tucked neatly underneath, leaving empty space underneath and behind
the coil. For optimum vapor production, your airflow should squarely hit the
face of your coils, or if anything, just slightly underneath to help scoop
vapor upwards.
Types of Builds
This is where your creativity as a rebuilder comes into
play. While some vapers say the type of build doesn’t necessarily make the
cloud-chaser, it does definitely come into play. Simple macro coils used to be
the standard, and many cloud-chasers have found success with this type of
build, but there’s plenty of very easy builds that can maximize the features of
your RDA. For example, parallel coils can easily boost your clouds to new
heights, as they essentially multiply the number of coils you have installed while
still allowing for large dual coils that take up the entire chamber.
While
builds such as parallel coils are relatively simple to build, more complex and
difficult builds such as clapton coils and hive coils are also a great choice,
as they have a greater surface area than standard macro coils and allow an
increased amount of juice to be vaporized at any given time. Of course, all
types of wire can be mixed and matched, or even combined to create entirely new
types of wire – the only deciding factor is the breadth of your imagination. But
if you don’t feel up to digging your drill out of your garage and dedicating a
few hours to making about a foot of specialty wire, there are plenty of options
for prebuilt premium coils that are oftentimes more pristine and cleanly made
than any handmade coil.
The number of coils helps as well. I’d suggest using at
least two coils in your cloud-chasing build, but when installing any more than
that, there’s a trade-off: while the overall resistance of the build is
lowered, the increased mass of the build requires a longer ramp-up time despite
the now raised wattage. In addition, adding coils doesn’t necessarily give the
proportional increase in vapor production as you might expect, in fact giving
diminishing returns while increasing the difficulty of installation.
Suggestions:
Hotwires By Chadster - Nuke (22 Gauge)
Hotwires has been in the game for a long, long time and has had the support of cloud-chasers for just as long. Using a proprietary alloy, this wire heats up extremely quickly and stays hotter than traditional Kanthal, making it a perfect choice for cloud-chasing builds.
Fused Clapton SS316 Wire Spool By GeekVape
Taking the hard work out of getting great performance from your build, this roll of premade fused clapton wire uses stainless steel as the heating element, providing not only instantaneous firing reactions, but also dual functionality in VW and TC mode and fantastic flavor no matter which mode you use.
GeekVape
Staggered Fused Clapton KA1 / Ni80 Coil Pack
A great example of prebuilt high-performance coils that
utilize a mix of materials for incredibly versatility, these staggered fused clapton
coils made by GeekVape use both Kanthal and nichrome for a quick ramp-up and
have a generous amount of surface area for thorough juice vaporization.
The
Techniques
Now that we’ve covered all the things that into a great
cloud-chasing setup, it’s time to talk about the last step: turning you into a
proper cloud-chaser! Despite appearances, it takes more than just simply
inhaling and exhaling to blow a fat cloud, but after reviewing these
techniques, you’ll be hitting people with your huge clouds from across the
room.
Inhale
Exactly how to use inhalation to maximize the performance of
your build is a touchy subject for many a cloud-chaser. Some believe
wholeheartedly in the bend-over technique, prepping their lungs for a full
inhale by forcefully and fully exhaling while bending over at the waist to
better assist in the motion. Others (who know better) believe that bending over
doesn’t matter, as long as you’re getting a proper lungful of vapor – a little
bend is natural, but if you can touch your toes while doing so, you’re doing it
very wrong.
Timing is also extremely important when aiming to catch your
build when it’s producing vapor at peak levels: this means taking into account
ramp-up times. When first firing your build, listen for the increasing popping
and sizzling: is it an instantaneous reaction to pressing the firing switch, or
does it take a few seconds to really get going? If it’s the latter, you’ll want
to adjust your inhalation accordingly: if you inhale while the coil is still
heating up, you’ll get a lungful of super thin vapor and that’s no good.
To maximize the dense vapor you’re inhaling, you have a few
options. A popular choice is to exhale through the RDA while the coils are
heating, ensuring you have empty lungs ready to be filled by the time the coils
are at their peak temperature, but can be messed up if done too soon and you
end up dying for breath by the time the coils are actually ready. Another
choice is to give very light and quick inhale-exhales, which keeps the stagnant
air relatively in one place and increases the chamber’s vapor density. Or, my
personal favorite, just let the thing fire and inhale when it’s ready. In the
end, it’s really up to you. And while it’s not necessary, inhaling past the
release of the firing switch helps to cool down your hot coils and prevent a
nasty charred taste from otherwise stagnant hot coils the next time you hit
your mod.
Exhale
The most important and most often neglected aspect of
cloud-chasing is the exhale. A good exhale leaves a thick, dense cloud shooting
across the room in one solid mass, lingering in the air before falling to the
ground in a satisfying “poof”; a bad exhale will produce a long, but thin
stream of vapor that vanishes after only a few seconds, or produces a cloud
that’s thick and dense, but stays right at the vaper’s face. Bad exhales don’t
take into account the vapor’s density or velocity. To get a good-looking cloud
that really chucks across the room, the secret lies in aerodynamics: without
getting into college-level details, air surrounding a solid stream of moving
air will get sucked in and moved as well.
How do we apply this to a cloud? Well, begin with a good
inhale of vapor. Now, open your mouth in a big “O” shape and blow the vapor out
relatively slowly. When you’ve gone through about half of your lung capacity
and built up a nice looking cloud in front of you, without interrupting the
flow of vapor, slowly close down your mouth to a small “O” while blowing with
increasing force. The result is a thick cloud that suddenly shoots forward from
the center and pulls the rest of the cloud with it while retaining its density.
With a good build and inhale, the first time you exhale,
you’ll cough, which is only natural. Trying to push out that much hot, dense
vapor will make you feel like you’re drowning in the cloud – for the curious
and anatomically inclined, that’s because vapor is condensing on your
epiglottis – just focus on pushing it all out in a fluid motion. It really
helps if you whisper “HAAAAAhhhhoooooo” as you do it. Trust me, you may feel like
a silly dragon, but it works.
The Conclusion
So, there you have it. From battery safety to exhale technique, if you follow these steps (and keep a smart head about you), you'll be surprised how quickly you'll evolve into a full-fledged cloud-chaser.