A growing share of American vapers are looking up the rechargeable hardware that replaces disposable devices, and a new read of US search demand suggests the rising cost of throwaway vaping is part of what is pushing them.
The analysis, carried out by Discount Vape Pen, an online vaping store based in New Jersey that specializes in refillable 510-thread cartridge batteries, found that searches for “510 thread battery” now total roughly 30,500 a month in the United States, slightly ahead of “disposable vape” at about 29,500. Interest in the reusable term has climbed around 20% since 2021, while searches for disposables have fallen about 36% from their 2022 peak.
The change looks small from one month to the next, but the math behind it is not. A disposable is bought, used for a few hundred puffs, thrown away, and then bought again. A 510-thread battery is a single purchase that is recharged and refilled for months before it needs replacing. For anyone keeping track of what they spend, those add up to very different running costs.
“People do not switch because someone tells them to. They switch because they get tired of buying the same thing over and over,” said James Smith, head of vaping community at Discount Vape Pen. “Once you have bought a battery that lasts months instead of a device you bin every few days, the cheaper option becomes the obvious one.”
The pressure shows up at the category level too. Research from Truth Initiative has documented how the rise of disposables drove a steep increase in what Americans collectively spend on nicotine, as low sticker prices masked the cost of buying again and again. Consumer advocates at PIRG have separately reported that millions of single-use vapes are thrown out every week, a habit that quietly turns each device into a repeat expense rather than a one-time buy.
Who is making the change is part of the story. Smith says the clearest movement is among steady, everyday users rather than first-timers, the people who go through devices fast enough to notice the receipts. For an occasional user the upfront simplicity of a disposable still wins. For someone vaping daily, the cost of replacing a sealed device every few days is exactly the kind of running total that nudges a shopper toward hardware they can keep.
Discount Vape Pen is careful to point out that disposables still outsell reusable systems by a wide margin and will not vanish from shelves any time soon. But the company argues that the steady, multi-year climb in searches for refillable hardware is too consistent to dismiss as noise, and that household budgets are doing some of the quiet work.
“Search tends to move before the till does,” Smith said. “Right now it is moving toward the gear people hold on to.”
Notes to editors: US search estimates are from Ahrefs Keywords Explorer (“510 thread battery” at approximately 30,500 monthly clicks versus approximately 29,500 for “disposable vape”; reusable searches up about 20% since 2021 and disposable searches down about 36% from their 2022 peak). Figures on nicotine spending are from Truth Initiative. Data on single-use vape disposal are from PIRG. Discount Vape Pen is an online vaping store based in New Jersey that specializes in refillable 510-thread cartridge batteries.