Is a shot of coffee too boring? Is there too much liquid in a can of Coke? Well, have we got the unnecessarily complex disposable battery-powered gadget for you: the Eagle Energy caffeine vaporiser, which started life as an Indiegogo campaign but that you can now buy in petrol stations and supermarkets around Australia.
Inside each Eagle Energy vape is a tiny cartridge of liquid caffeine — 3ml of liquid, 0.08 per cent caffeine per millilitre — that’s atomised just like the liquid nicotine juice in a regular e-cigarette, and delivered direct to your bloodstream through your lungs. A 14500-sized battery cell (the same size as a AA) with a 800mAh capacity is good for 500 puffs of “no sugar, zero calorie, 100 per cent nicotine free” energy. That’s 25 to 50 cups of coffee by our measure, which makes the Eagle Energy vape good value if you’re looking for a quick caffeine hit.
If you do just want that caffeine buzz, hitting an Eagle Energy vape does give you one without the added bloat of the milk in a latte or the 39 grams of sugar in a can of Coke. It’s like Soylent for caffeine. Each individual inhaler isn’t rechargeable, though — you’re just meant to throw it away once it has run out, which won’t exactly do wonders for the problem of batteries in landfill.
Engadget says the vape tastes surprisingly like a Red Bull, and caffeine-tolerant coffee drinkers might need between 10 and 20 pulls to notice the effects. As well as caffeine, there’s also a blend of taurine and ginseng, which explains the familiar taste. And you do apparently get that obnoxious distinctive cloud of vapor, which is probably going to make these things the 21st century equivalent of smoking a packet of Fads behind the bike sheds at school.
Now available in “select” IGA supermarkets and BP petrol stations, the Eagle Energy Vapor electronic inhaler, or pen, or vape — or whatever you want to call it — will also be up for purchase online through Eagle Energy’s website. We’re not certain of local pricing, but where they’re sold in the US you can buy a 3-pack for $US24.99 or a 10-pack for $US74.99, with a 15 per cent discount if you sign up to a monthly subscription plan. [Eagle Energy]