“Choef” is South African slang for a vape — not a brand, not a model. Here is where the word comes from, the three spellings you will see, and the question most people are really asking: what one costs.
So what is a choef?
"Choef" is South African slang for a vape. That's the whole answer — it isn't a brand, a model or a particular device. If someone asks what choef you're on, they're asking what you vape.
You'll see it spelled a few different ways because it's a spoken word first and a written one second:
- Choef — the most common spelling in searches
- Chuff — the same word, closer to how it sounds
- Choof — also common, and the spelling you'll see in older Australian and SA slang for smoking generally
All three mean the same thing. It's used as a noun ("pass me my choef") and as a verb ("we were choefing outside"), the way people once used "smoke" for both the cigarette and the act.
Worth knowing if you're new to it: "nasty choef" isn't a product name either. It just means a Nasty-brand vape — brand plus slang, the same way you'd say "Samsung phone".
What does a choef actually cost?
This is the real question behind most searches, so here's the honest shape of it. Vapes in South Africa sit in three price tiers, and which one is right for you depends far more on how often you vape than on what you can spend today.
Cheapest to buy: a disposable
Buy it, use it, bin it. Nothing to charge on the smaller ones, nothing to fill, nothing to learn. The AirsPops ONE USE 3ml is the usual starting point and carries the widest flavour choice we stock.
It's the cheapest way to start and by some distance the most expensive way to continue, because every time one runs out you're re-buying the battery and the coil along with the liquid.
Middle: a bigger disposable or a prefilled pod system
More liquid per unit, so the cost per millilitre drops. The rechargeable ONE USE XV 15ml holds five times the 3ml. Or step up to the AirsPops XL, where you keep the battery and click in a new prefilled pod.
Cheapest to run: a refillable
Costs the most on day one and far the least thereafter. A device like the Airscream Pro LITE or Pro II, filled from a 30ml bottle of 313 AirsPops e-liquid. You replace liquid and the occasional coil, nothing else.
If you vape every day, this pays back the higher starting price quickly. The Pro II bundle includes pods and liquid so there's nothing else to work out.
Compare by millilitre, not by sticker price
The single most useful habit when working out what a choef costs. A device holding 15ml at twice the price of a 3ml one is cheaper per millilitre, not more expensive.
Puff counts on the box are a laboratory maximum and vary hugely with how you draw — millilitres don't. Work out roughly how much liquid you get through in a week, then compare options on that basis.
Live prices for everything mentioned here are in the panel below and on each product page, so you can run that sum with real numbers.
Which choef should you buy?
- Never vaped before? A ONE USE 3ml, in two or three flavours. Cheapest way to find out what you like before committing.
- Already know you'll keep going? The AirsPops XL — it takes prefilled pods now and a refillable pod later, so it survives you changing your mind.
- Vaping daily and watching the cost? A refillable, every time.
- Want nicotine without the vape at all? Nicotine pouches are smoke-free, vapour-free and completely discreet.
We break the choice down properly in choosing your first vape, and if you're coming off cigarettes, switching from smoking to vaping covers the strength question that decides whether it works.
Browse all vapesRelated guides
Nicotine is addictive and for adults only. These products are intended for adults of legal purchase age who already use nicotine. Not for sale to persons under 18.
