11 products

Shortfills E-liquid

For anyone vaping through a sub-ohm tank or a higher-wattage mod, the humble 10ml bottle simply doesn't cut it. Shortfill E-liquids UK stock at Vape Portal is built around exactly that problem: bigger bottles, thicker VG-led blends, and enough headroom left in each one to mix in your own nicotine rather than being stuck with whatever strength a smaller bottle happened to come in.

Our shortfill collection is arranged the way most sub-ohm vapers actually shop: by VG ratio first, then flavour, so you're not scrolling past dozens of nic salts and pod-friendly bottles to find something that'll actually perform properly in a tank built for clouds.

What a Shortfill Actually Is, and Why the Format Exists

A shortfill is a bottle of nicotine-free e-liquid sold deliberately under-filled; a 60 ml bottle might only contain 50 ml of liquid, leaving exactly enough space to add a 10 ml nicotine shot and bring the whole thing up to your preferred strength. It's a workaround for UK rules that cap any nicotine-containing bottle at 10ml, and it's how sub-ohm vapers end up with 50ml, 100ml or even 200ml of e-liquid rather than constantly restocking tiny bottles.

Because the bottle arrives at 0 mg, you're in full control of the final nicotine strength. Add one shot to a 50 ml bottle, and you land around 3 mg; skip the shot entirely, and you've got a nicotine-free vape, which plenty of long-term vapers eventually settle on once they've stepped their strength right down.

50/50 Shortfills vs High VG Shortfills: Picking the Right One

50/50 Shortfills keep the VG and PG in balance, which makes them the better fit for lower-powered pod kits and MTL devices that can't wick a thicker liquid properly. They're less common than the high-VG side of the market but worth seeking out specifically if your device runs a tighter, more restricted draw.

High-VG shortfills, usually mixed at 70/30 or 80/20 in favour of VG, are what most people actually mean when they say "short fill". That thicker base is what produces the dense, rolling vapour of sub-ohm tanks, and box mods are built around it, and it's genuinely the wrong choice for a standard MTL pod; a high-VG liquid struggles to wick through a small coil and tends to end up tasting burnt rather than smooth.

Matching a Shortfill to Your Device

  • Sub-ohm tanks and box mods (40W and above): high VG shortfills, no real alternative
  • Adjustable pod mods run above roughly 25–30 W: high VG shortfills once you're past standard pod wattages
  • Standard MTL pod kits and vape pens: stick to nic salts or 50/50 e-liquid instead; a high VG shortfill will underperform badly here
  • Lower-powered pod kits built for a looser draw: 50/50 short fills, where available, work reasonably well

UK TPD Rules and Nicotine Shortfills

Nicotine Shortfills aren't actually sold with nicotine in them at all; the "nicotine" part of the name refers to the shots sold separately to bring a 0 mg bottle up to strength. This is precisely why shortfills exist in bottle sizes well beyond the 10ml cap that applies to anything pre-mixed with nicotine: since the bottle itself is nicotine-free, it falls outside that limit, and you add your own nic shot afterwards to bring the finished mix back within the legal 20mg strength ceiling.

Every shortfill and nic shot sold through Vape Portal UK is manufactured and labelled in line with UK TPD requirements, with clear guidance on the standard mixing ratios so working out your finished strength doesn't need any guesswork.

How to Actually Mix a Shortfill Correctly

Most shortfill bottles are sized to take either one or two 10 ml nic shots exactly, so there's rarely any real maths involved:

  • 50 ml bottle + one 10 ml shot of 18 mg nicotine = 60 ml at roughly 3 mg
  • 100 ml bottle + two 10 ml shots of 18 mg nicotine = 120 ml at roughly 3 mg
  • Skipping the nic shot entirely leaves you with a 0mg, nicotine-free shortfill.

Once you've added a shot, give the bottle a proper shake and leave it a few minutes before vaping; the nicotine needs a moment to blend in fully, and flavour can shift slightly once it does. If you want a stronger finished mix than roughly 3 mg, using two shots in a 50 ml bottle (going over the marked headroom) will push the strength higher, though it's worth checking a mixing calculator if you want a specific number rather than a rough estimate.

Explore Our Shortfill Flavours

Our Shortfill Flavours collection spans a few broad categories that cover most of what sub-ohm vapers reach for:

Fruit and fruit-ice shortfills are the biggest category by far, running from clean single-note fruits through to layered combinations like mango raspberry or blue slush, usually finished with an icy edge for extra freshness.

Dessert and bakery shortfills lean into custards, cakes and creamy blends and tend to perform particularly well at high VG since the flavourings involved generally need more vapour behind them to come through properly.

Menthol and ice shortfills range from a clean, simple mint through to sharp, layered "arctic" blends stacked on top of fruit and remain one of the most consistently popular categories across every brand we stock.

Bar-style shortfills are the newest addition to the category, taking the bold, punchy flavour profiles that made disposables popular and scaling them up into 50 ml and 100 ml bottles, so anyone who liked a specific bar flavour can keep vaping it through a sub-ohm setup instead.

Tobacco and drink-inspired shortfills round things out, covering everything from a classic tobacco base to cola, energy drink and cocktail-style profiles for anyone who wants something a little different from straight fruit or menthol.

Brands Behind Our Shortfill Range

Double Drip

Double Drip brings the same sweet-shop, dessert-led flavour identity from its 10 ml nic salts into 50 ml and 100 ml "Coil Sauce" short fills, mixed at a proper high-VG ratio for sub-ohm setups. Cherry Bakewell and Raspberry Sherbet remain two of its most consistent sellers in this format.

Bar Salts

Bar Salts has moved beyond its original 10 ml nic salt roots into 100 ml short fills too, scaling up the same double-concentrated flavour profiles for anyone running a sub-ohm tank rather than a pod kit. If you liked a Bar Salts nic salt but wanted more of it in one bottle, this is the format to look for.

Vampire Vape

Vampire Vape's shortfill range takes some of the brand's longest-running 10ml flavours, including its award-winning fruit and menthol blends, and scales them up to 70/30 in 100ml bottles, giving fans of the smaller bottles an easy way to buy in bulk for a bigger tank.

Big Drip

Big Drip, part of the Doozy Vape stable, focuses on bold fruit and fruit-ice profiles in 100ml bottles with room for two nic shots, mixed at 70% VG for genuinely dense cloud production. Mango Magic and Blue Raspberry are among its better-known flavours.

Nicohit Ice

Nicohit Ice takes a similar icy-fruit approach under its own name, with a 70/30 VG/PG blend across flavours like Blue Slush and Mango, each finished with the sharp, cooling edge the range is built around. Nicohit also runs dessert and standard 50/50 lines alongside it, so it's worth checking which specific Nicohit range a flavour belongs to before buying.

Shortfill Prices at Vape Portal UK

Buying a shortfill is one of the simplest ways to bring the day-to-day cost of vaping down, since a single 100ml bottle works out considerably cheaper per millilitre than the equivalent volume in small 10ml bottles. Add a nic shot for a few pence more, and you've got a full-strength, sub-ohm-ready e-liquid for a fraction of what buying in smaller formats would cost. At Vape Portal UK, we keep pricing across the whole shortfill range competitive, whichever size or VG ratio you're after.

Why Choose Vape Portal for Shortfills?

With our shortfill collection, you get:

  • 50ml, 100ml and 120ml shortfills from trusted UK brands
  • Both 50/50 and high VG formats, genuinely stocked side by side
  • 100% genuine, TPD-compliant e-liquids and nic shots
  • Competitive, affordable prices with regular multi-buy deals
  • A wide flavour selection across fruit, dessert, menthol and bar-style profiles
  • Fast UK delivery
  • Clear labelling on VG/PG ratio and mixing guidance
  • Products intended for adult customers aged 18 and over

Explore the Full Shortfill Range at Vape Portal UK

From high VG bottles built for serious cloud production to the smaller pool of 50/50 shortfills for lower-powered setups, our shortfill collection is built to cover every sub-ohm vaper's tank. Browse the full range at Vape Portal UK to find genuine, TPD-compliant shortfills and nic shots at a fair price, with fast delivery across the UK.

Shortfills and nicotine shots are intended for adults aged 18 and over. Nicotine is addictive. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions and applicable UK regulations, and store e-liquids and nic shots securely out of reach of children and pets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Generally not a high-VG one; most pod kits use small, high-resistance coils that struggle to wick a thick, 70/30 or 80/20 liquid properly, which usually ends up tasting burnt. If your pod kit runs a lower-resistance, sub-ohm-style coil, a shortfill can work; otherwise, stick with a nic salt or 50/50 e-liquid instead.

No. Shortfills work perfectly well with no nicotine added at all, which is exactly what a lot of long-term vapers who've stepped their strength down to zero end up using. The nic shot is entirely optional, and there is no pure nicotine in the finished mix.

It depends on the bottle size and your target strength, but as a rough guide, one 10ml shot of 18mg nicotine added to a 50ml shortfill brings the finished 60ml mix to roughly 3mg. Most bottles are sized to leave exactly the right amount of headroom for the standard one- or two-shot mix, so you rarely need to measure anything separately.

Adding liquid dilutes the flavour slightly, since you're increasing the overall volume without adding any more flavouring. It's usually only a mild difference, but if you find it too subtle, some vapers add a small amount of extra flavour concentrate rather than a plain nic shot, provided the brand supports it.

Yes, as long as they're a similar VG/PG ratio, combining two 70/30 shortfills tends to work fine, while mixing a high VG shortfill with a 50/50 one can throw off how well the finished blend wicks in your tank. It's a common way to create your own combinations once you've found a couple of flavours you like.

That's simply the higher VG content doing its job. VG is a thicker, more viscous ingredient than PG, and high VG shortfills lean heavily toward it to produce the dense vapour sub-ohm tanks are designed for. It's meant to be thicker; if it feels too heavy for your setup, your device likely isn't suited to a high VG liquid in the first place.

Most shortfills are fine for around a year after opening if stored upright somewhere cool and dark, though flavour intensity does start to fade a bit before that if a bottle's left somewhere warm or in direct light. Once a nic shot's been added, it's worth using the bottle within a few months for the best flavour and nicotine consistency.

Yes, provided you're using a genuine nic shot alongside a nicotine-free shortfill designed to take one and following the mixing ratio on the packaging. The bottles are designed with exactly this process in mind, with clear headroom built in and childproof caps throughout.

A shortfill leaves room for the nicotine shot within the final bottle, while a longfill is sold at a larger nicotine-free volume without that same built-in headroom, generally aimed at vapers who prefer to measure and mix their own ratios more precisely. Shortfills are by far the more common and straightforward option for most sub-ohm vapers.

It really comes down to flavour preference more than anything else. Double Drip and Vampire Vape both cover a broad, reliable spread across fruit, dessert and menthol; Big Drip and Seriously Fruity lean into bold fruit and fruit-ice; Seriously Soda and Nicohit Ice suit anyone after drink-inspired or icy profiles; and Bar Salts is worth a look if you want an improved flavour intensity in a bigger bottle.