How Long Is a Blinker Hit, and Why Does It Matter?

In vaping, the term “hitting a blinker” refers to puffing on your vape pen for so long that the device shuts off and blinks. Some people think it’s a good thing to hit a blinker as often as possible when vaping, but we think that the reality is a bit more nuanced than that because hitting blinkers too often could damage your device and may not actually give you the type of experience that you want to have. 

So, how long is a blinker hit? You’re about to learn the answer to that question. You’re also going to learn why blinker hits exist – and why this information should matter to you in the first place.

How Long Is a Blinker?

A blinker hit is typically 7-10 seconds long, but the exact length depends on what vape you’re using.

The length of a blinker hit is decided by the device’s manufacturer, so there’s no single answer here because it’s based on what’s right for that device. 

Here are the blinker lengths for some of the popular vaporizers and 510-thread batteries that we carry at Hamilton Devices.

Why Does a Vape Pen Have a Blinker?

You might be wondering why a vape pen has a blinker in the first place, and the answer is that it protects the health of the device. Virtually every vaping device in the world has a blinker timer, and you almost definitely wouldn’t want to buy a vape that didn’t have this feature. Here’s what a blinker does for you.

  • It protects the device and the attached cartridge from overheating and accidental damage. Prolonged exposure to heat can shorten a battery’s life, and repeated high-heat usage can also potentially damage the delicate internal components of a vape cartridge.
  • It ensures that if your vape pen ever fires inadvertently – because the fire button gets held down while you’re carrying the device in your purse, for instance – it’ll stop on its own.

Why Are People Interested in Blinker Hits?

If you spend any time on social media, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that blinker hits are getting a lot of attention these days. You can always count on the members of the vaping community to exploit the full potential of their devices, and that’s exactly what’s happening here.

Why are people so interested in blinker hits? The answer is that the longer the hit is, the hotter the coil in your cartridge becomes. Therefore, you get bigger clouds, and the vapor is warmer and more intense. 

On the surface, that might seem like a good thing for people who are looking for a more elevating experience. We recommend that you generally try to avoid hitting blinkers, though, because blinker hits have some serious downsides that you need to know about. We’ll talk about those next.

What Are the Drawbacks of Blinker Hits?

Although blinker hits get a lot of attention these days, we actually suggest that you treat hitting a blinker as something to avoid rather than a goal to reach. A vape pen’s puff timer exists to protect the delicate hardware, and that feature can’t really do its job if you aren’t using it as intended. Here are some reasons why consistently hitting blinkers may not actually give you the experience you’re hoping for.

  • As we explained above, repeated exposure to elevated temperatures could end up shortening the life of your vape pen or the attached cartridge. 
  • The higher operating temperatures can increase the formation of residue on your cartridge’s heating surface, causing the cartridge’s flavor quality to drop prematurely.
  • Speaking of flavor, terpenes are some of the most flavorful components of vape oils, and they can burn away if you aren’t careful about running your vape pen at a reasonable temperature. You definitely don’t want to waste the terpenes in your expensive vape oil.
  • Vape oil is very viscous and takes a while to absorb into a cartridge’s ceramic core. If you’re constantly hitting blinkers and aren’t waiting long enough for the ceramic to refresh itself, you could end up getting a very harsh dry hit.

Conclusion: Blinker Hits Should Be Avoided, Not Exploited

Not every trend that you see on social media is worth following, and we think that blinker hits definitely fall into the category of things best avoided. Hitting a blinker may give you a more intense hit, but it’s likely to be a detriment to flavor quality and could even shorten the life of your vape pen or cartridge. You want your vaping equipment to last as long as it can – and hitting blinkers every time you vape definitely isn’t the way to do that.

Besides, if you’re looking for a more elevating experience, there’s no reason why you can’t get the same result by simply taking more short hits.

If you’re finding that a single-cartridge vape pen doesn’t quite deliver the intensity you’re looking for, our revolutionary multi-cartridge vapes can provide the perfect alternative to blinker hits by allowing you to inhale from multiple cartridges at once for the most potent experience you’ve ever had. What’s even better is that they also work with wax coils, giving you the opportunity to switch between cartridges and dabs at your leisure.

Click any of the links below to learn more.

Hamilton Devices Tombstone: Works with up to two cartridges or wax coils simultaneously.