Freebase was the standard in Vapes for many years. Vaping liquids with freebase nicotine will keep your nic level up for the day. There is not a kick involved. This is different with nic salts. They behave like the nicotine in cigarettes.

Also current vapes have a much higher percentage of nicotine. When I vaped (comming from smoking), I mixed my liquids with 6 mg/ml. I think the standard today is 20 mg/ml. That is the reason, kids like them. Not the taste. You have much smaller clouds, than in the previous generations, but the high doses of nic salt give you a real nice kick.