Favourite wicking material? Which one and why?

[Waxxiii]

I'm curious. What do you use to wick your rta's and drippers and why do you prefer it?

I've only been rebuilding for a month or so and have stuck to rayon following some suggestions on here from users I trust to know what they are talking about, but as with a lot of vape related things, I'm sure preferred wicking material is subjective.

It will be interesting to hear what people think.

 

[Headinthecloud]

I still use cotton. After reading a bit on here though I'm very curious about rayon. I've got some coming with an order I placed online for a drip tip. They threw it in for free, so I'll get to test it out pretty soon.

 

[B2L]

I've tried to like rayon but just can't. KGD cotton provides great wicking, doesn't give me any off flavor and is extremely easy to use.

 

[ckquatt]

Love me some KGD cotton! I've tried it all in my 2+ years of vaping. Silica, yarn, rayon, Ready X, cotton balls etc. KGD is the best for me! No break in, easy to use, and a box will last forever!


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[OhTheAgony]

I am curious about rayon but it also scares me a little bit. Maybe I just don't trust myself with it, idk.

I haven't used anything but Native Wicks cotton since I started rebuilding and frankly I have no reason to try anything else, I really like this stuff for ease of use, longevity and flavor.

 

[sofarsogood]

I'm curious. What do you use to wick your RTA's and drippers and why do you prefer it?

I've only been rebuilding for a month or so and have stuck to rayon following some suggestions on here from users I trust to know what they are talking about, but as with a lot of vape related things, I'm sure preferred wicking material is subjective.

It will be interesting to hear what people think.

I bought this organic Japanese cotton a year ago.
http://www.amazon.com/Organic-cotto...r=8-1&keywords=japanese+organic+cotton+vaping
There are 100 pads. Each pad lasts me at least several weeks so the bag should last 3-5 years. I like it, it's fine. When I run out in 2018 or 19 I'll probably buy another bag.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

I use Sally Salon Coil Cotton. Under $4 for a 40 ft aligned fiber "rope". Vapes great and will last me a few years.

 

[sonicbomb]

Japanese cotton, because I'm conservative in my ways.

 

[Vaslovik]

Mesh. It's done everything I've ever asked of it, wicks last more than a month.

 

[Nikea Tiber]

I started with Japanese cotton. I switched to rayon for all my rda's a few months into rebuilding and never went back to cotton, as long as your hands are meticulously clean when you build there isn't any added flavor. Rayon certainly wicks very rapidly.
A few weeks ago I started running solid rolled stainless steel mesh wicks in my rda's that can run a vertical coil. I still like rayon, but I feel like mesh might be the promised land.
I've used silica as well; it is a pretty good wicking material provided it fits tightly in the coil and you pre-torch it to glowing orange to ensure any oils are burnt off.
Both silica and mesh have the advantage of being able to vape the well on your RDA dry, then dry burn any gunk off of your coils and wick without removing the wick.

 

[Sloth Tonight]

First of all, try cotton. Just try it out. Here's why I say that - I vaped for over 1.5 years and never tried anything other than cotton. I FINALLY tried Rayon that a kind member sent to me, and, well, I'll never use cotton again - BUT - as you see from the mixed replies, it is more than worth experimenting to see what YOU prefer.

I prefer rayon because
-no off taste. People who get an off taste don't wick it correctly. That's not an insult, just the truth...(same is true of cotton, actually, so... this isn't a pro over cotton...if you taste cotton...you wicked it wrong, sorry, try again)
-greatly extended wick life over cotton, leaps and bounds.
-WAY better flavor, YMMV, for me it was enough of a difference to promptly change my screen name to "Rayonati" Sloth...
-I also think it is easier to wick it correctly than cotton, BUT, both wicking materials have a learning curve. And IMO most people (say, in youtube videos) use too much cotton, so there's that...
-All wicking material is inexpensive, but rayon is extremely cheap. That's NOT a reason for me to prefer rayon when KGD costs very little as well. But, it's a pro, since I prefer rayon anyway.
-NOTHING is conclusive with safety. But in my opinion based on what is known rayon is clearly a safer wicking material.

There's actually not a single reason that I'd consider cotton better than rayon. Rayon is superior in every single way, TO ME. But you'll see people say the exact opposite, my friend. So, try cotton. Specifically Koh Gen Do is what *I* used and found it superior to all that "made for vaping" crap. But, a lot of people prefer, say, Native Wicks...

Be it wire, wick, juice, high PG or high VG, ohms, or any aspect of vaping - YMMV, so it's worth experimenting

ETA I shouldn't have said that all wicking material is inexpensive...that may not be true when you get into "specialty" wicking materials like Native, unsure.

One more ETA bro, if you're interested, PM me. I'd be happy to send you some KGD pads to try out in an envelope

 

[PisangLaut]

I always using japanese cotton on all my dripper, especially a dripper intended for lung-hits, easy to cut easy to wick. For RTA I use rayon, last longer and provides me with a great TH than japanese cotton.

 

[zoiDman]

Muji Cotton Pads.

 

[petrotech]

Plain ole' cotton balls from the drug store...not even the organic kind.

I hope I don't die.

 

[TheBMP]

dm rayon balls. Tried it cause of the big thread in here and damn that stuff is just so much better and cheaper then any cotton i had before.
I paid 0.95€ for a bag that after 4 months i didnt even use 10% of. On my 2nd built in my Bellus i ran over 250ml through it before i changed it more out of boredom then needing to do it. no cotton build ever got even half as far.

Yeah if you put too much in there you will have some off taste at the start but same goes for cotton. But outside of that it just wicks faster and tastes cleaner then any cotton i had.

Also seems much harder to burn then cotton. Just today i switched my Tsunami from a SS temp controlled built to a kanthal clapton built and i had some serious dry hits that im sure wouldve destroyed cotton but the rayon still is perfectly white.

 

[Headinthecloud]

I was curious about rayon so I tried it. It tasted like crap!! So I read the thread on here again, rewicked, and still tasted like crap. Pulled it out, put less in, still gross. Pulled it out, put more in, yep, still nasty!

I tried it in the theorem RTA and it didn't wick very well. Like it was too slow to wick it up. Which led to it burning through the wick within a few minutes. At 25 watts, no less.

So, even after 6 attempts at wicking rayon, I still prefer cotton over all other materials and I've tried 'em all. Rayon has the oddest taste to it and I don't get that with cotton.

Perhaps it was not good rayon? Perhaps I did it wrong. But I think I'll stick with cotton. It's easy and always tastes clean to me. I don't like regular cotton, so yes, I do buy into the hype with the "made for vaping" cotton. I've had good luck with Juicy Wicks and Cotton Bacon. maybe I'm paying too much for this specialty cotton stuff, but it works for me. And I have learned that every aspect of vaping is very, very subjective, so ymmv.

 

[KenD]

Japanese organic cotton (muji) for me. To a large part due to the ease of use, but I'd use rayon if it had done anything for me. I refuse to buy any "made for vaping" (aka bs) wicking material for ridiculous prices.

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[Robert Cromwell]

I always using japanese cotton on all my dripper, especially a dripper intended for lung-hits, easy to cut easy to wick. For RTA I use rayon, last longer and provides me with a great TH than japanese cotton.

A few of us do not like TH.

 

[Nikea Tiber]

I was curious about rayon so I tried it. It tasted like crap!! So I read the thread on here again, rewicked, and still tasted like crap. Pulled it out, put less in, still gross. Pulled it out, put more in, yep, still nasty!

I tried it in the theorem RTA and it didn't wick very well. Like it was too slow to wick it up. Which led to it burning through the wick within a few minutes. At 25 watts, no less.

So, even after 6 attempts at wicking rayon, I still prefer cotton over all other materials and I've tried 'em all. Rayon has the oddest taste to it and I don't get that with cotton.

Perhaps it was not good rayon? Perhaps I did it wrong. But I think I'll stick with cotton. It's easy and always tastes clean to me. I don't like regular cotton, so yes, I do buy into the hype with the "made for vaping" cotton. I've had good luck with Juicy Wicks and Cotton Bacon. maybe I'm paying too much for this specialty cotton stuff, but it works for me. And I have learned that every aspect of vaping is very, very subjective, so ymmv.

Try washing your hands better and dry burn your coil prior to wick installation. You might want to use vinyl exam gloves when you wick your atomizer, as rayon wicks very very well and tends to strip oils off of your fingers, which is likely the source of your off flavors.
How long did you you vape on the atomizers you wicked using rayon? In my experience, the off flavor goes away after 2-3ml of juice (at most).
It sounds like the issue you had with your Theorem was you didn't use enough wick. Rayon is very resistant to burning provided there is enough of it to maintain its density after a few firing cycles. If there isn't enough rayon in your coil it will collapse and slowly start to singe away.

Use more than you would think is possible and keep your wick free of contaminants, you will have better results with rayon.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

yep clean hands while wicking give you a much cleaner tasting vape.
Skin oil and such vapes bad.