Had a rough morning.

[Dale Freed]

It was a rough night last night and I didn't get to sleep until around 3am. So when I woke up this morning at 6am and couldn't find my charger this told me what a kind of day I was going to have.

I got all my vaping equipment together, mostly juices a couple of spare batteries and my mods. I wasn't thinking about it at the moment but I also needed my wicking supplies. I got to work found my charger sitting next to my desk (thank God).

I sat down at my desk and as always I had about 45 minutes to sit around until I got moving, so I decided to wick my atty's. No kit. "*%^$(()@&" I said to myself. I had been running some sort of juice yesterday and it has cinnamon in it so it HAD to be changed.

Wait a minute... Cotton balls at Walgreens next door... let's try that. Hey WOW they have Organic Cotton balls there. Even better. I stretched out a cotton ball and found that I could probably wick my 3 atty's on one cotton ball. And did. With some left over, probably 2 more.

Now, the reason for this story. Why do I go to the vape shop and pay $7 on cotton bacon or $9 on Japanese Organic cotton, when I can pick up a bag of 80 ct Organic Cotton balls from Walgreens for $4.45 and it actually wicks better than anything that I have tried so far?

Anybody's idea on this one?

 

[73neb]

The walgreens cotton balls seem to have a funky taste that takes a few ml's to go away. Iv'e bought two boxes of Ko Gen Doh ,60 pads each box for $12/box that will last at least a couple years from I think it is dermstore.com. No reason to pay the ridiculous markups at the vape shops. I've tried a sample of cotton bacon, and it is a good wick, I just can't justify the expense when the KGD is much more affordable. I also had my girlfriend ask for a sample of Shisheido at a mall department store and they gave her like 30 pads for free. The walgreens stuff is a good deal as long as you don't mind the lengthy break-in.

 

[Dale Freed]

Nah.. Ran it through 2 hot vapes and the flavor was gone. At least out of the Twisted Messes atty I have. Really didn't get that much of a bad taste, it just tasted a little off, like it was missing something.

 

[edyle]

.....
Now, the reason for this story. Why do I go to the vape shop and pay $7 on cotton bacon or $9 on Japanese Organic cotton, when I can pick up a bag of 80 ct Organic Cotton balls from Walgreens for $4.45 and it actually wicks better than anything that I have tried so far?

Anybody's idea on this one?

when i need some more cotton, i put 4 balls in a kitchen strainer, and pour hot water through them to rinse them out; then leave them to dry a couple days;

 

[Katya]

Now, the reason for this story. Why do I go to the vape shop and pay $7 on cotton bacon or $9 on Japanese Organic cotton, when I can pick up a bag of 80 ct Organic Cotton balls from Walgreens for $4.45 and it actually wicks better than anything that I have tried so far?

If they work better for you, use them. There's no reason to buy Japanese OC if you prefer cotton balls from Walgreens.

 

[sos2001]

The only real "rules" in vaping is use your equipment safely and make sure your juice is safe...after that, it's whatever satisfies you.

 

[Pearl B]

The guy at my local vape shop said he uses just cotton balls. Swears they are as good as anything out there. Think I will give them a try. Thank You for this thread!

 

[MrDripper]

I agree with @sos2001, if you like it, Vape On!
Personally, I hate the taste of cotton balls so I use Cotton Bacon exclusively. It's 8 bucks a pack and can make around 150-200 wicks. 0 taste and long lasting.
Now, anyone who knows me, I am the exception to every rule. I change my wicking almost daily. I change my coils based on my mood, lol...That's actually not a joke. I've changed coils 5-6 times a day on occasion.
At any rate, I hope they continue to work out for you. If you find yourself with the means and capability, give Cotton Bacon a try.
Vape On, my friend!

 

[Dale Freed]

I actually use cotton bacon regularly. But in a pinch I have used paper towels, too. Yes paper towels. If it works. I just found it surprising that I haven't seen anyone bring up cotton balls as an alternative. Even more surprisingly, that it took me almost 6 months to come up with. My bad.

 

[edyle]

if i had a vape store i could go to i definitely wouldn't buy cotton wick from them; i'd buy silica wick, sure;

for me the main issue for using cotton, is availability

 

[RipCigs]

Lots of people use cotton balls. I've used non bleached cotton pads before i tried KGD I bought my first KGD from a vape shop and i've been using 5 pads for about 6 months. To me they last for a very long time. On the other hand shops like FT have Muji cotton (60x50 10 pack) for under 3$, and KGD (80x60 6 pack) for 2.6$. I'd basically buy a pack from the shop if i'm out, and it will last until the FT order comes. It's really no expense, it lasts for a long time and i personally prefer KGD

 

[classwife]

Moved to Wick and Wire from Travel and E-cig

 

[AndriaD]

It was a rough night last night and I didn't get to sleep until around 3am. So when I woke up this morning at 6am and couldn't find my charger this told me what a kind of day I was going to have.

I got all my vaping equipment together, mostly juices a couple of spare batteries and my mods. I wasn't thinking about it at the moment but I also needed my wicking supplies. I got to work found my charger sitting next to my desk (thank God).

I sat down at my desk and as always I had about 45 minutes to sit around until I got moving, so I decided to wick my atty's. No kit. "*%^$(()@&" I said to myself. I had been running some sort of juice yesterday and it has cinnamon in it so it HAD to be changed.

Wait a minute... Cotton balls at Walgreens next door... let's try that. Hey WOW they have Organic Cotton balls there. Even better. I stretched out a cotton ball and found that I could probably wick my 3 atty's on one cotton ball. And did. With some left over, probably 2 more.

Now, the reason for this story. Why do I go to the vape shop and pay $7 on cotton bacon or $9 on Japanese Organic cotton, when I can pick up a bag of 80 ct Organic Cotton balls from Walgreens for $4.45 and it actually wicks better than anything that I have tried so far?

Anybody's idea on this one?

I personally don't find one bit of diff in the *taste* of organic cotton balls vs. japanese organic cotton... but I do find a difference in the speed of wicking, and ease of use. My juice is thin, so the speed of wicking is kinda irrelevant to me, but the ease of use... to me, that's worth the $9 or whatever for Shiseido cotton pads.

It's really just a matter of personal preference, I think -- organic cotton provides the cleanest taste, IMO, regardless of its source.

Andria

 

[wheelie]

I used cotton balls out of a glass jar in the bathroom for 3 months. They had a horrible taste but I did not know the difference. Then wife asked where they all went. So I went to Walmart and bought a bag of organic cotton balls which are way better with no after taste. I hid the bag in my bottom drawer so wife could not steal them. Would likely still be using them except my local vape store gave me two bags of cotton bacon to test when he got it in many months ago. I use a lot of Rayon and cotton pads as well. If it works for you, go for it. CHEERS!

 

[CShaver]

To me, cotton balls (even the organic stuff) tastes like sucking on a wet t-shirt for quite a while before it's broken in. I used organic cotton balls from Walgreens for roughly a year when I first started rebuilding. Now, it's only Japanese cotton for me. I bought 2 boxes of Koh Gen Do pads over a year ago, and I just opened the 2nd box last month. I had assumed I would be going through it more often, but even changing wicks/coils every 2 days like clockwork, I have made them last. Paid 24$ for cotton and it'll last me 2 years. I would try rayon, with that gigantic box that would last me 10 years, but apparently the fumes are toxic if it gets burned. And the amount of dry hits I get because of forgetting to drip, will end up killing me

 

[Pearl B]

I got some cotton balls from dollar General. All it says is pure cotton, jumbo. I can't tell the difference between them and cotton bacon. They look and taste the same to me. I'm starting to think that's what cotton bacon is made of, they pull apart and look exactly the same!