Kanthal ss or nichrome for taste

[EIHYPI]

I have been exclusively using kanthal for as long as I can remember & got used to it's taste which I like a lot. With nichrome, I tried it a while back and cannot remember the taste. Now I have to admit ss has nice flavor after trying it and the flavor is more bold from what I experienced but I can still enjoy kanthal just as much. So now that I tried a few, I figured I'll ask what material wire others prefer taste wise.

 

[Beamslider]

I stay away from Nickel and Nichrome as I am slightly allergic to nickel. I like SS in 28, 27 or 26 guage, probably 26 gauge the best as it is still malleable but stiff enough to rewick several times. I like SS the best as the flavor is better. I do like Kanthal though especially in 24 gauge.

Have tried clapton wire and didn't much care for it.

 

[ScottP]

I started off with Kanthal like most people probably did. Once I tried SS316L I haven't looked back. So count me in the SS is the best crowd. It had the added advantage of being usable in either TC or wattage mode.

 

[Ben85]

Flavour and taste is subjective. Get yourself a couple of metres of each and try them and see what you think.

 

[Bonskibon]

I only use kanthal or ss316l and don't really notice a huge difference in taste. I use ss the most because I like using TC mode.

 

[madstabber]

I use stainless steel because I like the ability to switch between temperature control and power modes. As for taste I haven’t noticed any difference between S.S. & kanthal so stainless wins based on versatility.

 

[Eskie]

Yup, like others, I find SS easier to stock and use. As easy to build as Kanthal, price pretty much the same, and good in TC or VW. That satisfies just about any criteria about those wires.

I do not view one tastes "better" than another. They all vape well, and I can't taste any difference between them. If I were in a blind taste test, I would do as well throwing darts.

 

[stols001]

Heehee, darts, what a great toy. I agree with those using SS, I mainly do it because it's easy, and can be vaped in wattage or TC mode, and as far as working with it, I found it slightly easier to coil kanthal it seems a bit less springy but it's really not enough to matter, honestly.

Anna

 

[bombastinator]

The wire type makes little difference taste wise imho. Ti and Ni are really legacy materials that came out before SS did. Neither can be dry burned without poisonous reprocussions for one thing. I personally avoid them.

 

[sonicbomb]

The wire should not impart any flavour, you don't want metal in your vapor.
SS is handy for mechanical builds as it it has a lower resistance than kanthal, and can be used in both power and TC modes.

 

[EIHYPI]

Heehee, darts, what a great toy. I agree with those using SS, I mainly do it because it's easy, and can be vaped in wattage or TC mode, and as far as working with it, I found it slightly easier to coil kanthal it seems a bit less springy but it's really not enough to matter, honestly.

Anna

I also found ss coils to be springy, much more than kanthal even with ss fused claptons. I seem to like a coil that stays in place well enough so I don't need to worry about the coil shifting when wicking. It also seems to me that it was harder to take out hot spots from ss than kanthal overall.

 

[Wraith504]

When it was primarily mech mods and we had to use bigger gauged wire to acheive low sub ohm coils SS was superior to kanthal simply because of its ease to work with malleability. I prefer SS for flavor but it has a longer ramp time than Kanthal. But kanthal is still good stuff to use and vape with. I use both. Kanthal and SS for wattage builds and Nickle for temp builds as I do not have a device that currently supports Temp control for SS.

 

[zoiDman]

I Don't Like The Taste Of Kanthal.

Ni-200 is/was Too Hard to work with.

Titanium was OK. But there was an Underlying Funkiness to it that may have been more Mental because of a Bad 1st Spool of Ti wire that I got.

NiChrome 80 was my D2D Wire Alloy for Years.

But when the SS Wire Craze hit, I tried it and Liked it. Liked it A Lot.

316/316L is Easy to Work With. Seems to be about Taste Neutral. Has a Fast Ramp-Up/Ramp-Down. And I can use it in TC Mode if I want.

 

[Paul Mohr]

I can't tell a difference between any of them honestly. Nor can I taste a difference between cotton or rayon.

I can't tell the difference between a simple single coil, dual coil or the fancy twisted/braided/clapton coils. Which is why I just use a simple single coil in all my builds.

I can tell the difference between certain tanks though.

I will be brutally honest in saying that after about an hour into my day I really can't taste much of anything anymore lol.

 

[Marc411]

I Don't Like The Taste Of Kanthal.

316/316L is Easy to Work With. Seems to be about Taste Neutral. Has a Fast Ramp-Up/Ramp-Down. And I can use it in TC Mode if I want.

Agreed, I keep some around but I can taste kanthal and happy as hell that SS is available for the same reasons you mentioned.