My guess is that many of us go back and forth concerning coils and wicks. At least I do. Micro-coils, spaced coils, single/dual, fancy builds, with all the different wicking materials and various ways to wick. Uff da.
The general consensus around here seems to be that NETs taste best vaped in rebuildable drippers. While I agree with this and use both my Magmas, as well as various small-chamber bottom fed RBAs on bottom-feeders, I also appreciate clearos and tanks---Kayfuns being the industry standard, although many worthy challengers have appeared. While tanks such as the Aspire Nautilus with BVC coil heads may not be quite up to Kayfuns, Orchids, Erlkonigins, etc. in pure flavor, they sure are convenient.
Below all those are the lower-end clearos, most notably the many EVOD-style bottom-coil devices. Many of these use the ubiquitous Kanger-type coil heads that are so easily rebuilt. They're fine for dessert and fruit juices, but they just don't measure up for NETs. Since I have so many of these bottom-coil clearos (mainly the GS-series of dirt-cheap clones---H2, H3, and H5, since I never saw any real advantage in the much pricier ProTanks), the challenge for me is squeezing the best flavor and performance out of those clearos.
I played around for awhile with rebuilding Kanger heads as vertical coils. When done well, those are terrific, but the problem for me with building verticals is inconsistency. First off, a Kanger head vertical is sort of a pain to do, and it's a drag to finish one after ten minutes only to discover that the draw is unacceptably stiff or doesn't wick properly, which happens too often. Horizontal rebuilds are much easier and more consistent, but I wanted to a way to make them better.
My solution is to use a prebuilt coils/wicks from FastTech---50 for $3.50 or so, 1.5 ohm, 32-33 ga. NR-R-NR spaced coils. Yeah, they're Nichrome rather than Kanthal A-1, but who cares? I've never loved the fuss of winding coils and torching them. Too much trouble (your mileage may vary, of course). I prefer to grab a pre-built coil, strip out the silica wicks, and use Rayon instead. Boy oh boy, Rayon makes all the difference in the world! I can rebuild a Kanger EVOD horizontal coil head with a Rayon wick in about two minutes, slap it on a Twist or Vision Spinner clone battery, and the flavor and vapor production are 80-90% of the high-end devices. While I continue to use my Nautilus tanks, Kayfuns, Magmas, and other top-line RBAs/RTAs, I actually like vaping my homemade NETs on an H2 or H5 clearo that cost me less than two bucks and a mere 5¢ to re-coil.
I don't bother to dry-burn them or change out the wicks. Instead, I just build a brand-new head every week. Sometimes I rebuild Kanger heads whether or not they need it, just because I enjoy that two-minute rebuild. Man, there's nothing like a new coil with a fresh rayon wick to make me happy!
We've come a long way over the past couple of years. Homemade NETs and rebuildable atties have upped our game big-time. If the DNA-40 temperature regulation does indeed revolutionize vaping the way some people feel it will, that's all to the good. Concerns about prohibitive legislation and health issues notwithstanding, vaping has already raced forward from its infancy into its adolescence, and I for one am a very happy vaper.