Well since buying my box of CC on Friday, I've wicked up two of my daily drivers and kept one in my standard setting. Here is my test group:
Left: REO grand mech and cyclone with 29 ga .055" ID micro coil at around 1.5 ohms wicked with CC. Wick was installed Saturday morning.
Center: REO 18650 woodvil (it's basically a mech with a couple of wires - it's not regulated) and chalice with 29 ga .055" ID micro coil at around 1.2 ohms wicked with KGD. Wick was installed about 5 days ago.
Right: pdib OliveR mech and chalice with 29 ga .055" ID micro coil at around 1.3 ohms wicked with CC. Wick was installed Friday night after a few different density wicks were tried.
Here are the wicked configs: CC left, CC Center, KGD right:
I will preface these ramblings stating that I have used exclusively cotton since I began RB'ing A's in early 2013. The cotton I started with and used for over a year was CVS sterile rolled USP. I switched to KGD about 2 months ago.
I did a brief (like a week) stint with Nextel Ceramic in maybe mid 2013? But could never get comfortable with the chemicals applied during the manufacturing process, the fact that it was silicate and the white dust it left on my hands. It was all PIFed to others. It also, to me produced a very wet vape.
It is also important to note that I am generally a big puss when it comes to ingesting anything known to be hazardous or thought to be even though I smoked for over 30 years
that's just my choice and I'm good with it. So are my wife and young children
So I gave up vaping any brass to the greatest possible extent and any that has to be in the juice stream (like the nipples on my feeders) are pickled to remove surface lead.
I also use exclusively feeders where I just thumb an onboard bottle and juice is delivered to my coil / wick and the excess drains out. I run very short wick tails and I feed about every hit or two. I note this because I do not rely on wicking and I am not looking for more puffs between feeds (cause I like fresh juice)
I vape exclusively unflavored nic base. These days it's 6mg in like 95% VG / 5% pg. I note this because it tastes the same regardless of wicking media to me. It is also extremely kind to your vape gear. No coil gunk or wick buildup and my wick will stay mostly uncolored for over a week. I change my wicks weekly because I get bored. Even if they lasted longer, I'd still change em cause I like stuff clean.
I have mastered wicking with cotton and have never burned a wick and using KGD I get zero cotton flavor even on the first hit. I like fairly light TH and I made my vape basically duplicate the experience of smoking Marlboro lights.
I also like stuff very simple with consistently repeatable results.
As you can see, I'm different than the average vaper
so those notes above are important because you may have completely different setups, wants, needs and tolerances.
Ok, Here's my thoughts on CC:
Ease of wicking:
I give the edge to KGD because I just snip off the width I need, twist the very tip, pull thru, trim and game on.
The CC fibers are more erratic and fly away and don't appear to be as long as KGD. Trimming a length the exact width I'm looking for will take more practice for me.
Vapor production:
Equal but slightly moister with CC.
Flavor:
I give a slight edge to CC. There is a Slightly more vibrant taste with CC. Able to taste a hint more nic.
TH:
Equal.
Wicking:
Not evaluated. See my ramblings above.
Now I wish I could tell ya about a nic coma or high or something but I vape allot and did not feel any different
Conclusion:
Both of the products used (CC and KGD) excel for my needs. I had low expectations for the CC coming in because the KGD really does all I'll ever need a wick to do. The CC is IMO at least equal to it from a performance standpoint. That is a lofty achievement. The only place KGD outshines for me is the snip and wick simplicity. Add in slightly more vibrant flavor and claimed better transport / wicking and this product (CC) could be money for allot of vapers.
Now I have to also convince myself that vaping this is not any worse for me than chemically untreated natural pure cotton. I keep my setups saturated and have never burned a wick.
CC is a much brighter white than KGD. I know absolutely nothing about the manf process or what residuals remain, but really bright white tells me chemicals were used. Residuals in the juice stream? Dunno.
Boiling would be a deal breaker for me. Homie doan boil.
So I have been and will continue to dip into this thread to educate myself on this product and continue to observe the test wicks performance against my beloved KGD
I want to thank @steam head for the nudge over here and @JeremyR (J-Ray) for running at the tip of the spear. Great work y'all
