I read the product specs and the degradation was in a controlled temperature test at 1472 degrees! I don't think a dry burn when the readyxwick is still wrapped in wire will ever, ever, ever reach those temps. I say the safety factor is most promising.
If the coil is glowing red, then the surface temp of the wire is in the range of degradation. Whether that will have a meaningful impact is definitely up for debate. However, 3M did not express any concerns over any component in Kanthal. Hence, why I said you might want to skip the nichrome.
Next, they really need to update their site (ready-x-wick). I wasted many hours researching crystalline silica. Only to finally notice on their msds that ready-x-wick is actually aluminoborosilicate (ABS because I am lazy). HUGE, HUGE, HUGE, difference between the two!!! The jury is still out on ABS (meaning no negative reports that I could find, and no OSHA regulations on dust), but it has not shown to be a concern like crystalline silica. 3M has done testing and found it to relatively benign. Page 2 Link:
http://www.thermostatic.com/nextel/files/notebook.pdf
"The potential
for Nextel 312 Ceramic Fiber dust to cause biological
effects was evaluated in an intratracheal instillation
study in rats. Intratracheal instillation delivers test
materials directly to the lower respiratory tract and thus
bypasses the processes by which fibers and dust are
normally filtered out in the upper airways when they are
inhaled. In this study, Nextel 312 Ceramic Fiber dust
caused lung inflammation with no evidence of more
serious effects such as granulomas or fibrosis. A control
group similarly exposed to quartz dust developed lung
granulomas and fibrosis. From this study it was
concluded that thepotential for Nextel 312 Ceramic Fiber
dust to cause pulmonary fibrosis or other significant lung
injury is minimal"
So to degrade nextel you need molten metal, whether that's the wire you make your coils from, or the metal your atty is made from?
I vape some low Ohm coils, but i never got close to melting anything and when you consider the point at which PG and VG boil that's no surprise.
T
No, Nextel will degrade some at very high temperatures or in the presence of transition metals and a few other substances at lower oxidation enviroments/temperatures. Nickel is one such metal and dry burning can be at that temp when the coil is glowing bright or you torch it. Most likely it is not a huge concern, and probably the worst case scenerio is very trace offgassing and premature wear of your coil. However, why take a chance, especially when Kanthal is such a good choice?