Carto brands (Boge, Smoktech, Ikenvape, Kanger), carto resistance (low, standard, high), dual vs single coil...are all personal preference. What I like, you may not. Vice versa. You won't know what you like or dislike until you've tried it.
The most important step in building your cartotank is how well you prime the carto initially. How well you do that will determine how that carto will perform for the rest of its life in the tank. There is no single "best" way to fill one. Condom method, drip & flip, syringe & needle injection, fiddling with the Thingy.
Whichever method works best for you is the best way.
Using the
Thingy method works to prime the carto. You'll need to take the tank out of the Thingy a few times while priming to look at the filler to see if it is beginning to get wet around the edges. You'll also see air bubbles coming out of the wick holes each time you twist the cap.
If I
drip drops from the top, I don't count the drops. Different droppers make different size drops of liquid, which can throw off your best intentions of being accurate by counting drops.
The
condom method is slow, messy, wastes juice, and requires one to put their mouth on the carto and blow out the excess juice. Yuck!
Injection method works good and is accurate per measurement from a syringe, but I don't always have a needle and syringe available.
My preferred method is the
drip & flip method, described below. I judge by direct observation of the polyfill's appearance of how well the batting is soaked. It should look like a slushy drink....glistening with e-liquid but not pooling. I place a tooth pick in the center air hole to keep unwanted juice getting in there. I use a Slap Yo Moma tank tool. This method is fast, wastes no juice, and the tank is ready to vape immediately.
BADITUDE'S CARTOTANK SETUP GUIDE
VENDOR LIST FOR PRE-PUNCHED CARTOS
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For what it's worth, I use IBTanked cartotanks. Ikenvape mega Platinum SR (2.5 ohm) punched and Ikenvape mega 510-Fusion SR (3.0 ohm) punched. Backups are Smoktech 3.0 ohm single coils double hole pre-punched. The majority of my e-liquids are in the 50/50 pg/vg ratio. I use Provari's, an MVP, and a Smoktech Mini ZMax. Voltage ranges 3.5 - 4.5, dependent upon the flavor. (Yes, I prefer a cooler vape.)