Your favourite wicking material

[AngeNZ]

I've tried a few of the premium cottons and tried/use rayon. Love to know what everyone else prefers and why

Tried: (using mtl 15w doggystyle rta)

Native wicks platinum blend - quick absorption, pure flavour, no cotton taste. Wicks last 2x longer than cotton pads

Kendo Gold - fluffy as hell, slow absorbtion, needs pulsing and poking to wet the wick. Once primed - pure flavour, wicks last 2x longer than cotton pads. Love this stuff

Rayon: quick absorption, needs pulsing and priming to remove 'popcorn' taste. Once primed - pure flavour. Wicks last 2-3x longer than cotton' pads.

Currently I use rayon and kendo gold

 

[Shadav]

don't know about favorite but muji cotton 180 pads and I only use about 1/3 of each pad so I'm set for life on wicks and for $6 really can't beat it

 

[Letitia]

KGD for sheer ease of use
COTN threads for stupid easy and fast, wicks beautifully with higher vg
Rayon for troublesome juices or rtas
Native platinum when it's closer to hand

All are good but prefer COTN or KGD overall.

 

[suprtrkr]

I use the One True Wick Material™: rayon.

 

[Letitia]

One of these days I'm going to bite the bullet and try the ready x (?). Think highly of Drago Egyptian Cotton but its a pita on a good day. Actually worth the trouble, lasts a good while and loves any juice. Superb for high wattage in an rda build.

 

[Jebbn]

Right now im trialling different cotton/hemp blends from different companies. I seem to be liking it okay but still have some to try.
Rayon is okay. I don't know why exactly but I seem to prefer cotton and cotton/hemp blends to rayon.
I use mainly unflavored juice so I thought rayon might be where I ended up with wicking based on everything I read about others experience but it hasn't worked out that way.
I still havnt settled on an absolute preference yet but I do know some brands of cotton I don't really like unless I usie a bit of flavour to mask the taste of the cotton.

 

[bombastinator]

I haven’t tried rayon yet, but I honestly can’t tell the difference between a premium cotton and a drug store cotton ball, at least after two puffs. My wallet can though. I’ve got a big bag of Japanese cotton pads I’ve slowly been going through, but considering it’s size it’s probably going to take me a couple of years. They are a bit handier because it’s sort of pre measured and it’s easy to peel off a layer to make a given wick thinner by a known amount. That’s the only real advantage I see in it though.

 

[Letitia]

KGD just works. Wicks any juice ratio well and so convenient/easy to use whether you Scottish roll or don't. I always end up going back to it.

 

[smacuser]

I've only used Studio 35 Organic Cotton at Walgreens.

 

[Fredman1]

I've been all over the brand name cotton circuit. Honestly can't say the one is better than the other...then again, after 40 years of smoking, I don't think I qualify to give an opinion on taste.
Lately I use Native Wicks...only because its the closest to get to atm

 

[Don29palms]

Dryer lint is the best wicking material of all. Super absorbent and depending on what softener you use the enhanced flavor is spectacular.

 

[Jebbn]

Dryer lint is the best wicking material of all. Super absorbent and depending on what softener you use the enhanced flavor is spectacular.

Very informative. Useful information. Thanks.
How about bellybutton lint? Yay or nay?

 

[Chuck64]

I've been all over the brand name cotton circuit. Honestly can't say the one is better than the other...then again, after 40 years of smoking, I don't think I qualify to give an opinion on taste.
Lately I use Native Wicks...only because its the closest to get to atm

I just looked that up. Cool.

 

[Don29palms]

Very informative. Useful information. Thanks.
How about bellybutton lint? Yay or nay?

It would work but the flavor would be horrendous.

 

[MacTechVpr]

It would work but the flavor would be horrendous.

Oh I dunno Don…you might get an argument from some on its superior permeability.

Good luck.

 

[DaveP]

The limiting factor with wicking is coils crusting over. I think a rayon wick could last a long time if it weren't for coil maintenance needs. Cotton, not so much. The little bit of scum that accumulates on Rayon washes out easily under the tap because the fibers are straight vs cotton. In my experience, Cotton, with its twisted tubular construction isn't so easy to wash and re-use.

I just throw both away and make a new wick when the time comes. I dry burn or replace the coil. The wick goes in the trash. Yeah, dry burning a coil isn't cool these days according to those who study metal and what happens when you heat it. I'm replacing coils because of that more now than ever.

Comparing and contrasting different fibers

RAYON is made from wood. The fibers are smooth and glass-like rods, which is easily stretchable. Rayon doesn't wrinkle, is soft and absorbent.

COTTON is derived from a cotton plant. The fibers appear as flat ribbons under the microscope that are slightly twisted. The fabric that cotton produces is soft, absorbs water, and wrinkles easily. Cotton is a fabric that is light and cool.

 

[Baditude]

I use Rayon if using a rebuildable atomizer. It seems to last longer than cotton, doesn't have that "new cotton" taste, and doesn't seem to burn like cotton can. By that I mean old cotton can look singed inside the coil when the wick is removed, while rayon never does. Cotton seems to shrink in volume as it ages, rayon not so much.

What I've used is ordinary organic cotton balls and cotton bacon. I've not tried the other forms of cotton.

Hypothetically, I would think that if most of the fibers run in the same direction that the e-liquid would flow/absorb more readily.

 

[leftee]

I use puff by cottonlabo (Japanese organic cotton) squares and I use rayon as well. I use the puff squares in my drippers because due to much easier access to the wicks and RDA is my preferred way to vape at home, I'll have a tendency to wick it more often, and since cotton doesn't last me as long as rayon well there's that.

I use rayon in my rtas because it lasts longer, and because of the way a tank, for me, is more used when I'm out and about, I have more of a tendency to not mess with it as much as the drippers I use, more of a fill it, grab and go type deal.

Personally I feel like the rayon edges the cotton out, once you use it for a bit and get the technique down, it's an excellent wicking material. I just already had alot of the cotton squares to totally knock it out of the wick rotation.

 

[Pokeroo]

I'm so glad you posted this thread. Now that I've been off smokes for a few months and my sense of taste is coming back, I'm noticing the new cotton taste when I first rewick or rebuild, and not really liking it much. So I was telling myself to start looking into other wicking materials.

I've mostly been using cotton bacon, occasionally japanese organic cotton.

 

[CMD-Ky]

I have two favorites, each used in a different atomizer, Ready-X-Wick and Rayon.