there are a lot of videos on You Tube about the flat pads, it will be older vids but will explain different methods of use, look at many, not one will tell it all, good luck !!
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If I remember correctly you have some vision problems. Cotton pads make it hard for me to see the grain and my eyesight is decent. If you like I can send you 2-4 of the COTN Threads to try them. They will fit in a regular envelope pretty easy.
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Me too. The ‘pull test’ will sort that grain thing right out for you.
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I get the 60 * 80 Koh Jen Do pads. Fibers run the long way and my old eyes don’t have to see the grain 
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@Vaporraven I cannot stress enough what @Letitia just said. I’m not 100% sure I’m understanding about what you meant regarding the cotton falling apart, but the grain must run lengthwise to your strips of cotton if you are using cotton pads. It’s not mandatory but many of us pad / strip users cut a strip of cotton WITH the grain running lengthwise, then carefully peel off JUST the outer skin, which is a very thin outer layer on BOTH sides of the pad. Some people claim it doesn’t wick as well as the softer, inner cotton. Can you elaborate on what you mean by falling apart ??
I prefer KGD cotton, and have never had an issue with it.
https://www.amazon.com/Koh-Gen-Do-Pure-Cotton/dp/B00EMCGTAW/
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Cotton coming apart. It’s something that does happen. You wick and vape and sometime when you go to pull out the wick only half comes out and it’s very clear the center part of the wick under the coil collapsed.
You find this more commonly with contact coils.
Just google collapsed cotton, vaping and you will find some references
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The cotton pads are sometimes hard even with the pull test because after I make the strip and I am feeding the cotton in the coil it falls apart as I’m pulling it through. I have a hard time getting it just right not too thick so that it bunches up on the other side or it’s too thin and I end up replacing the wick after 3 days.
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There are dozens of wicking methods. This one I’ve used for a few years and serves me well…
The Scottish Roll
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I have to agree with @SessionDrummer and @TorturedZen and others, KGD works Great! And the Scottish Roll method was a game changer for me! Don’t know if you have ever viewed any of his videos but his experiments really help me with wicking.
I have to work to get my cotton through my coils, I pull it back and forth and don’t get in a hurry. It’s really tight. I use contact coils and at times have to hold the end of the coil as I am working the cotton into the coil. YMMV but since I have been wicking this way my vape experience has been 100% more enjoyable! I get no dry hits and spit back ever! My nemesis “Zeus” single coil RTA had me cussing trying to get it wicked but since I changed how I wick I can even get it to behave!
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Might like to read through:
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I’ll second the rayon, easier to wick with and lasts much longer
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Maybe you could try this method, too thick or too thin is easily adjusted with this.
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thanks everyone for the wonderful suggestions. I will look into them all and find the best one for me. I hope this discussion helps others as well.
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I do it the same way.
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Thank you @Vaporraven NOW I understand what you meant. As the other posters have said, rolling just
the tip tight to get it started is key, and lightly roll the rest, and you can pull it in, and through, then before you trim, you can work it back and forth a bit to help settle it into the coil helps a lot. Most of my mods are 2 batteries or more and/or heavier, so when I’m tug, tug, tugging my fresh cotton through the weight of the mod helps keep everything stable.
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I have been using the SMOK devkin and SMOK Procolor which are 2 battery mods and i too have noticed its easier wicking while its on the mod for the extra height and weight. My wife ordered me cotton bacon on amazon couple people i know swear by it so I hope that helps.
A friend of mine says done right i just get atleast 2 weeks out of one wick with that.
I hope it works out i’ll try some of the other methods if that doesn’t work for me.
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I have a lifetime supply of cotton bacon prime, and I’ve been using the regular one since I started coiling. The clue is finding the correct amount for your ID and fluffing and probably taking off more cotton on the ends than you think you would need. What tank are you trying to wick? Go easy on the ends but make sure you get some resistance when pulling it thru your coils. And pull the cotton back and forth some, to ease some tension on the cotton inside the coil.
Anyways, hope it works out 
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I am wicking the kees Solomon v1 I love that RTA. I feed the cotton all the way through the cotton holes then cut and fluff. I found that way easier then fluffing before feeding through the holes for the cotton.
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Thats a good flavor rta, just make sure the holes arent too clogged and you should be fine. Cotton bacon expands quite a bit. I would just fluff slightly before pulling the ends thru the hole 
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