So, I’m trying to dig up use-cases for various materials and see if anyone has done any independent research or has any links to good data. My basic question is: how safe are any of our wick materials in comparison to each other, and as compared to an ideal wick? For example, even organic cotton is allowed to contain pesticides like copper sulfide, so we should still boil our cotton but how much do we remove in that manner? If I had access to an analytical balance this would be easy to answer. I’m thinking of maybe taking samples of wick material from various people and doing a thorough analysis of all the end products, but that’s not until I’m done moving.
So, what are you using for wick, what do you like about it, what does it look like when you finish, what does a dry hit taste like, does it wick differently after repeated dry hits, how do you clean it? Any data you can give from anecdote is considered useful, any testing you have done I will try to replicate, also, wattage and/or resistance used is a useful piece of data.
Hemp. It wicks faster than cotton, it doesn’t dry hit as easily, and the dry hits aren’t as harsh. It also seems to last 5x as long as hand-combed organic cotton. Dry hits do get progressively harsher, but that could be my coils. I can generally taste before I dry hit more easily.
I’m a frigging hemp convert. It’s just way easier to deal with in every way and the brand I buy (green remedy) seems to have little to no break in.
I’m running an all copper mech mod, mag switch, 0.15ohms with 25R or VTC4 batteries. I am currently stuffing the coils way full Ala the “Scottish roll.”
Native Wick. Doesn’t dry hit as easily (also using the “Scottish Roll” method) and is very heat resistant. I generally re-wick after about 90ml as the heat resistance allows me to burn off more of older flavors without risking the health of the wick as much. I don’t boil it because… I’m lazy. Also I’m not sure if it’d benefit much from the effort. The wick starts out as most Japanese Cotton wicks do and the end result between 90-120ml is a slightly browned cotton candy. Like how cotton candy starts out all fluffy but then the bag gets smashed- you can still tell it’s still soft but it’s more condensed and less airy. If I use a flavor that easily gunks up my coils (silly Cake Yellow addiction) then I have to remove the wick long before it has been sufficiently spent just so that I am able to burn off the coils. I have never tried re-wicking that cotton back into the coil though even if I could get use out of it because A) hassle B) ew? C) like re-heating stale pizza D) I have yards of fresh wick waiting.
I’ve wanted to try Unicorn Hair but haven’t had the chance and am not sure if it’s still a thing anymore. Haven’t thought to try Hemp though so maybe I will be the next convert? xD