Are Handmade Coils Really Better?

[Trent Erikson]

I've been vaping for the past 10 years and I've seen a lot of incarnations of the industry but the last few years I've noticed a particular group of vapers making their own coils. I get the allure, manufactured coils are terrible and often burn out within a day or two, but is the taste and longevity of your home made coils actually better? Or is this just something they say to justify the work involved in making them at home?

Are they really better than manufactured coils?

 

[dennism]

For me convenience is number one. My coils average about $5 a week, freemax and vaporesso coils. Homemade coils are cheaper and maybe better. At my age I don't need the hassle.

 

[Mordacai]

For simple coils (round and flat wire), it's easy and considerably cheaper.

Complex coils are more difficult, but they can be tailored to your requirements if you're making them yourself.

The only other option there is finding someone that hand builds coils and because that's a bespoke service there can be a wait and more costly.

 

[DavidOck]

Are they really better than manufactured coils?

When the factory stops making them, yep. Or when the FDA stops allowing them to be purchased...

I build because I like to be not reliant on any supply chain. Slow boat? No problem, I have spools of the wire I use, lots of rayon. (And I do diy my juice, nic on ice for the rest of my life unless I make it past 100.)

As a low power tootler, simple coils work fine for me. Pennies per coil, and with a clean and rewick, good for quite a long time.

 

[Trent Erikson]

When the factory stops making them, yep. Or when the FDA stops allowing them to be purchased...

I build because I like to be not reliant on any supply chain. Slow boat? No problem, I have spools of the wire I use, lots of rayon. (And I do diy my juice, nic on ice for the rest of my life unless I make it past 100.)

As a low power tootler, simple coils work fine for me. Pennies per coil, and with a clean and rewick, good for quite a long time.

You find it worth the hassle and effort to build, I'm assuming.

 

[Mordacai]

Making your own coils and building rebuildable atomisers is definitely worth it in the long run.

For easiest option though @Trent Erikson you're probably looking at a Squonk mod with an RDA (Rebuildable Dripping Atomiser), as there's no need to worry about airlocking that can occur with RTA's (Rebuildable Tank Atomisers).

The coil itself can last a long time indeed, especially if simple round or flat wire is used. Wicking just needs replacing every so often then.

 

[DavidOck]

You find it worth the hassle and effort to build, I'm assuming.

Not much of either, might take me 5 minutes to wind, install and wick. The coils typically last me several months, with cleaning and fresh wick as needed. (Varies with the particular mix, some gunk faster than others, but for me are worth it.)

And knowing I'll never be without the means to vape the way I want? Yeah, that's worth a lot

 

[DPLongo22]

I've been vaping for the past 10 years and I've seen a lot of incarnations of the industry but the last few years I've noticed a particular group of vapers making their own coils. I get the allure, manufactured coils are terrible and often burn out within a day or two, but is the taste and longevity of your home made coils actually better? Or is this just something they say to justify the work involved in making them at home?

Are they really better than manufactured coils?

For me, it's not a cut & dried issue. Homemades are cheaper but not necessarily always better. My favorite FLAVOR comes from an old RTA (Elkonigin) but my favorite VAPE comes from a rebuildable blister pack coil (hybrid?), the Joyetech CLR.

I vape a fair amount of both homemade (Erlkonigin, BP Pioneer, Doggystyle) and blister-packs (CLR, Nautilus, Aspire BVC). I like them all.

Ironically, my best performance (combination of duration & taste) comes from the tiny little Aspire BVC coils. I get long life from them and always enjoy the vape.

Vape style (wattage and length of hits) has a lot to do with it so there's really no "correct" answer. While we're still able to do so, every vaper can find his or her own "sweet spot" (a very old vape reference that still speaks for itself).

One day, possibly sooner than later, vapers will (probably) have all the "options" (cough) that smokers are familiar with. Different color packages with minimal differences in flavor and/or performance.

That, in my opinion, is a shame.

Enjoy the current landscape while we still can. Our governments, hard at work (eyeroll).

 

[OnTheFidele]

For me, it's not a cut & dried issue. Homemades are cheaper but not necessarily always better. My favorite FLAVOR comes from an old RTA (Elkonigin) but my favorite VAPE comes from a rebuildable blister pack coil (hybrid?), the Joyetech CLR.

I vape a fair amount of both homemade (Erlkonigin, BP Pioneer, Doggystyle) and blister-packs (CLR, Nautilus, Aspire BVC). I like them all.

Ironically, my best performance (combination of duration & taste) comes from the tiny little Aspire BVC coils. I get long life from them and always enjoy the vape.

Vape style (wattage and length of hits) has a lot to do with it so there's really no "correct" answer. While we're still able to do so, every vaper can find his or her own "sweet spot" (a very old vape reference that still speaks for itself).

One day, possibly sooner than later, vapers will (probably) have all the "options" (cough) that smokers are familiar with. Different color packages with minimal differences in flavor and/or performance.

That, in my opinion, is a shame.

Enjoy the current landscape while we still can. Our governments, hard at work (eyeroll).

I've had similar experiences of longetivity and taste with Aspire Nautilus 1.6 ohm coils. Vaping unflavored, I can get up to a month out of them vaped exclusively. Vaping DIY with no added sweetener, I can get 2-3 weeks. I've gonna over a year fully satisfied with my Nautilus GT and GT mini tanks.

But I'll eventually always come back to making/wicking my own coils. As an MTL vaper who's stuck with regular round wire and who's basically mastered wicking with rayon, I wouldn't say coiling and wicking your own setups is necessarily a better vaping experience. For me it assuredly is, but not always. With practice, it's a lot easier than you'd think; it's a lot like learning how to ride a bike but simpler.

But it is advantageous to make/wick your own coils: (a) if you want to dial in specific aspects of your vaping, (b) if you want to "future-proof" yourself from any changes in the vaping market, (c) if you don't want to stock up on coils, (d) if you don't want to depend on coil availability, and/or (e) if you want to use the most "premium" devices in the market.

 

[easyvape]

I agree with much of what's been said already. While rebuilding can be an inconvenience at times, it's worth it to me to not be reliant on on a supplier/manufacturer, and it's generally cheaper to just buy a bunch of different wire. Even complex wire spools.

 

[Twins Win]

I've been vaping for the past 10 years and I've seen a lot of incarnations of the industry but the last few years I've noticed a particular group of vapers making their own coils. I get the allure, manufactured coils are terrible and often burn out within a day or two, but is the taste and longevity of your home made coils actually better? Or is this just something they say to justify the work involved in making them at home?

Are they really better than manufactured coils?

I started spinning my own from scratch a few years ago and yes, handmade coils can be fantastic. I'm guessing most people just buy rolls of wire and spin from off the spool. Some of us like to create our own "Complex" type wires on our own. I'll leave a post below about my experience;






I've can make and have tried multiple versions of just about every popular coil style. My favorites to use are N80 SFC's. They can be created in so many ways, lots and lots of different variations. Over time, I've got a few patterns super dialed in to how I like to vape. I've never had better flavor. Lots of people love alien coils and rave about their "Wicking properties" and great flavor. SFC's are (or can be) better in both areas. I try to go back to using aliens and fraliens. It's not enjoyable though because it always seems like a step down. Not trying to be a coil-elitist douche or anything... It's just how I've experienced things.

I've been spinning for about 4 years now. I still feel like a newb compared to lots of others. I've been able to make some insane wire builds though. I usually pick up on things pretty quick and for the longest time avoided "The artistic" side of building. I've always been kinda function first, and efficiency oriented. About a year or so ago maybe, I got into the more artistry type stuff.

 

[smacuser]

Have you tried wooden coils? If not, you’re really missing out.

 

[DavidOck]

And cat fur wicks. Good stuff.