What's so special about Japanese cotton?

[IgnorantCig]

I recently received some new kanger coils which I had ordered, and I noticed that these are new versions, and they use Japanese cotton wicks. It says so on the box.

I've also noticed that other kinds of coils advertise that they use Japanese cotton and people who build their own coils sometimes talk about how they use Japanese cotton.

What's so different about Japanese cotton compared to cotton grown in any other place?

Is this just hype, or is Japanese cotton actually better for vaping than any other cotton?

 

[Firestorm]

I can't speak for pre-made coils because I only build my own. I used to use cotton balls to make my wicks and it was a pain to try to unravel a cotton ball to try to get a patch of uniform consistency large enough to roll a wick. I usually wound up throwing a large amount of cotton away in the process.

I find that it's a lot easier and less wasteful to use Japanese cotton pads to roll wicks because you can easily tear off a layer of cotton of uniform and custom thickness to roll a wick with little waste (I take what I need and usually end up with a pre-rolled wick for later use). I'm a big fan of using Japanese cotton to roll my own wicks and it has become a popular material for RBAs. I don't know that Japanese cotton pads are better tasting than other types of cotton wick, but I definitely find them easier to work with.

Now, given all of this, what is the advantage of using Japanese cotton in pre-made coils? None that I can think of. It seems to me that the Chinese manufacturers saw the popularity of Japanese cotton that people were using in RBAs and decided to use it in their pre-made coils as a selling point. Perhaps someone who uses them can offer you an answer with regards to pre-made coils, but I cannot.

 

[Flt Simulation]

The Japanese still import a lot of cotton from the US, but I have heard that this has slowed some since the Japanese textile industry has become smaller over time due to so much of it now coming from emerging Asian nations, and of course .. China.

Japanese grown cotton is no better than cotton grown in the US. In fact, I would bet that the Japanese cotton pads everyone in the vaping community seems to like so much was actually made from cotton grown in the US and then exported to Japan in bulk form.

 

[Lessifer]

Depending on the brand, some of them use "cleaner" growing techniques, but that's the least of the difference. The real difference is that in the Japanese cotton PADS the cotton is combed and pressed so that it is uniform in direction and thickness of the long strands of cotton, making it more suitable for wicking.

ETA: "japanese cotton" is not necessarily cotton that has been grown in Japan

 

[KYBLUE]

Agreed Lessifer, oriented strands is the magic of Japanese cotton.

 

[Bad Ninja]

Depending on the brand, some of them use "cleaner" growing techniques, but that's the least of the difference. The real difference is that in the Japanese cotton PADS the cotton is combed and pressed so that it is uniform in direction and thickness of the long strands of cotton, making it more suitable for wicking.

ETA: "japanese cotton" is not necessarily cotton that has been grown in Japan

Lol

Did you just say "cleaner growing" techniques?
In Japan?
Did vapers forget about the nuclear meltdown that is STILL spewing radiation and toxic waste across the region?
Does it glow?

I use rayon.

 

[smokinGAVIN]

i thought it had something to do with the cotton being organic and not bleached.

 

[smacuser]

Regular organic cotton is like 4 bucks a bag.

 

[Lessifer]

Lol

Did you just say "cleaner growing" techniques?
In Japan?
Did vapers forget about the nuclear meltdown that is STILL spewing radiation and toxic waste across the region?
Does it glow?

I use rayon.

Hence the "cleaner" (in quotation marks) although, as I said, much of the "japanese cotton" is not actually grown in Japan, but processed there into a finished product.

This is what one brand says of their cotton though: "Made from 100% cotton that has not been chemically treated, bleached or pigmented. Raised without the use of chemical fertilizer or pesticides to ensure pure, safe quality."

What you choose to believe is up to you.

 

[EBates]

I tied ... cotton once in a KF and saw no difference in the vape as compared to my walmart sterile cotton. Others have really liked ... cotton better, but I just didn't get it.

 

[Kevin littell]

Its a marketing ploy.


I switched to good old US made cotton bacon because of the packaging and still have packs of both around.


I cant find any difference in wicking or flavor in a KFL Erlkinogin OR a Mutation X.

 

[Bad Ninja]

Hence the "cleaner" (in quotation marks) although, as I said, much of the "japanese cotton" is not actually grown in Japan, but processed there into a finished product.

This is what one brand says of their cotton though: "Made from 100% cotton that has not been chemically treated, bleached or pigmented. Raised without the use of chemical fertilizer or pesticides to ensure pure, safe quality."

What you choose to believe is up to you.

I was just joking.... Sort of.
I'm actually very cautious about Japanese consumables after the Fukushima incident.

 

[MMW]

I like it for ease of use. Simple cut of a strip off a pad cut to the diameter of your coil. Breaks in fairly quick too. Have a box of 60pads that will last a long while.

 

[suprtrkr]

The pads are easy to use. And it's not bad cotton. Ask me, though, the best cotton is rayon.

 

[Rickb119]

oriented strands is the magic

Which is why cotton cooking twine works so well.

Plus, it's super easy to get it into the coil using a bead needle. Oh, and did I mention cheap?

 

[NicoHolic]

 

[Lessifer]

I was just joking.... Sort of.
I'm actually very cautious about Japanese consumables after the Fukushima incident.

Honestly, I use shiseido cotton pads, exclusively since that's what I have, and I've gone through one and a half pads in nearly two years. If I worried about all of the possible minuscule exposures to Bob know's what I experience every day, I'd probably have a stroke.

 

[Bad Ninja]

Honestly, I use shiseido cotton pads, exclusively since that's what I have, and I've gone through one and a half pads in nearly two years. If I worried about all of the possible minuscule exposures to Bob know's what I experience every day, I'd probably have a stroke.

I have this mental picture of you saying all the above while blowing clouds of glowing vapor.

 

[gadgetkeith]

its not so much where its from but how its made ie all the fibres strands are combed or layered out in one direction so it has a grain

ie not just a mish mash of strands going in all different directions

so when you use it as a wick the juice is drawn along the strands easier

creates good juice flow

 

[bwh79]

cotton bacon

Isn't that just unrolled cotton balls?