In with the new, out with the old – or not just yet?
So many options, so little time. Mesh coils have taken over the vaping community by storm in recent years, and in this article, we’re laying it out in black and white to clear up some confusion that might arise around vape coils.
With so many different devices available today, and with the recently added introduction of mesh coils, you can only wonder how to go about your next buy without missing out.
As we all know, vapers like to customize – from vape juice to wattage, coil resistance to absolutely everything customizable. And mesh coils can now be added to the lengthy list of possibilities!
So, to spare you some experimenting, time, and money – we’ve compiled all there is to know about regular vs mesh coils for you to make an informed decision when buying your next device, or even just your next coil supply!
What are mesh coils?
Mesh coils are a fairly new entry to the vape market and arguably some of the best vape coils out there today. We take a look at the specifics below, but it’s safe to say that these coils have a large portion of the vaping community loving their effects!
In short, mesh coils offer a larger surface area of metal that’s heated and comes into contact with your wicking material (usually cotton) to produce vapor. What we get is a stronger, smoother hit with added intensity in flavor delivery!
They’re commonly used in sub-ohm tanks for DTL vaping (including coils with a built-in resistance of less than 1 ohm) whereas regular coils are used with more than 1.0 ohm of resistance and are perfect for MTL (mouth to lung) vaping.
Regular vs. Mesh Coils: Differences and similarities
Both mesh and the standard coiled wire work in similar ways, with only slight differences in effects and how they operate.
Mesh coils were designed for bigger clouds, better hits, and intense flavor delivery. A regular vape coil has a wire ‘coiled’ into a spiral, with your wicking material surrounding it. Regular vape coils only heat a small part of wicking material that is in contact with your wire.
Mesh coils replace the wire as a heat source with a larger, honeycomb-shaped surface area of metal that heats up and comes into contact with your wicking material. Because a larger surface area is heated up, it creates consistent and flavorful vapor clouds. Mesh coils are also more power-efficient than standard coils.
Although mesh coils are more consistent in vapour and flavour delivery, they lack in delivering heat as standard coils do. The level of heat delivered is quite controversial. Some people argue that enough heating is needed to provide stronger hits, while others say it’s not required at all, and that mesh coils provide plenty of satisfying vapour, thanks to the design of the coil that needs less heat to function properly.
Mesh coils also use more e-liquid due to the bigger surface area being heated to produce bigger vapour clouds.
Although mesh coils offer an array of upgrades from the regular “wired”coils, there are still people who prefer the original design of coils for their preference.
Regular vs. Mesh Coils: Advantages and Disadvantages
Subjective to some degree – some features could work better for MTL vaping, whereas some would be better for DTL vaping.
Take a look at the direct comparison of qualities in the table below:
Mesh coils disadvantages
- E-liquid consumption
- Health risks (large amounts of vapour)
- Heat disadvantage
Mesh coils advantages
- Faster wiring (ramp up)
- Better vapour & flavour
- Consistency (no dry or burnt hits)
- Longevity
- Power efficient
Wired coils disadvantages
- Slower ramp up (coil heat)
- Standard flavour delivery
- Not so consistent
- Coils lifespan can be shorter
- Less power efficient
Wired coils advantages
- Been around for long, no serious health risks
- Sufficient heat to create powerful hits
- Widely available
- Good e-liquid usage
How to choose the best vape coil for your device
Mesh coils are generally almost always used in sub-ohm devices (resistance of less than 1.0 ohm) and are great for DTL vaping. Because they’re basically designed to reduce power usage and increase vapour quality and flavour, the best vape coils for DTL devices are often mesh, or alternatively many people use double to triple core regular vape coils.
You can go even further and distinguish between single, dual, and triple core regular coils vs mesh cores. The key thing to note here is, the more cores you have, the more surface area you will have available. This means you’ll get increased vapour density with more power usage.
Most multicore coils will generally be made with standard wire and not mesh. There are benefits and drawbacks to each. In the end it all comes down to a matter of personal preference to your vaping experience.
Single Core
Mostly, these coils will give you a moderate throat hit and vapor density. You can expect a warm enough temperature for good flavor delivery. Depending on your chosen resistance, they might need more wattage to perform well.
Their ‘ramp up’ time is mostly the slowest of the three categories discussed here.
Ramp up time – the time it takes the coil to heat up before you can start vaping.
Dual, triple & Quad Core
Anything from double through to triple & quad-core coils will deliver much hotter vapor and subsequently will need a lot more power to perform optimally, which can be a drain on your battery.
Of course, you’ll have stronger throat hits and flavour and vapour quality will be greatly enhanced.
As your coils will burn hotter, you can count on about a week before they require replacing.
Mesh Core
Mesh cores are a happy medium between single core coils and quad-core coils. They have a fast ramp-up time and produce great flavour and vapour quality for a start.
They’re also a slightly cooler way to vape and require less power than dual coils of the same resistance. So all in all, they’re a perfect fit for someone who’s looking for a quality vaping experience while saving on battery life.
Summary
You can still get away with using standard wired coils, and they’re still widely available. They save on e-liquid use and heats up enough to provide satisfactory throat hits and vapour clouds. They’re still commonly used in MTL vaping devices.
Mesh coils are a good fit for DTL vapers who like intense flavour delivery without having to use a triple or quad-core coil, hence saving a substantial amount of battery life. They’re almost exclusively used in sub-ohm devices for their large surface area for heating.
Like many in the vaping community are after, mesh coils deliver on dense vapor and impeccable taste delivery.
