Mesh vs. Regular Vape Coils

For sub-ohm vapers, there are a lot of factors that affect the overall experience. Coils are no exception. The coils are like gatekeepers, dictating e-juice compatibility, draw tightness, flavor, cloud production and more.

The conventional design is pretty straightforward. Conventional vape coils (a.k.a. "round wire coils") act as a heating element by wrapping around the coil in a spring pattern. This made them cheap to produce and easy to design.

But now that mesh has been introduced, it solved a lot of design limitations and pain points that round wire coils were notorious for.

Best of all, pretty much any sub-ohm tank is compatible with a mesh coil, provided that it's designed to fit the socket. Most major vape companies have their own line of mesh coils.

So how do these new products work and what makes mesh coils so special that they might very well replace their round wire counterparts?

An Intro to Vape Mesh Coils

Although new to the pre-built sub-ohm genre, mesh isn't a new technology. In fact, it's obsolete among its original users. Specifically, mesh used to be the default wicking material in rebuildable devices until organic cotton took its place.

But outside the RTA/RDA world, mesh is the latest innovation.

If you look at a mesh coil, you'll see where it gets its label. Through the opening of a round wire coil, you'll see the familiar spiral design. But when you examine a mesh coil, you see - well - mesh.

Mesh coils replace the standard wire heating element and use the metallic mesh instead. This simple design change provides a world of benefits that round wire coils failed to achieve.

Advantages of Mesh Coils

There are lots of great reasons to try mesh coils. Whether you're into cloud or flavor, odds are this new design will have you hooked.

Mesh coils gain the upper hand in several ways, but these stem from one single attribute. Their design allows the element to cover a larger surface area and maintain even heating throughout.

Faster Firing

One key advantage to mesh coils is that they fire or "ramp up" more quickly than standard coils. This makes for a more efficient, powerful hit that delivers a good dose of cloud and flavor.

Better Vapor and Flavor

Speaker of improved hits, the large surface area allows a massive amount of e-liquid to be vaporized at once. As a result, you get much more vapor and - by default - better flavor.

Combine that with the fact that (again), mesh coils ramp up faster, and it becomes quite the winning combination.

Improved Flavor

This one is a bit subjective, but worth mentioning if you own some e-juice that seems kind of "meh" when you taste it.

Some vapers claim that mesh coils make the flavor better, not just stronger. Whether this is true or not probably depends on a lot of things, including personal perception.

It's also worth noting that if you make yourself believe that mesh coils provide better taste, then there's a good chance you'll feel it, regardless of the truth.

Nonetheless, it's not exactly a stretch to believe that better coils will improve the entire vaping experience.

Consistency

A painful reality many vapers face is that not every hit is the same. Some are less cloudy or flavorful than others. In worse cases, you could end up with an occasional dry hit.

This happens because the spiral design doesn't evenly come into contact with the cotton wick. Consequently, it creates "hotspots" where the material is more strained. This also happens to be a prime location or burnt VG to accumulate.

Mesh, on the other hand, covers the entire surface area of the wick. This ensures even heating and equally even hits.

Longer Lasting Coils

Again, thanks to the heat not being focused in a single area, the strain on mesh coils is remarkably lower. Vapers who use mesh coils may find that they're replacing the components less frequently than with round wire. Ultimately, this saves both time and money.

More Power Efficient

All coils have their ideal (and minimum) wattage ranges. The good thing about mesh coils is that you don't need to make them for over 100 watts to get amazing performance (like with round wire).

This is particularly handy for lower wattage devices or direct output mods, where lower optimum wattage levels mean the battery can run them effectively for longer periods.

Disadvantages of Mesh Coils

Given what we now know, switching to mesh coils sounds like a done deal. But not so fast. There are some disadvantages to consider before trying them out.

E-Liquid Consumption

Sub-ohm devices are notorious for their e-juice consumption - a trade-off for their large clouds and strong flavor. But mesh coils effectively increase that problem.

Yes, these coils provide better hits, faster heating, larger clouds and stronger flavor. But these all come at a cost. You can't accomplish these things without using more juice.

So while you might save money on coils, chances are your e-juice budget might need a bit of a boost.

Health Concerns

While the general consensus is that vaping poses a minuscule health risk compared to smoking, we still don't have the same kind of long-term information compared to decades of tobacco research.

If there is some risk associated with inhaling PG or VG - however remote - inhaling larger amounts of it will make the potential health impact worse.

Take note of how you feel after using mesh coils. If you develop a cough or other strange symptoms, consider switching back and talking to your doctor.

Heat Preference

This one isn't universally bad, but for some, it's a deal-breaker. Mesh coils are smoother on the inhale because they don't generate as much heat.

Some vapers like the feeling of a strong, warm draw. If you happen to be one of those people, then mesh might not be your thing.