Last fact-checked 30 April 2024
It's one of the smallest parts in your vape device, and it impacts every part of your vaping experience. From flavour to cloud density and battery life, the humble, hardworking vape coil affects it all.
There are hundreds of coils on the market, so how do you pick the best one? If phrases like quad-core, Ni200 and Clapton leave you cold, then this is the guide for you! We’ll give you a simple step-by-step process you can follow when picking your ideal vape coil, and explain all the jargon.
What does a vape coil do?
The vape coil is the small metal heating element inside your vape device’s atomiser. Traditional wire coils look like coiled springs, and mesh coils look like tiny metal fences (usually bent into tubes or semi-cylindrical tunnel shapes). There are also ceramic-coated coils, which don't need wicking. Fundamentally, all these coils work in the same basic way. You fire your vape, the coil heats up, which evaporates your e-liquid and gives you a mouthful of vapour.
How to buy a good coil
Almost every part of your vaping experience, from vapour temperature to flavour and cloud density, is affected by the vape coil. Your vaping experience changes depending on…
- The alloy, or the metal your coil is made from,
- The electrical resistance of your coil wire,
- The surface area and shape of your coil,
- The sheer number of coils in your atomiser (single, dual, quad and so on).
The trick is to buy a coil that strikes the perfect balance between all of these factors. Thankfully, you don’t need to be an expert in physics or chemistry to get the best vape. Most hardware manufacturers have done the hard part for you, and have created a range of clip-in coil components called replacement coils.
If you want to use a rebuildable coil, you have to pick your coil metal, measure the length and gauge of the coil wire, calculate the resistance, check that resistance against the power settings of your device, then cut, bend, prime, stuff and test the coil yourself … it’s a lot to handle. With a replacement coil, all you have to do is click in your new factory-made coil and get back to vaping.
There are a couple of downsides to replacement coils, of course. They cost a little more, and you don’t get to choose your wire gauge and metal alloys. You’ll almost always get to choose the resistance of a replacement coil.
Here’s our step-by-step guide to buying vape coils on our site. We’ve listed each step in order of priority — if you only get half-way down this list, you’ll still end up with a great vape coil.
If all you do is follow these five steps when you’re buying a vape coil, then you’ll end up with a great coil that you can rely on for consistent results.
Vape Coil Buyer’s Dictionary
You might come across some strange terms when you’re shopping for a replacement coil. These terms usually relate to the number of coils, the gauge of the wire or the way the wire is formed and twisted. Here’s a list of the most common phrases:
- Clapton: when one wire is wrapped tightly in another (thinner) wire, this is called ‘Clapton Wire’ (possibly because it looks like a guitar string). If two coil wires are wrapped together in a third coil wire, this is called a ‘Fused Clapton’ or ‘Dual Core Clapton’. See an example of Clapton wire here
- Dual Coil: If you have two completely separate heating coils in the one atomiser head, this is called ‘Dual Coil’. You can also get Quad Coil decks. Learn more about dual coil vaping.
- Dual Core: If you have two wires running through each heating coil (like in a Fused Clapton wire, for instance), then this is called a ‘Dual Core’ (because there are two wires running through the ‘core’ of the coil). You can get Triple Core and Quad Core coils, too.
- Hive: Hive wire looks like barbed wire without the spikes. It consists of lots of coil wires (usually all the same grade), plaited together. Hive wire has lots of surface area and holds a lot of e-juice, so it’s a popular choice for RDA users.
- Juggernaut: Two clapton wires, banded together with another flat ribbon of wire, makes a ‘Juggernaut’! These wires look cool, but they make very little difference to the flavour.
- Macro Coil: A large, thick heating coil with a very high resistance is known as a ‘Macro Coil’.
- Micro Coil: This is a medium-sized heating coil made from medium-gauge wire.
- Nano Coil: These are small coils made from small-gauge wire. If you want to sub-ohm vape without mesh, nano coils are the way to go.
- Parallel Coil: If you take two identical-gauge coil wires and keep them side-by-side,you can make a very long, smooth coil called a ‘Parallel Coil’.
- Taiji: Two pieces of wire, plaited together (resembling fusilli pasta) is called ‘Taiji Wire’. It’s like a simpler version of Hive Wire.
Finding Your Perfect Coil
Like most things in vaping, you’ve got to experiment a little to find what’s right for you. It may take a few attempts to land on a coil with the perfect resistance, the right balance of vapour and flavour. Our advice is to stick with it, and don’t be afraid to experiment. A small change of 0.05Ω could make all the difference - you never know!
If you have any questions that haven’t been answered in this article, please get in touch. We’re always happy to hear from customers and give them a bit of guidance.
Stay safe and happy vaping!
John Boughey