One of the traits inherent to any tech industry is the proliferation of buzz terms that invariably end up forming. Whenever a new tech industry appears, communities spring up around it – and members of those communities take it upon themselves to create terms to define all of the new inventions that pop up. In the vaping community, one of the most recent terms to appear is “mesh coil.” It’s an important term to know, even if vaping is just a less risky means of getting nicotine for you, and you have no interest in becoming a vaping hobbyist.

So, what is a mesh coil? If you use a larger vape mod with a glass tank, you absolutely need to know what mesh coils are because this technology is going to transform your vaping experience. The next time you visit a vape shop like V2 Cigs UK, it’s definitely going to be time to grab an upgrade for your vape tank if you’re not using a mesh coil already.

Here’s why.

What Is a Mesh Coil for Vaping?

To understand how mesh coils work, you must first understand the design of a traditional vaping coil. A normal vape coil is made from one or more wires twisted into a spring-like shape. Some coils even use multiple wires twisted into several spring shapes. The spring shape forms the heating surface that vaporizes the e-liquid in the tank. That’s how vaporizer coils have been constructed since the beginning, but the traditional vape coil design has some inherent issues that present themselves in coils designed to produce very large clouds. We’ll discuss those issues in a moment.

A mesh coil, on the other hand, isn’t made from a round wire. It’s made from a strip of metal mesh – like the mesh of a window screen – curled into a cylindrical shape. The mesh provides a heating surface that’s very flat and low in mass.

Why Do We Need Mesh Coils?

If product manufacturers have used coiled heating wires since the beginning, they must work just fine – so why do we need mesh coils? It turns out that using a coiled round wire as a heating surface has some inherent problems that only become evident when you push a coil to really high wattages. 

• To operate a coil at high wattages, the coil must have a low electrical resistance. Low-resistance wires are thick and high in mass. A high-mass coil takes a while to heat up after you press your mod’s fire button. It also retains heat for a while after you release the fire button. The excess heat radiates to the rest of the mod, which can be bad for the battery.

• Because a low-resistance wound coil uses a thick wire gauge, the coil’s physical contact with the wick is uneven. The highest points of the coil make firm contact with the wick, and the lowest points barely touch the wick at all. The coil’s ribbed profile creates valleys where e-liquid tends to collect and pool. When e-liquid begins to pool in a coil’s nooks and crannies, the coil may pop loudly during operation and may spit hot vape juice into your mouth.

What Are the Benefits of Mesh Coils?

Compared to a coil made from wound wire, a mesh coil is much thinner and has lower mass. Using a mesh coil doesn’t require compromising your expectations for vapor production, though, because a mesh coil has as much surface area as a wound coil; the heating surface is simply spread out over a larger area.

Compared to a wound coil, a mesh coil offers significant benefits for vapers who love chasing big clouds.

• Because a mesh coil has low mass, it produces vapor almost instantly when you press your mod’s fire button. It also cools down quickly when you release the fire button. The quicker heat dissipation is good for the life of the coil and for your mod’s battery.

• A mesh coil has a much flatter profile than a wound coil, so the metal makes firm, even contact with the wick. Since e-liquid has nowhere to pool, mesh coils operate very quietly and are unlikely to pop or spit. 

• The fact that a mesh coil doesn’t encourage e-liquid to pool also means that the vapor has a smaller droplet size and a drier character compared to what you’d experience with a wound coil. If you ever feel like you’re drinking your e-liquid when you vape, you’ll probably love using a mesh coil.

• Since a mesh coil heats and cools much more evenly than a wound coil, it’ll usually last longer because the wick is less likely to burn.

• Aside from the fast heating and cooling, another benefit stemming from the low mass of a mesh coil is that it can produce the same volume of vapor as a wound coil while requiring a lower operational wattage. Today’s best wound coils typically won’t work well with a vaping device that only has one battery because single-battery devices can’t reach the wattages necessary for high-mass coils to operate efficiently. Mesh coils, on the other hand, usually work very well with single-battery vaping devices.

How to Get Started With Mesh Vape Coils

The best thing about mesh coils is that using one usually doesn’t require you to upgrade your existing vaping device. If you have a device that can operate at around 50-80 watts – which almost all mods made within the last year or two can do without any problems – your device should work fine with a vape tank that uses a mesh coil. 

Before you run out and buy a new tank, though, visit the official website for the tank that you’re currently using. Mesh coils have proven to be extremely popular with the vaping community, and many manufacturers have responded by producing mesh coils for their existing tanks. You may find that you can simply start buying mesh coils for your current tank rather than investing in a new tank.