I'm glad you're interested and clicked to read this article. Introducing mesh wick is a plan I've been thinking about for a long time, but I've only been able to do it now. However, I have to say in advance that mesh wick is definitely not suitable for the majority of vapers today because it doesn't give high sweetness or a large amount of smoke, but focuses on the flavor notes of the juice. If you're a vaper pursuing quintessential flavors, you'll find mesh wick very interesting and worth the time to learn. Without further ado, let's explore the mesh hobby - a hobby that can be said to be unique in this vape world.
You may have heard the word “mesh” a lot, in popular OCC types today and some RTAs like Profile, Zues X,... but that is mesh coil - the type of coil shaped like a mesh to increase the contact area with juice. No, today we will not talk about mesh coil. The mesh I want to introduce here is mesh wick, a metal mesh that is rolled up, heated to create an insulating oxide layer on the outside (because the mesh is made of 316L stainless steel, it is still conductive) and then used to conduct juice (wick) instead of cotton thanks to the capillary phenomenon.
Mesh has been around since 2009-2010, it can be said that this is one of the earliest wick materials to appear in the vape industry. However, unlike cotton wick or silica wick, mesh has never been popular, partly because of the complexity of this type of wick, and partly because specialized atomizers for mesh have never been cheap. Unlike cotton, leading juice with mesh requires users to have a very solid knowledge of the type of mesh, type of coil, atomizer design and the type of juice they are using. Even when they have mastered it, vapers still need to experience, practice, make mistakes and correct many times to be able to set up a reasonable mesh configuration. So what does all that effort bring in return? Mesh gives players a completely different experience than cotton, never bland or burnt. A bottle of juice when smoked on mesh will show its original flavor most accurately, fresher, clearer, more lingering. It can be said that this is the highest rung a flavor-chaser can climb.
There are not many mesh players in Vietnam in particular and the world in general, and places that sell and build mesh are even rarer. That is why this hobby requires a high level of learning and self-discovery.
First, about the atomizer. There are 2 types of atomizers specialized for playing mesh: Genesis RTA and Hybrid RDTA.
Genesis RTA: This is a mesh-specific type, its design includes a straight post in the middle as the positive pin, you will thread the mesh coil through it and fix one end of the wire at the top, then wrap the wire around the mesh coil and lock the other end of the wire at the screw below.
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Hybrid RDTA: As the name suggests, this atomizer can use both mesh and cotton. It has two yin-yang pins designed to build a vertical coil, the mesh or cotton post will be passed through the coil to the e-liquid compartment below.
Next is the mesh type and wire type. I personally cannot have a specific formula for this. It all depends on the player's own experience and that also makes the biggest difference between cotton vape and mesh vape: accuracy. Usually, mesh wicks will be mesh types with a large number of cells per square inch (mesh unit): 200 mesh → 600 mesh. Wire used for mesh is basic wire, clapton 27-28-29-30ga or braided wire (rope-wire). Please do not try to put striped wire like alien or stagger into mesh atomizer, firstly it is very difficult to adjust, secondly there is no mesh or mesh atomizer that can withstand the temperature and juice-eating power of these large coils.
Regarding the juice on the mesh, the mesh can be used to suck all types of juice, depending on the thickness - thinness, a different mesh configuration will be needed. However, there are special juice lines that can only be sucked on the mesh to feel their true value. The most popular are tobacco juice lines, organic juices that are less sweet and mixed at a ratio of 50:50 VG:PG such as Black Note, White Note, Five Pawns,... because these juice lines are very complex and not cheap, it would be a pity if you do not have the equipment to bring out all their flavors.
The above is just a very brief introduction to mesh. Hopefully through this article you have understood what mesh and mesh burners are. If you are interested in this sophisticated but no less romantic hobby, do not hesitate to ask questions. I will try to learn more knowledge and see you again in the next article, with mesh.
Gia Bao
