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Cotton...where do you get yours?
- Thread starter Mattp169
- Start date
CVS has their brand of cosmetic pads. It's called "Beauty 360." Think I paid around $5 for 150 squares. They're clearly bleached and it shows in how pristine/white they are and how brittle/not fluffy they are. But for something you can just go into a store and buy, they're not bad. They're not organic and the flavor is not the best, but they work pretty well. I vaped on them for about a month with no complaints while I was waiting for good stuff to fly over from the Nippon. Still have 95% of the whole bag left.
The best deals AND quality come straight from Japan, ime. The shipping is usually free on Amazon. You just have to be prepared to wait at least a month for it to get there. My advice would be to buy some cheap organic stuff at your local drugstore and order yourself a big $6-$8 bag of Japanese organic on Amazon. Once it arrives, you probably won't want to go back to store-bought, but you also shouldn't need any cotton for a good, long time.
If you like Koga, I'd recommend buying a couple of packs of Muji on Amazon. For something like 10-15 dollars, you can get two packs of squares that should last you for more than a year. You could go for the classic Koh Gen Doh, but honestly, Muji and KGD are interchangeable. The only difference is that Muji has a lower per-unit price. They're both some of the best cotton you can buy for vaping.
I started with Cotton Labo/Puff "M" size, which is a bit cheaper than and not quite as good as Muji or KGD, but its probably the cheapest high-quality Japanese cotton you can buy. One pack of the mediums pictured below got me through a year and some months... ...and I was building like a madman, doing at least 3 builds a day for various atties. Never had a single problem with that cotton. It had no break-in period and it was fluffy, even if some of the pads were really thin.
Just to put it into perspective for you... ...between Amazon and CVS, this is roughly $20 worth of high-quality cotton squares. Amazon and drug stores are your friends, especially if you wind up doing a lot of building.
I am extremely wasteful with my cotton, and even I will be hard-pressed to get through all of this in less than two years. I'd have to be really hard-up to even open that CVS bag in the middle.
Generally speaking, cotton is cotton. Don't be swayed by the expensive vaper-marketed stuff. Not saying it doesn't tend to be a little better, some of it really is. It just isn't worth the price point and a lot of it is the exact same stuff you get for much cheaper on Amazon.
Just do some searches for "Muji" "Cotton Labo" or "Koh Gen Do" on amazon, get yourself a big, cheap bag or two, wait a month for it to show up and be done buying for at least ten times as long as it took to get to you.
The best deals AND quality come straight from Japan, ime. The shipping is usually free on Amazon. You just have to be prepared to wait at least a month for it to get there. My advice would be to buy some cheap organic stuff at your local drugstore and order yourself a big $6-$8 bag of Japanese organic on Amazon. Once it arrives, you probably won't want to go back to store-bought, but you also shouldn't need any cotton for a good, long time.
If you like Koga, I'd recommend buying a couple of packs of Muji on Amazon. For something like 10-15 dollars, you can get two packs of squares that should last you for more than a year. You could go for the classic Koh Gen Doh, but honestly, Muji and KGD are interchangeable. The only difference is that Muji has a lower per-unit price. They're both some of the best cotton you can buy for vaping.
I started with Cotton Labo/Puff "M" size, which is a bit cheaper than and not quite as good as Muji or KGD, but its probably the cheapest high-quality Japanese cotton you can buy. One pack of the mediums pictured below got me through a year and some months... ...and I was building like a madman, doing at least 3 builds a day for various atties. Never had a single problem with that cotton. It had no break-in period and it was fluffy, even if some of the pads were really thin.
Just to put it into perspective for you... ...between Amazon and CVS, this is roughly $20 worth of high-quality cotton squares. Amazon and drug stores are your friends, especially if you wind up doing a lot of building.
I am extremely wasteful with my cotton, and even I will be hard-pressed to get through all of this in less than two years. I'd have to be really hard-up to even open that CVS bag in the middle.
Generally speaking, cotton is cotton. Don't be swayed by the expensive vaper-marketed stuff. Not saying it doesn't tend to be a little better, some of it really is. It just isn't worth the price point and a lot of it is the exact same stuff you get for much cheaper on Amazon.
Just do some searches for "Muji" "Cotton Labo" or "Koh Gen Do" on amazon, get yourself a big, cheap bag or two, wait a month for it to show up and be done buying for at least ten times as long as it took to get to you.
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Chaotic_Vapes
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I recently picked up some f5 cotton from cloudy collaborations inc, best damn cotton I've used since I started but a bit pricy. Got it during cyber Monday and I still haven't used a quarter of it.
It's more personal choice, I used to use cheap jap cotton pads for all the time and I tried organic cotton balls once but ever since I tried f5 I can't go back.
Sent from my dos terminal.
It's more personal choice, I used to use cheap jap cotton pads for all the time and I tried organic cotton balls once but ever since I tried f5 I can't go back.
Sent from my dos terminal.
That's it - but it's gone up!
It looks like Muji's U.S. site is back up again. That is the best place to buy it.
Muji cotton $2.50 a bag.
I have used CVS cotton roll, Ko Gen Do, Muji, Puff and 44060 CelluCotton. Of all of them it's a toss up between CVS and Muji for me.
Muji cotton $2.50 a bag.
I have used CVS cotton roll, Ko Gen Do, Muji, Puff and 44060 CelluCotton. Of all of them it's a toss up between CVS and Muji for me.
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Have you tried the CVS rolled cotton? This was one of the first types of cotton I bought and I still use it today.
I haven't tried the Labo, I didn't care for the Koh Gen Do it seemed to leave an after taste for me. Funny how some can taste something and get a complete different reaction to it.
Chaotic_Vapes
Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
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I have been meaning to try something like muji to see how it compares to this "high quality supima" cotton. I'll probably do comparison/review on here once I do though.
Sent from my dos terminal.
Dude send me some of that puffs I will pay shippingCVS has their brand of cosmetic pads. It's called "Beauty 360." Think I paid around $5 for 150 squares. They're clearly bleached and it shows in how pristine/white they are and how brittle/not fluffy they are. But for something you can just go into a store and buy, they're not bad. They're not organic and the flavor is not the best, but they work pretty well. I vaped on them for about a month with no complaints while I was waiting for good stuff to fly over from the Nippon. Still have 95% of the whole bag left.
The best deals AND quality come straight from Japan, ime. The shipping is usually free on Amazon. You just have to be prepared to wait at least a month for it to get there. My advice would be to buy some cheap organic stuff at your local drugstore and order yourself a big $6-$8 bag of Japanese organic on Amazon. Once it arrives, you probably won't want to go back to store-bought, but you also shouldn't need any cotton for a good, long time.
If you like Koga, I'd recommend buying a couple of packs of Muji on Amazon. For something like 10-15 dollars, you can get two packs of squares that should last you for more than a year. You could go for the classic Koh Gen Doh, but honestly, Muji and KGD are interchangeable. The only difference is that Muji has a lower per-unit price. They're both some of the best cotton you can buy for vaping.
I started with Cotton Labo/Puff "M" size, which is a bit cheaper than and not quite as good as Muji or KGD, but its probably the cheapest high-quality Japanese cotton you can buy. One pack of the mediums pictured below got me through a year and some months... ...and I was building like a madman, doing at least 3 builds a day for various atties. Never had a single problem with that cotton. It had no break-in period and it was fluffy, even if some of the pads were really thin.
Just to put it into perspective for you... ...between Amazon and CVS, this is roughly $20 worth of high-quality cotton squares. Amazon and drug stores are your friends, especially if you wind up doing a lot of building.
I am extremely wasteful with my cotton, and even I will be hard-pressed to get through all of this in less than two years. I'd have to be really hard-up to even open that CVS bag in the middle.
Generally speaking, cotton is cotton. Don't be swayed by the expensive vaper-marketed stuff. Not saying it doesn't tend to be a little better, some of it really is. It just isn't worth the price point and a lot of it is the exact same stuff you get for much cheaper on Amazon.
Just do some searches for "Muji" "Cotton Labo" or "Koh Gen Do" on amazon, get yourself a big, cheap bag or two, wait a month for it to show up and be done buying for at least ten times as long as it took to get to you.
VAPE ON
I have tried the CVS rolled cotton. I have a buddy that uses it a lot and swears by it. Recently, I got him on the Muji and he says he likes it just as much. I can attest to the vapability of the CVS rolled cotton. It's good cotton. Pretty easy to work with, too
Yeah, I've noticed that's a thing. It's about as common with cotton as it is with wire. Which reminds me, people often say that different wires have distinct tastes to them but I also can't taste that... ...I just notice a difference in the amount of flavor and the texture of the vapor. Nickel for instance, I find to be one-note. It's clean and smooth, but there isn't much there aside from the most prominent features of the juice. The flavor is very isolated. Kanthal and nichrome seem to bring more nuance... ...same with SS, but the kick is dialed back a bit. Wouldn't say I can taste the wire itself, though. Same deal with cotton.
I always pulse and blow on fresh, juiced up wicks. I know for sure that I will get a very slight, off taste from the Labo/Puff if I don't, but with any cotton I've used this is enough to get any off taste that I can perceive out. I dunno... ...to me, they're all about the same once I get the juice flow established by making them work hard for a minute or two.
They all differ slightly in absorbency... ...that, I can tell by the temperature and smoothness of the vape. Less absorbent cotton makes for a harsher vape with muted flavor notes. I can taste the juice turn over and get spoiled from being heated for too long... ...but that is to say it tastes like juice that's burning slightly rather than something unique to the cotton. I'm not sure what cotton is supposed to taste like, though.
I've always just assumed the the taste has more to do with how you wick and how much you've crammed in there than the cotton itself. You just have to set it up for proper absorbency... ...the correct amount differs from brand to brand. I can say that a very long time ago, when I was still experimenting and learning to wick, I got a lot of hits that tasted a little different from burning juice... ...not quite a dry hit, but rather something a little more sweet and astringent. Once I started peeling the compacted outer layers off and/or using a bare-minimum amount, the dry mystery taste vanished and I haven't gotten it since - not with any brand of cotton from the cheapest dollar-store stuff to the fanciest re-branded shit out there.
Maybe my taste buds are just shot. But I do wonder about that, as I know some people who swear they can taste the cotton and yet their ADV's are too strong for me.
Lol seriously? I'll send you a full, unopened bag of it if you can make it worth my while. Just seems silly to mail out a few squares of it. Hit me up if yer serious about it. We can work something out.