Fiber Freaks cellulose

[Giraut]

I'm trying out this cellulose wicking material from French manufacturer Fiber Freaks, and it's brilliant:



It wicks visibly a lot faster than carded cotton, it doesn't come apart when forming it into a wick - it feels almost "crisp" under the fingers, and it has no funny taste. I'm trying it with straight glycerin, and it seems to be able to keep up better than cotton. Flavor-wise, I don't find it better than good cotton. But I already know the carded cotton I usually use is already well-nigh perfect, therefore so is the Fiber Freaks.

For what it's worth, I'm currently trying density #2 - the densest of the two variants.

 

[BigNasty]

ahhl artiscam rayon.

 

[vaperature]

Because there's such a shortage of cotton?

 

[Giraut]

ahhl artiscam rayon.

If that's rayon, I'm all for rayon

Because there's such a shortage of cotton?

Did you miss the part where I write it wicks better than cotton? I don't know what the material is exactly (well, cellulose obviously, but made into something that works quite well in an atomizer) but I like it better than cotton for wicking VG.

Anyhow, I didn't pay for it. It was a freebie from my B&M. But when it runs out, I'll buy some more: I don't really care about the price, because at the rate I use up cotton with the DNA40, that free baggy will probably last for months

 

[BigNasty]

BAH all in french..

 

[FrankVappa]

I'm trying out this cellulose wicking material from French manufacturer Fiber Freaks, and it's brilliant:



It wicks visibly a lot faster than carded cotton, it doesn't come apart when forming it into a wick - it feels almost "crisp" under the fingers, and it has no funny taste. I'm trying it with straight glycerin, and it seems to be able to keep up better than cotton. Flavor-wise, I don't find it better than good cotton. But I already know the carded cotton I usually use is already well-nigh perfect, therefore so is the Fiber Freaks.

For what it's worth, I'm currently trying density #2 - the densest of the two variants.

I'm an English ex-pat who's lived in France for 32 years. I'm glad you're impressed with the FiberFreaks 'cause so am I. Sure it's just rayon, which is just cellulose made from wood pulp, (which is all that the sheep at ECF had to say about it), but in fact there's a lot of R&D and eco-friendliness behind this product. Btw I have no connection with the manufacturers whatsoever.

Their website http://www.fiberfreaks.com/?lang=en is translated into english - just click on the Union Jack. Rather than repeat what you can read there why not check it out?

2 tips though : It doesn't swell as much as carded cotton so I wick my coils tighter. Don't be tempted just to cut off a strip from the pads (density 1.) It needs to be teased out and lightly rolled just like cotton (it's also bouncier -doesn't compress like cotton.) You'll need a drop of juice on the end to roll to a point to feed into the coil. Saliva doesn't work. (My gf says that too!)

I'm going to check out the density 2 next week. I'd appreciate reading your conclusions too if you've got time.

Have a great weekend

 

[FrankVappa]

BAH all in french..

Wrong - their website http://www.fiberfreaks.com/?lang=en is translated into english - just click on the Union Jack (that's the english flag - lol!) on their home page.

 

[FrankVappa]

Because there's such a shortage of cotton?

No, there's just a shortage of water to grow it!

 

[BigNasty]

Wrong - their website http://www.fiberfreaks.com/?lang=en is translated into english - just click on the Union Jack (that's the english flag - lol!) on their home page.

At that time of posting there was not a union jack.
Ugh wood pulp.. not sure having grown up around paper mills and workers on the safety aspect of that.

 

[FrankVappa]

At that time of posting there was not a union jack.
Ugh wood pulp.. not sure having grown up around paper mills and workers on the safety aspect of that.

Me too. I remember fishing opposite a paper mill in Scotland when I was a teenager & I had to change my entire rig - bait, hook, sinker, float every 10 minutes. Clogged up with wood pulp crap - and it stank for miles around.

These guys claim to use wood from french forests from trees that have reached their age-limit and an innovative closed-circuit extraction method called Lyocell that is eco-friendly - insofar as 98% of the organic solvent used is recovered. All my investigations so far indicate that this is true. My local vape-shop owner met them at the annual French vaping trade fair and was very convinced of their sincerity.

One thing I'm certain of is that the global average water footprint for cotton cultivation is 2640 US Gallons for 1 kg of cotton! An 800 gram pair of jeans requires 2,113 US gallons of water to manufacture, despite the fact that in the US cotton cultivation is irrigated very scientifically. Elsewhere, especially China & Pakistan things are very different. The Aral sea has almost dried up because of cotton cultivation in the ex-Soviet Union & in Uzbekistan has caused desertification.

I'm ashamed to say that up till now I've never been obsessed by ecology/environment issues, but maybe since I stopped polluting my lungs and immediate environment with tobacco smoke I'm changing my priorities.

I'm sorry to rant about all this, but I bought a packet of this stuff a month ago & I'm knocked out by it's qualities - especially by the fact that it gives you a bit of warning when a dry hit is coming, unlike cotton. That alone convinced me that it's a good deal. Finally you're quite right to prefer rayon. I wish I'd realised it sooner. All my cotton has been thrown in the trash-can.

Have a great weekend

 

[BigNasty]

@FrankVappa ours was not clogging up with stuff but chemicals enough to melt monofilament line on a regular basis.
Dad did ground clean up at one and shocked me to find out about the low to mid levels of radiation that is produced from the paper making process.

 

[FrankVappa]

Posted in error - deleted

 

[FrankVappa]

@FrankVappa ours was not clogging up with stuff but chemicals enough to melt monofilament line on a regular basis.
Dad did ground clean up at one and shocked me to find out about the low to mid levels of radiation that is produced from the paper making process.

Radiation !!! Jeez - what next?

 

[BigNasty]

Radiation !!! Jeez - what next?

Low grade in the ground soil near ground water, it is from the break down of the wood pulp and chemicals.
But then again you have to consider some of our rivers caught the fuck on fire from pollution, and this place was 50 miles down stream from Hanford.

 

[FrankVappa]

Low grade in the ground soil near ground water, it is from the break down of the wood pulp and chemicals.
But then again you have to consider some of our rivers caught the fuck on fire from pollution, and this place was 50 miles down stream from Hanford.

Are you at Hanford, Washington, where there was the nuclear production complex on the Columbia river?

 

[BigNasty]

Are you at Hanford, Washington, where there was the nuclear production complex on the Columbia river?

No the plant is in orchards ways down river from there.
Grew up a ways off from another pulp mill that did not stink half as bad. But still saw the first hand effects of the mills before the EPA put a serious amount of control on them.

 

[Zamazam]

I was 9 years old and sailing on lake Erie with my Dad and Grandpa when the Cuyahoga River caught fire. Paper mills, oils refineries, they all scurried for cover.

 

[FrankVappa]

I was 9 years old and sailing on lake Erie with my Dad and Grandpa when the Cuyahoga River caught fire. Paper mills, oils refineries, they all scurried for cover.

Just been reading up on it with Wikipedia. Mind-boggling! 13 fires since 1868. $1M damage the fire of 1952. Where do these pollutors keep their consciences. Up their asses?

Thank heavens for vaping. I was a member of an environment protection association but always felt very guilty & hypocritical when the 1st thing I did on leaving a meeting was to light up a Camel! Nowadays I can't go within 10 feet of a lighted cigarette.

 

[Zamazam]

I was 9 in 1969 the last time the river caught fire. Nowdays, I can smell the fumes from a person who smokes 100 feet in front of me.

 

[FrankVappa]

No the plant is in orchards ways down river from there.
Grew up a ways off from another pulp mill that did not stink half as bad. But still saw the first hand effects of the mills before the EPA put a serious amount of control on them.

The river in I mentioned earlier is called the Don. Fourth most famous salmon river in Scotland. The paper mill killed off all the salmon stock. It took 20 years to recover during the 1960's & 1970's. When I was a kid you could fish for brown trout (not salmon of course) free on any scottish river. How things have changed!

 

[BigNasty]

Just been reading up on it with Wikipedia. Mind-boggling! 13 fires since 1868. $1M damage the fire of 1952. Where do these pollutors keep their consciences. Up their asses?

Thank heavens for vaping. I was a member of an environment protection association but always felt very guilty & hypocritical when the 1st thing I did on leaving a meeting was to light up a Camel! Nowadays I can't go within 10 feet of a lighted cigarette.

LOL they just made these apartments no smoking inside or on premises but ecig and vaping are cleared for fog.

 

[FrankVappa]

I was 9 in 1969 the last time the river caught fire. Nowdays, I can smell the fumes from a person who smokes 100 feet in front of me.

Well I'm a bit older - Apollo 11 landed on the moon on the eve of my 22nd birthday. When I said 10 feet I was trying to be tolerant. Already I haven't been able to go in a bar for weeks, because to get inside you first have to run the 'smokers' gauntlet' in front of the entrance.

 

[FrankVappa]

LOL they just made these apartments no smoking inside or on premises but ecig and vaping are cleared for fog.

Well I haven't set foot in a bar since New Year's Eve but at the time most bar-owners encouraged me to vape - until I started using my Fogger. That fazed them a bit! Huge clouds of Torque56 all over the place, so next time I go to a bar I'll just vape outside. That way I'll avoid hearing all the bullshit about formaldehyde production too. Those tobacco slaves can get so jealous!

 

[Zamazam]

At that point I'd only seen my Grandpa weep twice when I was 9 years old, when the moon landing happened and when his Belgian Mare died, he raised her from a filly. The most gentile huge horse I have ever known.

 

[FrankVappa]

At that point I'd only seen my Grandpa weep twice when I was 9 years old, when the moon landing happened and when his Belgian Mare died, he raised her from a filly. The most gentile huge horse I have ever known.

I can empathise with that. I still remember every minute of 7/20/1969 and Apollo13 too, but obviously in a different way. There was a kind of global angst. And I cried when my horse had to be shot because of an incurable leg problem (navicular disease.)

I'm very lucky to have lived 1967-72 as a young man in his 20's. My gf's who are always younger than me soon get fed with hearing about the free concerts I went to, not to mention the substance abuse! I went 100% clean at least 20 years ago, but I suspect that it's caused me to become a boring old fart.

 

[Zamazam]

While most of my generation was shoveling dandelions up their nose's, I was in the army drinking lots of German beer and strange flavored schnapps in the 80's. I met and had a lot of fun with some well known rockers, but the dope and weird nature of the of the scene caught up to me after I left the army. Too much fun, no substance. Despite that, I still have some "toys" from Stevie Nicks.

 

[FrankVappa]

While most of my generation was shoveling coke up their nose's, I was in the army drinking lots of German beer and strange flavored schnapps in the 80's. I met and had a lot of fun with some well known rockers, but the dope and weird nature of the of the scene caught up to me after I left the army. Too much fun, no substance. Despite that, I still have some "toys" from Stevie Nicks.

LOL!!! Schnapps. Don't talk about it. I used to drink Danish aquavit when I lived in London, and even now when I buy vodka to rinse my atties, I can't resist rinsing my mouth out with it at the same time. But, fortunately I was never really into getting my head in the bag. I suppose I'm lucky. I lived in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, next to Ibiza) from 1972-83 and my 'ex' got into a really bad space there with the worst one of them all. That's why I came to live in France, but she kept on falling by the wayside & I let her go 15 years ago. I wish I had done it sooner.

They have some amazing small artisan breweries in Brittany and in the summer there's nothing to beat an good ice-cold beer. The problem is it gets expensive having to have a pair of 501's for the summer and another pair 2" smaller waist for the winter when I try to stick to a few Jacks at the weekends - and angels' piss (french expression) during the week. Also, it's obvious that booze, coffee & tobacco make an inseparable trio so I'm being very cautious at the moment. It's only been 11-12 weeks (not sure of exact date) that I've been tobacco-free.

It's 5am here so I'm going to finish re-wicking my Fogger and then hit the sack. Have a great weekend. I've enjoyed the chat immensely.

Update: Thinking about schnapps triggered off my neurones and I've remembered the one I used to drink in London with my German gf. Berentzen. All kinds of strange flavours, often with wild berries.
But, Brittany & Normandy have the best apple eau-de-vie (Calvados) in Europe, and further south they make pear & raspberry eau-de-vie that is sublime.

 

[mark.holland.5283]

Just thought I'd drop my views on FF as well. I've tried several wicks cottons and the Kumo Japanese Organic cotton and wasn't a fan of the flavour from them. SO I tried the #1 and #2 Fibre Freaks and I have to say I love it!

Definitely holds liquids a lot longer (#1) and theres no noticeable taste from it either (where as the Kumo cotton tasted horrible!).

I don't get how people on some threads are complaining about the cost - hugely better material and tast for a £3 bag that will last at least a fee months is nothing. Spending a few hundred quid on a decent mod and atty then 'saving' by buying shit cotton... Not sure that makes the most sence!

Anyway, for anyone who's interested I can.highly recommend trying it, especially as it's only 3 squid a bag.

 

[Giraut]

[...]The most gentile huge horse I have ever known.

You've never met my step-mother...

 

[FrankVappa]

You've never met my step-mother...

lol - nor mine, but she's grazing in the big pasture in the sky now...

 

[FrankVappa]

Just thought I'd drop my views on FF as well. I've tried several wicks cottons and the Kumo Japanese Organic cotton and wasn't a fan of the flavour from them. SO I tried the #1 and #2 Fibre Freaks and I have to say I love it!

Definitely holds liquids a lot longer (#1) and theres no noticeable taste from it either (where as the Kumo cotton tasted horrible!).

I don't get how people on some threads are complaining about the cost - hugely better material and tast for a £3 bag that will last at least a fee months is nothing. Spending a few hundred quid on a decent mod and atty then 'saving' by buying shit cotton... Not sure that makes the most sence!

Anyway, for anyone who's interested I can.highly recommend trying it, especially as it's only 3 squid a bag.

Well glad that you share my opinion. The only negative I've found with it (and I've been using it for 6 months now) is, unlike cotton, you don't get any warning of dry hits, and burnt FiberFreaks tastes mega-foul.

 

[Giraut]

Fiber Freaks is all I use now. Thing is, if you know how to make a wick, you can cut very small squares and work them into perfect, slightly conical wicks that are just long enough to wick your atomizer of choice. As a result, I find a small EUR 5 baggy of Fiber Freaks lasts me for months, which turns out to be very economical. I've only used 1.5 bags in 5 months. Them guys ain't turning no profit on me

 

[FrankVappa]

Fiber Freaks is all I use now. Thing is, if you know how to make a wick, you can cut very small squares and work them into perfect, slightly conical wicks that are just long enough to wick your atomizer of choice. As a result, I find a small EUR 5 baggy of Fiber Freaks lasts me for months, which turns out to be very economical. I've only used 1.5 bags in 5 months. Them guys ain't turning no profit on me

My latest use for Fiber Freaks (N°1) is rebuilding the OCC's of my Subtank Nano. The factory coils are expensive, low quality but very easy to rebuild. My Fogger 4.1 is now collecting dust in a drawer. I far prefer my 1.8 ohm (at 15 watts) Subtank Nano coils rebuilt with FFs and it fits my VTR perfectly (which is my main travelling rig).