One of the newest fads in the vaping industry is actually something you may have seen before, but just didn’t know it had a name: the “Clapton coil”.
What is a Clapton coil? It’s simply a smaller gauge wire wrapped perpendicularly around a larger gauge wire.
The current from your device flows through the larger gauge wire, which slowly heats up the smaller wire.
With the additional wire added to this type of coil, it will actually take a little more time for the coil to heat up; however, a heated clapton coil has additional surface area to vaporize e-juice, making them much more efficient.
But why haven’t we seen more Clapton coils out there until now? They’re a really complex build and take a lot of patience to create on your own. The outer wire needs to be wrapped tightly around the inner one, which may be too difficult for some to handle.
That’s changing, though, since coil manufacturers are pre-building these coils in the factory, and cloud and flavor chasers may want to consider this new type of coil since they no longer have to create them on their own.
As I mentioned earlier, the biggest benefit to a Clapton coil is the additional surface area.
It makes sense if you think about it: the more surface area a coil has, the more heated wire is making contact with the e-juice.
The result in theory should be higher vapor production, which in turn should produce more flavor vs. a standard coil.
I have found that they work much better than standard, single wire coils – and other vapers agree.
There are a few considerations you’ll need to keep in mind, though. First of all, you’re going to go through a bit more e-juice with a Clapton coil. Since there’s more wire working to vaporize that juice, each drag is going to use more.
Also remember that while these coils take slightly longer to heat up, once they do, they’re going to throw off a lot of extra heat. This means warmer vapor, so if you aren’t into that and prefer a cooler vape, a Clapton coil might not be for you.
Of course, with a temperature controlled mod you’ll be able to manage this — but if you’re using a Clapton in a non-TC mod this is something you’ll need to live with.
Pros of Clapton Coils:
Increased surface area produces more vapor
Improved flavor experience
Produces warmer vapor (great during Winter)
Cons of Clapton Coils:
Vaporizes e-juice more quickly
Difficult to build on your own
Produces warmer vapor (not so good if you live somewhere hot)
What to Look For
Now that we’ve talked about Clapton coil benefits and negatives, let’s talk about where you can find them.
DIY Wire & Pre-Built Coils
If you’re a DIY coil builder, most vaping suppliers carry twisted Clapton wire so you can create your own custom builds. There are also pre-built options that make the process even easier.
Clapton Wire
Every good DIY vaping supplier will carry twisted Clapton wire so you can easily build your own coils. They’re offered by several companies and are often made with kanthal; although some companies offer Ni200.
Not as widely available yet, some companies are producing pre-built clapton coils for use in rebuildable atomizers. Not only are the wires pre-twisted together, but the coils are fully formed and ready to install, making the building process simple and easy. Vapor Beast has two versions:
Not only can DIY coil builders buy twisted Clapton wire and pre-built Clapton coils, but an increasing number of e-cigarette manufacturers are now offering pre-built Clapton coils designed specifically for their sub-ohm tanks.
This is becoming a much more popular option as they are far easier to use day to day and don’t really require much work at all. Below, I’ll list a few but for a larger list check out what Breazy has on offer….
Aspire Clapton Coils
Aspire was the first to hit the market with pre-built Clapton coils, which are compatible with its Triton series tanks and run at a resistance of 0.5 ohms. They’re also available for the new Aspire Odyssey Mini.
Kanger OVC Clapton Coils
Kangerech produces a set of OVC coils made with kanthal for its Subtank line, available at 0.5 ohm. No Ni200 version for TC yet. Compatible with Kanger Subtank Nano, Mini and Nebox.
gClapton Coils from Atom Vapes
Atom Vapes produces organic vertical coils (OVC) made with 24K gold for several different manufacturers; as well as a set of temperature-controlled versions using Ni-200. Designed for Arctic, Aspire Atlantis, Atlantis 2, Atlantis Mega, Aspire Triton, Herakles and Kanger Subtanks.
Smok Clapton Coils
Smok’s Clapton coils are perhaps the most innovative of the factory built offerings. Whereas the others are generally single coil builds, Smok offers either two, three, four, or eight (fused) for their TFV4 tanks. Some options still aren’t available yet, but resistances vary from 0.16 ohms to 0.4 ohms.
Are Clapton Coils Better? I Think So!
I’ve listed some of the latest Clapton coil products on the market.
I’m sure we’ll see additional options appear in the years ahead so be sure to keep an eye out.
What’s been your experience with Clapton coils? Are they really better than standard coils? I’ll try to keep this list updated with the latest product choices, as they become available.
I’ve been using isub apex tank with claptons at 35 to 50 watts. They are really good. Chucks clouds and much better flavor. Waiting for kanger ssocc clapton for my subtank mini.
I just got the TFT8 Clapton coils and love the taste and cloud production. It takes a little bit to get used to the warmer vapor, but I promise is well worth it. I have the Eleaf iStick TC100 and have done the firmware update but have yet to take it over the 100 watt mark yet.
OK I have a question then I use a smoke tfv4 and also a cloud beast tfv12 on the tfv4 I have a tf-clp2 coil does that mean I can rebuild the coil in side or is it just a factory made where you can just replace whole thing cuz the tfv4 tank I buy came with the tf-clp2 a tf-rca and a tf-s6 can you clarify if I can rebuild the clp2 and the rca and out of those which is the best and I got tf-q4 also
I’ve been using isub apex tank with claptons at 35 to 50 watts. They are really good. Chucks clouds and much better flavor. Waiting for kanger ssocc clapton for my subtank mini.
I just got the TFT8 Clapton coils and love the taste and cloud production. It takes a little bit to get used to the warmer vapor, but I promise is well worth it. I have the Eleaf iStick TC100 and have done the firmware update but have yet to take it over the 100 watt mark yet.
OK I have a question then I use a smoke tfv4 and also a cloud beast tfv12 on the tfv4 I have a tf-clp2 coil does that mean I can rebuild the coil in side or is it just a factory made where you can just replace whole thing cuz the tfv4 tank I buy came with the tf-clp2 a tf-rca and a tf-s6 can you clarify if I can rebuild the clp2 and the rca and out of those which is the best and I got tf-q4 also
I’m also runnin a eleaf istick qc 200w with those two set ups