Everything you need to know about vape coils

Ever wonder what all these types of coils mean? We invite you to read through this guide to all about vape coils. Clapton Coil, Fused Clapton, Alien Clapton, Staggered Fused, Staple Coil, Framed, Tiger Coil, and Hive Coil. Every coil has its purpose, find the right coil to use with your next rebuildable.

CLAPTON COIL
It is a thinner gauge wire tightly wrapped around a thicker gauge core. They have a slower ramp-up time and are considered to be more flavorful owing to their texture and their more surface area. Earlier, Clapton and similar-style coils were used for sub-ohm and direct-lung vaping, but now they’re just as likely to be used in mouth-to-lung vaping which is possible for its design of thinner wire and a smaller internal diameter. The name of the coil pays tribute to the great guitarist Eric Clapton since the coil design was inspired by a guitar string.
· Clapton coils come in a wide array of resistances; from sub-ohm to above one ohm
· Claptons are available in diameters and resistances that fit most build decks on rebuildable (RDAs and RTAs)
· Available in power mode (mainly Kanthal, SS, or nichrome) or temperature control wire types (mainly in SS)
· Clapton’s will normally have lower ramp-up times than single-strand wire of the same resistance, but this is highly variable
· Moderately difficult to DIY, but attainable with practice and the proper tools

FUSED – CLAPTON COIL
A Fused Clapton is also a thinner gauge wire, but, wrapped around two or more thicker gauge cores. The multiple cores give Fused Claptons a faster ramp-up time and better flavor than Clapton’s, due to even more surface area. The term “fused” refers to the process of wrapping multiple wires together with thinner outer wire. Fused Claptons come in an array of resistances for both MTL and DL vaping.
· Fused Claptons are available in diameters and resistances that fit most modern build decks
· They are composed of a thin wire wrapped around two or more thicker parallel cores
· Fused Claptons generally have a faster ramp-up time than standard Claptons of the same resistance
· They are slightly more difficult to make than a regular Clapton coil, but relatively easy once you have mastered the Clapton

STAGGERED FUSED – CLAPTON COIL
This has an, even more, thinner gauge wire which is wrapped around a dual-clapton core. These ‘claptonised’ cores and the staggered outer wrap create additional texture and consequently more surface area. Hence gives a slower ramp-up time, but has an advantage in producing better flavor than that of the standard Clapton or the Fused-Clapton. When a single strand from two parallel strands of a Clapton is removed, it creates an evenly spaced outer wrap and thus a ‘staggered’ effect is achieved. Then the Clapton is cut into two separate halves and fused with thinner wire. SQUIDOODE is credited for coming up with this coil.
· Staggered fused Claptons come in low resistances for direct lung vaping (DTL)
· Staggered fused Claptons are thick and require very large post holes or a clamp-style deck
· They are made with a thin wire wrapped around two parallel Clapton cores and have evenly spaced outer wraps
· Staggered fused Claptons have a slower ramp-up time than fused Claptons of the same resistance
· They are more difficult to make than fused Claptons, but easier once you have mastered the Clapton and the fused Clapton

ALIEN CLAPTON
This is a de-cored Clapton wrapped around a multi-strand core. It is almost very similar to a Fused-Clapton but the outer wrap has a very distinct texture of its own. The other difference is that – owing to its larger surface area, Aliens have a slower ramp-up time than the Fused-Clapton. The inner core is carefully removed from a regular Clapton. Then it is wrapped around a multi-strand core containing the same gauge as the original core which is being removed. The textured outer wrap is thus achieved. The first builder is Blueeyedgoon83.
· Alien Claptons come in low resistances for sub-ohm vaping
· Aliens are usually thick and require a deck with large post holes or a clamp-style deck.
· They are made with a de-cored Clapton wrapped around three or more parallel cores.
· Aliens have a slower ramp-up time than fused Claptons of the same resistance
· They are hard to perfect and require mastery of making Clapton and Fused Clapton

STAPLE COIL
A Staple-Coil is a thinner gauge strand tightly wrapped around a stack of typically 8-10 flat ribbon wires – a variation of the Fused-Clapton but has a quicker ramp-up time due to its stacked ribbon cores. The flavors are enhanced also since the e-juice gets trapped between the wraps. The builder SQUIDOODE initiated the design for the looks of the product with thin round strands Claptoned around a thick flat core giving it a unique feature of a ribbed texture. Its resemblance with a row of staples earned it its name – Staple Coil.

· Staple coils come in low resistances for direct lung vaping
· Staples are thick and require a deck with very large post holes or a clamp-style deck
· They are made with a thin outer strand wrapped around typically 8-10 stacked ribbon cores
· Staples have a quicker ramp-up time than fused Claptons of the same resistance
· They are more difficult to make than fused Claptons but attainable with enough practice

FRAMED – STAPLE COIL
This is a hybrid, or to say – a cross between the Staple and the Fused Clapton – a stacked ribbon wire framed together by round wire. This may be defined as fused or ‘clatonised’ by thinner wire. It decreases ramp-up time and the varied cores create spaces within the wire which allows for a better flavoring than that of a standard Staple. The stacked ribbon core is framed in between two separate round cores which then creates more space inside the coil making it much easier to wrap with a vivid texture. The concept again is being invented by SQUIDOODE, but many other builders have popularized it via different social platforms.
· Framed staple coils are low in resistance for direct lung vaping
· Framed staple coils are very thick and require large post holes or a clamp-style deck
· They contain a thin outer strand wrapped around a stack of ribbon wire sandwiched between two round cores
· Framed staple coils have a quicker ramp-up time than regular staple coils of the same resistance
· They are not easy to make but possible once you master the fused Clapton and the staple coil

TIGER COIL
This is a simply twisted coil between a single round strand and a single flat ribbon strand. Twisting these separate and differently shaped wires gives it more grooves and spatial pores which creates more temperature and denser vape improving the quality of flavor than a single-strand build coil. It has an interesting look of barbed wire and the texture explains the name of the coil – Tiger, which requires very less effort for its make. Although not very popular today, but are still used to create more larger and exotic coils. All the credit goes to Mr. Leon Shin for being the first person to come up with the concept.

· Tiger coils are low in resistance but can be used for both direct lung and MTL vaping
· Tiger coils are a little thicker than twisted coils but fit into most standard build decks
· They are made up of two twisted wires, a single round strand, and a flat ribbon strand
· Tiger coils typically have a slower ramp-up than single-strand coils but a quicker ramp-up than regular twisted coils because of the ribbon
· They are very easy to make once you are good at making regular twisted coils

HIVE COIL
This coil is created by twisting together two separate twisted wires. This is, however, not a Clapton, but serves a similar function and purpose and at the same time, it is much easier to make. Drilling is also not required. This Hive coil, which is doubly twisted, has a unique texture with lots of more surface area gives about more flavor, but, in vape parlance, it may sometimes create too much spit back. This coil is considered outdated but is still an easy exotic coil to be made. This coil was made popular by Twisted Messes.

· Hive coils are low in resistance and typically used for direct lung vaping, but can be used for MTL
· Hive coils are thicker than regular round wire but still suitable for most build decks
· They consist of two twisted wires that have been twisted together, for a total of four strands
· Hive coils ramp up quicker than bigger exotic coils but slower than round wire
· They are easy to make once you have mastered the twisted build, especially if you use a drill