Conical Coil – What is it in Vaping?

Definition

A Conical Coil is a type of vape coil shaped like a miniature cone—wider at the bottom and narrowing toward the top—rather than a perfect cylinder. By tapering the wraps, the internal diameter changes along the coil’s length, creating a controlled compression chamber for incoming air. This conical shape speeds up airflow through the narrower top section, increasing vapor turbulence and flavour density without demanding extreme wattage. Popular with flavour-chasers moving beyond standard cartridge coils, a conical build fits most rebuildable drippers (RDAs) and single-coil RTAs, giving beginners an easy upgrade path and giving veterans a stepping-stone between round wire and complex Clapton coils.

Technical Details

Conical coils are usually hand-wound on stepped or tapered mandrels (2.5 mm–4 mm diameter range), although pre-rolled spooled wire is now sold by several Australian vendors. Typical specs are 5–7 wraps of 24–26 ga Kanthal or Ni80, spaced 0.5 mm so that each consecutive wrap sits slightly inside the previous one. Resistance normally lands between 0.25 Ω and 0.4 Ω, ideal for 40–70 W regulated mods. Air enters below the widest wrap, hugs the entire surface area, then accelerates through the apex, lowering coil temperature at the top and reducing spit-back. Variations include “framed staple conicals” for cloud chasing, “alien conicals” for surface area, and “micro-conicals” using 2–2.5 mm IDs for MTL tanks. Because wicking cotton must follow the taper, users often twist the tail or use shoelace-style cotton to ensure full contact.

Usage & Tips

• Install the coil with the widest wrap facing the airflow slots and the apex centred under the drip-tip; this maximises the conical compression effect.
• Use medium-thick cotton: too little causes hot-spots, too much collapses the taper and mutes flavour.
• Pulse at 20 W, gently squeeze with ceramic tweezers to eliminate hotspots before full wicking.
• Common issue: uneven glow—rotate the RDA while firing to see which wrap heats last, then strum that wrap lightly.
• Safety: keep the resistance above 0.15 Ω on single-battery mechs; the tight apex can glow red quickly, so never dry-burn over 35 W for more than two seconds.

History & Context

The conical concept emerged from 2017 high-end Filipino drippers looking to mimic the narrowing bore of a cigarette filter. When Scottish YouTube reviewer “The Vaping Biker” posted a 2018 tutorial, the design spread across Facebook groups in Sydney and Melbourne, spawning commercial spools and pre-builts. Today it sits between simple round-wire economy and artisan alien builds, offering Australian vapers an affordable flavour upgrade that complies with 0.1 Ω minimum import rules.