If you’re reading this blog, you no doubt already have a basic understanding of vape coils—what they do and how they work. 

If so, you’ll probably also have noticed that vape coils tend to be described and sold with an ascribed numerical rating given as ohm or Ω. So what exactly does this mean, 

and why does it matter for vaping?

As we already have a standalone blog devoted to Ohm’s law as it pertains to vaping, we won’t go into the full depth of it here. Nonetheless, 

there are some key facts worth noting, moving forward:

Resistance limits how much electrical current can pass through any electrical system.

A higher resistance means a lower current, and vice versa.

So, what resistance does in any given electrical circuit is limit the electrical current flowing through it. For vape kits, 

the amount of electrical current that flows through the coil determines how hot the vape coil gets. This in turn, has an effect on how hot or cool your vapehit is, 

and thus how harsh or gentle a throat hit it produces.

Thus, the higher the resistance of your vape coil, the less electrical current will be able to pass through it. Conversely, a lower resistance coil will let through a higher current.

So, we’ve established that higher resistance = lower current, and lower resistance = higher current, but what exactly does this mean in terms of the end-user experience of vaping?

 Let’s look into that now, starting with high-resistance coils.

What are High Resistance Vape Coils?

High-resistance coils are, as you’d imagine, vape coils that have a high electrical resistance. But what counts as high resistance in terms of vape coils,

 and what does that do for your vape experience?

Firstly, a general rule of thumb would be that any vape coilsrated 1Ω or higher would be considered high-resistance. Of course, what a 1Ω rating means is that current

 passing through the coil will never be of a higher value than the supplied voltage from your vape kit’s battery.

So, again, a higher resistance keeps the overall device’s electrical current lower. What does this actually do? Predominantly,

 it makes a vape kit much more beginner-friendly, for two main reasons.

 Because a higher resistance keeps the current lower, itessentially means the vape kit will normally be operating in a low-power mode.

Higher resistance = lower current = lower power = less heat.

Less heat means that the device itself is less likely to overheat and encounter any electrical issues.

In terms of the end-user experience, lower heat means a cooler vape hit, which further means a less harsh throat hit.

So what we see is that high-resistance coils make vaping more beginner-friendly for two reasons, which are essentially interlinked: the higher resistance provides a lower temperature,

 keeping the device safe and providing gentler vape hits.

This is why higher-resistance coils are typically paired alongside starter vape kits; as part of an overall system designed to help new users.

 By becoming acclimated to user-friendly MTL vaping styles, smokers will have an easier time when they quit smoking and transition into vaping.

That’s really what you need to know when it comes to high resistance coils, so let’s now move onto low resistance coils.

How to Choose Vape Coils

By now you should have a decent idea of what to expect from both high resistance coils and low resistance coils. With that info in hand, 

you should be ready to start selecting which coils are right for your personal vaping needs.

In our main vape coils blog, we highlighted a slight shift in the vaping industry toward convenience; often, manufacturers do the legwork for the consumers.

 This means you don’t necessarily have to worry too much about making sure your vape coilsare compatible with your vape kit, as they’ll often come already bundled together.

That said, we always think it’s worth having underlying knowledge of how your vape components work together, and which combinations are effective for which goals.

 So what we’ll do is run you through three main tiers or categories of vaping, suggesting which hardware works best for that group, and we’ll throw in some recommended brands to give you a clearer picture.

Beginner vaping

For beginner vapers, we would recommend high resistance vape coils. As noted in the section on high-res coils, these are better for MTL vaping styles. 

The reason this approach is typically recommended for people new to vaping, is that it’s designed to replicate the sensation of smoking, making for an easier transition to vaping.

Beginner-friendly vape kits that use high resistance coils are typically categorised under the fitting umbrella of vape starter kits. 

Often on the lower end of the wattage scale, with comparatively high resistance coils, vape starter kits —as typified by brands like Innokin —are ideal for a classic MTL vaping experience; offering balanced flavour, subtle vapour, and smooth throat hits that will help ease the transition from smoking.

Intermediate vaping

By intermediate users, we normally mean someone who’s been vaping for a while —typically with a vape pen or other starter kit —and has a bit of technical knowledge;

 someone who’s maybe ready to mix up their setup.

For this type of vape user, you may start to land in that middle ground of coil resistance: lower than a beginner, but still higher than advanced vaping. you’re in luck,

 there’s actually a whole vaping style based around this middle ground, and it’s called RDL vaping.

For this kind of middle ground of vaping, our recommendation would be a pod vape kit. Pod kits, from brands such as lanavape, are all about versatility,

 combining the user-friendliness and portability of a pen-style kit with the customisation of an advanced vape kit. This means you can begin to play around with switching between MTL and 

DTL vaping, and get a sense of the variety of vaping available.

Advanced vaping

Our final main category, advanced vaping, consists of several elements that go hand in hand: advanced vaping means DTL vaping, which means sub ohm vaping, 

which means sub ohm vape coils and a suitably high-powered vapemod to go alongside them.

We have a range of vape mods to choose between, from big-name brands such as Geekvape and Voopoo. Likewise, 

we have a selection of requisite sub ohm vape coils to ensure that you have the most cloud-tastic DTL experience possible.

When it comes to picking the right coils for your vape, make sure to have a read of our product descriptions; most of these will give you insight into which coils play well with which kits. 

As mentioned earlier, you’ll want to be looking for coils that are ideally 0.8Ω or lower, and you may well want to consider checking out some mesh coils.

High Resistance Coils or Low Resistance Coils?

To answer the overall question of which coil resistanceyou should use, then: it depends! We know we answer this to a lot of vaping questions, but there’s a reason for it. 

Vaping isn’t one-size-fits-all; different vape users have different needs and wants from vaping. Broadly though, we can break it into three main categories:

If you’re fairly new to vaping, want something that’s similar to the feel of a cigarette, that will help you quit smoking, you’ll want high-resistance coils —anything 1Ω or higher. 

These will ensure smooth throat hits and a moderate amount of vapour, perfect for helping you get used to vaping. Typically, these will come already bundled with a vape starter kit, 

to get you moving in the right direction

If you’re a bit more used to vaping and want something that’s going to give you the biggest, fattest clouds, alongside an intense flavour sensation (but with a comparatively harsh throat hit),

 low resistance coils are your friend. Whether mesh coilsor classic wire coils, look for ratings below 1Ω, but especially in the below 0.8Ω range. Pair them with your favourite box mod, and let rip.

For that middle ground between high and low, where you want the best of both worlds, free from extremes, look to the versatility of pods. Maybe one day you fancy MTL vaping, 

maybe the next RDL or even a touch of DTL? Most pocket-sized pod mods will include two differently rated coils, allowing you to play around with styles.

 Look for a resistance range of about 0.7Ω to 1Ω —not quite deep sub ohm, but not too high either.

So that’s it really! Getting the right vape coil resistance may seem daunting at first, but manufacturers nowadays do a lot of the legwork for you; most vapekits include a suitable vape coil,

 so you won’t be starting out with a mismatch. Plus, once you get the hang of this key vape component, you’ll begin to unlock a whole world of vaping variety, 

perfect for letting you do your thing on your journey toward being smoke-free.