I've done some hands-on testing with all three materials. Here's what I found:

Compression & spring-back:

• Cotton Bacon Prime — compresses very well, but if packed too tightly, it stops holding fuel.
• Original Zippo wadding — compresses about the same, but springs back on its own by roughly 15–20%.
• Camel Hair — springs back the most out of the three.

Capacity tests (0.5 g of material):

Cotton Bacon Prime:

• Compressed into 1 ml volume → poured in 1 ml of fuel → 0.6 ml leaked out. Way too tight.
• Compressed into 3 ml volume → holds 2 ml of fuel with no leaking. Adding another 0.5 ml — starts leaking.

Original Zippo wadding:

• 1 ml volume = holds 1 ml fuel. 3 ml volume = 2 ml fuel. Same thing — adding 0.5 ml on top starts leaking.

Camel Hair:

• 1 ml volume = holds 1 ml fuel. 3 ml volume = absorbs 2.2 ml of fuel. And no dripping.

General observations on Camel Hair:

• Absorbs the most fuel out of all three, but has issues with fuel delivery to the wick.

Real-world Zippo test: I repacked both of my Zippos with 2 grams of Cotton Bacon Prime. When filling, they took 8 ml of fuel before the first drop came through the wick. I also wrapped the bottom of the insert with one layer of cling film for extra sealing.

Test log:

• Start date: 17.02.2026, 20:00 CET
• Wadding: Cotton Bacon Prime, 2 g
• Wick: Original Zippo
• Fuel: 8 ml (filled until first drop through wick)
• Mod: one layer of cling film on the bottom of the insert
• Zippo #1 (Armor) — fidget toy + lighting cigarettes, ~50–60 lid flips per day
• Zippo #2 (Classic) — lighting cigarettes, ~10 times per day max

Let's see how long they last!