I used to have that same problem with the liquid pad first time I got my GVG. I have yet to try the copper mesh but I did learn that smoking technique had a lot to do with the leakage. Perhaps your pulling too hard when your vaping your dose pulling some or most of the spice through the pad before it can be vaporized. I found that when I took significantly slower and longer pulls waste wasn't an issue for me anymore. It just took some getting used to but now I can vape it all without any spice leaking through.