  Helical equilibria can be generated by arrangements of planar coils similar
to tokamaks, but without a central solenoid and with the toroidal field (TF)
coils tilted with respect to the vertical. This is known from earlier numerical
works, e.g. P.E. Moroz, Phys.Plasmas 2, 4269 (1995). However, such concept
tends to need large coils (of low aspect ratio) but form small plasmas (of
large aspect ratio). Here it is numerically shown that larger, more attractive
vacuum flux surfaces -- relative to the size of the device -- can be generated
by carefully optimizing the inclination of the TF coils and currents in the
various coil-sets. Vacuum configurations of aspect ratios as low as 4 are found
for 6 tilted TF circular coils. Higher numbers of TF coils have advantages
(smaller effective ripple) and disadvantages (lower rotational transform,
smaller plasma). Finally, the aspect-ratio $A$ of the vacuum flux surfaces is
quantified as a function of the ratio $A_c$ of the coil-radius to the radial
location of the coil-center. It is found that, in order to minimize $A$, it is
beneficial to interlink or marginally interlink the TF coils ($A_c \lesssim
1$).
