- a San Francisco firedancing troupe -
There are almost as many ways to build a pair of poi as there are poi spinners. There are also a couple of good guides to how to do it yourself already on the Web, such as:
You’ll note, when you look at these, that Adam Rice and the Incendium Fire Circus make their poi in very different ways. Which is better? That’s really up to the individual poi-spinner. Different people like different ways of doing things.
We’re not covering all the ins and outs of how to actually go and build your poi here — though we may write up various individual recipe elements later on — because there’d simply be too much to cover. Instead, this page is a guide to the pros and cons of different types of poi construction. If you’re looking for a quick how-to, try the pages linked above.
Some people might think the wicks are the most important part of a pair of poi. I mean, those are the things that are getting set on fire, right? Those are where your audience’s attention is going to be all the time. But the handles are the part that you are going to be relating to. They’re how you hold the poi, how you control them, and how the poi give you feedback on what’s going on. If you’re not comfortable with your handles, you’re not going to be comfortable with anything else about your poi.
There are essentially three major designs in use today: finger straps, finger nooses, and metal rings. Each has its advantages and drawbacks.
Finger straps are essentially a loop of sturdy material (generally leather) which can slip around two or three of your fingers. When worn, the center connector of the strap should project between your index and middle fingers. The design is slightly loose, allowing you to make minor adjustments in tension on-the-fly by altering your grip. You can generally slip your hands out of finger straps pretty easily when you want to, but the chance of them coming off by accident is nil, unless your fingers are prone to spontaneously losing their grip on things.
Top: A self-tightening finger noose. Bottom: How to hold it.
Finger nooses are a tighter design that are made to involve only the index finger and the middle finger. Each finger gets its own strap or loop, and the whole assembly cinches tighter around the fingers than a finger strap does. The loops may even be constructed so that the friction of the material against itself locks them onto your fingers, as in the photos at right. These can be a little difficult to get off in a hurry, but when they’re on — they’re on. Those suckers are not coming off. You can feel the solidity of the grip. Some people find that the tightness of the grip on finger nooses restricts the circulation of blood in their fingers, while finger noose fans often feel that the grip of a strap is just too loose.
Metal rings are just that — a metal ring hooked onto the end of your chain or cable, which you grip in your hand. This is the design used in the Incendium Fire Circus’ design. Many fire artists prefer the rings, because you can very easily pass one poi from one hand to the other. If you’re into doing one-handed moves (that is, with both poi in the same hand), you’ll find that using rings makes this much easier. Some artists even like to hold them with just two fingers, as in the photo. Rings are also practically a necessity for release moves (moves in which you actually let go of the poi briefly, passing it around a limb or tossing it up into the air and then catching it). However, many other people feel that the inflexibility of the metal is uncomfortable for more than short periods of time, and interferes with the subtleties of sensing the forces acting on their poi.
As with everything else in this highly individualistic art, you should try out as many options as you can before deciding which one best suits your style.
Wicks are the part of your poi that you soak in fuel and set on fire. Pretty self-explanatory, as far as that goes. But there are a bunch of ways to make them, each with their own characteristics. The three main types of wicks are: interleaved (also called “cathedral”) wicks, tube-core wicks, and wire-wrapped wicks.
Interleaved wicks are the design given in Adam Rice’s recipe on his fire gear page. (Although Adam uses a looped cable as the “axis” for his wicks, while many other people use steel eyebolts.) Incendium Fire Circus, by contrast, seems to prefer tube-core wicks. Both designs have the advantage of looking professional and well-made. We at Mythic Fire prefer cathedral wicks, for a variety of reasons.
One is Adam Rice’s relative burn-time test, showing that cathedral wicks give a longer burn for the same amount of fuel. Another is that a cathedral wick can easily be made with a blind-rigged bottom, minimizing the amount of exposed metal on the wick assembly. (The cathedral wick shown in the photo has a blind-rigged bottom: the bottom is pointed toward the camera, and there is no exposed metal. The washer and cap-nut are covered by a fold of Kevlar.)
Having as little exposed metal as possible — preferably none — is of prime importance if you plan to do any wraps onto bare skin. Although tube-core wicks have very little exposed metal, there’s still those one or two screws used to affix the Kevlar. (The tube-core wick used in this photo uses one screw on the side visible in the photo, and two more on the other side.) If any of those screws hit your skin during a wrap, you’ll have a nice round burn scar (or two) to show for it.
Minimizing your exposed metal is also a nice courtesy for any fire safety people who might have to wrap a damp towel around your equipment, either to cool it down after a normal burn, or to put it out in a hurry in case of accident or some interruption in your performance.
Finally, there are the wire-wrapped wicks. These consist of a strip of Kevlar rolled or folded into a tight ball or other wad, and then wrapped in wire like a package or present to hold it all together. The spare ends of the wire, which would form a bow if this were a birthday present, can instead be bent into a firm loop to hook your chains or cables into.
Though serviceable, this design has two main drawbacks. One is that the exposed wire makes performing a bare-skin wrap with these wicks absolutely impossible (unless you relish the idea of having linear burn scars tracing out the pattern of the wire). The second problem is that these wicks tend to look very amateurish, and can easily detract from any air of professionalism you might be trying to project.
Once you’ve got your wicks and your handles, you’ll need something to connect them. The major options are: chains (any of various types), and steel cables.
People who like their poi light and fast swear by steel cable. This is essentially the same kind of cable that works the gears and brake calipers on a bicycle, but in a somewhat heavier gauge. It’s light, it’s strong (even moderate thicknesses of cable can be rated up to 500 lbs. or more — much more force than you’ll ever put on it!), and it minimizes the amount of effort you need to use in your spinning. This allows you to keep on going for longer without needing to take a break, which can be really nice when a bunch of spinners get together and start feeding off each other’s energy, creating a non-stop firedancing session.
However, the very lightness of steel cable also means it’s sometimes too easy to go too fast, and even get out of control. Also, steel cable inevitably gets kinks in it. While these don’t affect the actual performance of your poi, they do look bad — eventually, you’ll need to replace your cables, just because you have trouble looking at your own poi without sneering otherwise.
If you’re going to build your own cables, Adam Rice has a note on his site about crimping the cable sleeves: he advises using two cable sleeves per cable end. The first cable sleeve (the leftmost in the photo), bears the actual load as it closes off the loop at the end of the cable. However, there will be at least a bit of cable extending out of that sleeve, along the path of the main cable itself. This generally has a sharp end that can prick you. Mr. Rice’s very sensible practice is to clamp that spare end with a second cable sleeve (the rightmost in the photo).
For a more durable connector, many artists prefer chains. There are a variety of chains available, but the fire-spinner’s preference is for heavy-duty, welded steel. One of the best kinds is the chain used for dog leashes — especially for big dogs. These chains also come with a pair of solid steel rings helpfully attached at each end, as in the photo. These are perfect for attaching quick-links to (see below), and can generally hold at least a hundred pounds of force, if not more.
The only major drawback to dog chain is that it only comes in pre-set lengths, and if you want a length that’s not available, there’s really nothing you can do to customize it. However, hardware stores usually have a bunch of different chain types sitting around on spools, available to be bought by the foot. They’ll cut it to whatever length you like. If the link size is large enough to pass a quick-link through, you can even dispense with the end rings. (If you do need end-rings, don’t use key chains! Use quick-links instead. See more explanation below.) The poi pictured at right use a large-gauge oval-link chain, whose links are big enough to pass quick-links through, rendering any extra rings unnecessary.
One other chain option, which two of us in Mythic Fire have opted for, is to use ball chain. This is like the stuff used for ID badges or bathtub stopper chains, but it comes in much larger gauges. We use 3/8” in our apparatus (the measurement is the diameter of the balls). The balls in chains of large gauges like this are actually welded, rather than simply bent and crimped into shape like the smaller ones. Where you find ball chain, you can generally find connectors for it as well. You’ll want what are sometimes called “parachute” connectors and sometimes “type A” connectors. In either case, it’s a hemispherical clasp that fits around one of the balls, with a pair of “wings” or struts descending to a single ring.
The hardware store will cut the chain for you, to any length you desire. A fairly hefty set of wire-cutters or bolt-cutters will also do the job, if you have any lying around the house. Furthermore, ball chain has a good ability to untwist itself, when there isn’t tension on it. (Some people even find that they can dispense with swivels in their tool construction if they use ball chain, though we don’t recommend this.) Ball chain is highly resistant to tangling, and can even allow you to do moves that involve wrapping one artist’s chain around another’s to pass fire from one poi to another without undue worry.
Plus, many people like chain (ball or otherwise) simply for its heavy-duty, industrial appearance. When you’re whirling flaming things around at speeds in excess of 30 mph, knowing that your equipment is solid can be important. It can be even more important to have your equipment look solid, even to a cursory glance by an audience member. The safer your audience feels, the more they’ll be able to enjoy your performance.
The other major consideration in your connecting, flexible section is length. How long do you want your poi to be? As with everything else in this highly individualistic art, there are benefits and drawbacks to any particular decision, and it’s really a matter of personal taste and your own unique style.
Shorter cords can be easier to control, and they can allow a faster, tighter spinning style with less muscular strain, since there won’t be as much centrifugal force on your arms and the poi will have less distance to travel in any given circle. If you plan to do a lot of fast spinning, short cords are the way to go. They also keep the fire much closer to your body, giving you and the audience the feeling that you’re much more intimate with the flame, much more up-close-and-personal. Finally, if you plan to perform in crowded, small, or cramped venues, you’ll find that short poi are a real boon.
However, long poi give a much more graceful arc to your motions — lots of fast, tight spinning with short poi can give your performance an awkward, almost spastic appearance if you overdo it. With long cords, you can move much more slowly, with grace and fluidity. Wraps have an extra impact with longer cables, as the audience has more time to see what’s happening; they can easily track the entire path of your wick as it spirals around your limb and then back out, and they have time to anticipate — “That thing’s going to touch the performer!” And over-the-head moves with long cables can send the poi whirling around in up-and-down patterns that the long arcs highlight beautifully.
Finally, consider your own height and size. In general, taller and bigger people should opt for longer poi, because a big, powerfully built person using 18-inch poi looks a bit incongruous. Short, small, or petite people using extra-long poi can easily look like the poi are bigger than the people are, unless the poi artist is very good.
One of the most elementary measurements to keep in mind when choosing your poi length is that of your own arms: your poi should be short enough that they can spin freely beneath your outstretched arm without hitting your body. They should also be short enough that you can hang your arms at your sides and dangle your poi from your hands without the poi brushing against the ground. Some people like to violate one or both of these rules, but doing so does limit the moves available to you. (Note also that it can be quite difficult — even dangerous — to borrow poi belonging to someone with much longer arms than you!)
It’s possible to make a set of poi simply out of the three parts outlined above, attaching the chain or cable directly from your handles to your wicks. But you probably don’t want to do that. Adding a swivel to each poi, and using quick-links to connect everything together, will give you a much better set of poi — they’ll be safer, easier to use, and easier to change. And you almost certainly will want to change things about them; as you grow and evolve as a poi artist, you’ll find that you want to try new things that can’t be done with what you’ve currently got.
When you spin your poi, you’ll find that every revolution attempts to impart a half-twist to the poi, because your wrist doesn’t actually spin in a complete circle. Unless you’re using ball-chain or some other item that automatically untwists itself, you will find that a swivel is not optional. (Even ball chain is a little iffy about untwisting if there’s any tension on it — as there probably is, if you’re spinning fast enough to generate any centrifugal force.) Swivels can be found at any well-stocked hardware store; they should be connected between your handles and your chains, cables, or other flexible connector, one per poi. (There’s no need to put a swivel on the far end; one is fine.)
Quick-links are a boon to anyone who’s experimenting with different components. Quick-links are also the solution to any situation where you want to put some kind of ring-shaped or circular connector into your poi construction. For example, you’ve got a bunch of chain cut to your desired length from your local hardware store, and you need to clip it onto the eyebolt sticking out of your interleave wick. Or you’ve built your handles to incorporate those nice shiny swivels, and now you need to connect them to the pre-built loop on the end of your steel cable. You might be tempted to use key rings at this point. Don’t.
Key rings are easy to find, and they’ll easily connect any two items you can clip them onto. But they are not built to handle the kinds of stresses that constant, rapid spinning will put on them. They will eventually fail. The Home of Poi Web site has an excellent article on why this is, but the practical upshot of it is that every single piece of your poi should be ready to handle at least 50 times the weight of the entire apparatus. Since your poi might weigh as much as two pounds (apiece), each individual part of each poi — every quick-link, swivel, and chain — should be rated up to 100 pounds, or 45 kilos.
Key rings are not made to handle this. Sure, they’re convenient, but you probably don’t want to pay for that convenience by having a flaming poi detach from its handle and go flying off into your audience. No fire department will give you a fire permit for a legitimate performance if there are key rings anywhere in your construction. Use quick-links instead; this is what they’re for. Most hardware stores keep them in stock, and you’re already going to the hardware store for other parts. Pick up a handful. (Note that quick-links and swivels both come in various sizes, with varying load limits. Check them and make sure the ones you’re getting can handle at least 45 kilos, or 100 pounds, of load.) Quick-links will allow you to modularize your entire design, making it easy to swap chains, handles, cables, and wicks on a moment’s notice. This makes it easy to experiment, and also easy to adapt your poi to diverse situations. Some people keep varying lengths of chains, with appropriate connectors, in their fire kit. With a few twists of a quick-link, they can switch the total length of their poi from very short to very long or any length in between. Other people switch off different wicks, including ones soaked in special fuel combinations that provide colored flames.
If you want to really lock down your quick-links for a while, you can tighten them with needle-nose pliers in one hand and vise grips in the other. This allows you to get them tight enough that they won’t come loose on their own. If you don’t do this, safety-check your quick-links before every use — they will otherwise be prone to unscrewing themselves. But then, you run a safety check every time you pull out your toys anyway, don’t you?
You should also make sure that all the metal in your poi is steel, preferably stainless. Parts made of copper, brass, and aluminum may be cheaper or more easily available, but they will not stand up to the loads and the heat stresses you’ll be putting on them. Even the rivets in your handles will be experiencing quite a bit of strain — one member of Mythic Fire tried aluminum rivets in his handles on his first set of poi, and one rivet snapped in the middle of his fourth burn, leaving him with a strap of leather in his hand and sending the rest of the poi skidding across the pavement. (Luckily this was a private practice session rather than a real performance!)
Both your flexible section (cable or chain) and your wicks will have a serious effect on the overall weight of your poi. As with every other part of poi design and construction, there are benefits and drawbacks to having either heavy or light equipment.
Those who prefer heavier poi have varying reasons. Many feel that heavier poi give them better control; the increased amount of effort necessary to change the poi’s course means that they’re more forgiving of tiny, minute tremors and flaws in the artist’s technique. Some like the fact that the extra weight gives them a good arm workout, leading to firm and toned arms. And many poi spinners agree that heavier poi, like longer ones, are conducive to slow, stately spinning. It’s often easier to speed up a pair of poi from their “natural pace” than it is to slow them down below their “stall speed”.
On the other hand, the inescapable problem with heavy poi is that they are heavy — and far more so after an hour than after only five minutes. Unless you have quite a bit of arm strength to begin with, they may simply leave you exhausted. Lighter-weight poi also help you develop good technique and precision.
The issues involved in poi construction are many, varied, and highly personal. What one spinner enjoys, or even needs in order to give a good performance may be exactly what another most hates in a pair of poi. While the basic requirements of durability and safety are beyond argument, all other considerations are essentially matters of personal taste. Hopefully, this discussion of the options will give you a good starting point in determining what you want in your own poi. Perhaps you’ll even decide you need two or three different pairs — and that may be the best solution of all.