Cathedral or Ball fire poi?

As a beginner i've apparently been spoiled by my friends fire poi. Looking at the site I see the monkey ball poi are 80 + dollars where the cathedral are only about 45... i've been spinning the monkey ball ones each time so far, and was just curious what differences there would be if I purchased the cathedral wicks. Like I said, im a beginning spinner, only know about 5 moves or so but have spun fire 5/6 times....

* what difference will I notice in flame trails

* is there a different feeling to the weight transfers since they
are blocks rather then balls?

* weight difference in general??

* length of burn compared to the ball?

* any other comments you guys can think of...

thanks in advance for your answers... being a college student its hard for me to spend the $80 atm, but if it would be worth me waiting and buying the balls for reasons i've listed above, I rather not just go cheap... I know its probably getting what you pay for, but I just want to know why the ball heads are better then the cathedrals...

not much difference really but tbh i prefer cathedrals, flames seem more intense. only problem with cathedrals is they have a bit more exposed metal at the head with the washers etc which gets hot so unprotected wraps are a bit more dangerous. Really up to you but I think cathedrals will do you fine for a first set
when your more into it look up salza fire gear, they make awsome Isis heads and braided fireropes

I say you could make your own heads, standard cathedral or bigger for like half the price, about 20-25. I'd suggest like 4 strands of 10-12ft of Hop's 1"x1/16" wick tape and making Moonblaze. I have cathedrals and hate the blockyness. Mooblaze are similar, it has more surface area and is more cylindrical. I wish I would've done it and saved a bunch of money and get less annoying poi. But if you don't mind the bockyness, go ahead, it just really really bothers me.
Here's how you would make moonblaze: http://www.laneyards.com/2008/10/circle-stitch.html
You can also use like 1.5" tape if you want them wider.

That's the easiest I can think of. And you can use the cathedral eyebolt kit and you can not only hide the bottom washer under the first stitch, but the top one under the last one

Those wick tape ones are much lighter from what I know, they;re softer. Rope designs like the monkeyfist generally hold more fuel and have more surface area. Flame size also depends on head size, I think the monkeyfists are bigger than the cathedrals.

Also since you can't spend much money, try to go with MAKING YOUR OWN! It's so much cheaper! You could make even Isis heads 7" long for only $60 and get MUCH bigger flames! Isis is very sinple do the stitch above for the Moonblaze, but use 2 strands of 4ft of 3/8" rope, then use 6ft and do another layer over it. Or you can do 1ft, use 4ft, then turn it back up over itself
(easier).

If you want a bigger flame than Moonblaze, but still want the $20 price, you can take 4 strands of 5ft the 1" tape and fold it in half and use this stitch and do this for each head: http://www.laneyards.com/2008/11/tornado-stitch.html

Yeah I know, I've looked at how to save meself some cashmoneys too

Personally I prefer monkeyfists, I've been using the HOP ones for 3 or 4 years now and never gone wrong with them. I find you get a longer more consistent burn with them, wheras cathedral wicks tend to burn more fiercely but not for as long. That said, it's all down to personal preference, I know people that prefer square wicks too! Not much difference with weight / feel I find.