Forums > Social Chat > Poi and all it's different weights....

Login/Join to Participate

Dj Masta Killamember
4 posts
Location: Staten Island, New York


Posted:
Ok heres the deal. I've been spinning poi for about 7 months now and i've noticed that the lighter your opi are the faster they go... Makes sense eh? The beaming balls are quite heavy. When i first started learning poi i had picked up a pair of them and boy i learned quickly! oww.... When i attach glowsticks on my strings, they are alot lighter. I can get up to 6 glowsticks on each string and it still doesnt compare to the beaming balls. I would like to get everyones opinion on whether you like heavier poi or light poi and why...

The Welcome Mattmember
193 posts
Location: Manchester NH USA


Posted:
I still haven't really decided which I like better... I really love my beaming poi and I have gotten pretty use to them, but I also use glowsticks a lot and I still have a lot of fun with those too. If I had to choose I would prob. go with glowsticks because you don't have to exert as much effort and you can spin longer with them.

I dreamt that I ate a 10 pound marshmellow and then when I woke up, my pillow was gone!


Gruffmember
106 posts
Location: Gloucester


Posted:
Personally I prefer weightier poi.I just like the fact that I can 'feel' what Im spinning and I feel that I have better control over them.I find that I can spin slow patterns with accuracy and also speed them up with not much extra effort to create a varied routine.Also I use the weight to my advantage by sometimes allowing the poi to climb slowly to a peak and then fall under its own weight. It looks really graceful when done properly and I often add a turn to this move as well.Having said that I do like spinning occaisional light stuff and do some crazy high speed stuff with little effort. I usually cheat though and weight the glowsticks.Gruff

DomBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,009 posts
Location: Bristol, UK


Posted:
Doesn't physics dictate that weight has nothng to do with speed, it's all in the length. Don't pendulums of different weights, but the same length, take the same amount of time to complete a swing? This is digging back a decade to high school physics here, but quick experiments with a secuiry pass seem to show this.A poi string a meter long will have a natural swing time. The weight will affect the amount of energy you have to spend to get the poi going faster against the natural swing time. The heavier poi take more energy so you go slower, but you can go slower with lighter poi as gravity has less effect on them.Personally I don't like spinning really fast, it can be a bit crap and graceless, espically when it's me doing it. So I'll have all your heavy beaming and fire poi. Mail them to Dom, London, UK!

Maximusmember
250 posts
Location: Upland, CA., USA


Posted:
Wrong!Things get heavier as they speed up. You can tell this from the pull of your poi if you can't remember it from your physics class.Maximus

DomBRONZE Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
3,009 posts
Location: Bristol, UK


Posted:
Kinda what I said! Technically they don't get heavier, the centrifugal force increases, giving them more mass in the direction of the radius of spin, and so taking more energy to spin faster.

Whiffle Squeekaddict
416 posts
Location: Hartford, CT USA


Posted:
i find heavier poi easier for moves where its hard to keep up the speed, like alternate over the head butterfly, BTB stuff in general, adn 5 beat weaves, the poi spin on their own and dont require as much of your energy to make em go round...

Educate your self in the Hazards of Fire Breathing STAY SAFE!


pkBRONZE Member
Lambretta Fanatic
4,997 posts
Location: United Kingdom


Posted:
good shit there dom, got me on that one not that i ever payed attention in physics, which in maths is: 1=me, 2=physics 1+2 equals that went in one ear and out the other. But i got the jist of it! any way back to the topic of the threadi prefer slightly heavier poi my self, my comet poi i never use because there is too much drag with the tails and my first set of comets i pulled the tails off cos i hate them getting tangled up, beaming poi: nice weight shame about those bumps and bruises,onto fire poi, i use www.firetoys.net for my equipment, single poi are fantastic for nice fast spins easy to control, double fire poi nice and heavy i love these, very nice slow and still controled movement more flame and heat just take a lil getting used to the weight though, i also made my self some fire ropes, such a beautiful effect as they spin rather too light for my liking but i can use them but because of the lightness and the need for more effort to make them spin the fuel spins right out of them so they only last for a few minuits. i may attach some poi to the ends of them for extra weight!PK

NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
Physics dictates that the force on your hand is equal to the mass times the velocity squared all divided by the radius.Double the mass, you double the force.Half the length, you double the force.Double the velocity, you quadruple the force.Dom, a pendulum is powered only by gravity, which acts constantly on all bodies reguardless of weight. This is why pendulums' periods are based only on length. Though similar in physical appearance, poi and pendulum physics are pretty different. A poi string of a certain length won't actually have a natural swing time. Only a minumum swing time based upon gravity. Poi would theoretically work in zero gravity, whereas a pendulum wouldn't at all. (Sorry kids, teachable moment here...)As for my poi preference, I like to spin faster, and since I'm no Hercules I prefer lighter, shorter fire poi.I gotta say it does give me a giggle when some of my amazing fire friends CAN'T do glowsticks because they are too light. For some reason it doesn't throw me as I go both ways... wink

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


dizzymember
43 posts
Location: manchester england


Posted:
I go with hevey poi evrey time ,I find i have less controle over light poi and i like feling like i just worked out! kinda balances the excessive abuse befor hand winkI put stones in my day poi and find once you get the momentum going it easer whith hevey poi thay kinda take on a life of thare own (if you know what i mean) + the longer the better!see yall!Dizz xx

adamricepoo-bah
1,015 posts
Location: Austin TX USA


Posted:
I feel more comfortable with moderately heavy poi--wicks of at least 4 oz (100 g). Anything less doesn't give me anything to push against, so to speak.Another factor, which I think may actually be more significant than weight, is aerodynamics. I've played around with many different practice wicks, and the ones that have the smallest aerodynamic profile go much faster, regardless of weight, with little effort. Conversely, I've got some large but puffy dummy wicks made out of beanie babies (weighing 6 oz), and these require constant effort to keep them going, because they're so un-aerodynamic. This is good for some moves, but makes other moves--particularly awkward btb stuff--much more difficult.NYC--a physics question (since I can't remember): does momentum work on rotational motion, or only linear motion? If it works on rotational motion, heavier poi would be easier to keep going, but harder to change course.[This message has been edited by adamrice (edited 19 January 2002).]

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy


Blackbirdmember
337 posts
Location: London UK


Posted:
Short, light, fast, furious...I keep meaning to get chucks but I just like that fire too much and twisters, well... hmm.Single glowsticks on chains are sweet.Long heavy poi are only good for learning moves with... I don'y like them much, because I like being able to spin fast... slow is easy smile just put less effort into it!Plus those beamers hurt! I keep kneecapping myself smileOn thinking about it, the reason why I like fast is because of the trails. Trails are cool.------------------"O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention." - William ShakespeareCheck out my Online Gallery!ß £ Å Ĉ К ß î я Ð

x X x ß £ Å Ĉ К ß î я Ð x X x


NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
Adam,Momentum is kinda the whole point of centripital force. Newton's first law, also known as the law of inertia, tells us that every object in motion wants to stay in uniform, straight line motion. If you want to change the motion, you need to attatch a string to it and pull it in a different direction. The more inertia (speed or mass) that an object has, the harder you're going to have to pull on the string to move it, the more centripital force that will be required by the string.Heavier poi would be easier to keep going... in a straight line. Unfortunately it doesn't take that much force to get the poi moving in a straight line, it requires much more force to keep it moving in a circle.

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


Flambabemember
16 posts
Location: Los Angeles, CA USA


Posted:
I gotta go with the heavier poi for two reasons.1....easier for me to control and go slow if I want to.2....after using heavy poi for the past year, my back, shoulders and arms never looked better!

Bendymember
750 posts
Location: Adelaide, SA, Australia


Posted:
I like it hard and heavy!Flambabe - that's what I like too - the ability to go slow and still have a lot of control. That is why I have long chains too. I love spinning normal then just when the music gets mellow, going "Waaahhh....waaaahhhh" like I was being played in slow motion. grin grin------------------Iggity-aggity-oop-eh-eh! Ziggity-zaggity-zoo-ah-ah! Oooh-ooh-phblt! Eh-eh-ackh! Flippity-flappity-floop!

Courage is the man who can stop after only one peanut


fluffy napalm fairyCarpal \'Tunnel
3,638 posts
Location: Brum / Dorset / Fairy Land


Posted:
I prefer heavy-duty more weighty poi for all the previous reasons (speed variations mainly) but my shoulders, biceps (sp?) and back are getting pretty muscular. Tone's one thing but man-muscles are entirely another frown

Geologists do it in the dirt................ spank


Spin Doctormember
34 posts
Location: Newbury, Berkshire, England


Posted:
Time for me to attempt to be clever:Moment = Force x perpendicular distance from pivotIn this case the pivot is your handF = maTherefore Moment = madTherefore, we're all nuts...And i proved nothing.Although the weight of poi means nowt, it's the MASS of the poi. Bigger mass means more force is needed to overcome it's inertia and start it moving, however because it has a high inertia, it is reluctant to STOP moving. Therefore heavy poi need about as much force to keep them moving as the lighter ones, but they're harder to kick off.Also, well the heavier ones mean that they can go slower, and because of their high inertia, means they won't succomb to gravity at the top of the loop, meaning slower, more mesmorising poi (like the stuff I like) is more easily achieved with the heavier stuff.Wow, I can speak some sense. A/S-level physics pays off!!! grinIMHO, I only have practise poi, so I don't know. But I would like to try heavier poi, I think they'd be cool. grinTaStu

Imagine something witty or profound was here.



Similar Topics Server is too busy. Please try again later. No similar topics were found
      Show more..

HOP Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more...