conR12newbie
2 posts

Posted:
hey just leaving for thailand tomorrow and was wondering if any body knows where to get poi/staffs cheap....???
thanks

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


Posted:
You won't be able to move for poi and staff around Khao San road!!!

There's a lot of crap being sold, but also some good stuff. I'm not going to personally recommend any of the people selling, but there's a couple of guys who sell from rails, not stalls, at the end of Khao San or Rambutti. These guys spin so have more of an idea than a random stall holder. Also really check that equipment is stong before buying. I've heard of melting clips, snapping chain and snapping staffs that were bought cheap in the islands.

Have an excellent time - Thailand is a great place!

KaelGotRiceGOLD Member
Basu gasu bakuhatsu - because sometimes buses explode
1,584 posts
Location: Angels Landing, USA


Posted:
Sawadee-khrab!

I just got back from Thailand this summer.

Khao San is very popular to get anything... There's also the weekend market known as Jajujak in Bangkok which sells everything and anything.

I met some poists at Pattaya and Ch'am - big touristy towns on the beach... almost commercialized too much frown

Enjoy your time there!

To do: More Firedrums 08 video?

Wildfire/US East coast fire footage

LA/EDC glow/fire footage

Fresno fire


conR12newbie
2 posts

Posted:
Thanks alot...... will give khao san road a look!!!

_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
There's a beautiful Thai girl called Mio and her boyfriend (can't remember his name), who's absolutely incredible at poi (her boyfriend's incredible at everything).

She's one of the best dancers I have ever seen, and throughout she keeps this angelic smile on her face - not the usual 'deep in concentration' thing ubblol

They make and sell stuff during the day (from 3pm-11pm) from a little stall off Khao San (from the Star of David end, turn right, then left - past the temple - and head towards the backpacker area).

Actually, you'd be best just having a look round and decide yourself... but do go and say hello to Mio... she's really lovely and will teach you things if you ask nicely biggrin

Also, be warned, most of the wick in Thailand is rubbish (I think they weave it with metal or sumsuch), anyways, it burns out really quickly, so be careful which one you choose.

Mio said her stuff was Kevlar, but I'm not sure if it was... I don't think it was the same grade as you get on the HoP site.

Anyways, if you are going to SE Asia, try really hard to get some LED's before you go. You can buy firestuff out there, but LED is a nightmare to get - and it's always really popular once all the fuel has gone!

Take care and happy travels
Clare x

Getting to the other side smile


DeepSoulSheepGOLD Member
Carpal \'Tunnel
2,617 posts
Location: Berlin, Ireland


Posted:
All the wicks I've seen here have been white. I dunno looks more like cotton that kevlar to me.

Do check for strength though. My friends poi had split rings down by the wicks. The obvious happened and a poi head went flying. Split rings are no good on fire poi.

If you get here soon get in touch. I'm here for the forseeable future. smile

I live in a world of infinite possibilities.


StoutBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
I've been trying to figure out what those white wicks are made of for quite some time now, everyone selling them tells me that it's kevlar but I have my doubts. Whatever it is, it sure works well though, the pair I"m currently spinning has over a hundred burns on them and they still look great, in fact I bought a pair of real kevlar poi, in Thailand for three times the price of the white ones and they sit here, unburned, as I wait for the cheapies to wear out.

I usually just but a set of the white ones, haul them around the southern beach scene, and just leave them when I come home so I don't have to worry about setting off hydrocarbon detection machines in airports.

One thing to REALLY watch out for is the thickness of the metal tubes used in the construction of some wick sets, one pair I just bought on a whim before comming home were made with tubing so thin that had I lit them . the metal split rings would have ripped right out of the tubing and I would have ended up hurling a fireball. As it was, I spun them unlit, and got about three minutes out of them until I noticed the problem.

Now I buy the tube cores with a bolt running right through the tube,,,no problems.

Those little chrome clips are best avoided too, I've broken four of them on my practice poi, I don't use them on my fire gear.

I think Mio's boyfriend's name is Pat,,,not to be confused with the Pat who sells in "the park" along the river and there's this kid, Porchy ,I think his name is who taught me more poi " moves" in one afternoon than I learned in two months of travelling the beaches seeking poi enlightmenent.

I also bought one of those three piece staffs from Mio, but never burned it in Thailand, when I got it home, I soaked the wicks in white gas and ended up with what I could only describe a kind of gooey slime texture on the wicks themselves which crackled and popped somthing fierce upon lighting, turns out that the screws they used to attach the mystery wicking to the aluminium were way too long, and after one night of burning I had to replace the wicking as the weave was comming apart.

Now, I decided to reuse the wicking that came with the staff, and the wicking that was on the hazerdous poi mentioned above and ended up breathing in the dust from this strange white stuff, leading to a sore throat. The next night I took the staff out to our local park and started practicing with it,,,sore throat again,,leading me to wonder,,,,could this white stuff be asbestos??? I dunno. In the end, the staff couldn't handle the weight of the extra wicking and broke when I missed a catch ( unlit ) staff ended up in the trashcan, new staff on order.

Enjoy your trip

_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Aww, that sucks.

I was with them in May and their wicks seemed ok, didn't buy any though.

They weren't using the white stuff you see on loads of poi out there, it was stuff that looked like kevlar... anyways, never mind.

Mio is amazing eh?!

biggrin

Getting to the other side smile


filthy 23BRONZE Member
member
136 posts
Location: USA


Posted:
I LOVE the rubber practice poi that are all over Kho San road... they are rubber, wound up with the bottom edge all cut up into strips. They have sparkly stickers around em and lots of ribbons hanging from them. They are durable, pretty and a good weight. highly recommend.

I also got some shooting stars and moons from one of the stalls. They are fabric shapes with tails, sewn to fishing swivels with cord or chain. I had problems with the swivels coming apart or the chain ripping right out of the fabric. Only buy them if you're committed to sewing repair work. It's a super cute idea to have star shaped poi, that makes it worthwhile to me.

I AM working.


_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Lol - those are the ones I have!!!

I have black stars with red tails and they're great... although I have had to repair them a few times biggrin

I'm currently looking for some new cord as the strings unravelled at the weekend - but they're still lovely

xx

Getting to the other side smile


StoutBRONZE Member
Pooh-Bah
1,872 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
Those rubber practice poi are great!!! I think next time I go to Thailand I'll bring back a few extra sets because I'm always getting asked about them. I like the ones with the rings in the end, instead of the bells,,way easier to attach weights or leds to.

_Clare_BRONZE Member
Still wiggling
5,967 posts
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK)


Posted:
Hmmm... the rubber ones hurt like a b**tard when they hit you, tho!

Getting to the other side smile


ado-pGOLD Member
Pirate Ninja
3,882 posts
Location: Galway/Ireland


Posted:
Such language... tut tut

Love is the law.


ZaliaBRONZE Member
newbie
2 posts
Location: Australia


Posted:
i'll be in thailand soon and will be buying toys over there.

just want to make sure, can you also buy good double sticks?

i would miss not being able to use them smile

can any one say on average how much baht fire staffs or poi cost?
EDITED_BY: Zalia (1096084826)

PyroWillGOLD Member
HoP's Barman. Trapped aged 6 months
4,437 posts
Location: Staines, United Kingdom


Posted:
i seem to remember it was about 800 baht or something, not sure about the double staff, but then again i only saw a place that sold them at the full moon party in koh phag ngan

An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind

Give a man a fish and he'll eat 4 a day hit a man with a brick and you can have all his fish and his wife

"Will's to pretty for prison" - Simian


SprocketGOLD Member
Member
140 posts
Location: middle of the outback, Australia


Posted:
Great advice. I cant wait to get back. last time I was in Thailand I didn't spin but this time will be twirl-time. Hope to see some of you in March next year.

hm, pinecones, my favourits!


Analemmaenthusiast
384 posts
Location: West LA


Posted:
Written by:

and there's this kid, Porchy ,I think his name is who taught me more poi



biggrin biggrin I wouldnt call him Porchy or you might get into trouble wink (His name is Puppy)

Those selling in Bangkok I can truly recommend are:
Pat and Meaw (Mio) in Thanon Rambutri
Deaw who used to be in front of the police station Thanon Kao Sarn
Kun Oud at the park: jugglingworkshop@hotmail.com

They are all really great people and I miss them A LOT hug

And give them a hug from me when you meet them

If there are questions feel free to PM me

andy

To learn - read. To know - write. To master - teach . . .



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