Forums > Other Toys > Buying practice poi, a waste of money???

Posted: 20th Sep 2005
Aw seaweed sprite what a cute name. Erm no I wouldnt say practise poi are a waste of time. they are pretty and lovley.

Waste of money....well it depend how much you have, if your super super student skint (poor) then make a paire, but if not go ahead and buy them Ide say, it will save you hving to go through the bother of makeing a paire of poi. If you are lazy like me you will prefere to throw money at a problem lol

Chief adviser to the Pharaoh, in one very snazzy mutli-coloured coat

'Time goes by so slowly for those who wait...' - Whatever Happend To Baby Madonna?

Posted: 20th Sep 2005
Sock poi will be the only poi you really need I think.

My first pair was actually one of them sonic stars ones with HUUUUUUGE tails and they were ok but when I discovered socks, that was all I ever needed...apart from fire ones of course.

So in a word: yes.
Practice poi are a bit of a waste of money. Weight-wise, I think practice poi are meant to be lighter and easier to swing, but don't quote me on that.

It's better to burn out than to fade away

Posted: 20th Sep 2005
I don't really understand sock poi. Do you just hang on to the end of the sock? If you make your own: When you cut the foot off the sock, isn't it really short? I know it's supposed to stretch...but...but
Or maybe I'll just buy some sock poi, they are fairly cheap anyway. But I still wanna know what the deal is with sock poi. I tried looking it up, and I get the jist of it but.....I'm blonde lol
Yeah soapdude

But on the other hand, you have different fingers

Posted: 20th Sep 2005
They're only a waste of money if you consider them to be nothing more than practise poi.

I don't consider them practise poi, they're poi in their own right - I don't use my sock poi for practising when spinning fire isn't an option, I spin them because I enjoy it.
For me, it's worth spending a bit extra to get a really nice pair. People who intend to move onto fire poi and rarely spin anything else may want something pretty cheap since they're not going to be used much.

As to sock poi, get knee high socks with no heels if possible, so you don't need to cut any bits off.
Even if they have heels, turn them inside out, put the ball inside, twist it a couple of times and turn it outside out again. That's probably not a great way to describe it, but it effectively takes care of the heel.
For handles, you can either tie a knot in the end to hold on to, or sew a pair of loops on, or anything you feel more comfortable with - there are no real rules for sock poi

The same goes for weight - if you like swinging heavy poi then make them heavy. If you've not sewn the socks closed then you can always play around with adding or removing weight to get them the best weight.
Having said that, If you're intending them to just be practise poi for a pair of fire poi, then it might be best to match the weight as much as possible, so you don't have to adjust so much when you pick up the fire ones.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

Posted: 20th Sep 2005
practicing unlit fire poi covered in thin baby socks (to prevent soot stains on my mini-skirt) gives a fair representation of the handling/weight of fire poi, but it is still worthwhile learning on practice tailed/sock poi.
see, the lighter weight of practice poi allow them to be more manipulable, maximising experimentation while you are learning, finding your style.
a heaver weight from fire poi provides you with a slower inertia that will compel to clean up your tempo and planes as you progress into more polished twirling.

as ever, one must learn to walk before running.
preferably with a miniskirt.

Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always

Posted: 20th Sep 2005
Thanks for all the great info so far, and I'll work on getting a mini skirt too Cheers!

But on the other hand, you have different fingers

Posted: 21st Sep 2005
Well.. I've bought two pairs of poi so far that I wish I hadn't. Neither of them lasted, as you tend to beat them up when learning. Also, as I've been practicing for this last month, my weight preferences have changed quite a bit. It started heavy, but now I realize I want it just heavy enough to carry a smooth isolation.

The pair of poi that has suited me perfectly for the last two weeks has been my sock poi. Pair of cotton crew socks, no heel, knee high. I took a handfull of beans (pinto work well) and just toss em in the sock. This has the disadvantage that the end (beans) is loose and not a solid ball. It has the advantage of great dispersion on impact making smacks to the face not too bad, and easily adjustable weight. The first few spins were heavy to stretch the socks nicely.

I have a knot tied into the handle ends and manipulate it through my index and middle fingers, so I'm spinning much the same as I would poi with handles. The only things I don't like about my sock poi is that they aren't that pretty, and they catch a lot when trying to do things like hyperloops. This is probably due to them being inside out and fuzzy. Currently I'm looking for some nicer material to make my sock poi out of. Ideally would be a pair of tights, but I'm not having much luck.

Ahwell, that's my experience. Have fun

- Sui

Definition of poi- A Hawaiian food made from the tuber of the taro that is cooked, pounded to a paste, and fermented.

Ahnold discussing poi - "It is naht a toober!"

Posted: 21st Sep 2005
Isn't the entire point of a hobby to 'waste money'?

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

Posted: 21st Sep 2005
If swinging the poi you bought/made is satisfying then it ain't a waste

My sock poi are knee length socks with heels. I turned them inside out and tied a knot at the heels, turned it back again and dropped juggling balls in (it's them bean juggling balls). I stretched the socks to max and measured the length i needed then tied off the top for handles.

I like my sock poi because i paid about £5 total for them and they're better than my first poi set which were tails and cost £15...
Plus they're homemade it's more of a sentimental attachment

It's better to burn out than to fade away

Posted: 21st Sep 2005
i've had my practice poi for about a month now, and they look as new as when i got them, except the tails are a little dirty, but they're washable. the difference between mine and normal practice ones (like zuni's) is that mine are made from fake suede, instead of nylon, so they're durable. i have a feeling that they're going to last a long time, because i've spun them about 10 hours a week (avg), and i hit myself and other things plenty right now. if you like tails sometimes, but not always, think about getting ones with detachable tails. that way, you can take them off when theyre bugging you, but you can put them on when you are performing. mine have satin tails, and look really pretty even if youre just doing something simple. (my definition of simple is like the caveman-basic moves...i am kind of a newbie). i got mine from mystic toyz at the rennaisance festival (mn). you can buy them online too.



i also made myself a pair of sock poi when i forgot my poi at my dad's house one time...what i did is just took normal crew socks and put about 1 1/2 cups of rice in each one and tied a knot . then i tied handles of string under the knots, and made loops for my fingers on the other end of the string. these made for pretty heavy poi, so if you like it lighter, just put less rice in. one thing, dont use hemp string like i did. they're almost guaranteed to give you blisters/sores on your fingers.



one thing you could do to make them pretty (if that's important to you) is to take a pair of socks and tye dye them, and use ribbons for handles. just an idea.



So basically, no i think that practice poi arent a waste of money, especially if you're just beginning, or dont have much money. fire poi that i've seen run for about 60-80. practice ones are more like 20-30, so theyre good for while you want to practice but dont have enough $. Like me.



hope you found this helpful...:D not that i really know what i'm talking about....i'm just some random newbie, lol.



firepheonix

"be true to you and screw labels"

Posted: 23rd Sep 2005
I ended up buying a pair of rubber poi (online) which I think will hurt more than the ones I made, but I figure that will give me more motivation to get good !!!!! lol. They are SUPPOSED to be for begginers
They have tails on them and D rings on the bottom that you can attach LED light sticks, or swap with the heads (they come with it)
I'm excited to get them and hope they weren't a waste of money. They werent really that much anyway.
But I'm still gonna make sock poi, cause they seem fun and easy to make. Plus I will have some variety. I'l use them when I want to give the bruises time to heal lol
Now I have some really great ideas on how to make my own now, so awsome!!!!
Shpanks

But on the other hand, you have different fingers

Posted: 24th Sep 2005
Because I'm feeling generous (and remembered where to look so searching was easy ), have a look [Old link]



It's a thread about making cone poi, good if you want something non-hurty to play with that doesn't stretch like sock poi. There's a few different ways of making them in there, hopefully it'll be useful
EDITED_BY: TheBovrilMonkey (1127611143)

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.