Forums > Technical Discussion > Flowpoi Duo whats good and bad

Login/Join to Participate
Page:
GeezaGOLD Member
addict
694 posts
Location: Leeds, United Kingdom


Posted:
Not sure if this is allowed but I thought it a good idea for spinners who are wanting to buy, HOP for when they sell them and Flowtoys in future sales/products.



I got the Duos, 2 air 2 water



Good -

The weight is great, id say a better weight than Oggz/Oggpoi

Very bright

Easy to go through patterns

Great patterns

Handles are excellent (a lot better than nylon and even my worn leather ones)

Instructions are simple



Bad -

Leash is better than nylon but not as good as Colecord

Tapping the battery out as suggested doesnt work (I use a piece of metal to dig it out)

The battery door could be used to get the battery out but i fear one of the little feet will snap off

Interlocking, even the correct way makes a nasty crunching sound sometimes, like the plastic is shattering

Harder than Oggz, so be careful



Overall they are great and im loving them, however I have changed the cords for one metre (each poi) of colecord, added ball bearing swivels and quick links.



Flowtoys should sell Colecord and Ball bearing swivels with their toys, HOP should sell Flowtoys handles with theirs.



The way i have fastened the heads, i can add custom Oggz heads or any other non fire heads - handle, quicklink, swivel, knot where colecord is tied in a loop, knot, colecord, poi head (click link for pic)



Thanks



https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/geeza1/flowpoiduo.jpg

ImbalanceGOLD Member
not different, just not the same
263 posts
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA


Posted:
A problem you may want to watch out for is the caps coming off while spinning. This has happened to me a number of times. Usually due to a tap together, i suppose just enough force is applied to kick off one or two caps and the lights go spinning off into the crowd and such... Luckily I've always gotten the pieces all back together. Its especially annoying when in a club though.



It's partly because I store the duos assembled (caps on) and they can get pretty dirty over time, cleaning does help. So to fix the problem I tied a loop of thin white twine through the top end (there's a hole there where they attach) and over the bottom. The tips of the end caps are bumped up so there's like an indent or channel in an x, so the string fits nicely. Just slide the string loop on or off the cap when you open/close the duos. You'll have to tie it kinda tight but it shouldn't be a problem. To help even more, once you close up the duos and pop the loop on, twist the cap and one end of the loop so it spirals around them, this'll ensure a tight fit.



It's not noticeable at all while spinning, by you or the audience, and has kept the caps on ever since... and I've put a lot of miles on them for sure.



The handle are great. most comfortable 2finger handles I've ever used. Everyone remarks how much they like the handles whenever they try them out.
EDITED_BY: Imbalance (1213227683)

I once learned every move that there was,
Every style, Every technique.
Then I woke up, and forgot it all,
So now I struggle to dream.


GeezaGOLD Member
addict
694 posts
Location: Leeds, United Kingdom


Posted:
Do you mean the bottom caps come off (furthest from handle) or hanger caps with flowtoys.com on?

I dont even know if the hanger caps come off, it looks like there are two covered small holes with screws in on either side.

Do you mean you have drilled two holes and tied a piece of string from the end caps right up the duos to the hanger cap loop?
Other than doing this i suppose the end caps could be kept on by drilling a hole in each side of the plastic end cap and each side of the plastic tubing then tie each one. This would make turning the flowlights on, off, changing pattererns and replacing batteries very annoying though. (untieing and retieing 4 times each time)

At the moment the end caps seem reasonable secure but i assume over time they wont stay on as well.

ImbalanceGOLD Member
not different, just not the same
263 posts
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA


Posted:
no no no, there's no tieing or anything to be done over and over. You just make one single loop, tie a knot and cut off the extra. The loop goes through the very same hole that your colecord goes through and the other end should fit over the end caps. you litterally slide it on/off of the end cap. The cap I'm referring to that comes off is the same one you take off to cut the lights on/off.

And I do "wack them on hard with the heel of [my] hand" and they still can come off. I'm not saying they fling off all the time when I spin but it's happened at least 8 times I can count off the top of my head. Yes I admit that its when I mess up and the duos hit together. In fact I can safely say that at least half the times this has happened has been when doing an antispin wall plane semi-isolated mini flower at great speed... every once in a while the ends hit.

you may have no problem with the ends, if you don't GREAT! but if you do, the loop of twine fixes it right up. You'll thank me when it does eventually happen and your flowlights get shot into the face of someone in the crowd and you have to go hunting for the cap itself.

Also, as I understand it, flowtoys crew is working on some new caps that lock on, so i'm excited to see those.

I once learned every move that there was,
Every style, Every technique.
Then I woke up, and forgot it all,
So now I struggle to dream.


GeezaGOLD Member
addict
694 posts
Location: Leeds, United Kingdom


Posted:
Would you mind taking a picture of this. I think i know what you mean, but dont get how its attatched to the end cap

BasstonesGOLD Member
Do you do the poiz?
530 posts
Location: Brisbane, Australia


Posted:
 Written by :Imbalance


no no no, there's no tieing or anything to be done over and over. You just make one single loop, tie a knot and cut off the extra. The loop goes through the very same hole that your colecord goes through and the other end should fit over the end caps. you litterally slide it on/off of the end cap. The cap I'm referring to that comes off is the same one you take off to cut the lights on/off.

And I do "wack them on hard with the heel of [my] hand" and they still can come off. I'm not saying they fling off all the time when I spin but it's happened at least 8 times I can count off the top of my head. Yes I admit that its when I mess up and the duos hit together. In fact I can safely say that at least half the times this has happened has been when doing an antispin wall plane semi-isolated mini flower at great speed... every once in a while the ends hit.

you may have no problem with the ends, if you don't GREAT! but if you do, the loop of twine fixes it right up. You'll thank me when it does eventually happen and your flowlights get shot into the face of someone in the crowd and you have to go hunting for the cap itself.

Also, as I understand it, flowtoys crew is working on some new caps that lock on, so i'm excited to see those.



I have the exact same issue with my duos, funnily enough also doing antispun wall plane flowers. I knew why it was doing it, but hadn't tried to fix it yet. Will have to give this a go tonight, thanks!

"In the end there is only fire and a waterfall"


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
In my opinion:

Good:
-Handles are so comfy
-Runs on AAA batteries
-Circuitry means it keeps the same brightness all the way through the battery life.
-Easy to scroll through patterns
-Amazing looking patterns!
-Very very bright
-Weight
-From what I can tell so far, extremely durable.

Bad:
-No swivels on mine, yeah, colecord would've been better
-The tubing is too long to do wrap combos with without it looking stupid, regular flowpoi are better for this, keep duos for more flowy spinning. It wouldn't be a problem for most, but I love wrap combos.
-Again, the size of the tube means I can't to tangles close to the head of the poi, which is preferable to me.
-No weight in the handles for throws etc.

Apart from those few qualms, they are fantastic! The length of the tubing cannot be helped, obviously, and is far from a design fault, but if you're a glow-stringer who likes wrap combos, go the regular, not duos.

MandSILVER Member
Keeper of the Spitfire
2,317 posts
Location: Calgary Canada


Posted:
Spitfire and I are thinking about buying a couple of sets of these. I know that it's really difficult to portray through a computer screen how the colours will look, so what are peoples opinions about the best colours?
Which colour combinations are your favourite? Which are the brightest?

Also, I noticed on the order form that it asks for your colour options for flowlights 1 -4.
Am I right in thinking that flowlights 1 & 2 go in one poi, and 3 & 4 go in the other? So if you want 2 identical poi, lights 1 & 3 will be the same colour and 2 & 4 will be the same colour?
Are you able to take the lights out and swap the order of them around, or are they there to stay once you've decided on the colour combo?

Lets steal a spaceship and head for the sun, and shoot the stars with a lemonade ray gun.


GeezaGOLD Member
addict
694 posts
Location: Leeds, United Kingdom


Posted:
Here are the colours. The love colour (pink, white, pink) sounds interesting

https://www.flowtoys.com/pages.php?pageid=25#flowlightcolors

I think a green, white, green would look quite good. They dont do this colour combo though

MandSILVER Member
Keeper of the Spitfire
2,317 posts
Location: Calgary Canada


Posted:
Thanks Rellizate, that's helpful.

I've seen the colour combos from the flowtoys site, but wondered peoples opinions of them in person. The love ones do sound quite cool- at some point I might have to purchase a couple of extra flowlights to see what they're like.
I think I'm being pulled towards all water- I prefer simple rather than a tonne of multicolours.

What colours do other people have?

Lets steal a spaceship and head for the sun, and shoot the stars with a lemonade ray gun.


GeezaGOLD Member
addict
694 posts
Location: Leeds, United Kingdom


Posted:
2 air 2 water. The air flowlights give them added brightness whilst the water looks pretty and quite bright.

Why not try 2 water and 2 of the new water II?

Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
I've also got 2 air and 2 water. The air ones have only a very simple look to them, if you had 2 waters, then you'd have a really bright, stand out green smack in the middle of your poi, taking away from the "solid colour" you were after. Water on the ends, green facing out with the air in the middle is what I most commonly use.

2 colours is good, anyway, because sometimes I use one all water and one all air for while I'm practicing flowers and new things... its handy to have each a different colour so you can see quickly and clearly which is which in a mirror/window.

If I were buying now I'd probably get two water and two water 2, simply because the white-blue-white can get lost with some settings, beads is the one that springs to mind, doesn't look as clear as the water ones with the clear green flashing, the blue-white-aqua may well be a tad better, who knows?

hug


GeezaGOLD Member
addict
694 posts
Location: Leeds, United Kingdom


Posted:
^ you could also take one of the flowlights out and use them as handles then pack the empty space with something

(something i have not yet done)

MandSILVER Member
Keeper of the Spitfire
2,317 posts
Location: Calgary Canada


Posted:
Hmmmmm... interesting thoughts.

I wish I could see the water 2 lights in action. I'm now thinking that 2 of them and 2 water would be the best way to go.



Thanks guys

hug
EDITED_BY: Mand (1215541025)

Lets steal a spaceship and head for the sun, and shoot the stars with a lemonade ray gun.


NathanielEveristSILVER Member
enthusiast
315 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
I've got 2 water 2 and 2 airs, they look great. New video coming soon, although the camera really doesn't show up the colours well...

_khan_SILVER Member
old hand
768 posts
Location: San Francisco, California, USA


Posted:
I gotta say the two new lights featuring pink are LUSH. "spirit" and "love". Really lovely, for all you pink lovers.

taken out of context i must seem so strange
~ ani di franco


Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
You got them, do you, khan??? Or have you just seen them? I'm liking the look for spirit and love. If anyones seen a video of em in action I'd love to see.

hug


_khan_SILVER Member
old hand
768 posts
Location: San Francisco, California, USA


Posted:
I don't have them, but I have seen them in person. I haven't purchased them yet mostly because I rarely spin poi anymore and can't justify the expenditure as a prop. I'm contemplating getting them to attach to hoops though or possibly to incorporate into costuming.

taken out of context i must seem so strange
~ ani di franco


Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
incorporation into costuming could be interesting, especially if you throw a twirl in there. I'm thinking how I'd use it... if I had a few dangling from my belt as I did fire and then did a nice big longarm twirl I could potentially have them fly out a little... I'd have to alter the movement to make sure they didnt catch on anything... some practice is in order, I think.

The flowlights on their own are great... I've used them after my lantern went out while I was camping. Inside the tent they were BETTER than the lantern. I'd tied 4 of them to the roof, but we only had 2 or 1 turned on, 4 was too bright!

hug


ElectricBlueGOLD Member
Now with extra strawberries
810 posts
Location: Canberra, Australia


Posted:
_khan_
If your looking for cheeper LED hoop options there is a great instructable for making them on www.instructables.com
I made one and it was pretty easy and cheep.

I {Heart} hand me downs and spinning in the snow.<br /><br />


_khan_SILVER Member
old hand
768 posts
Location: San Francisco, California, USA


Posted:
Thanks for the tip, ElectricBlue.

taken out of context i must seem so strange
~ ani di franco


MandSILVER Member
Keeper of the Spitfire
2,317 posts
Location: Calgary Canada


Posted:
Yay our new flowpoi (duo) arrived yesterday! biggrin

I eventually decided on water 2 and water, and Spitfire went for water 2 and spirit.
Both are beautiful, and the pink on the spirits is a lot brighter than I expected.

So far my initial thoughts on them are...

GOOD...
*Really bright- brighter than any other glow toy I've spun
*They have a nice weight, which I find particularly useful for quick and accurate stalls
*Seem really durable
*Some very cool and different patterns, and lots to choose from

BAD...
*I don't like the crunching noise when connecting 2 flowlights- it does sound like it's going to break
*I actually don't find it that easy to scroll through the patterns. Sometimes I press the button and it doesn't register, so I don't know which pattern I'm on. Also takes me a few attempts to get to the second dimension. (But, I've only had them one night, so I might get the hang of it soon!)
*I'm also not a huge fan of the handles. I thought I'd give them a try, and they're nice for what they are, but they're not what I like to spin with. (Both Spitfire and I usually use leather one, that kind of lock onto your fingers by the pull of the poi)

The rest, I'll have to wait and see.
Overall, I'm totally stoked and very much in love with them. And they're with me just in time to go to the playa! smile

Lets steal a spaceship and head for the sun, and shoot the stars with a lemonade ray gun.


BasstonesGOLD Member
Do you do the poiz?
530 posts
Location: Brisbane, Australia


Posted:
Has anyone tried the new crystal cases yet?



As NathanielEverist pointed out, the duo's aren't very well suited to wraps, etc... Have put in an order for 2x crystal cases that I am hoping will be more suited to a more glowsticking style for indoor work.



Have also got a half mass on order, would like to have a little more weight on the duo's, and if it adds another layed of damage protection it will be good for peace of mind smile



Hopefully between the duo's and crystal cases will have some flowtoys for any occassion!



ps. has anyone tried fitting the HoP triangular quicklinks to any flowtoys? No success with my 3mm ovals, still waiting on the new ones to arrive...
EDITED_BY: Basstones (1217565237)

"In the end there is only fire and a waterfall"


Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
Oooh! My colecord arrived in the post today and I've attached it to my duos! Glory, glory! Its an absolute dream to spin with, and I've made it a bit longer so I can wrap around my hands a little more, truly a magnificent feeling, that which I thought was the ungainly manner of the duos was actually quite simply the rough cord on my hand and the shorter leash than I was used to and as such a compromised grip... its such a nice feeling. Like new toys! I can see them! I'm off! Can't wait for night time! biggrin:D

hug


Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
The colecord + Flowtoys are a great combo...

But my flowlights are now being a bitch to turn on... sometimes they will just refuse to turn on, but will work fine at other points in time.

I had it happen at Common Ground during the renegade show... luckily, being a twirling festival a water flowtoy was hurled at me from the crowd and I was able to go on anyway!

hug


MandSILVER Member
Keeper of the Spitfire
2,317 posts
Location: Calgary Canada


Posted:
Originally Posted By: Mother_Natures_SonBut my flowlights are now being a bitch to turn on... sometimes they will just refuse to turn on, but will work fine at other points in time.

This is exactly what's happening with ours. We took them out to burning man, and spent more time messing around trying to turn the damn things on and off than we did spinning them.

Still, they are pretty once they're all on smile

Lets steal a spaceship and head for the sun, and shoot the stars with a lemonade ray gun.


MotleyGOLD Member
addict
434 posts
Location: UK


Posted:
I have a set of duos but find them a bit cumbersome to be honest. So ive invested in some crystal cases and flowmass, used the second set of lights as handles and joined it all together with a length of colecord (after having had a spin with G's at Bristol!). much much nicer to spin with, OK so a little less light at the head with only one light but your hands light up too which adds interest. They are selling them as I described on flowtoys now (minus the colecord) as well. If I had the choice between these and duos having used both I'd definately go with the crystals/flowmass option.

My only complaint with flowtoys is the cost of shipping but i guess thats down to the US postal service. $30 for shipping with tracking for $20 worth of goods (and the tracking doesnt even work) is a bit galling to be honest. Its not particularly quick either, I ordered a larger package (some fuel tins, colecord and some spare quicklinks) from HOP on the same day, cost me £2 postage and it arrived a day before. *curses the US postal system*

Not had too many problems with turning them on so far, except for a dodgy button on one which I had to send back, they returned it repaired very quickly though and no problems since. Sean and Prisna are very helpful with email queries too if you need any help.

Cheers
Motley

Mother_Natures_SonSILVER Member
Rampant whirler.
2,418 posts
Location: Geelong, Victoria, Australia!


Posted:
Mine took heaps of getting used to... now I'm used to them they're not so bad. Its a pain taking them out of their cases to turn them on, though... especially in the cold of the night.

But for the shape I actually like them now... they're nice for stalls and such things, gives me a nice clean line...


I have colecord on mine, too... makes a HUUUUUUGE difference to they way they're used.

hug


T-S-ASILVER Member
Magic Monkey Juice
252 posts
Location: Saaf Ingerland Innet, England (UK)


Posted:
Originally Posted By: NathanielEveristIn my opinion:

Bad:
-No swivels on mine, yeah, colecord would've been better
-No weight in the handles for throws etc.


I just ordered mine, 1 air and 1 water II, colecord and wood weight handles with swivles... Should do everything you want grin

"We were making castles in the sand: Now we swim in the seas that swept them away"


sean_flowtoysBRONZE Member
stranger
14 posts
Location: Berkeley, CA, USA


Posted:
I know I'm a bit late here, but would like to share some info. on a bunch of points...
going backwards up the thread:
1.flowlights make great handles, nice counter-weight and added light smile
2.add crystal cases and/or mass for more weight, new mass is 30g, double-mass on crystal-poi makes them 125g with battery (each)
3.some flowlights buttons stop working well over time, we consider this a defect and will replace them for free! I've noticed that if you change the direction you push the button, it can help. in general please contact us if you have any trouble with your flowtoys!
did you know our warranty offers 50% credit for anything returned in any condition ever? grin
4.our nylon handles are made from the smoothest best webbing we know of, single-loops will lock on if used that way, double-loops are convenient, but not the best grip overall.
5.our new caps click on securely to holes in the tube, so them coming off during use is no longer an issue.
6. thanks, for all your support, it enables us to keep developing the best gear we can! check out our facebook fanpage, get flowlights here if you want, our warranty still applies! spin, play and prosper grin

find your flow...


T-S-ASILVER Member
Magic Monkey Juice
252 posts
Location: Saaf Ingerland Innet, England (UK)


Posted:
I love Flowlights. Although after 6 months of use, one of them is starting to get a bit battered, but as far as I'm aware, they can be repaired easily.

Love all the different modes. Got 1 Air, 1 Water II and 2 Fire lights.

Love taking my bright ones to squats and clubs, and the fire are great for slower spinning to ambiant stuff (IMO)

9/10 (only -1 because of the durability of 1 of them and one of them having some dificulties.

I love how bright they are though.

+ absolutley fantastic communication from the guys at FL too. Many thanks to Prisna for all the help and keeping me updated with stuff smile

"We were making castles in the sand: Now we swim in the seas that swept them away"


Page:

Similar Topics

Using the keywords [flowpoi duo good bad] we found the following existing topics.

  1. Forums > Flowpoi Duo whats good and bad [32 replies]

      Show more..

HOP Newsletter

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