Forums > Help! > life of a kevlar wick?

Posted: 1st Jul 2008
Always make sure you buy from reputable dealer. Ive seen one lot of "kevlar wick" die in a night. Mine are still good years on.

Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu

Posted: 1st Jul 2008
the more they hit the ground the shorter the life span becomes.

O.B.E.S.E.

Owned by Mynci!

Posted: 1st Jul 2008
more like...
the more you use them, the shorter the life span.


It's like a car really - a car you buy, then keep in airtight storage will last much longer than a car you drive 100 miles every day

Posted: 1st Jul 2008
https://www.homeofpoi.com/articles/wick_care.php

If you do a search of the forums you can also find other tips for making them last longer. I've only had mine for a couple weeks now and they're fine, but it seems that a good set of wicks should last for quite a long time.

Bouncing Baby Pipe!

Posted: 1st Jul 2008
This question came up at the performance troupe I run, I have two of the early builds that I have been making for people over the last six years, these were the original design that I subsequently refined and been supplying to members there after.

Nothing special, standard tube poi, which are now generally used for teaching purposes, and thus have a fairly heavy usage pattern, looking at them critically last night they are a little thinnner on kevlar now, otherwise little deterioration. If the burning time was assessed, I would guess a reduction would be noticable.

I also have heavy duty performance fire staff that I have been making for a similar period and supplying, some of the early examples are still eminently usable.

mark

Posted: 3rd Jul 2008
I generally find that my wicks last a couple of years... they are still usable after that but they become frayed and tatty and therefore not usable during a gig!

You don't want bits of flaming wick disintergrating over your audience!

It all depends on how much you use them (and that includes un-lit).

"Whats wrong with the cat?" - Mrs Schrödinger

Posted: 3rd Jul 2008
You can greatly increase the life of your wicks by creating some sturdy covers for the ends - for use when you're not setting them on fire. (I hope that last comment wasn't really necessary!)

I've found denim from an old pair of jeans attached using hair bands works best.

Working hard to be a wandering hippie layabout. Ten years down, five to go!

Posted: 3rd Jul 2008
Also, you could try a beer cozee with the bottom of a gatorade bottle fitted inside.....just need the right size bottle to fit your wick.

O.B.E.S.E.

Owned by Mynci!

Posted: 29th Jul 2008
Mine are just over a year old and have been spun every few weeks for quite a while. They are also still good.

'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland