Alayna Stroud of Cirque Noir/Bow & Sparrow/cirque Du Soleil in SF uses a swinging metal pole. You can see it here:
http://youtu.be/isSjziR2IkQ
Its kind of funny, just a few days ago there was a thread about different aerial apparatus, and I posted that link there after looking it up for the first time in a long long time. I am pretty sure that aerial artists in general are a bit crazy (in a good way) and I love the whole notion of invented apparatus and combined apparatus. Like Jenyne and Amy Raven's pole/lyra. If you havent seen that video, its here…
http://youtu.be/ey89pLO2Qgg
and because I just can't stop there… ticktock dance in Seattle, Washington, created apparatus and then built the show around them, the concept being three women living in a house at different times… so the apparatus are a bed, a stove in the kitchen, and a bathtub, among others. I love the concept of this and wish I could see the whole show!
http://youtu.be/-chx-Hn32Qk