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Beware of buying aerial silk and yoga hammocks from ebay!
I’ve been noticing an increase in aerial silk, aerial sling, aerial yoga hammocks / antigravity hammocks sales on ebay lately and I have been looking through them individually to compare quality and price. The majority of the ads don’t tell you what type of fabric it is other than "chiffon" which can be any synthetic material which means the tensile strength is unknown, and they don’t mention the denier, etc.
When buying aerial silks the width and length are extremely important.
You want them to be long(tall) enough for what you are doing, and the width is important because it affects the tensile strength of the fabric. The shortest amount of fabric I recommend is no shorter than 10yards because 10yards can reach a 12ft-16ft ceiling, so you can practice but I don’t recommend doing drops on that short of silks unless you know what you are doing.
As far as length goes you have to double the height of your ceiling because you are pretty much taking a long length of fabric and folding it in half at the ceiling so both strands reach the ground so example if you have a 12ft ceiling you need at least 24ft (8yards) of silks (though I recommend a little extra like the 10yds just because attaching silks to equipment such as rescue 8 etc takes extra of the length) and if your silks barely touch the ground from the ceiling you are not going to have any beautiful tails to play with to create that dramatic performance, you’ll have little short nubs under your footlocks instead of gorgeous fabric fanning the audience.A 60 inches width is generally recommended for children
Minimum of 75inches up to 110inches is recommended for teens and adults.
I’m seeing silks being sold on ebay of only 64inches wide and only 8yards!!
I am also seeing on ebay silks rigged to rings which have no info of what kind of rings they are or what the weight limit on them. You can buy similar rings at home depot that say right on the package "NOT INTENDED FOR HUMAN WEIGHT"Yes the price is cheaper on these fabrics on ebay but at what cost? Do you really want to save money if it means putting your life in jeopardy?
We sell safe aerial fabric at http://www.aerialempowerment.com
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26 Replies
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I bought my silks from the seller in NV. I asked a lot of questions before buying, and the silks were comparable to any I have used, and they had both low and medium stretch. I might not buy there again-I just needed them asap for a performance-but so far they have been fantastic. The width on those is 110 inches. There are not as many options as other sites, but I’ve found that seller to be reliable with good product. Just sayin https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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That is good that they are 110 inches wide, that is a very good width and very strong tensil strength. Did you find out if they were tricot or poly interlock? Sounds like tricot if they were 110"
I’ve seen some on ebay that were great looking. I mostly just wrote the article so that prospective buyers have a good idea what to look for, its definitely good to ask questions. I think the customer has the right to know anything about any product they are seeking, the more specific the info the better. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
I’m glad to hear that you had a good experience, I would hate to hear of anyone getting hurt.
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Yes, they were Tricot https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif I think this piece was definitely a good idea, especially with all of the people out there who have found fake poles and whatnot. It’s not worth anyone’s safety to risk it-I always work with experienced riggers as well.
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Thanks for the advice/warning on buying silks. I have a Voltige silk which I’ve been using but am finding it very slippery and seem to be sliding out of locks that I have been able to hold when using other silks. Is there a difference in the materials they use? Can you recommend a good make and where to buy them from? I really struggled to find anywhere except ebay when I bought my first silk and eventually went to firetoys but they only stock the Voltige and have not been able to help me. Thanks!
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Yes there is a big difference in material type in comparison with grip and durability. I personally sell a nylon tricot based fabric that works very well, it is the recommended fabric amongst the aerial community. You can see my site at http://www.aerialempowerment.com I haven’t had any complaints with my products, i’ve sold silks and other aerial accessories to many pole dancers around including Becca Butcher, etc. If you have anymore questions don’t hesitate to ask
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Heyy, im currently looking at buying a silk and rigging set, but not many places have this.
i have found two places both which the silk width is 110 or 108 inches wide, currently i am using one that is a metre in width, is this width usual and ok to use (110 width).
thankyou https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif -
Yes 110inches wide is more than safe. As long as it does not go below 75 inches for an adult it should hold. 65 is the lowest recommended for children, no smaller than that. So just remember
65inches ok for Kids
75-110inches ok for adultsThe heavier the adult the better it is for thick, My silks are 108 inches wide and I love the grip and how well they flow. They also make great hammocks which i sell as well https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif I hope this helps. Anymore questions i’m more than happy to give assistance.
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Oh and I wanted to add as long as its the right material. Generally tricot, and polyinterlock are the main types of fabrics used. Polyester interlock is really high stretch so it can get scary. I love tricot cause its low stretch and very secure but also comfortable. There are different types of tricot though so be very careful in selection. The fabric I sell on my website has been tested and approved. I dance on it, and I have sold sets to many people, mainly in Utah but I ship out of state and have had customers from all over the USA. I also sell aerial hoops, trapeze bars, aerial hammocks, gear such as rescue 8’s and swivels, carabiners, etc. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif
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Thankyou, in looking at the stretchy polyester interlock but cant seem to find the shiny finished ones because i can only find the matte finish… What is your website and do you sell the rigging equipment?
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Cate29 – the website is http://www.aerialempowerment.com and yes, she sells the riggings too. Great vendor too!!!
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When buying non stretch fabric the safest material is 40 denier tricot, the best manufacturer (and the cheapest) to buy this from is
http://www.fabricdepotco.com/page29.html
she is the main supplier of Tricot to the aerial community in the States, most of those sellers on ebay, and the majority of the aerial companies buy from her then resell it to you to make a profit. Just buy directly and you can save on the middle man costs.
Here is the strength testing for 40 denier tricot
http://www.flyingsquirrelconsortium.com/ptest2007/FT300FU.html
aka: the stuff is safe
as for stretch
60 inch is perfectly acceptable width for a stretch fabric, the "bounce" takes the majority of the shock load, distributing your weight evenly.
here is the load test for stretch (60" wide)
http://www.flyingsquirrelconsortium.com/ptest2007/laura_poly_knit/laura_poly_knit.htmlI use stretch exclusively, tricot is wonderful for beginner/intermediate learners, however when you advance to larger and more complex drops the stretch is required simply to prevent injury on landing, and stop the body from shouldering the burden of the full impact value.
However, for an aerial hammock act width is required, 60" would not be acceptable, thus tricot would be used.a second option if you already have tricot fabric is to create a bungie pack at the top of your mount, this will soften your tricks considerably.
Cheers
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a second option if you already have tricot fabric is to create a bungie pack at the top of your mount, this will soften your tricks considerably.
upandover, what is a bungie pack? What does it look like and where can I buy it from so that I can eventually add a stretch to my tricot.
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Bungie cord can be purchased from either a hardware store or marine store, make sure it’s about pinky width thick. buy about 10 to 15ft, coil it around your arm like you would when winding a rope, once you have it all wrapped you have to tie the 2 ends together using a double fisherman
the entire bundle should be around 1 ft long have around 5 coils, just snap a beaner on top and one on the bottom and your done. I also run a safety sling between the 2 beaners (basic nylon sling, found at any climbing store) just in case
I"m sure you can find somewhere to buy a bungie pack, however be prepared to pay quite a bit for it.
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My website is http://www.aerialempowerment.com and yes my fabric comes in sets including a carabiner and rescue 8
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ok I think I just drooled on my keyboard……silks in so many lovely colors and lyra’s too!!!!!!!!!
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