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Stainless Steel Finishes…Differences?
My friend is an exoitic dancer and has been giving me some lessons off her XPole TG for a few weeks now. I finally have saved up enough $ to buy my own. I enjoy her pole but that being said I haven't ever tried anything else so I'm not married to XPole…I just need something removeable. Her TG coating is very worn and she recommended I purchase a SS pole because they arenT coated so you won't have to deal with peeling or wearing problems. Since it's the inustry standard it's better to learn on this so you can do any tricks on any poles.
I'm 5'2" but do not have petite hands (or anything for that matter, plus size pole dance); in latex gloves I am either a M or a L. Would you gals reccommend a 45mm or a 50mm? I've read that 45 is easier which I may need since I'm learning on such a slick surface and I'm worried gravity is going to affect me more. I also do not want to hinder myself if later I choose to compete or teach (I know I need to crawl before I can run but no harm in thinking down the road, right?) or even attend studio classes (not offered where I live currently) that I will need to relearn everything because that size is too large.
Last question: Which pole do I buy? I've read that Lil Mynx has a mirror stainless steel pole and Platinum Stages has a matte SS finish. Is this true and what are the differences between the 2 types of SS poles? Does anyone know what XPole has for SS finish? I really don't have a preference between PS and XPole (although because of my weight I would prefer to steer away from LM but I don't know for certain) so it really comes down to the finishes and which is better.
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19 Replies
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never used a SS pole but from what I hear the Lil' Mynx one is very slick…i believe i've seen "slick as snot" and "slick as ice" to describe it on this site
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TG is not a coating and SS is not the industry standard.
I personally do not like stainless as it is the most temperamental metal *for me*. There are many the LOVE stainless as it works well with their body chemistry. My suggestion would be to visit a pole studio where you can possibly try the different finishes. Not all stainless is the same. LM tends to be slick, PS not so much, PoleDanzer is similar to XPole's chrome.
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The TG is a coating. It's been metioned on here several times that the gold and the electroplating will rub off eventually (even XPole will tell you this on the product page "Titanium Gold – eletronically coated to enhance grip") and leave splotches where the gold is missing and there is no grip. In AU I know that offer a silver titanium which helps a bit.
I've been to three studios and worked lots of clubs (I work in WV) and have always found that they have brass and stainless steel poles. I've also read on many websites, both forums like this one and retailers like Pussycat Poles that SS is considered to be the "industry standard" as it is the most used internationally for competitions and what have you…but it also says that the mirror finish provides more grip which I must say I disagree with.
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It is not a coating, it is an anodization process. The entire pole is still titanium, there is just a current of electricity passed through it at a specific frequency that changes the oxidative state of the top layer of the titanium to make it appear gold. Titanium can be anodized into pretty much any color of the rainbow.
http://www.valhallaarms.com/wyvern/titanium/anodizing.htm
http://www.engravingselect.com/?page_id=154
http://www.engravingselect.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/anodizing-300×186.jpg
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I've been on many TG poles that have faded in color but they seem to retain their grip when compared to the chrome.
Stainless Steel can be tempermental no matter WHO you order through. I'v eowned 5 PS poles (I think it was 5 anyway maybe 6?) and I could have 4 set up in a room, they would all grip a bit differently. I've been in many SS LM's and found the same to be true. Some were very grippy, others not. My friend has a PS SS and the bottom piece is larger than the pole and it scratches us on occasion, I don't like the bottom load design from PS at all. Installation is easy – goes up quick, is very sturdy and hers is really grippy and spins very smoothly. I have no experience with X-pole SS so can't help.
Chrome is the most inexpensive. It's grip is similar to SS but more consistant – I recommend chrome unless you have sweaty hands and in that the case the TG helps a little.
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I just really do not want a TG pole after her experience with it…maybe she got a lemon or something but she did not have it six months before the coloring and grip just wore off in a few places. I'm more curious about what type of SS has the better grip…the mirror finish or the matte finish and what company sells which? I'm very new to this but everywhere I find on google tells me the SS is the standard but the sizing varies between 45mm and 50mm
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I always thought chrome was the standard in comps etc. Myt be Wrong but thts wht I’ve read on a few places. x
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I think chrome is the standard at least on the states, and I would get a 45 of ur only 5 2 inches….
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I have had a TG for up with constant use from teaching and it has not faded at all. But I have seen LOTS of TG's fade. So if you don't want to look of a faded pole eventually – it's totally smart to go with something silver. 🙂
The thing with SS is that I can honestly tell you that I have been on great SS from both LM and PS and really icky slippy SS from both companies. So maybe your decision is about the mount. You had mentioned in your OP that you wanted to steer clear of LM because of the way it mounts (and I did have issues with mine) so maybe it's a question of XP SS or PS SS.
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I just sent a bundle of emails to organizers of pole dance competitions in AU, Europe, and US. Will let you know what I hear back as far as what they use/consider to be standard (:
@Charley You're right it's between a Xpole SS and a PS SS but I didn't want to outright ask that since I've seen so much controversy over which company has the better product and it seems like for every horror story you hear about one there is the same story from the other company. So, since I'm so new I'm going to end up arbitraily picking one over the other…I figured I should go for which SS has the best finish since both companies seem to be good. I was only able to find one post on this site so far which mentioned the SS finishes. ): Hoping there are some girls who can help me out with mirror vs matte finish!
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Comps just depend on who is doing the rigging. And what may be standard in the States will not be the same in other countries. None of us even knew about 38mm brass until Bobbi's got really popular. I have been to strip clubs that have brass, stainless, acrylic, spin, non spin, and even painted. I have been to numerous studios and can tell you that every single one was different.
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I figured it would be different internationally, I just thought it might be helpful to some girls to compile a list of what countries seem to use more of and what competitions use what.
@chemgoddess1 since you seem to be the chemsitry whiz here, any idea/advice on which version of SS would have more grip? The mirror polish or the matte? It just seems to me that if its smooth like a mirror it is not going to grip as well? Even if chrome ends up being the US standard (ok ok I get it there is no such thing as standard but to me I'm going to consider whatever finish I find most places use in the US for studio and comp from the ones I emailed to be the US standard as it applies to me) it seems to be general rule of thumb–meaning this is not the case for everyone and I acknoweldge that–that SS is slicker for most people than Chrome and that if you can do your moves on a SS than you should be fine on a Chrome, TG, or Brass.
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I'm brand new and I can tell you someone like me would really appreciate a list like that. just so I could have a better idea of whats more popular in what areas.
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There are a couple things at play with stainless. First is the composition as there will be different alloy percentages. Second would be how the steel is actually cured/cooled as this will affect the crystal structure and porosity. Last will be finish. I can honestly say I have been on both highly polished and matte finish SS and the mirror finish is by far superior. I had just recently linked a pubmed study but if I recall it was a study on the difference between brushed and smooth brass. There was a pretty good discussion regarding finishes I think in Lyme's thread about her new brass pole (crap, not there…now I have to go search). AZnyway, the crux of the study was that brushed brass was superior when hands were wet or soapy, polished brass was best when hand were dry.
I had made this anology…pull out a quarter and a nickel and then slide your finger over the end of it. It will be much easier to move over the ridged surface than the smooth.
I REMEMBER….(I think)….Possibly the thread about making a pole that was swirled different materials!
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the wet hands versus dry hands is something i had a discussion with my boss about. Grab bars for showers are a brushed finish, so you can grab better is you eat it in the shower.
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