Pole Materials - the differences

Oh that dreaded decision. Every person considering purchasing a pole will have to make this difficult decision.  Unfortunately, there is no one answer. Everyone is different. Not everyone wants the same traits in a material, nor does everyone react the same to a given pole material.

Being such a major decision  I'd like to give you some of the information I have collected over the years, and my own personal experiences with each finish.

Stainless Steel: It has come in two forms.

Mirror finish:

and a brushed finish (though it is no longer made this way):

Stainless steel can be found in your house as spoons and some fixtures like door nobs or faucets. It is a very strong metal, so you should be able to get a little crazy on it. The general consensus is that stainless steel is the slickest of the pole materials, but this is not the case for everyone. With that in mind, it should always have a nice slide to it. It is great for spins. It takes a while to warm up, so it takes a while to become grippier in a practice. You need to touch it a lot to warm it up (or use a blow dryer or steamer for a faster warm up.) Another thing to consider is that you need to be patient with your stainless pole when you first get it. Stainless gets grippier over time. As with all poles, you need to get the factory coating off of it first, then use it a lot so it becomes conditioned (thus less slick.) Stainless is one of those metals that is better for those with metal allergies. It can have nickle in it, but I have not had a reaction to it and I have a major nickle allergy. When I first started poling, I learned on stainless. It was difficult for my hands, only because they are so sweaty, so if you are a heavy sweater, stainless may or may not work. Stainless is not very porous, so it will not work with a lot of sweat. It's a toss up really. If your hands have a friction to them, then stainless might be nice. The friction helps grip the stainless, while allowing the give to do really amazing spins. You might get a little pole burn, but it's not too bad (unless you overdo it.) If your skin is dry and fairly frictionless, stainless might be a nightmare. I tried stainless, while on a medication that dried out my skin. I could not grab it without a grip aid. Grip aides can be helpful in this situation, but the stainless might still be too slick and it could be a bit dangerous. A grippier finish would be better in that case. Stainless is nice for body grip when your have friction to your skin. Sticking to stainless is nice in that case because it's usually doesn't over grip. It's easy to slide out of a position and down the pole. This finish is good for California type climates. It can be difficult in humid environments. Since stainless is an alloy, there are different compositions used by each of the companies. This factor also affects grip, so there might be different grips between the companies. Stainless is sold by Platinum Stages, Pole Danzer, Lil Mynx, and X Pole. I have not tried Pole Danzer's stainless, but other women have told me that they find it to have a very nice grip. Others have said that Platinum Stages 1 piece stainless is very grippy too.

Chrome: Sources of chrome you can feel in your home are fixtures like faucets and towel bars. 

 

The general consensus seems to be that chrome is the next step up in grip after stainless. This isn't always the case though. Some girls say they grip better to stainless than chrome and vice-versa. It's a matter of body chemistry and preference. In general, though, chrome seems to be a tad grippier for people than stainless. Chrome, like stainless, has a nice slide to it, allowing you to slide out of ticks and down the pole with ease. It doesn't usually over grip. As with stainless, if you sweat a lot, you may have trouble with this finish. A little sweat can help you stick to this finish better, but there is a certain point where there is too much sweat and you'll side right off. Fans help in this case as well as wiping yourself down with towels. Chrome also needs to be conditioned for a while after it arrives. Be patient. Spins are great on chrome. You might get a little pole burn, but it's not too bad. X pole says that people with nickle allergies might have a reaction to the chrome pole. The chrome itself does not contain nickle, but the pole is first plated with nickle, then chrome over it, so with use the nickle can come through. Some girls have said that they can prevent a reaction by wiping themselves with rubbing alcohol after use. With use, the chrome may wear in spots, causing a greyish coloration, but it does not affect the grip of the pole. You need to be careful with chrome. It is a plating, so if you scratch it, it can start to peel off and become sharp. Chrome is good for California-like climates. It can be difficult in humid environments. Chrome is sold by X Pole only.

Titanium Gold: According to X pole, the pole is not really titanium. It was named such based on the color, not the actual material. The material is an "electrostatic coating over chrome." For this reason I am going to refer to the pole as TG, as to not get it confused with titanium.

TG is available in gold and a matte silver (only in Australia.) 

The general consensus is that TG is the next step up in grip after chrome. Again, this is not absolute. For instance, I find TG and chrome to feel the same, while other girls find TG to have great grip, and sometimes over-gripping, but not usually. Spins are fairly easy on TG, though you might get some pole burn on those wrists! You should be able to slide easily out of tricks without much discomfort, unless it is particularly warm out. TG is said to be more porous, but I find it to still resist sweat, so if you get too sweaty, you'll need to wipe off, otherwise you'll slide off. TG is also a small layer on the pole, so it can scratch as well, so be careful (no jewelry.) With use, the gold color can wear to a silver color in spots. This will not affect the grip. TG also needs to be conditioned for a while after it arrives. Be patient. TG works well in many climates. It can be difficult if it gets too humid, since it doesn't like to work with sweat (or moisture.) Dehumidifiers might be helpful. TG also has a bit of nickle in it, though not as much as chrome. It does have the potential to cause an allergy, but I have not had a reaction to it. TG is only sold by X pole.

Brass: Brass is harder to come by in the home, unless you have imported jewelry or very old fixtures.

X pole used to offer a brushed/matte brass finish. I covered the different brass finishes here. In general, the matte brass is slicker than the mirror finish. The matte brass is good for those, like me, with very tacky skin. It is more temperamental to cold than mirrored brass. I will be discussing mirrored brass, as it is now the only brass finish currently being sold in the U.S.

Brass, in general, is very grippy. It doesn't need much conditioning before it becomes grippy. Those with dry skin might find brass difficult, since their skin has less friction. For some reason dry skin and brass don't mesh. Grip aids usually solve this problem (I say this from personal experience.) Tackier skin will stick to brass well. In fact, brass can be too grippy. You might ask, how can you have too much grip? Well, when you are trying to slide out of a move or go from one move to the next, you skin will be stuck to the brass and not move with you, thus pulling your skin too much. It can be very painful. Talk about pole burn! Brass is more difficult to spin on. The friction between your hand and the brass is higher than other finishes, so it causes you to lose momentum more quickly. I tend to get stuck half way through a spin. Brass works better with sweaty hands than other finishes. It is porous, so it seems to work with the sweat instead of the sweat sitting on the surface of the pole, causing you to slip. Brass seems to work well in most climates. Brass doesn't take very long to warm up.

Brass takes more maintenance. It patina's, meaning it tarnishes on the surface to a dull brownish color. You have to periodically clean it with brasso. The patina adds even more grip than the gold brass finish. I find the best way to clean the pole, between brasso cleanings, is to wipe it down really well with rubbing alcohol. Vinegar can help remove a patina, but it can accelerate red rot, if your brass starts getting red rot. Red rot is a de-zincification of the metal, leaving behind the copper, which is more brittle (brass is an alloy of zinc and copper.)  Brass is a soft metal, so you have to be careful with it. It has a lot of flex because of the soft nature of brass. I've seen a brass pole bend. Since brass is an alloy, different companies use different compositions of brass, which will affect grip. Brass is a good option for those with metal allergies. Brass is sold by Platinum Stages, Pole Danzer, and X pole.

Powder Coated: Examples are the surface of your car and bike frame.

Powder coating starts as a fine powder, which is applied to an object and heated to form a hard layer on the item. It comes in a ton of colors. In terms of poling, it is a fairly grippy material. Just like brass, it can be a bit too grippy at times, especially if you have tacky skin. It can be harder to spin on with tacky skin. Unlike brass, powder coating doesn't work with your sweat. It reacts more like the other metals, where the sweat sits on the surface and you slide off. Powder coating doesn't require the maintenance of brass, so it is a good option for us lazy polers! Just wipe it with rubbing alcohol! It warms up pretty quickly, which is nice. Lil Mynx is the only company that sells powder coated poles. Not all powder coating is the same. Some are slicker than others, some are grippier than others. I'm not really sure if there is any way to tell how grippy it will be before hand. Powder coating should be good in most climates, although it might be a bit difficult on humid days.

There have been several cases of girls who have had their poles powder coated. For instance, if your stainless steel pole is just too slick for you, it can be powder coated. You just need to call around to get pricing. Make sure you take pictures of the pole before you take it in, just in case the pole gets damaged during the powder coating process. You want evidence that it was damaged from the powder coating process. You might want to get something in writing from the company indicating it was in good condition when you took it in.

Purchasing a pole is a big investment. Hopefully this list will help you decide which pole will be best for you.

If anyone has any input, let me know and I will add it!