Differences Between Staff, Sizes and Types: Contact, Dragon,

Great to hear you are interested in purchasing a Staff from us.

There are several things to consider;

Style, Weight, Length, Wicks, Grips, Flame, and Assembly/Transport.

Where to start?

A Practice Staff will not have any wicks and are a good starting point to begin your staff journey. You can master your staff moves, and with growing confidence, you can consider moving on to Fire Staff, LED Staff, Contact Staff, LED Staff, Dragon Staff, Double Staff, Triple Staff, and many other object manipulation arts.

You can dive in and purchase a Fire Staff and place some old socks or fancy wick covers over the fire heads or wicks to protect them from damage as you learn without the fear of a hot flame.

The Beginner or Standard Fire Staff.
A standard Fire Staff is twirled through your hands, spun, thrown, caught, balanced, and bounced like a firey extension of your movement. This type of Staff is where many people start their staff twirling.
See: Lessons Teach/Fire-Training/Fire-training-safety/Am-I-ready-Fire 

The Staff pole is strong and light enough to build up your hand strength and flexibility. But remember to warm up with exercises and stretch before you begin.

Length of a Standard Staff?

For a beginner Staff size, we use a general guide to measure from your armpit to the ground and take the closest pole length.

What is a Fire Baton?

Fire Batons are shorter (less than 1m) and lighter and, most importantly, have a much thinner pipe. Thin enough to twirl between and around all your fingers. The wicks are smaller as your hands will be closer to the heat. They are great for finger strength, speed, and agility, and it is easier to use two batons simultaneously.

What is Contact Staff manipulation?

The keyword "Contact" in the product name means a style of staff twirling where you roll the pole around, always in contact with the body, head, and rolling down the arms (not held so much in the hands).
A Contact Staff is a child in the family of Fire Staff who has a more extended handle, heavier pipe, and longer length.
See Lessons Teach/Staff/Contact 

Length of a Contact Staff?
For contact a Staff size, we use a general guide to measure from the top of your shoulder to the ground and take the closest pole length. The added weight for contact staff is to create more momentum, and the HoP grip allows it to stick to the body better without ripping your hair out quickly. If you need an even longer staff, please let us know.

What is the "Dragon Staff" or "Dragon Contact Staff"?

A Dragon Staff is a child in the family of "CONTACT" Staff with extra spokes with more fire heads at each end.

As this contact staff pole is rolled around the body, along the arms, back, and neck, the pipe is rolling as it moves around you. Usually, this natural movement is not noticed until you add some "Dragon Spokes" or "Dragon Claws," which creates exciting circles of fire on rolling the pipe. It's like adding a new dimension to your fire performances.

A Dragon Staff may not mention "Contact" in the name. However, it is typically made using the much thicker, stronger, and heavier "Contact" style pipe. It is ok to use a lighter pipe if it is still very strong.

When selecting the length of a Dragon Contact Staff?

For a Dragon Staff length, we use a general guide to measure from the top of your head to the ground and take the closest pole length. The added weight of the dragon spokes will create more momentum.

Different sizes of flames?

Generally, we use a 60cm (2ft) length of the thicker 3.2mm Kevlar(R) wick of various widths. The most common Wick width is 100mm (4").

Note that the larger the width, the larger the flame, and the more giant flames, the more dangerous it will get closer to burning you. So you will need to change your spinning style to account for the more giant flames.

Do I need extra Wicks?

With good care, your wicks can last for over a year. Read this article to find out how this is done.
Lessons Teach/Fire-Training/Fire-training-safety/How-make-your-fire-wick-last-longer-1 

How to transport your Staff?
Transporting a long staff around can be a real hassle. So our long Staff has two options available, "AERO" and "ULTIMATE" to dismantle to a much smaller kit.

"AERO" in the product name means: it breaks down in half into two shorter pieces for more accessible transport. The staff will be precisely half its assembled length with the joiner removed.

It achieves this by using a clever custom-designed Pipe Joiner. Within each pole section, an internal key locks into and allows, by twisting the Pipe Joiner, to expand high-density silicone rubber bushes to grip the inside of the pipes tightly. This method creates a strong, secure, and rattle-free join hidden from view.

"ULTIMATE" means: it breaks down even smaller into three sections making the set even shorter for transport. The middle section has the handle grip part, and the other two outer poles have the fire wicks. It securely uses two "Aero Pipe Joiners" to join the three sections. So a 1.8m Staff can break down to only 60cm in length!

Do I need more information?
Yes, we have numerous lessons, articles, and videos to assist you on your journey, including many you should read and follow on the subject of Fire Safety!
See: Lessons Teach/Fire-Training/Fire-training-safety 

All of our Staff come with access to our library of Staff Video lessons.

Feel free to place an order when you wish, and we will email you once the order has shipped.