Anyone else find chrome to be the grippiest??

PolarGirl started this discussion · 12/14/2014

I know the topic of pole finish has been beaten like a dead horse, but I have honestly spent the last 1.5 hours (!) reading ALL of the discussions on here and elsewhere and finally decided to just ASK you lovely ladies the questions I have, I currently have a 50mm titanium gold xpole and am selling it because I cannot grip this finish for the life of me (most days). I understand that most people prefer this finish but it does not work for me at all. I have tried almost every grip aid and combination of grip aids known to man. My studio uses 50mm brass and I do find that I grip much better than on my TG. BUT I took a private lesson with an old teacher of mine and her studio used 45mm chrome, and I felt that I gripped much much better on the chrome than either TG or brass. At first I thought this was because of the smaller diameter pole, but my body grip also seemed better on the chrome. Moreover, I used barely any grip aid and hardly even had to wipe the pole at all. I wonder if it just had to do with the specific humidity of her studio? Could it really be that different? I am going to buy a 45mm pole TOMORROW and am torn between brass and chrome. Can I really grip chrome the best? I am super sweaty. How can this be...?

16 replies

Phoenix Hunter · 12/14/2014
I think the new chrome xpoles 2014 are a grippier finish than TG. other than that, no. I dont find chrome to be grippier. but sometimes I dont feel much of a difference between TG and chrome if I am very warm and the pole is warmed up. I do however,find 50mm to be horrendous and just wont use them. I am a very sweaty person too. I love brass and the new chrome xpole finish right now.
PolarGirl · 12/15/2014
PhoenixHunter, thanks. It's weird, I also find a cold pole more grippy than a warm one. And I have always heard people say the opposite. Again, maybe it's a temp or humidity thing, but I have to wait and cool down a bit if I get really warmed up, because then I can't grip at all (my TG and sometimes the studio brass). I think I'm just a weird case. I'm tempted to go chrome but worried about picking the "wrong" one. I have read the threads on here about people just ordering A and B poles of a different finish from Xpole, but I don't see A and B poles for sale on their US site. Guess I'll just have to call. And I guess I'll just have to pick a finish and hope for the best...
chemgoddess1 · 12/15/2014
Chrome is my friend!
chemgoddess1 · 12/15/2014
Hit send too quickly. Brass is probably my least favorite as it is either too slippy or too grippy....there is no happy medium. I have worked on stainless at studios and while down here in NC it is great I hated it when I lived in Cleveland. Chrome for me has the most consistent grip of any pole I have used.
feliciajean186018 · 12/15/2014
I am soo sweaty in the hands and feet as well and I have stainless steal but I am living the chrome I borrowed from a friend and I am thinking about swapping with her. I grip the come Way better and seem to sweat less!
yrngrl · 12/15/2014
I love chrome, but it's slippery a lot in winter for me unless I'm a bit sweaty and warm. As for grippiest I'd have to go with powder coated, judging by the times I play on the fireman pole at the playground.
PolarGirl · 12/15/2014
I ended up ordering a 45mm brass today so I'll hope for the best. Thanks, ladies! I may just go ahead and try to order chrome A and B poles anyway so I can try it out. I only got to try chrome once so I'm super curious...
Phoenix Hunter · 12/15/2014
I hope you like your brass as much as I do. I think you will definitely like the 45mm better than 50mm. my brass is so grippy. I love it.
Dars · 12/16/2014
I wonder if the chrome pole works well in Texas where is hot and humid? I have been wanted to buy it. I read this thread and other threads on chrome and wonder if it's grippy or slippy changes due to the climate of your locations?
PinkPhoenix · 12/16/2014
I live in CA and I have Chrome and it's not that grippy at all for me. I'm always using tac of some form. At my studio they have the brass kind of pole and man I stick pretty good on it unless it is a really hot day, but in the winter it's pretty solid. =) But I'm not going to give up my chrome pole though. i figured that one day all will workout and I'll figure out the magic formula to stick better.
monica kay · 12/19/2014
A "seasoned" chrome is always stickier that new out of the box imo. A new one seems to slick to me and i have trouble gripping. For years, I despised my at home pole because I had zero grip and it frustrated me. Next time you use a (chrome) pole, take a look at it and try to remember how shiny or scratched it is and then compare how successful your practice was compared to others. Brass is the stickiest and AWESOME! However, brass is not common in the studios near me and is not used in pole competitions as far as i know. (?) so if your goal is to compete, acclimating yourself to competition poles would be a wise choice.
CD Hussey fka Jivete · 12/20/2014
Just to add to the discussion, I have a brass pole at home. I really like it most of the time. I started on ss and chrome. I used to hate chrome, but I'm beginning to like it better. Brass is def my favorite but sometimes it is too sticky. Tg did not work for me at all. It would be sticky and then suddenly get slippy. I just bought a used lol mynx ss to use at home when I don't want the brass.
vmaelstrom · 12/21/2014
I'm joining this discussion because I am starting to get second thoughts about my TG. It is only 3 months old so it's still almost completely new, and I know that a totally new pole is always more slippery than an old one. We use some kind of weird powder coated things in class, and they are much grippier but I never really compared my TG to that since well, it's completely different. But I was in Stockholm and took classes and they used Chromes, and that was SUCH a big difference compared to mine and I can't really believe that just wearing it down will make THAT much difference. My pole is just like jivete said, "It would be sticky and then suddenly get slippy", SUPER slippy. Should I stick with it and wear it down or should I start to look for a new one? How long before it's not "new" any more?
PolarGirl · 12/21/2014
littlevera, I had my TG for 8 months and at first I thought, oh I just have to wear the factory finish off like everyone talks about - but Xpole claims there is no extra "finish" on their poles. I used it enough to already turn it silver on the top pole piece and it still never became grippier, so I'm skeptical of the argument that it just needs to be worn in somehow. That's just my experience though. I also thought maybe it was because it was summer and so warm, but now that it's winter, it's still extremely slippery. I do not like the TG finish but a lot of people do. I was still very surprised to find chrome to be grippier. I assumed that if TG was too slippery that chrome would be more so.
hookedonpole · 12/22/2014
I don't have much to contribute as everyone is finding that different finishes work differently for different people :) I have a 45mm xpole titan gold and love it. I started with Lil Mynx stainless steel which worked in the beginning. But as I got stronger for int tricks, needed more grip I have gone back and forth between chrome and titan gold twice and ended up with titan gold. That being said, is anyone selling a pole to get a new one? PolarGirl are you selling 50mm titanium gold xpole? Please let me know. Oh and where you are located if you are. You can pm me if you'd like. THANKS!
PolarGirl · 12/22/2014
Hookedonpole, I sold it to a friend of mine who started training at my pole studio. I bought an Xpole 45mm brass the other day and am waiting for it to arrive. (My boyfriend accidentally had it shipped to his parents' house -- whoops!) Now I'm thinking I'd love I have a second pole in SS or chrome. Someday...:)