"Checking" your pole before use

Whitney Jo started this discussion · 8/13/2016

Okay lovely ladies, I have a silly question. We all know it's best practice to check your home pole before using it to make sure it's still tight. Recently I had a close call at a silks class so now I have a lot of anxiety about my home pole and safety in general. I just decided to check tightness of my home X pole for maybe the second time in the two years I've had it. After some tightening then loosening then tightening until finally I found a spot that the screws would tighten in and it felt right. But now I'm so paranoid that I moved it from its trusted position that what if it fails on me!? When you "check" your pole, what exactly are you doing? Mine has no movement from the base or the ceiling mount but I feel movement from the pole itself. I can't for the life of me remember what it felt like when I was confident in it. Can anyone help calm my nerves?

6 replies

AllysonKendal · 8/13/2016
So my "maintenance" is really just checking the x-joints. I have had my Xpole shift when it was too loose... but thats all it did was shift... thats why the dome is so great. I mean no one wants their pole to shift cause thats scary... but it was never a huge shift. Not tooooo long ago I ended up loosening it actually because its hot and I think things expanded and it was spinning so crappily. So I loosed it.. then tropicalvertical posted the thing about her pole moving and I did get a little paranoid because loosening it never seems like a good idea.. but I gave it a big shake and everything seemed stable and it's been fine thus far. Not sure if any of that helped or made sense. :)
hookedonpole · 8/13/2016
Even though I know it's important to check the xjoints, I bought the permanent mount and love it. I had a maintenance guy put the mount up for me because I trust him (and hubby doesn't do stuff like that). I feel very comfortable not having to worry about the dome slipping. Plus it's easier to take down and put up when I need to, which isn't often (thanks goodness).
I polekat I · 8/14/2016
aaaarrrgghh haahaha i know what you guys mean! its worse with the spinny pole, when i had my static it was fine cos it was just a case of 'tighten that mofo as hard as you can til you cant tighten any more!' but with the spinny you can't tighten it as much or it doesn't spin right... when i first got my spinny i think it was up too tight cos it didnt roll smoothly between my hands, it sort of just rolled back and forward haaha you could feel the resistance. But it's the scariest thing loosening your pole because its like then it's not up at its tightest aaargrhrg??!! also i quite liked that it made the spin not super fast y'know?! i've been on some spinny poles which are so fast it was insane ;P but then i know its not good for the pole cos it can start to bow.... i moved it recently so didn't put it up quiiiite as tight, i could feel the spin was much smoother (and faster..) but then a few days after my boyf did a simple pencil spin and the dome moved oh so slightly. he was a bit shook up but as allyson said it only moved a little tiny bit, that is the benefit of the dome design, and luckily he was not upside down or anything.. but then i hadnt used it since i had moved it, and i should really have checked it after a day or two of putting it back up, after it had a chance to settle. so yeah it is a bit scary i never once had my static pole move cos it was up so tight haha that is definitely something i dont like about the spinny poles ... when im putting mine up i will tighten it a lot and then check to see how 'sticky' the spin is, then just slowly loosen it as little as possible and keep checking back with the spin mode until it feels smooth. but yeah i know what you mean, the pole itself does feel like it has a bit of movement between the dome and base =)
LabCobra · 8/15/2016
I typically check my pole every session but would recommend doing it at the very least after considerable temperature changes, after putting it up, after extended sessions on spinning mode and otherwise at regular intervals. I just move around the pole at 90 degree angles, pulling in each direction rather forcefully with my body weight. If I feel the pole moves at this point obviously I tighten it, otherwise proceed the test by doing some rather energetic but simple spins (any spin will do, just chose one you're very comfortable with and feel certain you could get out of quickly should the pole fall). Now you didn't actually mention whether you have a pole with spinning mode. If you do then as others have pointed out if the pole is spinning smoothly the pole is not over tightened however I would also beware of over tightening static poles as it can cause bend to the x-joints or even the pole itself which can be very bothersome when you want to take it down. I believe the official instruction is to tighten the pole as much as possible with one hand... however I am not sure if this accurately takes into account the amazing strength pole dancers build. ;)
Mary Ellyn · 8/29/2016
You should really check your pole daily! Or after four hours of use. (not sure why four is the magical number but that's what I was told by PoleDanzer when I started so I stick with that)Floor settle, walls/ceilings shift in houses all the time. If you have it on a concrete ceiling AND floor, yes, it's more stable, but still check it daily. Doesn't matter if it's on spin or static but yes, spin would be even more likely to fall. We teach our students to hold the pole in front of them then simultaneously jump UP and pull OUTWARD a couple of times. Additionally, once a month take it down completely to let the ceiling "relax" and then set it up all over again. If you want your pole more stable and can't or don't want to install the permanent mount, can you screw a block of wood into the ceiling in three spots around the dome to help hold it in place? FYI...had a student who was not following our instructions and checking daily. Never took her pole down once in over 3 years and never had problems. One day...bam it came down! Luckily she was not injured. Don't believe it's "in a good spot"....it can happen any time.
Whitney Jo · 9/13/2016
I typically check my pole while I'm using it, I have the position marked in pencil on the ceiling so I know if it has moved. However, I feel like when I see videos of a pole moving, it does so without warning. I've had my pole for almost 3 years now, but my recent anxiety about pole malfunctions or damaging my ceiling or it falling completely and injuring myself while damaging my apartment... I'm beginning to think pole isn't for me because I'm so anxious about the set up. I feel like you never know if it is set up correctly 100% so therefore you never know if you are completely safe.