Flexx10 started this discussion ·
Does anyone use the Extreme Super Pole Multi Piece pole from Platinum Stages? If so, what is your opinion? I was thinking of buying that one, or an Xpole 😕
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Find out if they have fixed the issues before purchasing. For some time they had issues with incorrect threading so the pieces would not fit together all the way. They also had issues with them breaking at the seam. This was about 2 years ago. Also, are you a stainless or chrome person? I personally have better and more consistent grip on the chrome X than I ever did on the PS Stainless.
amy ·
i do, because i hate chrome (personally) and <3 stainless. it took me two months and over 8 phone calls to PS to get a fully functioning pole- they promised me my pole by a certain date for a photo shoot, which didn't happen; i got a 45mm bc that was in stock, and then had all kinds of issues when i did receive it: i got the wrong base, the wrong slider, pieces that didn't thread together properly, a case that was broken, etc etc etc. that being said, i bought my pole in sept of 2010 and i'm not sure if customer service has gotten much better since then. if you're willing ot put in the time, and don't mind having bad customer support, and are really married to a stainless pole (which i was, all three) then i would say go for it.
I dealt with that company and those poles for the studio at which I teach. They wasted our time, wasted our money, sent us broken, damaged, and dangerous pieces. Half the pieces of the poles are made of plastic. They will tell you not to worry because "it's bullet proof plastic, it's strong enough!" What they won't tell you is that they coveted that plastic in chrome coating, which doesn't stick to plastic. Especially if you're in a humid environment, it will bubble and peel and the adjustors cover will become RAZOR SHARP. I'm talking your thighs bleeding all over everything sharp. And don't bother buying it if you thought you were getting a "removable" pole. They use shoddy threaded joints which gap and don't fit together well, and will become so stuck together even with regular cleaning that not even strap wrenches will get them apart. Then, when you call customer service and tell them all this, they will tell you that it's your fault for whatever reason. If you wind up buying from them, be fully prepared to spend hours on the phone, and go through at least three poles worth of pieces back and forth in the mail to actually get one semi-working pole. And after all that is said and done, the pole you have will not feel as sturdy as an xpole. I put both up next to each other to compare, and the PS felt like a toy. Let's put it this way. I hate chrome. I hate it to death. It is my least favorite of all finishes. But xpole makes quality products, and I'd rather have good engineering and need to use tons of grip aid than cope with shoddy product that doesn't function as it should. In the meantime, if you like stainless, I STRONGLY suggest you contact customer service at x-pole and tell them that if they make a pole in stainless, you'd buy it. There are quite a few people out there who prefer stainless, and I feel like the only way x-pole will start working wiu it is if we show them how huge the interest in that finish really is.
I was not even going to go into all of the customer service issues..... BTW, the studio that I used to go to had a pole break while the student was on it.....literally break in half. PS told her that they are not meant to be used in "studio usage" and that they were only safe for personal use. The bases (and this was all of her PS poles) where you stop and start spin also would give way so that the pole would spin even when it was not supposed to. PS would do nothing about it except tell us how to fix the issue on your own. The fix was to pound the base off and epoxt where the pieces fit together. Either that or you had to take it to a machine shop to get it removed. Either way the plastic base part gets damaged.
wow, this is good information. Thanks to all of y'all for sharing!
BACE16 ·
Don't mean to derail. Never dealt with PS. For all the SS lovers, Lil Mynx makes a stainless steel. Its just one solid piece, not sections. Still removable though. I had one, never had problems, never called their cust care. Just throwing out the 3rd major brand option.
We have X-Poles at the studio, both TG and chrome. I love chrome, but I'm not so much into TG - it gets kind of greasy with my sweat, which does not happen with the chrome ones. In New York I got to practise on stainless steel poles, which did not work for me at all. I just could not get any grip on them! People are different, and so are their body chemics. What works good for me doesn't have to work good for you - it's complicated 😉 But non of the students at our studio has problems with the X-pole chrome, it seems to work for everyone.
I have an older model of this pole. I bought it off of craigslist, so I cannot comment on PS customer service. The stainless steel finish feels slippery to me and I often use grip aids. I am satisfied with the actual quality/structure of the pole. I've weighed 185+ while using it and it has not fallen, slipped, or broken in any way. I initially had issues with the threads sticking together. However, ever since I started lubricating the threads with petroleum jelly, I have been able to take it apart for maintenance quite easily. I should note that my pole adjusts at the top and I'm not familiar with issues pertaining to the bottom-adjusting pole. I must admit that I am afraid of that ridge created by the adjuster cover on the new poles. It looks like it would hurt. To sum up, I've had a pretty good overall experience with my PS multi piece. SS is not the best finish for my skin, but I put up with it because I got a safe, quality pole for a cheap price. If money had not been an object, my preference would have been to get an X-pole. I've been comtemplating possibly switching to X-pole brass when it's available.
If you want a ss, go for lil mynx. I reallybliked their po,es in dry california, but mine is too slippery in oregon. They have three kinds of ss poles. The stationary one piece, the spinning one piece, and the two piece stationary. I got the third one, the pro lite. It can be semi permanentvif you screw the mount in. I do not recommend using it without the ceiling mount as the ceiling pad easily slips. I was too afaid to throw my weight into spins because it would slip. With the mount, it would be totally secure, removable, and easily hidden.
Cocoa0 ·
I have an older ( top loading) PS pole and I loooove it! I got it off kijiji so I can't comment on the customer service aspect. Although the girl I got it from told me they sent her a free extension when she told them she didn't feel comfortable with the amount of screw showing when her pole was at the max out of the box height. I have experienced all 3 major brands and I would say hands down PS feels the most secure. The studio I go to has lil mynx and they have come down on me 3 times doing spins. I would not get a lil mynx pole. The X Pole I used felt flimsy, (I think the metal is thinner then PS) but it did not crash to the ground the way the lil mynx did. That being said SS is REALLY slippery at first but the more you use it the better it gets. You just need awesome grip aides to help break it in. Also I love how PS poles transition from static to spinning. You can do it in the middle of a routine and no one will notice. My 2 year old can do it (and does, often while I am in the air).
Flexx10 ·
Wow... Awesome advice!!!! About the Lil Mynx poles.... It looks like the ceiling mount is the same as the Flirty Girl Fitness pole??? I think I'm going to go with Xpole. I'm not a fan of removable poles at all, but I need some portable ones as I will be holding a few classes off site. Safety is my biggest concern!
The standard Lil Mynx has a mount that you screw into the ceiling and it is quite secure. I had mine up for over 3 years and had no issue, but I do know that if you screw it into the drymall in your ceiling it can and will eat away at the drywall and if you do not regularly check the pole it can come down once it eats that hole. I have seen their travel pole and am not enthused by it. I don't think the amount of surface area they have on the ceiling is enough. For the money X Pole is your best bet.
The travel pole can be mounted like a regular LM pole. It is just easier to store than the others b/c it is ia 2 piece, but chem is correct about the surface area issue. It slipped on me so many times with very low torque spins. The ceiling pad is more for taking it to parties where the girls won't be doing anything crazy on the pole. With LM, you need to check to make sure the tension is tight on the pole so it won't slip off the mount, and don't touch the adjustor rod.
If you looking for a really good quality perm or pressure mounted pole I highly recommend action poles. there a Canadian brass company, I got one of their poles a few months ago and love it, great customer service, and a height quality product. it's built for high end tricks, i'm pretty much flipped everything on this thing and it holds well as long as you have it mounted correctly
wow i never heard of these ACTION poles from canada, but i wish i could try it! Here is their website for others interested. http://www.actionpoles.com/
In the the action pole website, it looks like they photoshopped poles infront of models. The poles look awfully skinny, check out the 4th room, the pole looks to be no more than an inch thick. Talk about a bad photoshop job. I've never heard of them before. I wonder if anyone has experience with them. 1.5" diameter, if that would be sweet.
I have a PS pole and like Masked Loopy and Cocoa it loads from the top. I don't like the looks of the ones from the bottom because of the ridge sticking out. I also love the way mine switches back and forth seamlessly from static to spin. This is what made me hesitant for an Xpole (reading others having trouble on spin mode because the pole unravels or something like that - someone can correct me please if I misunderstood) Also I did have the issue of the threading getting stuck and initially not even fitting together because the threads would not align. I bought it through my pole studio so I didn't have to deal with PS cust. serv. My teacher helped me with replacing parts. Since then no problems and I really like it.
Disclaimer to those knocking removable poles...I have seen male polers do their worst on *properly installed* removable poles. The key to any pole designed for acrobatics is proper installation. I know Veena herself had a fall from a permanent pole that was not properly installed. A properly installed x-pole will always be stronger than an improperly installed permanent pole. And the nice thing about xpole is that they are great at solving logistical problems and have creative and sturdy solutions to most problems. They've seen it all.
Cocoa0 ·
Second post on this thread! I read somewhere on the forum that PS will make your pole top loading if you ask nice. I would recommend top loading over bottom. There are a few moves that you can do at the top of the pole (ie. Death Lay) but for the most part you will use the bottom more than the top (handsprings, Ayshas, anything split grip) so while I think bottom loading poles are a nice idea in theory, they don't work as well as you would hope in practice.
Cocoa0 ·
Oh P.S. Action poles make the poles for Aradia and the reason they look so small is because they are! Action poles make 38mm poles (like the ones@ Bobbi's) as far as I know no one else in North America makes a 38. They defiantly have their advantages but Action Poles don't have a spinning option (if they did I would buy one)
I"ve got the 38' pole and love it, but I have really small hands, they do make regular 50' for people who prefer the larger side. And I do agree, the website is pretty sketchy, I was hesitant to buy off of them originally because of it, but I got to say I'm glad I did ( and the customer service is great). I own 2 x poles (one top loading, the other bottom) and have had nothing but problems with them, crappy workmanship and cheap materials. From the joints rotating inside the tubes, to screws that keep stripping, and joints that jam together and wont come apart (old style) recently even the threads on the bottom loading pole have started to go wonky, I"m pretty pissed off with x pole at the moment. That's why I truly appreciate these poles, I have had no problems with their workmanship, its supper high quality, no cheap ass materials. I"ve never used a PS pole, though I would love to try one of their free standing stages some time, as far as I know their the only company that makes them (someone correct me on that if I"m wrong) Anyways if your fed up with cheaply made poles I highly recommend these guys
X Pole has stage poles. I have been on both an X and a PS and I would NEVER buy a PS star stand alone (as a side note, Alethea had a huge thing on FB about these poles and how dangerous they are). I do not wish to hijack this thread regarding that but you can read a lot about them here: https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/I_am_buying_a_PS_Star_Stand_Alone_30_tomorrow_20110315101749 https://www.studioveena.com/forums/view/Xpole_Lite_vs_Star_Stand_Alone_from_PS_20110513104811 There is also a company out of the UK called R Pole but they are SUPER expensive.
Upandover, are you sure you bought real X Poles? The ones I have are in no way crappy workmanship or cheap materials.
bought straight off the xpole website it was only about a month in before the joints started to rotate, and it wasn't because I didn't tighten it enough (like x pole likes to claim) I tightened the joints to the point where the screw stared to strip. If you look inside the tube there is a notch that the joints slide into, with multiple spins the notch breaks down, and it no longer holds the joint in place. the only way to get the joint out at that point is to bang it out, but the damage is already done, the notch is now bent (or expanded, however you look at it) the the joint will continue to shift regardless. that little groove in the tube is not strong enough to stand up to long term use. to be honest the old style is a much better design, the joints do tend to jam (alot), but at least they stand up to heavy use.
Yup. PS will make the poles top loading still. It looks a bit different from the old style, but it's still tightened at the top. Just ask nicely =) For what it's worth, I have 2 PS poles and have never had a problem with customer service.
