How to choose contact poi

Start with four questions

Play makes, in Italy, the stage balls most used in the world, and puts them to work on contact poi. There is no perfect poi. Play’s work is to offer variety: four ball diameters, two ropes, two knobs, colours, thousands of combinations. You choose by how you want to play, not by a “level” on a label, and not only because your friends already have one.

1. Do you want to dance and have fun, or are you chasing throws and numbers?
2. Are you learning, or do you already know the style you want?
3. Do you want a flexible 6 mm rope, or a compact 10 mm one?
4. Do you want a pair already made, or to build it with the Generator?

If you are starting, a 6 mm rope. Practice 70 or Standard 80.

If you are starting, or you teach: 6 mm

Practice 70 — a 70 mm stage ball, 100 g, a smooth 6 mm rope, a ball-bearing swivel. No tails, no extras. Play components: stronger and more controllable than most “beginner” poi on the market. To approach the discipline with satisfaction from the first session. For schools, classes, anyone who wants to dance.

Standard 80 — the first real contact poi. An 80 mm stage ball, 150 g, a 36 mm PX3 thermoplastic rubber knob, a 6 mm rope. Soft, exceptional grip. The rope is 6 mm only: that is a choice, not a gap. Isolations, rolls, a little throwing, without jumping to a star-player setup.

Be careful with expert advice

Everyone is different and plays their own way. The advice of the spinner better than you is not always the right advice. With poi this is even more true, because for a few years one fashion has taken almost the whole scene.

One among many, the incredible Bow Juggler, opened up poi at a very high level: he has juggled five poi. The spinner world tries to follow him. There was a fairly sudden shift: from contact poi with a thin, flexible 6 mm rope — still a very popular standard, and advisable for beginners — to poi with a 10 mm rope, very compact and semi-rigid.

A 10 mm rope keeps its shape if you bend it. In the air it stays more stable. It is, in practice, for people who throw, who manipulate ball and rope together, who chase numbers. Play makes it: 48-strand polyester, round, compact, available on PRO, 90, Giga and the Generator. It is not a requirement. It is a tool for a precise job.

Only some players reach those levels, and the complexity of tricks that need those features. The vast majority want poi to dance and have fun. A semi-rigid rope, or balls and knobs built for complex, technically advanced throws, may not be the right choice. Honour to anyone who plays five. Do not buy their prop only because they do.

Two ropes: 6 mm and 10 mm

Both in 48-strand polyester, round, compact, in a wide range of colours. They last longer than the previous ropes. They are not “levels”. They are two diameters, two feels.

Rope	Feel	Who for
6 mm	Flexible, thin, faster, lighter. The classic poi feel.	Anyone starting. Anyone dancing. Practice 70 and Standard 80. Also on PRO, 90 and Giga, if you want it.
10 mm	Compact, semi-rigid. Holds its shape. Stable on throws.	Throws, manipulation, numbers. PRO, 90, Giga, Generator. Not the starting point.

Four balls

Play makes the stage balls. Play contact poi start there: weight, diameter, colour, touch. Four sizes in the catalogue. They are not a prestige ladder. They are four masses, four inertias.

Ball	Weight	In practice
Practice 70	100 g	Light, forgiving. To learn and to dance. Ball-bearing swivel, 6 mm rope.
80 mm	150 g	The most accessible contact size. Speed, technique, a first real contact poi. Standard or PRO.
90 mm	165 or 180 g	Play points it at people who already play more poi. More presence, more inertia. Check the colour: Play is moving 90 mm toward 165 g.
Giga 100	200 g	Maximum presence. Stalls, rolls, slow manipulation. Not a first poi.

Two knobs

The knob is the counterweight. It decides how the poi sits in the hand, and how it flies when you throw. Play makes two.

• PX3 thermoplastic rubber, 36 mm — on the Standard 80. Soft, exceptional grip. For dancing, for holding, for anyone not building a throw prop.
• PKS silicone, 39 mm — on PRO, 90, Giga, Generator. A throw counterweight, serious grip. It helps if you throw. If you do not throw, it is extra weight in the hand.

Clean length

On the contact line — Standard, PRO, 90, Giga, Generator — Play fixes ball and knob with custom nylon collars. Light, safe. You set the rope quickly and precisely. The look stays clean. The Practice has a swivel.

If you do not specify, Play cuts the rope at 50 cm. It covers the vast majority of cases. By far the most common length.

Height and arm length matter, and so does your style. Start from a length that, arm out, runs from palm to chest. Then shorten. A little long on day one is better than too short forever.

On every product page there is a Special requests field: that is where you specify the rope length. Have a clear idea before you choose. As said: better a little long, then you shorten it.

If it is not in the catalogue, the Generator

Contact Poi Generator — price per single poi. Three balls (80 / 90 / 100 mm), two knobs, two ropes, eight colours plus glow. You see the combination in real time. Thousands of poi, yours, customised 100%. Play exists for this: not to sell you “the” poi, to let you explore yours.

An 80 mm, 6 mm rope, rubber knob: dance. A 90 mm, 10 mm rope, silicone knob: throws. Two different poi in the same pair, if the game asks for it. The Generator is built for that.

By situation

I have never held two poi in the air

Practice 70, 6 mm rope. Or Standard 80 if you already want a contact poi. Do not start on 10 mm “because that is what the pros use”.

I teach, or I buy for a class

Practice 70, or Standard 80. Fair price, they forgive, the rope is 6 mm. Keep a 10 mm pair in the room only if someone is already on throws.

I want to dance, isolations, rolls, a little contact

80 mm, 6 mm rope. Standard if the rubber knob is enough. PRO if you want silicone, staying on 6 mm. Try 10 mm later, if you miss it.

I juggle, I throw, or I chase numbers

Then yes: 10 mm, silicone knob. 90 mm if you already play more poi. Giga 100 if you want mass and presence. Bow Juggler plays five. That is not a requirement. It is a clue, for people who are already there.

I already know what I want, or I want a colour that is not in the catalogue

Welcome: Contact Poi Generator. Ball, rope, knob, colours: thousands of combinations, the unique poi. One at a time, if you want a mixed pair.

Before you buy

• Play offers variety. There is no perfect poi. There is the one that fits your play.
• If you are starting or teaching, a 6 mm rope. Practice 70 or Standard 80.
• 10 mm is semi-rigid: it is for throws and numbers. It is not the standard for dancing.
• The fashion around Bow Juggler and five poi does not prove it is the right choice for you.
• A rubber knob to hold. A silicone knob to throw.
• 80 mm to start on contact. 90 if you already play more poi. Giga 100 if you want mass.
• If you do not specify, the rope is 50 cm. Another length: Special requests on the product page. Better a little long, then you shorten it.
• If it is not in the catalogue, the Generator.