Hi all,
Great news! My staff has finally come in the mail and I couldn’t be happier with it!
I decided to go with aluminum like my last staff, chameleon, but I wanted a smaller size. That’s actually the main reason I decided to get it. Chameleon measures in at 5 feet. The new staff I had custom cut down to 55 inches (approx. 4.6 feet).
I already decorated the new staff and named it Lil’ Saint after me.
I know, isn’t it cute?
Here are some before and after pictures.
Before:
After:
I’m happy with the way the design came out, although I did mess up a few times in the process. I tried to get a nice even layer of tape down, but it ended up getting bumpy at certain points. For the most part, it’s just fine. And it spins great!
I was actually surprised by how short Lil’ Saint is in comparison to Chameleon. The extra five inches Chameleon has actually makes a big difference.
It doesn’t seem like all that much in the pictures, but up close, Chameleon seems to dwarf poor Lil’ Saint. And even working with one and then the other, I notice the vast differences. Chameleon has better momentum and can pick up more speed since it is larger. And even though Lil’ Saint’s mid section is marked to be almost exactly the same length as Chameleon’s, the difference in size makes it harder to find the center point on Saint mid-spin.
However, despite this, Lil’ Saint is much easier to maneuver and I can do tricks with zer (yes, Lil’ Saint is gender queer) that I can’t with Chameleon.
Chameleon Update
So here’s what I haven’t told you yet!
As I mentioned in the last post about Chameleon, I had originally decided to deem him (yes, Chameleon is a boy) my practice staff. However, upon further thought, I decided that this was a terrible idea.
Not that Chameleon isn’t up for the job, but because he’s a bit too… shall we say… rough. Chameleon, like Lil’ Saint, is made of aluminum, which provides a great, solid feel. It is also just heavy enough to allow for some great speed.
However, aluminum is also rather hard. And if you happen to accidentally hit yourself in the leg, arm, head, etc., it hurts quite a bit! And yes, it does happen occasionally, especially when learning new skills.
A practice staff is, by definition, one that should be one you don’t have to worry about dropping, throwing, or hitting yourself with. It’s the staff that you can try out all your new tricks with without causing yourself lasting injury. Aluminum, as you might have guessed, is not the best material for this.
PVC, however, is great for this! PVC can hurt if you hit yourself hard enough with it, but it won’t cause too much pain. It is also quite durable. Perfect for practice.
And so, I decided to promote Chameleon back to the status of performer. Now I have two differently sized staffs to use, which can add some dynamic effects! Additionally, I got yet another staff!
As a side note, the materials I am getting are all quite cheap. Five feet of aluminum, depending on where you get it, can be as cheap as $5-$10. PVC, on the other hand, is no more than $2 or $3.
Ta-Da! I present to you, Zebra, the newest addition to the Street Saint family!
Zebra is a 5 foot PVC staff. He (yes, he) is flexible, durable, and even a little bouncy. And he doesn’t hurt when you hit him up against yourself (which is a huge plus)!
Since Zebra is strictly a practice staff, I decided not to decorate him too ornately. I just threw on some random black designs (thus the name). He’s not one I expect to take out into public very often (if at all). Poor little guy…
In any case, that’s it for now. I won’t be getting any more staffs for a while (at least, probably not). However, next on my list of staffs are ones that can glow in the dark. In other words, I’m looking to invest in a glow/LED staff and a fire staff!
But that’s for later down the road. Until then, I’m happy with Chameleon, Lil’ Saint, and Zebra.
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