Hey friends!
Drex here from DrexFactor.com and today we’re
going to talk about homemade poi!
There’s a lot of different designs for DIY
poi out there, but I learned one of my favorites
about ten years ago and part of what I like
about this design is that it recycles materials
you may already have lying around the house.
I also love that the design gives you some
opportunities to be creative in how you decorate
them.
Before we dive in, I just want to take a moment
to give a shout out to the friends of the
channel!
Big thanks to Dark Monk, Emazing Lights, Flowtoys,
Spinballs, and Ultra Poi for helping to make
the videos on this channel possible.
You can visit them all on the web by following
the links down in the description of this
video.
Building your own poi can be a really fun
exercise in construction, engineering, and
sometimes collaboration.
There are so many ways to do it out there,
but by and large people who build their own
poi usually start with a weight of some sort
inside of socks.
While I dig the creativity of using what’s
at hand, I also find that socks create problems
when you start playing around with throws,
stalls, and isolations because they stretch
and it can throw of the momentum.
The design I’m going to show you guys today
is static--it doesn’t stretch at all, so
it behaves much more like other sets of poi
like contact poi, LED, or fire poi.
Before we start, one quick note: building
your own set of poi can be fun, but there
are also lots of people out there who build
props professionally and supporting them also
supports fellow artists.
Projects like these are fun, but make sure
you’re also supporting your community.
That said, I know that more than a few of
you guys out there watching are in places
where it’s hard to acquire poi or even the
pieces to make poi.
The design I’m about to show you comes with
you in mind and should hopefully involve materials
that you already have access to.
So!
Let’s get started.
This trip is going to involve two stops.
Alright, so we’ve got two stops on this
trip.
The first one is going to be to the hardware
store where I’m going to pick up everything
I’m going to need for the tether as well
as the handles if I want to add them.
Awesome!
So they had everything that I needed but the
rope was a little bit more expensive than
I was anticipating because in a lot of places,
you can actually buy rope by the foot instead
of by the big bundle like that.
But, no matter.
Alright!
Next stop is to the bike store.
The reason being that (I don’t know if you
guys knew this or not but) inner tubes get
thrown out all the time and those are going
to be what we use for the heads of our poi.
So I’m going to go see if they’ve got
any inner tubes for us.
I hope we’re in luck.
[Drex] Hi!
[Clerk] Hi!
What’s up?
[Drex] Not much!
I’m just curious: do you guys have any inner
tubes that you’re going to be throwing out?
[Clerk] If we have any old stuff it’s going
to be right on the side of the building.
[Drex] Cool!
Thank you.
Outstanding!
We got everything that we need.
So let’s head back and get to building.
To make these poi, all you really need is
a pair of scissors.
If you’d like to add the optional handles,
it would also help to have a power drill.
Here are our materials, so let’s get started
by working with the bike inner tube.
Cut out the segment of the inner tube that
has the valve on it so that you wind up with
a long tube rather than a donut.
Next you’re going to want to cut down the
length of the tube itself.
I usually try to cut down the innermost seam
for the best stretching properties.
Once you’re finished cutting, you should
wind up with something that looks like a long
piece of rubber tape.
Fold it in half and cut along the halfway
point, giving you two pieces of rubber tape
of equal length and width.
Next, you’ll probably want to wash off both
of these rubber pieces because they will be
covered in dirt.
Hang them up to dry and it’s time to work
on our tethers.
If you want to add the handles, go ahead and
drill out those rubber furniture feet.
You’ll want to use a drill bit that’s
the next size up from the width of your rope.
Make sure to put down something to use as
a tarp so you don’t get rubber shavings
everywhere.
Now put your rope through the end of one of
the feet.
If you want, you can add weight by throwing
some washers on there.
Tie off a knot and pull the rope through.
One note here real quick: you can also just
make handles by holding onto the knots in
the rope.
The furniture feet are totally optional.
So now you’ll want to measure out how long
you want your poi to be.
You can either measure from your thumb to
your shoulder or if you know the length you
want, use a measuring tape.
Tie another knot in the rope and cut the rope
off just above it.
Use a lighter to melt the ends and you’ve
got one tether done.
Go ahead and repeat this process with the
other tether and you’re ready for the inner
tube which should now be...not dry yet.
It takes a little while.
Okay, grab a book and a drink, then.
Cool!
Ready to go!
Take a small piece of tape and use it to attach
the end of the cut inner tube to one of the
tethers near the end away from the handle.
Now begin wrapping, making sure to keep the
roll underneath the knot at the end.
As much as possible, try to avoid having any
slack in the rubber as you wrap it up.
That’ll make it less likely that it’ll
accidentally come off at some point in the
future.
When you’re finished wrapping up the inner
tube, tape around it to keep it in place.
At this point, you can use different decorative
tapes of different colors to create the look
you want for your poi!
Repeat the same process with the other tether
and now you’ve got a pair of poi to go out
and spin.
The weight should be pretty close to what
you’re used to for many other sets of poi
and you can put your own unique design sensibilities
on the heads.
One quick note here: these poi are not by
any means soft.
They will hurt when they hit you so they might
not be the best option for people who are
starting from scratch.
So...all told I spent $17 on the rope, $5
on tape, $4 on the furniture feet, $.44 on
the washers, and the inner tubes were absolutely
free.
Total cost for this pair of poi?
$26.44.
That’s pretty cheap.
Bear in mind that you may already have a lot
of these materials laying around the house.
The cost of these could be as little as nothing
depending upon what you have onhand.
You can make these as simple or as ornate
as you like.
What are your favorite designs for DIY poi?
Let me know down in the comments.
Did you make up a set of poi using this method?
Show me your poi on instagram by using the
hashtag #drexfactorpoi
Thanks so much for watching.
If you got anything out of this video, please
hit that like and subscribe button to help
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do, please go to patreon.com/drexfactorpoi.
Thanks again and peace!
