Home of Poi: Firenunchucks Review
Wick:
The wick is a good size. I think there is 50cm of it on each baton, but there could be a bit more or a bit less. It uses 65mm wick. The amount of wick seems to be very good in comparison to the actual nunchuck weight and length, as it provides the extra momentum to allow you to do throws & finger tricks easier, but not too heavy. The wick is sewn over the end of the baton too, which is a good idea. However, as there is only a few layers of wick over the end, I think it could perhaps come off with a few drops on something hard. The wick is sewn in place, which prevents those brands you get on the inside of your forearm when just starting fire with nunchucks.
Weight:
I measured the chucks at 243grams. This is a good weight. The standard weight I use is 330 grams. These chucks are significantly lighter, but I find it’s good to have your firechucks lighter, as otherwise you’ll tire very soon. Plus, the paraffin will add extra weight!
Length:
I measured (with a very inaccurate ruler, by the way!) the baton lengths to be 40cm (15.7inches). My standard non-firechucks length is 12inches, and my standard firechucks length is 14-15inches. And so, these chucks are perhaps a little long for me, but I don’t mind all that much. It can make moves like the wheel a little harder (see down for more on the wheel), but not significantly.
Burn time:
I got about 2mins out of them. This is a fair burn time from a set of chucks, due to the speed at which they go. In fact, the longest I ever got a set of chucks to burn was 3:30mins, and these chucks had 3foot of wick on either end in a cathedral fold!
The swivel:
The new HOP swivel is an interesting thing. It seems to basically just be an eyebolt held in with two pop rivets. At some point, I will reverse engineer it, but until then I’ll just stick with that. It swivels very well, and due to the nature of it seems like it would never need and oil at all. The swivels are a hell of a lot better than the chain BB ones you get standard with lots of chucks. For example, they won’t pop out, and they give you more space for finger tricks.
Grip:
The grip is one of the things about the HomeOfPoi nunchucks that I don’t in fact like. It seems to be more focused more around decoration then actual practicality. If you were to do some contact, or some more advanced moves, you’d have to take the standard grip off and stick some of your own on it. Also, the grip has a very small surface area too. It’s 10cm wide, which even I (with very small hands) find too small.
Chain:
The chain is standard 3mm dog chain as far as I can tell. It’s a curious thing. In all, I think that I do like it more than standard chain. Due to its curved nature, it allows more freedom when performing more difficult moves. It is the standard hand-span length chain, not the newer prochux length (Search google.co.uk for prochux for more information on them). I think the dog chain operates closer to cord than a chain which could be either a good or a bad thing, up to you to decide!
Finger tricks:
Right, what you’ve all been waiting for! When George from HOP described these nunchucks to me over Skype, I had some doubts on whether they would be all that functional for finger tricks. I was wrong. They function very well on all finger moves (other than inf. fingerspin, which is almost impossible on most chained chucks, I’ve found) including the wheel. Obviously, it’s harder to keep it going as it would be with, say a nice set of corded chucks, but it’s about as good as you can get with chain.
Conclusion:
I say these chucks are good firechucks! Naturally, I prefer the FCE ones, but that’s to be expected. I say, if you want a fairly good set of chucks, and aren’t all that advanced go for them!
-Rellizate (Dom Hudson)
