Pop'N Flow LED Poi Review / Modular Props for the Masses?

[@blackberrybunny]

These are fantastic! You make them look so easy, Drex, but I know it takes a LOT of practice to become a master, like you are! If I EVER get decent enough, and feel I've got the potential in me, I will buy me a set of these. I checked them out on their website--they are $$, but you can see how they are so worth it. Their build, beauty, and uniqueness warrants the price they are asking. Plus, you can buy and add on as you go, which is great! Like LEGOs, haha, but a piece or two here and there and build up your collection. I really LOVE those handles they offer, which can hold 3 sticks I believe-- like fans! Or the one that has the hole in the middle, and the sticks are like spokes, and you can spin it. Those are neat! I'm a 56 y.o. legally blind woman, now acting like a kid again, hahahaha. Maybe this is just my way of dealing with my grief, I don't know.....but all I can admit to, Drex, is that your videos sure do bring a lot of light, happiness, and inspiration into my life! I already own 3 sets of poi now, NONE of which I can use, hahahah. I'm trying!! With your help. ;-) -Molly

[@Catoxis]

I actually just got a set of 2 spokes + one of the longer hubs, and I'm really tempted to do the trade-in and swap out more of my gear. I keep finding myself in situations where traveling with my full vision wand is hard, but I can absolutely take two spokes + a levihub and be able to break this stuff out more often. Thanks for doing this review! :D

[@DrexFactor]

My pleasure! And I'm glad to hear the modularity is a solution that is especially helpful in your situation.

[@flowtoys]

Yay - the wand hub feels great! We're also about to release a contact staff hub that feels amazing :)

[@Catoxis]

@@flowtoys Yessssss, that's what I'm waiting for.

[@burmashavetom]

Thanks for the review! I'm not sure the baton center piece with the composite is meant to be used as a baton. I think that's just designed for the Levi wand version. It may work, but it seems a bit short to grip.

[@DrexFactor]

I had a phone call with Sean from Flowtoys a couple weeks ago to do background on this review and he said on the call that you could add carbon fiber to the batons but for the life of me I don't see that option on the website anywhere. I'm not sure if that was an intended change that hadn't been added yet or if there's a different version of the product it appears with. Maybe he or someone else on the Flowtoys team can weigh in and give us some clarity.

[@SkyGuysQuest]

I like the idea of pop and flow but I’ve already investing in spin 9 poi, vision sticks, and two 32” full vision staves I don’t think there’s much more these props offer for me to justify an upgrade

[@DrexFactor]

I totally hear you. There's some irony in releasing a modular system to share the spin capabilities with other props given that lots of people have already invested in those props separately. Perhaps it'll help out people just starting to build their collections.

[@SkyGuysQuest]

@@DrexFactor I think it will help new people buy into the system for sure. I look at it as the equivalent of Apples halfway upgraded models for those that want them

[@AshIsObsessive]

Something I think would be useful in the brightness part of these prop reviews (I may be the odd one here) would be a test of the *dimmest* brightness setting. My props get the most use in outdoor festival situations and, with capsule 2.0 I'm almost always on brightness level 1 with the ocassional bump to level 2. I recently acquired some vision props and have found that even their brightness level 1 is actually too bright to be comfortable for nightime festival adventures. This means that, for my use cases, vision props are actually a substantial downgrade from capsule 2.0s. Just figured this is a sort of preference that wouldnt get picked up in your review style.

[@DrexFactor]

Interesting. I'll confess that I find the brightness section to be one that I've pondered simply getting rid of as nearly all companies now offer LED props that are brighter than I'd need for most of my own applications. I'm wondering if there's a more scientific way to measure them, say a light meter or something like that. And yes, I totally hear you about many modern props being a little *too* bright. Nearly every LED prop I own kind of kills my night vision. I think we as a consumer base might have overcorrected from earlier props.

[@louisewhotton3265]

I'm considering these, thank you for the review and footage as I couldn't find much. I tried your affiliate link, but couldn't get it working, do you have an updated one please? 😊

[@DrexFactor]

My current affiliate code is “drexfactor052024”

[@louisewhotton3265]

@@DrexFactor thank you so much. I ordered this afternoon 😁

[@brantonbradford8269]

Hello! Do you have an updated affiliate code?

[@gaberialla]

Are they easy to sync up together or a pain in the but to sync up? I totally agree that flow toys props are very durable. But can you change the length of the poi? I have been meaning to invest in the pop n flow system. I want to get the poi, fans, battons. Thank you for the review it is very beneficiall. The pop n flow system is a bit pricy but questioning if it's worth it to invest into.

[@IceblueParamedic]

The syncing for the lights takes about 10-15 seconds and you can link just two or hundreds of lights in that time

[@DrexFactor]

The programming system is identical to the capsule 2.0s and the vision props, so pairing can be done with a specific combination of button presses. Mine came pre-paired, so perhaps they do this with all sets they send out. As for the tethers, once you set the length of the tether then you can't adjust it again. You could, however, purchase multiple tether hubs and set them to different lengths and swap them out as desired.

[@christopherdeluague385]

So are these the Vision Lights in a long tube?

[@DrexFactor]

I think they're more like a modular version of the Vision Lights.

[@lknanml]

Stay with me now... Ok.. (if this exists sorry) Take a normal looking POI but inside the handle you have a spring. A simple button and spring tension keeps it coiled. Push the button to allow the spring to move and spin the POI fast so centrifugal force makes the spring extend and your POI rope gets longer. Let the button go which now holds the spring in the extended position and now you have longer POI ropes. During a performance the extension needs to be noticeable. Like spinning the POI overhead and the POI pattern gets longer. Push the button again and slow your spin and the spring pulls the rope in back to the short position and letting the button go locks it back into place. For even longer movies a thin wire and spooling mechanism could be used. Think dog leash with a reel that gets longer only A LOT smaller.... If there is a way to light up the entire rope/line during this move the extension would be very noticeable. Imagine spinning out the line then stalling the POI REALLY far then retracting them into the next move at normal distance. A little Jedi force push and pull move.... You could also do the extension over the front row of your audience. Should make for some "WTF just happened" looks.. If you accidently hit someone I never said any of this................ Love the channel.. No idea how I found it but it's been fun breaking things around the room and watching cats trying to catch the POI.

[@BadShrimp]

I really like this idea, imma see what I can work up

[@DrexFactor]

It's an interesting idea, but I'm really curious how it would work in practice. For one thing, rope takes up a lot of room when it coils up. With most of my handles, if there's room for the tether at all it's just a simple knot. In many cases the end of the tether just needs to be melted off and that's what sets off the end. For another, if the spring has enough tension in it that it can overcome the pull of centrifugal force when being spun, that also means the tension is great enough that it would never lengthen in the first place. To say nothing of the fact that it's pretty difficult to manage controls on any set of handles as you spin them. Finally, I can't help but notice that what you're describing functionally isn't that different from the stretchy sock poi we all used back in the day wherein as you sped up your spinning, the socks would stretch and give you longer tethers and contract once again when you slowed down. It's a lo-fi solution, but it produces the result you're describing here. That said, if there's a way over those engineering hurdles it'd be pretty cool to see!

[@wendylorencastle5657]

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