Fire Poi Guide! Wicks & Fire Spinning Fuel Guide!

Fire Poi Wicks & Fire Spinning Fuel

This week let’s talk about Fire Poi! Fire Poi comes in many different styles of wicks, lengths, and sizes. We’ve made a simplified Fire Poi wick and Fire spinning fuel guide. At Sacred Flow Art we sell over 10 different Styles of Fire Poi! We have many options when speaking about wicks, which fuel to use, and which fuel is best. Let’s jump right into it and talk about wicks!

First, Wicks come in some main popular styles. Monkey Fist & Crown knot are two of the most popular. We also have Isis, grenade, comet and more, but for this article we’ll focus on Monkey fist and Crown Knot Fire Poi.

Monkey Fist Fire Poi

(Monkey Fist Poi pictured can be found here!)

The classic Monkey fist poi is a knot that looks somewhat like a small bunched fist. This style poi has a nice weight and is easy to throw, making it great for fire spinning wicks. Its shape is suited well for maximum fuel soakage. Average wick size for Monkey Fist wicks is 2″- 2.5″ in diameter for medium heads and 3″ – 3.5″ for large heads. You can expect a 7-8 minute burn time with this wick. 

Crown Knot Fire Poi

(Crown Knot Poi pictured can be found here!)

Another popular knot style is the crown knot poi. These knots are proven to perform and hold their flame. They are slim by design and light weight. Definitely a popular choice to learn tricks and improve your flow. Both Monkey Fist and Crown Knot are time tested and proven to last. Most commonly, you will find fire poi are made with a Kevlar core, providing durability and a reliable burn. Medium sized Crown Knot wicks are about 3″ in length and 1.5″ in diameter. You can expect a 5-6 minute burn time with this wick. 

Fire Spinning Fuel Guide!

Next, we will discuss fuels! Fuel can be tricky based on where you live and what your fire spinning intentions are. Let’s break it down! The main three are white gas (camping fuel), Lamp oil, and Kerosene. Each has different properties, so we went and simplified it for your reading pleasure! 

Coleman/White Gas (camping fuel): Cleanest burning, Fast ignition with a shorter/moderate burn length. An orangey-yellow flame, great for night.

Lamp/Candle Oil (pure paraffin): Long burns but slow to ignite, and touch stinky/smokey. Great for inclimate weather. Somewhere between white gas and kerosene on the clean burning spectrum. Has a more reddish flame than anything. Ultra Pure Lamp Oil or UPLO is recommended for for fire breathing as well.

Kerosene: Quick to ignite but a short burn time. Most smelly, smokey and leaves most residue on tools. Slows down in cold weather. More of a deep orange flame.

Our fuel of choice is a mixture of Coleman white gas (aka camping fuel) and lamp oil (pure paraffin). Both can be found at hardware or outdoor recreation stores. Coleman white gas is highly combustible and ignites easily! However, it burns fast, so expect a shorter burn time. Lamp oil takes awhile to light, especially in cold or damp weather but burns longer. By using a mixture of the two, we feel we have the best of both worlds. Quick, dynamic light and longer burn. Look for 99% smokeless & odorless lamp oil!

That’s the poi basics!

We all have our preferences and what fire poi wicks and fire spinning fuel is best. Fire poi comes in many variations, but aside from all the specifications and uses, sometimes it comes down to what is appealing to our eyes and style! Take into consideration where you will be spinning and weigh out your needs, so you pick the best wick and fuel type. Follow that flow and keep on fire spinning!

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