Home pole dancing poles come with a variety of coatings to give varying levels of grip and durability. Powder coating, stainless steel, chrome and brass are the most popular options.
If you find yourself with slippery hands when pole dancing it might be an idea to start with a pole with more grip from the outset.
Chrome and brass are the best pole coatings for grip but I couldn’t find any home pole made of brass. This is possibly because they are very expensive to make.
Some believe a stainless steel coating encourages pole dancers to build up their grip naturally.
Others prefer the increased grip a chrome, powder coated or brass coated pole can provide.
Here I compare the two most common pole coatings: chrome and stainless steel to see which is best when you are buying a home pole.
Stainless Steel
This is a popular material for budget poles due to it’s low cost and the high availability of stainless steel. It’s ability to stand up against common fluids that can come into contact with the pole is great. Common fluids include: body lotions, fake tans and sweat.
Steel is a durable material when used as a thick pole wall. The problem is, most stainless steel poles on the market are quite thin. This can lead to bending and warping. My first pole was made of steel and the upper pole flared at the bottom over the lower pole. This meant I eventually cut my leg on the ridge between the two poles!
Stainless steel doesn’t give as much grip as some other coatings such as brass and chrome. This isn’t ideal for beginners, for example, or other people who have sweaty palms when dancing.
There is a school of thought that if you learn to pole dance on a stainless steel pole you can dance on any type of pole. The theory is that your natural grip strength increases to make up for lack of grip of the pole.
Stainless steel poles include the My Sexy Little Pole
Chrome
Many of the higher quality poles and slightly more expensive ones have a chrome coating, which is widely thought to be one of the best pole coatings for maximum grip.
An advantage is that although you can achieve a greater grip of the pole versus stainless steel, you can still spin with ease.
Brass poles have more grip potential but carrying out spins can be uncomfortable as you really do stick to the pole.
If you purchase a chrome pole be sure to avoid cleaning your pole with a product that could damage the coating. This may seem common sense but scouring pads and bleach do not make good pole cleaners! Yes I have heard of people using both to clean their pole.
Two good and cheap pole cleaning products are rubbing alcohol and cheap multi-packs of baby wipes. Microfiber cloths are great for wiping off pole grip, sweat and natural oils that build up on a pole when in use.
My top rated Chrome home pole is The X-Pole XPert