Spend any time on pole dancing forums and you will come across this common question, which pole finish should I choose? That's a great question and the answer depends on a variety of factors. On our Poles, Clothes & Lessons page we have links to the major players in the US pole market; X-Pole, Platinum Stages, Lil' Mynx and Lupit. Among these manufacturers you will find finish options including brass, chrome, powder coat, stainless steel, titanium gold, silicone, and acrylic. Not all finishes are available from all manufacturers, although every company does offer stainless steel as an option. Let's examine each option, and then I'll give you my opinion about which is the best and why.
Brass
     Pros - more grippy, solid material​
     Cons - harder to care for, more expensive, metallic smell can linger on skin
     Offered by - X-Pole & Platinum Stages
Chrome
     Pros - standard in most studios and competitions, easy to clean
     Cons - coating than can be damaged, less grippy than other options
     Offered by - X-Pole & Lupit
Powder Coat
     Pros - very grippy, good for those with nickel allergies, comes in fun colors
     Cons -  can be too grippy, coating that can be damaged
     Offered by - X-Pole & Lil' Mynx
Stainless Steel
     Pros - solid material, better than chrome for those with nickel allergies, easy to clean, 100%                            recyclable
     Cons - less grippy than other options, costs more than chrome 
     Offered by - X-Pole, Platinum Stages, Lil' Mynx & Lupit
Titanium Gold
     Pros - more grip than chrome or stainless
     Cons - coating that can be damaged
     Offered by - X-Pole
Silicone
     Pros - can pole in clothing
    Cons - coating that can be damaged, can not do spins with pole set to static, increases pole                           diameter
     Offered by - X-Pole
Acrylic
     Pros - coloring changing with internal LEDs
     Cons - different feel than metal poles
     Offered by - Platinum Stages

X-Pole's has their own pole finish comparison here - xpoleus.com/faq/

Now here's my two cents. I am a fan of stainless steel. As a studio owner I like having poles that are unlikely to cause allergic reactions in my students and I also appreciate that there is no coating that will wear off with heavy studio usage. Two of my poles have been in place for 7 years and as fabulous and usable as ever. (Our third pole is newer as I replaced a 50mm with a 45mm about 4 years ago.) Also the process of chroming metal creates leaves behind vats of toxic waste that need to be dealt with. (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14644668 for more info) As someone who cares about the environment this concerns me deeply, especially since chrome poles have no significant advantage over stainless steel. I hope that the tide shifts and more people purchase stainless steel poles over chrome poles (or other options, but chrome is the most popular in my experience). 

A quick note about competitions. Most US competitions are on chrome poles. Does that you should get chrome if you want to compete? Not at all. I still suggest stainless steel. Many people that I've taught over the years find chrome to be slightly grippier than stainless. I've always trained on stainless. At many competitions I have heard other competitors that train on chrome complain that the chrome competition pole is too slippery, but I've always found them to be quite tacky compared to what I'm used to. That is just my experience, yours may differ.

I'm going to leave you with a quote from Cliff Kusch that I found the forum at www.finishing.com,
"Comparing chrome to stainless is like comparing hardwood to laminate."

Many years ago a wise person suggested to me that I should add a blog to my studio's website to increase traffic and therefore business.  I thought about it, but quickly blew off the suggestion. Where would I find time to write a blog? Who would read it? What would I even write about? 

Well those of you who have taken classes with me know that I like to learn and to share that knowledge. Also that I can be opinionated and blunt. Although, I think bluntness can be useful. Who wants to read a 3 page post when the point could have been made in just one paragraph. I know, blogging experts say that longer posts are better and will get better results. If you want super long posts please look elsewhere, mine will likely be short and to the point.

So here I am 8+ years into my pole teaching journey ready to share my thoughts, opinions, research and expertise with you. 

Wish me luck!