I want to thank all the fire community for all the input you guys have provided to us and, and I would like to get some more feed back. Trick Concepts will be introducing Meteors and Rope Darts within the next month or so and we want to make sure we make them how you want. Our tentative plan is to offer several “poi type” fire head options for the wick, followed by 1 ft of twisted link chain and then securely attach it to a rope. Up to this point, I think it is fairly straight forward. My big question is what type of rope is preferred. I am looking at the following options:

1. Kevlar with Kevlar core.
2. Cotton bondage type rope
3. Soft braided cotton with Nylon Core
4. Cotton with steel cable core.
5. Twisted cotton

We will consider offering more than one option if there is a lot of different preferences.

Here are the advantages and disadvantages I see with each. There may be some factors I have forgotten.

1. Kevlar with Kevlar core: This is a good durable rope with medium flexibility. It is pricy, but the price is no prohibitive. I am mostly wondering if there are any undesirable properties, such as hard on the hands, etc.

2. Cotton bondage type rope: This will probably be your softest and more flexible rope. It is probably also the weakest, but at ½” diameter, it should be plenty strong.

3. Soft braided cotton with Nylon Core: This rope should be easy on the hands, and quite strong with the nylon core. This is a fairly flexible rope. I am not overly concerned with the nylon melting, because it is encased in the cotton and there will be good separation between the fire and the rope. This rope may have slight design patterns in it because it is used for nautical purposes. If the demand is sufficient, we may be able to have it custom made or dyed.

4. Cotton with steel cable core: This is a unique option because it can eliminate the link chain. The handle part can be made of soft cotton, and it can be striped down to cable on the fire ends. This makes for a continuous tool with no links, chains, knots or couplings along its length. Because of the steel core, this rope will be a bit stiffer. We currently only have this available up to 3/8” diameter, but we can probably find larger if there is a demand.

5. Twisted cotton: The twisted cotton will probably be harder on the hands and will be fairly stiff. This rope has the option of being braided back upon itself for a clean loop.

If you know of another type of rope that we have missed, let us know. We have ruled out any ropes that will melt.

What size rope is preferred? I was planning on using ½” or similar.

Do you prefer a stiffer rope or a softer rope?

Has anyone made a meteor that has a rigid handle in the middle, with chain coming out each end? I would make it from an aluminum tube for the handle and put a chuck swivel on each end. I am not sure if this has been done, but it would be like a looser version of a segmented staff.

Anyhow, this is your chance to influence our designs before we start making product. We greatly appreciate any input.

~Jaz