Up until recently, when I did fan-spinning, I borrowed a pair of fans from my friend Lyndsey, which were three-prong, three-wick fans occasionally referred to as "bat fire fans" due to the distinctive shape, which resembles a bat wing (see right). The one showed at the right is sold by Fire by Riz at $40 per fan or $80 for the pair. The "wingspan" of each fan is 18" x 18" and each fan weighs 9 oz. These are widely considered "practice fans." They were great to get started on, because with only three wicks, they are much less hot, and they are lighter and easier to handle.
Compare these to my fans, which I wrote about in a previous entry. The fans that David purchased for me for my birthday are sold by FireMecca, as I've state before, and they are called "passion fire fans". They have five spokes and wicks per fan, and their prices vary (David bought my fans on sale, for much less than advertised now). The wingspan on these fans is 17" x 26" and the weight is 2.2 lbs.
My first reaction to these fans is that compared to the bat fire fans, these are heavy. Each fan weighs twice what the bat fans weigh. Also, it's unbelievable how much more heat is supplied by just those four extra wicks. You can certainly feel the difference in the temperature after only a few seconds of spinning.
But. There is no denying that these just look better. Their wingspan, combined with the extra wicks, illuminates the dance better, and looks more professional. When I tried them out last night, a friend who was watching me said that I "looked like Kitana from Mortal Kombat" (which I took as a compliment, because I've played MK, and Kitana was badass).
(I'll also mention here that I had my first "fire-related incident" last night, when I swung one fan too close and singed my hair. David was my safety, and made sure immediately that nothing on me was on fire -- I haven't lit myself up yet! -- but there was a nasty smell of burned hair, and I had a bit of a burned patch later when I checked it out. Fortunately, I have short, layered, curly hair that covers up such things easily -- and I'm not too vain.)
Obviously they are going to take some getting used to, and I was prepared for that. I was also prepared to be ridiculously hot when I was done trying them out, because we're having a heat wave all over the United States these days, and it was 98 degrees at 9:30 PM last night when I was spinning. I'm hoping that after Sunday, once the heat finally breaks here, I'll be able to try them out more comfortably. But for a first-time out, I really enjoyed using them!
Obviously they are going to take some getting used to, and I was prepared for that. I was also prepared to be ridiculously hot when I was done trying them out, because we're having a heat wave all over the United States these days, and it was 98 degrees at 9:30 PM last night when I was spinning. I'm hoping that after Sunday, once the heat finally breaks here, I'll be able to try them out more comfortably. But for a first-time out, I really enjoyed using them!
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