Originally published 14th September 2018, updated September 2026
Choosing your X POLE model is one thing, then comes the next question: which width and finish should you choose?
The first question we always ask is, are you doing classes?
Most polers end up being more comfortable buying a pole they are familiar with. If they use 45mm stainless in their studio, they often buy something similar for home. If they are used to skinny 38mm or 40mm brass, they tend to stick with that. A lot of it is simply a familiarity thing.
However, there are reasons to try different finishes and widths, and it is not always about cost. There is no one finish or width that is automatically better than another. They all have pros and cons, so here are our thoughts on the different pole finishes and widths, and hopefully this helps you choose your ideal pole.
1. What are you using it for?
Competition training
If you are training for comps, research the comps you are entering before you buy.
Internationally, 45mm stainless steel or chrome has traditionally been a common competition setup. In Australia, many state and regional comps are also run on 45mm, but several national comps have used 40mm or 38mm brass.
This is generally because the competition organisers like or have chosen that particular width and finish, not because that width or finish is superior. Remember, there are pros and cons to all widths and finishes. Many sporting and pole fitness comps also use stainless steel.
If you are buying your pole specifically for competition training, check what your comps actually use. Research your comps before you buy.
Practising at home
If you are using your pole at home mainly to replicate what you do in class, go for a pole that closely resembles the ones you already know and are familiar with.
Stick with the width you are used to. Your teacher will know what diameter and finish your studio uses and absolutely will not mind you asking.
If you cannot afford brass, consider powder coated. If you are used to stainless but cannot afford stainless, consider chrome. We will cover the finishes in more detail below.
Training to get stronger
If training to get stronger and becoming more adaptable is your objective, then we would actually suggest considering a different finish or width to the poles you use in class.
Why?
Because mixing up your training across different widths and finishes can make you more adaptable and can train different muscles, and the same muscles in slightly different ways.
Once you master a move on any width and any finish, that is true skill. Australia’s best polers can perform on just about anything.
It can be frustrating at first, but keep the end game in sight. If strength and adaptability are your goal, mix up your training.
2. Where are you located?
If you live in a coastal or humid area, or somewhere cold where your pole may be subject to condensation, sea air or other not very metal friendly conditions, consider brass or stainless steel.
Brass is a more porous metal and handles sweat really well. This is one of the reasons it has always been such a popular finish in Australia.
Stainless is also one of the most popular choices in humid or coastal areas. It is less likely to tarnish, easy to clean, hard wearing and great for building leg, arm and wrist strength. Stainless is also not simply a plated surface, you are dealing with the stainless steel itself rather than a coating.
If you live somewhere where your bike, your taps, your outdoor furniture or your car tends to rust up, we probably would not choose chrome as our first option.
Poles are not made of magic, so choose your metal wisely if you want your investment to last for years.
3. Do you have metal allergies or skin sensitivity issues?
Easy, look at stainless steel or silicone.
Stainless is a particularly good option if you want a traditional metal pole without a plated surface.
Silicone is completely different again because it gives you a very high grip surface and is generally used while wearing clothing. We will explain that more below.
4. Cost
Chrome and powder coated are our value for money finishes. They are a surface coating or electroplated finish, unlike stainless steel and brass where the actual pole surface is the metal itself.
Chrome is a fantastic option for someone starting out because it does not require such a big initial outlay. It gives you that traditional pole feel and, particularly with X POLE chrome, a very similar grip level to stainless.
Powder coated is also excellent value and offers considerably more grip. If you love the grip of brass but cannot quite stretch to the price, powder coated can be a great alternative.
Stainless steel and silicone are the next price range up. Stainless gives you a harder wearing, non plated traditional metal surface. Silicone is completely different and is designed for people wanting a very high grip pole that can be used while wearing clothing.
Brass is your premium traditional pole finish. It handles sweat extremely well and has always been a popular finish in Australia. If it ever gets too built up with pole grip product or spray tan, it can be carefully polished back using an appropriate metal cutting or polishing compound to refresh the surface.
It is an investment and a bigger initial outlay, but brass has absolutely stood the test of time as a premium pole finish.
You can also always start with chrome or powder coated and change or add another finish later on. Plenty of serious polers eventually end up with more than one anyway.
5. Grip: finding the right pole finish for you
Grip is probably the biggest difference you will notice between the finishes. The right pole finish can make a huge difference to your training experience, influencing how well you hold onto the pole, how it behaves with sweat or dry skin, how often it needs cleaning and even what you need to wear while using it.
Very high grip: Silicone
Silicone is X POLE’s highest grip finish. It is so grippy that you generally need to use it while wearing clothes.
It is an excellent choice for children, a shared family pole, beginners, anyone who prefers to pole fully clothed, or anyone who simply feels more comfortable training with more clothing on.
It is particularly popular in homes where mums have children who also like to use the pole because leggings and other clothing can be worn while using it.
Silicone can also be great when you are trying to perfect a sit, hold or particular position and want to concentrate on the movement rather than worrying about grip.
However, more grip is not automatically better.
Because silicone has such a high level of friction, direct contact with bare skin can feel quite uncomfortable. It feels very different to a traditional metal pole, so if you mainly want to pole in shorts and a crop top and rely on lots of bare skin contact, silicone may actually be too grippy for the way you want to use your pole.
It is brilliant for the right type of training, but it is definitely a very specific pole experience.
High grip: Brass
If you want a traditional bare metal pole with high grip, brass is our grippiest traditional metal finish.
Because brass is a more porous metal, it handles sweat extremely well. It is a favourite for people with sweaty hands and in humid Australian conditions for exactly that reason.
If you struggle with grip on chrome or stainless, brass can make a noticeable difference.
High grip: Powder coated
Powder coated poles also provide excellent grip when they are clean.
Because powder coat is not very porous, it can become more slippery if the surface is not clean or if you are sweating a lot. Sweat, moisturiser, body oils and grip products can all sit on the surface, so regular cleaning really does make a difference.
If you cannot afford brass and you are happy to clean your pole a little more often, powder coated can be a fantastic option.
Medium grip: Stainless steel and chrome
X POLE stainless steel and chrome are actually very similar in grip. They are also so alike in appearance that in many situations it can be almost impossible to tell them apart just by looking at them.
This is where you need to look at your budget, where you live, whether you have any skin or metal sensitivities and how hard wearing you need the finish to be.
Stainless steel is the more durable option because it is not simply a coated or plated surface. It is also a great choice for people who need a more hypoallergenic finish and for those living in coastal or humid environments.
However, if you have learned on stainless and cannot justify the extra cost for your home pole, chrome is a fantastic alternative because the actual grip feel is very similar.
Both give you a more balanced medium grip rather than the extra stickiness of brass, powder coated or silicone.
And that is not necessarily a disadvantage. A slightly less grippy pole makes your hands, wrists, arms and legs work, which can be a very useful part of your training.
Your skin matters too
Remember, your pole finish is only one part of the grip equation. How sweaty or dry your skin is can make a huge difference too, which is why two people can use exactly the same pole and have completely different opinions about how grippy it feels.
Ultimately, you may need to try a mix of pole finishes, skincare and grip products to work out what suits your skin and your training style best.
Traditional pole grip aids and Pole Physics lotions also do slightly different jobs. Grip aids are designed to give you more immediate, temporary grip when you need it, while Pole Physics lotions are designed specifically with pole skin in mind, helping keep your skin hydrated and supple so you can develop a more natural, reliable skin grip over time.
If your skin is very dry, simply buying the grippiest pole possible may not necessarily solve the problem. Likewise, if you are particularly sweaty, your choice of finish, cleaning routine and grip products can all make a difference.
The ideal combination is really about finding the pole finish that suits you, then working out what your skin needs around it. You might love high grip brass or silicone, prefer the more balanced feel of stainless or chrome, or use grip products when you need a little extra help.
There really is not one magic combination that works for everyone.
6. Popularity
Historically, the most popular X POLE combination globally has been 45mm chrome.
Why?
Because it was one of the main finishes available when X POLE first launched, and so many people have owned chrome poles around the world for years that the percentages in blogs, reviews and online discussions can sometimes be skewed simply because there are so many chrome poles out there.
It is what people are familiar with.
Unfortunately, chrome is also the finish that many cheap counterfeit and copycat poles have tried to imitate over the years, which has sometimes given chrome poles generally a bad name.
There is a big difference between a genuine X POLE chrome pole and some of the cheap chrome look poles floating around online.
X POLE chrome has been around for years and years. It is tried and tested and has historically been our biggest selling finish.
We have also had coloured poles, including white poles for that clean, minimalist look. If aesthetics are important to you, you may naturally be drawn to one of the coloured finishes, but we would still recommend thinking about how you actually want to use the pole first.
7. Lastly, width
Either go for what you train on, as above, or if your goal is to get stronger and become more adaptable, change the width so you are training on different poles on different days.
Different diameter poles change the way your hand wraps around the pole and can make different grips feel easier or harder.
Some people with smaller hands naturally prefer a narrower pole. Others prefer the extra surface area of a 45mm pole for body contact and leg grip.
Again, there is no universally best width. There is the width that suits you, your hand size, your training and what you want to achieve.
If you still do not know or want to double check the width, there is a simple way to get a rough idea of how each size might feel in your hand.
Roll a piece of A4 paper lengthwise, measure across the top so it is approximately 40mm or 45mm wide, tape it and wrap your hand around it.
Obviously it is not exactly the same as gripping a real pole, but it gives you a surprisingly useful idea of how the overall width feels in your hand.
So, which finish should I choose?
- If you want to train in clothes and need lots of grip: Silicone.
- If you want the highest grip traditional metal pole, have sweaty hands or simply love brass: Brass.
- If you want loads of grip without the brass price tag: Powder coated.
- If you want a durable traditional metal pole, live in a coastal or humid environment or have metal sensitivities: Stainless steel.
- If you want the traditional X POLE feel at the best value price: Chrome.
- And if you already train at a studio and simply want something that feels familiar at home, start with what you already know.
There is no one pole that is right for everybody.
"Your skin, your hands, where you live, how much you sweat, what you wear, what you train on and what you actually want to do with your pole all matter."
Still not sure?
Ask us.
We have been helping Australian polers choose their poles for a very long time and we are always happy to talk you through the options.
If you need help choosing a pole that is perfect for you, reach out. We would love to help you choose the best pole for you and your pole space.