Most dragon staff configurations have 3 to 5 spokes, but what is the difference? Let’s delve into it!
3 and 4 spoke dragons are pretty self-explanatory. That’s the number of spokes on each end. When we refer to 5 spoke dragons though, it is a 4 spoke dragon staff with an extra end wick (or LED, or section of tubing), so think of a regular staff with 4 spokes coming out of it from further inside the shaft. And while we’re at it, there are definitely more configurations out there that have more (or even less) spokes but these are the most common types available.
The biggest differences between these three setups boils down to weight, rolling speed, and visual appeal. Keep in mind, different manufacturers make their dragons very differently. The spoke dimensions and weight might differ, the tubing might be thicker or thinner, and it could be carbon fiber or aluminum. So this guide will assume we are comparing dragon staffs from the same manufacturer that has the option to choose the number of spokes (such as Fusion dragons).
The more weight a dragon staff has, the more it will feel like it’s sinking into your skin. This can be good if you’re starting out and want to have a better awareness of where the dragon staff is on your body during flow. If it’s too heavy though, it might make it harder for some people to practice for long amounts of time as it will be more tiring.
5 spoke dragons might need to be longer than 3 or 4 spoke dragons to facilitate having more grip area for flow because of the added end pieces. This will add additional weight as well, and it will be more contact weighted (which means the center of the staff will feel relatively heavy because the weight is more concentrated at the ends).
Hand-in-hand with weight, rolling speed is affected by the number of spokes as well. 3 spoke dragons will roll faster than 4 spoke dragons, which will lend to a faster style of flow. 4 and 5 spoke dragons don’t have too much of a difference of rolling speed though, because the 5 spoke is the end wicks on the staff. That means there’s no additional spoke slowing down the momentum of the roll.
This is generally a stylistic choice. Faster styles of flow such as martial arts generally appreciate lightweight dragons because of the speed of their movements. Slower flow styles that incorporate large movements and arcs might like the slower speed of a 4/5 spoke dragon.
Finally, the last difference that the number of spokes makes is visual appeal. Whether it’s a fire, LED, or daytime dragon staff, all three of these configurations will look pretty different.
This is very much up for debate, but if you’re a performer than 4/5 spoke dragons (both fire or LED) generally look a lot cooler. I know some of the higher end LED dragons don’t have options past 3 spokes, but this holds true especially for fire spinning. There is just more fire, flashier spinoffs, brighter lights, OH MY!
That being said, some people enjoy 3 spoke dragons visually as they can see more of the spoke movements if you purposefully slow down the rolling speed. Sometimes 4/5 spoke dragons can just look like a wheel of fire in comparison.
As with everything in flow arts, everything is very preferential and there’s no wrong choice. Overall, all dragons are gonna look pretty cool whether you choose the 3, 4, or 5 spoke variation. To sum things up:
If you’re aiming for the lightest and fastest dragon possible, we’d definitely recommend a 3 spoke dragon staff with a lightweight grip such as EPDM. The lightest fusion hub would be the Ultra hub if this is the direction you were going on.
On the other hand, if you’re aiming for a heavier dragon with a slower roll speed, a 4 or 5 spoke dragon with a heavier grip such as silicone tubing would be the setup for you. The heaviest fusion hub would be the V3 hub if this is the setup for you.
