July 2017

This hoop is pure magic. The more I learn about it the better it gets! Everything is controlled by motion so using the hoop actually helps clean up moves and playing with your speed and movement to see how it effects the hoops patterns can help incorporate new style into your flow! ….Amanda

april 2016

I am really in love with this hoop.  It is SO much fun to play with.  I have found it to be an incredibly versatile tool in my dance.  What I appreciate most about the hoop is that is has really encouraged me to explore multiple styles of dance and play.  Some of the patterns encourage me to try a really fast style of hooping while others encourage me to take it nice and slow.
I remember quite vividly there was one day I found a pattern that I thought looked best at simple waist hooping, and I found myself dancing and playing while keeping the hoop on my waist.  This was actually really exciting for me because I was never a dancer growing up, and when I first started hooping I was very reliant on tricks to make my flow look interesting; I just didn’t know what to do with my body when I was just waist hooping.  Lately I find myself trying to do little with the hoop, and experimenting with body to make my hoop dance look interesting.
The psikohoop has been quite instrumental in this new path of my dance journey.
I found the basic commands of this hoop easy to work with.  The idea of the Merlin’s wheel and flips to change modes was quite intuitive and easy to remember, and make for very fluid changes during hoop dance.
Where I found it to get trickier was learning the specific commands such as locking, changing bpm, saving hoops, etc.  Sometimes it was difficult to remember if something started with a right hand iso or left hand iso, or went to a half back or continued in the same direction.
That said, I think your flashcards were a wonderful solution and great addition to the booklet.  What I liked best about them is that, unlike the booklet where it sometimes just tells you to start with an isoflip, the flash cards specify if it’s a RH or LH isoflip.
So far I haven’t had any hardware or software issues with the hoop.  The only thing that confused me at first was if the hoop was totally dead, if I plugged it in to charge I could not get the blue charging light to go on.   I then realized that I had to let the hoop charge a little bit while off (or plug it in before it died completely), and then it would signal the blue charging light if I turned it on.
I haven’t used compose mode very much yet as I’ve been having a lot of fun using the presets and syncing my dance to those, so unfortunately I don’t have any feedback on that.
I hope this feedback is helpful to you.  You have made a truly wonderful dance/play/psi tool and I think it really is the best smart hoop out there so today.
Thanks!     – Angelica

 

sep 2015

HDPE tubing

So I have had the psiko hoop since about may 4 and it has been an amazing hoop so far. I love the way it is with its completely different controls than a normal remote smart hoop. It does take a little getting used to and practice to get good with it, but once you start getting it it is amazing!! The battery life is great. I have heard some people not so fond of the bulge at the connection but it doesn’t bother me at all I don’t even notice it while hooping if anything it helps to find the button when needing to orientate it. When I first started playing with the hoop I was a little worried about going too hard with it. I felt like maybe I could break it but come to find out this hoop has proven me wrong in many ways I started lightly doing brakes, paddles, escalators, wedgies and pinches and slowly escalated how rough I was with it and I was very surprised how its handled how hard I go and sometimes for hours at a time. I also am somewhat of a beginner so there have been accidental tosses and drops and all that lol and its held up great!! don’t be afraid to go hard and give it your all 🙂 Another reason why I like the connection is I think it would be very difficult for this type of connection to ever come undone while doing any kind of hoop moves. I would definitely recommend this hoop to others I am very happy 🙂       kerri

august 2015 had hoop for one month

love the hoop

it is easy to manage

the instructions are great

i read the booklet and see videos

i have to see them a couple of times to really get it

but i am getting to know the hoop really well

haven’t got any trouble yet 🙂

i am really enjoying it

and really impressed by it

it is so beautiful

thursday night at a pool party for 40+  i got so many compliments…

i said thanks a lot, it is me and this awesome hoop.

thanks    julie

 

 

 

Emily-Rose  May 13 2015:   I just unpacked my hoop, and much, much squealing ensued.

I Cannot. Get. Over. The ingenuity and elegance of the design – I am more impressed than I could possibly express. I can’t even begin to fathom how you’ve managed to get the hoop to be so accutely sensitive to position, and in so many different permutations at that. I’ve got up to page 3, and am just flabberghasted at how much potential I’ve already unlocked when there’s still so, so much to go. I loved your comment that the hoops in the Kix quiver “get quite psiko” !! Made me laugh.

A more subtle aspect of brilliance is the nested taxonomy you’ve assigned to the hoop functions – it’s the kind of nerdy systematic organisation that makes me drool.

In terms of how the hoop feels, I am over the moon. I absolutely *adore* the texture of the gold PP – don’t think I’ll be sanding it. And I am astonished by how light and evenly-weighted it feels. It is a joy to spin, lights or no lights. I am also completely in love with the on button, and how you’ve managed to hide the charging port inside the connector. One stroke of excellence out of a multitude.
GOOD DESIGN!!!!!! I love good design.

Really, really, really clever design. It is everything I had hoped for and so, so much more…and I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.

To give you a comparative perspective: I went ahead and got a second-generation Phoenix hoop for Christmas, and although it has a lot of settings and looks pretty cool, it feels kind of…well the only way I can describe it is “clunky”. It doesn’t have a streamlined feel when you spin it. Also, it’s very ugly without the lights on; the visible LED strip looks sort of factory-ish and unsightly. Also, the connector is completely generic and sort of untidy (the PP has been sliced and has sharp, slightly ragged edges) and the charger is on the outside so easily collects water and muck. The on button is hard to find and fiddly. And needless to say, there is nowhere near as much versatility, and the versatility there is can only be accessed through a remote control key-chan – which of course is damned near impossible to use on the job, so to speak.
I give it infinity out of ten, and that’s only after having played for 45 minutes, in a room that cannot be darkened on account of flimsy curtains.
YOU ARE PSIKOTICALLY MARVELLOUS!

Lamb lindsay…..16 May 2015:  I just got the usps and screamed excitement!  I will be making a video that I will send to you after I get the hang of it.  No problem I totally understand I am so ready to play!  And thank you for the quick shipping! ….

(later same day)     You have really out done yourself.  This is so rad!  The weight is perfect.  The possibilities are endless. It is so smooth. The technology is just crazy!  Thank you thank you!  I will be posting lots of stuff!

I tell you what. Your hoops were the first I ever bought.  I then performed the first year with electric forest hoop troupe and atomic came out. I wasn’t impressed. I saw my idol hoopers and myself use the hoop  and had seen so many glitches. Last year I was gifted an atomic and the tubing was warped instantly. Flimsy. Nothing like my ol psi’. I just couldn’t get into it and ended up never using it.

i met you at hoop convergence some years ago and  I wanted to ask what’s next?! I have waited for so long for you to make some sort of magic and when I saw that you made it I was extatic. I  dreamt about the hoop and the next morning I bid! And now she’s here! I sound like a nut for this circle hahah but I guess I am. Thank you again merlin psi for life!
Light and love

 

Michelle Nayeli had this to say on April 27 2015 after having her hoop for a week or so:

I was aware this hoop was being birthed, and wow is it worth the wait!

 The possibilities are endless- I can’t wait until I get a handle on the basic groupings of patterns, although the discovery certainly brings in an added element of playfulness and curiosity as to what I will find. And of course, all of these options & patterns are controlled by movement- again an added element of playfulness and discovery! I was happy to find how easy it is to flow into the  movements that cycle through patterns, and super excited to know I can rewind my selections if I pass a pattern that strikes me. Many of them react to your dance quality – speed, angle, percussiveness, etc – and it truly feels like dancing with light.
It has been years since I hooped with an led hoop, and I’ve now fallen in love with one that brings me into the playful, spontaneous, creative experience due to its own creativity with light! I LOVE that you can choose brightness, and that there are many patterns quite easy and graceful on the eyes.
Of course, like all Psi hoops, this one is built by a hooper who wants to play, and play hard- the construction feels absolutely solid, the connector is even weatherproof, and the easy twist open/close of the connection makes travel, charging, and eventual programming simple as can be. I can’t wait to tell everyone the PsiKo Hoop is finally here!! Thanks Merlin, you’ve done it again:))) This hoop is BAD ASS.

 

 

Danielle has had this psikohoop for about 6 weeks, with the idea of reviewing it and sharing her experiences….this is the email I got on the 10 May 2015:

Tonight I must tell you… I turned it on in the 9’oclock starting with the psi logo and played through each hoop. Recorded for 10 minutes… it turned off once during use after a drop… and when I went to turn the hoop and camera off, the hoop turned itself off as my hand was approaching the button. Read my mind status… !

Some Feedback:
Gush. Those colors. Something about these lights… truly magic.
The gold polypro is boss. The silkiness of the surface feels really nice and I’m excited to see what the surface interior and exterior texture evolves to through years of practice and use.
It was super oval when it arrived in the mail, directly out of the box. The wonky has sorted itself out completely and the hoop now feels smooth with isolations. The weight and balance are like butter. It produces incredible visuals and is lighter than one would anticipate from a glow hoop with components and batteries inside. The glow on the charger is neat. I haven’t seen anything like it….
There is a bit of a shake to it, making me feel like the last model was more sturdy. I don’t notice it whatsoever when I play, at the moment. It’s something that could be critiqued if each hoop is identical.
The twist connector feels solid. The improvements hold. I haven’t hooped hard enough to open it during motion yet. The colored button logo is steeze. I’d like to see the logo in the hoop as a graphic 😉
note from Merlin: We have since removed any internal shake/rattle from the hoops, though because they are each custom made by hand, its possible that you have some develop, and we can correct that.
I have always considered that quality was the essence – and I hope to continue that tradition with the new psi-ko-hoop. The programmable hoops that have come out so far from other hoop makers have had their share of problems and that is normal to a new product especially one with complex electronics in it. But even so there is no good reason to give bad service or not reply to you promptly about any issues you have. As a note, I made my first LED hoops in 2005 and my first programmable hoop in 2007 – and I have spent the past 7 years working on this new psi-ko-hoop and trying to make it as good as I could.

 

 

 

These following testimonials were unsolicited, and picked from literally hundreds and hundreds that I have received over the past 10 years of making LED hoops. A lot of them talk about the durability of the product, about good service and about the beauty and performance of the psihoops. (NOTE they are not talking about the new psikohoop, just the classic custom psihoops)

 

So to start with here is a testimonial that just came in and challenges me in terms of the new hoop:

Hello Patrick

I was just talking to someone on a group for over 40’s hoopers. They were remarking that they had felt sick and dizzy just watching a video of someone with one of the programmable spazzy hoops.

It made me think of you so I decided to email and say that after all these years, with all the new programmable hoops coming out, yours are still the best in my mind. I have one you made me around 6 or 7 years ago and then another you made me about 4 years ago. They are beautiful, they have never given me a moment’s problem, the charge lasts of ages and no one, me included, has ever felt sick because of them.

They can keep their spazzy technology hoops. They seem prone of breaking down and failing. I’ll stick to yours.

Sue December 2014
UK

I very much hope that the psi-ko-hoop is not prone to breaking down and failing. And as it is an instrument that can be programmed to your individual style and needs, I trust that people will use it well and not make themselves or others dizzy. Rather like a keyboard that you can set to all kinds of complex and automated effects, it may serve better at many moments to just be played as a simple piano.

Here is a selection of some testimonials from owners of my hoops.

This one came in today…December 27, 2014

My name is Gayle…I ordered 3 lighted hula hoops from you back in 2009. All my hoops are still working great and I absolutely love them! I am interested in ordering another one and am wondering if you are currently taking in new orders and if that would be possible? Gayle
December 2014

“Every friend that asks me about LED hoops, (and mainly in Brazil), I always highly recommend the psihoops. I’ve had mine for six years, and I have used it a lot for performances, at least more than once a month, I’ve dropped it many times and it’s still working perfect!! I have also transported it a lot, and kept in real high temperatures, and still I’ve never had any problems with it Thank you so very much Patrick!! You are awesome and so is your art!! “ — professional hoopdancer from Brazil Isadora nov 2013

Hi Patrick,
I just wanted to say THANK YOU!! I love love love my hoop.

I went out to the Joshua Tree Roots festival this past weekend so it was it’s first “debut”. There were a surprising number of hoopers there compared to the past. Lots of other LED hoops and nothing was even close to as nice as mine 🙂 They were all weighted funny, you could see/feel the batteries, dark spots and they all looked like Christmas lights or a bike tire. I kept hearing you’re voice while I was at your home “you don’t want it to look like a Christmas tree” and you were SO right!!!! It was so pretty and original. The battery life was great and charged up nicely in the car. I keep it in my tent during the day under the air matress.

Our camp was a revolving door between my hoop and fire pit! So I got to try lots of different LED hoops and nothing was comparable, not even close to the quality. Thank you for making the weekend more memorable for me and others. So now I just need to practice practice practice so I can get either get 2 mini RICA hoops or one big one for Burning Man 2014. Then I can have fun all night! Cheers! Teri October 2013

I bought a hoop off you a few years ago. I’ve had a great time with it, and have really grown with it. It’s danced with me at festivals and parties and I’m really impressed with how it’s withstood the use over time.
Sarah Nov 2012

Awesome! Thank you Patrick. My PSI still gets tons of compliments 3 years after I bought it. 😀
Mariah August 8, 2012

Hi Patrick,
You made 6 hoops for me about 5 years ago. The hoops are fine, but three of the chargers have quit. I use them very often and the audiences love them
Juggles march 2011

Hi pat,

I purchased a hoop from you about 4 even 5 years ago! It’s a trooper! It has gone to more reggae shows than bob marley. Jena

I got a 37″ RICA hoop from you a back in June of 2009. I still love it and use it! Jennifer march
2012

It is a few years old and still as beautiful. It sleeps flat on my bedroom floor waiting to dance with me. I share it with neighborhood children and when I go camping. I become the pied piper =), but it is still mine and special. It travels with me everywhere and it makes me happy to know it is there. Thank you, Patrick. Jeannie December 2011

I ordered a PsiHoop from you a little over 2 years and I have absolutely love every minute of it.
6 October 6, 2011 lindsay

Oh my goodness, I returned from a family trip to Maine to find my beautiful new hoop waiting for me. Had the most delicious hoop last night. THANK YOU so much for making such an exquisite instrument for me. It is absolutely gorgeous and I love the weight and feel of it.

Thanks so much for your patience and flexibility and guidance.
Beth August 16, 2011

I just wanted to let you know that what you do with the hoops is aaaamazing. Nothing compares to your hoop. I feel like since I got my psihoop, I’ve evolved in my hooping so much, I’ve gotten a lot better and I definitely owe it to my psihoop. Doing business with you is so much fun because you are so nice and quick to respond and you’ve helped me out a lot to find the perrrfect layout. You rule, patrick! Thanks! Sol March 8, 2011

By the way, my psihoop is still kickin it almost five years later. I love my baby so much – i’ve used many other glow hoops, and yours are by far THE best. I recommend them to everyone.

Thanks for being awesome and in advance for your help..2011 Yeah… Its a great hoop. 😀 I’ve abused it quite a lot as well.. You know… -30 temperatures, sand, muck, squishing it into my van, etc. So good on ya ~mmm March 2, 2011

Patrick!!!
OMG OMG It is so friggin beautiful. It is most gorgeous PSIhoop I have ever seen. Maybe I’m biased 🙂 But really. I’ve seen quite a few PSIhoops in the past 2 years and NONE come close to the awesomeness that is my hoop! (at least colorwise and my mom agrees) It is exactly what I envisioned it to be. I was dreaming of this for months and it has manifested. The perfect diameter, vibrant fuchsia, purpley, bluish, orangey, white flicker- LOVE. It’s not blinding bright, the colors blend well, it’s fast and light, it’s sanded and grippy- it’s even somewhat collapsible (which I wasn’t expecting but yes) Took it for a spin… This is my new inanimate lover. I’m like a 4 year old on christmas. Still squealing about my new toy! Thank you, thank you, thank you times a million.

Blissed out and grateful for your talent, Kiyla August 17, 2010

Hi Patrick, I just wanted to thank you for the beautiful craftsmanship you put into making my hoop. It is the most beautiful hoop I have ever seen in my life and it moves with me with such grace and comfort (well, we got a little tangled a few times last night but we are getting the hang of each other alright). When I turned her on for the first time, I felt as though this hoop was a living thing, like it was breathing and experiencing something.

The way a few of the lights just so slightly twinkle and change hue is just so poetic to me…it almost makes me cry! It is truly an Art that you have mastered. These things sound crazy as I write them, but I just wanted you to know. I attached a picture of us (me and hoop) at my favorite place to hoop at. Hope all is well with you and thank you for all that you do.
Yours Truly, Anna 9 july 2010