Summary The main differences between CF and Aluminum, when all the things required to build gear with them are added in, is that carbon fiber:
- has a better chance of surviving a really bad possible bend situation
- slightly moves the weight distribution from the overall length to the ends
- Can be more responsive / “bouncier” than aluminum but construction methods do vary

Wall thickness With both Aluminum and CF, the outside diameter of the staff and its wall thickness play an important part in determining how much the staff can resist bending / shattering, how bouncy it is, and how the staff weight is distributed. ¾” diameter has become the standard for contact staves in the US over the last 4 years. The thicker the wall, the greater the overall weight, which changes the moment of inertia, all culminating is a staff that spins slower and is less “responsive” to small movements. This translates into often the heavier the staff (up to a point) the easier it is to spin for beginners learning new tricks. Weighted wick covers can also help achieve this and have the added benefit of simulating fuel weight so that your practice efforts feel much more like when you are burning.

There are some extreme CF wall thicknesses for specialty gear like acro staves or feather weight staves that we aren’t talking about here.

Two Grades of Aluminum It is important to differentiate between the two main grades of Aluminum. 6061 is by far the most common aluminum out there and is probably the weakest. You can find this in some specialty hardware stores and all online metal suppliers. 7075, which Dark Monk has a foundry custom build, is 2x stronger than 6061, which makes it 15% less strong than titanium. 7075 is not sold off the shelf in the US and as far as I have found, DM is the only place you can get it without custom ordering it.

Carbon Fiber Sleeves While the carbon strands in Carbon Fiber can take extremely high temperatures, the resin compounds that hold the fibers together cannot. That means you have to use some type of sleeving to protect the CF near the flames themselves. The most common method is to put an aluminum sleeve over that section. You have to overlap the two materials for strength, which adds weight to the staff near the ends. This explains why a CF staff weighs the same or even slightly more than our regular wall thickness 7075 Aluminum staves. Since having end weight is desirable for CT staff work, the extra weight is a plus.

Dark Monk Recommendations 7075 Aluminum
- You are just starting out don’t yet know what style you are going to like
- You like staves that spin at normal to slower speeds (any level spinner)
- Price is an important factor in your decision

Carbon Fiber
- You know that you are going to be really rough on your staff and may be in situations where it will have big heavy things dropped on it
- You like a responsive staff (may vary per manufacturer). This is usually good for things like matrixes or multiple in-a-row neck wraps.
- You want to get that extra 15% out of your staff and feel the lighter center weight will give that to you