HOOP SCIENCE
The smaller & lighter the hoop, the faster it spins / The larger & heavier the hoop, the slower it travels around your body.
Hoopers rarely stick to one size of hoop for their entire journey. Hoops size and features have a great influence on how they react, so hoopers choose smaller or bigger hoops according to their goals, skill level and to fit different styles of performances.
Basically, the smaller & lighter the hoop, the faster it spins around your body. For on-body tricks (classic hooping where the hoop spins on the body; around the waist, chest, shoulders, legs, etc.) this isn’t ideal when you are learning new tricks, as it gives you less time to react and adjust your movement or position. The hoop being lighter also makes it harder to feel where it is making contact with your body, so overall makes it more challenging for a beginner which is why larger/heavier hoops are usually recommended in this situation. As you progress and your movements become more accurate/automatic, hooping will get easier and you may naturally tend towards downsizing your hoop to gain speed and allow more versatility as you learn more tricks.
SIZING YOUR HOOP
We use outer diameter measurement for all our hoops. Outer diameter is measured at the hoop’s largest area, from one edge to the other, including the tubing itself.
There are quite a few videos and charts available on internet to help you find your hoop size. Most of them use peoples height as a reference, or the belly button measurement (measuring from the floor to your belly button), but we disagree with that standard as hoop diameter has little to do with how tall someone is, but will definitely be influenced by the waist circumference; it’s just science!
Here is a situation we’ve encountered a few times that will demonstrate our reasoning : Parent ordering a 22″ hoop for their child because that’s where “their belly button is”. No matter how short you are, such a small hoop would be extremely challenging to keep up, because it’s size compared to the waist means the hoop needs to spin very fast to stay up. Now imagine spinning the same 22″ hoop on your finger, that would be easy right? You could try spinning it on a longer stick, the length of your finger/stick won’t really influence the difficulty, but their small circumference will and you’ll notice it allows the hoop to spin slower with minimal effort.
So with that being said, we present you our very own beginner hoop chart. This chart is intended for on-body hooping, see the “off-body hooping” section below for recommandations that fit that hooping style. Finally, keep in mind this is just a reference based on your size, and doesn’t account for any pre-existing skills/experience! If you can already keep a hoop spinning on your waist easily, you can substract a couple inches from your result.
To use Marie’s chart, you will need a soft measuring tape (like the ones used for sewing)*.
- Stand up straight and wrap the tape around your waist line which sits right above your hip bones.
- Don’t stick your stomach in or out, just stand normally, lay the tape flat against your body, not too tight, and take a reading.
- Report your number in inches to the “Waist” column. For example, a 31″ waist would give a 36″ hoop diameter recommandation.
*Alternatively, you can use any piece of rope/ribbon/floss instead of the soft measuring tape. Beware of the stretch; the less stretchy the better for an accurate reading. Report your rope measurement to a ruler or a construction tape to get your result.
“Off-body” refers to all the tricks where the hoop isn’t spinning around your core. The hoop can be grabbed and directed with your hands (or else), it can be tossed, rolled, folded… to achieve tricks such as isolations, escalators, coin flips and so much more. Off-body tricks often require a smaller/lighter hoop for more versatility and ease for certain movements. Most popular sizes for advanced hooping & off-body tricks range between 24″-32″. Double isolation hoops (which is a technique using 2 smaller hoops to create patterns and shapes) are prefered even smaller, and ideally range between 20″-24″. Same sizes apply for triple isolation hoops and quadruples.
Tubing diameter
We offer two sizes of tubing; 5/8″ and 3/4″.
5/8″ tubing is thinner, lighter and more flexible, whilst 3/4″ tubing is a bit larger and sturdier. For beginners we recommend 3/4″ tubing as its weight helps to feel the position of the hoop, but also the tube rigidity paired with the larger hoop diameter makes it behave better. A large hoop diameter with a thin tubing can feel more flimsy/bouncy, which isn’t ideal to learn.
5/8″ tubing is great for smaller hoop diameters (33″ and below) or for more experienced hoopers that want a lighter option to gain speed or experiment with something springier.
Grip
Bare hoop tubing (with no grip added) is very slick and can be difficult to keep up, even for an experienced hooper. We 100% recommend adding grip along the inner surface of the hoop, but you can also add grip to the outside to get a fuller contact.
We offer 4 types of grip:
- 3M: This is the “Cadillac” of grip tapes. Its surface is covered by tiny gripping bristles that easily cling to clothing and skin. The clear color won’t interfere with the color of your hoop resulting in a really discreet look. 3M is a great ally to any advanced or beginner hooper, and works wonders for on-body multi-hooping. We sell pre-cut individual lenghts if you ever need to replace it or upgrade one of your current hoops.
- Gaffer tape: This is a standard grip and comes in a large range of colors, so you can either match your hoop for a discreet look, or on the contrary use it as an accent color. You can find gaffer tape online if you ever need to replace it.
- Medical tape: Grippy texture and completely clear so an interesting choice for hoopers that don’t like their grip to show. Not the most durable grip, but you can easily find it at any drug store and its pretty cheap.
- Sanded: We use coarse sand paper to scratch the inner surface of the tubing. This type of grip doesn’t add any weight to the hoop, is really discreet and requires minimal maintenance. However, once sanded it’s final, you can’t switch your hoop to grip tape because it won’t adhere anymore!
Travel modes
Standard (one connection)
Pros: Less prone to morph over time, the hoop will keep its round shape if stored properly (assembled, and not coiled). Less connections also means less chances of defect/breakage, although we use strong nylon connections and never had anyone report anything of the sort yet.
Cons: Less convenient for travel. For hoop sizes below 36″, or in really hot or cold weather we don’t recommand coiling it completely down. Instead you may coil it as small as you can (without connecting the ends) and hold ends in place with tie wraps, or by using a hoop travel bag.
Sectional (4 or 5 pieces)
Pros: Really convenient if you travel often with your hoop. The more detachable pieces = the less akward to carry, especially for large hoop diameters. To get an idea of the size of each individual piece, use this formula:
Hoop diameter x 3.1416 = hoop circumference, then divide it by the number of sections. For example, a 36″ hoop, would have a circumference of 113.1″, which means 4 sections of 28.3″ OR 5 sections of 22.6″.
Cons: Connections are “weak” points because they alter the continuity of the tubing. Over time the hoop might start to loose its round shape as the connections slowly adapt to the pressure.