Best Juggling Balls 2020?
I have bought a lot of juggling balls over the years.
I started with a ‘More Balls Than Most’ set. Black and red 120g thuds, and these are the balls I learnt to juggle with back in 1994.
Those balls went everywhere with me, I was a young man and playing circus was a major focus for me. I even had dreams of opening my own Zen style school of juggling.
I had grand plans to juggle my way across Canada with my good friend Vinny and put on shows at local old folks homes to build my confidence and skills.
I have to admit, I think I even wrote a juggling poem inspired by them balls and the pleasure they gave me!
As so many stories go, ‘life got in the way’ and for many years my circus practice took a back seat. Meaning I’m probably the worst juggler with 26 years practice you have ever met!
Those fantastic balls lasted me well though and they were greatly loved. I still have them. I’m proud of them. I’m proud of what they represent, the work, the effort and the memories that live in them.
In fact when we had the shop in the Enterprise Centre they were there, on the top shelf looking down on proceedings, reminding me of my journey.
After those balls I had a set of Play MMX balls. I loved those balls too. I created a plastic carry tube for them sticker bombed in the sort of stickers you think are cool as a young man. The sort of stickers that were not appropriate for my sons to read when they then came along!
The MMX balls were good, they were very durable, unlike my thuds they laughed in the face of getting wet. Again they did many years of service and I still have them (and the sticker bomb tube). They rolled a little more than thuds when dropped and I found they were less forgiving if 2 collided in mid-air as they had a little more bounce in them.
The next set was a treat to myself and a nod to my original balls, custom made in California to my spec, 4 panel suede thuds, small with a good weight……in black and red like my 1st set. While they are really lovely I never really bonded with them – I think they were too ‘precious’ and I was back with a ball that I didn’t want to get wet or muddy. They ended up as my indoor practice balls.
Last year at the European Juggling Convention I was looking forward to seeing the Jugglequip Infinities. A ball I had read about, seen YouTube reviews on and was keen to get my hands on.
The Infinities did not disappoint. I liked the simple product policy – 4 colours, 3 weights all the same price. They are a product that has been well thought out and meet every need you could have as a ball juggler.
The material is a grippy rubber feel Japanese synthetic leather (vegan). The filling is a non-allergenic plastic pellet, not millet, not seeds, so it can travel through countries/airports and won’t break down to dust or rot if it gets wet.
The stitching is a super strong 2-ply thread with a clever method meaning there are no external seams. The balls are round, stable and feel good.
Finally there are 2 more points that sealed the deal for me. They are fine getting wet. In fact, if you get them muddy/dirty/covered in beer you can just throw them in the washing machine and they are as good a new.
The also come with a LIFETIME warranty! Seriously, there a vids of cars driving over these balls they are so durable. If they break (through 'normalish' juggling use!), you can rely on them being replaced for free. That’s the kind if product confidence I like to see.
Needless to say I bought a set, in fact a lot of the sweet circus team did. I’m happy to use them when I’m teaching beginners, it doesn’t matter if they land in a puddle in a field or a 2 year old wipes his nose on them. They are still good.
“What’s the catch?” I hear you ask. Well there isn’t really one if you love your juggling. Sure they are more expensive than a thud off the shelf at £13 each, but you are buying a ball for life. Divide £13 by the amount of fun you will get out of ball juggling over a lifetime and you have yourself a steal.
I’m sure you can prob guess where this is going. At Sweet Circus we don’t sell cheap plastic toys, we only sell quality products. We know they are quality because most of them are in our workshop kits, go to classes every week and spend the summers at festivals. There is no harsher testing ground.
So we are super pleased and proud to be the UK stockist for Jugglequip Infinities. You can find the full range and more details on our website www.sweetcircus.net and you can check out the fun we have with the Infinities and the places they go on insta @buyinfinities
If you want to check them out, just ask, and we won’t even mind if you drop them in a puddle.
