Last updated 17/10/07
To learn 1 ball contact we recommend one Contact Ball 100mm/4″ diameter, these cost less 7 pounds/10 dollars each.
(Ball size for Multiball Contact is more complex, see this 2 page extract from Multiball Contact Appendix 2 (pdf).)
Longer Answer
For most adults, the 100mm/4″ Contact Ball is ideal for 1 ball contact, for children or women with smaller hands, then smaller balls 85mm/3.5″ are a viable alternative. A smaller ball will be more manageable for Contact Juggling in the hands, but less stable (so a little more difficult) for body rolling and arm rolling.
There are currently 2 manufacturers making balls which are sold as “contact balls” the good ones are 260g, others which are like hard stage balls weigh 170g. To tell the difference, check the weight and be sure to buy the heavier option! These balls look identical! See: Top left stage ball, Top right lightweight hard stage ball (ugh), bottom Contact ball(yes).
That sorts out your first ball, but what else might be useful?
Other balls
If you with to learn arm rolling or body rolling, you absolutely, positively, 100% should get a Rhythmic Gymnastics ball.
Everyone loves the look of Acrylic balls. For 1 ball contact, don’t get an acrylic smaller than 75mm / 3″. The current largest size available is 110mm and the most common size amongst professionals performing 1 ball contact juggling is 100mm. Large Acrylics are very visual, they are also heavy, for many people a 100mm Acrylic (pictured below) weighing 575g can be too heavy.
A slightly smaller Acrylic ball: 3.5″ or 90mm is a much more manageable 400g and is a good alternative for children and women with smaller hands.
Stage balls – we used squidgy before we found the heavier contact balls (stage ball 160g contact ball 270g). For rolling moves a Contact ball is better (Hard stage balls are sometimes described as “contact balls”)
Balls we don’t recommend
- Any ball less than 3″ – learning Contact is much easier with a larger ball
- Any ball lighter than 160g – learning Contact is much easier with a heavier ball
- Lacrosse balls – ugh
- Small stage balls – 3″ or smaller
- Small Acrylics less that 3″ diameter. Visually, these get lost in your hands.
- Tennis balls – ugh
- Pool and snooker balls – ugh far too small
October 18th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
where are these “Contact Balls” in the USA?
November 6th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Arnar: I think you’ll have to mail order import them from Europe. Or you could pester your favourite USA shop to stock them!
Time for you to grumble about the collapse of the dollar, here, they’re the same cost as a stage ball, USA, they will be expensive
April 8th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
thanks for this tips but i live in mexico city, where can i find this kind of stuff, and they have like spiritual rithm? or something like that? cuz i believe they have, anyway thanks for this stuff, and hope i can learn more of this art
April 15th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
is this site safe for shoping from Turkey… edit.com
because we could not found this kind of balls in Turkey…
Thanks…
April 17th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Sorry – we don’t know, bet if you ask on contactjuggling.org, or other juggling forums
May 16th, 2008 at 9:15 am
dube.com and also contactjuggler.com for american.or google it i found literally around 25 different sites!
June 10th, 2008 at 4:28 am
I ordered mine from jugglingstore.com they seem to have pretty good prices. you can chose from a few different balls.
August 29th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
how about a Q-ball from a pool table to start?
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
two words ren fest
well beginners anyways pretty cheap and someone nice to teach you for a while
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:58 am
How would you rate a Mr Babache 100mm 180g stage ball for a beginner?
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:06 am
Nick: I have 6 of them, I would say that in my experience, they are too light. Especially for beginners, it will be much easier to learn with a heavier ball.
December 18th, 2008 at 5:55 am
Hey guys
Home of Poi, which is based in New Zealand, sells a variety of balls in the juggling section of their site. Here’s a link to their 100mm ball; http://www.homeofpoi.com/shop/productDetails/MB-Single-100mm-stage-contact-juggling-ball
I can’t vouch for this product, but everything else I’ve ever bought from them has been totally accurate as per the description and they have a fantastic postal time, delivering all over the world.
Hope this helps
December 18th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Sadly Kassidy, those are MB= Mister Babache, Mister babache make excellent balls, but their 100mm “contact balls” are far too light for contact. We don’t know anyone who likes using them. We’d agree, in our experience HOP is a good site and good online store.
December 19th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Hey all,
I just ordered a contact juggling ball from renegadejuggling.com. I wish I had read this site before I had ordered. Well, my ball hasn’t come yet but I was wondering if someone could tell me if it’s good or not for a newbie. It’s a 70mm, weighing 221 grams, and I think it’s an acrylic. Thanks fro any and all help.
February 16th, 2009 at 5:42 am
I’m not technically a “beginner”, but I’ve learned on a racquetteball. And want to move to an “actual” ball.
The reason I’m commenting at all is because I actually have quite small hands. A 4 ball tower with pool balls is hard to keep stable in my hand.
What would be a recommendation? I’m looking at 2.5-2.75 in. acrylic balls. I’m tempted to get a 3″ ball, but I’m worried that it may actually be too big for me to control with my small hands. I’d also like to start learn some multi-ball work.
Price is also a factor, the 2.75″ are significantly less expensive, and I’d like to get a set of 3-4. Does this sound reasonable?
February 16th, 2009 at 10:34 am
I’ve been contact juggling since around ‘91, and I started with cue balls. Have since moved up to 3″ acrylics. If your having problems with the pool balls, Shukaido, I’d do a gradual move up to the 2.5 balls for spinning, and 2.75-3.0 for single ball manipulation. I think billiards are around the 2.25″ range, and jumping from that to 3″ balls is painful!
March 27th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
I have big hands,and just purchased two 3″ balls,can anybody tell me if the balls are to small
April 24th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
renegadejuggling.com has a variety of contact balls.
May 1st, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I’m confused!
There are tonnes of sites advertising contact balls, but the sizes aren’t matching up to 100mm and 260g. all the balls of 100mm are much heavier (530-640g). Not to mention more expensive. some help?
May 27th, 2009 at 9:22 am
I got a 75mm acrylic and I’m 15. It worked great compared to the tennis ball I started with. I am currently waiting for my 100mm to get in but 75mm was the perfect place to start. I suggest starting there too for two reasons, acrylics are vwwey exemsive and 75mm are about half the price of a100 and two, it was almost perfect but I started to like body rolls
October 14th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I found really good ones at tryouttoys.com. They are here in the U.S and have good prices! And they whole site is all about CJ. Just a little tip for you all.