What is it about handmade hoops?

You may have seen hula hooping recently at a festival or on Instagram, or maybe even on TV where a famous hula hooper was brought on stage and they gave a demonstration. They probably talked about how hoops aren’t just for kids—which is true! Hoops can be made in a variety of sizes, which makes it achievable for a broad range of ages! Maybe you find yourself saying “I haven’t hooped since I was a kid!”, and while cruising the aisles at your department store, and when no one was looking you might’ve picked up one of the hula hoops from the toy aisle and gave it a noisy rattling spin, only to have it come crashing to the ground and catch the attention of a nearby employee. Maybe it left you feeling defeated. Stop there. Those are “toy” hoops, and they are sized for children. Did you happen to notice how many bent-up and kinked hoops there were shoved back on the peg? THIS IS WHY HANDMADE HOOPS ARE A THING!

While there are several different types of material used to make handmade hoops, the best quality materials are used to make your hooping journey a success. They aren’t just made for single occasions, they are made for your physical longevity and health, they are made to free your joints and welcome in movement, maybe even creative dance. They are created for you as practice tools should you decide to pursue a career as a performer. They are made for kids, and they are made to last years, to the point that you could even watch your children outgrow their hoops. We’ve seen children with autism connect with their circles, as it gives them something to focus on, and it helps their motor skills and confidence. We’ve seen folks in their 70’s pick up a hoop with doubt, only to discover that they can still hoop after all this time (Like riding a bicycle, right?), and their smiles!!! They are the best! Their happiness and joy in the activity of hula hooping is what keeps us at it.

We hope you give these circles a spin too, the fun in hooping is meant to be shared!

 Where do I start?

Starting with a hoop that is the correct size is more important than your age and all of your hoop moves put together. It’s important to note that the smaller the hoop, the faster it’s rotation will be—and in turn, the faster you have to move to keep it from hitting the ground. Larger hoops have a slower rotation. Heavier hoops are also easier to keep up longer than light-weight hoops, which just one of the reason that hand made hoops are so perfect for beginner hoopers.

There is a common misconception that “weighted” hoops in the area of 5-10 pounds are the best. It’s not actually quite this necessary to use a hoop this heavy, and they can actually cause more internal harm than good. A 2 pound hoop is just as effective for learning, and you can still get a good cardio workout in, burning up to 400 calories per hour! So no, our hoops aren’t filled with anything to make them weighted, we use various thicknesses of tubing that alter the actual weight of our hoops.

Start here if you are new to waist hooping——>

Our Beginner Hoops are made with Polyethylene, which is our heaviest material. If you are looking for more expression and dance style of hooping, you will want a style of hoop that isn’t quite as heavy as a Fitness weight hoop. For circus style hooping or the “Flow Art” of hooping, you might look into getting either a polypro hoop or an HDPE hoop. We like to start hoopers off with either one in the 3/4” tubing. Note that HDPE and Polypro aren’t actually much different in weight. A 32” hoop made in HDPE is only .3 oz heavier than a 32” hoop made in Polypro. So if you are really wanting something significantly heavier than polypro, we recommend a Danceweight PE hoop in 3/4”

There are some differences in the thicknesses of all of the tubing as well, which adds further confusion. All PE hoops (Beginner and Fitness) are measured by the tubing’s Inner Diameter, and polypro/HDPE are measured by the tubing’s Outer Diameter (See photos below!). So you might see that the Danceweight material is 3/4” ID, but the 3/4” OD polypro is much skinnier. Likewise, hoops made of 1/2” ID PE are considerably chunky compared to 1/2” Polypro!

If you click the link above for “Beginner and Fitness Hoops” above, you can read more information on selecting a size that’s right for you!