The wall ball is a relatively new piece of gym equipment that has become an essential item for any well-equipped fitness facility.
With more than 10 year’s fitness procurement experience in China, I’ve got the experience and the insider knowledge to guide gym owners and commercial equipment buyers with practical buying advice that you won’t find elsewhere.
(Note: There are a number of different names used to describe wall balls. These include handball (in America), Functional Training ball, weight ball, etc. To maintain consistency, however, we will refer to them in this article as wall ball.）
Table of Contents
1. Wall Ball Materials
Commercial wall balls are consumable products with limited durability. A quality wall ball will cost over $50 and even $100. For the greatest durability, you should choose a wall ball that is made from the right material.
1.1 Fillings
The filler material inside a wall ball usually consists of two parts:
- shape-retaining filler
- weight filler
Shape-Retaining Filler:
Wall balls can be stuffed with several fillers including rags, polypropylene cotton and rubber. Rag has a poor elasticity, which makes the filling uneven and easily deformed. Cotton wool is slightly better than rags, but it also tends to deform after a period of use.
Polypropylene cotton is the most popular wall ball filler material on the market. The pure white polypropylene cotton provides better elasticity, plumpness and durability.
This type of material is known to transfer moisture instead of absorbing it, which makes it less susceptible to damp and augments its ability to withstand deformity. Interestingly, these qualities also make polypropylene a preferred material as the first layer of the filter element in water purifiers.
Yanre Fitness insists on applying polypropylene cotton to ensure the quality of their wall balls.
There are two kinds of polypropylene cotton; pure white polypropylene cotton and colored polypropylene cotton. Pure white polypropylene cotton is more durable, and more fluffy but it is also more expensive. Because of this, higher priced, better quality wall balls will be filled with pure white polypropylene cotton.
The elasticity grade of wall balls is another crucial factor. The higher the grade of polypropylene cotton, the better the elasticity. A good wall ball will use a range between 7D and 15D polypropylene cotton to ensure elasticity.
Weight Filler:
To increase the weight of a wall ball, it is usually necessary to add extra filler material. Options include rubber particles, iron sand, yellow sand, and mineral sand. Yellow sand is the cheapest material, with inexpensive wall balls having an increased proportion of sand to reduce costs.
Yanre Fitness will never use any yellow sand to fill its wall balls.
Some countries will not allow the importation of wall balls filled with yellow sand. This is to prevent parasites from entering into their country. Check the regulations in your country before ordering!
Most wall balls over 9kg will be filled with iron sand, while wall balls below 9kg will be filled with rubber particles. In order to reduce the cost, in addition to iron sand and rubber particles, some manufacturers will mix some yellow sand and mineral sand with them.
The weight filler is usually packed inside a bag to prevent the material from scattering inside the ball. Cheaper wall balls will use a plastic bag. Better quality balls will use a stronger material such as an Oxford bag.
1.2 Cover
It is important to keep in mind that wall balls are designed to be thrown against the wall repeatedly, which means they need to be sturdy. The most popular cover materials are synthetic leather (PU & PVC), vinyl, and kevlar.
Yanre Fitness send each batch of fabric to a third-party testing institution to ensure the strength of the raw material.
Synthetic Leather
Synthetic leather is very durable, can withstand repeated impact, and provides excellent grip. The synthetic leather used in wall balls is either PU or PVC:
PU looks closer to natural leather, providing you with a better touch and feel. However, it is not very wear-resistant, with an anti-beat ability of less than 500 times. As a result, you will probably experience some surface damage within a year of purchase. A PU surface will also get quite slippery as your hands get sweaty.
PVC synthetic leather is more wear-resistant, with a service life of 2-3 years. There are three grades of PVC used: 1000D, 600D, and 500D. 1000D has the best wear resistance and anti-slip performance.
Vinyl Coating
The vinyl coating of PVC must be strong enough to withstand repeated pounding against a wall. It also needs to be scratch and moisture resistant so that neither the ball nor the wall will be marked after use. In addition, the coating must be tough enough to ensure that the ball will not crack or break after repeated use.
Kevlar
Kevlar is a new kind of organic fiber composite developed by Dupont. It is an ideal choice for wall balls. That is due to its low density, high strength and good tenacity. It is five times stronger than steel yet only has one fifth the density of steel, which is widely used in tanks, armored vehicles, bulletproof vests and other military equipment. Top-of-the-line materials endow the wall ball with the best quality and the highest cost. You should be aware that Kevlar is a proprietary material; there are a lot of fakes out there, so beware of imitators.
2. Buying Tips and Traps to Avoid
#1 Materials Applied
If possible, we recommend that you open the ball, from the inside out, to check the materials used and determine whether the filling is tight and plump.
#2 Sewing Technique
Because wall balls need to be hit against the wall repeatedly, it is vital that the stitches be delicate and compact, rather than easy to tear and damage.
Double or even triple reinforcement stitches are ideal. This makes the wall ball safer and more durable than single stitches. It will also be more suitable for high-speed and intensive training.
In addition to double or triple reinforcement stitches, some manufacturers use a special stitching method; after sewing once, they fold to sew a second time. This significantly enhances the firmness of the ball. Double-stitched wall balls will have protruding stitches on the surface.
#3 Grip/Feel
Wall balls are meant to be thrown and caught repeatedly. Balls can also get quite heavy, so good grip is essential. Look for a relatively soft and flexible material, such as synthetic leather or vinyl, as these are easier to grip and throw.
#4 Impact Absorption
Another critical thing to note is the ability of the wall ball to absorb impact. In the course of use, the ball may be missed, and if so, it may hit the face or body and cause injury. Having a ball with high impact absorption will lessen that injury risk.
#5 Balance
You need a well-balanced wall ball, which means its internal fillings are evenly distributed so they will not move during or after use. An evenly balanced wall ball will bounce the same way each time, always flying straight without any turning.
You can test out how well balanced a ball is by rolling it about 3m on the ground and seeing if it moves in a straight line. You should also throw the wall ball against the wall to assess its bounciness and ability to get back to the throwing point. If it does not, the weight distribution is uneven, or the center of gravity is not ideal.
#6 Warranty Period
Be sure to check both the warranty period and the falling test results for the wall ball you have in mind. The longer the warranty period and the higher the number of acceptable falls, the better the wear resistance and quality will be. When checking the fall test figure, make sure to inquire about the number of falls used in the test, and the test height. You should expect about 2000 repetitions from a fall height of 4 meters.
3. Manufacturing Process
The manufacturing process refers to the steps through which raw materials are transformed into a final product. Familiarity with this process will put you in a stronger position as you negotiate with the rep when inspecting the factory. The more expertise you have, the greater your ability to buy the best products at the best price in this industry.
4. Wall Balls VS General Fitness Balls
Finally, let’s talk about the differences between a wall ball, medicine ball, and slam ball. While they all look pretty much the same, they vary significantly in size, material, grip, and fitness purposes.
4.1 Wall Ball
A wall ball is designed to be thrown against a wall and to absorb shock upon impact with hard surfaces. They are usually filled with something soft to absorb the impact. This is because the soft wall ball is designed to hit the wall and bounce back at you. Wall balls tends to be larger than hard medicine balls and slam balls.
4.2 Medicine Ball
Medicine balls were initially designed to improve strength and neuromuscular coordination in medical settings. These balls are generally quite hard and can withstand a lot of impact. They are heavy, durable, and not very bouncy.
4.3 Slam Ball
Compared to wall balls and medicine balls, the slam ball is harder, heavier, and more durable. They are usually small, with a diameter no more than 10 or 11 inches. Slam balls are generally filled with gel or sand. As with the medicine ball, the slam ball doesn’t bounce very much because it is designed to be dropped again and again. They are made with a fairly hard rubber or vinyl shell, which can withstand constant impact.
5. Conclusion
I hope this gym wall ball buying guide will prove helpful when picking out the ideal wall ball.
Now I’d like to hear from you. What’s the next piece of fitness equipment you’d like to know about? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
Related reading: top 10 gym equipment brands in China
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