Buying a hula hoop can be a daunting task. There is so much information out there, some of it good and some of it bad! How could you possibly know who to listen to? I remember looking at so many sites and wishing someone would just tell me what to do. Well I am going to simplify it for you! My standard advice is to get a 39inch diameter, 20mm thickness hoop. It’s what I started with and it’s what I still use in my classes. For most adults this size works. If you are really tall or curvy you can try a 41inch or really short you can go down to 36inch. To be honest though everyone is different (thus all the varying advice out there) and you won’t know what the perfect hoop is till you try it so take a stab at it.
In class I sell 39inch fitness hoops for £15. I don’t sell them online but you can get them from The Hoopermarket. They are fitness hoops with a slight sparkle in them and they are solid so impossible to break...just done leave them next to the heater, I learnt that the hard way.
Purely from an aesthetic point of view people love customising their hoops. The first hoop I got was from Live Love Hoop it was pink and blue with some white grip tape and I loved it!! I’ve still got it tucked behind my bed but I’ve absolutely trashed it. Jo has a great eye for design and her hoops are good quality. The Hoopermarket also does really beautiful glitter hoops in various colours.
There are lots of different travel hoops out there. In my experience they either break or they don’t feel solid spinning around your waist. I know when I was looking for my first hoop I didn’t want to have to carry around a big hoop, not just because it seemed cumbersome but do I really want everyone staring at me?! The thing is you just pop it over your shoulder so carrying one hoop really not that bad. The other thing is people smile at you when you’re carrying a hoop. It’s actually quite a remarkable thing, something I still enjoy so you shouldn’t miss out on that. When you actually need (it will happen) to take your hoop on holiday get a travel hoop then.
Hand Hoops - when I started I didn’t buy any but I now recommend everyone does. They are cheap, super fun and they’ll stop you from bruising your hands. They are simply kids hoops ,you can get them from pound stores, they should be light at about 30inches just check that they aren’t filled with water or sand they should be hollow and light. If you can’t be bothered going to the pound store then you can get them from Valentine Sport . They do break easily so take care of them.
When you get more advances you may want to try a smaller hoop or polypro but we’ll leave that for another day.
If you are in Australia (I know lots of you are) then try Soul Hula in Perth or Hooplovers in Melbourne. I’ve tried their hoops and they are great! They are also both lovely people who can give you more advice if you need it.
Happy Hooping x