Equipment

[Sean]

Which diabolos are best for learning to diabolo with 1, 2, or 3 diabolos?
In general, 5 inch diabolos. Most diaboloists use either Henrys Circus diabolos or Babache Finesse diabolos or Yoho/Diabig standard diabolos or Sundia Fly or Sun diabolos or Taibolo diabolos. Some diaboloists prefer wider axled diabolos while others prefer narrow. Some prefer heavier diabolos and some prefer lighter ones. All of the above are quality diabolos and choice is a matter of personal preference. Having trouble picking which diabolo to buy? Try working your way through these questions.

Which diabolo sticks do people use?
Although some people make do with wooden sticks... and some people even prefer wooden sticks (gasp!) many diaboloists prefer aluminum or carbon fiber sticks. Aluminum sticks are generally cheaper, shorter, slightly heavier, and waste very little string. Carbon fiber (and fiberglass) sticks are generally more expensive, often come in multiple lengths (most prefer the short length), but waste more string. Carbon sticks are stiff, whereas fiberglass sticks are flexible. All are great sticks - it comes down to personal preference. Aluminum sticks can bend (and be bent back into shape), whereas carbon and fiberglass sticks can break.

Henrys sticks have been around the longest and are loved by many. They have a narrow aluminum stick as well as 2 lengths of carbon and fiberglass which both come in black or white.

Mister Babache makes Xtreme sticks (aluminum) and Energy sticks (acrylic). The Xtreme sticks are quite popular - especially with the silicon grips. While very nice sticks, they do require a bit more maintenance than the Henrys. The ends need to be wrapped in thread tape to keep them from falling off and over time the handles will become loose. A bit of electrical tape or glue can help. The foam grips are a bit chunkier. Some people prefer them. Many people find the Energy sticks too flexible and they are more likely to break. Earlier versions of the Xtreme and Energy sticks had ends that were susceptible to breaking. The newest version has largely fixed that, but has a small lip on the end piece that bothers some people. The Xtremes are thicker and heavier than the Henrys aluminums. This isn't necessarily bad, it's all personal preference.

Peter (Olobaid on the forum) now makes some acrylic sticks called Diamond sticks that are on the heavier side but quite popular. He also makes a good quality light up stick. (Peter appears to have stopped production, at least for now.)

Nev carries Sundia and Taibolo carbon fiber and aluminum sticks. These are relatively new on the market, but from all accounts are very nice sticks. Some people have mentioned that they prefer the Sundia carbon fiber sticks over the Henrys.

What string is best?
Some people use braided nylon from a hardware store; however, the Henrys diabolo string is well worth the money. Generally, the white string with blue marks is the cheapest but it wears quickly. The bright coloured string is very slippery at first but wears into a perfect state and lasts much longer. Many believe that the yellow string, in particular, is the best. It's been called "magic", the "secret ingredient of the French diaboloists", and much more... it's nice stuff. Mister Babache and Sundia now also make some florescent string that is quite good. The Henrys fluorescent string is slipperier to begin with but lasts longer. It is also a bit stiffer. The fluorescent Mister Babache string is usable from the beginning but doesn't last as long and is more likely to "wrap up" with imperfect technique. It is also much more stretchy. Both are popular these days, with the Babache string being especially popular with people who do a lot of slack tricks.

Here are many of the quality Henrys and Babache brand strings:
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Where can I buy diabolo equipment?
http://www.jugglingdb.com/vendors
Some people have also offered/requested trades/sales of used equipment in the Trade/Sale Thread

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N.b. within this forum there are some great thoughts about many of these topics, these are some of the threads on the forum that might be of use:
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This thread does a good job of reviewing a lot of popular equipment used by diaboloists. It isn't a completely 'perfect' guide but it should answer a lot of basic questions about each peice of equipment.
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Diabolos
Favourite Diabolo Poll 2008
[ Poll ]Favourite Diabolo Poll 2005-2007
Why you shouldn't worry about comparing diabolos, buy any 5 inch diabolo, and practice.
Any other diabolos? Alternatives for Henry, Babache, Yoho?
Finesse Generation #2 [translated notes from jongle.net]
Finesse Generation #3
Fly Diabolo
Taibolo Diabolos (Gong-Qun)
Diabigs/Yoho Jumbos
New MB diabolo: "Tornado" (and evolution #2, 5)
2 diabolos: plastic vs. rubber cups Circus, finesse, yoho, renegade etc.
Off-balance diabolos wobbles and tilts that are not down to technique
Damaged diabolos
Taking diabolos apart
Mixing Diabolo Cups
2 jazz vs. 2 circus
Henry's beach
mini diabolos
chinese yoyos...
diabolos of ryo and william
How many diabolos? Stories of how many diabolos people own.
Diabolo equipment and planes?
Choosing a Diabolo A video explanation by jugglingstore of the various popular diabolos on the market - slightly incomplete, but overall very thorough
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Bearing Diabolos
This is a recurring topic on the forum. Questions are mainly to do with the difficulty of tricks with bearing diabolos. As a general answer; most tricks are not necessarily harder but they are likely to require a different technique to work well.
How does a one-way ball bearing work?
Yoho Modifications
YoHo diabolos...defeating the object?
Fixed Axle vs. Bearing Axle
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Handsticks
length of sticks
New handsticks by Mister Babache
Diabolo Sticks - Getting the right weight.
Making your own sticks
Titanium handsticks?
Henrys fiberglass/carbon stick problems Clicking, cracking, knots pulling through
Tape on the sticks?
aluminum sticks - modifications?
Filing/Sanding rough aluminum stick ends
[ Poll ] MR Babache Perfomer sticks (there are a few posts about these sticks, to cut to the chase they break, avoid them) also some discussion on various handsticks.
Silicone or foam grips? What's the difference?
[url=http://diabolo.ca/forum/index.php?topic=4755.0]Sundia Handsticks
Diamond Handsticks
Handsticks - Pros and Cons
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String
String length
Henrys Yellow String Emergency Places to get the elusive yellow string and thoughts
Henrys string colour: Is there a difference?
Mister Babache string
How long does your string last?
Re-newing your string
Soaping your (fluorescent) string to make it less slippery?
String wrapping up
Black string
Spectra for string.
cheap string...
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Axles
Wide axeled Finnesses
Henrys Axles replacement axles, Henrys own and extra wide versions
New Henrys Axles including a wide axle for the Henrys Circus
Ultra Leicht kit for Henry Circus Diabolos popular wide and regular curved replacement hubs for the Circus - made by JC
Extra-long home-made axles
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Light Kits
Diabolo light kits (Finesse Ev. 4, Vega, Diabglo...)
Batteries for light kits
Homemade Finesse Lights
Illuminated lightsticks Lightsticks designed by Peter (OLOBAID), have a look at page 6
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Fire
Fire Diabolo
Problems with the burning liquid for fire diabolos
diabolo(wirewool)
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Various
Blacklight> white or glow diabolo?
Cleaning diabolos
Finesse weight kits (evolution kit 3)
Dirty Diabolo Contest
Dyeing diabolos and Liquid templating
Adding tape to the inside of diabolo cups
Diabolo bags
ReVoLuTiOn KiT (hubstacks)
Your diabolo colors. Why did you choose them?
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The chances are that if you've got a question to do with equipment it will have been discussed before. So please come back to this sticky and use the search function of the forum before starting a new thread!