Re: Best volleyballs

[Todd <tdh@vbref.org>]

"Stinger" <mulder@amaonline.com> writes:
> 
> We have a small club team and are about to purchase some balls.
> What are some of the better balls out there.  I heard that the
> Tachikara SV-5W is about the best but what about the SV-5WH, and
> SV-5WS and some other brands.

My thoroughly biased opinions on this and other equipment are here:

        http://www.io.com/~tdh/vball/equipment/

I'm a big fan of the SV-5W Gold, Tachikara's top-o-the-line indoor
ball made in Japan.  I haven't found an indoor ball I like better at
any price.

The SV-5WH, as another poster pointed out, is the same SV-5W design,
but it's typically (always?) made in Indonesia.  They supposedly use
the same Japanese leather tanning process for both Indonesian (SV-5W)
and Japanaese (SV-5WGold) balls, but there is a noticeable difference
in feel between the two.

To my knowledge, the only difference between an indonesian SV-5W and
an indonesian SV-5WH is the high school stamp on the SV-5WH.  

The SV-5WS is a synthetic leather ball and is IMHO quite icky.  Avoid
it.  

Best Regards,
--
                  Todd H.   tdh@vbref.org
          USAV Regional Referee, Palatine, IL
Todd's Volleyball Referee Page http://www.io.com/~tdh/vball/
"So you're a Ref and an engineer? Oh that explains it...."