Volleyball Buying Guide

Recreation Sports
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Looking for a volleyball? List of balls that I have used. Here is a list in no particular order.

Indoor:

  1. Tachikara SV5W Gold. This is my favorite indoor ball. People seem to like the newer Mikasa and Molten balls, but I like the old traditional one. I’ve bought a couple of these throughout the years.

  2. Molten Pro Touch. This seems to be the ball of many universities a few years ago. It feels like a harder ball to me, but people seem to like it. I personally like a softer ball, but if you want a “hard” ball, this is good.

  3. Mikasa MVA330. I bought this ball in Taiwan. Nice ball. For some reason, I feel it is easier to slam this ball. People say it’s harder to receive. Can’t actually say I agree with that, but I definitely don’t pass as well as I use to with this ball. That being said, that might be more my problem than the ball. I haven’t really played competitive vball for years.

  4. Mikasa MVA200. I can’t even tell the difference between the MVA330 and the MVA200. The 200 is used as game ball. I pretty much use mine as practice. Both balls feel the same to me. Taiwan shops and even Taiwan ballers will try to tell you that one is full leather and the other is a composite, but that is just not true. I couldn’t tell the difference, and I even googled it to check. Some say the 330 is softer. If that is true, then only slightly. Granted, I no longer play vball competitively. Maybe these two balls feel different in higher competition. However, if you put these two balls in a pepsi challenge, i bet people can’t tell. The 200 is the Olympic ball and costs considerably more. Like to hear other opinions from those who tried these balls. Not really interested in sales pitches.

  5. Molten Super Touch. I think that is what the ball is called. I don’t like it that much, but I have played with people who love it. It has deep grooves and is really soft. I actually don’t like my volleyballs with grooves that are too deep, but if you do, try this one.

  6. Mikasa VQ2000. I think that is the name of the ball. This is the ball Mikasa was known for before their Olympic 2008 remake. This ball has always been hit or miss with me. Some versions of the ball I played with were awesome. Others felt horrible. I don’t know if the ball needed to be broken in, or if it is a quality control issue. I actually played a lot of games with this ball as well as practice. The quality of the ball differed so greatly from one ball to the next that I never bought one for myself. Maybe I was actually playing with 2 different models and didn’t notice?

There have been some new balls to come out since I “retired.” I would love to play with them. If any of you have, love to hear what you think.

I’ll write an entry for outdoor balls later.

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Outdoor balls…

  1. Wilson AVP. I think they call this the “traditional” ball now. I call it the “best” ball. It feels great outdoors on sand or grass. Heavy enough not to get blown away by the wind. Soft enough to still pass well. Solid enough to hit.

  2. Wilson Official AVP. So they replaced my beloved ball with this one. I was excited to have a second option, but a little disappointed too. It’s a nice ball, but it definitely feels lighter. Probably good for velocity-minded hitters. It probably doesn’t float in the wind that much in comparison to other balls, but when it does, I like to point that out in comparison to the “traditional” ball.

  3. Mikasa King of the Beach. I call this the Sinjin Smith ball. It’s my first volleyball(well, my dad’s). I learned to play on this ball. It was a great feeling ball. I think Spalding now owns the title “King of the Beach” now, but I will always relate that term to this ball. It was a bright pink ball. This ball was used so much, the outer leather layer has all been hit off. You can’t get this ball anymore, but I just wanted to list it here for legacy.

  4. Mikasa Beach Champs. Feels really nice. I consider this one and the Wilson Official AVP to be the top 2 choices for outdoor these days. I heard this ball got an update. Love to hear from anyone who played with the new one.

I’ve never used the Spalding King of the Beach.

All that being said, beach volleyball sucks these days. First they change to rally. Then they made it easier with the smaller court. Then, they just flat out changed the rules. Maybe it’s fun for the casual spectator, but i dislike playing it. Maybe I am too old school.