Department: Hoop-Making
Crafty Do-It-Yourself Types Discover LED Hoops
While we've written about how to make an LED hoop before, with the recent article in Craft Magazine letting their readers in on the secret, and Diy Life telling their readers about LED hoop making kits, the news is certainly current again. Brooklynne Morris writes for Craftzine, "LED hula hoops are so beautiful to watch and creating a custom hoop is a satisfying challenge. Twenty-one LEDs are used in this hoop; 6 are flashing LEDs that cycle through the colors of the rainbow. Each light is combined with a resistor and then wired together in a classic and simple parallel circuit." If that makes sense to you, maybe you should consider it. If you're already feeling overwhelmed, like we are, you can always purchase your LED hoop from one of our advertisers. (Thanks Alison)
How to Build a Bike Rack for Your Hoops
While we wrote about this a couple years ago, there have been a number of inquiries, mostly from hoopers going to Burning Man, asking for advice on transporting hoops while riding a bicycle. Jay has instructions for how to build a bike rack for hoola hoops with excellent visuals on how to make it happen. He made his for about $40. He says, "I tested it with four hoops and i barely even noticed them when riding around. Now I just need to decorate the PVC as that white is ug-ly..."
Hoola Hoop Tape Tips
Tracey in Shawnee, Oklahoma, wrote in asking for tips on how to tape her hoop. Decorating your own hoop for the first time can be a challenge, so when you're done making your hoop, here's a video trio giving you the inside scoop on how it's done by two women who have it down. Natasha in Dayton, Ohio, delivers some excellent instructions on how she tapes her hoops and why, followed by two videos of Xta in Vancouver, British Columbia, wrapping herself a rainbow hoop while explaining the methods to her madness. So enjoy these visual guides on how to decorate your hoop and you'll be taping like a pro in no time.
Natasha: How To Tape a Hoop
Xta: Wrapping a Rainbow Hoop
Xta: Adding a Spiral to a Rainbow Hoop
Getting Crafty Gets Fit
Jummy asks at Getting Crafty, "Are you looking for a craft that can be used to keep fit? Allow me to introduce you to hooping! Hooping is a sport that adults everywhere are taking up. I look at it as the new bellydancing. It’s like the hula hooping of your youth, stepped up quite a few notches: you use an adult size hoop (that reaches anywhere from your chest to your belly button, and the hoops are heavier than the ones sold for children; they are generally made of pvc." Read the full posting.
How To Make a LED Hoop
Friends of Jeffkobi's wanted a lighted hoop for Burning Man. He writes, "When they turned out to be about $200 each, I decided to make one. All the parts cost about $15 . . . total time to make the hoop was about 3 hours, but that included time for figuring things out. You could probably make one in less than 2 hours with this instructable and soldering skills." His tutorial includes a series of seven steps with photos.
Your Hooping.org Tape Savings
Quite some time ago Hooping.org negotiated a 15% Discount from Identi-tape.com. All you had to do was put the words "hula hula" in the comment box. Recently they made some changes and our ye olde discount didn't work anymore. But wait, it's back! Drop the words "hula hula" in the discount code box now and save 15%. Karen told me they've also increased the length of their rolls again to better serve us hoopers with 36-foot minimum decorative tape rolls with some types in 110-foot and 330-foot rolls. Thanks Identi-tape.
Weighted Hoops: The Great Weight Debate!
by Ron Klint
"Can you make me a five pound hula hoop?” “Do you have any seven pound hula hoops for sale?” “How much weight is right for me?” These common questions are asked over and over again. “I need to lose a lot of weight so I need a heavy hoop”.
In an effort to answer this question I have relied on my own experience hooping, and working with thousands of people who have purchased my hoops and the comments I have received over the years. I read articles on hooping and constantly scan Hooping.org Magazine and the web for articles or stories related to the “size” question. In addition I’ve asked health professionals their opinion of hooping in general and size and weight in particular. How many times have we heard from people who have bruises running around their mid-section from “ribs” or too heavy a hoop? I don’t think the term “No Pain, No Gain” was meant to include hooping. Hooping should be looked at as a fun, effective way to lose weight, or just groove on the great feeling that hooping provides. If you are experiencing bruising from hooping you should stop and examine your hoop and your hooping routine.
Hoop makers and sellers have done the general public a disservice by telling everyone that they should get a “weighted” hula hoop. I don’t feel qualified to speak for everyone, but when I have used the term “weighted hula hoop” it has been to simply differentiate the so called adult hoops from the plastic toy hoops found at many brand name toy stores.
It is no secret that a larger, and yes heavier hoop is easier to use than the lightweight toy hoops. This has led many people to believe that the heavier the hoop the more weight they will lose. I don’t think there is a health or physical fitness professional who could make this claim. Like any other exercise you lose weight by utilizing oxygen and burning fat. You need to get your heart rate up to at least 65-85% of it’s maximum or you are not working in the fat burning zone. It is the act of hooping, the movement and exertion involved in maintaining hoop rotation that ultimately results in weight and inches lost. The more time you spend hooping the more oxygen you've utilized and the more fat is burned and the more weight is lost.
This would lead me to believe that the ideal weight loss hoop would be one in which a person can maintain the hooping rotation for the longest period of time while burning the maximum number of calories. The individual can choose between a smaller lighter hoop which will require more energy per rotation, which would provide a better aerobic workout, or a larger heavier hoop that, while requiring less energy per rotation, would allow the individual to hoop for a longer period of time to reach their fat burning zone. I equate this choice to the difference between running and walking for exercise.
We also know that “weight” in almost any exercise adds “resistance”. The added resistance should make the muscles work harder, leading to weight loss benefit and muscle strength and toning. However, we also know that the larger heavier hoops rotate more slowly thus reducing the aerobic benefits of hooping. Where is the point of diminishing returns related to resistance and aerobic benefits?
Unfortunately this still doesn’t answer the original question about size and weight for any particular person. Hooping.org, in a simple “How To Hula Hoop” instruction sheet, recommends that the hoop, when standing in front of you, reaches between the your belly button and the middle of your chest. My experience selling hoops to people at fairs and festivals tells me this is a good start for selecting the right hoop. I look at their body type and suggest a hoop for them. Almost always this is intuitive based on the size of the individual. After trying the hoop and seeing the level of hooping expertise we often come to the conclusion that a smaller or larger hoop might be a better fit. You must also ask yourself why you are buying a hoop in the first place. If the person is planning to use the hoop for exercise they almost always choose the smaller and lighter hoop because they know they will be getting a better workout.
If purchased for family or party fun I recommend a larger hoop as it is important for first timers to be successful hooping. I also never recommend adult hoops for smaller children as I am concerned with possible damage to their smaller bodies and body organs being so close to the surface. Kids have a ton of energy and seem to like the energy output required to maintain hooping with a smaller lighter weight hoop. It makes me tired just watching them.
My experience has led me to believe that a hoop of between 32 and 45 inches in diameter and weighing between one and two pounds is ideal for all types of hooping. Not too large or too heavy to cause damage, but big enough to make hooping easier for the beginner and expert alike. It is also easier to do tricks with a lighter hoop moving the hoop up and down the body.
If anyone knows of a study on the effects of hooping related to size and weight I would very much like to see it. It would be great if the many claims made about hooping could be substantiated with some empirical testing by professionals. Your comments would be appreciated. Thanks and Happy Hooping!
Ron Klint
Canyon Hoops
Making Hoops in the UK
Richard in the UK tells us, "I've started making my own hoops and tracking down materials in the UK
turned out to be a little trickier than I expected, but a visit to my local farming supplies store paid off. I'm sure there must be a few other people in the UK who are wondering where to get tubing from. I bought mine from "Mole Valley Farmers" in Bridgwater. I was pleased to find that they stock the 1 inch diameter tubing. Also, I found that there are BIG differences in the prices of pvc electrical tape. The big hardware stores sell little 15meter rolls for 99p but you can buy nice big 33meter rolls from specialist building suppliers - I buy mine from "Electro Volt South West."
How to Make a Hula Hoop
Jason Strauss may very well be the Godfather of hooping these days. Not only has he been sharing his excellent directions on how to make a hula hoop for years, and how to make a collapsible hoop, it was Jason who gave the editors of hooping.org their first hoops the night we met him. Many others who have encountered Jason over the years have similar stories to tell. We've been with him many times to hear the "you taught me how to make a hoop" stories too, and if you're looking for Hoop Making 101, start with reading Jason's instructions.
Vera made her first two hoops using those directions, providing a photographic essay here on how it all transpired. Philo followed the same plan when he decided to make a hoop for the first time, only instead of a blow dryer, which he didn't have at the time, he opted for using fire. These days he prefers the simplicity and manageability of using hot water.
While the primary difficulty involved with hoop-making continues to be simply finding the right tubing, visit our Hoop Making archives for more tips on how to make a hula hoop.
Published on August 18, 2006 | LINK | Comments (13)In Hot Water
When it comes to making a hoop of your own there's more than one way to connect your polyethylene tubing. While a blow dryer is one way to do it, and the method that I used for quite some time, when the time arrived for me to construct numerous hoops at once I found that the blow dryer and the air heated pipe really dried out my hands, in a rather uncomfortable and sometimes painful way.
At Burning Man last year I took 500 feet of tubing and a box of tape along with me to make up hoops galore to give to people on the playa - and it was there, given the lack of electricity, that I started trying out the boiling water method. Filling up a camp pot with water and sticking it on the stove, not only was I able to connect pipes in what appeared to be a smoother and easier way, I could make dozens and my hands were just as comfortable when I finsihed as when I began. It's as if the water not only heats the pipe to the temperature needed for it to expand for a connector to be inserted, but the water seems to act as something of a lubricant itself, making the insertion slick, smooth and simple.
I've been heating up the ends of my tubing to make hoops using a big ass pot of boiling water on the stove ever since. I find that submerging them for about twenty seconds works best. Leaving the tubing in boiling water for too long could result in the pipe ends melting, warping, making the connection ultimately less than smooth. So the next time you're making a hoola hoop, think about doing it in the kitchen. If you're anything like me, you'll be glad you did!
- Philo Hagen
Published on August 03, 2006 | LINK | Comments (4)Hoops Of Hazard
Who would have guessed it? There are even hazards to our wonderful world of hooping! You probably never considered the dangers and come to think of it I am struggling to imagine one. There is always the possibility of getting the hoop caught on something when you have it around your neck, or all the neat times we fall off stages and floats. Ten days ago, I learned a hard lesson, but I also learned some very powerful new tools.
While rushing to finish a light-up hoop, my hand slipped, and the blade of a brand new Leatherman Super Tool, deeply lacerated my left wrist. Within three minutes, I was in serious psychogenic shock, unconscious, with a low blood pressure and pale skin. Fortunately, my partner was home at the time. He stayed calm enough to hold tight pressure, catch me in mid-air when I passed out, drag me to the neighbor's house to call 911, and yell for help from anybody who could hear.
In the ER, I received lots of nice pain medication, and 25 stitches (one in an artery, 12 in the fascia-layer, and 12 in my outer-skin layer). I managed to sever a tendon and go deep enough to cause the arterial squirt.
As soon as I cut myself I realized that I wasn't going to be able to perform that night and my entire day was going to change. Instead of a fast-paced, over-planned day, I would be glued to the bed on Morphine and Norco.
The next day I attempted to hoop and it was excruciating pain to the entire left arm to even tilt my upper body. So I prepared myself to cancel the following gig.
When Halloween night came around I decided that I would attempt to dance the gig, and I realized that even with one arm the hoop dance can be amazing. I think we forget how cool our dance is, even when we do simple tricks. So I had the opportunity to execute an entire performance with one arm. I even created some new tricks, like the one-armed traveler. There were definitely some moves that were painful, but I tried to keep my stage face.
Yesterday, I got my stitches out and I don't have to wear a splint anymore. As a matter of fact I get to start squeezing a psychedelic neon squishy ball for my therapy. Maybe in a few days I can start wearing pants with buttons and a real bra.
I learned quite a few valuable lessons during this freak hoop accident:
- Don't procrastinate when the job involves using sharp tools.
- Under-booking the day is better than overbooking the day.
- Hooping with a handicap is totally possible.
- Never underestimate the hazards of hooping.
I wanted to share my experience with all my fellow hoop fanatics, so you don't have to learn this lesson the hard way. I know most of us make our own hoops and we forget about the safety factors. If anyone has some hoop hazard stories or videos you should send them to me. I think I'll make a local low-budget video of hooper bloopers. Published on December 07, 2005 | LINK | Comments (7)
Where to buy tubing
In the quest to make their own hoops, hoopers often find that the elusive material is tubing. Unfortunately, many hoop merchants are proprietary about their material sources, making it even more difficult to find the tubing. It's cheap! … if you can find it.
If you're lucky, you'll find the 160 psi ¾-inch flexible polyethylene pipe at a big box hardware store like Lowes or Home Depot. Those in the Bay Area should check this thread for information about local stores.
You can also try calling around to irrigation supply shops. Remember that you'll need to be clear about the psi (you'll probably want 160) and diameter (probably ¾-inch) when calling to ask around.
If you're really stumped, you can buy the tubing online, although shipping will be expensive. Try United State Plastic Corp. or McMaster-Carr (search for "Flexible Polyethylene"). (Thanks to Reagan for her excellent sleuthing on these online sources!)
Published on August 17, 2005 | LINK | Comments (19)Mailing Hoops
Hooping.tribe.net (which has nicely filled the hole left behind by the hooping.org forums - RIP) has a great discussion about mailing hoops via USPS. Eric had the definitive answer about the issue:
You can ship them USPS cheaply if you wrap them as a ring and not a solid circle. In other words, rather than boxing it, wrap it with paper as you would hoop tape. Then the measurement for the 'length plus girth' is equal to the diameter of the hoop plus the circumference of the tubing. That keeps it from being an oversized package and you just have to pay for the weight, which is minimal. The only remaining challenge is educating your friendly USPS worker on their own guidelines!
Jasmine then piped up with the confirmation:
yes, the education must happen. my post office finally got it, and though they groan when i walk in the door, they smile too. the trickiest part is weighing the hoop on their scales. but shipping it via priority mail should be between $5-$9. super cheap. just act like you know what you are doing and hoopfully they will follow along. good luck!
Read the whole thread. Published on June 22, 2005 | LINK | Comments (1)
Taping Techniques
Hooping.tribe.net has a great discussion about techniques for taping hoops. Here a few key tips lifted from the discussion:
• the narrower the tape is the easier it is. for my base layer in particular i use really thin strips so that i have more control and less wrinkling and overlap.• really use your hand on the understroke of taping to guide it around the hoop. this way you can really feel if there are any wrinkles, and you have more control. so, if you are taping from left to right, use your right hand/palm to guide and smooth the tape from underneath.
• duct tape is sticky and hard to work with. I'm a devotee of Gaffer's (cloth) tape.
There's even talk of doing a taping workshop in the Bay Area. Great idea!
PS: All this talk of taping reminds me that there's still a 15% off discount at indenti-tape.com for hooping.org readers.
Published on March 11, 2005 | LINK | Comments (4)15% discount @ identi-tape.com
One of the most expensive components of hoop-making is the tape. Good tapes cost a fair amount, especially if you get into sparkly, prismatic, or hologram specialty tapes.
In an effort to tackle these costs, we've worked out a deal with Karl from Identi-tape.com: Hooping.org readers can get 15% off orders of $100 or more! (This is their customary 10% off for orders over $100, plus an additional 5% for hooping.org readers.) When place your order online, just be sure to include the words "hula hula" in the comment box, which will give you a total of 15% off your $100+ order.
Karl also told us that the company is gradually converting their decorative tape rolls from 25 feet long to 33 feet — for the same price. He reports that hoopers were a big part of the decision since, "We figured that size should be enough to do two complete hoops, whereas the 25-foot length seemed to be a bit short for two." We hope that more tape manufacturers will follow Karl's lead and see that they've got a great market in hoop-makers!
Published on December 03, 2004 | LINK | Comments (3)Hoop-making party in Berkeley
The Bay Area Hoopers (except for those not back from Burning Man!) gathered at Jason's house for a hoop-making party on Sunday. A splendid (and productive) time was had by all, and no one left empty-handed!
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Making Hoops
Seth and I each made our very first hoops this weekend, and I was surprised how simple it was to do. We basically followed Jason's instructions, only instead of using a blow dryer or hot water we heated ours up over a gas flame on the stove. Took no time at all and the slightly melted ends seemed to merge together even more beautifully. We won't talk about my first attempt when I melted mine right out of shape. Heh.
Finding the right supplies was the hardest part, and I must also admit it took us a few hours to get them taped up just the way we wanted. I made mine for Burning Man. I call it my UFO hoop and it has glow in the dark outer "lights" with that black-light-friendly neon green within. I won't get to see the full effects probably til next week, but I'm going to take it with me to Berkeley today for the Bay Area Hoopers gathering at Live Oak Park. It's time for the mothership to launch!
Published on August 17, 2003 | LINK | Comments (2)Flexible tubing
I recently played with a hoop that was different. Unlike other hoops I have seen, it was NOT made out of polyethylene tubing. It was made out of polypropylene, a softer, more flexible material. Hooping with it felt like slow motion; its rotations were lagged and on a more oval trajectory because of its greater elasticity. I was able to do all of the same tricks I do with the more rigid hoops; it just felt a little different, almost as if I was hooping under water.
Many hoop makers insist that polyethylene is the only material fit to make hoops out of. I agree that it works great. You need something that is somewhat bendable so that you can bend it into a circle, but you don't want it to be too flexible so that the hoop will retain its circular structure and not fall in on itself. Polyethylene fits that requirement perfectly. Polypropylene is much more flexible than polyethylene; you can warp the hoop into an oval without applying much pressure. But it will always bounce back when you release the pressure. The problem with a more rigid hoop is that once it gets bent out of shape, you sometimes have to squeeze and bend and huff and puff in order to have the perfect circle again. The polypropylene hoop, on the other hand, you can flatten together in order to stow it into a small trunk, and it will come out looking round and beautiful, not warped and mutated. That's what I call flexible.
I would like to challenge the belief that the rigid polyethylene is the only way to go. To sum up, there are two benefits to using a softer material:
1. It feels different, more fluid. We all like to experiment with different sizes and feels of hoops, don't we? Try the jello hoop!
2. You can temporarily squeeze it into a small space, and it will bounce right back as if it had never happened when you retrieve it. Can you do that, Polyethylene? I didn't think so.
Published on August 01, 2003 | LINK | Comments (4)The Potrero Hill Hoop Factory
San Francisco has a new hoop maker - me! I had to drive all the way to Livermore to buy two coils (200 feet total) of 3/4 inch Polyethylene plumbing tubing at Lowe's, but it was well worth it. I followed Jason's hoop making instructions and made my first two hoops within an hour and a half.
Click the link to read more about how two two-toned hoops sprang to life...
The infamous, hard-to-get tubing. While hoopers are using this tubing for hoop-making, other people are apparently using it for plumbing purposes...
First you cut the tubing to your desired hoop size. Per Jason's recommendation, I used a ratcheting PVC cutter - the most expensive part of my hoop-making shooping spree.
Here is the cut piece of tube. I'm not sure exactly how long this piece is, but it's on the smaller side.
Here is a 3/4 inch connector, which will be used to hold the tube together in a circle. This is also known as a coupling.
Again, ever compliant with Jason's instructions, I used a blow-dryer to soften the ends of the tube so that they would yield to the connector coming in. In this picture, the connector is waiting patiently on the bathroom rug while I blow-dry.
I have completed the circle! Once the two ends have hardened again, they fit the connector very snugly.
Now the hoop is ready to be decorated. The picture shows the beginning of the solid layer of bright blue electrical tape.
The finished first layer. It took quite a while to tape up the entire hoop.
I chose complementary colors for maximum contrast. The hoop is finished!
Then I made another one for my roommate! White and violet.
This photo series wouldn't be complete without an action shot! Here are my roommate and I giving our new hoops a spin in front of our house.
Side note: As you can see in one of the pictures, the raw tubing had labeling all over one side of it, so I covered each hoop in its entirety with one color first before applying a second color. I rather like the result: a solid layer of one color and candy cane stripes of another color.
This was fun. I cannot wait to open the hoop factory again tomorrow!
The Tubing
As many of you probably know, Jason has some fabulous instructions on how to make your own hoops. You may also know that it can be impossible to find the necessary tubing. I know that both Amy and Ariel have looked all over Northern and Southern California within the last six months and simply couldn't find it anywhere. But recently some people have been more successful. Paisley the other day reported on the hooping.org forums that she found the tubing at Lowe's. Then, just yesterday, Kate mentioned in her blog that she found all the supplies at Home Depot and has crafted her first hoop! This makes me wonder if right now might not be the perfect season for the particular irrigation tubing that Jason recommends for hoop making. Perhaps a visit to my neighborhood Home Depot is in order.
Published on July 04, 2003 | LINK | Comments (8)How To Make a LED Hoop
Your Hooping.org Tape Savings
Weighted Hoops: The Great Weight Debate!
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