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The best diabolo for beginners is, in my opinion, the Circus by Henry’s (here on amazon).
It is available from most good juggling shops. It comes either with metal hubs or teflon hubs, make sure you get the teflon hubs as the metal ones make the diabolo heavier and uses the string faster. The metal hubs can also get damaged if you use metal sticks.
The Circus ticks all the boxes when it comes to good diabolos (size, weight, axle and cups). You can check out what makes a good diabolo here.
It is very durable, the rubber cups are practically indestructible and the teflon axle can be left in the rain or the sun without any damage. It is made for intensive practice. The Circus can last you a lifetime which is great because it is great diabolo for experienced players too. Half the guys in the DVD Diabology use Henry’s Circus (despite them being sponsored by Mister Babache) : JiBe, Priam, Tony, Trash and Baptiste.
The Circus was the second diabolo I used and my first good diabolo. I used it for 6 years before switching to Sundia Sun then Typhoon by JuggleDream.
I gave them away when I got my Typhoons but I regret it now. My Sundia Suns hubs broke and the Typhoon are too light to practice outside when it’s windy.
The Circus weighs 270 grams, it’s the perfect weight for playing outside. The weight also gives long spin time and stability to the diabolo, which makes it good to learn the basics and for multiple diabolo juggling.
The Circus is not the cheapest options when it comes to good diabolos (the Finesse by Mister Babache is a cheaper and a good alternative), but it has great value for money especially as you can change the axle/hubs to fit your style.
You won’t need to spend money on another diabolo, just on a kit.
- If you want a wide axle diabolo, get the Twist kit.
- If you’d like to test a bearing diabolo, get the Free Hub kit.
- Want to try juggling with fire, there’s also a kit for that!
- There is also the All-round and Giant kits that make catching the diabolo and finger grinds easier.
The only thing that is annoying with this diabolo is that the cups will get very dirty and are hard to clean.
The Circus on my head is supposed to be bright yellow.
So if you want to perform, you may have to have a set of diabolos that you use only on stage so that you won’t have to clean them too frequently.
But if aesthetic is not a concern, the Circus will be perfect for you.
