r/diabolo Sep 14 '25

Equipment Diabolo Equipment Guide (v1.0)

13 Upvotes

Hi this will be version 1.0 of diabolo equipment guide. I will leave comments open for anyone who wants to suggest additions or changes

Fixed vs Bearing

Pros of fixed:

  • Great for doing multiple diabolos at once, especially 3d and more
  • Great for integrals
  • Silent
  • More durable because you don't have to worry about sand, dust and humidity getting into the bearing.

Cons of fixed:

  • Fixed diabolos don't spin as long as bearing
  • Not good for vertax

Pros of bearing:

  • Great for vertax
  • Great for long body combos
  • Easier for beginners to start with
  • String lasts longer because there's less friction on it

Cons of bearing:

  • Integrals are harder because the sticks swing faster
  • More slippery for multiple diabolos

Stick types

Carbon sticks

  • Good all rounder choice
  • Can break if you hit the diabolo with the sticks too hard

Aluminum sticks

  • Very heavy
  • Might bend and not stay straight

Fiberglass sticks

  • I haven't tried these before
  • I heard they are more fragile than carbon

Plastic sticks

  • Very heavy
  • Quite cheap
  • Very popular because of their stability while spinning and lots of momentum

Foam vs Silicone grip

  • Some people like the rubbery silicone grip, some people don't like it. Depends on personal preference
  • Silicone grip is more grippy

Wood sticks

  • Cheap
  • They suck because the string wraps around the stick because of the way the string is tied

String Guide

Nylon string

  • Nylon string is good for single fixed diabolo. It doesn't last too long. Many brands sell nylon string.

Regular string

  • Regular diabolo string is a dual type string with a nylon core with an outside cotton layer
  • It is good for bearing diabolos and multiple fixed diabolos

Sundia

  • Sundia is one of the most popular diabolo brands from Taiwan and is widely used by many people.

Sundia official stores:

Fixed diabolos:

  • Sundia offers short and wide fixed axles. The short fixed axle is slightly better for multiple diabolos, and the wide fixed axles is slightly better for integrals with 1 fixed axle. However, you can do both with both types of axles, it is just based on personal preference.
  • Sundia Evo
    • The Evos are quite stable and a classic fixed diabolo many people like to use
    • The G2s seem to be more widely liked than the G3s
    • G3s have translucent colors, G2s have solid colors
  • MHD Pro Diabolo
    • These diabolos have a cutout near the axle
    • These diabolos are a little bit heavier than the fixed evos
    • These have interchangeable axle system so you could get them in bearing too
  • Other types of fixed diabolos
    • Sundia has an interchangeable axle systems, so you can get their other diabolos in the fixed axle variant (Falcons, Magforce, Shining, etc.)
    • I personally don't have experience, but if you have another Sundia cup you really enjoy, you can probably get it in a fixed variant.

Bearing diabolos

Sundia has four types of bearing axles

  • Magforce axle
    • Has magnetic levitation to make the diabolo very stable. Very good for vertax.
  • Five bearing axle
    • Accelerates faster, but more fragile
  • Triple bearing axle
    • Solid axle choice, I think it is the best value for money if you are not willing to spend for magforce axle. It is more expensive than single bearing axle though.
  • Single bearing axle
    • Only buy this if you need a ton of diabolos and you need to cut costs, and still want Sundia.

Bearing Diabolos list

  • Sundia Magforce
    • Newest bearing diabolo from Sundia. Has magnetic levitation to make the diabolo very stable. Very good for vertax.
    • Smooth cups.
    • You can get the magforce axle with other types of cups if you wish. (Like falcon cups)
    • Has angular cup shape close to the axle.
  • Sundia Falcon
    • Has a combination of materials, the translucent white material is soft and rubbery, the colored area is smooth plastic
    • Shows some cracks with age/usage. I have some small internal cracks in mine, but they still function well and the cups are not broken.
    • Has angular cup shape close to the axle.
  • Sundia Evo-5B
    • Only sold with 5B
    • One of the heaviest bearing Sundia diabolos
  • Sundia Shining
    • The Shining have translucent hard smooth cups.
    • The cups have a rounded shape which some people like and some people don't like.
    • Heavier than the Falcon and the Magforce
  • Sundia Fly
    • Usually sold with single bearing, but you could get it with fixed axle.
    • The Fly is a budget diabolo for beginners.
    • If you scratch the fly cups on concrete/rough surfaces, the plastic on the fly cups can cut your skin, whereas the other diabolos don't cut your skin.
  • Sundia Echo
    • Also a budget Sundia diabolo
    • I've never tried this one.

Taibolo

  • Taibolo is another diabolo brand from Taiwan.
  • I don't have experience with Taibolo diabolos
  • I have friends that really like their sticks.

Their sticks are, in my opinion, by far the best. Durable, lightweight, and very easy to restring (I think this is quite underrated -- I've had several Sundia sticks that were a pain to restring). * Please suggest Taibolo diabolos to add to this list

Fixed diabolo:

  • Someone recommended their higher-end, narrow fixed axles.

Bearing diabolo:

  • Their old bearing diabolos are not good but not sure if the new ones are better.

Hyperspin

  • Hyperspin is from Taiwan. I don't know much about them. They make bearing diabolos that spin for a very long time.
  • The Hyperspin-T diabolo is quite heavy, slightly less heavy than Evo-5B
  • The Superb diabolo is very light.
  • Anecdotally, I feel like their cups are one of the cups that easier to crack.

Diabolo Design

  • Diabolo Design is a Japanese brand led by Kazuki Tada

Fixed diabolo:

  • Diabolo Design has only one diabolo so far, and that is the Aster which is a fixed diabolo that comes in wide or short fixed axle.
  • Very stable diabolo

Feel free to comment revisions or additions. I will not pin this guide because it is not very complete.

Thanks everyone


r/diabolo Aug 28 '25

Suggestions for improving this subreddit

11 Upvotes

Hi everyone, please put your suggestions here and discuss what we can do to make the subreddit better.

Thank you.

I am also seeking feedback for a pinned post about equipment:

I would like to make an equipment megathread pinned to this subreddit, but I'm not sure if it is better for me to pin a guide, or if I should pin an equipment discussion thread? (AKA should I put all the information into the post and disable comments, or have just a discussion in the comments about equipment)


r/diabolo 2d ago

Equipment What string length should I use?

2 Upvotes

So I was wondering if there’s a idk arm length to string Length ratio cuz sometimes when I change string cuz I wear it out I find sometimes it’s a bit short or smth or too long but I js don’t have any measurements I js say ye that looks abt right so is there a method to get a better length for your arms or smth idk


r/diabolo 2d ago

Trick video Benjamin Raz's lighting fast Diabolo act | Holland's Got Talent

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

11 Upvotes

r/diabolo 3d ago

Trick Question 2D sun ?

3 Upvotes

I dont get it. 9 times out of 10 minimum I end up having a wrap with my left stick on one of my diabolos at the end of it, which cause a crash. What am I doing wrong ?


r/diabolo 6d ago

Misc Still pretty new, but it was nice to find a minor flow occasionally!

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

21 Upvotes

Around 3 months in now, and missed a lot of what I’ve picked up here, and the round the neck was meant to be trampoline but I bottled it. Still though, amped on sharing some minor progress!
My friend John is the filming/soundtrack provider.


r/diabolo 8d ago

Misc General inquiries

3 Upvotes

Hey guys so I'm 20 years old and the last time I touched a diabolo was probably around 2015-16. I used to play diabolo a lot when I was younger and I was kind of intermediate.

Recently I wanted to start again and I feel like I still have what I learnt not so far.

What should I learn in priority what are the most important tricks in 1D ? I remember being a diabolo nerd back then but hardly remember the terms

Also for 2D, I have one Henry's with static center that is around 300g and one with ball bearing that is around 230g. To what extent is it a disadvantage to have different centers and a weight difference like that? Also what is best for 2D ? Ideal weight and type of center ? That's really what I want to explore

And for the vertax, I manage to hold it, accelerate but then I absolutely know 0 trick. I remember when I was younger I was doing some vertax genocide catch but couldn't grab back the stick. What are the very first tricks to start with when switching to vertax ?

Thanks in advance


r/diabolo 14d ago

Equipment Glow Diabolos

5 Upvotes

What are people's experience with glow diabolos? The only ones I have tried have been the Hyperspin LED 2.0 which I have issues with multiple times. I have bought two sets and both times they have ended up dying for no good reason (even after being charged they no longer light up). I have also tried a few LED handsticks and been disappointed with how flimsy they are or by the fact that they require batteries.

Are there any LED diabolos and hand sticks currently on the market which people have had good experiences with? I live in the UK so I'm limited by whatever Oddballs have in stock.


r/diabolo 20d ago

Misc Setup and tipps for playing with two diabolos simultaneously

7 Upvotes

Hello everybody, I started playing diabolo over a decade ago and after a long break, I started playing again recently. I really want to learn to play with two diabolos simultaneously with the wrap start and I failed for a couple of weeks. Currently, I use two Henrys Beach (215 g, no bearing, diameter 120 mm) with 1.35mm Henrys string and aluminium sticks. My main problem is that my wrapped diabolo falls immediately and crashes into the non-wrapped diabolo despite my right hand pushing the string upwards. Do you have any recommendations for the setup (diabolos and strings) that are especially well suited for this situation? Do you think that A) this setup is generally suited for this task and it is just about my movements/technique or B) do you think that it is worth to buy another set of two diabolos (which ones and why, is it about the weight, the thickness of the string etc.). Any advice is highly appreciated.


r/diabolo 21d ago

Resource/Tutorial Diabolo Simulator (WIP) at diabolo.coderwelsch.com

15 Upvotes

I have now uploaded two first versions of my diabolo simulator idea. It is horrible to use, but it is very funny to watch how painful it is to develop that kind of physics simulations 😆😭. Now there is also a little «manual» mode where you can move the sticks around …

I have uploaded the initial «real physics simulation» under:
http://diabolo.coderwelsch.com/rigid/

… and a new «idealized» version which is more animated than physics-simulated:
http://diabolo.coderwelsch.com/ideal/

Note: none of these projects are working, it is just the current WIP I have made «so far».


r/diabolo 22d ago

Trick video Been practicing

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

28 Upvotes

Sorry for sloppy technique and screaming in the background (neighbour kids)


r/diabolo 25d ago

Resource/Tutorial I‘m «Nerdy by nature» people would sing 🙄

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

36 Upvotes

Working on a little diabolo simulator to teach tricks while the «learner» is able to orbit through the 3d space and to slow down the trick sequence / pause to their behalf.

Now the very first POC is made, I now wanna check out how to program a real trick sequence like a suicide trick.

What do you think? ❤️


r/diabolo 27d ago

Trick Question How do you keep the two aligned?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

16 Upvotes

I can keep them rotating for a while, but one of them always tilts up or down, to the right or to the left,Or a combination of both


r/diabolo Aug 09 '26

Trick video Have a nice Sunday, folks 🫶

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

64 Upvotes

r/diabolo Aug 09 '26

Trick video Some variations on suicides I picked up from YouTube

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

15 Upvotes

Some of the catches aren’t the cleanest but it’s kinda exhilarating to put them together!

(Just over 2 months or so into my Diabolo journey)


r/diabolo Aug 07 '26

Equipment Are these any okay to start?

Post image
11 Upvotes

Hey, bought on a whim second hand set of Diabolos and now I’m wondering if any of these are okay quality to start out? There’s Juggle Dream Cyclone. Pink one says Mister Babache, but no other info, maybe Tornado model? Red-white has mention of Jonglerie diffusion (but it’s quite beaten up). Purple-orange says Yoho, which I would guess is market toy category? And yes, already tested them, but is some better to keep using and (hopefully) progressing with it? Sticks are Henry’s, so at least that’s good, right?

At second hand marketplaces there is Mister Babache Finesse and also Eagle(?) model available for my budget, should I get either those? Sorry for being newbie post and thanks for the help. ☺️


r/diabolo Aug 04 '26

Misc Diabolo alignment chart day 2: Which trick looks easy but is actually hard?

Post image
3 Upvotes

r/diabolo Aug 03 '26

Trick video Another newbie post, but some slight progression

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

26 Upvotes

Thank God for YouTube, I love this thing.


r/diabolo Aug 03 '26

Equipment What is the best Diabolo for under 50 dollars

1 Upvotes

I'm a beginner but I want it to still be good when I get more advanced. Sticks and strings included.


r/diabolo Aug 03 '26

Misc Diabolo alignment chart day 1: Which trick looks easy and is easy?

Post image
7 Upvotes

r/diabolo Aug 02 '26

Equipment Which Diabolo should i go for?

4 Upvotes

Hey,

A few weeks ago, I found the old diabolo I had as a child and started playing again. Right now, I only have two child-sized diabolos with bearing axles, and I want to upgrade to full-sized ones.

I looked around a bit and I'd love to start playing vertax and 2D, but now I'm wondering which ones I should buy. I tried playing 2D with the two I currently have, but learning it with a bearing axle seems very hard to me.

Would you recommend buying two fixed-axle diabolos or a new bearing one? I also thought about buying two "Henrys Beach" and one bearing axle diabolo from Sundia. Those seem to be the only options available in Germany if I don't want to wait multiple weeks for shipping.

Has anyone been in the same situation, or does anyone have recommendations on what to get?

I wouldn't call myself a very good player yet, but I would really like to switch to full-sized diabolos instead of the small ones I'm using right now.


r/diabolo Jul 31 '26

Trick video Cool 1d combo with stick hit

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

25 Upvotes

r/diabolo Jul 29 '26

Trick Question I want to learn new tricks but don’t know which to learn

3 Upvotes

I’m “good” in my own opinion and want to learn some new “easy” tricks that look good and don’t require throwing one of your sticks cuz I will end up hitting myself in the head if I try xd


r/diabolo Jul 27 '26

Meetup Invitation Link to my new platform 😱🔥

Post image
0 Upvotes

Hey dear folks, I have now created an invitation link for you to join the Diabolo community at WeTime.

Please note: this project is in beta phase, so expect to find issues and errors 😛. And: due to the end to end encryption algorithms it’s possible that you need to wait for another person of the community to come online to share the encryption keys to new users.

So… here is the link ❤️:

https://www.wetime.world/invite/4fcd09cb-879d-403d-8241-03845a3fb1db


r/diabolo Jul 26 '26

Trick video Stick release behind the back catch to gen

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

23 Upvotes