If you are looking for a new beach volleyball ball, then you should know that one of the most important criteria you should check is the ball weight …
That’s why I’ve chosen to fully dedicate this article to discuss sand volleyball weight depending on the material quality and the ball size.
Hope you will find that useful!
How much does beach volleyball weigh in general?
The weight for a regular beach volleyball stands between 260 and 280 grams, which is the same as a standard indoor volleyball. The smaller volleyball sizes have of course different weights just as like the indoor volleyballs.
Quick Tip: Not all beach volleyballs available in the market are equal when it comes to weight. That’s why you need to always check the weight to make sure it belongs to the weight range above. For example, this Beach Ball has a perfect weight.
Keep in mind that beach volleyballs are usually 66 to 68 centimeters in circumference or 26 to 27 inches, making them the winner in size, when compared to an indoor volleyball.
But the overall weight is basically similar. The difference in size is related to the materials however. We will discuss that a little bit later.
What is the official beach volleyball ball?
From 2012 the most used beach volleyball that was the official ball of the Olympic games in London and Rio was the Mikasa VLS300 (Check it Here at Amazon). It is still used today as the official ball of the FIVB in every competition that is under its patronage.
The Mikasa brand is one of the most prominent volleyball equipment producers in the world. It produces sports gear for many different sports but it exceeds in volleyball equipment production.
It is based in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima, Chugoku. All high ranking volleyball associations use the Mikasa balls as their official ball (FIVB, the Olympics and the US college games).
The size of the Mikasa VLS300 is around the number that we have already discussed. It ranges from 66 to 68 centimeters, that is, from 25.98 inches to 26.77 inches. We can see that the size range is as we have discussed earlier.
The weight of the ball is also in the range that we have discussed. It ranges from 260 to 280 grams, which is the standard weight of volleyball balls.
Beach volleyballs are usually made out of composite materials, meaning that they are made from 3 or more different materials (usually synthetic materials), that keep the ball water resistant and soft on touch. You can find beach volleyballs that are made from leather but they are usually made for the outdoors, intended for no contact with water. You can learn about things that make a sand volleyball waterproof …
The materials that beach volleyballs are made out of are usually stitched together, and the stitches can be seen clearly on the ball.
Those stitches add additional protection against the water. These parts usually have the shapes of hexagons, which are better known as panels. Those panels are stitched together.
Is the ball quality correlated with its weight?
Yes, the ball quality has great correlation with its weight. Indeed, lower quality balls tend to be slightly heavier and sometimes even substantially heavier.
Low quality materials used in the production of beach balls are usually heavier than the fine material used for professional balls.
Indeed, if you take a ball model of a lower quality and compare it with the same model with high quality, you will find between 50 to 100 grams of weight difference.
This difference is felt during actual games!
Does the pressure of the ball impact its weight?
No, the pressure of the ball does not impact its weight. The pressure impacts other things that are not related to its weight.
The PSI of the indoor ball needs to be addressed also. An indoor volleyball needs to be pressurized between 4.3 and 4.6 PSI in order to suit the indoor environment. The PSI of an outdoor/beach volleyball is drastically different than those of an indoor volleyball, the PSI ranges between 2.5 and 3.2 PSI. The PSI is basically just the pressure of the air in a ball.
When it comes to velocity, an underinflated ball will not fly well and will be affected more because of gravity than a well inflated ball.
On the other hand an overinflated ball can also cause bruises and it can also sting, even more than an underinflated ball. So it is best to keep in the boundaries of the recommended PSI when it comes to the inflation of the ball.
BTW, in case you are also interested in indoor volleyball, then I think you should learn when you can use a sand volleyball balls indoors, …
(Little History) How beach volleyball weight evolved over the years?
The evolution of sand balls is an interesting story that needs to be addressed. Beach volleyball evolved as an alternative for basketball in the early 20th century.
Beach volleyball started back in 1915 when a member of the Outrigger Canoe club, David „Dad“ Center put a net on one of the Hawaii beaches. That beach was Waikiki beach in Honolulu.
As its mother sport, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball started with six players. It evolved basically spontaneously in private and public circles. Nets began to pop up on nearly every California beach form 1920 onwards.
Being a sport that evolved as an alternative for basketball, volleyball in general did not have a proper ball that fitted the needs of the sport.
So it is worth mentioning that when volleyball began the bladder of a basketball was used, and that proved to be not so good. A bladder of a basketball was too heavy for volleyball. Because of that Morgan decided to add a proper ball to his sport.
G. Morgan (The founder of volleyball) approached A.G. Spalding and brothers for a new ball design. So Spalding is responsible for the first volleyball ever made. Spalding was the leader in baseball ball manufacturing and design.
They used the knowledge of baseballs and designed the first volleyball. It was as made out of 18 panels, made from leather. The inner core was first made out of bicycle tiers after which it was replaced with standardized cores.
The design of the volleyball that Spalding gave to Morgan was basically ideal, since the volleyball world, specifically Mikasa changed the design in 2008 for the requirements of the Olympics, reducing the panels from 18 panels to just 8 panels.
The size and weight however have not changed dramatically. The first volleyballs were of similar if not the same size and weight as modern volleyballs. If there was a difference, we would be talking about a few grams nothing much significant.
Is a beach volleyball heavier than indoor?
Beach volleyballs are the same weight as indoor volleyballs. The only thing that makes a difference here are the materials that the volleyballs are made out of. Below some more details …
An indoor volleyballs size ranges from 200 grams (size 3) to 280 grams (size 5). According to the size of the ball it has different dimensions, with the standardized dimensions being 25 to 26.5 inches. The size three is slightly smaller than 25 inches.
Beach volleyballs are usually 66 to 68 centimeters in circumference or 26 to 27 inches, making them the winner in size, when compared to an indoor volleyball. But the overall weight is basically similar.
The weight for a regular beach volleyball stands between 260 and 280 grams, which is the same as a standard indoor volleyball. The smaller volleyball sizes have of course different weights just as the indoor volleyball balls have.
Final Thoughts …
Again, as I’ve said before, if you are on the point where you are going to buy a new sand ball then you definitely need to check and even double check its weight …
Make sure it doesn’t exceed the maximum stated weight above. Otherwise, this is probably a ball of a lower quality and that will probably cause soreness to your hands and won’t be enjoyable to play with.
Finally, I highly invite you to check this list of beach volleyball equipment. I think you will find it very interesting …