How to care for your new hoop

Since a lot of love goes into making our hoops we know you're going to want them to last as long as possible. Here are some top tips for looking after your hoop!

• Bare polypro hoops are particularly prone to damage. Polypro tubing is much more fragile than beginner HDPE material, and needs to be looked after with care to prolong its lifespan.
• Try to avoid leaving your hoop in an overly hot or cold environment, and avoid dropping it on hard surfaces.
• If using your hoop in extremely cold weather, especially if your style of hooping is high impact, bear in mind this increases the risk of your hoop breaking.
• You should not store your hoop collapsed/coiled down. This should only be done for short periods i.e. shipping/travel. Please store your hoop full size to prolong its lifespan.
• When collapsing your hoop to travel, never collapse it smaller than 20” in diameter. I recommend only coiling your hoop down to two thirds its size and securing at the sides with tape/ribbon/cables ties. I like to put one layer of tape around with the sticky side up and then another layer on top of that, sticky side down so that it is secure but will not get stuck to your hoop. Coiling your hoop down completely can put a lot of strain on the hoop & could snap. Here is an example of a hoop collapsed to two thirds its size & secured with tape:
• Do not collapse a hoop when it is cold as it will cause it to break. Collapse it slowly and carefully. Sometimes it helps to half collapse it, tie in place with tight string on either side, leave for a few hours/overnight then come back to it later to collapse down a little bit more and fasten at the sides with tape/ribbon/cable ties.
• When you first receive your hoop or if it has been coiled down for longer than a few hours you can unravel it by opening the connector and letting it relax and expand for several hours at room temperature. This allows it to return its original shape safely.
• If it still needs a little help, gently apply pressure to the needed area. Do not yank it. The hoop will naturally return to its original shape after you start hooping with it.
• Do not leave your hula hoop sitting in the rain. Whilst the hoop is made of waterproof materials, the glue on the back of the tapes does not react well to getting very wet or remaining damp. If your hoop gets dirty, clean with a damp cloth and dry with a towel, do not submerge the hoop in water.