The new 11/16" 'Goldilocks' tubing hit the hoop market this past year and many are both in love and confused by this new mystery tubing. Many say it feels like the width of 5/8" but the weight of 3/4". I thought it'd be a good idea to actually break it down and compare them all! Most know that 11/16" is between 3/4" and 5/8". You can mathematically observe this by equating the fractions with the least common denominator, 16:
You can also visually observe this with pie charts:
If you look at the picture at the top of the page, you can see that 11/16" is wider than 5/8" by 1/16" (0.0625 inches). However, if you look at the inner wall diameter of the tubing, it's the same as 5/8". This means that the 11/16" tubing is thicker, therefore weighing more. This also explains why 11/16" seems to be a bit more 'sturdier' than 5/8". We decided to weigh 1 inch of tubing to actually see the difference. To my surprise, the 11/16" tubing actually weighed more than the 3/4"! (That's because the tubing is thicker than 3/4".) If you were to weigh a 30" polypro hoop without an insert or hardware, 3/4" would weigh about 5.39 oz, 11/16" would weigh about 6.73 oz, and 5/8" would weigh about 4.04 oz. These are approximate calculations and tubing weights may vary due to a number of variables but regardless, we can conclude that 11/16" actually weighs more than 3/4". You guys remember the story of "Goldilocks" and the 3 bears? The first porridge she tried was too hot and the second too cold. The third was 'just right'... and I think it's safe to say that that's how most of us feel about the new Goldilocks 11/16" tubing. It's just right!
How do I see other people's comments!? ...I'm interested in peoples oppinions on tubing types.😊 Also this is the best page by far I've seen for explaining and comparing! Thankyou x