Comments on: Valeo Body Ball

By: Shirlyn

Shirlyn — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:06:33 +0000

3.0 out of 5 stars
Too small for me; go up a size if you’re on the line
I wasn’t sure which size to buy; the description advised a 55 cm ball for 5′1″ to 5′3″ and a 65 cm for 5′4″ to 5′7″ or something.

By: Baback

Baback — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:48:16 +0000

5.0 out of 5 stars
great product
I use this ball for my 4 month old baby and it does the job great. No complaints at this point.

By: Xannon

Xannon — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:54:34 +0000

1.0 out of 5 stars
Toxic smell!
I can’t speak for the functionality of the ball because as soon as I took it out of the box the plastic smell made me sick; just try opening a new shower curtain liner and…

By: Ester

Ester — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:22:33 +0000

3.0 out of 5 stars
Exercise Ball
Good sturdy product with a great wall chart for doing exercises. A bit difficult to inflate to the proper size. Directions for that part were not clear.

By: Philander

Philander — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:47:47 +0000

4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Ball!
I love this ball! I find that I have to pump it back up after a month or so, but maybe it’s just how it’s supposed to work?

By: Gita

Gita — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:17:19 +0000

4.0 out of 5 stars
good value
good for the cost. haven’t used it much, but it works just as well as the one I use at my gym. recommended.

By: Fala

Fala — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:59:41 +0000

4.0 out of 5 stars
good for core strengthening
You can blow the ball up bigger than it looks like it can hold. USE THE MEASURING TAPE — it’s okay! It won’t work well if it’s softer than it should be.

By: Ly

Ly — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:26:08 +0000

4.0 out of 5 stars
It’s a well made ball!
The ball is great once you blow it up.
The pump that comes with the ball is nearly 100% useless. I went to the gas station and blew up it no sweat!

By: Saber

Saber — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:20:53 +0000

5.0 out of 5 stars
Just what I expected
This is your standard exercise ball. Make sure you get the one that is the right size for you. This ball makes a great chair or addition to your exercise routine.

By: Zevi

Zevi — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:00:33 +0000

The 75cm Valeo Body Ball (”burst resistant” per the box) performed faithfully for seven months until it ruptured yesterday. I am 6′4″, 200# and was prone using two 10# dumbbells when it burst beneath me and dropped me face first on the smooth concrete floor. The tear was nearly fully circumferential around the middle of the ball. Fortunately, I only had a couple of small abrasions. The ball had no previous damage, leak or or other warning sign of weakness or impending failure. It was replaced with a more expensive, stronger ball that is now used with a thick foam exercise mat underneath.

By: Bash

Bash — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:08:41 +0000

3.0 out of 5 stars SOOO BIG!
It took an entire evening to pump up the ball. Then when it was pumped to specifications per the tape measure included it was huge!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:53:35 +0000

There are so many comments here about the ball being smaller than its stated size. That’s hard to understand. You inflate it to the proper size, so if it’s a blue ball and it’s not 25.5″ tall (80″ in circumference) - well, just pump more air in. It doesn’t get that much more difficult to keep pumping air in, that’s not a problem.

While it’s sold as an exercise ball, you’ll see these balls used a lot for labor and newborns. The local maternity center uses the 65 cm size ball, probably because it’s the right size for most people’s height. 65 cm = 25.6 inches, so when you sit on it, it squeezes down to about the height of a regular chair (which are usually around 18″ to the seat). So if you’re wondering which size to get, you can more or less use the height guidelines in the product description, using the height of the person using it most. The idea is, you sit on the ball holding the baby and bounce with the adorable little screaming darling.

The pump system is adequate, eventually it gets pumped up. If you don’t pump too aggressively, you can still hear the TV over the sound! It would be nice if the tube was a little longer, so it could reach the floor without pulling the tube out now and then.

The instructions could be better - they don’t really explain what the parts are, so you have to figure out that the things that look like golf tees are the caps for the balls, and you need to insert one to keep the air in. Still, not difficult. Though I wouldn’t want to have to do it too often.

The tape they provide to make sure you inflate the ball to the right size is awkward, but in the end it works.

Like with many items, the price at Amazon fluctuates from day to day, it seems, and bears no relation to the prices of the bigger or smaller balls.

It does have a bit of an odor at first, like lots of similar plastic products (such as shower curtains) it emits some fumes for a while. Try to let it air out some when it’s new.

They don’t include the lyrics to the Bouncy Ball song, to sing to your baby, but they go as follows: “Bouncy ball, bouncy ball, bouncy bouncy bouncy ball.” Repeat as needed.

By: Orenthal

Orenthal — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:43:23 +0000

This was big enough to use as a chair, but I went back to the standard office chair after the novelty wore off. I use this mostly to just bend backwards and chill out. The pump that came with it was easy to use, but I think I read others had problems. Not sure why. It’s a good size (I’m 5′ 8″) and I wouldn’t want a smaller one. How much can you say about a ball? It deflates for storage. Can be rolled out of way for those that don’t want to lift it. If you drop it, it won’t break. Oh well, don’t take my word for it. Read yet another review about a ball to be sure.

May 17, 2009 update: got letter from company saying that some balls popped when inflated all the way and then used. Advice in instructions says not to inflate all way, but you know the old saying: if you make an idiot-proof product they’ll make a better idiot.