Aerobie

by Marina Feygelman

Aerobie is a flying ring, which flies beast of all unpropelled tossing toys, as proved by a world record of 1,333 ft.


Hosted by:
Stanislav Shalunov
        

Aerobie flies better than flying disk. It is lighter, for one thing. It has smaller surface and doesn't get blown away by the wind as much as Frisbie. It is very well made, which, probably, adds to flying distance. Aerobie is a polycarbonate ring with relatively soft rubber edge, so it's easier to catch then a solid disk. We play 12" Aerobie on a distance between fifty and two hundred feet, that is how far we can toss it accurately and catch reliably. We developed two ways of tossing it: one way is steep up and down toss, it is slow, and easy to thread on your hand to catch. I prefer to throw this way. Another is a low, very fast and level toss. Which is good if you can catch it, but it hurts if it hits. Aerobie can fly much further. The world record is 1,333 feet; I can do at least 600 feet, and I'm no tossing athlete. Aerobie is just that good. Aerobie is flexible, and if it tends to turn left or right, you can bend it up or down to correct that. The instruction which way to bend is printed right on the ring, no need to keep the package.

Aerobies come in 10" at $7 and 12" at $9, or about that. They are sold online and in every sports or toy store. Larger ones fly much better, but hit harder when you catch it. Aerobies come yellow, orange and magenta with deep purple, almost black, core. Aerobie core can snap if the ring hits the ground very hard. The rubber band will hold for a while, and the broken Aerobie will sort of fly: my three year old son keeps the broken 10" ring and actually tosses it for some sixty feet, in random direction. Before it got snapped, that ring lasted four month. The Aerobie we have now is about a year old, and we play it every weekend. Aerobie can get caught in a tree, and it does, too. I hadn't climb so many trees since I was ten. I was lucky, so far, and could get my Aerobie down, but if some day I cannot, I'll get myself another right away.