Editors Choice

Best Wobble Board – [Expert Guide & Review]

Wobble boards can be used for anything from gentle rehabilitation to serious workouts.  They’re small, light, quiet, affordable and effective.  If that sounds good to you, then keep reading to find out everything you need to know about them.

What exactly is a wobble board?

A wobble board is a type of balance board.  All wobble boards are balance boards but not all balance boards are wobble boards.  From now on, we’ll talk about balance boards unless we actually mean wobble boards.

What exactly is a balance board?

A balance board is basically a platform with something underneath it to make it unstable.  Balance boards come in four main types.  These are:

  • Wobble Balance Board aka Wobble Board
  • Rocker Balance Board
  • Rocker-Roller Balance Board
  • Sphere and Ring Balance Board

They all work along much the same lines but they all have clear differences.

Wobble boards

We usually list items in alphabetical order, but wobble boards are so popular, we felt we had to put them first.  They are so common, the term wobble board has literally become used to mean balance boards.

Wobble boards have a dome on the underside and a flat platform on the top.  The dome works like a ball.  It, therefore, allows the user to turn as well as tilt up and down or side to side.  The fact that the platform is (much) wider than the ball means that it’s effectively impossible for the wobble board to tip over.

Wobble boards are great for people who mainly want to work on improving their balance and posture.  For example, if you spend all day sitting at a desk, a wobble board can save your back.

Rocker Balance Board

Rocker balance boards have much the same kind of action as a see-saw but they’re designed to be used by one person.  This means that the movement is side-to-side rather than up and down. 

Traditionally, rocker balance boards tended to be used by people recovering from injury and/or older people wanting to maintain their balance.  They were also sometimes given to children as development toys.

These days, they’re often used as standing-desk accessories as they take less effort than wobble boards.  This means that some people can use them while they are working.  They’re also being used by desk-based workers who aren’t yet up to wobble boards, let alone more demanding balance boards.

Rocker-Roller Balance Board

Rocker-Roller balance boards come in two pieces, namely the roller and the board.  This means that they can travel across a space as well as tilt and turn.  If you think this makes them a whole lot harder to use than either wobble boards or plain rocker boards then you’d be absolutely right. 

These balance boards are intended for serious exercise.  For example, skateboarders, surfers and stand-up paddlers all love them as a way to exercise indoors when they can’t (don’t want to) get out.

Sphere and Ring Balance Board

Genuine sphere and ring balance boards look a bit like the planet Saturn, or something you’d find in a circus.  They’re balls with a ring around them rather than a platform.  They are great exercise options if you can use them.  The challenge is that they are extremely hard to use.  We’d say harder than rocker-roller boards and that’s saying something.

Enter “yoga boards”.  These are basically hybrids of wobble boards and sphere and ring balance boards.  They’re essentially inflatable wobble boards with very small platforms relative to the size of the dome.  This makes them much more challenging to use than regular wobble boards.  They are, however, still a whole lot easier to use than proper sphere and ring balance boards.

The fact that they’re inflatable means that you can use the ball as a cushioned exercise surface.  They also tend to come with resistance bands.  All in all, therefore, we’d put yoga balls down as a strong contender for the world’s best piece of small-space exercise equipment.  What’s more, they’re really affordable.

This is why we’d definitely recommend yoga balance boards to people wanting a balance board for all-round exercise.  Rocker-roller balance boards are much more expensive.  In our opinion, that extra money is only worth it if you’re seriously training for a sport.  That said, they’re still much more affordable than gym memberships.

Making the most of your balance board

Really making the most of your balance board depends on what kind of balance board you have.  We’ll therefore give you a quick rundown of each of the different types of balance board, how we’d expect them to be used and what benefits they’d offer.

Wobble boards

Initially, you may find just standing on a wobble board enough of a challenge.  Once you’ve got to grips with this, however, you should at least try tilting the wobble board front to back and side to side.  Doing this for 15 minutes a day should ensure you develop and/or maintain decent balance and posture.

If you want to push yourself a bit harder, you can try going “round the world” i.e turning 360°, preferably in each direction.  You can also try balancing on one leg.  Again, try to use both legs.  To take it up a gear, try doing everything you did on two legs with just one leg.

If you’re really up for a challenge, then squats, in all their variations, can be made even more challenging by doing them on a wobble board.  That said, if you’re ready to get to grips with this, you should probably be looking at switching to a more fitness-orientated balance board.

Rocker balance boards

Rocker balance boards are really designed for rehabilitation.  This means that you should probably only buy one if your balance is really bad. 

You can use one as a standing desk accessory but it’d probably be best to think hard about whether or not you could actually concentrate on your work while standing on one.  Realistically, a lot of people might be better off just taking breaks and using a regular wobble board.

You can also use rocker balance boards as gym equipment.  That said, even the most affordable option is about the same price as a yoga board.  It’s only slightly lower-priced than an entry-level rocker-roller board.  Some rocker balance boards are actually priced at the same level as premium rocker-roller boards.

In other words, if exercise is your main goal, then you’d almost certainly be better off with another type of balance board.  That said, if you either have a rocker balance board already or know someone who does and can borrow it, then it could be useful.  You’d typically want to use it for building arm strength e.g. by planking.

Rocker-roller balance boards

In our opinion, the best way to use a rocker-roller balance board is as a way to train indoors for certain types of sports and also for dancing.  If you’re just interested in general exercise then a yoga board will almost certainly give you everything you need at a much lower cost. 

Sphere and ring balance boards

Genuine sphere and ring balance boards are essentially supercharged wobble boards.  So any exercise you can do on a wobble board, you can, in theory, also do on a sphere and ring balance board.  That said, we were being really serious about the massive difference in the level of difficulty.

Yoga boards

As with proper sphere and ring balance boards, you can use a yoga board to do any exercise you would do on a wobble board.  You can, however, also flip it over and use it as a cushioned surface for regular floor exercises.  Basically anything you could do on a vibration plate, you could do on a yoga board.  You can also use resistance bands to ramp up the challenge level.

In case we haven’t made this clear enough by now, we think that yoga boards may be the best all-round piece of exercise equipment you can have in a small space and on a tight budget.  Add in a yoga mat, some skipping ropes (possibly cordless) and some weights and you have a pretty decent home gym at a very low cost.

Best balance boards

Here’s a quick guide to what we think are the best balance boards currently on the UK market.  Please note that some of these balance boards are sometimes marketed as “wobble boards” even when they’re not.

Quick jump to the list

Best wobble board

There are a ton of wobble boards on the UK market.  We’ve made our selection on a combination of quality and price, in other words, value for money.

JLL® Wooden Balance Board

There are probably very few lists of budget-friendly exercise equipment without an entry by JLL.  at 40cm wide by 8cm high, this wobble board will make most beginners feel safe.  Quality is perfectly acceptable and the non-slip surface is reassuring.

PROS

  • Large reflective area
  • Looks good

CONS

  • Plenty of grip
  • May be a bit high for some people

  • Product
  • Features
  • Photos

JLL® Wooden Balance Board, ANTI SLIP SURFACE, Exercise Fitness Workout Rehabilitation Training...

Last update was on: March 27, 2024 8:47 am

Phoenix Fitness Body Balance Board

This wobble board is only 36cm wide by 6cm high.  This could make it a bit more challenging to use than the JLL option.  On the other hand, some people may want this.  Other people may be willing to put up with it for the sake of storage/portability.

Frankly, this wobble board doesn’t look or feel of the same quality as either of the other options.  That said the price reflects this.  We’re also quite happy that the surface is non-slip.

PROS

  • Easy to store and carry
  • Plenty of grip
  • Very affordable price

CONS

  • Small and low
  • Not very attractive

  • Product
  • Features
  • Photos

Phoenix Fitness Body Balance Board - Non-Slip Round Wobble Board - 36cm...

Last update was on: March 27, 2024 8:47 am

Sportneer Balance Board

This wobble board is 40cm wide by 6cm high.  This makes it slightly easier to use than the JLL option.  The build quality is very respectable and the surface has excellent grip.

PROS

  • Large surface area
  • Looks good
  • Plenty of grip

CONS

  • May be a bit low for some people

  • Product
  • Features
  • Photos

Sportneer Balance Board, Wooden Wobble Balance Board Anti Slip Surface Gym Fitness...

Last update was on: March 27, 2024 8:47 am

Best rocker balance board

For clarity, there are plenty of rocker balance boards on the market.  These days, however, a lot of them are being marketed as standing-desk accessories.  In our opinion, they’re also being way overpriced for what they are.  This is the only rocker balance board we found which, in our opinion, delivered decent value for money.

StrongTek Professional Wooden Balance Board

The platform is 44.7 x 34.54cm and it's 9.4 cm high.  Build quality is good and the surface has plenty of grip.  It looks good enough to leave out if storage space is tight. 

This is essentially an old-school rehabilitation board.  You could, however, use it as a (reasonably-priced) standing-desk accessory and/or for a home gym.  It won’t be anything like as challenging as a proper rocker-roller balance board.  It can, however, offer similar functionality at a more basic level (and a lower price).

PROS

  • Looks good
  • Solid build
  • Reasonably priced

CONS

  • May be of limited use to some people

  • Product
  • Features
  • Photos

StrongTek Professional Wooden Balance Board, Rocker Board, 17.5 Inch Wood Standing Desk...

& Free shipping
Last update was on: March 27, 2024 8:47 am

Best Rocker-Roller Balance Board

Revolution Balance Boards 101 Balance Board Trainer

We’re guessing that this is called the 101 Balance Board trainer because it has removable roller stops on the base.  The idea is that you keep these on while you’re learning to limit the range of movement.  Once you’ve gained confidence (and balance), you can take them off and really work on your skills.

The platform is 75 x 28 cm and the surface is very comfortable even without shoes.  This means that you can put your hands on it if you want e.g. for planking.

PROS

  • Great for indoor training for certain sports
  • Removable roller stops make this board much more accessible
  • Lots of advice on how to use it

CONS

  • Very expensive for what it is

  • Product
  • Features
  • Photos

Revolution Balance Boards 101 Balance Board Trainer (Blue)

Last update was on: March 27, 2024 8:47 am

URBNFit Balance Board Trainer

This balance board is very similar to the Revolution balance board.  The big difference is that the roller stops are fixed.  The board is 65 x 27.5cm and the surface is acceptable.  It’s described as “emery paper”.  Honestly, it feels a bit weird at first, not unpleasant, just different.  You soon get used to it.

The URBNFit option is marketed as being for general exercise.  We assume that’s why the roller stops are fixed.  We also assume that’s why it’s priced much more affordably than the Revolution balance board.  In fact, it’s only slightly more expensive than the yoga balls.

PROS

  • Very reasonable price for a rocker-roller balance board
  • Lots of advice on how to use it

CONS

  • Roller stops are fixed
  • Still more expensive than yoga balance boards

  • Product
  • Features
  • Photos

URBNFit Balance Board Trainer - Roller Board For Exercise, Athletic Training and...

& Free shipping
Last update was on: March 27, 2024 8:47 am

Best Sphere and Ring Balance Board

We didn’t find a single, genuine sphere and ring balance board available at mainstream retailers.  It looks like they’ve been pushed out by yoga boards.  Honestly, we can see why.

Best Yoga Balance Board

Sportneer Balance Ball Balance Board with Resistance Bands

This yoga board has a 60cm radius and a maximum height of 20cm.  The included resistance bands are 80cm long without stretching. 

This is an inflatable balance board and comes with a foot pump.  The plastic is really strong and there’s an anti-leak plug.  We’re happy that there’s plenty of grip on the platform’s surface and there’s also 8 anti-slip pads for when the platform is on the ground.

PROS

  • Lots of versatility
  • Strong enough to be reliable
  • Easy to store and carry

CONS

  • May not wear as well as the rocker-roller boards.

  • Product
  • Features
  • Photos

Sportneer Balance Ball Balance Board with Resistance Bands, Balance Trainer Bonus Pump...

Last update was on: March 27, 2024 8:47 am

ZELUS Balance Ball Trainer

This yoga board has a 57.5cm radius and a maximum height of 24.5cm.  The included resistance bands are 75cm long without stretching.  It has 6 anti-slip pads on the platform.  Other than that (and the colour), it’s basically identical to the Sportneer balance board.

CONS

  • Lots of versatility.
  • Strong enough to be reliable.
  • Easy to store and carry.

CONS

  • May not wear as well as the rocker-roller boards.

  • Product
  • Features
  • Photos

Z ZELUS Balance Ball Trainer Half Yoga Exercise Ball with Resistance Bands...

& Free shipping
Last update was on: March 27, 2024 8:47 am

In short

Balance is one of those skills you sometimes only appreciate when you lose it.  If you’re struggling with basic coordination, then a wobble board or rocker board could be just what you need to get it back.  If, however, you’re looking for a serious workout, then a rocker-roller board or a yoga board would be an affordable way to challenge yourself in a small space.

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