When it comes to playing outside, throwing and catching a ball is about as basic as it gets. It's fine, but certainly not something I see myself doing with friends for an hour straight.
That is, until I got a Tailball.
To be clear: We're talking about four grownups just standing around in the park and tossing this thing around, very far and quite accurately, for an hour.
I've got kids, so we have a bit of a collection of throwing toys. Multiple balls, a few frisbees, a ring with a tail (also by Waboba), etc. The Tailball is, by far, the best one.
It's all in the details. The Tailball is a simple thing: It is a ball with a tail. But having used it, I can tell you that the exact size of the ball (51mm), its weight (87g), and its length (78cm, including the ball) are obviously the result of a bunch of careful design work and testing. Even the materials are tough and high-quality, right down to the seams. For $17 CAD (what it cost me), it's a surprisingly well-made toy. I've been using my Tailball for a couple of months now and it looks basically new.
It improves every aspect of the game of catch: The throwing, and also the catching. Yes, all two of the aspects. It's a simple game. It does improve them both, though.
Let's start with throwing: You swing the ball by its tail, and let go at the right time. A bit like an ancient slingshot. So you're not really "throwing" it — it's more of a pendulum motion. This lets you go much, much farther than you could by throwing, and with a high level of accuracy. I think this may be because the swing "simulates" the trajectory first, making it easier for you to see where the ball will go before you actually release it. As long as we're getting technical, I guess the exact term I'd use is "lobbing" the ball.
There's some nuance here: You get different results if you swing it from the very tip of the tail, versus if you grab it somewhere in the middle. You can make a shallow pass or a high arc, or even play solo just by throwing it vertically in the air, and catching it yourself as it comes down.
Lobbing the Tailball feels satisfying in a primal way. Maybe because it's a little less "direct" than simply throwing the ball — the motion you're actually making is swinging and then letting go. Then you get to watch the thing going through the air in a surprisingly long and accurate arc that flows from your movement quite gracefully. Physics, applied.
That brings us to the other element of the game of catch: The catching.
The Tailball is much, much easier to catch than a regular ball, even a ball that's bigger. That's because you can catch it by the tail.
This allows for a generous margin of error when it comes to your reaction time as a catcher. You only need to flail your hands somewhere around where the ball is going and make a grabbing motion at more or less the right time, and chances are you'll be able to grab at least the ball's long, brightly colored tail. That same long tail also helps you visualize the course of the ball as it's flying through the air in your direction, a bit like a tracer. And should you miss that initial catch, the ball is bouncy, so if you happen to be playing on a hard surface you get one more chance to catch it (it'll often bounce right into your hands).
Catching, of course, is also satisfying (and missing a catch can be annoying or even embarrassing). Because it's so much easier to catch, games go faster — there's less running around to wherever the ball landed, and more actual throwing and catching.
The ball is small enough to fit in a cargo pants pocket. I take it with me sometimes when going for a walk outside, just to toss it in the air and catch it when it comes back down. It's somewhat sensitive to wind, but not too much.
Waboba is known for its "water balls", which float and bounce on water. We have one or two of those and they're very nice — but you do have to be on or around water to get the most out of them. The Tailball is also an outdoor toy, but you don't have to be anywhere near water to have fun with it (I don't think it sinks, but it doesn't seem to bounce on water either). Even if it gets cold where you are, you could easily throw and catch it with gloves while wearing full winter gear. It's brightly colored, and its long tail helps it stay visible in the snow even from far away. Just a great toy for spending a bit more time outside.
The surprise
We got the Tailball when camping. It was an impulse buy from the camp store, so I didn't research it online or read any reviews or anything like that. I just saw it on the shelf and got it. It's not my first Waboba product, so I figured it'd be well-made, but I was surprised by how fun it is to use. Not to wax too poetic about it, but I guess the subtlety of the design is what surprised me — how all the details work together to create a toy that feels refined and fun to play with again and again.
