Bocce Ball Set Reviews


What's a Bocce Ball Made of ??                           

We wrote this bocce ball set review as a guide.  Not all bocce sets are bad, but some a certainly better, much better than others. Read on!! We'll add other bocce ball reviews so check back.

Perfetta Club Pro Balls are made in Italy (exclusively imported and distributed by Playaboule ) shown in both red and green on the left (in first pic below) are made from very high grade solid resin plastic. Balls made in China and imported and distributed by the brand name bocce companies are the 4 ball halves on the right and in pics further down the page.
  • Almost every bocce set that is mass marketed in the USA by the "name brands" and are seen in the chain sports stores and Target, Walmart etc etc. comes out of China.
  • The "beauty" of the balls are barely skin deep. A few hours worth of play on any natural outdoor surface like, crushed granite, oyster shell etc will knock the skin off and leave you with chalky, whitish, looking balls that are very difficult to tell apart.
  • In addition to this turning chalky the softer material means that the balls wear down in size very quickly. 
  • They often don't roll true, due to the uneven skins and materials in the balls. ( see pics )
  • Are very prone to cracking and splitting.
  • Have short or limited warranties that cover "workmanship" . Note: Perfetta Club Pro sets on the other hand, have a 10 year warranty specifically against splitting and cracking.
  • If a ball is listed on a website as Imported but does not say from where or does not mention the country of origin at all then you can assume it is from China. After all any copywriter or marketer would leap at the opportunity to state "Made in Italy".
If none of those things, listed above are is important to you or you are a very occasional player then the cheap prices of the Chinese made sets, may be the best deal for you. But don't pay more than $65 a set for the Chinese 107mm balls or the Kids balls that are 100mm should be no more than $45 a set. In both cases of course, "Brand" names of the Chinese imported balls are always more expensive. Those you will see listed for $70 - $120Plus a set and often given grand titles like, tournament bocce, or competition bocce or even Pro bocce all as a marketing ploy!!! But below the skin you will still get the "quality" of balls you see in the pics below and further down this page.



The 2 balls to the far right above are from 2 different Chinese manufacturers and are made from inferior materials. As you can see, the balls second from the right are filled with recycled materials. The balls to the far right are solid but made from low grade materials and are therefore prone to scuffing ( the balls look white afterwards) and cracking. When cutting both examples of the Chinese made balls the smell was exactly like the odor given out from auto body fillers. The stuff that that is known as Bondo and used as ding/dent filler when doing panel repairs on a car involved in a wreck. Look closely at where the groove patterns are cut in the balls and you'll see they they are white and powdery looking. Compare those to the Perfetta balls ( The 4 balls on the left side ) that have a consistent and deep color.


Look at the balls to the left below. The creamy material is just ding repair material that binds together the scraps from recycled materials. The big orangey slug in the middle is off center and the green materiel on the outside is thinner on one side, so this means the ball will not roll in a straight line!! Both balls could be cut with a hacksaw quite easily and the shiny surface was just that, on the surface. Not surprising these sorts of balls typically have a 90 day warranty and in some cases stretch to 1 year. But only against workmanship!! As they say beauty is only skin deep.




Below are Perfetta Club Pro Balls. It took a heck of a long time to cut these in half as the material is so hard. This consistent high quality material is why we give these balls a 10 Year Warranty against splitting or cracking!! Of course they roll true. The biggest surprise is that even though they are made in Italy, are clearly a superior ball, from the supplier to the World Bocce Champs held in Europe, 10 year warranty, they are not much more expensive than the rubbish that masquerades as a quality bocce ball, as seen above.



Below are some other examples of Chinese made sets that are very cheap.



Below is another very well known and distributed US brand made in China. The white/gray area is autobody filler. Also the outer skin wall is very uneven so balls won't roll true. Surface scratched/scuffed very easily. The darker gray area is the result of cracking the ball apart after cutting.



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