Best Kickball Reviews 2020

A good game of kickball is great for both the body and mind. Whether it’s a team of adults playing competitively or a group of children kicking balls around for fun, the game is only as good as the ball. There are so many kickballs out there and getting a quality one can be a work-out. To save you time, we’ve selected a top of excellent kickballs from the best kickball brands on the market. We’ll review one kickball from each, but bear in mind they have others to choose from if you’re not satisfied with any of these.

Overview

PROS

CONS

SPECS

Size

Material

Color Pattern

Activities

Weight

Our Top Choice

Mikasa Sports Official World Kickball

Mikasa is completely focused on its game, which is to bring the committed athlete equipment of the highest standard.

It’s durable and sturdy for a great game yet lightweight enough for children to enjoy. Its textured cover helps make it easy to grip.

Some might find it somewhat large.

10” diameter

Premium rubber

Red ball with diamond pattern

Kicking and bouncing

1.5 lbs.

Best Value

U.S. Toy Rainbow Basketball Themed Kickball

U.S. Toy Company has been helping families create fun and lasting memories with its affordable and safe toys since 1953.

It’s affordable at 12 balls per pack. Its color is attention-grabbing for kids. It’s soft, child-safe and works for other ball games.

It comes only in this color combination.

5” diameter

PVC

Rainbow basketball pattern

Kicking & bouncing

0.6 lbs.

Franklin Sports Rubber Kickball

Franklin is the proud maker of the world’s most respected batting gloves. It brings its expertise to the manufacture of all its sporting goods.

It’s soft, lightweight and versatile. It’s sturdy and durable with a great bounce.

It’s somewhat large for one-handed throwing.

10” diameter

Rubber

Red textured pattern

Kicking and Bouncing

1.2 lbs.

Sportime Max Kickball

Sportime works in conjunction with Sparks to make carefully designed PE Equipment for children’s lifelong enjoyment and fitness.

It’s got a nice, functional textured surface. It’s durable, withstanding impact and resisting abrasion.

It might get odd-shaped when spinning on a curved trajectory.

10” diameter

Natural rubber

Yellow Japanese nylon wound

Kicking and bouncing

3 lbs.

Melissa & Doug Froggy Kickball

Melissa and Doug is committed to making products that ignite the imagination, stimulating kids to see new possibilities.

Its smiling froggy face is cute. The ball is of high quality and durable. What’s more, its color doesn’t fade.

It has a rubbery smell, although that soon fades.

10” diameter

Durable rubber

Green froggy face pattern

Kicking and bouncing

1.5 lbs.

Skip ahead and go directly to the reviews.

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Watch Our Kickball Review

How Do I Choose the Best Kickball?

A kickball is one of those sporting products that can serve both adults and kids. Where a good basketball is hard, a kickball is soft; where a high quality football is tough, a kickball is bouncy; and where a golf ball is dense and heavy, a softball is light. This is why it’s one of the few balls that can be as much fun for adults as for kids.

A kickball can be used specifically to play kickball, and it can be used for many other sports. Take it to the court and it becomes a basketball, take it to the field and it’s a soccer ball, take it to the beach and it’s a volleyball. A kickball is everything in one fun and convenient package.

It’s awesome for kids. Unlike other balls, they can actually play with their parents with little chance of being hurt by the ball. It’s also fun because unlike other balls, a kickball can be kicked, thrown, bounced, or used in any other form of play children can think up. Many families choose to have kickballs in their homes because it promotes family time.

That being said, it can be difficult to choose the best kickball from the many available options on the market. People have different needs when it comes to sports, and we recognize that, so we’ve written this guide. Here we’ll tell you about the different features a kickball can possess and how it can affect your play. By the end we hope to have helped you find the best kickball.

Price

With all purchases, it’s important to consider price. When buying a kickball, you want to know that it was worth the amount paid. We’ve conducted research to find kickballs that justify the price tag that’s attached.

A kickball’s price can be determined by size, material, and activities it was designed for. A good kickball can be purchased for between $10 and $20. Depending on the brand and how it was designed, a kickball can be more expensive than those within our range. We took care to exclude cheap kickballs from this guide because they are often of low quality.

Features

For an item as simple as a kickball, making a choice from the many options in the market can be difficult, so we conducted thorough research to make this choice easier. We’ve highlighted and explained some important factors that can determine which kickball is the best choice for you. Here are some of the more important features to look out for:

Size
Weight
Material
Activities
Color Pattern
Texture
Inflation

Let’s expand upon these.

Construction and Design

When considering the best kickball for you and your family, friends or teammates, it’s important to consider size. Size determines where it can be used and the games that can be played with it. Larger kickballs are more suitable for outdoor play and can be used for sports that require larger spaces. Meanwhile, smaller kickballs can be used more comfortably indoors for more confined games.

A kickball’s weight is another feature that determines how effective it will be. While most kick balls are designed to be lighter, some can be slightly heavy, especially for smaller kids. Others might actually be too light and float around, so your choice will be determined by the age of those who will be using it.

Kickball’s are usually made from rubber, which varies in softness, flexibility, lightness, bounciness, and durability. These can all affect how well it fits in with your purposes. For kids, softer, lighter, and more flexible kickballs might be best. For smaller kids make sure you also get an appropriate size so they are able to handle the ball easily. Older players will prefer larger, tougher and heavier balls that can used for serious sporting matches. Limitations differ from kickball to kickball, and it’s up to you to find one with the perfect balance for your desired activities.

Performance and Ease of Use

A kickball’s color pattern is a factor to consider. While not directly affecting play, it can affect how much fun the players have. Certain kickballs are available with playful mascots and bright colors. While this might be fine for kids and adults playing with kids, it will likely be uninteresting for adults playing by themselves.

Texture requires consideration when dealing with sporting equipment for children. A kickball’s texture is usually light and soft to make it playable for kids with less risk of injury. However, there are harder kickballs that can be for more professional play. It’s important to note how hard your choice of kickball is in relation to who will be using it more often.

Most balls will require inflation at some point during use. Many kickballs are not inflated upon purchase, and will require you to inflate them. Some come with their own portable pumps, but even after pumping, they’ll lose the air within them with time and need to be reinflated. However, they can be designed to retain air more effectively, meaning they’ll require re-inflation less often, so lookout for that if you don’t want to be constantly blowing up the ball mid-match.

What is the Best Kickball?

Choosing the right kickball means paying attention to material and size. Also consider your budget to make the best possible choice. But of course, you’ve read through our buying guide, so you’re well equipped to make the right choice.

Our Top Choice

Mikasa’s Official WAKA kickball is the official kickball of the World Adult Kickball Association. It’s made of premium quality rubber and can take a lot of kicking for a long time without rupture – especially when it’s correctly inflated. If you don’t care for red balls, the Mikasa Rubber Kickball is an equally good kickball in orange with black patterns. It’s an 8.5inch outdoor ball and you’re welcome to check it out too.

Mikasa Sports 10-Inch Official World Adult Kickball - Red

Features

Mikasa has been in the business of creating the best athletic balls that money can buy for almost ninety years. Its core value has always been the one thing common to any sporting event: passion. This has enabled it to meet the ever-changing needs of the game and the athlete by making the highest quality balls with inspiration, passion and the best technologies.

Mikasa’s Official WAKA kickball (Selling for $18.99 – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) is a premium quality ball made to the highest manufacturing standards. The first thing to know about this kickball is the fact that it’s so well-made that it is the official kickball of the highest kickball authority. Its outer surface is textured so that it doesn’t slip during play.

This Mikasa kickball takes a lot of kicking and still stays in great shape even over time. You’re assured of no warping with this kickball. It doesn’t come inflated so it’s up to you to decide how much air goes into it (inflating up to 1.45 pounds per square inch is recommended). Its P1000K is 10”; it bounces and can be used for other ball games too.
This kickball is built to last a long time. All you might have to do for maintenance is regular pumping and since rubber warps in winter, it’s advisable to deflate them when winter comes around.

Here are some other kickballs from Mikasa for your consideration:

Mikasa yellow 8.5” kickball with nylon wound bladder for shape retention and premium rubber cover without latex for allergen-free softness and durability
Mikasa Soccer Kickballs: a set of 4 yellow rubber balls with wound centers and textured exterior for maximum air retention and control
Mikasa Child Waka Kickball with a smaller diameter of 8.5 inches and same features as the adult model so your kids can play kickball like pros

Mikasa also makes other great kickballs so you can check those out if you’re looking for more options.

Best Value

Its Rainbow Basketball-themed kickball is a set of 12 balls. They’re colorful, made with PVC and ship deflated. The 5” diameter is small enough to be enjoyed by your kids. The Soccerball Kickball is a pellet-filled, vinyl-covered, 2” soccer-themed kickball from the same company. If it’s what you’re looking for, feel free to check it out too.

U.S. Toy Rainbow Theme Basketball Design Playground Kickball – 5-Inch

Features

U.S. Toy Company is a third-generation, family-owned business that started out as a toy rack distributor in 1953. It has since been driven by passion and creativity to become the nationwide brand that it is today. Its goal has been, and still remains, to ensure that fun novelty toys, party supplies, extraordinary party themes and carnival prizes that are also safe are available for every budget.

The Rainbow Basketball-themed Kickball (Selling for $14.99 – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) is as colorful as its name suggests. It comes as a set of 12 brightly colored balls that can be used for team games, given as party favors and enjoyed at home with your kids. These 5” diameter balls are a good way to add some color to your one-on-one ball games. Plus, its PVC material is soft so that those fun games don’t end up hurting your kids. The balls are lightweight and small for your kids’ little hands yet strong enough to be kicked and thrown about for a long time. They are a good and affordable way to get your little ones started on the basics of kickball and recommended for kids ages 3 and above.

Following are some other kickballs from this brand:

US Toys Rainbow-themed Knobby-designed Kickballs for the playground. It’s also a set of 12 5” balls made of PVC so it’s soft and easy for kids to play with
US Toys Rainbow-themed Soccer-designed kickballs, a colorful set of 12 6” balls with black diamond patterns. It’s also made of PVC
US Toys Volleyball Kickball. It’s 2” wide and made of vinyl; another set of 12 balls

For more kid-friendly kickballs at affordable prices, we suggest you take a look at other kickballs from US Toy Company.

The Franklin Sports 10" Rubber Kickball is red-colored and the recommended size for youth and adult kickball. It features a new textured pattern cover for superior grip. It can be used for other ball games as well. The Franklin Sports Playground Ball has an 8.5” diameter. It is another ball you can consider if you’re looking for a good quality playground ball.

Franklin Sports 10-Inch Rubber Kickball - with Superior Grip

Features

The Franklin Sports brand was established in 1946 to introduce great ideas and products to sports players at all levels. It has worked hard through the years and earned itself a well-deserved place at the forefront of international sporting goods brands. It has built strong partnerships with other leading brands that bring energy and strength to its products. A proof of its understanding of its consumers’ need is the continued patronage it receives from famed sportsmen such as Mike Schmidt, Miguel Cabrera and other great names.

The Franklin Sports Rubber Kickball (Selling for $19.99 – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) with its soft yet sturdy build and new textured cover is designed to provide a fun kickball game for youths and adults. It is made of quality rubber and comes under-inflated so you’ll have to do some air-pump action on it before it will be ready for use.
This ball has got the classic look of kickballs from years ago and might just take the adult kickball fan on a trip down memory lane - especially with its red color, bouncy quality and textured body. Enjoy different ball games such as dodgeball, foursquare, basketball, beach ball and more with this multipurpose kickball from Franklin.

Franklin Sports has other kickballs. You might want to look at them too:

Franklin Sports MLB Youth Kickball Set which features an 8.5” kickball with a textured surface for superior control. The set includes multicolored throw-down bases, home plate and pitching plate
Franklin Sports Vibe Play Ball is an 8.5" brightly colored, PVC playground ball. It features a rotation-molded construction and is without latex to give a long-lasting, allergen-free game
Franklin Sports USA Playground Ball is another 8.5 Inch ball. It has a textured surface for super grip and the US stars and stripes design

There are more kickballs from this brand and we encourage you to check them out if these aren’t what you’re looking for.

The Sportime Max Kickball is a 10” diameter ball with 100% nylon-wound, 70% butyl rubber bladder for optimal air retention. It’s a yellow kickball with a textured surface for ball control. If you’d rather have a smaller kickball of equal quality and strength, Sportime’s Max Heavy Duty Kickball is also available. It’s got an 8.5” diameter; we suggest you take a look at it too.

Sportime 10-Inch Max Kickball - Yellow

Features

If you’re looking for a brand to trust with the lifelong physical education and fitness of your child, you should look no further than Sportime and Spark. Together, they’ve created a winning formula when it comes to children’s physical education. Founded in June 1989, this brand provides evidence-based programs and innovative products for children from pre-kindergarten through to 12th grade. The belief that active kids learn better and that all kids deserve the opportunity to live healthy lives has led to their selection of high quality fitness and sports equipment.

The Sportime Max Kickball (Selling for $12.84 – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) features the company’s innovative FlexMatixGrip outer body. This gives you an enhanced grip and control on the ball during a game of kickball, dodgeball, foursquare and much more. It’s a yellow ball, made with natural rubber and is built to last through years of kicking, throwing and bouncing.

It features a 2-ply construction of 100% Japanese nylon winding and a 70% butyl bladder for optimum air retention; this way you don’t have to go through the delay of inflating the kickball before every game. It does, however, come deflated so you have to do an initial inflation before first-time use. This can be considered a plus as you get to choose how soft you want your ball to be. As for allergens, it does contain latex, so you should note that.

Sportime has lots of other kickballs for you to choose from. They include:

Sportime Poly Playground Ball is a blue 8.5” and has elastic shape memory for preventing a blow out if moderately over-inflated. It’s also latex-free for an allergen-free game
Sportime MegaMax Playground Ball at 16” is an extra-large ball that features the same Japanese nylon and butyl bladder of other balls by this company. It’s bright yellow and has a durable, textured rubber cover for a secure grasp
SportimeMax UniverCells is a set of 6 8.5” utility balls in various colors. It has a textured surface pattern that features etched-in geographical features including water bodies, raised latitudinal and longitudinal lines and landmasses

We recommend these. However, there lots of other balls by Sportime to choose from.

Melissa & Doug’s Froggy Kickball is a classic playground or backyard kickball. It’s bright green with a large, smiley froggy face on it. It’s made of durable rubber to keep your kid active for a long time. Sunny Patch Trixie Ladybug Kickball is another cute, classic and durable kickball from this brand. If you’re not feeling froggy, we suggest you take a look at this one.

Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Froggy Classic Rubber Kickball

Features

Founded in 1988, Melissa and Doug is a brand on a mission to “take back childhood”. It seeks to provide the platform through which the imaginations of children will be ignited and their minds opened to the wonder of the world around them. It believes in this way, children can discover themselves - their passions, potential and purpose. Their products include classic wooden toys, games and pretend play stuff, all of high quality for your kids.

The Melissa & Doug’s Froggy Kickball (Selling for $9.99 – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) is a large, bright green kickball with a textured surface for easy grip in your little one’s hands. It can be played with anywhere as it’s made of durable leather and lasts a long time, even with regular kicks and throwing from your little powerhouse. Its smiling froggy face is so cute, it’ll draw a smile from your child’s face too. It can be bounced, kicked and rolled which makes it a good ball for a variety of games with your kid. Its bright green color and picture doesn’t fade, making it a fun way to create memories with your little one.

Other kickballs, equally cute, are available from this brand. They include:

Melissa & Doug Scootin' Turtle Ball features colorful, smiling turtle artwork and a textured surface for easy grip for your kids
Melissa & Doug Bella Butterfly Kickball, a classic rubber kickball with a colorful butterfly on a pink background. Its surface is textured too
Melissa & Doug Giddy Buggy Kickball features a number of smiling bug’s faces on a textured surface

If you’d like to see more of these balls, Melissa & Doug has you covered as it’s got many more where these came from.