SELECT HANDBALL LAB

Since 1947, SELECT has been a leader in ball innovation and production. We always strive to improve our balls, which has led to many revolutionary inventions – also in handball. On this page, you can learn more about the science behind our handballs.

Handball with 32 Panels

Every single football and handball from SELECT is based on the revolution from 1962, when our founder, Eigil Nielsen, invented a football made of 32 panels. The overriding desire was to create the most reliable ball with the most predictable, straight flight and a bounce that is neither too high nor too low. It was impossible to make a perfectly round ball with only 18 panels, which was the standard construction of a ball in the past.

With the 32 panels – 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons – SELECT succeeded in creating the roundest ball ever. Later, a group of American scientists won the Nobel Prize for discovering that carbon molecules with a special irradiation organize themselves as a completely round ball – something Eigil Nielsen had already discovered and realized in his 32-panel football, which is why the reinvention was named "the football molecule." A ball with optimal roundness is crucial for achieving reliable aerodynamics – a straight flight and a controlled bounce.

All our handballs today are still based on Eigil Nielsen's original invention of the 32-panel ball construction, as we never compromise on quality, playability, or durability.

learn about our production methods

Hand stitched

The 32 panels are stitched together by hand using 630 double stitches and 60 corner stitches and are closed off with a double-knot. The handball lasts longer this way.

Thermo bonded

The thermo bonding method means that the 32 panels are thermally glued and bonded by heat. There are no stitches, on the TB handballs.

Dual bonded

The handball panels are printed with 3 mm edge glue and stitched. In the heat mold, the glue is activated to hide the stitches. The seam sealing is done by hand.

machine stitched

The machine stitched handballs are very similar to our hand-stitched ones. During production, the handball panels are sewn together with a special sewing machine and a fine thread. Only soft, foamed materials can be used. The seam pattern is uneven, and the finishing stitching is always done by hand. While the end result does not reach the level of our hand-stitched handballs, a solid handball is produced nevertheless.

SELECT Ultimate iBall

Want to know more about our handball with a chip inside?
Visit our iBall page, where you can learn more about our iBall balls, which have an incorporated chip. This chip makes it possible to read data during a handball match.

Discover our iBalls

INSIDE THE ULTIMATE HANDBALL

Hand-stitched
handball

Click on the +

PU Surface

The synthetic leather used in our handballs consists of an outer layer of ”grippy” PU with a backside of non-woven polyester fibre. In addition to this, the special fibre threads are inlaid in a crisscross fashion to ensure the strength and stability of the material. This ensures a ball with a perfect grip, optimal balance and extreme durability.

Bladder

The bladder is made of high performance natural latex. The Zero-Wing concept ensures optimum roundness of both the ball and the bladder. SELECT solely uses latex bladders in our balls with build-in balance point at the opposite side of the valve hole. This, together with the Zero Wing concept, gives a perfectly balanced ball with a very lively bounce.

Double lock valve

The rubber material used in our valves is well known for being airtight and together with the Double Lock system, where the air must pass through two ”gates” to escape, the ball becomes very airtight.

Lining

To stabilize the ball and to ensure that it remains round, its 32 panels are lined with several layers of textile material. The lining also helps to adjust the softness as well as the weight of the ball.

Foam

The most important factor regarding the softness of the ball is a layer of neoprene foam placed between the lining and the synthetic leather. The foam maintains its softness and elasticity game after game. ULTIMATE is the only model produced using specially developed Shark Skin Foam. This makes it an even softer and thoroughly fantastic ball.

Balls made with recycled plastic bottles

All our Planet balls are partly made from recycled plastic bottles.

The synthetic leather used for all our balls in our SELECT Planet Family are made by recycled PET bottles, and all the Planet balls are produced with a special underlining, where 80% of the material comes from recycled plastic bottles.

See our Planet handball

Balls for different handball surfaces

We have developed special handballs for playing handball on surfaces other than the classic indoor court floor.

BEACH

Our Beach Handball is specially developed for playing on sand, and is therefore perfect for handball on the beach.

Handball - Goalcha Street Handball #colour_green #colour_green

STREET

Our street handball Goalcha Street is not suitable for dribbling, which promotes cooperation and passing, and means you can play with it anywhere.

Inflating instructions

See how to correctly inflate your handball