You may or may not have heard of zorbing, but it is becoming more popular every day, seemingly.
The name makes it sound like something out of a science fiction film, and to look at it, you’d still think it could be.
But what actually is zorbing?
Zorbing involves climbing inside an inflatable sphere, or a “zorb”, and rolling down a hill or otherwise traversing a landscape. They are also often used on water, so zorbing is subdivided into wet and dry zorbing. It’s a really fun recreational activity that almost anyone can try.
Zorbing may sound strange, and to look at someone doing it you might think it frightening or even dangerous.
But almost everyone that does it reports having nothing but fun with the experience and wishing they could do it more often.
It’s really great fun and we would definitely recommend trying it.
Let’s find out more.
What are the two types of zorbing?
In understanding zorbing, the first thing you’ll need to know is that there are two main types of zorbing.
The first, and most common, is called dry zorbing, or land zorbing.
This can take many forms, but most commonly involves simply rolling down a hill in a zorb.
But what exactly is a zorb?
The zorb itself is a large inflatable sphere made of transparent plastic, with space inside for a person.
There are large pockets of air between the inner chamber and the outside of the zorb which makes it buoyant and fast moving.
That’s really all there is to it!
So, in most cases, dry zorbing is downhill, although it can also be done on flat ground.
Even competitive zorbing exists, where the aim is to knock others out of an area while inside a zorb, much like sumo wrestling.
Dry zorbing is the first kind of zorbing.
The other is wet zorbing, which is exactly what it sounds like: zorbing on water.
You might be surprised to learn that zorbs are able to float on water, given their size and the fact they are carrying a person inside.
But the enormous amount of air inside means they float easily and carry you along with no effort.
Water zorbing opens up a lot more possibilities in some ways, because there is effectively no traction or friction on the water.
You can just roll along and even pick up some speed.
It’s usually done on smaller bodies of water, though, as I can be quite easy to float away on a water zorb.
How long can you stay inside a zorb, then?
How long can you breathe in a zorb?
It can depend on the manufacturer, as there is more than one company making zorbs.
In general, though, most manufacturers say there is around 30 minutes of oxygen inside a zorb.
Rides on zorbs are generally not longer than 10 minutes or so, and usually sit around 7 minutes, to stay on the safe side.
You don’t need to worry about suffocating inside a zorb.
Strict safety measures are always observed to make sure this sort of thing will never happen.
Safety is the number one priority in zorbing and indeed in any activity like this.
You won’t stay inside a zorb longer than 15 minutes even in the longest rides, so you’ll always be fine in that regard.
What makes zorbing a good thing to do, then?
What are the benefits of zorbing?
Well, while some may say that zorbing is an extreme sport, for most people, it’s just something that’s great to do for a bit of fun!
The speed of barrelling down a hill knowing you’re perfectly safe from any injury, the rush of it is just a great laugh like going on a rollercoaster.
Don’t underestimate the benefits of good fun!
For many, zorbing is what they turn to after having tried a lot of other extreme sports.
It’s different and certainly unique, and the professional and competitive zorbing scene is really alive and well.
That could certainly be something you could get into!
Depending on the kind of zorbing, too, it can also be quite good exercise.
You’re effectively pushing your own weight along in some kinds, and this can be really good exercise for your core and as cardio.
But where did it get its name?
Why is it called zorbing?
The name zorbing wasn’t coined by the person who invented the first prototype of an inflatable sphere back in the 1970s.
It was actually coined by two scientists in the early 1990s, who actually brought zorbing as we know it today into being.
As far as anyone can tell, the name was just invented to describe the new sport, and didn’t much base itself on existing terminology.
The ball itself was called a zorb, which was originally a trademark. So, in that sense, it’s just a name invented for a product as new products are commonly named.
There’s no story to it more than that, really!
Zorbing can be huge fun for people of all ages, then.
While it might look a bit intimidating at first, it’s really great once you’re in there and you’ve gotten used to it all.
The great thing about zorbing is that it’s incredibly accessible, and you don’t need to do a lot of exercise or have any specific sporting skill to be able to do it.
It’s loads of fun and it’s totally safe!
