Sliotar sizes explained: size 4 vs size 5 (and what age needs which)

Buying a sliotar sounds simple until you are stood in front of size 4s, size 5s, wall balls and three different Go Games balls. Here is the honest, two-minute version of what to buy for who.

The short answer

• Adult hurling: size 5
• Camogie (all grades): size 4
• Juvenile hurling (up to roughly U14): size 4
• Go Games ages (U7–U12): First Touch, then Quick Touch, then Smart Touch
• Wall and alley training: wall balls or speed balls

Size 4: the ball most players actually use

The size 4 is slightly smaller and lighter than a full-size sliotar. Camogie is played with a size 4 at every grade — juvenile through senior — and juvenile hurlers use it too, typically up to around U14. If you are buying for a young hurler or any camogie player and you only remember one thing from this page, buy a size 4.

Ours comes as the classic white Camogie Size 4 or the hi-vis Illuminous Size 4 — the yellow cover is worth it for winter training, when a white ball disappears into floodlight glare and muddy grass.

Size 5: the full-size ball

The size 5 is the adult hurling ball — heavier, with a bigger circumference and a firmer strike off the hurl. Teenagers moving out of juvenile grades transition onto it. Our Illuminous Size 5 is the flagship: real leather cover, solid polyurethane core, hand-stitched rims, in a hi-vis yellow that stays visible in any light.

Before size 4: the Go Games ladder

For the youngest players, a leather sliotar is too hard and too heavy to learn on. That is what the Go Games range is for, and the progression matters:

• First Touch — the softest and lightest, for the very youngest players learning to catch and lift.
• Quick Touch — a step firmer, roughly U8–U10, where striking starts to matter.
• Smart Touch — roughly U11–U12, with nearly the feel of a real ball. The last stop before leather.

Move up a ball when the current one looks easy: clean catches, confident strikes, no flinching.

Training balls are a separate question

Whatever your match ball is, wall balls earn their place: quiet off a gable wall or gym wall and much easier on hurls. Speed balls go the other way — dimpled instead of rimmed, they rebound faster and lower to sharpen reactions. Neither replaces a real sliotar; both make you better with one.

Buying for a club or school?

Dozens and five-dozen packs work out cheaper per ball, and we print personalised crested sliotars with your club crest for presentations, awards and fundraisers. Call or WhatsApp and we will sort sizes across your age groups in one order.

Still not sure? Contact us — a real person answers, and we will tell you straight which ball you need.