The Very Best Jump Rope

In terms of bang for your fitness buck, there aren’t many pieces of exercise equipment that offer a better value compared to a jump rope. A superb cardio workout, jump-roping burns the equal calories to conducting a 7:30 mile yet is something which most anyone can do. Plus, ropes are inexpensive and easily stashed in a gym bag. After spending 30-plus hours researching, measuring, shortening, boiling(!) , and jumping ropes, we’re confident the XYLsports Jump Rope–with its sleek rotation, comfortable handles, test-topping durability, and value cost–is the ideal rope for most people.

Our pick

XYLsports Jump Rope

The jump rope

This freely swinging, comfy rope will meet beginners and most fitness fanatics seeking an excellent rope at a good price.

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The all-black licorice-type XYLsports Jump Rope might not seem like much, but using its ultra-smooth, bearing-assisted spinning and squishy foam-padded manages, it is a joy to use. Its bearings are high quality, which gave this rope the rotation of the ropes we analyzed. The rope also proved the most durable on pavement during our testing, yet its slightly spongy texture guarantees to not sting shins too much if lashed with a missed jump. Its only real downside is the fact that it is annoying to shorten, but you will probably do that only once.

The EliteSRS Elite Pro Freestyle has long handles–8 inches compared to 5 inches to the XYLsports rope–which make tricks like crossovers and behind-the-back moves simpler to execute. The extra length also may be more comfy for jumpers with bigger hands or wider shoulders. While the Elite Pro Freestyle’s PVC cord is rated for outdoor use, I had been surprised to see many nicks after only 100 jumps on pavement–that said it would take quite a while to wear out it.

For those with a need for speed, the Rogue SR-1 Bearing Speed Rope uses two distinct mechanisms–rather than just one, like the other three rate ropes we analyzed–to ease the rope’s rotation, so it moves fluidly on every jump even if your swinging technique is imperfect. It was the rope which didn’t trip up me in any point.

The cable-wire Survival and Cross Speed Jump Rope swings efficiently if not as elegantly–or from as high quality handles–as our top velocity choose, the Rogue SR-1. It’s just fine for pace, but when slowing things down to a skip, we believed a slight lope in the rope as it came across the top, an issue that also happened with another two cable ropes tested. This one comes with an end cap to cover the cut wire and a bigger screw on the shortening collar to make that process go simpler–sufficient nice-to-haves to give it an advantage over the remainder of the rate ropes we looked at.