Candlepin Equipment

The game of candlepins is fairly cheap to outfit yourself. If you just want to try it out, you can go to a candlepin alley and rent the shoes. The alleys supply you with alley balls and away you go.

If you really enjoy the game, you should consider buying your own shoes and a set of candlepin bowling balls. It really does help your score to own your own shoes and balls. You will quickly learn that candlepins is really a mental game, and owning your own gear really helps your concentration.

The shoes used in candlepin are exactly the same used in tenpin. The most popular brand is Dexter hands down. The good thing about Dexters is that they have styles for every price and skill level. Linds are popular among the more serious bowlers but can be very expensive. I have a nice pair of white Dexter Prodex which are in the medium price range. The Dexter SST IV's are a nice shoe but expensive. They have 4 different interchangeable sliders for varying lane conditions. A lot of new candlepin bowlers prefer to start out with an average priced Dexter sneaker type shoe.

Finding candlepin balls is a little more difficult than finding a good pair of shoes. You can definitely get them at a candlepin bowling alley, but they usually order them in for you. It is almost impossible to find a place on the internet that sells them (see my links section for one). The balls are approximately 4.5" in diameter and can be held in the palm of one hand. They are usually sold in sets of four and are available in all sorts of designs and colors. Most balls are pretty standard but you can get more expensive ones. An example would be the rubber scorpion balls which are less prone to chipping.

Some other pieces of equipment you may want to include are a hand towel to wipe off the balls. Occassionally, the alley may grease the pinsetters and the grease will leak onto the balls. This will cut down on the friction you need to get spin on the ball as you release it from your hand. The trick to candlepin is getting lots of spin as the ball leaves the tip of your fingers. If you have problems with your wrist you should also plan to invest in a good leather wrist strap to avoid further injury.

Click here for a great picture of a candlepin bowling pin and ball. This picture is from the official International Candlepin Bowling Association. To see more information from the ICBA check out Bud Case' s New Hampshire Candlepin bowling site.