Here is my review on the silicon ring game.
Last September as I was hiking through the woods searching for deer I found myself on a step mountain side, as I walked slowly I lost traction and reached for the closest thing I could find to help stop my fall down the side. I reached for a tree and as my hand slid across the bark my ring got snagged on a broken branch. I felt my skin start to pull and all I could think about was a friend who earlier that month slipped and got his ring caught. I remember seeing pictures of the skin pulled off his bone, he had ring avulsion. If you don’t know what this is its when the skin from your finger peels off your bone like a banana.
As I felt my finger getting caught and pulling I suddenly felt it give way, it gave way because I just made the switch to silicone rings. As the ring broke off it left my finger and skin intact I decided from that day forward that I would only wear a silicone ring while out in the field. But now it came time to find which one was the best. With many different ring companies out there, which one would fit my active life style.
Many said, “Why were a ring at all?”
Because when I made a commitment to my wife to be true to her forever, she slipped a ring on my finger. She did this in front of our family and friends, and I want to Honor that day.
I decided to try out both of the biggest brands out there Qalo & Groove rings and give them a real run. I put one of each ring on each hand for 2 months and switched them half way through to the other hand, just to get a real test, Here is what I came up with. I am going to break down this review into 5 categories.
Fit & Feel:
Qalo:
When you first open the Qalo package you’ll notice the rings are very thick and firm with hard edges. When you first put them on you can feel the thickness. This thickness doesn’t bother me to much, but its still there. I also noticed the true to fit is about a ring size off. I am a 12 and wear an 11 in Qalo. When I had my 12 on it would slip around, and being a rubber ring this drove me nuts.
Groove:
The Softness is what first caught my attention right out of the package. Very thin and pliable with rounded soft edges. I noticed that under the groove rings they had their logo and little grooves, I was worried that that would rub and I would be able to feel it. It did not and I came to love those little “Grooves”, ill explain in hygiene. Once the ring is on it feels like you’re wearing nothing at all. The fit is true. When I wear a 12, I wear a 12.
Durability:
Being a chef, hunter and fisherman I put them through the runners with blood, kitchen abuse, cleaners, salt water, fish guts. You name it in the outdoors and they got put through it.
Qalo:
Being thicker that Groove Qalo held up great. Once you find a ring size that is true, it docent move. In this category both rings preformed almost the same. Once thing I noticed with qalo though is that when I was climbing around rocks after a fallen deer, it tended to take just a little more damage. Damage in the for of scratched and chips. But all in all it still preformed.
Groove:
Again, like I said above each ring held up perfect. The big difference what that with groove rings I noticed is that with the thinner make up, it wasn’t getting caught as much on the rocks, trees or pockets. It felt like I was not wearing a ring at all. Groove also has a smoother surface, so it did not get those chips and scratches as Qalo did.
Hygiene: Breathability
This is where groove out preformed Qalo in leaps and bounds.
Qalo:
Being thicker and not having any room for sweat, blood, fish slim and such to leave from under the ring, I noticed it would just sit under the ring touching my finger. This caused many rashes on my skin, so much so that I was going to stop wearing the Qalo ring. I noticed a rash from where my finger was sweating, I would have to take off after I washed my hand and dry were the ring was. Being in the kitchen and always washing my hands, this was a huge hassle. The rash really was awful. I noticed this was a complaint with others who wear Qalo also.
Groove:
Huge difference right off the bat, groove has… wait for it.. Grooves. On the under side of each groove ring it has a groove. (See Picture). This small design changes the game for the silicon ring game. When you’re living the active lifestyle and sweat, water, blood, dirt or anything else that gets under your ring follows those little channels and leaves from under ring which helps keep it dryer and cleaner under the ring. I noticed that doing the same activities while Qalo left a rash and skin like I had been in a pool for days, groove did not. The only thing I can think of is it has to be the grooves.
Price point:
The average price is listed below, With each ring company they have special designs, and colors that differ in price. Below are the prices for their best sellers in men and women styles. Groove has a little higher staring point, but lower price for their specialty designs.
Qalo:
Men: 24.95- 29.95
Woman: 24.95- 39.95
Groove:
Men: 29.95-34.95
Woman: 29.95- 34.95
Stretch:
This to be is second on the list of importance when it comes to silicon rings next to hygiene.
Qalo:
The second biggest flaw other than hygiene I found with Qalo is the stretch. When you wear your QALO ring it tends to start stretching out over time, so much so that in the 2 months I wore it, it was almost 1/2 a size bigger and started to slip around on my finger.
Groove:
Since the trail I have been wearing my groove ring, the same ring now for over 6 months and it hasn’t stretched one bit. Its still the same size since day one. This is huge for me, I know its only a $30 dollar ring, but if you’re dumbing $30 bucks every 3 months for a ring to stay on your finger that adds up quick.
If I had to choose one ring to wear in the woods, kitchen or on the water it wold have to Groove. I choose it for two reason, one is the hygiene and two is the fit and feel. Don’t trust me, get one of each ring and try it out yourself.
Here are my two favorite groove styles.
Jeremiah Doughty
I love my Groove ring !!
bowlfrogg@gmail.com, thank you for this post. Its very inspiring.helpwithmath
It works quite well for me
Wow ! That was wroth a read. Thank you much for sharing !