Unboxing Obut order from PetanqueAmerica

I ordered some jacks, an umpire’s folding ruler, and a set of the new Obut stainless steel leisure boules from Petanque America.

jacks
The first item in the order was several orange Obut jacks. I’d seen the orange jacks on Youtube videos and the color seemed to be easy to see. I’d describe the color as matte (not glossy) flourescent orange.


umpire’s folding ruler
The second item in the order was the Obut fiberglass folding umpire’s ruler. The best way to compare distances is with a folding ruler with an extension. The segments of an umpire’s ruler are shorter than those of a carpenter’s ruler— you can compare distances as short as 11.5cm. The ruler is marked with numbers on only one side; the reverse side is blank. The extension isn’t loose in the channel and it doesn’t bind; it has a smooth action and I’m looking forward to using it.
Click below to see larger images.

boules
The third item in the order was a set of Obut leisure boules. I was interested in getting a set because I had heard that the new Obut stainless steel leisure boules are smaller and lighter than Obut’s older line of chromed carbon steel leisure boules.

The boules came in a nice cardboard box, similar to the box used to package competition boules. The box described itself as a “ready to petanque” set, and in the box, in addition to the three boules, I found an Obut jack (varnished but not painted) and a light cloth bag for carrying the boules.
Click below to see larger images.

The boules themselves all measure very close to 73mm in diameter (vs 74mm for the old chromed boules) so they are indeed a bit smaller than the old chromed boules. The old chromed boules averaged about 625g per boule. The new stainless steel boules average about 650g per boule, which now puts them in the valid range for competition boules.

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