gymnastic rings?

[Doughboy]

I've decided to begin (actually re-begin) training with gymnastic rings (You can see the incredible diversity of their use at Coach Sonnon's 4X7 videos at Youtube).
My question is, are there gymnastic rings that are better than others? For example, a local sports equipment store in my community offers Apollo Gym rings and I know nothing about them. I think Coach Sonnon uses Elite Gymnastic Rings in his videos (e.g. TacFit), but they are not inexpensive.

[hermanchauw]

Of course the competition grade are the best. But i don't think you need that kind of quality unless you plan to compete.

[Reverend Linus]

I have a set of Xtreme Rings and straps from Gymnastic Bodies. I am a big guy (260lbs) and they have worked quite well for me. They retail for about $60 a set - a little bit cheaper than Elite Rings. They don't have the slot for the straps to pass through, so the rings are free to turn on the straps - although I have never noticed that being a problem for me.

[Coach Jones]

Like most equipment out there - you get what you pay for in a lot of ways. Since it would just be you working with them (rather than a gym full of people) you could probably get a lot of use out of the rings at the lower end of the cost scale.

My preference is always to go for the best I can find. Mostly because I don't want to be replacing things all the time. People tend to think of fitness equipment as expensive but really almost all of it is dirt cheap when you consider how long you'll be using it (hopefully).

The trick is to buy only those things you intend to use.;)

To a large degree we've been conditioned to want to spend less and less on fitness/conditioning equipment because of all the new "latest and greatest" fitness fads out there. 2000 bucks isn't a lot to spend on a good piece of equipment that you'll use several times a week over the course of a decade - but it's an awful lot to spend on something to hang your jackets on or to hold up some old boxes.

[Doughboy]

Thank you all. Coach Jones, great insight there. The equipment I use the most actually is the elementary school playground a 100 yards from my house. My son has literally grown up there in a myriad of physical activity ways (skateboarding now). I use all the monkey-gym stuff and still, at 51, enjoy it enthusiastically.