Decathlon, the maker of Geologic, closed its last two US stores in March 2022, and its US website lists no pétanque boules. Its Geologic range is sold in Canada, which is why American and Canadian buyers get different recommendations.
In the US, start with the La Franc TR Leisure at about $62, or go straight to the Obut Match at about $119 if you already know you will keep playing.
  1. Where the brands are sold
  2. Two practical checks
  3. What to buy
  4. Sand-filled sets
  5. Diameter, weight and hardness
  6. Common questions
The market

Where the brands are sold

Of the four picks below, three are sold in the United States and one, the Geologic Alpha, in Canada.

The United States: the French brands and La Franc

Obut, MS Pétanque, La Boule Bleue and Toro Petank are all sold in the United States, and so is La Franc. Decathlon does not sell Geologic, its own brand, there.

Anything outside those brands means importing from France. That adds international shipping to the price and time to the wait.

Canada: Geologic too

Decathlon sells its Geologic range in Canada, from about 18 Canadian dollars for a three-boule leisure set to about 100 for its semi-soft Sigma competition set.

That is why the cheapest approved recommendation differs between the two countries.

Watch for two prices on the same boule

Most competition models sell at two prices: a standard one for common sizes and a higher made-to-order one for everything else. The MS Pétanque STRX Inox is about $219 in common sizes and about $329 made to order in the United States.

The higher price buys the exact size and weight you want. If a common size fits your hand, the standard set is the same boule for less.

Pétanque, once a month

New reviews, price changes, club spotlights and events across the US, Canada and Mexico.

Free. One click to leave.

Before you order

Two practical checks

Obut says its stainless leisure and junior boules do not work with a magnet.

Check the magnet

Obut says the JB Vintage, the Tour de France set, its Lisse leisure set, the Junior Espace and the Match IT Minimes do not work with a magnet. The carbon steel Obut Match and Decathlon’s Geologic Alpha, Sigma and Recreational 500 can all be lifted with one.

If bending down is the reason you wanted a lifter, this decides the purchase. A hook-and-lanyard lifter works on any boule.

Check where the price comes from

Euro prices quoted for Obut’s leisure range are real, but they are French prices. Obut sells the JB Vintage at 58 euros and the Tour de France set at 68 euros, and its free delivery applies only within metropolitan France.

Shipping to North America comes on top. Obut’s Lisse and patterned leisure sets sell for about $78 in the United States, which is the fairer comparison.

Four recommendations

What to buy

Four sets, each the best answer to a different question, with prices checked in September 2026.

Best first set in the US: La Franc TR Leisure, about $62

Three carbon steel leisure boules from La Franc, whose SM, SP, SB and SS-01 competition models are on the FIPJP list of approved labels. Carbon steel is magnetic, so a magnetic lifter picks them up.

The TR itself is a leisure boule and cannot be used in a sanctioned competition. La Franc publishes no specification sheet of its own for it, so confirm the size and weight before ordering and budget for a jack.

Best step up in the US: Obut Match, about $119

An approved Obut competition boule made in France, half-soft at over 120 kg/mm2, in 71 to 76 mm and 650 to 730 g with a three-year guarantee. It is 93 euros in France and about $119 in the United States.

If you already know you will keep playing, start here instead of buying twice. It is carbon steel, so it needs oiling, and La Franc’s approved SM, SP and SB sets cost less at about $89 to $95.

Best buy in Canada: Geologic Alpha, about 80 Canadian dollars

Decathlon’s own approved competition set, on the FIPJP label list and sold directly from its maker in Canada. It is the least expensive approved set on this page.

It is carbon steel at 45 HRC, which Decathlon calls hard and aims at pointers, in 72 or 74 mm at 690 or 710 g. The semi-soft Geologic Sigma, at 39 HRC and about 100 Canadian dollars, suits a middle player better.

Best for a child: Obut Match IT Minimes, about $69

Obut’s approved junior boule, on the FIPJP label list at 65 mm and 510 g, for license holders aged eleven and under. It is 52 euros in France and about $69 in the United States.

The Obut Junior Espace at about $59 is the leisure alternative at 64 mm and 500 g. Neither is magnetic.

One thing to avoid

Sand-filled sets

FIPJP rules require a boule to be hollow and to contain no lead, sand or mercury.

What is in them

Some of the cheapest steel sets are a steel shell filled with sand. Decathlon’s composition panel for its six-boule Geologic leisure set, about 40 Canadian dollars, reads 100 percent sand filling, and its smooth three-boule leisure set reads the same.

Check the composition line before buying any low-priced set. If it lists a filling, the boule is not hollow.

What the rules say

Article 2 of the FIPJP rules says the boule must be hollow and must not contain any filling material, for example lead, sand or mercury. A player who breaks that condition is disqualified from the competition together with their partners.

That does not make them bad garden equipment. It does mean they can never become anything else.

The hollow alternative

The Geologic Recreational 500 sells for about 70 Canadian dollars in a single 73 mm size at 660 g. Decathlon says it is made and checked just like its competition sets, and its composition lists no filling.

It still carries no approval, so it is a better garden boule rather than a competition one. A magnetic lifter picks it up.

Choosing

Diameter, weight and hardness

The FIPJP allows 70.5 to 80 mm, 650 to 800 g and 35 to 55 HRC for a competition boule.

Diameter

Obut notes that men commonly play 74 to 75 mm and women 72 to 73 mm. A pointer tends to prefer a smaller boule for placement and a shooter a larger one for an easier release.

MS Pétanque puts pointers at 71 to 74 mm and shooters at 73 to 76 mm. The boule selector suggests a size from your hand and your style.

Weight

The legal range is 650 to 800 g. MS Pétanque publishes guidance that travels well across brands: 680 to 700 g for shooters, 680 to 720 g for middle players and 710 to 720 g for pointers.

A beginner who does not yet know their role can start between 680 and 700 g, where the shooter and middle ranges overlap.

Hardness, and why the numbers disagree

The federation tests hardness on the Rockwell C scale, and its own text sets the 35 HRC floor at 110 kg/mm2. The kg/mm2 figures makers print are conversions of the Rockwell number.

Those conversions are not standardized. La Boule Bleue equates 110 kg/mm2 with about 34 HRC and Toro Petank with 36 HRC, so comparing two brands on that number alone does not work.

Common questions

Questions about the Best pétanque sets for beginners

The La Franc TR Leisure, at about $62. It is carbon steel from a maker with approved competition models, and a magnetic lifter will pick it up.

It is a leisure set, so it cannot be used in a sanctioned competition. Budget a little extra for a jack.

Sand-filled sets. Decathlon’s six-boule Geologic leisure set lists 100 percent sand filling, and the FIPJP rules require a boule to be hollow and free of lead, sand or mercury.

A player who uses one in sanctioned play is disqualified along with their partners. They are fine for a garden and can never be anything else.

No. A leisure set is the right first purchase for most people, and the La Franc TR costs about half the price of an Obut Match.

Buy a competition set once you know you will keep playing, or if you intend to enter anything sanctioned.

In the US, La Franc’s approved SM at about $89. The Obut Match at about $119 is the pick for its published specifications, French manufacture and three-year guarantee.

In Canada, the Geologic Alpha at about 80 Canadian dollars is cheaper still.

Not from its maker. Decathlon closed its last two US stores in March 2022, and its US website lists no pétanque boules.

Decathlon sells the Geologic range in Canada, which is why the Canadian recommendation differs.

They are good sets, but the prices quoted around the web are French. Obut sells the JB Vintage at 58 euros and the Tour de France set at 68 euros, and its free delivery applies only within metropolitan France.

A North American buyer pays international shipping on top. Obut leisure sets sold in the United States run about $78, and none of these stainless sets is magnetic.

It depends on the steel. Obut says its stainless leisure sets, the Junior Espace and the Match IT Minimes do not work with a magnet.

The carbon steel Obut Match, the La Franc TR and Decathlon’s Geologic sets all work with a lifter. Check before buying if you rely on a lifter.

If they play casually, the Obut Junior Espace at about $59. If they have joined a club and might enter something, the Obut Match IT Minimes at about $69.

About ten dollars is the whole difference between a set that is legal for junior competition and one that is not.

How this was verified

Specifications come from the maker and the federation, and prices are the going rate in September 2026, not a quote from any seller. Where a maker and the trade disagree, the review says so rather than picking the tidier number.