Looking at different boule in petanque cont....

There are strict limitations to the material for approved boule and soft or hard boules are not at far ends of a scale. Soft boule are still manufactured from steel the term soft is not a truly earned tittle

There are three main materials for soft boule, Carbon steel, Stainless steel and bronze alloy. The softest was the ( no longer available ) Integrale As de Carreau, well with that name of course they were soft! Most popular now are the carbon steel and stainless steel at 110 kg/mm and then semi soft are generally 115 to 120 kg/mm. Semi soft boule are trying to create a balance between hard and soft boule. Many players have seen the advantage of soft boule but are worried the soft boule will wear out quickly. Now this is true, soft boules do wear, but the advantages are there for all to see. Clearly a high carreau rate outweighs the need to replace your boule every three years of so.

Boule has taken two misconceptions from the gentle sport of Lawn bowls. 1. In this sport the woods will last a lifetime. Well, playing on carpet or manicured lawns are very different than granite chipping's scattered on tar macadam. 2. Getting near the jack is prime importance and you should shoot or "Fire" at the end. Shooting is a waste of woods!

Petanque players know Boule will be damaged landing on hard surfaces and clashing with boule as they hit. Even landing when pointing, the soft boule will react, absorbing the impact. Some players swear by pointing with a soft boule but that is another story for another day.

*** Kg/mm is a definition of hardness. The simplest explanation is to describe how the hardness test is carried out. A diamond or hard substance in a round form is pushed into the material by a given load. The indentation size is measured and the hardness of the material is determined. I.e. the pressure of kilograms per square mm needed to indent the material to a certain amount. The lower the number the softer the material. Hence soft boule approximately 110 kg/mm semi soft to hard boule approximately 120 kg/mm