How to choose CIRCUS DIVISION aerial silks

Start with four questions

CIRCUS DIVISION sells one professional silk, designed and made in Italy: 100% polyester, treated to reduce longitudinal stretch and to give a secure grip. You do not choose between “beginner fabric” and “pro fabric”. You choose the cut, the width and the hardware that match a structure a qualified person has already checked.

1. How high is the verified anchor point, measured from the floor?
2. Do you need the standard silk (160 cm) or the SLIM silk (130 cm)?
3. Will you attach to a concrete ceiling, a beam you can wrap, a wooden beam you can screw into, or do you already have a hook?
4. Do you want a ready kit, or an exact length cut by the metre?

This page does not replace a class. Play sells aerial silks for trained people, or for beginners under a competent teacher. Always put a certified fall mattress under the silk. Never train alone. Have a professional confirm that the ceiling or beam can take a dynamic aerial load before you order an anchor kit.

The right length

Play lists silks as the total length, end to end. You fold the fabric in half and hang it from the middle, so the working length is a little under half. Specialist circus suppliers use the same convention: if another brand sells “working length”, do not mix the two numbers.

The official Play formula accounts for the knot (about 0.5 m) and about 1 m of fabric on the floor for wraps:

L = (H × 2) + 2 m

H is the height of the anchor point from the floor. Example: hook at 4 m → 8 + 2 = 10 m of silk.

Verified anchor height	Silk to order
2.5 m	7 m
3 m	8 m
3.5 m	9 m
4 m	10 m
4.5 m	11 m
5 m	12 m
5.5 m	13 m
6 m	14 m
7 m	16 m
8 m	18 m

These are typical working heights used by circus schools and specialist retailers — they are not a Play “approved height” rating:

• Around 3 m of anchor height (about 8 m of silk) is a common starting height for supervised beginners: climbs, foot locks and a large part of the basic vocabulary.
• Dynamic drops need more air. Retailers who supply schools often speak of about 7 m of working height.
• The French circus-school federation (FFEC) publishes 6.50 m as a reference height for professional performance.

A silk that is too long can be shortened at the hook. A silk that is too short cannot be stretched. If you work in several venues, buy for the highest verified point. If the length you need is not in the 6–12 m or 13–20 m ranges, order standard silk by the metre or SLIM silk by the metre.

Standard 160 cm or SLIM 130 cm

Same fabric family, same treatment, one difference: how much material you close in the hand. Play developed the SLIM width after teachers asked for a silk that people with smaller hands can grip without fighting the bundle.

	Standard	SLIM
Width	160 cm (item CDASK)	130 cm (item CDASKS)
Typical user	Most adults; the default silk in circus schools	Smaller hands, children, anyone still building grip strength
Feel in the hand	More fabric to close; the usual “school” bundle	A smaller bundle, easier to hold closed on the climb
Shop	Aerial silks	SLIM aerial silks

If you buy for a mixed class, stock both. Width is not a skill-level badge: professionals with small hands use SLIM; beginners with large hands use standard.

What this fabric actually is

Circus Division silks are 100% polyester, treated to reduce longitudinal stretch. Play’s own copy, and circus schools that train on this fabric, describe a thicker, grippier cloth than a slick decorative fabric: climbs take less effort, and a slip is easier to control. That is the point of a professional silk, for initiation and for performance.

Play does not sell separate “low / medium / high stretch” silks. Some English-speaking retailers do, and they will tell you that more stretch cushions drops but costs more energy on the climb. A stretch percentage printed on a hanging silk also changes with the person’s mass, the drop and the remaining length, so it is a poor number to shop by. Choose Play for the certified fabric and the grip; choose length and width for your body and your room.

• Working load limit of the standard silk: 150 daN (about 150 kg). Breaking load limit: 1350 daN.
• Certification: European standard UNI EN 913:2019.
• Machine wash at 30 °C. Store dry.
• Maximum use: 3 years or 300 hours. Inspection by a skilled person every 12 months or 100 hours, recorded on the life sheet.

The load of the system is always the weakest link: plate, bolts, beam, connector, hook. Read the aerial silks technical specifications before you install.

The hook is not optional

Fold the silk in half and fix it on the CIRCUS DIVISION aerial-silk hook with a clove hitch (nodo barcaiolo). The hook is a cylindrical, silicone-coated stainless-steel core with no welds and no exposed metal. It keeps the two tails apart and spreads the load so the fabric is not crushed at the knot.

A thin climbing figure-8, or any hardware with sharp edges, is a common cause of holes at the tie-off. Circus riggers warn that it can cut the life of a silk dramatically. If you do not already own a dedicated silk hook, buy it with the fabric — the ready kits already include it.

Details and load values: hook technical specifications.

Which anchor matches your ceiling

Warning: always have an experienced professional confirm that the ceiling or beam is suitable. Stair treads, curtain poles, untested trees and domestic furniture are not anchor points.

Your structure	What to order
Concrete ceiling	Silk + hook + ceiling plate with throughbolts. The 12 cm plate is sized for the joist spacing found in many domestic ceilings. For a multi-point concrete system, use an Agile concrete kit.
Wooden beam you can screw into	The same plate, supplied with wood screws.
Exposed beam you can wrap	Silk + hook + beam kit (80 cm polyester truck loop + autolocking carabiner). No drilling.
You already have a verified hook	Silk only, cut to the formula.
No suitable ceiling or beam	A free-standing aerial rig (TP420 / TP560 / TP700), checked on a suitable floor.

Plate details: anchor plate technical specifications.

Ready kit or cut by the metre

A ready kit is the shortest path if your length falls in a listed range. Each kit is the same certified silk plus the hardware for one type of room.

• Silk only — 6–12 m or 13–20 m, standard or SLIM.
• Silk + hook — you already have a verified connector on the structure.
• Silk + hook + ceiling plate — concrete or wooden ceiling.
• Silk + hook + beam kit — wrap around an exposed beam.
• By the metre — exact length from the formula, or a spare cut for a school.

Browse standard silks and kits or SLIM silks and kits.

By situation, not by “level”

Home, after real lessons

Choose width by the hands that will climb, not by the word “beginner”. Choose the kit by the ceiling a professional has approved. Start at a modest verified height. Put a certified mattress on the fall path. Never train alone.

Circus school or studio

Standard 160 cm is the usual class silk. Keep SLIM for youth groups and small hands. Inspect every 12 months or 100 hours, record the life sheet, and withdraw a silk at 3 years / 300 hours or at the first hole, burn or thinning. A spare silk avoids cancelling a class.

Already training drops

You do not need a different Play model. You need more verified height and a structure rated for dynamic load. The fabric stays the same; the room changes.

Before you add to cart

• A professional has approved the structure.
• Length comes from L = (H × 2) + 2 m.
• Width is standard 160 cm or SLIM 130 cm.
• You have a CIRCUS DIVISION hook, or it is in the kit.
• The anchor kit matches concrete, wood screws or a wrap-around beam.
• A certified fall mattress will sit under the silk.
• A teacher or other competent person will supervise.

Next: technical specifications · standard silks · SLIM silks · hook · ceiling plate