Traditional metal rings can be a liability for anyone who works or plays rough, which is why we found the best silicone rings for folks with an active lifestyle. In total, our fingers have hosted nearly 20 different silicone bands, which have been on a variety of different hands across the country in wet, dry, and downright dirty conditions.
Our lead tester, Paul Mandell, is a certified strength coach. He’s tested rings for more than 3 years while lifting weights at the gym, climbing, swimming, paddling, cooking, woodworking, and living daily life. To rank these rings, we compared them based on their design, fit, style, and price and have settled on two hands’ worth of the best available today.
Top picks like the Groove Life Nomad are excellent options when you don’t want to beat up your traditional wedding ring, and budget choices like the ROQ Rings get the job done when working with heavy machinery. With the variety of colors and styles available, it’s easy to see why so many folks are turning to them.
Check out our comprehensive Buyer’s Guide and Price & Value section for helpful tips on choosing your own, and have a look at our Comparison Chart to steer your decision-making. Or, scroll through to see all of our recommended buys — there’s sure to be a ring that’ll suit your needs.
Editor’s Note: We updated our Silicone Ring guide on October 10, 2024, to add a new Price & Value section to help guide your purchase decisions. We also added details on our in-house pull-testing, where we challenge these rings until they break.
The Best Silicone Rings of 2024
- Best Overall Men’s Silicone Ring: Groove Life Nomad
- Best Overall Women’s Silicone Ring: QALO Women’s Stackables
- Best Budget Silicone Ring: ROQ Rings
- Most Durable Silicone Ring: Groove Life Zeus Step
- Most Breathable Silicone Ring: Egnaro Inner Arc Ring
- Best Stackable Silicone Ring: ThunderFit Women’s Stackable & Thin
- Materials: Silicone
- Warranty: 94-year 'No BS' guarantee
- Sizes: 7-14
- Tensile Strength: 32 lbs.
- Width: 8 mm
Pros
- Some of the best nature-inspired prints we've seen
- Texture doesn't pick up debris
- Breathability grooves
- Wildly long 94-year warranty
Cons
- Not the widest size range
- On the pricier side for silicone rings
QALO Women’s Stackables
- Materials: Silicone
- Warranty: One-time replacement for life
- Sizes: 5-9
- Tensile Strength: 15 lbs.
- Width: 3.3 mm
Pros
- Highly durable
- Lots of colors and styles are available
- Not too bulky on smaller fingers
- Cheap enough to grab a few to mix and match
Cons
- Certain styles feel overly thick
- Lowest tensile strength in our testing, but still pretty tough
ROQ Rings
- Materials: 100% medical-grade silicone
- Warranty: Yes, 365-day money-back guarantee
- Sizes: 7-16
- Tensile Strength: 19.6 lbs.
- Width: 8 mm
Pros
- Affordable price
- Durable with a good tensile strength
- Sold in 4-7 ring multi packs with different patterns and colors
Cons
- ROQ offers fewer colors and designs than other brands, with most being gray or black
- Not the longest warranty out there
Groove Life Zeus Step Ring
- Materials: 100% medical grade silicone
- Warranty: Yes, lifetime
- Sizes: 8-14
- Tensile Strength: 32 lbs.
- Width: 9 mm
Pros
- Comfortable
- Unique colorful designs
- Impressive 94-year warranty
- Non-porous silicone doesn't stain
Cons
- More expensive than other options
- A little wider than some rings, may not work for smaller fingers
Egnaro Inner Arc Ring
- Materials: Premium silicone
- Warranty: 30-day money back guarantee
- Sizes: 7-14
- Tensile Strength: 20 lbs.
- Width: 10 mm
Pros
- Breathable channels and bevel keep grime from building up
- Comfortable fit with little stretch over time
- Quietly stylish
- Good value for the price
Cons
- No lifetime warranty
- Wider 10 mm width is a bit chunky on some hands
ThunderFit Stackable & Thin Women’s Ring
- Materials: 100% medical-grade silicone
- Warranty: Exchanges for defective or damaged rings
- Sizes: 3.5-12
- Tensile Strength: 40 lbs.
- Width: 2.5 mm
Pros
- Many different textures, styles, and colors
- Thin profile stacks well
- Good value in a selection of 7
- Available in very small sizes
Cons
- Thinner diameter might cause premature wear
- Not a no-questions-asked replacement warranty
Ridge Silicone Ring Set
- Materials: 850A silicone
- Warranty: 'Never Lost and Forever Fit Protection' with 2x free replacements
- Sizes: 6-14
- Tensile Strength: N/A
- Width: 6 or 8 mm
Pros
- Comes in a set of 2 rings
- Travel case is a secure place to stash the rings
- Two free replacements should equate to a lifetime of use
- Available in two different widths
Cons
- On the pricier side
- Only 5 monochrome colorways, no designs or patterns
- Materials: Silicone
- Warranty: Limited lifetime for manufacturer defect
- Sizes: 4-16
- Tensile Strength: N/A
- Width: 8 mm
Pros
- Stylish engraved designs
- Can have custom inside engraving done
- Available with optional gold/silver ink inlay
Cons
- Warranty is not as robust as other manufacturers
- Bit pricey when other rings offer more patterns
- Not very breathable
- Materials: "Premium" silicone
- Warranty: Yes, lifetime
- Sizes: 5-14
- Tensile Strength: 17 lbs.
- Width: 2.5; 4.3; 6.6 mm
Pros
- Realistic precious metal designs infused with real mineral
- Lots of unique novelty designs to choose from
- Available in three different widths
Cons
- Not the most durable
- Warranty replacement costs $5 to ship
- Materials: "Top grade hypoallergenic" silicone
- Warranty: Yes, for damage or defects
- Sizes: 5.5-14, available in half sizes
- Tensile Strength: 43 lbs.
- Width: 10 mm
Pros
- Available as single or in selection packs
- Rings come in a wide range of colors and sizes
- Good breathability under the ring
Cons
- Not the most durable, will stretch faster than some
- No replacement warranty
- Materials: Silicone
- Warranty: Yes, for damage or defects
- Sizes: 4-15
- Tensile Strength: 20-30 lbs.
- Width: 3; 6; 9 mm
Pros
- Custom engraving available
- Metallic pigment is mixed directly with the silicone and will not fade
- Available in three different widths
- Made in USA
Cons
- Not the most durable, minor stretch over time
- No replacement outside of defects
- Religious engraved text on each ring
Silicone Rings Comparison Chart
| Silicone Ring | Price | Materials | Warranty | Sizes | Tensile Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groove Life Nomad | $35 | Silicone | 94-year ‘No BS’ warranty | 7-14 | 32 lbs. |
| QALO Women’s Stackables | $14 | Silicone | One-time replacement for life | 5-9 | 15 lbs. |
| ROQ Rings | $7-17 | 100% medical-grade silicone | 365-day money-back guarantee | 7-16 | 19.6 lbs. |
| Groove Life Zeus Step Ring | $55 | 100% medical grade silicone | 94-year ‘No BS’ warranty | 8-14 | 32 lbs. |
| Egnaro Inner Arc Ring | $26 | Silicone | 30-day money-back guarantee | 7-14 | 20 lbs. |
| ThunderFit Stackable & Thin Women’s Ring | $12 | 100% medical-grade silicone | Yes, for damage or defects | 3.5-12 | 40 lbs. |
| Ridge Silicone Ring Set | $65 | 850A silicone | 2x free replacements | 6-14 | N/A |
| Knot Theory Silicone Ring | $32 | Silicone | Perfect fit guarantee | 4-16 | 101 lbs. |
| Enso Rings | $40 | Silicone | Yes, lifetime | 5-14 | 17 lbs. |
| ThunderFit Breathable Men’s Ring | $10 | “Top grade hypoallergenic” silicone | Yes, for damage or defects | 5.5-14 | 43 lbs. |
| SafeRingz | $25-33 | Silicone | Yes, for damage or defects | 4-15 | 20-30 lbs. |
How We Tested the Best Silicone Rings
Traditional metal rings are simply not practical for people who work and play outside. The GearJunkie team is composed of hunters, anglers, climbers, and other folks who can’t stand the hassle of constantly removing and reinstating a metal wedding band. From a safety perspective, we feel a lot better knowing our ring could tear away without taking a finger with it.
Many of us have been wearing silicone rings long before we began intentionally testing them for this roundup. We’ve owned certain rings through multiple years of heavy active use, from washing dishes to tying flies.
While testing a variety of rings, we carefully assessed their comfort, durability, aesthetics, and overall value. And once we’ve got a good feel for them, we even pull-test the rings to ensure that they break when they say they will.
Field Testing
We test these rings in the gym, at the rock climbing crag, and while working on our rigs — all commonplace arenas where a silicone ring makes more sense than a metal one. Because we’ve got 10 fingers a piece, we most often tested rings side-by-side (to some fabulous results) and were able to gauge relative performance such as breathability, fit, and stretch.
In order to get a good sense of overall durability (because besides breaking, the second thing a silicone ring does is stretch), we wore each of these rings for at least 1 month and also tested them with folks of all sizes and preferences. In the end, these rings got the real deal of daily usage to challenge them.
Bench Testing
The greatest cause a silicone ring can ever be called to is to break, and we designed a bench test to challenge this and ensure that each of these rings fails when they are supposed to. By adding pound by pound to our pull-test, we are able to challenge these rings until they yield and ground truth the tensile strength numbers they tout.
After careful consideration, we’re confident that this list is composed of the best silicone rings on the market today. And what’s more: we’re constantly continuing our search for the one true ring to rule them all and will keep testing as new bands hit the market to keep our list finely tuned.
Why You Should Trust Us
Based in Bishop, Calif., lead tester Paul Mandell is a certified strength coach who holds a Master’s in Kinesiology and assists climbers, skiers, and cyclists in refining their movement to become better and safer athletes.
Mandell is no stranger to the weight room and has seen enough near-misses to understand the importance of protecting your fingers when it counts. Throughout his testing, Mandell has put these rings ‘through the ringer,’ in a variety of situations — from the weight room to the crag, mountain biking, fishing, and doing some heavy-duty mechanical work on his truck.
He worked through the full rotation and carefully assessed fit and function in a variety of situations where folks might opt to pocket a ring instead of keeping it on, and surprisingly, didn’t lose any (though one did break).
Besides Mandell’s constant testing, we also field rings to the rest of the GearJunkie crew, ensuring we get a solid spread of experiences and with folks who use them for different reasons. Senior Editor Nick Belcaster most often leans on silicone rings when he’s elbow-deep in fixing his truck (and doesn’t want to feel the nip of a strut compressing his fingers again), and Managing Editor Matt Bento challenges these rings when ascending the splitter granite above his home base in Bishop, CA.
Buyer’s Guide: How to Choose a Silicone Ring
Before we dig into silicone rings, a brief tale of the why behind these stretchy jewelry solutions:
Degloving is a gnarly word, and even a close call can be a scary experience, which typically happens a little something like this: You head out to the local bouldering crag for some casual after-class laps. You’re in a rush to get some decompression time, and forget to remove your ring before you hop on the route. And before you know it, your finger is stuck in a crack, 10 feet off the deck.
Super stressed and trying desperately to get unstuck before falling with your finger still in the crack, you start yarding. Stuck. Eventually, you pull so hard that when you do pop free, you take a wobbler backward off the problem with enough force to completely miss the pads. Whew.
Silicone rings aim to prevent this type of accident, snapping before any true damage can occur to your finger. And while safety is the number one goal, there are also a number of considerations beyond that when you’re looking for a silicone ring. Below, you’ll find a few helpful points to help guide your decision and find the best option for you.
Comfort & Fit
Rubber wedding bands set the standard for comfort, and most among us prefer them over traditional metal rings. We like how flexible and lightweight they are.
That said, you’ll need to make sure you get the right ring size for a perfect fit. Each manufacturer has a size guide to help ensure a snug yet comfortable-fitting ring. Unlike a traditional ring, you can easily return it should you get the wrong size, and the pliable material is more forgiving. Silicone rings are much easier to remove when your fingers are swollen after a long hike than a metal ring.
Hypoallergenic Nature
Silicone ring manufacturers will use a number of different terms for their silicone, including medical grade, premium, and hypoallergenic. Silicone rubber itself is generally regarded as biocompatible, meaning that the majority of people will not have a reaction when in contact with it. Many people have difficulties with certain metals used in rings, such as copper turning their skin green, and silicone is a great alternative.
There are still a small number of people who will have an allergic reaction to silicone, which is experienced as a rash or irritation beneath the ring. You may also encounter a rash from trapped debris underneath a ring, and if this occurs to you often, choose a breathable ring like the Egnaro Inner Arc or ThunderFit Breathable Men’s Ring.
Stretchiness
A little bit of stretchiness makes the silicone band more comfortable. But too much, and you’ll have trouble with slippage and fit. That’s why proper sizing is still an important factor when selecting a ring. Quality rings from brands like QALO and Groove Life allow for a comfortable amount of stretch without losing their shape or coming off when you don’t want them to.
One tester found that a ring from Groove Life fit securely on his ring finger, but he could also slide it comfortably on his thumb. While we’re a bit hesitant about the thumb ring stylistically, this does illustrate the stretch of a properly fitted silicone ring.
All the rings listed above have a bit of stretch. However, we did find the Enso rings eventually stretched too much after several months of hard wear.
Sizing
Finding your ring size doesn’t need to involve a trip to the jeweler. There are a variety of paper templates available for download with a simple Google search. Once you’ve found a template, make sure to set your printer to the correct format (usually there are instructions on the correct setting included on the template) and print it out. Cut out the sizing chart, slip it around your finger, and pull it snug — you’ve got your size!
It is important to note that there are different sizing standards for each country. In the U.S. and U.K., sizing runs from 5 to 12, and you’ll need to convert accordingly. As an example, Paul’s measurement is approximately 65 mm, corresponding to a size 11 band.
Some sizing charts will do the conversion for you and read your ring size instead of millimeters or centimeters. Additionally, most of the manufacturer’s websites include guidance on sizing or a template to ensure a good fit.,
Thickness
A thick or thin ring is really a matter of preference. The rings listed here range from 2.5 to 8 mm, and we liked them for different reasons. Several brands offer thin, stackable rings that you can mix and match or purchase together in a set.
The thicker rings tend to last longer and fit larger hands more comfortably. They also provide a little more real estate to display cool patterns and beveled edges. Our smaller testers mostly preferred rings under 5.5 mm.
Engraving
Just like metal rings and bands, silicone rings can also be engraved with an important date or name. These personalized offerings are typically only available from the manufacturer, and to date, the following currently offer the service: Knot Theory, QALO, Groove Life, Enso Rings, and SafeRingz.
Rings can often be engraved on both the inside and the outside of the ring and can also host different fonts and characters. Get creative and make your ring your own.
Variety
We love a good artisan-made silver ring, but when it comes to variety at a great price, it’s hard to beat a silicone band. Whether you’re looking for a customizable wedding band, a cute stackable ring, or something in a wildly different color, you can find just what you need.
Whether you’re looking for an understated men’s ring to replace a traditional wedding band or just a fun piece of everyday jewelry, the variety of silicone rings available will suit almost anyone.
Durability
Obviously, you want your ring to last. Silicone rings are more prone to stretching or tearing than a traditional metal band, and in some cases, this could be why you choose silicone over a metal band. In our 2 years of testing, we found the QALO silicone ring has held up great and has hit all the marks for comfort and durability.
Choosing a silicone wedding band can also prolong the shine and luster of your actual metal wedding band should you choose to wear the silicone ring as your daily driver and save your expensive ring or family heirloom for special occasions only.
Warranty
When buying something that is technically supposed to break (should something go wrong), it can be nice to know that many silicone ring manufacturers offer warranties on their rings for replacement. The coverages vary — for example, brands such as Enso Rings offer a lifetime warranty with no questions asked.
Others, like Knot Theory, only offer replacement in instances of manufacturing defects. If you’re going to be wearing your ring through the worst of it, consider choosing one with a lifetime replacement warranty.
Price & Value
Silicone rings are pretty simple things, which is why there is typically isn’t as wide of a spread when it comes to paying for them. As cheap as $7 (and as spendy as $65), what you’re moreso paying for as the price goes up are better warranties, more detailed patterns and designs, and additional rings.
Budget
Budget silicone rings abound, with options as cheap as $5 offering a subpar product that will stretch relatively quickly. The ROQ Rings ($7-17) rings ask a bit more, but you get a much higher quality ring for the deal. The colors are more often monotone (with some dual-tone versions), but we did appreciate that these rings come in packs of 4 or 7.
Thunderfit is another budget brand, and both its Breathable Men’s Ring ($10) and Stackable & Thin Women’s Ring ($12) and quality options with a good selection of colors and selections, but you won’t get a free replacement here — only for manufacturer defects.
Mid-Tier
Paying just a bit more gets you a good bit, with $20 to $40 getting you engraved options, different width versions, and more realistic metallic color schemes that incorporate real precious metals. The Groove Life Nomad ($35) is offered in a wide range of different patterns, and also gives you a 94-year no-questions-asked replacement warranty.
Paying a bit more can also get you more intricately designed rings, like the breathable Egnaro Inner Arc Ring ($26) or the engravable Knot Theory Silicone Ring ($32).
Premium
Spending more than $50 means you’re pretty much set for life on silicone rings. Premium options like the Ridge Silicone Ring Set ($65) already come with two rings included (one for gym or casual, and one a bit more dressed up) but also provide two free replacements over the lifetime of the rings.
The Groove Life Zeus Step Ring ($55) also offers a free replacement, but it isn’t likely you will lose it due to wear and tear: the reinforced ring in the Zeus means it doesn’t stretch at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are numerous reasons you should consider a silicone ring. First, we like how affordable they are. With a range of $6 to $50, you don’t have to panic if you lose it.
Second, they’re great for active lifestyles. Whether you regularly go climbing, lift weights at the gym, or operate machinery, a silicone ring is a safer option.
Third, they’re comfortable and stylish. They come in a range of colors and designs. And we have found the lightweight, flexible design is superior to traditional metal bands.
Definitely. We’ve worn ours nonstop while swimming, running, climbing, hiking, sleeping, working, and traveling.
You may choose to remove yours at night or during specific activities out of personal preference. But after 2 years of testing, we’ve found you can certainly wear a silicone ring every day.
Ring avulsion, also known as degloving, is pretty darn terrifying. Basically, it means your ring gets stuck on something. The results can range from a little bruise to full amputation. It’s of particular concern to climbers, woodworkers, and anyone who uses machinery.
And while the best option is to completely remove all jewelry during these pursuits, we understand that’s not always ideal. And a silicone wedding ring is a great, safe alternative. As QALO explains, silicone rings are built to break free under extreme stress, thereby preventing degloving and saving your digits.
This can vary depending on the ring and your personal lifestyle. That said, we’ve been wearing our top-choice ring for a solid 2 years, and it looks and feels as good as new.
The Best Wallets for Men of 2024
Wallets are the original everyday carry. Right next to our keys and phone, as guys we bring wallets everywhere we go, and we found the best of the best.
The Best Dive Watches of 2024
We tested the best dive watches of 2024 with options for every budget. Top picks include Citizen, Seiko, and more.
