EPCO and Perfetta both make tournament-grade 107mm bocce balls that meet international regulation specs, so the right pick for a North American player comes down to where you live, how fast you want the set in your hands, and whether you value Italian heritage or USA manufacturing. EPCO is made in Rhode Island and ships from US warehouses in a few business days. Perfetta is made in Italy and usually reaches US buyers through specialty importers with longer lead times. For most North American players, EPCO costs less and arrives faster. Italian-made Perfetta is the natural pick if you specifically want the Italian heritage badge in your bag.
Both brands sit at the top tier of competition bocce. According to the Federazione Italiana Bocce, the governing body for Italian tournament bocce, regulation raffa balls measure 107mm with a small diameter tolerance, made from a single homogenous resin. Brands that hit that spec consistently end up on tournament tables. Brands that miss it stay in backyards. EPCO and Perfetta both hit it.
Key Takeaways
- EPCO is USA-made (Rhode Island). Perfetta is Italian-made (historically Liguria region). Both produce 107mm raffa-spec resin tournament balls.
- Both meet FIB and CMSB regulation specs, so either brand is allowed in sanctioned raffa events.
- EPCO 8-ball tournament sets retail around 275 dollars in the US. Perfetta tournament sets typically land 300 to 450 dollars once imported.
- EPCO ships from US warehouses in days. Perfetta orders can take weeks if the US reseller is restocking from Italy.
- For most North American buyers, EPCO is the practical pick. Perfetta is the choice if Italian heritage is the deciding factor.
A short history of both brands
EPCO (Epco Industries) has been making bocce balls in Rhode Island since the early 1970s. The company built its reputation supplying Italian-American clubs and league players across the Northeast, then expanded into the broader US tournament circuit. Many United States Bocce Federation clubs use EPCO sets in league play, and the brand has earned a quiet reputation as the workhorse of North American tournament bocce.
Perfetta carries the older European pedigree. The brand traces its roots to Italian artisan ball manufacturing in the bocce heartland of Liguria, with operations historically centered near the Italian coast. Italian raffa players have used Perfetta in regional and national competition for decades. The brand carries the same cultural weight inside Italian clubs that EPCO carries inside US clubs.
Both companies sell to the same kind of buyer: someone who plays regularly, owns a court or uses one weekly, and wants regulation balls that hold up across seasons. As Encyclopedia Britannica's overview of bocce notes, the modern game's global spread followed Italian emigration, and the manufacturing ecosystem followed the players. Two strong national traditions produced two strong national brands.
Regulation specs: where both brands land
The relevant international spec for raffa-style bocce is the 107mm diameter at a regulation weight near 920 grams per ball. Per the Federazione Italiana Bocce, balls used in raffa competition must hit that diameter and weight band and must be made from a single homogenous resin without internal core variations. Both EPCO and Perfetta meet that standard with their tournament-grade lines.
The Confederation Mondiale des Sports de Boules, the international body that recognizes raffa as one of its three core disciplines alongside petanque and volo, lists both manufacturers among the regulation-compliant brands for sanctioned events. If you bring an EPCO or Perfetta tournament set to a sanctioned raffa event, the balls pass spec at the table.
The practical takeaway at the tournament tier is simple. The spec war is over. Both brands win it. The choice moves to other factors: price, shipping, availability, and personal feel. For a deeper read on the regulation sizing, our guide to bocce ball diameter and weight breaks down the 107mm, 110mm, and 114mm classes side by side.
Materials and feel on the court
EPCO and Perfetta both use high-density resin engineered for tournament-grade roll consistency and chip resistance. Both produce balls that hold up to years of league play on hard surfaces. Both offer marble patterns and solid colorways, with patterns scored deep enough to read at a distance across a regulation court.
The feel differences are small and largely about personal preference. EPCO balls tend to run at the upper end of the regulation weight tolerance, which some players prefer for the weight transfer into a controlled punto roll. Perfetta balls tend toward the lighter side of regulation, which some players prefer for raffa shot speed. Neither feel is objectively better at this tier. Players who grow up on one brand often stay loyal to that brand for tactile reasons that are real but hard to articulate.
If you have not played with either brand, the honest advice is to handle a set at your local club before buying. If you cannot, the resin quality is close enough that the choice can come down to availability, price, and shipping time.
Pricing, shipping, and US availability
This is the dimension where the two brands diverge sharply for North American buyers. EPCO 8-ball tournament sets retail around 275 dollars in the US through specialty bocce retailers, with US warehousing that ships in a few business days. Perfetta tournament sets typically land between 300 and 450 dollars once imported, depending on the SKU and reseller markup. Lead times for Perfetta can stretch to weeks if the US importer is restocking from Italy.
For a one-time tournament purchase, the import cost and lead time are manageable. For a club that wants matching replacement balls available year-round in identical colorways, EPCO is the operationally easier choice. The US warehousing means a single damaged ball can be replaced in days rather than waiting on the next Italian shipment.
That said, EPCO costs more than mass-market backyard sets. A $50 plastic set from a big-box store sits in a different tier entirely and is fine for occasional play. NYT Wirecutter covers buying-decision tradeoffs across many consumer categories, and the pattern that holds here holds elsewhere: at the recreation tier, price is the main lever, and at the tournament tier, regulation compliance and durability earn the price difference.
Better picks for North American tournament players
If you have decided that tournament-grade is the right tier and EPCO is the practical pick for North America, the next question is which colorway and what supporting accessories. Here are three EPCO products that round out a tournament-ready setup. For a wider comparison across regulation sizes, our breakdown of Olympic, tournament, and backyard bocce sizes covers when each diameter makes sense.
1. EPCO 107mm Tournament Pink/Blue 8-Ball Set
Best for: Mixed-team league play where players want clearly distinguishable colorways at a distance.
The Pink/Blue colorway gives high contrast on grass, clay, and oyster shell courts. Each ball measures 107mm and the included bag holds the full eight-ball set plus a regulation pallino. The bright pink reads instantly across a 76-foot regulation court, which matters in fast league frames where partners need to call balls without walking the entire length to check. The EPCO 107mm Pink/Blue tournament set ships from a US warehouse.
2. Regulation EPCO Pallino in Red
Best for: Replacing a worn or lost pallino without buying a whole new set.
A regulation pallino is the small target ball every frame is played to. EPCO's red regulation pallino matches the diameter and weight specs used in sanctioned play, so it works as a drop-in replacement for any tournament-grade 8-ball set. Yellow and white versions are also stocked if your club color-codes pallinos. The regulation EPCO pallino is a small purchase that keeps tournament play moving when the original goes missing in the long grass.
3. EPCO Ball Polish
Best for: Keeping your tournament set looking and rolling like new after a season of league play.
Resin balls scuff over time. Dust, grass stains, and shoe scuffs build up across a season of regular play. EPCO ball polish removes surface residue without damaging the resin or the printed colorway numbers, so a season-old set looks closer to new after a short clean. A single bottle treats a full 8-ball set several times over.
Why buy from BuyBocceBalls
We stock the EPCO tournament catalog in depth and ship from US warehouses, which is the practical reason most North American clubs and serious players come to us instead of waiting on an Italian import. Our team plays bocce and answers product questions from real court experience, so if you call asking about pallino sizing or matching replacement balls across an older colorway, you talk to someone who has done it. Browse the full EPCO premium tournament collection to see every active colorway, or reach out if you need help matching balls to a set you bought years ago.
Frequently asked questions
Is EPCO the same quality as Perfetta?
Yes, both brands sit in the top tournament tier. Both meet FIB and CMSB regulation specs for 107mm raffa play. The differences come down to country of manufacture, US shipping speed, price, and small differences in feel that most players settle on by personal preference.
Where is Perfetta made?
Perfetta bocce balls are manufactured in Italy, historically in the Liguria region of the country's northwest coast where Italian ball-making has deep cultural roots. Sets sold in the US are usually imported by specialty resellers, which adds cost and lead time on top of the base Italian retail price.
What size are EPCO and Perfetta tournament balls?
Both brands produce 107mm tournament resin sets weighing approximately 920 grams per ball, which is the regulation raffa size used in international competition. EPCO also offers 110mm and 114mm sizes in some lines for volo and traditional Italian volo formats, while Perfetta similarly serves multiple discipline sizes inside Italy.
Are EPCO sets allowed in tournaments?
Yes. The United States Bocce Federation and many regional US bocce associations recognize EPCO as a tournament-grade brand. The balls meet FIB and CMSB diameter and weight specs for sanctioned raffa events, so an EPCO 107mm set is allowed in any sanctioned league or tournament that follows international rules.
Is the EPCO price worth it over a 50 dollar mass-market set?
For occasional backyard play, a 50 dollar mass-market set does the job. For weekly league play, regulation court play, or any sanctioned tournament, the price difference (around 275 dollars versus 50 dollars) pays for itself in resin durability, roll consistency, and regulation compliance. The tournament-grade tier is built to last years of weekly play, while mass-market sets typically last one or two summers.
