#product warning

[socialjusticefail]

This video from penguinz0 is about an automatic litter box. This product has killed cats.

[stimtoybox]

Hello! Same anon as before for the Krypto-Bite review. Thank you so much, Mod K.A. I ordered the Krypto-Bite and I do hope it helps me cope a bit more with my anxiety. Another question, my younger brother has ADHD (we make quite the duo- anxiety and ADHD in one family) and says that he now wants a chew. I've noticed he usually chews things (pencils, straws, and such), but then he just leaves them in his mouth most of the time. Any recommendations? Thank you so much :)

Hey, anon! Many apologies for taking so long to get to this one!

For this sort of thing, I’d be looking at chewables that most resemble that sort of long/thin combination: it may be more about the texture, feel or movement of the object than it is chewing on it, so objects that are easy to just hold or suck on are probably the best option.

(I’ve got a list of questions on this ask that new chewers may like to ask themselves to determine their chew strength and any other factors like size, thickness or texture that should be considered. Some folks only have to worry about the toughness of the chewable, but some of us are a bit or a lot more particular when it comes to finding the right chewable.)

For straw-like chewables, you may want to check out the different range of chew tubes available. For chewers wanting a stronger, more durable tube, Chubuddy’s Strong Tubes are a good place to start. For a springy (but curved) tube, Stimtastic’s Ch-U Tube might be worth checking out. I’ve got a similar silicone tube (mine’s from Etsy but it looks very close to the Stimtastic ones) and it’s very springy, great for just resting between your teeth and compressing without biting down or gnawing. There’s also the Chewigem Chubes as another chew-tube option, but I don’t know much about how soft or springy they might be.

For long chewables good for just holding and sucking, you might want to look at Stimtastic’s Dulcimer (although the shape might not be best suited for masculine people) or the thicker and less-feminine Stimtastic’s Braid. I find the Braid pendant to be a bit thicker than is comfortable for me, but many folks don’t have a problem with it. The Dulcimer’s flat and narrow shape is extremely comfortable in my mouth, but I haven’t yet gotten it to stop squeaking. (There’s a comment on that post that the squeak isn’t permanent and will fade after regular use, but it hasn’t yet done so for me, so I can’t confirm this.) The ribbed texture on the underside of the Dulcimer, though, is wonderful for just holding in your mouth, and for light chewers or stimmers wanting it just for sucking and holding (and can bear the squeaking) I think it’s absolutely worth trying.

(If your brother is a moderate to heavy chewer, the Braid will be a better purchase; the Dulcimer is quite thin and I imagine that it won’t take long for more avid chewers to bite through it.)

As a highly-textured chewable good for holding, sucking and light chewing, Stimtastic’s UFO is a lot of fun. It’s a fraction too wide for me when I try to hold it across the bottom edge of the ship, so I only use it twisted sideways, but the raised stars feel great and it doesn’t squeak at all. I don’t know how well this will hold up under moderate or heavy chewing, but for just holding in your mouth it’s super. I didn’t expect to like it half as much as I do.

I also quite like just holding Chewigem’s Dog Tags in my mouth, as they’re flat and thin, very comfortable for just holding. I don’t think they’re terribly durable for strong chewers, though. For moderate and strong chewers, I’d look at Chewigem’s Boards, as they’re flat and long, and look great for both sucking and molar-chewing.

The aforementioned ARK Krypto-Bite may work as well, depending on how well your brother takes to a thicker chew, but it is long. Similarly, their Bite Saber and Brick Stick may work well here. Also on the thicker end of the holding-and-sucking-type-pendant scale, you might look at the stem end of Stimtastic’s Mushroom (which is also a very diverse pendant with multiple chew options).

(Advisory: I do have to point out that ARK Therapeutic has now produced a Puzzle Piece Pendant, something with which many autistics may not feel comfortable. While there is no reference to supporting A$ on the listing page, I want my autistic followers to be aware of this nonetheless, as many of us may prefer to buy chewables from retailers/creators that don’t use symbolism associated with autism-targeted hate and ableism on any of their products.)

Not all of these things may be suitable, as chew strength, size needs and texture needs will make some of these options unusable for your brother. I hope, though, that this gives you somewhere to begin (or some options for folks in the same boat, as it’s more likely you’ve already purchased something for your brother). I’m metaphorically crossing my fingers, anon, you’re able to find something, and I hope you’ve enjoyed your first foray into chewables!

- Mod K.A.

[tara-l-blackmore]

DO NOT BUY GLASS MASON JAR MUGS FROM BED, BATH, AND BEYOND.

You see those cracks all along the mug? Well, that’s from me pouring normal hot water into the mug to make myself some tea. At night. In low lighting. This is HOT, BOILING WATER. Poured into a product that boasts that it’s MEANT for tea. I’m very lucky I didn’t get hurt, as the moment it cracked, the hot water started spilling EVERYWHERE. And it was BOILING HOT, you know, like the kind you use FOR TEA?!

The frustrating thing about this is, several times prior, I HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH THIS MUG AND TEA. It would take the hot water happily and there would be no damned issues whatsoever. I think I had maybe four glasses of tea in total before last night’s shattering issue.

So save yourself the potential burns and wasted money and DO NOT BUY THIS MUG. Seriously, it’s not worth it. Just buy a standard ceramic mug for tea, or a glass mug sold in actual tea stores.

(Product link is right here: https://www.bedbathandbeyond.ca/store/product/yorkshire-monogrammed-block-letter-glass-mason-jar-mug/3265070?Keyword=mason+jar+mug). DO NOT BUY IT. I am only providing the link so you know the specific product to avoid.

[stimtoybox]

Spinners: $2.50 AUD each, Beckley Park Market

Mum bought a bunch of cheap spinners from the local market that got shared out amongst the family. I’m posting them not so much because we need detailed reviews about spinners, but because some of these are a little interesting.

Red spinner: just another standard plastic tri-spinner. It works moderately well. For people wanting an affordable spinner, though, and can’t purchase online, it’s not a bad buy.

Blue and purple emoji spinners: these are very light (not quite as light as my green plastic spinner, but close) and spin moderately well. I’d recommend these for anyone concerned about weighting down pockets or bags. The eyes, brows and lips are a rubbery raised plastic, so these give great textures for those who like handling as well as spinning their spinners. I got to keep the blue one, and I quite like it tracing the raised eyes and lips. Don’t expect a Zuru-level spin time from these, but I like the lightness.

King glory blade spinner: I think this is the love child of a Beyblade and a Yu-Gi-Oh! card! Unlike other bladed spinners, though, it’s very blunt and very light (being all plastic save for the inset ball bearings), so can see people wanting a safer bladed spinner considering this, especially if you’re like me and you tend to send it spinning into walls/floors/other people by accident.

There’s two major problems with it, though. The first is that the spinner caps are hollow half-spheres, making it uncomfortable to hold. It comes with a round black pointed-cap that clips into the bottom red sphere cap, with the intention being that the spinner spins on the fine black point, but that doesn’t work. The extra cap is useless. The second is that it really does not spin. If you get twenty seconds out of this spinner, you’re doing well.

It has a lot of textures and shapes for handling, so I can see why people would interested, but I do want to warn everyone that it’s uncomfortable to hold and functions extremely poorly as a spinner. A lot of the toys that are coming out with the popularity of spinners/fidget toys aren’t really designed with stimming in mind, and I think this is another of those toys.

Image description under read more cut:

[image description: three photos, taken on a red watermelon pillow background, of four different spinners.

One spinner is a standard red plastic tri-shaped spinner with silver bearings set in the arms, packaged in the standard white box with a clear window and grey cube motif.

Two spinners are standard plastic tri-spinners with yellow emoji-style rubbery-plastic faces set in the arms, packaged in a pink, purple, blue and orange striped box. The light blue spinner has white and black round eyes and smiling red lips. The purple spinner has smiling white lips, brown eyes and smirking brow eyebrows.

The last spinner is a silver, black and red two-armed spinner formed of silver plastic blades, of a mecha-and-Transformers-meets-katana style, housed on a black frame and decorated with red stripes and circles. Two silver ball bearings are set into each arm and the central bearing has red half-spheres, hollow in the middle, serving instead of caps. An extra black half-sphere with a point on the top clips into one of the red cap-spheres, theoretically allowing the spinner to spin on a point, and this piece is removable. This spinner is packaged in a blue box with a picture of the spinner plus a Yu-Gi-Oh!-style armoured figure on the front with the words “King Glory The Fingers of Gyro”, “fold the war more fun” and “king style gyro battle”.

First photo shows the boxed spinners. Second photo shows the spinners unboxed and sitting on the pillow, the removable cap sitting beside the blade spinner. Third photo is a close-up on the blade spinner, the removable cap attached to one of the red bearing spheres.]

[stimtoybox]

Fidget Fingers Series 2 Cube - Games World, $10 AUD

I went to a large shopping centre in Werribee (Pacific Werribee) and they had a Games World store with lots of different kinds of wooden puzzles and other fidget things. (No Tangles. I didn’t see a Tangle all day, aside from my own. Even the Toyworld in Werribee didn’t have Tangles.) They did have the unique fidget cube knock-off, however...

It has six sides, like the Antsy Labs cubes and knock-offs, but the switches are very different. It feels like a knock-off, too: it’s as light as my fidget pad, lighter than my knock-off cube. I think this would benefit from a Prism to make it less bangy when knocked over, as it makes a loud clacking noise the Prism’d Zuru cube does not, but it doesn’t matter too much because you cannot use this cube around other people. It’s the noisiest, clickiest, most obnoxious cube I’ve ever heard. As someone with the autism/SPD/migraine fun combo, I’d be in semi-verbal meltdown.

The Push side is two red rectangular buttons. When one is pushed, the other rises. They’re a little louder than the switch on the Zuru and fake fidget cubes, and like the switch can be used more quietly if you put a finger or thumb on each button. I can see this working for people who love pushing buttons.

The Scroll side is a red notched mouse wheel set in the cube. This. This I like. A mini scroll wheel that’s more portable than a mouse and has more texture than the roller ball on the fidget cube? Yes, please. It’s tolerably quiet, although not silent.

The Slide side is a series of three red switches in grooves that slide back and forth. They move easily and are the second quietest side on the cube. I like this function, too.

The Dial side is pretty identical to the Fidget Cube’s spin wheel. The crimped edges give it more texture and it doesn’t make a lot of noise. Like my pink/white Zuru cube, though, it doesn’t turn well. My orange/white Zuru cube and the fidget pad do this so much better.

The Click side is ... underwhelming. It’s a long, raised red tube-shaped button and you click it. That’s it. I don’t know why it’s so big. It’s louder than the loud buttons on the button side of the Fidget Cube, too. Since this is very little different to the Push side, I really have no idea why it’s there.

The Flick side is The Noise Hell Side, otherwise known as a flick button. I want to like this, as it’s more like a real light-switch, and the rounded switch on the fidget pad is one of the better features on it. But the click is so loud and snappy. You know someone snapping their fingers right outside your ear? It’s that but worse. So sharp. Testing it a few times just to write this paragraph has made my head ring. I am on edge from the noise and one mishap away from screaming at someone or going into keyboard-throwing meltdown.

[Edit: after a day of shopping, this pushed me over the edge into “huddling under my electric blanket for four hours because I can’t sit up” migraine.]

People, if you have any kind of hyperacausis or SPD-related sound sensitivity or just don’t like obnoxious noises, don’t play with the Flick side. And please, please don’t use the Flick side in public where others can hear it, if they haven’t consented to hearing this sound. Please.

I’d honestly recommend paying the $3-$5 AUD extra for a Zuru cube. It’s a heavier, quieter, higher-quality-feeling product (despite the fact that I do have one with flaws) that’s nicer to hold. It can also be used more easily around other disabled people, which is an important stim toy feature too often forgotten by makers who don’t seem to really understand stim toys. Yes, different ways to fidget is important, but they need to be useful and accessible with minimum sensory discomfort for the user and those around them.

Now that fidget toys are a Thing, I wonder just how many of the new ones offer ways to fidget without ever considering the sensory needs people who stim also often have - meaning that many autistics and folks with ADHD, SPD, migraines and fibro (among other diagnoses) can’t access toys that are actually meant for us. A stim toy made without thought for the needs of the disabled people who use it is even more erasure on top of the cursory references these newer toys are giving us (ND and disabled stimmers) and it concerns me.

Image description under read more cut:

[image description: seven photos, taken on a red watermelon slice pillow, of a black-with-red-switches Version 2 knock-off fidget cube.

The first two photos show the front and back sides of the cube, still housed in a clear blister package surrounded by cardboard housing. The cardboard has a lot of text, too much for me to type. The header reads “Fidget Fingers Series 2 Stress-relief Phenomenon Cube”, stock photos showing each of the sides are pictured above the text labelling each, and there’s several more lines referring to fidgeting, redirecting energy, stress management and redirecting foot tapping/pen clicking. The back of the card has this plus two paragraphs of text discussing how you can use it.

Third photo shows the red mouse scroll button on top, the red pillar like click button jutting out of the cube on the left and the angled top of the flick switch on the right.

Fourth photo shows the red mouse scroll button on top, the three red switches set in grooves forming the slide side on the left and the two rectangles of the push side on the right.

Fifth photo shows the same sides as the first, but focusing on the push side. It’s easy to see that one of the rectangular buttons sits higher than the other.

Sixth photo shows the red crimpled, circular dial (spin wheel) on top, the he three red switches set in grooves forming the slide side on the left and the front of the flick switch on the right. A grey “O” and “I” symbol is printed on the top and bottom of the rounded flick switch.

Seventh photo shows the cube photographed between a black and grey standard knock-off fidget cube and a white and pink Zuru Fidget Cube housed in a blue silicone Zuru Prism. It sits above a blue and black fidget pad. The Series 2 cube is a fraction smaller than the grey knock-off and the same size as the Zuru cube.]

[stimtoybox]

[image description: two photos of Smiggle-brand snake puzzles. First photo shows a broken pink, purple and blue mini puzzle, the clear connecting cord sheared in two, the now-loose triangular pieces scattered in a rough “S” shape. Second photo shows a photo of the same mini puzzle but whole underneath a light and dark green GitD full-size snake puzzle and a large fuchsia and aqua serpent puzzle. all three puzzles folded into a rectangle shape. Both photos take place on a background of a red watermelon slice pillow.]

Product Warning: Smiggle Snake Puzzles

I had an ask about my serpent puzzle (the aqua and fuchsia oversized, rounded snake puzzle on the viewer’s right of the second photo, also pictured on this blog’s profile header) so I was taking some photos comparing it to standard-size snake puzzles. I took the above folded shot and a shot with all three puzzles stretched out into one long line, and then started folding the puzzles back up for storage, as they take up less space this way.

The purple/blue/pink puzzle shattered all over the floor. I’m still missing one of the pieces, that’s how far they scattered! The clear cord (like oversized fishing line, but less flexible) just snapped in my hands. I wasn’t pulling on it; I was only turning one of the pieces to form an L-bend, like the folds demonstrated above. All normal use for a snake puzzle.

I was annoyed, since I use these snake puzzles once every few weeks at most, but I figured I could give rethreading this one a go. So I grabbed my second puzzle, the black/blue/green puzzle in my on-the-go stim kit (pictured in my mermaid sequin pencil case review) and opened it up to serve as a comparison for the colour patterns.

I hadn’t even finished opening it up before it snapped in my hands.

Two lightly-used and broken snake puzzles on the same day. Clearly the cord used to thread these does does not age well.

Stimmers, don’t buy Smiggle snake puzzles. The mini puzzles retail 2 for $7 AUD on special, $7 or $7.95 AUD each regular price. (They’re slightly more expensive online.) That’s a lot of money for something that’s had only light use by a careful stimmer and hasn’t even lasted a year before breaking. The casing is well made, but to have the inner cord of two of them snap like this tells me that they can’t hold up to regular play, never mind stimming.

The full-size and serpent puzzles are more expensive still, and while I love my serpent puzzle, and while they may be more durable than the mini puzzles, I’m now terrified to use them for fear they shatter. A stim toy I’m too afraid to use isn’t a useful stim toy (as much as I love the serpent puzzle).

The plastic caps on the K-Mart mini snake puzzles do come off, but I’ve never had one break this way, and I’ve given mine much harsher treatment (including painting them in three layers of glue and then twisting them to make the glue split for easier picking). They’re also only $1 AUD each, which is much kinder to the wallet when they do break! Otherwise, I would look at getting a Tangle Jr over a Smiggle snake puzzle. I’ve broken one real one and two knock-offs, but I’ve used my current Fuzzy daily for the last three months and it’s held up just fine (aside from flocking wear and looseness). Much better value at $6 AUD each for the use it’s gotten.

I’m going to be experimenting with rethreading these - I already know it doesn’t work with hat elastic! So I’ll come back with a tutorial if I find a string that provides enough tension for turning.

I won’t buy these again, though. They’re just not durable enough.

[stimtoybox]

yo, i dont see yall talk about aliexpress too often and id just like to recommend it, ive gotten a lot of stuff from there and its all been super cheap, relatively good quality, and had free shipping. theres also soooo much cool stuff on there, like you could probably buy any stim/fidget toy that you could ever think of on there and in like 5 different colors. the only thing is that shipping is pretty slow (around a month) but considering its coming from china its not too bad.

Thank you so much, @communist-crow!

I am really glad to see it recommended - I know they have lots of things, but I hadn’t actually gotten any community feedback on the shopping experience, so I’m grateful that you could come in and give us this recommendation.

I’ve done a search for “fidget” with “free shipping” and there’s a lot of different listings, especially for spinners and fidget cubes. Chain fidgets for $0.94 USD caught my eye, as did this 5 set of Boinks Fidgets for $2.65 USD. Great for international folks who can’t really afford international shipping from conventional stim toy retailers but still want to try these toys out!

There’s also lots of listings for chewellery, but not all the listings are very specific about what chemicals the items don’t contain: “eco-friendly”, for example, doesn’t tell us anything useful as to whether the item is safe for chewing. I’d purchase only from listings that specifically state the product doesn’t contain (at minimum) BPA and phthalates, preferably with the words “food grade” used as well. Even then I can absolutely understand why folks would prefer to continue buying from Stimtastic, but it is an option for those wanting to explore inexpensive chewables with free shipping options.

Again, thank you. I am so glad to have positive feedback on Aliexpress!

- Mod K.A.

[stimtoybox]

Mokuru Fidget Stick - Banggood, $2.35 AUD

Dimensions: 9.3 x 2 cm

The short version of this review: don’t bother.

I had a few points thanks to lovely followers buying a few products via affiliate link, so I wanted to buy a few of the toys that I’ve seen cluttering eBay and local dollar shops that haven’t been much discussed in the community. The fidget stick was one of these toys. I paid less than $2 AUD for it after my discount, and I’m glad. I’d be really annoyed if I’d paid the $6 AUD it retails for at local/offline shops. It just doesn’t work for stimming.

It’s well made. No bad smells, no splinters, smooth paint job. The box arrived a little squished (Banggood doesn’t provide foam padding; everything I’ve bought has arrived in a dented package inside a black plastic bag) but the product is perfectly fine.

The stick is designed to flick itself up and over, completely rotating from red cap to cap, when pushed. It’s not that easy to get it to do this; you need to push it in just right spot. Once I got the trick of it, it worked. I can see the challenge of this being somewhat engaging.

The problem is that it only flips on a hard, flat surface (a non-carpeted floor, a desk, a wooden table, concrete, asphalt) and it makes a racket as it flips. (It’s even louder if it doesn’t. Think a wood block smacking into your desk loud. Not subtle at all.) It also falls off the table or crashes into anything on the table. It’s not useful for on-the-go stimming; it’s not useful for school or office stimming. The best I can do with it is roll it in my hands, but for a palm-rolling toy, I’d sooner buy Stimtastic’s stretchy squish balls, which offer a greater variety of use.

In my opinion, it isn’t a fidget toy; it’s a game or trick. I can see kids outside at lunch competing to see who gets their stick to do the most flips. This isn’t a problem, if only the mokuru stick is marketed that way! Yet it is presented as a desktop fidget toy, and that’s a huge problem for stimmers if the “trick” aspects of spinner fidgets (and other toys that replicate this) are crammed under the “fidget” label. I’m quite unhappy with the deceptive labelling of these toys, because they’re not fidgets and don’t seem to be designed with the needs of stimmers in mind. We’re already becoming an afterthought in a product category that began with our needs, and this is another consequence of this - a toy marketed as though it’s for us when it fulfills few stimmers’ needs as a fidget toy.

It saddens me to think we’re going to have to watch out for and discuss this sort of trick toy creeping into the fidget toy category.

Unless you’re after a trick toy, don’t buy these. They’re not worth your money.

Image description after read more cut:

[image description: three photos of a wooden green mokuru fidget stick. The stick has a flat red plastic cap at top and bottom, and is slightly wider in the centre than it is at the ends. Three rings a few milimetres above each cap, and spaced a few milimetres apart, decorate each end of the stick. All photos are taken on a red watermelon slice pillow. First photo shows the stick lying flat across the pillow; second photo shows the white box the stick came in, the clear window at the top showing the green belly of the stick; third photo shows the side of the white box, black text reading “fidget mokuru”.]