Insta-Snow 1Lb Bag

by Be Amazing! Toys

• Insta-Snow Big Bag - 1 LB Bag of Insta Snow by Be Amazing
• Absolutely Amazing! Create snow anytime, anywhere.
• This amazing snow powder expends 100 times its original size.
• Amaze your friends! Fluffs up and feels like real snow.
• Ages 4+

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6.5 x 2.2 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000MLL7JU
• Manufacturer recommended age: 13 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,936 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #2 in Home & Kitchen > Seasonal Décor > Artificial Snow
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Product Description

Make realistic-looking snow inside the classroom that feels cold to the touch. Just add water and make up to 8 gallons of snow". The 16 oz. bag of non-toxic "snow" powder comes with an activity guide and a measuring scoop. Ages 4 yrs. +."

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the version to buy - avoid "Super Snow"... December 3, 2007

By Brian Fuchs

Durability: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Who would have thought there was two types of "instant snow"? This stuff is manufactured by Dunecraft, and the other is manufactured by Steve Spangler Science. Is there a difference? You betcha! Although they are both superabsorbent polymers, they yield incredibly different results.

The Dunecraft version is the same powder found in disposable baby diapers. Sounds great - after all they swell up to a huge degree. Well, ya know how the diaper feels really squishy as you take it to the trash can? That's the polymer becoming the consistency of fine-grained tapioca pudding. The Dunecraft snow crystals swell to very large globules of trapped water - nothing like real snow. When you try to form a snowball, most of it sticks to your hands. In fact, you'll be picking these globules off your hands, arms and clothes for hours to come.

The Spangler version looks identical to Dunecraft in it's dry form. But when it's wet, it remains dry-feeling even though it's filled with water. The expanded crystals much more closely resemble flakes. The consistency is light and fluffy, yet you can still compress the stuff into a ball - just to a lesser degree as the ball will want to fall apart. Best of all - your hands will come away flake-free.

If my descriptions don't convince you, let's compare the formula for each vendor's snow, per their own instructions:

Dunecraft: "Mix 1/2 teaspoon Super Snow with 8 ounces of water"
Spangler: "Mix 1/2 teaspoon of Insta-Snow with 1 ounce of water"

Both products swell to 100 times their size, and will therefore end up filling the same volume. The container with the Dunecraft snow will weigh half a pound from all that water. The container with Spagler will weigh 1/8 as much (i.e. light and fluffy).

Let's also compare the instructions once the water is added...
Dunecraft: "Stir and continue to stir until snow forms. You must stir for at least 20-30 seconds to see the snow magically appear from the slush." That's straight from the bag. The "snow" they are referring to is a larger version of...slush.
And Spangler? Well, just Google Insta-Snow and you'll eventually find demonstration videos. You literally pour a tiny bit of water on a small mound of crystals and the snow appears in a second or two. You CAN stir for a more dramatic reaction, but you don't need to.

I'm not a shill for Spangler. Both companies put out good products. The Dunecraft snow is a little cheaper than Spangler, but the difference is huge. Go with Insta-Snow - you won't regret it.

By the way, both products are re-usable; they return to a small crystal form when the water evaporates. The Dunecraft takes several WEEKS to do so at low humidity (after all it holds 8 times the water). The Spangler takes several days to fully dry. You will see the volume diminish every morning until there's just crystals. You will need to stir the Dunecraft version every day, as the top will form a hard shell trapping the moisture underneath. Once you stir it up, much of the slush will want to stick to your spoon. Kids may enjoy the Dunecraft version simply because it's messy and feels gross. Parent's will love the Spangler version because it's not. But I promise that kids will really get a kick out of seeing snow literally erupt from a pile of dust - that's the magic of Spangler. Remember, Dunecraft is exactly what you find in a disposable diaper - which wasn't designed to be re-used (believe me, I tried....but that's another story)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars InstaSnow is Cool November 21, 2007

By Cory Sinklier

Amazon Verified Purchase

Durability: 2.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 3.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

I am a photographer and we used Insta-Snow on a Christmas set. The amount we got made was a good amount of snow and it lasted for a couple days without trouble. When we were done, we just vacuumed up the snow. It was probably too dirty to try and re use.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lasted through 100 kids... February 11, 2010

By Nicole

Amazon Verified Purchase

Durability: 5.0 out of 5 stars    Educational: 4.0 out of 5 stars    Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I am an education supervisor in a preschool and we bought the insta snow for a school wide winter celebration. We filled a few large buckets with the snow and let the kids go crazy. There were over 100 kids playing with it for hours and the snow held up through all of it. The kids loved it and we will be ordering again for next year.