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Not all “kinetic sands” are created the same, so please note in the description they intentionally made this with larger grain to simulate beach sand (which it does perfectly) so don’t expect the lovely softness of the smaller grain type!
LOVED:
- Malleability and ooziness.
- Ability to retain shape (only under right conditions).
- Sensory use! For our Autistic ones, this is a nice soother.
- Self-adhesion is pretty good. If it doesn’t get wet in any way (hard to avoid with messy, drooling little ones) it sticks to itself pretty well. Will not penetrate clothing either (see vid) which is awesome! There is a downside, see below.
- Packaging was as advertised for once! It didn’t come in a zip-lock baggie. 👍
- Multitude of uses. Can be used in typical fashion on non-porous surfaces or shoved in balloons for stress toys. I’ve also used it on science projects for the older kids and to prop up some of my leaning cacti plants who don’t like to cooperate with me.
- DOES NOT LOSE MOISTURE! Do you have any idea how nice it is not to care if the container was left open all night?! If only Play-Doh could do the same...but I digress.
- Awesome hide and seek toy for learning shapes, colors, animals, etc. I hide “presents” in there and if they can tell me what it is or pronounce it, they get to keep their prize.
- If it gets wet, all you have to do is allow it to dry and it will be good as new.
NOT-SO-LOVED
- Will not mention price, as I know that’s not allowed, but I paid way too much for 2 bags of this. I’d buy again for half of what I paid, but not worth it for the amount I got. (2 bags in pics and video) That was the reason for removal of one star.
- It might stick to itself pretty well, but it will also find a way to stay in your carpets and rugs. If you get it wet, that will disrupt the bonds enough to suck it up but you also don’t want it in your vacuum. I recommend duct tape or a clothes roller to try to extract it from carpet.
- Only works as described under ideal environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) which is a bit of a pain when they want to play with it outside in the sun. That’s the first place we took it when it arrived and nothing held shape at all. In video I was in the house with controlled humidity at 20% and 68-70 degrees or so.
- This is not a toy you can leave them with for even a second alone. CONSTANT supervision is required. It may be non-toxic, but the nature of the Polydimethylsiloxane (which is the “secret” ingredient according to waaaay too much online searching and a call to my former professor) will cause it to stick - meaning extremely hazardous if ingested and a giant pain if it gets in your sink or toilet!
As you see in the video, we went a little nuts with the water as we wanted to see the reaction. I do not recommend this for obvious reasons. It stuck to EVERYTHING, including my child who I had to coat in half a liter of soap to get it off his skin. It then ended up in the drain which was promptly clogged. Thank goodness I have an awesome drain cleaner or I’d have had to call a plumber.
Overall, it’s a great sensory toy with supervision, and does feel exactly like beach sand. There were no “odd” bits or random objects that weren’t supposed to be there - the last brand I got had some sticks in there.
I hope my rambling, research, and experimentation were helpful! Please click the little button if it was helpful, as I rely on honest parents to help me make decisions on toys (you know who you are and thank you) so I’m doing my best to help others too! Happy squishing!! 😁
