Gak Splat Sticky Mitt ~ The Toy That Appeals to Young and Old
Written: May 20 '02 (Updated May 20 '02)
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Pros: Kids love it, colorful, appeals to wide age range
Cons: OVERPRICED, get yucky fast.
The Bottom Line: You might want to give this one a try...
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| willeftk's Full Review: Flying Colors Nick-tivities: Gak Splat Sticky Mitt |
If you happen to have children that watch Nickelodeon with any frequency, you likely have heard words like “Gak,” “Splat,” or even “Schaboozie.” Don’t ask me what they mean, ask your kids, they can tell you. When I saw an advertisement on Nick for an item called Gak Splat Sticky Mitt, I knew this would be a great gift for my son who would soon be 7.
Of course, I waited until the last minute to run to Toys R Us to buy gifts and I was thankful to see there were still about four or five Sticky Mitts left on the display. The display was located near the front of the store, very close to the inflatable pools and sand toys. I grabbed a plastic package of Sticky Mitts and continued my shopping.
~What is a Sticky Mitt, and Why Should I Care?!~
Turns out that a package of Gak Splat Sticky Mitts made by a division of Nickelodeon called Nick-Tivities, contains two round “mitts” and one ball. This set will set you back about $15.00, which I thought and still think is too much. This set is similar to its Velcro counterpart where you throw the ball and it will stick to the mitt. With this set, the mitts are “sticky” and the ball rubbery, making it a little more novel. Add funny words like “Gak” and “Splat” and you have a toy that will sell like hotcakes.
~The Mitts
This set comes with two Sticky Mitts. These mitts are round, flexible and come in various colors. Had I allowed more shopping time, I would have gladly written down all the color combinations for you, but I didn’t. So, I will tell you that one of our mitts is red with a purple border and the other is a blue-green color with a neon green border (the border color looks just like a green highlighter). The middle of the mitts contain the Gak that is a hardened version of “slime,” I believe. They are sticky to touch, but leave no residue on your hand or thankfully, your furniture. When the included ball is thrown and caught with the mitt, it will stick to it, making is easy for youngsters to play.
The mitts are about 9-10 inches around and only about an inch of that is the cloth border. So, you have a pretty large area of “Gak-ness.” On the back of the mitts are sewn on gloves that will allow a left or right-handed person to use them. Since my son is a “lefty” I really liked this feature. There is some elastic at the opening of the glove, and it provides a tight fit for small or large hands. The mitts are flexible and will allow the player to close the mitt around the ball. I will tell you that they did a nice job with the design of the mitts.
~The Ball~
The ball that is included with this set is not nearly as exciting as the package claims. The package states that the ball Gurgles when Grabbed, Sings when Soared and Splats when Snagged. Umm, I think not. This ball is about 5 inches around and is made of some very pliable, rubbery material. There are holes that run through the center of the ball, and it makes it look a lot like a rubbery wiffle ball. As to the first claim of “gurgling” I must say that I would describe the sound as more of a squish. “Singing” is more like a whisper and I will admit that the ball does sort of “Splat” when it hits the mitt.
The ball that came with our package is a lime green color and I do remember seeing one that was purple, so allow some time and you can stop and pick out the perfect color combination for your family.
I foresee that Nickelodeon will need to package and sell the balls alone because I’m thinking about starting a wager to see how long it will take my son to lose this ball. Without replacement balls, this toy will be useless because I’m not shelling out another $15.00 for a whole set.
~Problems?~
Beyond the obvious false claims on the package, about the only other problem is minor. Since the mitts are so incredibly sticky, everything sticks to them. At the end of the day, our mitts were covered with grass, dust (where did that come from?!) and lint. If you check the fine print on the package, it will tell you that if this happens, you can wash the ball and the mitts in warm, soapy water. Let them air dry and they will be ready for more play. We washed them, and though they don’t look as pretty as when they first came out of the package, they look a lot better than they did before the wash.
One other “issue” would be that the ball will initially stick to the mitts when caught, but it quickly begins to roll down the mitts from its own weight. Not a huge deal, but little ones might get frustrated and you will need to use two hands for catching.
~Final Recommendation?~
Although this set was not exactly what I had planned for, the children immediately took it outside to play with it once all the gifts were opened. The older, middle school aged kids liked it just as well as the younger kids and they played outside with it for a least a half hour and began to fight over it. That’s when we had to put it away.
The age recommendation on the package is for 4 yrs. & up and I would agree with that.
Rating this item was not easy for me. I will give it 3 stars because I think it is overpriced, makes false claims and gets icky quickly, but the kids really love it and it gets my computer geek son outside.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 15.00
Type of Toy: Sports
Age Range of Child: Kids to Teens
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Epinions.com ID:
willeftk
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Member: Kelly
Location: Chaos Central
Reviews written: 171
Trusted by: 163 members
About Me:
Mother of 4 seeking quiet and solace...
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