Having never seen Sock'em Boppers until recently, I was happy to be met by a couple of conspiring children at my friends house equipped with Sock'em Boppers and holding nothing but evil intentions towards beating me with funny inflatable boxing gloves.

Sock'em Boppers are not exactly boxing gloves, but they are worn on the hands. These large, inflatable cylindrical boxing balloons, have a portion in the base where you insert your hand. The inflated Bopper stays on your hand because everything around your inserted hand is inflated, and causing pressure, sealing the bopper on your hand. To remove, you may shake your hand about and the Bopper will pop off.

Another way to remove boppers is to grab your opponents arm, and physically take the Bopper away and use it as your own, this was how I gained first hand experience at Socking with my Bopper. Being well beyond the age range for use of these toys, (5-12 yrs old) I was worried I may have trouble fitting my rather large hands into the Bopper, but the Bopper was able to give enough so that my hand would fit inside. Then, it was time to distribute the beatings to those who would have Bopped me.

I'm the BIG BOPPER!
Fending off an assault by two determined children is no laughing matter, and not for the faint of heart. However, with a Sock'em Bopper of my own, and an arm reach of probably twice the reach of the little people, I was able to successfully Bop them on top of the head, and land numerous body blows to these small, but determined, giggling attackers.

What I learned:
I learned that I would never be able to beat children. During the chasing all over the yard, the bopping, and the fending off of return, counter-Bops, I quickly became exhausted. I simply do not have the energy of the 10 year old son and 16 year old daughter of my friend.

Sock'em Boppers are durable!
These kids have had their Sock'em Boppers for some time, and they are still not popped, torn or otherwise destroyed.

Sock'em Boppers are also kind of large. Which means unless you have a big house, with a large room with nothing breakable in it, they better: TAKE IT OUTSIDE! These boppers could easily knock things over, leading to broken vases, and things like, "Mom always said never to play Bop'em in the house" And then the flashbacks of seeing that vase break over and over again, and don't even try to just glue it back together, it will leak during dinner.

Seams.
The Sock'em Boppers have seams where they come together, and I can see how a swipe, rather than a punch, could lead to a scratch if you were bopped in the face.

You don't hit full force. This was something I knew already, since I certainly weigh more than twice these kids, but I imagine, if an adult were to punch another adult with full force, they could very well blow up the Bopper, and if that happened, I can only think of bad results. (Like having to spend another 8 dollars for new Sock'em Boppers)

Requisite Nonsense:
Some will say these encourage fighting. I say Horsepoopy! If anything, these will encourage boxing, which is NOT fighting, but a recognized and sanctioned sport. Much like a baseball bat will encourage the art of hitting a baseball rather than smashing people in the head with a bat. Sock'em Boppers will encourage your children to learn valuable self defense techniques, footwork, speed, accuracy, and eye-hand coordination. ALL POSITIVES. I dare say Sock'em Boppers will lead to a more physically fit child. I know with my own Sock'em Boppers, and a training partner, I'd be in much better shape.

Brian and Jenna, if you're out there, and you read this, I'm in training, just like Rocky Balboa after he got beat up by Mr.T in Rocky 3, and soon, very soon, you will hear these words:

LLLLLLLLET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMBLE!!!

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 8.00
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: Whole Family