The WubbleX ball that I had been given to review arrived midway through the day when all hope for the day’s redemption had been lost. It was a beacon of fun in our Thursday slump and so began our WubbleX review.
WubbleX Review: WubbleX to The Rescue
While the kids had watched numerous YouTube videos and commercials about the WubbleX, I was a Wubble Bubble ball newbie. Thankfully, the directions were very simple and even in my coffee-deprived state, I was able to quickly and easily inflate the WubbleX.
Now, the WubbleX is unlike the traditional Wubble Ball, because it’s filled with a helium canister that’s included in some of the kits. Ours came with one, but be sure to check the package contents. There’s nothing more upsetting than getting a package home only to discover you don’t have the helium canister! Since it was a rainy day, there was no temptation to take it outside – which, since it was helium filled, was advantageous. I would recommend, however, that you not fill it or play with it in a room with high ceilings…unless you have magic stretchy arms or a tall ladder. Lesson learned the hard way on that one.
So, to fill it up, you put petroleum jelly on the end of the inflator straw before sticking it into the hole on the WubbleX ball. It’s a slightly messy process, so keep a paper towel handy. Then, you connect the helium canister to the straw and fill it up slowly just to the point where it floats. I accidentally filled it up a bit too much which left us with no helium in our tank to refill the ball. Let’s just say that ours had some serious floating abilities at that point.
Tip: You want to make sure that the ball can actually be played with vs. floating so high you can only gaze at it when it floats to the top of your ten foot ceilings. Don’t overfill!
After you fill it, quickly put the sticker that’s included over the hole. This keeps the air in and your ball inflated. I’d suggest wiping the area around the hole off before removing the inflator stick, so that there’s not a lot of residual petroleum jelly on the ball’s surface where you have to put the sticker.
Once the sticker is in place, it’s time to play!
The kids took turns tossing it to one another (which is a lot of fun when it’s helium filled), practicing their “levitating” skills, and bargaining with each other over who was going to play with it next. Which, as any parent knows, means that the toy is a huge hit.😉
One of things that surprised me the most was how much my 14 and 12 year old boys loved it. They were absolutely enthralled with it and didn’t want to give it up at. all. I had a strong suspicion that 8 year old Little Miss would love it, but the boys surprised me.
So, I bet you’re wondering how long it lasted. For us, the WubbleX remained helium inflated for about 4 hours. Remember I suggested earlier that you should wipe off the area where the sticker was going to be placed? It’s an important tip, because we didn’t do it and it took a few seconds too long for us to get the sticker on which resulted in some helium loss. I think it probably would have stayed inflated a bit longer had we done that. If I hadn’t overinflated and used all of the helium on the first inflate, that would have helped too.😉
When the helium runs out, you can refill it with another helium canister that they sell online or you can pick up anywhere WubbleX balls are sold. You can also refill it with air and use it as a regular ball. Unfortunately, the skin of the ball is relatively thin and was no match for the inquisitive clawed paws of our 20 pound cat, Jesse the Gigantor. We tried to patch the hole, but our beloved WubbleX went to toy heaven about 24 hours after we first got it.
If you’re debating whether or not the WubbleX is going to make an appearance at your house, here are some pros and cons that we came up with.
Pros:
- “A ton of fun to play with. The helium makes it super cool.” – 14 year old son
- “It was easy to inflate and we could play with it right away.” – 12 year old son
- “I liked that it could have been reusable if the cat hadn’t popped it.” – 8 year old daughter
- “The fact that it was easy to inflate and came with the needed canister was a huge plus. Having all three kids love it was priceless though.” – Me!
Cons:
- The biggest con was unanimous – it didn’t last long enough. Most of that was the cat’s fault, but the membrane isn’t very durable. Beware of sharp objects!
- The helium runs out pretty quickly.
- The price point may be a bit high for the actual play time we got out of it.
Overall, we enjoyed the WubbleX a lot; we just wish it had lasted longer. The kids have been bugging me to get another one for them since the first one met it’s demise. Lucky for them, Santa just may have heard the request and have them already tucked away for Christmas presents.😉