Review: FyrFlyz by i-Star

Written on Oct 18, 2011 by RuthJS and filed under FyrFlyz, i-Star, Reviews

New from i-Star, FyrFlyz are a cool, creative toy for kids ages 8 and up. Simple to use and endlessly entertaining, I’m a fan, and so are all of my revewers.

Overview

The toy consists of a plastic cross piece, in a sort of “8″ shape with LED lights on the ends. Two looped strings run through holes in the center of the “8″ and plastic finger loops connect to the end of the strings. Ok, so that description was complicated and difficult to visualize;  here’s a picture worth those thousand words.

Fyr Flyz are available in three styles and colors:

• Cyclone — green center with one green and one white LED
• Nytfyr — purple center with one red and one white LED
• Blue Angel — dark bluish purple center with one blue and one multicolor LED

Each toy takes two 3V button cell batteries (which are included), and since they power LED bulbs, the batteries should last a long time. That said, I did not test their longevity. However, none of my testers had any problems by the time this review posted.

When the batteries do need to be replaced, they are easy to access via the back of the toy. There is also a separate battery for each light, so you will know if one needs to be replaced but the other is still good.

FyrFlyz at Play

There is no setup for the FyrFlyz, so once I opened the package, my testers were spinning and creating magical masterpieces of light . . . or at least having a lot of fun. There are instructions for how to hold the finger loops, but I considered it a roaring success any time I spun the toy and it didn’t fly out of my hands a roaring success. In reality, I never actyally lost the FyrFlyz, nor did any of my testers. It is just that simple to operate.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to turn on the light.

So, the main idea is to grip the finger loops such that the lights hang down between your hands. Then, simply spin the FyrFlyz in a large circle so that the strings twist. Once you have several revolutions, pull the strings apart, and the FyrFlyz will spin back the other way, making designs in the air. The more you twist, the more tricks you get out of the toy.

You can play with spinning the strings again while the lights are unwinding to create even more designs. In fact, on the back of the package, i-Star has provided some sample designs for light shows you can create with the FyrFlyz. After hours of play, I’m not exactly sure which of these fantastic shapes I have been able to replicate, but I actually don’t care too much. It’s a bit like writing in the air with a sparkler: you see the design for a split second unless you catch it on film, and even then, you might end up with something like a blur. Still, there is the same satisfaction that accompanies sparklers, but with fewer burns.

Regarding safety, frankly, I think younger kids could easily use FyrFlyz as well as the eight and up crowd, provided they aren’t the type to put everything in their mouths or wrap strings around their necks. However, older kids will probably master more tricks more easily.

One of my favorite features is the fact that the design is well-thought out. Despite what ended up being hours of use, I never once had to unknot a string, despite how tangled and twisted it looked.  And, to a mom, this is a true sign of a well engineered product: one that I don’t have to keep fixing.

In a Nutshell

Pros

• Tangle-free string
• Finger loops are easy to hold on to
• Long battery life
• Lights don’t get hot
• Three colors to choose from
• Inexpensive but still very well designed (I’ve seen them for $8-$12 online and in stores)

Cons

• Yeah, I really don’t have any . . . maybe more color options? Really, I’ve got nothing.

We give FyrFlyz:

5 out of 5 stars

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