Oxballs Squeeze Ball Stretcher Review

Personal Experience

Figuring it Out

Getting Used to it

Secondary Benefits

Design

I don't want to give it a really good design rating, but there are no major flaws. Everything works as intended, and there's clearly some thought put into the functional shape. The inner ridges do help it feel more secure, although I'm not convinced they actually do anything. What holds it back is the aesthetic. A rounded cylinder with all-caps "SQUEEZE" stamped on to side of it has all the presentation of a chef handing you a plate of mashed potatoes with "SPUDS" written into it. It just doesn't look sexy or inviting to me.

Ease of Use

"Ease of Use" is another mixed bag here. For the most part, this is a really easy toy to use. It's straightforward and delivers a mild enough experience that even someone completely new to ball-stretching toys can dive right in. It really loses points here though for how hard it is to put on. This is easily the biggest flaw with the toy. It still feels like I'm doing something wrong to stretch it that wide, but I can't see any other way. If your room happens to be a little cold, it is winter at the time I am testing this, the problem just compounds. You need two hands to keep it stretched, obviously, leaving nothing to help make sure your balls don't shy away from the whole endeavor.

Quality

This thing feels sturdy enough to build a house with. The elasticity is just like rubber, perhaps even better than what most rubber bands are made of. I wouldn't be surprised if this thing outlives me. Aside from the stellar physical qualities of the material, the clear plastic is cloudy. I don't know how easy it is to mix FlexTPR perfectly, but I can see opaque spots and streams where the product isn't perfectly consistent. This usually isn't a sign of great quality, so I can't give Oxballs Squeeze a perfect 100. Rest assured, I don't think this compromised the resilience of the toy. I've repeatedly stretched it as hard as I can and haven't seen any signs of tear or internal stress

Price

Oxballs is available for 24$ on their own store page, but is available for 18$ on sites like Babeland. The cost is an extremely low investment. You can get ball-stretchers for around 10$, but they are usually much shorter or of questionable quality. This toy is definitely cheaper than average for what it delivers. If you are looking for something with a bit more intensity though, you should be able to find more advanced ball-stretchers for similar prices. Oxballs Squeeze is probably more worth it for beginners.

Performance

Oxballs Squeeze honestly performs exactly how you'd expect it to. Given the simple functionality, simple design, and high-quality material, there's really nothing that could go wrong here.

Packaging

Oxballs Squeeze came in plastic clamshell packaging, but it wasn't actually that difficult to get it open. The plastic is thin and mostly there just for presentation. When I got it, the plastic packaging was damaged. The product itself was fine, the package likely just got bumped or dropped somewhere along the way.

Materials and care

Oxballs Squeeze is made of FlexTPR. FlexTPR is a special kind of plastic that acts like rubber. It seems really high-quality, is super elastic, durable, and waterproof. However, it is not non-porous like 100% silicone, but since it's not designed for internal use, that's not such an issue. Oxballs recommends cleaning it with soap and warm water. The one I received was clear, but there are a variety of colors on offer. The "night color" option boasts "added silicone," but I don't know what exactly that would change about the toy.