What your favorite stress-ball/stress-toy ever?

September 2, 2005 5:24 PM

What your favorite stress-ball/stress-toy ever?

I want a stress-ball to squeeze and stuff. Ideally I'd like it so that my hands don't reek of latex afterwards. Additional bonus features like "Makes your hand able to crush rocks" are nice, too, though I'm game for anything that's neat.

With that in mind, what's the best stress-ball ever?

posted by sdis to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (15 answers total)

That head-scratcher dilly that looks like a spider.
posted by ed\26h at 6:13 PM on September 2, 2005

I'm a big fan of chinese stress balls. They're made of porcelain (I think) and have tiny bells inside them. The goal is to shuffle them in your hands without making any sounds. A bit awkward at first, but pretty soothing once you get the hang of it.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 7:59 PM on September 2, 2005

My programming teacher in high school got a prescription (!) for bubble wrap.
posted by sohcahtoa at 8:00 PM on September 2, 2005

I like tennis balls. But I am more likely to chew gum for tension relief.
posted by whatnot at 8:03 PM on September 2, 2005

I have a few of these.

They are highly squeezable. When stressed, I frequently make them do mighty battle. Then I squoosh them. Sometimes squishing something cute can do wonders.

I also have some of these.
I can't stop squeezing them. They always make me feel better when I'm stressed. (I kept one at work, too). You can even bite them!
posted by zerokey at 8:55 PM on September 2, 2005

I have an entire collection of things that I've acquired that I can keep my left hand busy with while I browse the net.

(I tried to rewrite that sentence 3 times so it didn't sound like that, then I gave up cause you know what I'm really getting at).

Some random stuff that I have to play with include:

tangle toy sort of a slinky thing.

This small pen is fun to spin and play with and has a really satisfying "click" to it.

The powerball gyroscope can be fun and definitely has the potential to make your hands able to crush rocks.

If you can be around strongly magnetic things (safe as long as it stays a foot or two away from your computer), these uberorbs are fun.

smart mass thinking putty has an interesting texture and some strange properties, though it normally turns into something that you play with using 2 hands (pulling it apart quickly has a satisfying "snap")


I also find that juggling balls are often cheaper to buy than what are labeled as stress balls. You can often get a set of 3 juggling balls for the price of a single stress ball.

this place seems to have a pretty good supply of regular stress balls if you're looking for a specific shape or type.
posted by freshgroundpepper at 10:34 PM on September 2, 2005

I want to second or third the chinese stress balls, which are purportedly good at toning muscle and mitigating repetive stress. As far as the price goes, two weighty spherical entities are all that is needed and rock shops and the cheesy mall "imports" shops with a bunch of quasiethnic figurines and whatnot are great places to pick up a few weighty spherical entities for very little money. The stuff on freshgroundpepper's 'this place' link is also pretty bargain priced, but there is a sizing issue depending on how big your hands are. And you know what they say about big hands.

Having said that to fulfill a modicum of AskMe standard helpfulness, I would really like to know how one gets a prescription (!) for bubble wrap and for what symptoms plz advise.
posted by moift at 1:51 AM on September 3, 2005

You might want to try one of the REI items for stress balls.
posted by brent at 10:38 AM on September 3, 2005

My favorite stress toy at the moment is putty - not the tiny amount of sillyputty you can get at the toy store, but a real honest to goodness adult sized hunk of the stuff.

I'm a fan of crazy aaron's puttyworld.
posted by mulkey at 12:53 PM on September 3, 2005

My favorite squeeze ball is made out of something called Sorbothane, which seems to be usually used for insoles and catcher's mitt padding. It's got a great feel to it - firm and dense, but with some give. I have no idea where to find one, and the brand name has worn off. I think I originally bought it in a sports supply store. I'd contact them and see if they know where to get one.
posted by Caviar at 1:47 PM on September 3, 2005

"Chinese stress balls" come in all manner of sizes and materials. I really like the seriously heavy stainless steel ones (that don't have a bell inside of them). If you do decide get some, try out the different sizes to figure what works best for you. Ideally, you'll rotate the balls in your hand without the balls touching each other.

As for putty, there's this "sticky tack" stuff that's presumably for putting up posters (and it works great for temporarily sealing up dormatory doors when you're, ahem, smoking stuff) but if you get enough of it, it offers a lot more resistance than silly putty. Be careful which brand you buy, though, I've found some that have no smell and aren't stick to hands, but I've run into some pretty nasty stuff, too.

If you want to work up to crushing walnuts, why not get one of those Y-bars (I can't remember what they're called, they're basically a spring with extended arms. One of these things.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 3:14 PM on September 3, 2005

Caviar, those sorbothane stress balls sound interesting. I was able to find that there is one product called Sorbothane Pocket Rocket but was unable to find any place to acutally purchase them. I might contact the manufacturer to see if they're still being made.
posted by freshgroundpepper at 5:29 PM on September 3, 2005

The Velvet Slime Anemone from Office Playground. Also available in bead-form instead of anemone.
posted by IndigoRain at 10:39 AM on September 4, 2005

Interesting. The sorbothane ball I have is round, but that shape seems nice too.
posted by Caviar at 5:28 PM on September 7, 2005

I did find a place down under called sportstek that carries Sorbothane Grip Strengthener (the ball form, what you must have Caviar). The shipping is a bit expensive ($20 AUD/~$15 USD).
posted by freshgroundpepper at 1:30 AM on September 8, 2005