Zoingo Boingo - the Flexible Freestyle Pogo: Harder Than it Looks
Written: Jun 23 '07 (Updated Jun 24 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Looks fun, encourages activity
Cons: Elastic too long, too difficult to use, causes blisters, doesn’t hold air
The Bottom Line: Didn’t work for us. Maybe you will have more luck.
|
|
|
| Dr_Steph's Full Review: Zoingo Boingo |
Though I generally aimed for "cheap" when shopping for my soon-to-be eight-year-old's birthday, I splurged (relatively) and bought the $19.99 Zoingo Boingo because, well, it looked so FUN!
What is This Zoingo Boingo You Speak Of?
This is exactly what my son said when I told him the name of this toy. He thinks he's very funny.
When I was perusing the sports aisle of Toys-R-Us, I ran across the most unusual-looking toy - the Zoingo Boingo. This toy is advertised as a "flexible, freestyle pogo." We already have a regular pogo stick that sees a lot of action at our house, so I thought that this variation on a pogo would be the perfect "stay active" summer toy for my son. I held off buying it right away because, well, I was broke. However, when I later saw it at Target, I caved and bought it.
Essentially, the Zoingo Boingo is an inflated heavy-duty ball in the middle of a plastic platform with an elastic cord and handle. Our ball was blue but apparently they come in different colors. The green plastic platform (color also varies) is 15" by 11 1/2" and is slightly concave in shape at the front and the back. There is an outline for the shoe that fits at least a men's size 9 (the size my older son wears). The foot platform has ridges across it for a better foot grip. The ball comes un-inflated and the instructions say to inflate it part way until it is no longer flat. Then you push the ball halfway through the hole in the center of the platform and finish inflating the ball. Finally, you pull the plastic cap across the top of the ball. This cap is held on to the platform by two permanent webbed straps and two quick-snap buckle straps. The purpose of this webbed harness system, I'm guessing, is to keep the ball from coming up through the hole in the platform. The elastic "Zoingo" cord is attached to this plastic cap positioned above the ball. The cord is 15 1/2 inches when not stretched. At the top is a colored plastic handle with two foam grips, one for each hand.
Theoretically, one should be able to stand on the platform, pull up on the handle of the elastic cord and bounce around in various directions. The Zoingo Boingo is designed to hold up to 143 lbs. It is intended for use by children only (8 and up) - 150 no adults. The directions say to use it on dry, smooth, flat paved surfaces or grass. A helmet is recommended.
Adult Assembly Required
The words "Adult Assembly Required" used to result in an automatic knee-jerk reaction of handing the unassembled item to my husband. Since that isn't an option anymore, I have to step up to the plate and do my part on the toy adult assembly line. I pulled out the instructions, did the obligatory over-40 squint at the directions and groaned. I needed a pump (well, of course!) and ALL of my bicycle pumps and other air pumps have mysteriously moved out of the house. Off to Fred Meyer.
I came home with a standard manual bicycle pump. The Zoingo Boingo comes with a ball needle so you don't need to worry about that. As directed, I partially inflated the flat blue ball until it was no longer flat but not quite a ball. I pushed the ball up inside the middle of the platform until the rim on the middle of the ball pushed against the center rim on the platform. Then I finished inflating the ball until it was firm. It turns out that there is actually a cardboard cut-out of an "inflation guide" that you can put over the top of the ball to make sure you inflated it properly. I tested this after-the-fact and found that my ball didn't quite measure up. However, it felt so firm that I was hesitant to inflate it anymore since there were also dire warnings about over inflating the ball.
Bust a Move on the Zoingo Boingo
The packaging for this flexible pogo describes four different techniques that you can use, once you successfully mount the toy and are able to stay upright (no easy feat on its own).
~ ZB Bouncin': This is the first technique one would attempt. It requires that you push both feet against the top of the ball ("hug the ball"), bend your knees, pull up on the elastic cord, and then jump...and jump...and keep on jumping. Now, this may sound simple, but just getting your balance on this toy is a tremendous challenge. However, my oldest son (age 11) was able to master this almost immediately and eventually I even managed some rather pathetic jumps.
~ ZB Movin': Once you have figured out the jumping up and down part, you can actually travel with this toy by gently leaning (and thereby hopping) in the direction you want to go.
~ ZB Spinnin': This technique requires that you actually spendy some time airborne where you can then twist your shoulders and hips to spin while you hop. Yeah...right.
~ ZB Stoppin': When you've had enough fun with this challenging toy, you can stop by bending your knees when you land and NOT pulling up on the elastic cord.
Zoingo Boingo in Action at Dr_Steph's House
Well, the first thing out of my birthday boy's mouth was "I can't even bounce on a regular pogo stick. How am I supposed to do this?" Then, seeing the crestfallen look on my face, he brightly chirped "But Daniel is really good at the pogo stick so HE can play with this." I'm not sure how I missed that little detail about my youngest son not being able to pogo. It seems like that pogo stick is ALWAYS in use. I guess it's the older two who use it, though. I suppose I've finally entered "information overload"where I'm not tracking perfectly on what each of my children are doing at all times. Bottom line ... I felt awful.
Since my youngest son had already decided that he couldn't be successful, he put very little effort into mastering this toy at first. He did eventually manage a few feeble jumps that first day and was proud of that. The most apparent problem I noticed right way is that the elastic cord was too long for him so that there really wasn't any tension in it when he pulled up on it. As far as I can tell, there is no way to adjust the length of the cord. Though the directions say it is for ages 8 and up, I guess a height range would be more useful than age.
My 11-year-old son, on the other hand, immediately mounted this pogo and was gleefully jumping all over my dining room in a matter of seconds. After he dismounted, I tried several times, unsuccessfully, to get upright on this toy and then finally managed a few pathetic jumps. I know that the directions say “No adult” but they do allow for individuals up to 143 lbs. and I weigh a lot less than that. In fact, recent life stresses have resulted in me weighing less than my 11-year-old. So I figured that even though I was old in years, I was young in stature. Still, it didn't make me any better at mastering this toy.
All three of the boys at the sleepover birthday party tried the Zoingo Boingo. Two gave up right away but one kept at it and managed to few jumps. We all found it easier to mount the Zoingo Boingo if we sat on the couch and put our feet in position and them stood up. Just putting one foot on first and then the other doesn't work well when the first foot slides off right away. The instructions do say that you should have shoes on and that does seem to be important since stocking feet don't stay on well.
Eventually my birthday boy was able to get a succession of jumps in a row in and was quite proud of himself. However, I noticed that the platform hit the floor each time he jumped which seemed wrong to me. I checked and, sure enough, the ball had lost air. I pumped it back up and then my younger son had more trouble with it. My older son tried to show off and timed himself bouncing on the Zoingo Boingo in the dining room (we never made it outside with this toy). He bounced for several minutes barefoot and then found that he had significant abrasions/blisters on the inside of each foot. He screamed and cried and basically made a big scene because of his sore feet. Of course, he should have worn shoes and I told him so. You should have seen the dirty looks I got from my ex as my son limped out of the house, whimpering, on his way to a Father's Day hike. Oh well...
Bottom line, this toy was both difficult to use AND lost air repeatedly. I got tired of re-inflating it every day and finally returned it to Target with the promise to give the $20 to my birthday boy. That made him very happy.
Dr_Steph's Recommendation
Can I recommend the Zoingo Boingo ? That's hard to say. We might have gotten a lemon and others may stay inflated better. However, the issue of difficulty and the length of the elastic cord are greater concerns, especially when considering a small 8 year old. Maybe it would be worth it if it was on sale, but I paid full price and wasn't satisfied.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
Type of Toy: Sports
Age Range of Child: Other
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.