I personally use this fidget every single day and to me it’s the best fidget toy you can get. It is the perfect motion to stop me from picking the skin around my fingernails. I may be biased because this particular fidget toy has done a lot to help me stop a bad habit that I didn’t like.
This particular fidget may not be the one that solves your problem, but Tom’s Fidgets will have something that addresses your nail biting, paper ripping, doodling, pen spinning, or whatever else you’ve used up until now to deal with your idle hands.
I can honestly say I was skeptical that it was going to work as advertised. I am glad to report my skepticism melted away after I played with it a few times. It now lives in my pocket and my wife bought 10 more because I have already ripped off a few silicon elastics.
As I touched on there are a lot of different motions or movements that people do. Some people rip paper to shreds during a meeting. Some people spin (and drop) pens. All of these different movements need a different type of fidget.
The best fidgets are the ones that address the thing you want them to address. So it might take some testing of different fidgets to find the one that satisfies your specific need. There are multipacks to test out different types if you’re at that stage.
For me, this fidget is the best one, simply because it solves my problem.
A short list of essential criteria that makes the best fidgets.
- Smooth ballbearings with smooth spin
- As silent as possible
- Small form factor / fits in your hand or between your fingers
- Engaging
- Not disruptive
I will tell you why this fidget satisfies the criteria to be the best fidget toy for me. When you’re looking for the best fidgets for you, make sure you consider these points.
Smooth Spin
There is a spin aspect to this fidget. I hook my finger in the silicon loop and spin it around the front of my finger. It is a satisfying motion and it’s silent.
Silent, but Strong
Other fidgets or pen spinning can be loud and distracting. Sometimes spinners, even very quiet ones, make too much noise for an in person meeting. Not so with this tom’s fidgets keychain based device. This thing is just a bike chain, silicon loops and 2 keychains configured together. Nothing to really make noise. This one is as silent as they come.
Small and fits anywhere!
I have been picking the skin around my fingers for my whole life. I have tried other interventions including bandaids and other fidgets. The other fidgets don’t fit well in my pocket or they aren’t on me when I start engaging the habit I wanted to change. This one easily fits into my pocket and is ALWAYS with me.
Engaging
The best fidgets are mindlessly engaging. You should be able to engage with the fidget and chew gum at the same time. You should not be forcing it too much or you may not have found the correct fidget for you. I only have to have my fidget with me in order to cue myself to use it. Make sure you’re setting youself up for success.
Not Disruptive
If you’re having a conversation or presenting in front of co-workers you should be able to get your fidget out and use it without breaking the conversation. I pick my fingers without telling anyone that I’m doing it, it should be the same with the fidget. It’s not about showing people your toy, it’s about solving a potential issue.
Drawbacks of The Best Fidget
See those brightly coloured silicon loops? Those things are the magic that really tie this whole fidget together. But, with great power comes..well you know. The silicon loops are the best and worst part of this fidget. They’re the secret sauce that makes it perfect. But they’re also the weakest point and most likely point for this one to break.
I have already taken off 3 of the 4 loops, and they’re TIGHT when first opeed. I don’t have a good suggestion for replacing them yet, I will let you know if I find a way. The fidget is still very useful without the loops, but i’m looking at getting a hairband and wrapping it. to try to replace the broken ones. Of course you can just buy a new one if you’re impatient.
Wrapping Up
Tom’s Fidgets Flippy Chain fidget is the best fidget toy because it directly addresses my person finger picking issue. There are other GREAT fidgets out there. Ones designed to help with paper rippers, or tappers or pen spinners. The key is finding the one that addresses your specific movement.
Once you find it, stock up! The damage you used to do to the paper or your fingers will be absorbed by the fidget. But I would buy a few of these a month to stop having sores on my hands because I can’t stop picking my fingers. A box of bandaids is 5.99 (or it used to be) and i would need a few boxes a month. This toy is 7.xx and you won’t need the bandaids.