Six Months with Stimagz Series I
I normally review pens, not fidget toys, but considering how much of my love of interesting pens really comes down to wanting something to fidget with when I’m not writing, I feel like it’s not too big a stretch. I’ve actually been playing with my pens a little less over the last six months, though, which was when I finally bought my first set of Stimagz, after seeing them advertised on TikTok and Facebook for ages. When I saw the “Deep Red” set on the Stimara website, I finally jumped on a 16 pack of them (and so as not to bury the lead I’ll share that when those Deep Red magnets went missing somewhere in my house a couple months later, I obsessed about finding them so much that my wife bought me a set of 18 OG Purple magnets as a replacement.)
I also went ahead and backed the Series II Kickstarter campaign, out of interest for a longer version of the magnets, but because I was one of the last backers, and because I had add-on items selected that have been delayed, I do not have an Series II magnets in hand yet, so this review covers only the Series I model. My understanding is that the Series II models are a bit longer (which I look forward to), and are made of a slightly softer plastic which gives a different hand-feel and also leads to them being quieter (the Series I are pretty clicky; I’d be wary of using them in an open floor plan office or at a library, but they aren’t super loud.)
So, what is it about Stimagz? Why did I feel so compelled to find or replace them when I have a desk full of pens, gadgets, and other fidget toys that I could just as easily shift my attention to? If I had to summarize it in just three words I’d say “modular hand feel”, but that’s a really terrible elevator pitch, so allow me to expand on that a bit.
Other magnetic fidgets I’ve played with in the past were often too big or too small for my hands (my day job is in regulatory compliance, so I understand why they have to be that way and I’m not pushing back on that, but the end results are still unsatisfying.) Or else they were “closed systems” where two or three pieces slide or spin, but that’s it, no more no less. What really make Stimagz shine for me is the fact that they are the perfect size that I can manipulate a single one easily, but still small enough that I can add an absurd number together and still work with them (it’s not uncommon to catch me with a cluster of 48 all at once, which has such a nice weighty feel to it.) And unlike “closed systems”, they don’t have to get tedious or repetitive; when I get bored of one particular motion or usage of them (Stimara calls these “Patterns”) I can easily switch it up to another one. I usually use mine in a “slider” configuration, but it’s really easy to mix it up. This also makes it easy to justify buying new Stimagz in other colors when they are released, because you aren’t just buying something redundant to what you already have, but rather you’re adding to a growing collection that you can use interchangeably and modularity.
And despite being pretty collectible, there doesn’t seem to be the sort of “scalper” market you see springing up around many other e-commerce products with periodic releases these days. It’s seems like the people who buy Stimagz are actually using them, not just flipping them, and when a new color is released it doesn’t seem to sell out immediately, but rather there’s enough time that if you pay attention to their marketing about upcoming releases you should be able to grab what you want before it goes out of stock.
If I’d known how much I would like these Stimagz I honestly would have bought them much sooner. As I mentioned, I’ve been getting ads for Stimagz on TikTok for ages, and I was always intrigued by them, but the price put me off. $30 for 12 magnets was a tough sell for me - more than two dollars apiece. That’s why it took until the Misfits release for me to buy in at closer to $1.50 apiece (16 for $25). Of course, as I already said, I saw the value in them well enough that I had no qualms with my wife replacing my magnets at full price. And honestly, Stimara has plenty of sales and coupon codes if you keep an eye out. As well as a rewards program where every so many dollars spent you can redeem your points for a free set. In a world where multi-hundred dollar fidgets also exist (not for me, but I won’t yuck anyone else’s yum), and knowing that the Stimara team really puts thought and care in to their design and production, and stands behind their products with replacements (I’ll get back to that), rather than just churning things out as fast and cheap as possible, I think the price is fair for what you get.
Part of why I think the price to value is fair is that I’ve tried the cheaper alternatives. I bought my kids a set of the current iteration of the kids toys that inspired Stimagz, and I’ve also purchased (and returned) the knock-off versions of Stimagz on Amazon. First of all, the two alternative products are basically the same thing as each other - no surprise there - and both of them are inferior to Stimagz. They are smaller, harder to manipulate (less defined shapes) and much weaker magnets. If they are “good enough” for someone else then that’s great for them, but for me, every time I used them I just found myself wishing I was using the regular Stimagz instead. Again, if it’s all that one can afford, then it’s at least something, but it’s really not a comparison to the actual product.
Now, one concern I’ve heard from others that I haven’t faced myself is the plastic casing around the magnets wearing out over time. I don’t know whether I’m just gentler on the magnets than others (that would be a first for me, but maybe), or if I have so many different magnets that I swap through that I just haven’t put enough wear on any of them yet to see it, but I’ve seen photos from others of the plastic completely worn through, especially on the ends. Thankfully, every case I’ve seen of this has been accompanied either by a story of how Stimara is taking care of them with a replacement, or even Stimara proactively reaching out to them in a comment and asking them to get in touch for a replacement. The stated warranty period on the Stimagz is 12 months, and Stimara just passed their second anniversary in business, so I imagine over time there will be some number of people who have these issues out of warranty, but everything I’ve seen from Stimara leads me to believe that customer service will still try to help them in some way, even if not a full replacement.
And I say that because my own first experience with Stimara customer service was when I emailed them lamenting my lost Deep Red magnets, asking if they maybe had some extras hidden away in their warehouse that I could purchase as a replacement. The email I got back was incredibly sympathetic, offering me thoughts on where they had themselves found misplaced magnets that I might try looking, and even a 10% discount code that I could use to purchase a replacement set in a different color if I wasn’t able to find them (come to think of it, I don’t think I ever used that code. Note to self…) I spent 10 years in customer-facing retail, and anyone who has ever emailed my blog’s webshop knows that I still handle all of my customer inquiries personally to this day, so I pay a lot of attention to the way that a company’s customer support treats their patrons. Not just whether or not they resolve an issue, but level of genuine concern they express through the way they interact. What I saw with Stimara was truly genuine care, and I took notice.
Not long after, Stimara opened up their customer Discord, where I again saw the same level of concern and openness. From polling customers for ideas on things like colors and future products, to responding swiftly and openly to concerns raised by posters, to sharing concepts and teases of future products in town hall streams, I saw a company that is interested in engaging with their customers honestly, and that wants to make a product people actually use, not just one that they buy. As a backer of the Kickstarter for Stimagz Series II I’ve seen the same kind of transparency in the updates there, as well. I have backed 55 kickstarters over the years, and the majority of those have had delays or other issues, but I have never seen another Kickstarter campaign that was more open, apologetic, and looking to compensate backers in some way than I’ve seen with Stimara’s latest campaign, and that’s just over a three month delay. In the Kickstarter world a three month delay is practically an early release, frankly.
Overall, as I said above, I’ve been incredibly happy with my Stimagz. I’m not a completionist who needs every color, but I’ve gone from one color to seven in the span of six months (not even counting the Series II sets I have coming to me) and I find myself looking forward to picking some colors out of future sets (like hopefully a rerelease of the Deep Reds, hint hint if anyone at Stimara is reading this.) The price is a little higher than I would ideally like, but reasonable for the quality you get, and there are plenty of discounts and sales if you want to stretch every penny and don’t mind hunting around a little. The company has shown that they care about their customers, and I’m happy to know who I’m supporting when I buy from them.
The fidget toys reviewed above were a mix of items purchased at regular retail price and items provided to me by Stimara at no cost in exchange for an honest review.
