Review: Pic 'n' Pop

Thanks to Tomy for supplying the following item for review.

The Pic 'n' Pop is, I suppose, a bit like a vacuum cleaner. A really weird vacuum cleaner, granted. There are lots of 'toy' vacuum cleaners on the market, but few of them are strong enough to actually suck up anything of worth, much to the disappointment of the child. This, however, easily manages to pick up large balls through it's 'flipper' action. Then it shoots them back out again with the press of the button on the handle. A bit like this...

It's a simple concept but it keeps the little 'uns entertained as they chase after the balls to pick them up again. It's interesting that this is easier for a child to push along than an adult. Something to do with the angle the Pic 'n' Pop is held at, I'd imagine, although I will admit to not having fully researched the matter.

It's worth nothing that, despite looking good in videos, the Pic 'n' Pop is a bit useless on grass. There's almost zero ground clearance so it's hard to push along on bumpy ground. But then my guess is that's it's designed more as an indoor toy anyway.

Speaking of which, you need a reasonable amount of room to use it. It takes about 50cm from initial Pic 'n' Pop contact with the ball until it's taken up inside. It doesn't sound like much, but when you add in a drive up and multiple balls, the distance soon increases. In our tiny living room the balls have to be lined up down the centre to suck them up properly.

There is an 18 month age on the box. This is about right. The child has to have a pretty good grip to pull the trigger to release the balls. My daughter is bang-on 18 months old and isn't quite strong enough to work this yet. She can do the 'picking up' bit fine, but not the firing. Yet.

And, once the child grows up a little, there's always the alternate use for it...