I've been part of the team that reviews toys at Good Housekeeping since 2018, and one of the best parts of the process is when we get to host kids upstairs in the Good Housekeeping Institute Labs for in-person toy testing. There, we set up a bunch of toys for them and just let the kids have at it. This gives us special insight not only into how the toys hold up against a marathon of kid love, but also what play sets kids gravitate to in the first place. And, after doing this for more than five years, I've learned that you can never really guess what the kids are going to be clamoring for.
This year, as we were cleaning up from the festivities, a couple of people asked me, "So, what was the hot toy this year?"
"A piece of string," I said.
Cue the funny looks.
"It's hard to explain," I said.
Shop Both ZipStrings
ZipString Original
ZipString Luma
That piece of string was actually the ZipString — technically the ZipString Luma, a glow-in-the-dark version of the ZipString with a cool pattern on the handle. And it is hard to explain, but I'll give it a try: A long, looped piece of string is loaded into the handle. When it's turned on, it makes a billowy shape that somehow turns rigid. Users can try to see how long they can keep the shape up before it falls, or see if they can do trucks like use the loop to lasso an object.
If it seems familiar, it's because you may have seen it on Shark Tank. (Robert and Kevin invested.)
Once someone demoed the ZipString at in-person toy testing, the kids were mesmerized. They all lined up for a chance to try it themselves. It was truly a Pied Piper toy, and the testers would have followed it down the hallway if we'd taken it there
"It's easy to learn new tricks and easy to use — makes me feel confident playing with it," said one 9-year-old tester.
"She liked how it glows in the dark, and she can carry it anywhere," another parent said. "It was a great toy. [It would be great] to see what else we can do with it and learn how to do tricks."
If there's a downside, it's that the string can get tangled easily. Lots of adults were roped (no pun intended) into re-threading the string into the handle for the younger kids. The age recommendation for the ZipString is 8+, and the older kids in our testing reported that they could re-thread it themselves, but the younger ones needed help.
The good news is that both the ZipString and the ZipString Luma are on sale. Which is a lucky thing, because an editor here recommended that parents get two — this is one toy that siblings did not want to share.
And if there are more kids on your list, check out some of our other favorite Prime Day toy deals.
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
