Product Review + Giveway: Aerobie Sprint Flying Ring

Some kids are natural-born frisbee players. Others spend most their frisbee play-time securing their frisbee’s safe return after it landed in the neighbor’s backyard. I have one of each – an 8-year old girl who aims so well I take cover when she throws a book at me and a 7-year old girl whose eyesight I keep checking because she bumps into furniture and drops things but no says the doctor she sees fine, she’s just clumsy. Enters the Aerobie Flying Ring, a flying recreation device described as “comfortable to catch and fun for throwers of all skill levels.” Even clumsies? As serendipity would have it, the folks at Aerobie contacted me to see if I’d try out the Flying Ring as a backpacking or camping accessory. I’m a good mom, I said yes! Anything to increase my little clumsy’s self-esteem, even a frisbee with soft edges shaped like a doughnut and it’s not even called a frisbee because it’s a flying ring. Our family took it out to the neighborhood playground. It landed twice in the neighbors’ backyard – guess who threw –  and we had a ball. Here are a few reasons.

REVIEW

It’s the World’s Best

No pressure, it says so on the website. It’s “a compact version of the world’s farthest thrown object, flies twice as far a regular disc for awesome games of catch.” The neighbors can confirm, it goes further than intended. Much much further. My advice – don’t go to our neighborhood playground, it’s too small for such a nifty device. Pick a football-size field and unleash your inner Olympian. If my 7-year old can throw it 100 yards in a straight line (oops, she did it again!), chances are you can do better. And you will. Bonus self-esteem points for my 7-year old.

It’s So Light You Barely Know it’s There

Two ounces. That’s 56 large paper clips, 10 US quarters or one large egg. Meaning – if you get hit in the forehead, it’s less painful. A brighter way to look at things: I can clip it to my backpack, hike for miles in the lush wilderness of the Bay Area, find a nice open spot and play for hours on end with a partner willing to run fast after a long hike. From my 7-year old perspective, 2 ounces is easy to carry to the playground. Any heavier and chances of whining increase by the ounce.

It’s So Thin It Could Be Invisible

But the folks at Aerobie are smart – ours is a crying-out-loud fluorescent yellow but it also comes in crying-out-loud orange and crying-out-loud magenta. Now try to lose sight of that in clear blue skies if you can. I bet even in thick fog you see it better than the neighbor’s dog trying to catch it before you do. For something only an eighth of an inch thick, it’s pretty darn visible.

It’s For All Skill Levels

I already mentioned that in the intro. And the truth is – it’s for all skill levels. Ladies and gentlemen and girls and boys, that is an honest-to-recreation product claim. In between search-and-rescue missions in the neighbors’ backyard, my 7-year old managed to throw and catch the flying disc a fair number of times, more she’s ever thrown or caught any old frisbee before. Of course it still ended up in the wrong backyard but we didn’t break any windows so we’re still on good terms with the neighbors. Bonus self-esteem points for the 7-year old. As for my 8-year old, she liked it so much she decided she’d stop playing with her sister and me, focusing on her dad who’s a much more coordinated person. Geez Louise, thanks for the sportsmanship.

It’s So Fun You can Play Aerobie Golf and Not Even Have to Like Golf
Don’t tell my father-in-law but I don’t like golf at all. However a game of Aerobie golf sounds like my kind of fun while hiking or camping. Take the kids to a forest -redwoods, pines or oak trees, your pick – and pick any tree that’s going to be your target. Now step out 500 yards away without losing sight of your target and see who can hit the designated tree through the forest with the minimum number of throws. Good luck with that! No really, it will be fun and for campers of all ages. Even my 7-year old will do it.

GIVEAWAY

You too want a 10″ Aerobie Sprint Flying Ring that you can take camping or hiking so you can feel strong, powerful and coordinated? Here’s how:

• Comment on this email and tell me why you want the flying disc
• Don’t forget your name and email address
• Ask your friends to comment too and whisper your name in their comment – extra entry for you
• Live in the US or Canada – or move there before the winner is announced
• Comment by July 14, 2012, 6PM PST
• Frog Mom newsletter subscribers get an additional entry each
• Follow Frog Mom on Twitter (@frogmomblog) and tweet about this giveaway. If you need a little inspiration you can use the following message: “This week I want to win an Aerobie Spring Flying Ring! Visit @frogmomblog blog for details http://wp.me/p2kxQd-11d.”

The winner will be chosen by Randompicker.com and will be notified via email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond and claim their prize.

Disclaimer: I received a free Aerobie Sprint Flying Ring to write this review. The opinions expressed here are 100% mine.