Disclosure: This product was sent to us free of charge for the purpose of this review. However, as per my PR Info page, this review represents our honest opinion of the product. This post may contain affiliate links.
Product: Wandini
Price: £21.99
Age Range: 8+
Manufacturer’s Description: Perform impressive light shows with this clever rechargeable wand that changes colour. Measuring 60cm, the smooth tactile Wandini is lined with LEDs and is attached to a hidden finger loop with a length of cord. Wave your arm in a circle, and the wand appears to dance on its own! There are 22 funky light modes in every colour imaginable to create truly dazzling effects and impressive tricks as it floats through the air. Charged by USB for 3 hours of fun play. Easy to use, simply whirl, swirl and twirl to produce amazing colour combinations – magical!
Rating: (4/5 stars) Review: Wicked Uncle sent us another pick from their range of children’s gifts to review, and it’s another fun light-up one! Lydia has been busy testing out the Wandini Light Wand, which is a great beginner’s light-up flow art “levitation” wand. Inside the box, you get the main body of the light wand, the screw-in top and bottom sections, a short string with a finger loop, instructions, and a micro-USB charging cable. It’s super easy to put together – you simply screw the ends into the central section of the wand, matching the end with the logo to the logo on the middle section. I would prefer USB-C charging, but that’s just me being picky! I do like that the wand glows red while charging and changes to green once fully charged. You probably wouldn’t want to charge it while trying to sleep because it shines very brightly, but at least the charging status is very clear – and it doesn’t take long to charge either. We’ve only charged it once so far and battery life seems very good, even with plenty of use. A button on the centre of the wand turns on the LED lights, which shine through both ends in a double zig-zag pattern before making the tips glow brightly. You can cycle through a huge range of different light settings, with the included instruction sheet clearly listing them all and explaining how to customise the lights in addition to the 21 preset modes available. One end of the wand is slightly heavier than the other, so when you place the loop around your middle finger and hold your hand out, it naturally “hovers” almost vertically below your hand. By letting it dangle while rotating your hand, spinning around, twirling it, or trying a range of different tricks and movements, the Wandini creates the illusion of a levitating, flowing wand of light. This is especially effective in low light – we tried it out at dusk and it looked amazing. Watching the colours cycle through the rainbow while Lydia spun it around in different ways was genuinely mesmerising. Although it really comes into its own outdoors on a clear evening, it can also be used indoors as long as you have enough space around you. It would be brilliant for family festivals, garden parties, or evening picnics at the park, as the light effects look stunning after dark while still being fun to use in daylight too. The manufacturer, Fun in Motion, also has a free app with a collection of tutorial videos to help you learn tricks and techniques. Unfortunately, the embedded YouTube videos within the app didn’t work for us, but tapping them opened them in the browser or YouTube app instead. Lydia has been having lots of fun practising the tricks they demonstrate, and she’s already keen to try some “long string” tricks once she has mastered the shorter setup. The Wandini feels very beginner friendly, especially with the tutorial videos and the shorter string setup helping you build confidence before trying more advanced tricks. You can easily find suitable replacement cord online if you want to experiment with longer strings later on. The box is also handy for storage, as the wand unscrews neatly to fit everything back inside. This also makes it ideal for taking out and about with you without worrying about carrying around a long awkward tube. Aside from one issue with the screw connection, the Wandini actually feels surprisingly durable and well made in your hand, without that cheap plasticky feel some light-up toys can have. However, the screw connection does create a slight weak point. Lydia accidentally knocked the wand against her leg a little too hard and the screw thread snapped. I suspect ours may have had a slight manufacturing fault, as it broke more easily than expected. Wicked Uncle sent a replacement out straight away, which was excellent customer service, and the second wand has been absolutely fine so far – and I genuinely think they’d be just as helpful for paying customers as they are to their bloggers – they have great ratings on feefo and trustpilot! If this did happen again, a little super glue would probably fix it, although you would lose the ability to take it apart for storage afterwards. Overall, I think the Wandini is good value for money at £21.99 and makes a fantastic introduction to flow art and levitation wands for children and adults alike. The light effects are impressive, it’s easy to pick up as a beginner, and it creates some genuinely eye-catching displays in the dark. While the charging port feels a little dated and the screw connection could perhaps be sturdier, neither issue takes away too much from the fun factor. The teens in our house have definitely been enjoying it, and it’s become one of those gadgets that everyone wants “just one more go” with.
