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HomeScienceChemistryInsta Snow 1 lb Bag |
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|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 12 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 found the following review helpful:
 This is the version to buy - avoid "Super Snow"... Dec 04, 2007
By Brian Fuchs
Who would have thought there was two types of "instant snow"? This stuff is manufactured by Dunecraft, and the other is manufactured by Steve Spangler Science. Is there a difference? You betcha! Although they are both superabsorbent polymers, they yield incredibly different results.
The Dunecraft version is the same powder found in disposable baby diapers. Sounds great - after all they swell up to a huge degree. Well, ya know how the diaper feels really squishy as you take it to the trash can? That's the polymer becoming the consistency of fine-grained tapioca pudding. The Dunecraft snow crystals swell to very large globules of trapped water - nothing like real snow. When you try to form a snowball, most of it sticks to your hands. In fact, you'll be picking these globules off your hands, arms and clothes for hours to come.
The Spangler version looks identical to Dunecraft in it's dry form. But when it's wet, it remains dry-feeling even though it's filled with water. The expanded crystals much more closely resemble flakes. The consistency is light and fluffy, yet you can still compress the stuff into a ball - just to a lesser degree as the ball will want to fall apart. Best of all - your hands will come away flake-free.
If my descriptions don't convince you, let's compare the formula for each vendor's snow, per their own instructions:
Dunecraft: "Mix 1/2 teaspoon Super Snow with 8 ounces of water"
Spangler: "Mix 1/2 teaspoon of Insta-Snow with 1 ounce of water"
Both products swell to 100 times their size, and will therefore end up filling the same volume. The container with the Dunecraft snow will weigh half a pound from all that water. The container with Spagler will weigh 1/8 as much (i.e. light and fluffy).
Let's also compare the instructions once the water is added...
Dunecraft: "Stir and continue to stir until snow forms. You must stir for at least 20-30 seconds to see the snow magically appear from the slush." That's straight from the bag. The "snow" they are referring to is a larger version of...slush.
And Spangler? Well, just Google Insta-Snow and you'll eventually find demonstration videos. You literally pour a tiny bit of water on a small mound of crystals and the snow appears in a second or two. You CAN stir for a more dramatic reaction, but you don't need to.
I'm not a shill for Spangler. Both companies put out good products. The Dunecraft snow is a little cheaper than Spangler, but the difference is huge. Go with Insta-Snow - you won't regret it.
By the way, both products are re-usable; they return to a small crystal form when the water evaporates. The Dunecraft takes several WEEKS to do so at low humidity (after all it holds 8 times the water). The Spangler takes several days to fully dry. You will see the volume diminish every morning until there's just crystals. You will need to stir the Dunecraft version every day, as the top will form a hard shell trapping the moisture underneath. Once you stir it up, much of the slush will want to stick to your spoon. Kids may enjoy the Dunecraft version simply because it's messy and feels gross. Parent's will love the Spangler version because it's not. But I promise that kids will really get a kick out of seeing snow literally erupt from a pile of dust - that's the magic of Spangler. Remember, Dunecraft is exactly what you find in a disposable diaper - which wasn't designed to be re-used (believe me, I tried....but that's another story)
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
InstaSnow is Cool Nov 21, 2007
By Cory Sinklier
I am a photographer and we used Insta-Snow on a Christmas set. The amount we got made was a good amount of snow and it lasted for a couple days without trouble. When we were done, we just vacuumed up the snow. It was probably too dirty to try and re use.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Lasted through 100 kids... Feb 11, 2010
By Nicole
"Nicole"
I am an education supervisor in a preschool and we bought the insta snow for a school wide winter celebration. We filled a few large buckets with the snow and let the kids go crazy. There were over 100 kids playing with it for hours and the snow held up through all of it. The kids loved it and we will be ordering again for next year.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Buy Insta-Snow! Jun 02, 2008
Buy the Steve Spangler version of Insta-Snow. That darn Dunecraft version of snow ruined my floor!!! I dropped some on the floor, and it literatly shattered! With Insta-Snow, there is no mixing needed, but with super snow, it reads, "Stir 20-30 seconds to make snow." All you get is a tired hand and a cup of diaper goo.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Use on hard-surfaces only Jan 19, 2008
By Lance Eck
"Onward"
Nifty stuff. Use it only in places that are easy to clean-up. We got it as a tactile therapy item for our autistic daughter. She likes it fine--it feels neat. It doesn't, however, come up from the carpet easily. On hard floors, it sweeps right up though.
See all 12 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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