I bought these because my kids kept stealing the "big people" chopsticks when we order sushi or Chinese food. They boys are 5 and 7, so I don't expect them to have the dexterity to use real chopsticks any time soon. What I was looking for from these was: a) fun, and b) improvement of their fine-motor skills. NOTE: While appreciably easier than regular chopsticks, these still require a little work.
So far, the boys love them. They've been used for almost every meal we've had since we got them. (If I had known, I'd have bought them for the sheer humor factor: imagine a 5-year-old trying to eat spaghetti with chopsticks and you'll know what I'm talking about)
Just one thing: there wasn't anything on the package about whether they are dishwasher safe. We put them in the dishwasher, in the top rack, in a dishwasher-safe basket that we use for such things. One of the chopsticks got warped to the point where it was unusable. Bummer.
All of the others were fine, so maybe this was a fluke. I don't know for sure.
Regardless, I recommend these (again, if only for the humor!)
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A Quick Update: I received a package in the mail the other day -- a brand new set of Holdstix, with a note (hand-written!) that says "Sorry about the warped Holdstix. Please accept this replacement.", and signed by "Lynn". It's important to note that I didn't call them, or email, or whatever. All I did was submit my review.
Wow.
This tells me two things: a) the company is actually reading customer reviews, AND b) they are doing something when they read the reviews. Many companies don't take the time to gather passive customer feedback, and those that do gather such info don't often do anything active / positive with it. Compac obviously views customer feedback as important, AND they are acting on it.
Again: Wow.
Yes, I'd recommend this product, AND THIS COMPANY, to my friends.