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Sunday, January 8, 2012

The BIG Fort by Toydle Review

Our family was blessed to receive a BIG Fort from Toylde.  I am going to give you some information about the company and then I will tell you what we thought about The BIG Fort.



Toydle is the brain child of Robert Brownfield. Rob—president of Worry-Free Manufacturing in Boise, Idaho—has been making quality products for years. He is also the father of two fraternal twins, Ike and Molly. (Their pictures adorn our website.) Like all good fathers who refuse to (fully) grow-up, he loves toys, and he loves to give toys to his kids.
Problem is, as you’re fully aware, good toys are hard to find—real, high-quality, long-lasting toys. 

Frankly, most toys are only slightly better than junk.

Awhile back Rob brought home a toy for his son. Within five minutes it had met its fate on the driveway concrete. Busted. Worthless. And only five minutes old! While stewing on this reality Rob thought, “This is dumb! I can build better stuff than this. I do build better stuff than this!”

And so The Toydle Dream was born.

Toydle Forts are made in the USA—in Boise, Idaho. Each tube is cut, each wood block is hand-shaped by an American worker. We believe that with a little American ingenuity we can make products better and more cost-effective than sending the work overseas. We believe that we can win jobs back for our workers and our economy. We practice it every day!

And we guarantee every Toydle product—we will replace any product or piece thereof that fails for any reason, even if your little critters leave a block out in the rain, or try to do pull-ups with a tube. 

The quality of our products speak for themselves.

And yes, the quality does speak for itself.  The website says, "We won't settle for making junky toys..." and let me tell you, I believe them.  The quality of this fort is amazing.  I love the sturdy wooden blocks that are used for the joints and the pvc pipe is heavy enough not to break easily but also light enough for kids to handle.  Toydle also includes clamps so that you can put a roof on your fort! Head over to this page to see the specifications of the pvc and blocks.  Yes, these pieces are sturdy but they are not for climbing on.


Watch this video to see a bit about it:


When we first opened our box, I was pleasantly surprised by the duffel bag the pieces were in.  It is a sturdy bag that will surely last a very long time.  Plus, you have somewhere to keep the pieces when you are not using the Fort.  Bonus!!


The next thing I notices was that there no instructions.  Aagghh!!  Yes, I sent up a panicked scream.  When I was done fretting, I asked some friends if they had received instructions only to find that their answer was on as well.  A sweet friend gently told me, "That's kind of the point.  Let your kids play and just see what they can come up with."  Um, yeah I knew that.


Today we are so used to toys telling us how to play with them that I think we forget to be creative and just play.  Our kids are pretty good at it if we let them.

So, we unpacked our fort, squealed with delight, and got to playing.  The first night we had the Big Fort open, the kids made the biggest fort they could.  They used every piece!  It completely filled up the bedroom.  That night they camped in the Fort and giggled all night.  The next time they built their fort, they made a two room house.  The next, a tower for a princess.  Each time it has been different and each time they created it to fit their imaginative play.



I think besides the quality, the thing I like most about The Toydle Big Fort is that it allows my children to create a play space to fit their imaginations and that is different every time they play.  What better way to foster their minds than to give them the tools for creative play?



Toydle offers two different forts.  The Toydle Fort which sells for $149 and The BIG Toydle Fort that sells for $229.  That may seem a little steep but let me tell you, these forts will last until your grandchildren are ready to play with them.  Okay, maybe not but they will last a very long time!

To find out more about Toydle, the company, head on over to their website and look around.  If you want to order a for your family and being the imagination adventure head over here

**I received this product in exchange for my honest review.

 

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