Kong Ball (Toy)(review)

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Graeme

Dogsey Veteran

Joined: Apr 2005

Posts: 1,517

18-05-2005, 03:57 PM

Kong Ball (Toy)(review)

History

Saffron has seen and played with many balls before. She seems to enjoy it most when the previously silent ball starts making a noise. Sadly though once this happens the ball is taken away to the Ball Inspection Node (or BIN for short).

The Build-up

I had recently had Saffron spayed and feeling guilty everytime I looked at her I decided to purchase a new toy for her. The name was promising, albeit concise: 'Ball' made by the famous Kong Co. I chose the larger 'KB1' model because I knew Saffron preferred slightly larger balls. The order was placed online at 8:36am on a Monday.

We waited 2 long ball-less days after placing the order. By this point there was a certain amount of tension between us. We were arguing over the slightest thing. I had even considered leaving to go and live with a Bichon Frise I knew who had no interest in balls. However, at 10:47am on the Wednesday the doorbell went.

It was the postman. Saffron seemed very interested in him. I could see she was thinking that the postmans grass might be greener. He handed me a parcel and we withdrew to the living room. I had seen the way she had looked at him. Was it too late for us I pondered...

First Impressions

We opened the parcel and discovered it was what we had been waiting for. The Ball was surrounded by cardboard which, it was later pointed out to me, was only packaging. Once this was removed I was pleased to see the Ball was spherical, with no obviously pointy parts. It was quite heavy (236g) but the size was about right (80mm diameter). The rubber felt good in my hands and the smell reminded me of a girl I had met in a nightclub. Saffron seemed very interested. Her eyes lit up again and I remembered how it had been when we had first met. She tried to take the ball away from me. However, I had noticed something that would start me worrying...

Initial Tests

I had noticed embossed, on either side of the Ball, the 'KONG' brand name. This had not been mentioned in any of the sales literature. The embossing was about 1mm high. Surely this would increase the rolling friction of the Ball I thought. Only testing would confirm this.

We tested the bounce factor first. Dropping the Ball from a height of one meter several hundred times. The bounce factor turned out to be 0.8. For anyone not familiar to the bounce factor 0.8 means that it bounced back to 80cm after the initial bounce. This was good. Very good. With each bounce the average number of subsequent, distinctive, bounces came out at 8.4. Several sets of results were discarded due to interference by Saffron. She just wasn't taking this seriously.

Then came the part I was so concerned about. The rolling test. We built up an indoor test area and measured the distance the Ball travelled from leaving a slow under arm throw. Due to a lack of funding the robots we had wanted to perform these tests were not available to us and therefore it was up to me to be the 'thrower' (please note that this term should not be confused with a flame-thrower or Percy Thrower). We worked all night. In the morning after a few coffees I started the complex calculations. The average distance was an astonishing 14.32m. This had far exceeded my expectations. The embossing seemed to make no difference to the distance or direction of the roll. The Kong Co. people had obviously spent millions of dollars on research and development of this Ball.

Field Tests

Happy that the Ball was obviously of sound construction we set off; Ball comfortly in pocket. At 2:47pm we arrived at the field area nearby. On production of the Ball Saffron got really excited. She glanced at me. I knew then that if this Ball let me down she was going to leave. I suspect she had already packed her possessions. Tears welling in my eyes I threw the Ball. It went right across the field. The bounces were predictable. All that testing had been worth it. Saffron ran but stopped at the ball. It was over I thought. I started to cry. She had picked up the ball and was running back to me! She dropped it at my feet and barked. It was obvious what she wanted so I threw it again. This time she ran, grabbed the ball, and came straight back! I knew then that everything was going to be OK.

Conclusion

We played with the Ball for hours that day. Everytime it came back it had an extra bit of drool on it. The drool reminded me of that girl again but I quickly remembered that the only girl for me was sitting right in front of me, tail wagging.

The Ball is still perfectly intact and noiseless. It's definitely her favourite toy. Saffron and I are getting along great again. We owe the Kong Co. a huge debt for saving our relationship. I would have no hesitation recommending the Kong Ball KB1 to others.

Graeme and Saffy the Staffie