SLIME

SLIME is the sort of craft slime or toy putty people reach for when they want something squishy, stretchable, and hands-on. By our assessment, its best feature is that immediate tactile feel: you knead it, pull it, fold it, and it gives back that soft resistance that other fidget toys do not quite match. The trade-off is the mess and the upkeep, because slime can dry out, pick up dirt, or leave residue if it is poorly made or left out. In practice it is less a tidy object than a short session of handling and rehandling. It sits below a proper modeling compound in seriousness, but above a simple one-motion fidget in how much it asks from your hands. It is for people who want the texture more than any lasting result, and it stops being fun when the material goes tacky or too stiff.