Product Review: Kong Safestix

Kong Safestix offers all the fun of playing with a stick, without the risk of splinters and puncture wounds. These fetch toys are durable, throwable, and they float, too! Safestix are available in a variety of colors and sizes.

Photo by Erin Koski

Ok, first lets go ahead and say that this thing looks like a sex toy. A lot. You basically can't mention this thing without saying that. They might as well call it "Safestix - Wow That Really Looks Like a Sex Toy".

Now that we have that out of the way, I can say that I'm surprised how much my dogs like this thing. I bought it on clearance and fully expected them to ignore it because it doesn't really do anything. It doesn't squeak or crackle. There's no place to hide treats. It's just a solid hunk of flexible plastic that happens to look incredibly suggestive.

Photo by Erin Koski

For some reason Zip thinks this is an awesome toy to play fetch with. Let's be clear here, this is a fetch toy and not a chew toy. It's pretty durable, flexible enough that I'm not worried about Zip breaking a tooth on it, but tough enough that she doesn't leave marks on it either. Still, it's not a Nylabone or a GoughNut, it's not meant to give your power chewer hours of gnawing pleasure. That's right, I just used the word 'pleasure'.

Photo by Erin Koski

Pros

• Flies through the air like a stick
• Doesn't splinter into splinters like a stick
• Floats
• Tough enough to handle some gnawing

Cons

• Is not ubiquitous in nature like a stick
• Will cause your mother-in-law to raise an eyebrow when she sees it on your kitchen floor
• Not actually intended for serious chewing

Bottom Line

This is a nice safe fetch toy that can handle a good gnaw by most dogs. It is standing up well to my low-level power chewer, but it won't survive a real mission of destruction. If your dog is a major toy destroyer, check out my reviews for GoughNuts, Black Kongs, and SodaPup Magnum toys.