Moon Shoes – a throwback toy | Review

*AD – the item in this review was gifted to our household for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.

I remember my first pair of Moon Shoes, jumping around my parent’s house, on their wooden floor, feeling like I was an astronaut, somehow, within my own home. Moon Shoes were these toys that you basically strapped your feet into, allowing you to bounce around on mini-trampolines. There isn’t a huge upkeep as there would be with a large trampoline, but they bring just as much fun as having one! Moon Shoes came out, originally, around the 1950s as an effort from Nickelodeon to create toys – and were made of metal. When I was a child, they were plastic and much like Moon Shoes are now.

When it comes to putting together your shoes, they do come with the outer shoe, platform for your feet and the straps all separated – and it is effort to put them together. I didn’t realize my dad had done the stretching! There are a bunch of replacement bands, so if your bands start to wear out, you can just switch them out for a new set, and keep on jumping! Once our shoes were put together, the kids were pretty interested in something described as a trampoline and was also space themed. Moon Shoes are recommended for ages 7 and up, and the weight limit on Moon Shoes is 130lbs or 58.9 kg, so they are not meant for most adults. We went out back to try the shoes out on the grass, so if there were any learning curve falls, they would be on softer ground.

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Much like skating for the first time, Moon Shoes do take some getting use too. Amelia, who is the least confident at trying new things, did need a hand to hold for quite some time before she started bouncing in place on her own. There were lots of giggles along the way, and lots of bouncing around the garden. Eventually, we got to a place where everyone could move on their own, making their way in big jumps around the garden. Moon Shoes, once you get moving, really does tire out kids! Not sure if it is because of the heavy foot wear or the concept of them being on the moon, but at the end of the day they were tired.

We started doing races to get up and down the garden, timing children as they make their way to the back wall or counting the number of jumps it took for them to get from the top of the garden to the bottom of the garden, which became quite the competition. Robin seems the most comfortable in the shoes, learning how to race around in them, but also enjoying the ability to bounce and jump in place.

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Do Moon Shoes make you jump higher?

Moon Shoes themselves do not make you jump higher, despite being tiny trampolines. But as they are balanced on your feet, they make you feel like you are jumping higher and jumping around instead of walking. It’s the feeling that is really part of the fun aspect of them, though when you do jump into the air, if you lift up your feet, you can feel like you are really flying for a moment!

Moon Shoes are a really great way to bring a lot of fun to outdoor spaces, especially as the shoes themselves don’t take up much room. They can also be used indoors, when the weather isn’t as great, making them a year round toy that will bring a bit of fun to exercising and will tire out whoever wears them. Children may need help getting strapped into them and strapped out of them, just due to the awkward reach, but they are easy to get their shoes into and out of! If only there were Moon Shoes for adults as well – I am sure I’d love reliving my childhood and playing around with a pair too!

You can find Moon Shoes at Smyths.

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