This Remote-Control Gecko Is the Hottest Toy of the Year — Adults Will Want to Play, Too!
There are many great toys this holiday season, so picking a number-one best toy is super subjective. But there is one toy that is checking a lot of boxes: It amazes kids and adults, sells quickly in retail stores and, as of press time, has a slight delivery delay on Amazon — often a sign of a popular toy.
Plus, it’s kinda weird, as every hot holiday toy seems to be. Sorry, dolls and trucks, you’re never going to be as buzzy as a robotic gecko.
The Hex Bots Wall Crawler Gecko from Spin Master is a remote control toy (or RC toy) for kids ages 4 and up. They can operate it from as far away as 25 feet, sending it scrambling around in all directions — including, as the name implies, up the wall or across the ceiling.
If there is one flaw I could point out after having tested it myself, the crawling gecko can’t move from the wall to the ceiling or it falls — it’s fast and wild, but not super nimble. See, the gecko doesn’t work with sticky feet. It uses light vacuum power on its tummy, which allows it to hold onto surfaces without leaving marks. (I promise!) But as soon as that vacuum is broken, like when it crawls across a wall and gets to the doorframe, it takes a tumble.
Still, this is a truly delightful toy. Its little arms and tail shake as it zips around. Kids and adults cannot keep from shrieking. My cats freaked out, and one even hid. The movements are hyper-realistic, and be warned that the vacuum noise makes a racket.
The gecko itself is rechargeable, and comes with a charging cord. It took us maybe 45 minutes of charging to power it up the first time. You need to buy 2 AAA batteries for the remote controller, so if this is a gift, be sure to include those.
The RC then runs for about five to 10 minutes. Believe it or not, this is totally normal in the RC world — remote-control cars, trucks, planes, and the like are the same. It’s a lot of fun chaos for a short amount of time, and then you have to charge it up again.
We found it worked great on the wall, ceiling, and our hardwood floor. I even got it to climb up the refrigerator. It got a little tripped up by a rug, though, and online reviewers say that if your walls are very textured, it might not work on them.
The price is just under $30 everywhere that I looked, which is a great gift price for a niece or nephew, too. You might save a couple dollars here or there if you poke around, or if you can snag one during an upcoming Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale.
Where to Buy Hex Bots Wall Crawler Gecko
A Walmart in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, had a couple of Wall Crawler Geckos when I visited, but it was clear it was selling quickly, and it’s currently Amazon’s best-selling remote-controlled robot. As of publishing time, it’s also available at the following retailers:
Other Hot Toys to Buy if Wall Crawler Gecko Is Sold Out
If you can’t find the gecko at all, or your kid wants something less creepy-crawly and more sweet, here are four other pretend pets that are hot for this holiday season:
