What Is a Taba Squishy? Platinum Silicone Gel vs Slow-Rising PU Foam Butter Blocks
If you have scrolled through sensory fidget videos recently, you have almost certainly seen a translucent cat paw, waffle, or jelly toast being pinched inside a crinkly plastic bag. Viewers new to the trend immediately ask the same question: what is a Taba squishy, and how is it different from a classic slow-rising foam squishy?
At the material level, a Taba squishy is cast from ultra-low-durometer, platinum-cured liquid silicone gel, giving it a wet, gummy-bear bounce that must be kept inside a plastic bag or coated in fuzzy fibers, whereas a traditional slow-rising squishy is molded from dry, open-cell polyurethane (PU) memory foam that you squeeze directly in your bare palm.
What Is a Taba Squishy? Shore 00 Platinum-Cured Liquid Silicone Explained
Unlike classic bakery or butter squishies made of breathable foam, a Taba squishy is poured from two-part liquid silicone rubber (Part A base plus Part B platinum catalyst) cured to an ultra-soft Shore 00-10 to Shore 00-30 hardness:
- Solid Silicone Gel Elasticity: Because cured silicone is a non-porous elastomer rather than an air-filled sponge, squeezing a Taba paw displaces solid gel laterally and snaps back as soon as you release your fingers.
- Artisanal Layered Pouring: Makers pour tinted silicone into multi-layer molds, such as pink toe beans inside a white cat paw or syrup atop a waffle, creating a glossy, translucent look.
Why Are Taba Squishies Kept in Plastic Bags or Covered in Fuzzy Flocking?
The most distinctive quirk of a Taba squishy is that you rarely touch the raw silicone with bare fingers for two practical reasons:
- Natural Surface Tackiness and Silicone Oil: To achieve that melt-in-your-hand softness, makers add silicone fluid (deadener) to the mix, leaving the cured gel permanently sticky to the touch and prone to picking up every speck of dust, pet hair, and pocket lint.
- In-Bag Pinching vs Fuzzy Flocking: To keep the sticky gel clean, sellers either seal the Taba squishy inside a thick, lightly lubricated PVC pinch bag or dust the surface with fine nylon flocking fibers that feel like peach fuzz, though heavy squeezing eventually rubs the flocking off onto your desk.
Taba Silicone Squishy vs Slow-Rising PU Foam: 5-Row Material Matrix
The table below compares five popular squishy formats across polymer chemistry, bare-hand touch, rebound behavior, and desk cleanliness:
| Squishy Type | Polymer Chemistry | Bare-Hand Touch | Rebound & Recovery Speed | Desk & Keyboard Cleanliness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Bagged Taba Squishy | Shore 00 platinum silicone gel | Sticky (squeezed through bag) | Instant jelly snap-back | Clean if bag stays sealed |
| Flocked Fuzzy Taba Paw | Silicone gel + nylon fibers | Velvety fuzz (sheds with use) | Instant elastic bounce | Moderate (loose fibers shed) |
| Maltose Gel Sugar Cube | TPR skin + maltose syrup | Smooth rubber (dust with starch) | Holds dent; slow hydraulic flow | Clean unless TPR seam leaks |
| Dense Yellow PU Butter Stick | Open-cell PU memory foam | 100% dry, smooth bare-hand grip | Smooth 8-15 sec air-metered rise | Spotless (zero oil or fibers) |
| Wide Blue PU Butter Brick | High-volume open-cell PU foam | 100% dry full-hand fold | Deep flat fold; slow steady rise | Spotless (zero oil or fibers) |
Comparing these five formats explains why buyers often split their collection by activity: while bagged Taba paws are fun for visual ASMR pinching, open-cell PU memory foam is far more practical for bare-handed squeezing while typing, studying, or reading.
Bare-Hand Slow-Rising Alternative: FunnySquishy PU Foam Butter Blocks
When you want to feel the squishy directly in your bare hand, watching it fold flat and rise back on a slow, silent schedule without crinkly plastic bags, oily residue, or shedding flocking fuzz, the FunnySquishy catalog features four verified open-cell PU foam butter sets:
For a single dense yellow block engineered for smooth one-handed desk squeezes, The FS-BUTTER-005 description says it is a soft, slow-rising stick-of-butter toy made from dense premium foam, and the spec table names Material/Fill as Dense premium PU foam, size Palm-sized, and age Kids 3+ and adults. The same description gives a supplier reference weight of approx. 45 g and says weight may vary.
FS-BUTTER-005 is listed at 1299 cents, which is 12.99 US dollars, with a compare price of 2449 cents, which is 24.49 US dollars.
If you want a matched pair of yellow butter sticks so you can keep one next to your laptop and carry a second in your bag, FS-BUTTER-011 is a 2-pack at 1999 cents, which is 19.99 US dollars, with compareCents 3249, which is 32.49 US dollars. The spec table says Material/Fill Soft foam, size Palm-sized, shape Stick of butter, and age Kids 3+ and adults.
For households or collectors who want three matching yellow butter sticks in one bundle, FS-BUTTER-007 is a set of three butter-stick-shaped toys at 2299 cents, which is 22.99 US dollars, with compareCents 3749, which is 37.49 US dollars.
And if you prefer a wider rectangular brick that takes a deep full-hand compression and folds completely flat before rising back on its own slow schedule, FS-BRICK-P006 is the Blue Butter Brick Squishy 2 Pack at 1999 cents, which is 19.99 US dollars, with compareCents 3749, which is 37.49 US dollars. The description says it takes a full-hand squeeze, folds flat, rises on its own slow schedule, and includes two sticks, for desk, car, and classroom.
How to Choose Between a Taba Silicone Squishy and Open-Cell PU Foam
Use these three decision rules to pick the right squishy material for your routine:
- Decide Between In-Bag Jelly Pinching and Bare-Hand Foam Compression: Choose a bagged Taba squishy if you enjoy pinching a slick, gelatinous pouch with your fingertips, or choose a PU foam butter block (like FS-BUTTER-005 or FS-BRICK-P006) if you want direct bare-hand contact and a full-palm squeeze.
- Check Your Acoustic Environment: Pinching a Taba squishy inside its PVC wrapper produces a constant plastic crinkle sound, whereas open-cell PU memory foam blocks are 100% silent for classrooms, libraries, and video calls.
- Protect Laptop Keyboards from Silicone Oil and Flocking Lint: If you fidget while working at a computer, dry-skinned PU foam butter sticks leave zero silicone oil on keycaps and zero loose flocking fibers on your mouse pad.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Taba squishy made of compared to a regular squishy?
A Taba squishy is cast from ultra-soft, two-part platinum-cured liquid silicone rubber that bounces like solid jelly, whereas a traditional slow-rising squishy is molded from breathable open-cell polyurethane (PU) memory foam that compresses air out of microscopic pores and rises back slowly.
Can you take a Taba squishy out of its plastic bag?
You can remove a Taba squishy from its bag, but bare un-flocked silicone is naturally sticky and quickly collects dust and hair, while flocked fuzzy Taba squishies can be held bare-handed but gradually shed their surface fibers with repeated squeezing.
Which FunnySquishy blocks can be squeezed bare-handed without sticky silicone oil?
FunnySquishy offers four dry-skinned open-cell PU foam butter sets designed for clean bare-hand squeezing: the single stick FS-BUTTER-005 ($12.99 USD / 1299 cents), the 2-pack FS-BUTTER-011 ($19.99 USD / 1999 cents), the 3-pack FS-BUTTER-007 ($22.99 USD / 2299 cents), and the Blue Butter Brick 2-pack FS-BRICK-P006 ($19.99 USD / 1999 cents).
