We’ve got a new pet! It’s called Nanni… aka the Nano V2

Curly Girl’s favourite thing in all the world is not her brother, me or her Dad. It’s her dog – ‘Doggy Woof’. We bought him in IKEA when she was about 18 months old and they’ve been inseparable ever since. He has presided over every major event in her life (and been washed a lot as a result) and sleeps tucked up in her arms every night. This is TRUE love people.

Lately however, she’s started asking for a real pet. Which is not going to happen.

OH is allergic to animal hair and I’m allergic to cleaning up after them. And feeding them. And taking them to the vet. Whatever she promises about how she will faithfully look after a dog/cat/mouse/rat/hamster you KNOW it will be my responsibility after about 5 minutes.

So it was fortuitous that HexBugs tweeted me back in Janurary and and invited me to their stand at the London Toy Fair 2014 for a peek at their new range of micro robotic creatures – the Nano V2. They run on a watch battery, scuttle convincingly around build-your-own tracks, don’t need feeding and don’t poo. I tried not to dance on the spot.

Last week, during half term, a package arrived. The Nano V2 Infinity Loop. Complete with a little Nano. The Nano V2 is an evolution of the original Nano range – it now has little spikes along it’s back so that it can climb vertically and even move upside down. Pretty cool and strangely life-like (although not quite enough to make your skin crawl thankfully).

The Nano V2 Infinity Loop

Putting the track together only took about ten minutes (all the parts snap together) but under the watchful eye of an impatient toddler it felt like a test from The Krypton Factor (is it just me or do you need to be a an engineer to even get into the packaging for most toys these days?). Eventually the Infinity Loop was ready and I used the little switch on the Nano V2′s belly to turn it on.

What followed was pure, unadulterated wonder.

It scuttled. It ran. It went inside the loops, upside down and round and round. Little Man watched with dinner plate eyes, completely transfixed. Curly Girl squealed with delight. Here’s what happened next…

“Hello little Nano,” she said then switching it off and cradling it in her hand. “You can be my pet.” And she promptly walked off to show it her playroom and introduce all the other toys. Nanni the Nano joined us all day long and had adventures all over the house. We took apart the Infinity Loop and rebuilt it in different ways to see what Nanni thought of it. We tried Nanni in a tray and along the hallway. That night Nanni the Nano slept in Curly Girl’s room.

A week later and the Infinity Loop is sitting on the shelf. The trouble with pets that aren’t really pets is that you can’t interact with them in the same way as a dog or cat. “They’re really for watching, aren’t they Mummy,” is how Curly Girl put it. Kids are succinct, eh?

But that’s not the real reason that Nanni the Nano is on the shelf. Nanny is waiting.

You see as soon as the Nano V2 arrived Curly Girl raided her piggy bank and the Octonauts Tunip she was saving up for was immediately suplanted. Yes, we’re waiting for a new member of the family. Nanni will soon have a brother or sister. And THEN, I have no doubt, the fun will start all over again. In duplicate. We’re planning obstacle courses that would challenge the best Wipe Out contestants. Oh yes. And Curly Girl has already decided on a name – NooNoo.

The Nano V2 Infinity Loop costs £19.99 from Hexbug.com and the range is also available at amazon.co.uk

Disclosure: We were sent the Nano V2 Infinity Loop to review and received no other compensation.