Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is an excellent system, if used correctly. In giving these to my elderly father, I noted that he immediately began using them incorrectly and followed up with jokes and comments on how the little finger stretchers have no effect except, possibly, to strengthen a part of your hand that you almost never use in a strength motion, such as opening a sliding door with the back of your hand instead of using your palm. If you look at the pictures on the listing itself you will see photographs of hand models doing the exercise in similar fashion, also incorrectly, strengthening only the back of the hand, cutting all muscle exercise off at the wrist, which is bent forward, hand bending down. The correct way to use this is to bend at the wrist lifting the hand up, mimicking the position of a carpal tunnel brace, stretching the inner wrist. In the correct position, using these for the back of your hand, you will also feel contracting and release of the muscles that run along the outside of your forearm, from the pinky/little finger side of your hand up to the side of the elbow, the outer elbow. This muscle group is the area most benefited by doing this exercise. When you lift weights it is easy to exercise the group from the inner wrist to the inner elbow, to strengthen the group of muscles utilized in standard forearm exercise. It is also easy to strengthen the group along the back of the arm, from the middle finger up to nearly the same place in the inner elbow, such as when bending the hand up/back and lowering it repeatedly. However, I find it difficult to use the muscle from the outer hand, pinky finger side, to the outer side of the elbow, a group that is only used when the pinky finger is working, and, consequently, had weaker arms than I would like. A while ago, I began using these to exercise that portion of my forearm, with the side benefit of strengthening the back of my hand, and noticed clear and measurable results. As to the back of my hand, I really couldn't care any less but, as to the side of my arm, engaging the pinky and ring fingers in this exercise, when the hand is in the correct position, allowed me to get the repeated contraction and relaxation of the muscle up the outer side of my forearm that was needed to add a little bit of much needed muscle to that area. Why do I care about this muscle? Why would I want to thicken it up a little? Well, that is where my family comes in, specifically the smallest members. That muscle is the muscle protecting my arm when I fall to the side against furniture and other objects, which is an issue when tiny animals are running around your legs such that you have to choose between falling to the side or stepping on a beloved yet crazy fur baby. I have always chosen to fall over, protecting my little nut jobs, and always will. This little system has been of benefit to me and, if you use it correctly, will most likely be of benefit to you. A couple words of advice, keep them in the plastic pouch or enclosed in a package of some kind, as dehumidification will dry out the flexible material, and don't forget that over-stretching won't benefit you but will break the elastic material, necessitating much earlier re-purchase. While they don't last forever, nor should they, you can greatly extend the lifespan of the Airisland Finger Stretchers if you don't misuse them or dry them out. Good luck in finding the right exercise tools for your hands and forearms.