Fat Brain Toys Dimpl vs Manhattan Toy Winkel — Which Sensory Toy? (2026)

These two are among the most-reviewed sensory toys on Amazon.ca, and both are simple on purpose: no batteries, no lights, no app. They do different jobs, though, at different ages. The Manhattan Toy Winkel is a soft cage of looped tubes around a quiet rattle, rated from newborn and built so that a baby who can barely grip can still catch hold of something. The Fat Brain Toys Dimpl is a palm-sized frame with five silicone bubbles to push through and back, recommended from about 6 months to 3 years. We read 61,763 verified buyer reviews across both to show which one fits your baby right now.

Quick verdict at a glance

Who each one is actually for

👶 Manhattan Toy Winkel — the first toy a young baby can hold

The Winkel is a lattice of soft, continuous BPA-free and PVC-free tubes folded around a small hard cube that holds a quiet rattle. There is nothing to switch on. The loops are the whole idea: a baby with no real grip gets dozens of places to catch a finger, and the tubes bend and spring back when squeezed. Manhattan Toy rates it for newborns and up, and it can go in the fridge to cool sore gums. It has the larger evidence base of the two: 4.7★ across 40,566 Amazon.ca ratings, and our published verdict scored it 8.9 / 10 from 40,551 reviews.

Grip is the reason buyers give most. Parents describe it as the first toy their baby picked up without help, usually around three months, and several say it helped with grasping and hand-to-mouth practice. Buyers also describe it surviving months of chewing and still looking new, and it is light enough to ride on a pacifier clip on the stroller or car seat. Pick this if: your baby is under about six months, is just starting to grab, or is starting to teethe.

🧩 Fat Brain Toys Dimpl — the quiet fidget toy that lasts into toddlerhood

The Dimpl is five silicone bubbles in different sizes and colours set into a sturdy ABS plastic frame. A baby pushes each bubble all the way through until it pops out the other side, then pushes it back. There are no batteries, no sounds and no loose parts, it weighs about 132 g, and Fat Brain Toys recommends it from about 6 months to 3 years. It is 4.6★ across 21,234 Amazon.ca ratings, and our verdict scored it 8.4 / 10 from 21,212 reviews.

Buyers praise one thing above all: it holds attention. Parents report ten to fifteen quiet minutes at a stretch, and they pull it out in restaurants, in the car and on flights because it is slim enough to live in a diaper bag. Reviewers describe use from around eight months through to three-year-olds, and several bought a second one years later for a younger sibling. Pick this if: your baby is six months or older, you want quiet play you can take anywhere, and you want a toy that will still be used next year.

The three things that actually decide it

How old your baby is. This is most of the decision. The Winkel is built for the stage before a baby can really grip, and its buyers are consistent that interest tails off around five or six months. The Dimpl starts roughly where the Winkel stops: pushing a bubble through takes finger control, which is why its maker starts it at about 6 months. Many families would use one after the other rather than choose between them.

Teething or fidgeting. The Winkel is designed to be chewed: soft hollow tubes that reach the back gums, and a toy you can chill first. The Dimpl gets gummed too, but what its buyers value is the push-and-pop — a fine-motor and cause-and-effect toy that keeps an older baby busy, not a teether.

Price, today. When our Dimpl verdict was built, Amazon.ca had only third-party offers at close to double its usual retail, and value for money is the top complaint in its reviews. On 16 September 2026 it was listed at $19.99, shipped from Amazon, which makes it $6 cheaper than the Winkel’s $25.99. We cannot tell whether that price will hold, so check the live listing. Both listings are sold by third-party sellers rather than by Amazon.ca itself.

Where each one frustrates buyers

Manhattan Toy Winkel. The loops sit close together, so a chewing baby can knock itself with one ring while biting another — one parent noted it bothered her more than her daughter. The rattle is quiet by design, which some buyers like and others wish were louder. Gift-buyers noticed it now arrives with a tag rather than a box, and one said that made it feel less gift-ready. The most common limit is the short window: most buyers say their baby moved on at around six months.

Fat Brain Toys Dimpl. Value for money is the most-cited complaint — some buyers call it pricey for what it is, and even a five-star reviewer said it is a bit expensive. Opinions are also mixed on its size: it is palm-sized, and the listing photos make that hard to judge, so check the dimensions against what you are picturing. About 4% of its live ratings sit at one or two stars, against about 1% for the Winkel.

Safety and fit

This page compares how parents found living with these two toys; it does not rank them on safety, and nothing in the buyer reviews for either suggests one is safer than the other. Whichever you choose, follow the maker’s age guidance — the Dimpl is recommended from about 6 months — supervise play, and check any toy that gets chewed for wear or damage before handing it back.

Our pick

For a baby under about six months: the Manhattan Toy Winkel. It has the higher buyer verdict at 8.9 against 8.4, the larger evidence base at 40,566 ratings, the lowest share of one- and two-star ratings, and it does the one thing a young baby needs from a toy — something to grip. Buy it knowing most babies outgrow it at around six months and the rattle is quiet.

For a baby of six months or older: the Fat Brain Toys Dimpl. Buyers describe it holding attention from the second half of the first year into the toddler years, and it travels well. Go in knowing value for money is its top complaint and it is smaller than some buyers expect — though at today’s $19.99 the price argument is much weaker than when our verdict was written.

Weighing the Winkel against the classic teether instead? See Manhattan Toy Winkel vs Sophie la Girafe. Our best first toys for newborns and best baby and toddler toys roundups cover the category’s top picks. Or read the full verdicts: Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Fat Brain Toys Dimpl.

FAQ

What is the difference between the Fat Brain Toys Dimpl and the Manhattan Toy Winkel?

The age they suit and what they are for. The Manhattan Toy Winkel is a soft, looped rattle and teether rated from newborn, which buyers describe as the first toy a baby can grip unaided, usually around three months, with interest fading near six months. The Fat Brain Toys Dimpl is a palm-sized frame with five silicone bubbles to push through, recommended from about 6 months to 3 years. Buyers score the Winkel 8.9 out of 10 and the Dimpl 8.4, and both sit at 93% four- and five-star ratings on Amazon.ca.

Which is better for a 3-month-old, the Winkel or the Dimpl?

The Manhattan Toy Winkel. It is rated from newborn and built so a baby with almost no grip can catch a finger in its loops, and parents repeatedly describe it as the first toy their baby picked up alone at around three months. The Dimpl is recommended from about 6 months, because pushing the bubbles through takes finger control a young baby does not have yet.

Which toy lasts longer, the Dimpl or the Winkel?

The Fat Brain Toys Dimpl. Its maker recommends it from about 6 months to 3 years, and buyers describe toddlers still picking it up and families buying a second one for a younger sibling. Winkel buyers are consistent that most babies move on from it at around five or six months, after which it becomes a rotation toy.

Is the Fat Brain Toys Dimpl worth the money?

Value for money is the most-cited complaint in Dimpl reviews, and when our verdict was built the only Amazon.ca offers were third-party listings at close to double its usual retail. On 16 September 2026 it was listed at $19.99, shipped from Amazon and sold by a third-party seller, which is below the Winkel’s $25.99. Prices move, so check the live listing before buying.

Can babies chew on the Winkel and the Dimpl?

Buyers describe both being chewed. The Winkel is made for it: soft, BPA-free and PVC-free tubes that reach the back gums, and it can be chilled in the fridge first. Dimpl buyers describe babies gumming it while teething from around 8 months. Follow each maker’s age guidance and check any toy for wear before handing it back.