SengSo pillowed 5x5

SengSo Pillowed 5x5

SengSo Pillowed 5x5 is an affordable 5x5 cube from ShengShou, sold under its budget brand SengSo. What sets it apart is the pillowed shape: the faces aren't flat but slightly convex, so the cube looks a little "inflated". This model is stickerless in a bright colour scheme, so there are no stickers to wear off or peel. The cube has no magnets.

What does the pillowed shape give you?

The convex faces round off the cube and change the way it sits in your hands. Some people find this shape more comfortable to hold. The second thing is the look: once scrambled, the pillowed 5x5 clearly stands out from a classic cube-shaped puzzle. ShengShou offers pillowed versions across a whole series, from small cubes to big NxN puzzles (e.g. 9x9, 13x13 or 16x16), so this model also fits nicely into a collection.

How it turns

This is a cube without magnets, without Ball-Core and without MagLev. The layers don't snap into place on their own, so you have to take care of turning precision yourself, and during fast turning lockups are more likely than on magnetic 5x5 cubes. It works well for relaxed solving, learning the reduction method and practising parity algorithms, but it's not a puzzle for breaking speed records.

Who is it for?

For anyone who can already solve a 3x3 and wants to try a 5x5 without spending much. It also makes a good first "big" cube for a child or a fun addition to a collection of unusually shaped cubes. If you plan to train 5x5 regularly for time, consider a magnetic speedcube instead. In that respect, it will be a clearly better choice.

Specifications

• Type: 5x5x5 cube, pillowed shape
• Manufacturer: ShengShou (SengSo brand)
• Manufacturer code: SSMB120
• EAN: 6923039179551
• Magnets: none
• Colour scheme: stickerless bright
• Size: approx. 61.5 mm
• Weight: approx. 135 g