The Jeli Sleeve is the perfect solution to keeping your Wii Fit Balance Board clean. It’s quite simple to fit it – turn the Balance Board upside down and slide the four open slots of the protective silicone sleeve over each leg one at a time. Each corner has three silicone pegs that should be pushed firmly into the three holes next to each leg on the board. There are also two silicone pegs that slot into place just below the power button.

These pegs ensure that the sleeve is securely fastened and does not move around on the board. There are an additional two pegs on the front side of the board but these don’t seem to have a function since there is no where they can slot into. However, with that being said, they don’t hinder the functionality of the sleeve at all. The power button is left exposed so you don’t have to take the cover off to turn the board on or off.

The Jeli Sleeve is white so it fits in with the colour scheme of the Balance Board. In fact, once the sleeve is fitted you can hardly see the cover is on. The sleeve is made from a good quality silicone so it protects the board from dirt and scratches. Despite being durable, it is soft and comfortable to the touch.

There are raised rubber knobs where you place your two feet on the board. Having a rubberised surface is great because it enables you to balance better when doing those tricky yoga poses in Wii Fit. Anyone who has tried to perform the Tree pose will tell you that any added traction is a bonus because it will help to prevent you from slipping on the board.

The sleeve fits securely over the Balance board and it didn’t shift or slip when I used it. Apart from protecting the board from scratches, the sleeve also serves another important function – keeping it clean! Being white the board tends to get quite grubby and ends up looking not-so-white after a couple of toes have wiggled across its surface. The sleeve solves this problem and you can also wipe the sleeve clean after a few skiing sessions leave it grimy.

If you take a look at the number of games on the market that make use of the Balance Board, it becomes apparent that a protective cover is a necessity to keep your board in tip-top shape well into the future. In addition to your regular work-out sessions on the Balance Board in Wii Fit, you can also hit the powder in Family Ski and Shaun White Snowboarding. There are also numerous games scheduled to be coming out in the near future (like Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party and Family Ski & Snowboarding) which show that the Balance Board is here to stay.

So take care of it from the start and it will continue to be a valuable peripheral and give you endless hours of fun.

The dreamGEAR range is available from various retail outlets including Budget Tech, Incredible Connection, Look ‘n Listen, Pick ‘n Pay, Dion Wired, Kalahari, E-Dream, Digital Planet and CNA. It has an estimated retail price of R270, including VAT.

Thanks once again to TCM Warehouse for the awesome review sample.