When Innovation Meets Imitation: The TorqueBall Counterfeit Crisis Published January 15, 2025

Picture this: You’re searching for a doctor-designed grip strengthening device to help with your carpal tunnel. You find dozens of listings for what appears to be the same product—some for $39, others for $18. The reviews are all over the map. Some users rave about increased grip strength and pain relief. Others complain their device broke within days, or worse, actually caused them pain.

Welcome to the confusing world of TorqueBall—where the authentic, medically-designed device has become nearly indistinguishable from a flood of dangerous knockoffs.

This isn’t just another story about fake products on the internet. It’s about how counterfeits can literally hurt the people they claim to help, and how one innovative company’s reputation is being systematically destroyed by copycats who care more about quick profits than customer safety.

The Rise and Fall of a Medical Innovation

TorqueBall started with a simple premise: create a scientifically-designed grip strengthening device that could help everyone from musicians to athletes to office workers suffering from repetitive strain injuries. The original device, developed by medical professionals, uses precise engineering to provide progressive resistance training without the jarring motions that can exacerbate conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome or tennis elbow.

But success breeds imitation. And in the wild west of e-commerce, imitation can be devastating.

A quick Google search for “TorqueBall reviews” tells a troubling story. The company’s Trustpilot rating sits at a mediocre 3.4 stars out of 99 reviews. Reddit threads scream “TorqueBall is a total scam!” Amazon listings for suspiciously similar products show ratings as low as 2.1 stars. One Better Business Bureau complaint states bluntly: “I think that Torque Ball is misleading customers by sending them a product that doesn’t match the quality of the product their advertise.”

But here’s the twist: Many of these negative reviews aren’t actually about the real TorqueBall at all.

The Anatomy of a Counterfeit Crisis

The counterfeit TorqueBalls flooding the market share a few telling characteristics:

• Dramatically lower prices (often $18-20 vs. the authentic $69-80)
• Poor quality materials that break within days or weeks
• Incorrect resistance levels that can strain rather than strengthen
• Missing safety features that protect users from overextension
• Fake medical endorsements and fabricated testimonials

“What we’re seeing is not just trademark infringement—it’s a public health issue,” says a representative familiar with the situation. “These knockoffs aren’t just ineffective; they’re potentially harmful. Users with existing wrist conditions have reported increased pain after using counterfeit devices.”

The problem mirrors what happened to other innovative products. Remember the ‘Ove’ Glove? The heat-resistant kitchen glove saw counterfeiters flood Amazon with cheap knockoffs that literally burned customers’ hands. Or the FAA-approved CARES airplane harness, whose fake versions put children at risk with substandard materials and construction.

The Third-Party Seller Shell Game

The explosion of third-party sellers on major e-commerce platforms has created a perfect storm for counterfeiters. When you search for “TorqueBall” on Amazon, you might see listings from:

• Xiuboo Torqueball
• Miurixo Torque Ball
• Various sellers with names like “FGHYTR” or “QWERTY Store”
• Listings that carefully avoid using the exact trademark but optimize for the same keywords

Each listing features slightly different product photos, prices that undercut the original by 50% or more, and a mix of reviews—some genuine from disappointed customers who thought they were buying the real thing, others potentially fake positive reviews designed to boost sales.

The algorithm often promotes these cheaper alternatives to the top of search results, making it nearly impossible for consumers to distinguish authentic from fake. Even products shipped with Prime aren’t guaranteed to be genuine—third-party sellers can use Amazon’s fulfillment centers, lending an air of legitimacy to counterfeit goods.

The Reddit Revolt

Perhaps nowhere is the confusion more evident than on Reddit, where multiple threads debate whether TorqueBall is “legit” or a “scam.” Users share stories of devices that arrived looking nothing like advertised photos, units that broke after minimal use, and customer service nightmares when trying to return defective products.

But buried in these threads are also users defending the product, claiming their TorqueBall works perfectly and has genuinely helped with grip strength and pain relief. The disconnect is jarring until you realize: They’re literally talking about different products.

One Reddit user summed it up: “I bought what I thought was a TorqueBall from a Facebook ad for $19.99. It was garbage. Then my physical therapist showed me the real one—night and day difference. The fake one actually made my wrist hurt worse.”

The Human Cost of Counterfeits

Unlike fake designer handbags or knockoff electronics, counterfeit medical and fitness devices pose unique risks. The authentic TorqueBall was designed with specific resistance curves and safety stops to prevent overextension. The fakes? Not so much.

Reports have surfaced of:

• Users experiencing increased wrist pain from devices with incorrect resistance
• Devices breaking mid-use, potentially causing injury
• Plastic components cracking and creating sharp edges
• Internal mechanisms failing and locking up

For people already dealing with conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, or tennis elbow, using a poorly designed device isn’t just ineffective—it can set back their recovery.

Fighting Back in a Losing Battle

The authentic TorqueBall company faces the same Sisyphean task as other innovators: playing whack-a-mole with counterfeiters. Remove one seller, three more pop up. File a trademark complaint, watch knockoffs rebrand with slight name variations. Invest in anti-counterfeiting technology, see fakes sold on platforms that don’t participate in those programs.

Meanwhile, the reputational damage accumulates. Every negative review of a fake product, every “TorqueBall scam” Reddit post, every 2-star Amazon listing chips away at consumer trust. Potential customers searching for information find a confusing mix of genuine criticism of counterfeits and defenders of the authentic product, making it nearly impossible to make an informed decision.

The Styleforum Exception

Interestingly, one recent review on Styleforum took a more measured approach, noting that “short, daily use can support gradual improvement in grip strength and wrist flexibility.” This type of nuanced review—distinguishing between authentic products used correctly and the sea of counterfeits—is unfortunately rare in the current online environment.

What This Means for Consumers

The TorqueBall saga isn’t unique, but it’s particularly troubling because it involves a medical device designed to help people in pain. When counterfeits infiltrate this market, they don’t just disappoint—they can harm.

For consumers, the lesson is clear but frustrating: In the era of fake products, buying something as simple as a grip strengthener requires detective work. You need to:

• Verify you’re buying from authorized sellers
• Be skeptical of prices that seem too good to be true
• Read reviews with a critical eye, looking for patterns that suggest counterfeit products
• Consider buying directly from manufacturer websites when possible
• Document everything in case you need to return a fake

The Bigger Picture

What’s happening to TorqueBall is a microcosm of a larger crisis in e-commerce. When innovative products succeed, they inevitably attract counterfeiters. When platforms prioritize growth over authentication, fakes flourish. When consumers can’t distinguish real from fake, everyone loses—except the counterfeiters.

The Department of Homeland Security was right when it warned that the probabilities of being defrauded by counterfeiters when shopping online are “unacceptably high and appear to be rising.” For companies like TorqueBall, those rising probabilities translate to real-world consequences: damaged reputations, lost sales, and most importantly, customers who needed help but got hurt instead.

Until e-commerce platforms take more aggressive action against counterfeiters, until consumers become more savvy about spotting fakes, and until there are real consequences for selling counterfeit medical devices, innovative companies will continue to watch their reputations—and their customers—suffer.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for a grip strengthening device, do your homework. Your wrists will thank you.

About This Investigation This report is based on analysis of publicly available reviews, e-commerce listings, and consumer complaints about grip strengthening devices marketed under variations of the TorqueBall name. The proliferation of counterfeit products makes it difficult to assess the authentic product’s actual effectiveness, as consumer reviews often conflate genuine and fake versions.

Note to Editors: This press release addresses the growing problem of counterfeit medical and fitness devices in e-commerce. We encourage media outlets to investigate further and help consumers understand the risks of purchasing health-related products from unverified sources.