Even people that don’t normally chew gum frequently take up the habit while traveling. Chewing gum can freshen your breath when brushing isn’t an option, can relieve stress when you’re in an unfamiliar locale, and can help you pop your ears as your flight starts ascending through the clouds. Most of us have spent $4 on an overpriced pack of gum at the airport at one point or another, but electric toothbrush startup Quip just launched a unique new offering for travelers who want to chew on the go.

The AirPods Of Gum

Available in white plastic or four different metallic hues to match your favorite Apple product, Quip’s clever gum dispenser holds 10 pieces of the brand’s new gum, and refills in just seconds the same way you’d fill a Pez dispenser. The whole thing is small enough to easily slide into almost any pocket in your bag or pants, and unlike a traditional disposable pack of gum, it’ll never get crushed, melted, or deformed, even if you throw it into a checked suitcase.

While hardly the most important thing, it must be said: the rounded corners of the gum dispenser lend it the satisfying feel of a worry stone. Not since I got my first pair of AirPods have I ever mindlessly rolled a product around in the palm of my hand so often and so happily. This should be the official gum of fidgeters everywhere.

Hygienic

Before 2020, I never thought twice about popping a piece of gum out of a blister pack, holding it between two of my unwashed fingers, and popping it into my mouth. Heck, I’d even accept a piece of gum that somebody else had touched! For reasons that need not be stated, those days are over for now.

But with Quip’s dispenser, you can load up 10 pieces of gum at home, when you know your hands are clean, and then never put them in contact with human skin again until they’re in someone’s mouth. Just give the button on top a solid flick to eject a piece of gum straight into your mouth (or a friend’s!), dirty fingers or not.

Cleans Your Teeth

This is Quip we’re talking about; the brand that popularized an impossibly small electric toothbrush, so it’s not surprising that this is a gum that’s good for your teeth. It’s sugar-free and sweetened with xylitol, and Quip encourages you to chew it shortly after eating to stimulate saliva production to clear cavity-causing acids off your teeth.

Is this any different than any other sugar-free gum? No, not really. But it’s nice to have something to chew on that won’t actively harm your teeth.

Of course, it only works if you actually want to chew the gum, and I can report that the Quip gum itself is good. It has an extremely satisfying initial crunch, and a vibrant mint burst that coats your mouth, but the flavor does tend to fade sooner than I’d like it to. It’s not the best gum I’ve ever tried, but it’s good!

Subscribe...to Gum

You won’t find Quip’s gum refills in stores, but rather, you subscribe to get them delivered. Your first delivery comes with either 90, 180, or 270 pieces of gum, plus either a free plastic dispenser, or a $10 metal one. Thereafter, you’ll receive refills every three months in increments of nine packs (90 pieces). The more gum you buy, the less it’ll cost, but you’re generally looking at about $2 per 10-piece pack, including shipping. That’s pretty competitive with the higher-end gums in the grocery store checkout line, and quite a bit less than you’d pay at the airport Hudson News for an emergency pack of Chicklets.

Importantly, each 10-piece refill pack comes in a  convenient, individual cardboard sleeve, and you could easily slide a few into a suitcase for a long trip without any fear of them breaking open and spilling.

Did gum need to be reinvented, or optimized for travel? Probably not! But with prices that compare well to buying gum at the store, the convenience of automatic deliveries, and the hygienic nature of the hands-free dispenser, Quip certainly gave gum lovers something to chew on.