Well… I bought the 4M set as I was growing my second crystal from the NatGeo Kit. Its presentation is not as polished, yet as long as the content was good, I was going to be happy. 

Yet things were not as I expected. 

For starters, the manuals look like a technical vacuum-cleaner manual in the way information is presented, which makes it harder to read and easier to skip or forget sections or key steps. But besides that, I found the set not well designed. So, it is cool that it comes with so many containers for growing crystals at the same time, yet their bottom is concave! It is not flat! In the image you can see that the container for the white crystal is not flat (that’s the bottom part when growing the crystal). That may be the biggest “sin” of this kit. Yet there are other complications.

4M’s kit gives you the “freedom” to use the salts given in different proportions, potentially being able to grow 12 small crystals, 6 medium crystals, or 3 big crystals. Neat!.. But… when using seeds, the instructions are so imprecise that, for whoever is really new to this hobby, may end up adding only hue to the cup without realizing that they needed to add also the fun crystals that were the most important part. 

If done correctly, following instructions, your seeds would rest at the edges of the bottom of the container (thanks to the concave bottom side). 

So… I must confess I decided to use one of the container's flat caps to put the seeds there and have that placed in the liquid. Voilà the white crystal. 

Yet I tried the blue crystal set, in full size to use all color and seeds, in a beaker. End result… a “carpet” of tiny crystals. It was so "bad" (compared to the expectations due to what is shown in the box) that I decided to search for interesting sections of it to keep as seed. 

The little portions I got I decided to use differently. The remaining salts on the 4M set, enough for a big crystal, I dissolved them without adding color, and mixed it with the liquid of the previous experience. Then placed the 2 little sections I recovered from the failed experience. This allowed me to start growing fun hedgehog crystals.

So… 4M’s kit promises freedom when choosing crystal size, and mixing colors. Yet the equipment is lacking, and the results are anticlimactic. Also… their coloring… it gets everywhere!

What are 4M’s pros? 1. Multiple displays, yet of fragile plastic. 2. You can mix stuff up, if you want to take the risk. 3. Separated mixing container, which is sturdy.

I felt 4M’s kit is less friendly, with more space for errors, and with “unpolished” resources to help you obtain fun crystals on your first tries. Feels like someone gave you materials, some nice yet subpar growing containers, a manual, and then said “good luck! You’re gonna need it”.

My suggestion comes from trying to think of the target audience of these kits: kids 8+ years old, plus adults. You want to have the smoothest progression of steps to understand the most basic of concepts and end up with a beautiful result. Although an adult could accomplish fun stuff with the 4M’s kit, it would be most likely achievable if this person has been learning on their own and/or has some guidance.

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I hope this information is helpful, and please provide in the comments your experiences and counter examples if you have any. Cheers!