I'm not sure exactly how long I've had my cushtie, but it's been a few years now. I do recall that I 'bought' it using points from one of my survey sites and was therefore able to treat myself to it without actually spending any money.

So what is a Cushtie?
A Cushtie is a bolster shaped cushion that's filled with tiny beads of something (foam or polystyrene probably - a bit like what you'd get in a beanbag). The cover material on mine is stretchy so that it can be pushed and pummelled, squished and leant on and still come back to its proper shape afterwards. It's not hugely big being about 35cm in length and maybe 20cm across the widest point at the end. Mine is an 'original' Cushtie rather than a travel Cushtie or one of the other newer sorts.

Cost
The original Cushtie (like mine) currently retails between about £4.45 (24Gadget) and £11.99 (WHSmiths), so if you're planning on buying one watch the price as this is a pretty huge variation.

What's good about them?
The best thing about Cushties is that they are very nice to snuggle up with on the sofa. Unlike a traditional cushion they're not just adding padding, they sort of mould themselves to your shape giving much more comfort and ease.

They're extremely light weight (another thing that makes me think the beads inside are probably polystyrene), making them brilliant for carrying with you on holiday if you need a bit of extra comfort while travelling. I've found mine to be extremely useful on long journeys to give me better comfort and position while seated, and have even used it as a sort of travel pillow to allow me to sleep a bit, though they're not brilliant for this in my opinion.

Whats bad about them?
The worst thing about a Cushtie is that it's not washable. Now initially this doesn't seem much of a problem, but once you've had the thing a while, like with most cushions you wouldn't mind taking the cover off and shoving it in the washing machine. Unfortunately, this doesn't have an inner bag and an outer cover like most cushions do, it's just one skin and because of the bead contents can't be washed.

Another problem is that after a while they do sort of start to lose their shape. The reason for this I think, is that like with most bean bags, the beads inside get squished and stop re-inflating to their former proportions meaning that the bag starts to seem to big for the contents. After a few years of ownership, mine is certainly not as snugly as it once was.

The third issue I have with these is that they appeal hugely to kids, but specifically state on them that they're not designed for use by kids! You'd have thought with something that's designed with such an appeal they'd use materials that are child safe wouldn't you.

Recommendations
Honestly I think if you can pick one up cheaply and are looking for something to give added comfort when travelling or snuggling on the sofa they're not bad. I wouldn't however recommend them for every day use because of the cleanliness issue - unless you're good at sewing and can make a cover for your Cushtie of course.