Tag Archives: outdoor gear az

Globe Electric 48W 360° Work Light – Item of the Day

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Modern Survival| Leave a comment

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Item of the day is the Globe Electric 48W 360° Work Light.  I LOVE THESE LIGHTS.  Really I do.  For a long time like many I used typical stand based directional work lights like these for this need.  They do work, they are bight but in many ways they suck.

I mean these lights are fine if you are in a shop and point them under the hood of a car, at a work bench or something like that.  But for ambient light in a work area they are kind of useless.  They only really light up the area you point them at and worse when you turn around, they blind you.

I found the Globe Electric Work Light when my buddy David brought two of them over for one of our workshops.  We try to provide lighting between the outbuildings so people don’t break their necks, so they can wash their evening dishes, etc.  Until I found these we would attempt to elevate the directional lights, etc.  It worked but it was not very good.

We got these and two of them basically turn the area into a well lit work area, and that is outside with no reflection.  In a shop building they provide awesome light.

But think about the prepper applications, one of these fully lights 2-3 rooms if you are talking open concept, say kitchen, dining and living area, certainly well enough to get around, not stub your toe etc in a black out, and it does it all on 48 watts.  So it will run a LONG time on a few deep cycle batteries in a back up system.

And when I had a farm hand working for me in the short hours of winter I called it his “slave light” much to his bemusement.  Because we would just run an extension cord to the area he was working in and it was plenty of light to unload trucks, mulch garden beds, etc.

Oh and one more thing for this little multi-tasker, they are great for when you need to get more light into shooting a video.

For 99 bucks these are simply the best damn work light I have ever found.  If you go night fishing and have battery back up or an inverter man these things are amazing for that as well as lighting up a camping area.  And yea they attract bugs at night, so all the bugs go to the light and you are 25 feet away from them!

Personally I don’t know why more companies don’t embrace this format.  These are not 100% perfect but they are damn good and I still have one I stole from David over three years ago and it still works as good as the day I um, “acquired it”.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

P.S. – Don’t feel sorry for David, he has emptied my good liquor cabinet of more than enough to cover the 99 bucks.  As evidence of that I present this!  That was a 30 year old tawny port, looted while I was on vacation.  Yea and he also ran off with about 8 pounds of my dry sausage and jerky and fed it to himself and his dog in Alaska!  True story.  We all need more friends like this.

 

 

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“Sand Salt Surf and Sun” – Wicking Fishing Shirts – Item of the Day

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Modern Survival| 1 Comment

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Item of the day is “Sand Salt Surf and Sun” – Wicking Fishing Shirts.  Now “Sand Salt Surf and Sun” is a brand of design put out by a company called Vapor Apparel.  I happen to like my shirts with something interesting on them, but you can also get these shirts in long and short sleeve in a generic version (plain no design) for on average 10-12 bucks less per shirt if you are so inclined.  Links to all the options are at the end of this review.

Note that the “Sand Salt Surf and Sun” branded stuff and the stuff with no design are the exact same shirts, from the exact same company.  Just one has some sort of art work on it and the other is plain.

There is a lot I like about these shirts, lets start with UPF 50 as a sun protection rating.  UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) is a new standard measure for how well fabrics protect your skin from the sun.  A rating of 50 means only 1/50th of the suns UV radiation will pass though the fabric.  More importantly this is for both UVA and UVB solar radiation.  Most sun screen does a really good job on UVB radiation but is pretty poor at the UVA radiation.

Next is the wicking technology.  To put it bluntly being covered in sweat sucks and the only thing worse is a soaked in sweat shirt that just won’t dry.  It feels like wearing a fricken giant body diaper!  Nasty.  These shirts wick the sweat off you and dry quickly, they turn your sweat into fricken air conditioning.

I wear them all the time now when working in the heat and when fishing in hot weather as well.  I really enjoyed them while wade fishing in the surf recently on Sanibel Island.  Talk about wearing an air conditioner.  When I would get too hot I would just kneel down and soak the entire shirt up to my shoulders (holding the reel above the water of course).  As soon as you stood up  you could feel your core temp drop as the moisture began wicking away and evaporating.

This isn’t really how an air conditioner works, it is more like how an evaporative cooler works, it is actually exactly how they work.  These shirts are great of course for swimming too.  And unlike sunscreen they don’t wash off and don’t expose your skin to chemicals.

As to price that varies based on color, size, designs etc but basically the branded design stuff ranges from about 26-35 dollars a shirt on average.  And the more generic non design plain shirts range from 16 to 19 dollars.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

P.S. – Personally while I see some real uses for the short sleeve shirts (especially as under shirts) I prefer the long sleeves.  Few reasons.  First it covers your arms from the sun and protects them.  Next especially when fishing and getting wet it increases the cooling power of the evaporative fabric.  Lastly, I can easily push long sleeves up if I want that look or feel, but I can’t stretch short sleeves down if my arms are getting too hot or burned.

P.S.S. – There is a lot of talk that “sun screen causes cancer” and such on the web today.  While there is a vein of truth to it, it isn’t that simple and most of what is online about it is total bullshit.  I will discuss this a bit in today’s show, (episode 2242) and how it relates to protective clothing as well.

 

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Etekcity 4 Pack of LED Lanterns – Item of the Day

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Modern Survival| 11 Comments

eteklanternsEvery day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is Etekcity’s 4 Pack of LED Lanterns.  These things are an incredible value and are the result of a lot of research.   I have previously reviewed The Streamlight Siege Lantern.  And I still think it is the highest quality LED lantern on the market.

It is also 26-114 dollars based on the options you pick.  Even at the lowest priced option if you wanted one for every room of a 8 room house, you are looking at 200 bucks.  Frankly for this type of thing, it is over kill.  I wanted an affordable solution for every room lighting during an extended blackout.

I started looking around and dozens of companies are marketing these little pop up lanterns with minor differences.  The housings are almost identical.  Some are very inexpensive and some cost almost as much as The Siege, none are as good though.

Well I love Etekcity which has a lot of really cool stuff much of which I have reviewed in the past like their Thermal Gun, Power Failure Lights and Remote Control Electrical Outlets.  So I checked and they have this four pack for only $22.99 with free shipping.  This pack is an Amazon best seller with over a 4000 reviews and an average of 5 stars.

But I always check the one star reviews before picking an item.  Many times you can tell said reviews are written by idiots.  In this case, however; they bothered me.  Almost all of them say they got one that didn’t work out of the box and then never worked again.  So I began checking other options, heck it is almost like ever single brand of these things are clones.   They all have great reviews, a few bad reviews and all the different ones have almost the exact same complaint, dead on arrival or after one use.

So I contacted Etekcity who has great service and said basically that it is understandable at this price point and selling so many a few will have problems, but what is your return/replacement policy and this is what I got back in return, within an hour by the way!

Hello Jack,

Thank you for reaching out to us and thank you for all the feedback we appreciate it. Honestly we sell hundreds if not a thousand of these lanterns a day and we do have problems with them, they are not perfect.

Typically the main issue is a little toggle switch in the base that likely during shipping breaks unfortunately and once in awhile the top of the lantern is cracked or loose again probably due to shipping.

Once the lantern makes it to the customer and they arrive in good order we never hear from the customer because they seem to not fail with normal use.

We usually only hear from the customers the moment they open the package and find the damage and then we immediately send out a replacement and then all lanterns come with a 1 year warranty.

These are not the worlds greatest lantern but for around $6 each, they are one of amazons best sellers and we think for the price they are the best around.

thank you

Okay so every single one of those one star reviews are people that simply could  have gotten a free replacement, on a $5.75 product?  Honestly this is why I have recommended so many things from Etekcity.

Talk about honesty in a nut shell they said, “hey look when you sell this many products of this type some will have problems, but we stand by and replace them”, what more could you ask for for about 6 bucks?

With that I was sold, I got two sets, we have them in our black out kits and if one fails, I don’t care I have 8!  That said all of mine have worked just fine and were in perfect shape when they got here.  But this was important to me, I wanted to be sure that if you did have a problem, Etekcity would fix it and I wanted to give you a lot cost option for back up lighting.  And hey even at this stupid cheap price, batteries are included!  Please consider that even cheap ass Rayovac Batteries are about 8 bucks for a 12-Pack.

And these do that, they will give you 12 full hours of light off three measly AA batteries.  So to me at the cost and for what they do this is the best deal in back up LED lighting for your house and your BOK (Black Out Kit).    So I really recommend you pick up at least one Etekcity’s 4 Pack of LED Lanterns if you don’t have that base covered already.  They seem like a cool gift idea as well.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

P.S. – I have noticed a few negative reviews complaining of leaking batteries ruining these lanterns.  Here is my rule for batteries, never store them in your devices for long periods of time.  I don’t care if the device is expensive or cheap, I don’t care of the batteries are generic or top brand, just don’t do it.

We keep flashlights (mostly D-Cell Maglites) around the house, we use them all the time.  Used devices never seem to have this problem.  When they start to weaken we replace them.

In our BOK we keep our devices and with them a ziplock bag with 4 sets of batteries per device in the bag.  We use our power failure lights and flashlights to retrieve our BOK and simply put the batteries in at that point and time.

Note that it is true that battery manufacturers are required by law to replace any device that leaking batteries destroy.  That doesn’t help in the middle of a black out though does it?  Simply put any device that is not used often, take the batteries out of it, store them with it and save yourself the headache.

P.S.S. – Since I first reviewed this item in 2016 we have sold hundreds of them, given they are four packs that is thousands of individual lanterns.  Total complaints I have received in that time is zero.  I still have 8 of these as does my son, they all work and never seem to run out of battery life.  They do now have a new model with a “dimmer switch” which should extend battery life even further.

This set is 28.99 a four pack and has the same warranty.  I don’t have any experience with it and I do have to say two things.  Given the company and all their other products it should be great.  That said when you add something to an electronics board, it isn’t really an add, it is a complete “respin” in other words a new product.  So you can’t expect that it will be just as good or better, it might be but it is in the end a new product.

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Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 Spincast Youth Combo – Item of the Day

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Modern Survival| 4 Comments

rodEvery day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 Spincast Youth Combo.  Recently I answered a question about taking kids fishing on the podcast, three different listeners told me about this combo.  Got to say I am impressed.

This is what you have, a GREAT rod and and okay reel.  Let me expand on that.  Keeping in mind this is a combo for a kiddo!  The cost of this combo is about 40 dollars and that is about the value of the rod itself.  The reel is worth about 12-16 dollars, in time it is going to wear out.  And that is okay!

Because as your kiddo gets older and that reel wears out but their skill and willingness to care for things goes up, you just get a better reel for them and keep that great quality rod.  I just ordered one for my grandson, it is a rod that will grow with him.  And to be blunt if you ever break an uglystick, you have done something very bad wrong.

So if you have a young one you want to get started fishing consider the Shakespeare Ugly Stik GX2 Spincast Youth Combo as a great place to start.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

 

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CamelBack M.U.L.E. – Item of the Day

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Modern Survival| 8 Comments

muelEvery day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the CamelBack M.U.L.E.  What exactly does M.U.L.E. stand for, well that would be “Medium to Ultra Long Endeavors”.  This is my go to pack and it has only gotten better over the years, I bought mine over 9 years ago, I am still using it, it is still in great condition.

In fact the video below is from a short hike we did in Arkansas over 8 years ago.  I mean this is SO LONG AGO, I Have an iPod in the electronics pouch vs. an iPhone!  I mean really I have been though 4 iPhones in those 9 years and I still have the same pack.

I will say this pack doesn’t have massive cargo capacity but is is plenty for EDC and basic trail emergency gear on short hikes.  It excels for mountain biking because it is not over sized.  My number one use is wearing it while working on the farm in our 100 plus degree heat, so I stay hydrated and do not pass out.

If you want a larger capacity for cargo check out the CamelBack H.A.W.G. – Which stands for “Holds A Lot of Water and Gear”.  It is basically an up-sized version of the M.U.L.E.  Unless I am taking a major hike or spending an over night or something like that I prefer the lighter and smaller format of the CamelBack M.U.L.E.

I personally feel that the CamelBack concept as a whole has saved many lives over the years and prevented likely 10 of thousands of cases of basic heat exhaustion and trips to the ER for heat stroke.  In my days in the military, especially in Panama and Honduras, the number one injury I witnessed was what is called a “heat casualty” and it always came down to insufficient hydration.

If you are in the market for a top quality hydration solution and want to be able to carry a nice amount of gear along with it, take a look at the CamelBack M.U.L.E. today.  It isn’t the cheapest item in the category but for a pack that has lasted 9 years and is still going strong, as often is the case you get what you pay for.   At 80-130 bucks (depending on the one you pick) with free shipping, this pack is worth every cent.  And hey that is less than I paid for mine, so many years ago.

When I first got this Dorothy liked the idea but thought is was “too expensive”, so she bought some cheapo hydration back pack, (the kind with no cargo space) from Academy for herself.  It failed, she bought another.  At that point I had, had enough and ordered her a M.U.L.E. and of course I paid extra to get it in red for her.  Where that second cheapo is I know not, likely in a land fill somewhere, but her red CamelBack is still in service.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

Here is my video from 2009, this pack is slightly faded from the brutal southern sun but still going strong.

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Camp Chef Ranger II Table Top Stove – Item of the Day

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Modern Survival| 11 Comments

stove

NOTE – I am bringing this around for a couple reasons.  First we are right on the edge of spring camping season.  I love a grill as much as anyone but this makes camping so much more enjoyable, especially making sides and breakfast.  Next right now this stove is on sale and is currently 10 bucks off the regular price.  Next the price on the small bottle adapter has dropped from about 25 bucks down to 17, so this is a great time to pick up this item.

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Camp Chef Ranger II Table Top Stove.  I break down the value of this stove into four distinct areas.

First if you are on electric for your stove and the power goes out you do not want to try to run your range with your generator, unless you have a huge one.  Running a coffee maker puts a hit on a small gen set let alone a stove.  So it is back up cooking for those of you with electric.

Second is for the camper that “truck camps”.  I mean this is no back packing stove but mostly when I camp now I have my truck with me.  So between this stove and my Steven Harris battery system in my truck box, I feel like I am on grid.

Third is for you folks with electric stoves even when you do have power.  Look cooking on gas is just a hell of a lot more fun then electric.  This little thing has as much power as my gas range in my kitchen.  Many home cooks would love to have a gas range but just don’t have gas service and a big propane pig is not practical.  This is the next best thing.

Fourth is what I consider life style enhancement for all of us.  Let’s say it is a beautiful morning on a non work day.  You and your family want a nice breakfast.  Well go out on the porch or the deck and cook outside.  Just set this guy up on a table and get to work.  Get yourself a nice French Press and boil some water and make coffee or hot tea to go with it.

adapterA quick note, this stove comes with a hose and is designed to run on 20 gallon grill sized propane tanks.  If you want to run small one pound cans (which is really convenient for this stove) you need to add the small bottle adapter to your order.

I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the value of the Camp Chef Ranger II Table Top Stove.  It really blows me away that you can get a portable two burner stove that cooks as nice as my 1200 dollar range in my kitchen does for under 100 bucks.  And like everything I recommend it is very highly rated on Amazon with 4.5 star with over 130 reviews.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

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Aurora Fire Starter and UST Titanium BASE Case – Item of the Day

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Modern Survival| 1 Comment

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is my personal EDC for fire starting that I keep on my key chain.  It is a combination of the Aurora Fire Starter by Solo Scientific and the Ultimate Survival Technologies Aluminum 0.5 BASE Case.

In the photo above you can see these items on my personal key chain.  I just checked my Amazon order history and are you ready for this, I got these items and put them on my key chain on August 5th, 2012.  So yea they hold up!

First on the firestarter, I have always preferred ferrocerium rods to about any other option.  These are commonly called ferro rods probably because ferrocerium is hard to say and harder to spell.   These things just work, even wet they throw hot sparks that will light any good tinder and get you a flame.

I chose the Aurora Fire Starter by Solo Scientific because it has a screw on cover with a built in striker.  When closed on the chain it make a reasonable impact weapon as well, functioning like a small kubaton.

But you need tinder and that is were the Ultimate Survival Technologies Aluminum 0.5 BASE Case comes in.  I simply have mine stuffed with cotton balls with a dab of vaseline on the top of them.  To make a fire I fray some cotton and then put some vaseline on some as well, this gets a good fire going almost anywhere you can find decent fuel wood.

Perhaps you already have a EDC fire making solution, but unless you have one that involves a ferro rod I recommend adding one.  To me they are by far the best best for reliable fire starting in just about any situation.  The fact that I have been carrying these items for almost 5 years now says something about their durability and reliability.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

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Outdoor Edge RB-20 Razor Blaze Knife – Item of the Day

Posted on October 24, 2017 by Modern Survival| 2 Comments

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Outdoor Edge RB-20 Razor Blaze Knife.  Man this thing is slick!  I picked on up right before my recent hunt and  I’m glad I did.  I was hunting with about 14 other people at a ranch in the Texas Hill Country and was surprised to see about half the people there with one version of other of this knife.

The premise is simple your blade is always razor sharp because when it gets dull, you toss it out and replace it with a new one, new blades cost about $1.60 each.  The blades are made with an inexpensive steel called 420 J2, which has poor edge retention but sharpens very easily and is extremely resistant to coronation and rust.   This steel until these knives came out had two primary uses.

  1.  It is used by many high end knife makers as liners, springs, etc in their folding knives, due to high corrosion resistance.
    –
  2. It is used by many makers of surgical scalpels.  Generally scalpels must be incredibly sharp and are used one time in surgery and deposed of.  Inexpensive steel that stands up to harsh chemicals for sterilizing and gets incredibly sharp easily is perfect for this application.

Given the above I think 420 J2 is perfect for what Outdoor Edge is doing with this knife.  Let me tell you what everyone with one at this hunt had it primarily for, one thing, skinning.  I am big on not letting a knife get dull in the first place, using a good sharpening steel you can keep an edge for a very long time, if you are patient and keep touching it up.

However in the real world hunting makes a man tired, stuff slips and next thing you know it is 9PM, you haven’t had dinner yet, you have a half skinned deer or hog and dull ass knife.  In a word this SUCKS!  If someone said, here is a razor sharp blade for a buck 60 you can have right now, you’d hand him a 5 and tell him to keep the change!

While I didn’t charge the guy this did happen at this last hunt.  I met a really cool guy who had brought his God Son on a hunt with him.  The boy shot a beautiful Aoudad, really beautiful.  The man was really taking his time skinning this animal because it was going to be mounted.  I could tell that it was really important to him to do a good job.  I could also tell his knife was getting dull but noticed a Outdoor Edge Knife sitting on the ledge next to him.

When I asked him about it he said they were great but he forgot to get extra blades.  I asked if he wanted a blade for it and thought he was gonna stop and hug me he was so happy.  He finished up and we talked while he did.  Turns out this guy is the type that hunts all over the world, hunting is pretty much all he does.  He is retired very young, mid thirties.  He invented a stem cell technology that he sold to Cancer Treatment Centers of America and well, he is set for life.

He had just come back from Tajikistan from a sheep hunt that is considered one of the most challenging hunts in the world.  He has hunted in New Zealand, Australia, Russia, etc.  And yea for skinning he carries a 35 dollar knife with a disposable blade!  Why?  It works and it always works.

Just unlike him pick up a pack or two of extra blades!  They are only 9.99 with free shipping on prime.

Let me be clear, you can absolutely use this knife for anything you’d use any similar knife for.  It simply though screams out, use me for skinning, and that is why I have one.  Skinning is hard on an edge and you simply need a razor sharp knife to do it right.  With this you always have one.  Again I know how to sharpen knives and do a good job of it, but at 9:30 PM on a hunt, I want to be kicking back at the fire with a beer and belly full of deer heart off the gill, not sharpening a knife and looking at a half skinned animal.

So check out the Outdoor Edge RB-20 Razor Blaze Knife all the other hunters in camp that had them, loved them, and I think you will too.  I find the knife a great deal with 6 blades included for only $34.95.

Remember you can always find the TSP Amazon Item of the day by just going to TspAz.com and by shopping at TspAz.com anytime you shop online you help support TSP and the work we do here no matter what you buy.

P.S. – The other knife I considered for this use was a Havalon Piranta but I felt the blade shape just wasn’t enough like a “regular knife”.  The blades cost less for sure in fact about half the price but again they are not optimal in my personal view.

One gentleman in our camp had both the Outdoor Edge and the Havalon Piranta and said he preferred the Outdoor Edge for a few reasons.  One is the over all feel when cutting, related to the blade shape.  The other is that the blade is much easier to change in Outdoor Edge and you are likely to cut yourself changing the blade in the Piranta.

The thing he liked better about the Piranta is it is easier to clean.  I can seen in the design why this is so.  However when I got home, I just removed the blade from my knife, tossed the frame into the silverware thing on the dishwasher and it came out clean as new!  I personally prefer the Outdoor Edge but wanted to bring the Piranta to your attention because the long term cost is lower.  However how many big game animals do you skin in a year?

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Mitchell 300 Spinning Reel – Item of the Day

Posted on September 12, 2017 by Modern Survival| 2 Comments

mitch-300Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Mitchell 300 Spinning Reel.  I grew up fishing with old school Mitchell 300s as in 1950s models made in France.  Things have changed, sadly today Mitchells are made like many things in China, but this reel is done right and true to its heritage.

I love to fish, but bluntly fishing is one of two things depending on how you do it.  It is either a great low cost way to add protein to the homestead or a very expensive hobby.  So as always I want maximum value, with a very high quality to price ratio.  I may have tried the new Mitchells due to family affinity, but they won me over on merits.

Over the years I have tried many mid sized spinning reels under 70 dollars looking for the best, and Mitchell in my view is still the working man’s best value.  The only runner up really so far is the Garcia SX40, and Garcia owns Mitchell, so that might be a reason.  Note the SX40 is NOT as good of a reel as the Mitchell 300 but at only 30 bucks it is a great reel for loaner rods and rods your kids drop in the water!

This is not the reel for taking on tarpon or sharks (other than pups in the surf) but it will run line from about 4-20 pounds beautifully.  It pairs up perfectly with most medium-light fast to medium action rods.  Which is my sweet spot!  I have no desire to drag a 3 pound fish across the surface like a water skier, any of you remember that clown Babe Winkleman in the 80s?

The Mitchell 300 Spinning Reel simply works and works great, there is no back roll, it is smooth, it casts beautifully, the drag is silky smooth and the total cost is about 45 bucks with free shipping.   It is currently the best valued spinning reel under 50 bucks and if I ever find a better deal I will let you know.

For what it is worth, I have tried the 300 Pro, it is a great reel and I can’t tell the difference in performance.  The key mechanical difference is it has 10 bearings vs. 8 bearings on the standard 300.  If the pro is worth the extra 40ish bucks to you, fine it is a great reel too, but where the fish meets the line, I can’t tell the difference other than the color.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

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Igloo Hybrid Stainless and Plastic Latch and the Igloo Stainless Steel Hinges

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Modern Survival| 7 Comments

igloo

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Igloo Hybrid Stainless and Plastic Latch and the Igloo Stainless Steel Hinges.  Yep a two fer cause I know many of ya’ll need one or both of these.  I can see it now, that big giant white igloo cooler most of us at least one of, sitting out there with the latches broken off it.

I mean those cooler are great and affordable to boot, they hold a TON of stuff, keep ice for a few days and man you just can’t beat em.  But what always happens, the damn latches break off and though not as frequently the hinges fail.

Most people “live with it”, I mean unless it is strapped onto a cargo carrier shoved into a pintel hitch receiver, it isn’t going to just fly open right?  Well no but it will not close tight and it will tend to therefore not hold ice as well, besides that latch is there for a reason right.

The issue is clear, it should not be made of plastic, because here is the other thing many of us have done.  When we are at say Bass Pro or Academy Sports they sell these latches and hinges cheap, so we buy a set and in a season or two at most, they break again.  Seriously I haven’t been spying on you, this is just what happens to us all.

The solution is don’t use plastic and that is what you can get here.  The latches are plastic where plastic makes sense and metal where the plastic always and I mean always in time fails.  The hinges are just solid metal, which is how igloo should make these damn things in the first place.  This is an example of living like our fathers did, not only do you not just toss something out and instead fix it, but  you actually make it better than new.

I mean think about it, unless you do something really horrible to a cooler it lasts a VERY long time.  I have some that are 20 years old and still good, so why replace a broken part with something that will soon break again anyway.

So if you have igloo coolers that need new hardware check out the the Igloo Hybrid Stainless and Plastic Latch and Igloo Stainless Steel Hinges.

Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com

PS VERY IMPORTANT THIS TIME – First and foremost the hinges come as a pair, the latch is a single unit.  The reason they do this is some coolers only have one latch OR sometimes you only want one.  So if you need two, order quantity two.

Next if you look at the negative reviews for the latches you will see claims they do not fit.  They absolutely do fit, if you install them correctly.  They are designed a bit different from the plastic ones and must be installed a bit differently.  The photos below come from a review by Moxy on Amazon but I could not figure out how to link to Moxy’s images directly so I am including them here.  They make it VERY clear what the people bitching about fit are doing wrong.

wronghinge

righthinge

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