FuelBelt FuelBox

I have been using the large FuelBelt FuelBox for several years now, and love it. In it, I carry mini Cliff Bars and/or gels, AND my BlackBerry or cell phone. The advantage over a Bento box, is that the FuelBox zippers closed and protects the contents from the elements. My cell phones and on-the-road nutrition have survived torrential rains and dust, thanks to the FuelBox. It has completed 11 triathlons, several in pouring rain, and innumerable training rides and long trips in all varieties of upstate NY weather, road and riding conditions. The FuelBox, and it''s contents, stay put and are easily accessible while riding.

Whats in the bag or "box" as they call it was a bit odd to me when I first opened it. The bag is made well and the medium size is just right for my needs (cellphone and cliff bar). I was at first unsure if the plastic insert was just for display or shipping purchases because it doesn''t quite live up to the quality of the rest of the bag (sticky off-white plastic that looked like it was cut with scissors) however, the insert is both functional and removable. The velcro is good quality and the zipper design works great. This is a great addition to any bike.

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I''ve had this ''box'' for about 3 weeks now. Since then I''ve been on 2 long rides with it. I''m a diabetic, so I mainly use to store a miniature glucometer and some spare test strips for testing blood sugars during a ride or at SAG stops. This is a great, well-built bag for stowing a small amount of whatever keys, gels, etc. etc. This medium Fuelbox will hold about 4 of your typical gel pouches. It also an internal zippered area for holding some cash or debit cards, ID, etc. It comes with a plastic insert so that it retains it boxy shape. Overall, it is a great addition to my bike.

My only complaint is regarding the orientation of the zipper. The zipper zips forward (toward the front of the bike) so that to zip it entirely shut you have to really work to get the zipper clasp tucked into the space between the Fuelbox and your stem. I can see why this is necessary when I am up out of the saddle on a steep climb and really working my knees tend to knock against the back of the Fuelbox. When this happens I''m grateful for the zipper being up front out of my knees'' way so I don''t get scraped. Still, the zipper could use a cord to make it gentler on teh knees or easier to zip all the way forward.

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I have both the medium and large FuelBox bags. The medium bag is compact; enough space for a couple of energy bars and nothing else. The smaller size keeps it tucked out of the way. The larger bag holds 4 Clif bars standing upright, but the tall size may be awkward if your handlebar stem is lower than the height of the bag.

Most competing products have an easy access velcro top closure so you can easily grab an energy bar or gel and eat it while you are riding. The zipper closure on the FuelBox makes access more difficult, but also more secure. Casual bicyclists who only eat when stopped may prefer the zipper, especially if you also keep valuables in the bag (like keys or phones).

Construction quality seems fine for the price, though I don''t know why the bag has both sewn-in padding and a removable hard plastic liner. Having both seems to add bulk. Also, I''m not a fan of the velcro straps that tend to snag your shorts or tights.

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I used it on my tri bike. The "large" one is not too large. Enough room for a cell phone and a few energy gels.It''s a good product.

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Crocodile Creek 13.5 oz 13.5 oz Stainless Steel Reusable Drinking Bottle

My kids love these bottles. Why? Becasue of the vibrant color designs and interesting themes (dinosaurs, planets; jungle animals, trucks, etc.)

As a mom, I love them for the same reason, but also because the core of the bottle is made of stainless steel, a much more durable and safer alternative to plastic. They also keep cold beverages insulated better than plastic. They are also just the right size to fit into a convetional lunchbox.

BUT, I have complaints.

1) The exterior design, made of some type of laminate, peels off the bottle after just a short amount of routine wear and hand washing. I have the bottles for just about a month now, and they are all peeling in the same spot: bottom seam.

2) Not dishwasher safe. Need I say more.

3) The drinking spout is loose and if not shut all the way, it will leak. So I place the bottles in a ziploc freezer bag before packing them in a lunchbox.

4) The metal will react to certain acidic drinks... like apple juice. After about 10 hours in the bottle, the juice had a vinegary taste.

For ten bucks, this should be a better product. But looks alone, it would win a beauty contest.

Cute designs, but the inner spout leaks, so when you open the cap, it''s full of water. Not a huge deal to me, but it does bother my 6-year old, so he prefers not to use it. (and he''s whom I bought it for) And he says that his classmate has the same problem with her bottle. You''d think the manufacturer would have fixed this apparent problem before selling.

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My kids love it, great idea to have the stainless steel bottles with prints on it, we bought 4 different kinds, please make sure that your kids don''t take them to school they won''t come back..

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I have two of these for my toddler, they both leak when you try to drink out of them and you get much more air than liquid. Additionally the paint has peeled from both of them. These were not inexpensive so I am disappointed.

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Overall Ok value. Toddlers like to spill the water, so it can be messy, if it''s not used under supervision...Unfortunately it''s not designed to last for very long! The seal gave up after approx 4 months. Now it''s leaking everywhere when it''s tilted.

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Sawyer Single Bag Water Treatment System

I was very pleased with my Sawyer 4L gravity filter system. Sure beats the constant pumping action required with my old filter. I especially liked the "handle" on the grey water bag to assist in filling it from the lake. I can only think of one improvement: a lanyard on the cap of the grey water bag would eliminate the worry of misplacing the cap.

This is a great product. I have a steri pen and a katadyn water filter as well. Bought this since I was going to Isle Royale and the steri pen might not kill tape worm eggs, and I was tired of buying new filters for my katadyn pro hiker. I filled this from shore multiple times and never had to back flush. My only complaint is it is difficult to fill the bag all the way. I have a camp bucket and found it easier to fill the bucket then pour it into the filter bag. My friend has the platypus gravity works system, which I also really like, but he had to back flush twice after his filter clogged.

Great product with a long life filter, and I would recomend it to anyone.

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I purchased this product for camping trips in remote areas. It works great. I would recommend that you bring something to put the clean water in (I was not willing to spend a ton of extra oney for the reservoir).

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I bought this to carry in my backpack. Took it camping and used it to filter pond water.I really like the filter, it filters fairly fast and holds 4 liters of water. Rolls up to fit nicely in my pack.

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Platypus SoftBottle with Push-Pull Cap

I like the trees design.

It looks like I''ll still need to wash it frequently and the cap will eventually have built up too many grooves for my comfort. I still prefer push pull over hyperflow (cover sold seperately) and closure cap (less comfortable to drink from with my mouth and less flow control). The curve helps with grip. It rolls or lays flat being both very light weight and easy to carry, when empty. No negative impact on taste. You can put more than just water in here, I just don''t.

As long as I don''t fill it to bursting and jump up and down on it, or other kinds of major abuse over the year, it won''t leak, lol.

Even with patterns, people still give it the side-eye and come up with imaginative ideas of what it is. When they think it is hospital gear, when they think IV bag, I don''t mind, but they think something else, I do. Other people say the curvy shape makes them think of a mini person. Needless to say, this is some unexpected entertainment of sorts. For some reason it isn''t obviously a water bottle to people, until I drink from it, lol. The caps look obvious to me, but I guess that''s just me.

The one with the loop for attaching it to things is bulkier, but sometimes I miss that feature.

Even though I keep buying new ones, there''s really nothing really wrong with my old ones. They''re easier to store than than old milk bottles and taste better for emergency water storage. I exchange back and forth if I''m being lazy on cleaning up my current primary bottle. The gravity purifier is probably better for those purposes, though. (more water and filter).

Honestly, I''d be cool if they sold these in some kind of bulk pack, like they do the wine preservers.

I know nalgenes are the still rage and finally BPA-free, but they don''t really offer any advantages that I''m interested in. The knock off Platypus''s might look more commercial, but I prefer transparency for cleanliness, etc. and those don''t have the same quality material and construction.

the bottle is great for snowboarding, when the water is gone it stores easy in a small pocket!

I will say a half liter of water is for sure not enough. If buy another,, I''ll surely get the 1 liter or bigger!

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New Wave Enviro Porcelain Water Dispenser (2.5-Gallon)

I bought two of these to use as continuous kombucha brewers. I have not had any problems with them so far. I was worried about the spigot leaking after reading other reviews, but I have not had that problem with mine. You do have to observe the instructions, as there are two washers that must be installed in the correct positions on the spigot. I tightened the nuts extra hand tight. These work well for kombucha because the large open top makes it easy to pour in the make up tea.

Since kombucha likes it to be around 80F for brewing, I added a reptile heatmat underneath the two crocks, and a hydrofarm temperature controller to keep it around 80F. It works great as a system, and I got everything from Amazon, including the tea! (Note: I no longer use a reptile heat mat underneath; I use a seedling heatmat wrapped around see the comments).

The only problem I had with the order, was the first two crocks arrived completely shattered. There was zero padding in the boxes, just a thick box inside another box. When I lifted the box to move them, I could hear the shards scattering around. But Amazon was great about it, and sent me two new crocks by next day delivery, and those arrived in perfect condition! Now that is good customer service.

I had another water crock I got when I had Poland Spring home water delivery, and its porcelain was a bit thicker than these crocks. But these crocks it is thick enough, but a little more fragile. I like that it is certified lead free, since many glazes contain lead.

August 2012 editing to add ... I''ve had the crocks in service nearly a year now. I am surprised the spigots have not started leaking yet, since they get cycled almost daily, and I have run hot water through them to clean them out. I''ve had zero problems with these crocks. None has broken, and none leaks even the slightest bit.

March 2013 editing to add ... Still zero leaks from the spigots. They have to tightened pretty firmly to make sure they don''t leak. Basically if you can twist the spigot with your fingers, the nut isn''t tight enough. They say not to overtighten because it could break the porcelain, but if hand tightening the nut I think it would be hard to tighten it so much that it cracks.

I''ve never written a review before, but feel its necessary as I did not heed the warnings of others in their reviews of this product. The good news is that this is a beautiful dispenser.. very simple and elegant looking and doesn''t take over my tiny kitchen with a loud design. Unfortunately, it leaked. Everywhere. Gallons of water all over my counters and floor when I woke up in the morning. I figured I must have assembled it wrong (not making the bolt tight enough, etc..) but after double checking all that I realized there was a leak in the pot itself. Normally, this wouldn''t be an issue, but when I tried to return it, I was informed I couldn''t because I waited too long. The product sat in the box for a few weeks as I had to wait for my other one to be picked up from the water service I use... my bad I guess. Lesson learned. The moral of this story is to pay attention to your reviews and make sure you test your purchase out for defects right away, so you can get your money back if it''s broken. In the spirit of making lemonade out of my lemons, I may just convert it into a planter since it was so pretty.

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There is nothing too flashy about this dispenser, but it does exactly what it is supposed to do. I have been using it for about a month now, with no cracks or leaks from the dispenser or tap. It functions nicely as a kombucha continous brewing station. My only complaint is not with the product itself, but rather with the fact that Amazon sent me two of them when I only ordered one, and trying to be honest and return the extra one was a bit of an ordeal. Other than that, I am very pleased.

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Does NOT leak at all. Very sturdy thick walls. Absolutely love it.

I was concerned about buying it because of all the comments that the spout leaks, but it does not. Very happy with the purchase.

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I was renting one of these for $12 a month from the water delivery company. I know... hang head in shame. This thing is just like what I was renting except 1. it doesn''t leak, and 2. it doesn''t have that stupid blue line around it. It''s great!

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Gerber 31-001047 Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Pack Save 54% off

• Multitool has 12 components, including pliers, wire cutters, wood saw, and more
• All multitool components lock for safety and dependability
• Tempo flashlight provides four hours of run time off a single AAA battery and has high LED output
• Flashlight has sturdy, rugged construction and anodized aluminum body
• Reliable fire starter rod and textured plastic sheath

After becoming separated from the group during a winter snowshoe tour last February, I must say this kit lives up to its billing. When stuck in a survival situation for few hours with any of Bear Grylls'' products, your primary motivation becomes living long enough to get your money back from that smug bastard. Hours of scraping the firestarter instead of remembering to bring a simple butane lighter fueled my anger. When the flashlight died barely halfway through the first night of peril(4 hours? really?), I was able to keep warm in the dark with thoughts of revenge. Survival is 90% mental and this kit really gives you a reason to persevere.

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I ordered this from Amazon when it was on sale for 52.95. I got 2 of these things, one for me and the other for the girlfriend to keep in our cars. First off the multi tool is ok, not great but better than some of the cheaper ones on the market, it seems to work ok for what it is. The firesteel is also not that bad, it''s bigger than the one that comes with the Ultimate knife, it makes sparks. And the flashlight is not that bad considering its a single LED one AAA light. Mine runs for a bit over 4 hours on a super cheap battery.

All in all the whole kit was OK for what I paid for it. I''m glad I got them, but I''m really glad I got them for alot less than 80 bucks. By far the best part is having those things in one holster. That''s why I actually got it.

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It is very simple. This is a decent multi-toool. It is just not $80 decent. The firestarter, meh. The flashlight is a single AAA battery. It would not be the best choice in a survival situation..... For someone who wants to play survivalist in their backyard, it is perfect. For a serious deep-woods set, I could recommend a lot better and probably for a lesser price.

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Let me start by saying it is OKAY. It is made in China so the quality is shoddy. I have used it for a few miscellaneous tasks and am afraid I will break it. ALL of my other Gerber products have been made in the U.S.A. and are amazing, some have been passed down from my father to me as well and work better then this. I don''t know when Gerber sent their products to be made in China but I will not buy Gerber anymore because of it. In an absolute emergency I would use this but it would be my very very last choice. If you are looking for something to throw into an emergency kit that you wouldn''t use often I would say you could find better for less money and I would not recommend this.

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I got this from Sears for about $55 as a gift for my little brother''s birthday. We took it camping a couple of times last month and while we were able to use it (so far we''ve used the wood saw, pliers, bottle opener, screw drivers and flashlight), it doesn''t feel like it''s got a lot of life left in it. Disappointing considering what I spent on it. Some of the reviews say that it''s bulky, and while I don''t think it''s all that bulky, I will say that it''s not the easiest to pull out the tools. I would''ve given it 3.5 stars if it were an option, but since it''s not broken on me yet, I''ll stick with the 4 stars for now and update this if needed.

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