OT: Products you believe in

[Deepster]

I found a thread like this on another board and got a lot of good tips from it. Figured it would be a good one to toss on the Yard.

The point is for you to post a product you use and are completely satisfied with and it should be something that's maybe a little uncommon that others might not know about yet. Please also provide a link, when possible.

Two examples to get things started:

1) Yeti Koozies - I know they're expensive at 29.99 for a koozie. And I know you'll say "Who takes that long to drink a beer?" Just trust me. These things keep your beer ICE cold. Mowing the lawn. Laying in a hammock. At the beach. You can put the beer down, forget about it, come back an hour later and it's still ice friggin' cold.

2) Shave Secret Shave Oil - I hate shaving and I've tried it all. This stuff comes in a container about the size of a Visine bottle. 5-6 drops is all you need and it gives me the best shave I've ever had. Plus, if you travel a lot, it's easy to pack away and get through TSA.

 

[Bezzz]

I got one. If you've let the soap scum on your shower wall get out of hand, you can't get it off with more soap. The scum is a mix of soap and minerals, hard as a rock basically alkaline.
Try Barkeepers Friend. It's acidic. Rub on a good amount, let sit for 10 minutes. The stuff softens up and wipes away.

 

[August_West]

I was turned on to this recently and became a big fan.

TacTec Plate - Stab and Body Armour. I've had to spend a lot of time in Hartford recently and this allows me to feel safe while not sacrificing comfort. I understand they are offering a 20% discount with proof of a Yard goats season ticket purchase now too, which is a good deal that I wasnt able to take advantage of.

 

[HooperScooper]

1) Yeti Koozies - I know they're expensive at 29.99 for a koozie. And I know you'll say "Who takes that long to drink a beer?" Just trust me. These things keep your beer ICE cold. Mowing the lawn. Laying in a hammock. At the beach. You can put the beer down, forget about it, come back an hour later and it's still ice friggin' cold.

If I drank the stuff you drink I'd taker forever to drink my beer also.

 

[tykurez]

1) Yeti Koozies - I know they're expensive at 29.99 for a koozie. And I know you'll say "Who takes that long to drink a beer?" Just trust me. These things keep your beer ICE cold. Mowing the lawn. Laying in a hammock. At the beach. You can put the beer down, forget about it, come back an hour later and it's still ice friggin' cold.

I will second this. I just got one for father's day. Had an iced coffee out on a walk @ 6am. I forgot about it and while I was cleaning up for the night, found it ... still had solid ice cubes in it. Amazing.

For me it's the Black and Decker Pivot - We have two dogs whose blowing balls of fur would make the tumbleweeds in western movies jealous. We also have a young child, and I'm a Tasmanian Devil when it comes to anything food-prep related. Helps that we have all hardwood, but I can cover pretty much every corner of the first floor on a single charge with this thing and it beats one of us pulling out the vacuum every day. I hate walking around in bare feet on dog fur and crumbs.

 

[Husky25]

If you have a pool, never go into a Namco or Leslie's for chmicals ever again.

Get your liquid Chlorine and Stabilizer at Ocean State. pH+ (washing soda) or to adjust total alkalinity (baking soda) at the gocery store (chlorine is also available here as well as Wal-Mart. It's called bleach), and pH- (Muriatic acid) at Ace or Home Depot.

 

[Tommyboy]

I will second this. I just got one for father's day. Had an iced coffee out on a walk @ 6am. I forgot about it and while I was cleaning up for the night, found it ... still had solid ice cubes in it. Amazing.

I have a Yeti Rambler and the Koozie and they are awesome. The Koozie is great by the pool as the sun really warms up any beer super quickly. Now with the Koozie, its ice cold til the very end.

Wish they weren't so expensive though. Have been seeing the RTIC versions everyone online (Shop RTIC Can). Anyone have experience with them?

 

[CTMike]

Surprised @August_West didnt mention the Thermapen. Quick, accurate... No excuse to overlook anything again.

Most recipes over at seriouseats.com, in particular those by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt... I've learned a ton from his techniques.

 

[August_West]

Surprised @August_West didnt mention the Thermapen. Quick, accurate... No excuse to overlook anything again.

Most recipes over at seriouseats.com, in particular those by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt... I've learned a ton from his techniques.

These noobs would still screw up their cooks.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Viagra-make sure to have your doctor on speed dial.

 

[intlzncster]

Yard Goats Stadium. Go Goats!!

 

[Dogdeacon]

Strava for biking or running. Records time, distance & pace very well add power or heart rate monitor if you want. Has nice competitive 'segments' stretches of a run or ride where you compete against your previous times or others for the psycho overly competitive types.
www.strava.com


Most people have heard of Waze, but its easily saved me 50 hours of driving over the past 2 years and that's with mostly commuting by public transport.
Its an app for smartphone.

 

[WhiteDressWes]

If you have a pool, never go into a Namco or Leslie's for chmicals ever again.

Get your liquid Chlorine and Stabilizer at Ocean State. pH+ (washing soda) or to adjust total alkalinity (baking soda) at the gocery store (chlorine is also available here as well as Wal-Mart. It's called bleach), and pH- (Muriatic acid) at Ace or Home Depot.

Better to eliminate chlorine:

How to Use Peroxide Instead of Chlorine in a Swimming Pool

 

[August_West]

This one I just found the need of in the immediate past. Its proving useful even in this thread.

avatar blocker plug-in - If you are disgusted by certain users avatars (like the OP's) on message boards you frequent, use this plug-in to block them.

 

[intlzncster]

I was turned on to this recently and became a big fan.

TacTec Plate - Stab and Body Armour. I've had to spend a lot of time in Hartford recently and this allows me to feel safe while not sacrificing comfort. I understand they are offering a 20% discount with proof of a Yard goats season ticket purchase now too, which is a good deal that I wasnt able to take advantage of.

Ha, I didn't even look at your post before I posted 'yard goats stadium'. Too funny.

Yours was at least creative. I just mailed it in.

 

[jleves]

Have to second the Thermapen. Not cheap but you get a reading in a couple of seconds and it's super accurate.

Second, if you like to cook, you have got to try Sous Vide cooking. Again, not really cheap, but your food comes out so damn good and nothing is ever dry again. After a lot of research, I chose this one as the best for just getting into it. You can just start with a large stock pot, but eventually you'll want to pick up this with the top to make things easier and give you some more space. You can find tons of information just by googling Sous Vide. Nothing like a great hunk of Filet Mignon perfectly medium rare from end to end.

And finally - if you have ants, do not spray them with ant killer. It just causes the queens to produce more workers. You need to kill the nest. First you put down some of this and let them take that back home to kill the larvae and queens then after they've had an hour to transport that, you put down a few lines of this and ants are no longer a problem (for really large nests, you may have to do it a few days in a row). You can use Advion instead of Optigard - they both equally effective. Get which ever is cheaper at the time. I've been treating ants here in California where Argentine ants are a huge problem. We have none in the house and almost none around the house while the neighbors are spraying daily and complaining about thousands of ants in their kitchen and bathrooms.

Love the idea of this thread @Deepster

 

[Husky25]

Better to eliminate chlorine:

How to Use Peroxide Instead of Chlorine in a Swimming Pool

That's the Baquacil system. I had it for 6 years it is A-W-F-U-L, awful. It's expensive and eventually fails.

Go here and save $1,000s going forward.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[MexicoHusky]

I found a thread like this on another board and got a lot of good tips from it. Figured it would be a good one to toss on the Yard.

The point is for you to post a product you use and are completely satisfied with and it should be something that's maybe a little uncommon that others might not know about yet. Please also provide a link, when possible.

Two examples to get things started:

1) Yeti Koozies - I know they're expensive at 29.99 for a koozie. And I know you'll say "Who takes that long to drink a beer?" Just trust me. These things keep your beer ICE cold. Mowing the lawn. Laying in a hammock. At the beach. You can put the beer down, forget about it, come back an hour later and it's still ice friggin' cold.

2) Shave Secret Shave Oil - I hate shaving and I've tried it all. This stuff comes in a container about the size of a Visine bottle. 5-6 drops is all you need and it gives me the best shave I've ever had. Plus, if you travel a lot, it's easy to pack away and get through TSA.

Deepster, when you say "best shave" does this include elimination of ingrown hair?

 

[Excalibur]

Downey Wrinkle Release. Yes, I could remember to hang up shirts and pants when they finish in the dryer, but we have 2 kids so that just doesn't happen. Gently spray each side and the wrinkles fall out about 30 seconds after you put the clothes on.

My Cookshack Smokette smoker. Yes, I know, I'm cheating by using electric. My response is (1) smoke ring is a myth and does not materially alter flavor, and (2) I can do an unattended 20 hour smoke and know it's going to be 99% as good as it would be in a charcoal smoker, without having to hover over it the whole time.

 

[MexicoHusky]

No brand in particular, but a chainsaw is a pretty effective device. A Zamboni as well.

 

[Thirty Three]

I got one. If you've let the soap scum on your shower wall get out of hand, you can't get it off with more soap. The scum is a mix of soap and minerals, hard as a rock basically alkaline.
Try Barkeepers Friend. It's acidic. Rub on a good amount, let sit for 10 minutes. The stuff softens up and wipes away.

Another one is Easy-off oven cleaner, it will pretty much do the same thing. Spray your tub/shower, come back a few minutes later and wipe it down. It is pretty harsh stuff to inhale though.

 

[UC313]

Another one is Easy-off oven cleaner, it will pretty much do the same thing. Spray your tub/shower, come back a few minutes later and wipe it down. It is pretty harsh stuff to inhale though.

Ironically enough it will pull grease, oils and most film finishes (poly, shellac, varnish) off of wood. I refurbish a lot of old hand planes and saws and its my go to on handles.

 

[Chin Diesel]

A competitor of Yeti is Engel. Similar construction but with a screw on lid. Hot stays hot, cold stay cold. Keeps cocktails cold all day long on the beach.

Harry's Razors. Last me 3 times as long as the Gillette blades I was using and cost about 1/3 the price.

Anker portable battery charger. Mine is 3 years old and still works great with cell phones and tablets. Great for travel.

 

[Johnny Mac]

Hydrox cookies.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

Hydrox cookies.

Old school Oreos. Haven't seen them in a long time.