Some Stuff from Amazon that Wasn't Crap

I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for about 6 years. I’ve purchased some crap from Amazon over those years. But experience has taught me well. I’ve learned what to look for and what to avoid. I’m now skilled in the art of parsing Amazon reviews and avoiding shady sellers. This year I’ve purchased some truly great products and I thought I’d share them.1

300 lb Wheelbarrow | $166

This Rubbermaid wheelbarrow was so amazing that the 3-man delivery team that brought it to my door fawned all over it. It arrived mostly assembled in a huge box with free 2-day shipping. I’ve used this monster for moving mulch, earth and bodies. Umm. Well, let’s just move on.

The Energizer Cup Converter | $32

This one was a big shock. I expected something named after the Energizer battery brand to be a piece of junk. For $32 it was a gamble that paid off. The Cup is a power converter for cars that provides 4 USB female charger ports and one US 120V 3-prong outlet. The Cup is designed to go in a cup holder but I keep mine in the center console with several different iPhone adapters plugged in. It even provides enough power to charge an iPad.

Squeakie Green Bottle Opener | $5

If you think I have a lot of bottle openers, I’d tell you that I can quit any time. Any time, dammit! This Squeakie opener is really nice and maybe one of the easiest to use of any I have. It’s also a great way to introduce your toddler to opening your beers.

Generac Gas Power Washer | $400

Yeah. It’s cool. If you own a home, you are either addicted to destroying your property with a power washer or you’ve never used a power washer. There are only two kinds of home owners.

The Generac gas powered washer strikes a nice balance between removing sidewalk stains and industrial apocalypse simulator. It’s plenty powerful enough for every job I’ve tackled with it and only caused minor damage to my siding.

When you order something like this and pay nothing for delivery, you will do a little fist pump.

Karcher Wide Area Cleaner | $59

Yup, hook up this bad boy by Karcher and you have a super fast way to clean your walkway and strip your deck. I was surprised at how efficient this simple little attachment was. If you have a power washer, you’re an idiot. If you don’t have one of these Karcher attachments, you’re just plain ignorant.

SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB SDXC | $150

Who doesn’t like more memory in their portable camera? With this little beauty, I’ve been able to record video and take full resolution photos over a long weekend and never filled the card. It’s super fast too.

Thai Sriracha | $15

It’s Sriracha but actually good. It’s a bit less hot than the more popular brand but significantly more tasty. Just shut your pie hole and try it. It’s better.

Cantilever Steel Tool Box | $27

This is my “special” toolbox. It’s filled with weird stuff like wire strippers, Ethernet crimpers and scissors that fit adult hands. The cantilever design means the box stays organized and is compact. When opened completely you have access to every tool.

Channellock 13 in 1 Ratcheting Driver | $28

Let me tell you a “life-hack”. Buy two multi-bit screwdrivers. One cheap one and one good one. Put the cheap one in the kitchen and keep the good one in your special toolbox. Within 7 minutes, the cheap one will be missing all of the bits except one.

This Channellock driver is my good one and it rocks. It also still has all of its bits.

So there you have it. I think it was a pretty good year with Amazon. Of course I did buy some junk, but overall most of it was solid. I even managed to thrill my kid with a few.

  1. Affiliate links. Duh. ↩︎