Swamp Shopping Guide

[The Sybian]

One of the cats knocked his food bowl over and broke it. To replace it, I looked at the bowls at Petsmart, and they are pretty freaking expensive for what they are. So, I walked down to the local thrift store and bought a couple nice ceramic cereal bowls for 99 cents each. Score.

Most old lady thing ever written in the Swamp

[sancarlos]

You really know how to hurt a guy! (Harsh, but fair.)

[Rush2112]

We bought one of those pet watering bowls that has the pump and filter and the friggin pump went about 4 months in. Ordered 3 different pumps of the Zon and they all shoot frigging water a foot in the air (got pet specific, one with a variable power, etc.) finally had to break down and get a new one.

And our kitten broke his bowl (it's a little bowl with a Siamese face on it) glued it together, with crazy glue, not a hot glue gun like SC would have done. Don't worry no glue in eating areas.

[EdRomero]

speaking of vacuums. thoughts?

I'm also thinking about finally quitting Amazon and counting on Walmart for onine shopping. Anyone else quit Amazon?

[wlu_lax6]

speaking of vacuums. thoughts?

I'm also thinking about finally quitting Amazon and counting on Walmart for onine shopping. Anyone else quit Amazon?

Ours is purple. I really can't tell the difference between the sharks in the lift away models. I think they do that so you don't price shop across channels. But the lift away is really nice and the way it pivots when vacuuming makes my wife laugh because I pretend to be dancing with it...but I am vacuuming so she knows not to laugh too much or I will let her do the cleaning. I also like the lift away ability for stairs and such.

[wlu_lax6]

No sharks right now but a dyson animal and Bissel on deep discount
https://www.woot.com/category/home/vacu ... et_home_20

[mister d]

Anyone have strong opinions on (middle school) kids headphones? Specific ones or a more general yes/no on whether to give them in-ear like airpods?

[The Sybian]

Anyone have strong opinions on (middle school) kids headphones? Specific ones or a more general yes/no on whether to give them in-ear like airpods?

Yes, but nobody listens to me. Fought my daughter getting on-brand Airpods last year for her birthday. Tried to convince her that she couldn't tell the difference between cheap knockoffs and the real deal, and more importantly, her friends wouldn't be able to tell. Sure enough, she lost them within days, and since she didn't charge them or tell us she lost them for several days, Find my Phone app didn't help. I much preferred her having the large Beats-style headphones, because it was easy to find when she left them everywhere from my car, the kitchen, garage, soccer bag... She insisted on the real deal for Christmas, but I convinced my parents to get used ones, and a year later, she still has them after a close call shortly after getting them.

My only concern was that they are easier to lose. My son has the same pair for 4 or 5 years now, no issues with them fitting/staying or damaging hearing.

[HaulCitgo]

get the airpods. they fit kids fine so far as I can tell. now i didnt purchase them but they are in possession of 3/4 two years later and a couple have been washed. From what the kids say there is a market in newly acquired airpods so the right connections would probably get them some for about $25. I also saw some for $99? at or around black friday. not the pro or upgraded new model. fwiw i dont even have an iphone and could care less but the kids appreciate

[wlu_lax6]

I have been on the Anker brand for years. Way less expensive than the cool kids, but they look fine, have lots of options in style (in ear, hook over ear, etc) and all the features. They are all waterproof/sweatproof protected (IPX 5 or 7 or such). For my kids we have a few options in the house (over the head, in ear). Because we went cheap we don't mind having options)

[billy]

Anyone have strong opinions on (middle school) kids headphones? Specific ones or a more general yes/no on whether to give them in-ear like airpods?

My only opinion is to get them ones with built in volume limiting. We got these for our (much younger) kid, and they're fantastic and would totally work for kids probably up to about high school (then they might be too small), depending on head size.

https://purosound.com/products/bt2200-p ... 4599335583

[The Sybian]

Anyone have strong opinions on (middle school) kids headphones? Specific ones or a more general yes/no on whether to give them in-ear like airpods?

Yes, but nobody listens to me. Fought my daughter getting on-brand Airpods last year for her birthday. Tried to convince her that she couldn't tell the difference between cheap knockoffs and the real deal, and more importantly, her friends wouldn't be able to tell. Sure enough, she lost them within days, and since she didn't charge them or tell us she lost them for several days, Find my Phone app didn't help. I much preferred her having the large Beats-style headphones, because it was easy to find when she left them everywhere from my car, the kitchen, garage, soccer bag... She insisted on the real deal for Christmas, but I convinced my parents to get used ones, and a year later, she still has them after a close call shortly after getting them.

My only concern was that they are easier to lose. My son has the same pair for 4 or 5 years now, no issues with them fitting/staying or damaging hearing.

Cut to Saturday. Both kids ran a 5K. A couple hours after getting home, I get a call from a number I don't recognize and happen to take it, which I never do. Organizer of the 5K said she is on a mission to find the owner of the airpods turned in after the race, and she is starting by calling of the kids. I start to say they aren't ours, then realize who I'm dealing with. I ask my daughter if she lost her airpods, she checks her pocket and panics realizing for the first time, that she doesn't have them. Unbelievable. And apparently my son got new brand named airpods last year, as I learned in reading my post from last year while looking for this thread.

[mister d]

Anyone have strong opinions on (middle school) kids headphones? Specific ones or a more general yes/no on whether to give them in-ear like airpods?

My only opinion is to get them ones with built in volume limiting. We got these for our (much younger) kid, and they're fantastic and would totally work for kids probably up to about high school (then they might be too small), depending on head size.

https://purosound.com/products/bt2200-p ... 4599335583

Exact ones we had too but they've physically and stylistically outgrown them.

[Johnnie]

[Ryan]

An item that we bought at Costco last month just got cheaper so they sent us a $20 gift card. We've been members for like 8 months, is that a normal thing?

[HaulCitgo]

Thank you for not abusing a liberal return policy?

[Brontoburglar]

An item that we bought at Costco last month just got cheaper so they sent us a $20 gift card. We've been members for like 8 months, is that a normal thing?

they're very good at honoring discounts like that. I bought Southwest gift cards to use on a trip last year that went down in price a few weeks after I bought them, so I just filled out the online form and had the money back on my CC in a couple days.

[mister d]

Got some new tupperware.

[Steve of phpBB]

Rules, dude. We need pics.

[Steve of phpBB]

Does anyone here have any experience with battery-operated portable hand-held air compressors, for pumping up bike and car tires?

Something like this: https://fanttik.com/collections/tire-inflators

I saw a guy using one to pump up his mountain bike tires for a ride. The website says it works for cars, too - and it'd be really great to be able to add a couple pounds of pressure to my car tires without having to find a gas station that still has air machines. But this could also be the kind of thing that just doesn't live up to its billing.

[GoodKarma]

Does anyone here have any experience with battery-operated portable hand-held air compressors, for pumping up bike and car tires?

Something like this: https://fanttik.com/collections/tire-inflators

I saw a guy using one to pump up his mountain bike tires for a ride. The website says it works for cars, too - and it'd be really great to be able to add a couple pounds of pressure to my car tires without having to find a gas station that still has air machines. But this could also be the kind of thing that just doesn't live up to its billing.

I bought one off of Amazon and it works great...the charge indicator is sometimes seems off so I make an effort to keep it charged. Worst case it came with a power adaptor so it can be plugged into the car if necessary. I've used it on both car and bike tires.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9J ... UTF8&psc=1

[The Sybian]

Does anyone here have any experience with battery-operated portable hand-held air compressors, for pumping up bike and car tires?

Something like this: https://fanttik.com/collections/tire-inflators

I saw a guy using one to pump up his mountain bike tires for a ride. The website says it works for cars, too - and it'd be really great to be able to add a couple pounds of pressure to my car tires without having to find a gas station that still has air machines. But this could also be the kind of thing that just doesn't live up to its billing.

I’ve never driven a car without an air compressor in the trunk. Something my father instilled in me. I’ve only had the kind that plug into the cigarette lighter, so that looks even easier to use.

[Shirley]

Yeah, I have a little yellow one that I keep in the car that plugs into the lighter. It's pretty great. You set the pressure and it runs until it hits it and then stops, so you don't have to monitor it or recheck with the gauge.

[Steve of phpBB]

Does anyone here have any experience with battery-operated portable hand-held air compressors, for pumping up bike and car tires?

Something like this: https://fanttik.com/collections/tire-inflators

I saw a guy using one to pump up his mountain bike tires for a ride. The website says it works for cars, too - and it'd be really great to be able to add a couple pounds of pressure to my car tires without having to find a gas station that still has air machines. But this could also be the kind of thing that just doesn't live up to its billing.

I’ve never driven a car without an air compressor in the trunk. Something my father instilled in me. I’ve only had the kind that plug into the cigarette lighter, so that looks even easier to use.

I didn't even know there was such a thing until this weekend. And here I thought I was ahead of the curve by making the kids have those jumper batteries in their cars.

[Nonlinear FC]

Yeah, I have a little yellow one that I keep in the car that plugs into the lighter. It's pretty great. You set the pressure and it runs until it hits it and then stops, so you don't have to monitor it or recheck with the gauge.

I, too, have one that plugs into the lighter. I've had it for MANY years and it's really nice not having to fart around at a gas station when my tire warning icon lights up.

[Steve of phpBB]

Yeah, I have a little yellow one that I keep in the car that plugs into the lighter. It's pretty great. You set the pressure and it runs until it hits it and then stops, so you don't have to monitor it or recheck with the gauge.

I, too, have one that plugs into the lighter. I've had it for MANY years and it's really nice not having to fart around at a gas station when my tire warning icon lights up.

Does it plug into the lighter to work, or does it use the lighter to charge a battery?

Any idea what the brand name / model is?

[Nonlinear FC]

Yeah, I have a little yellow one that I keep in the car that plugs into the lighter. It's pretty great. You set the pressure and it runs until it hits it and then stops, so you don't have to monitor it or recheck with the gauge.

I, too, have one that plugs into the lighter. I've had it for MANY years and it's really nice not having to fart around at a gas station when my tire warning icon lights up.

Does it plug into the lighter to work, or does it use the lighter to charge a battery?

Any idea what the brand name / model is?

I'll look tonight. It plugs into the lighter for power. It also has a traditional cord, which is nice for using it for other purposes.

[Shirley]

The one I bought a few years ago isn't on Amazon anymore, but it's pretty similar to this one that has good reviews. It's less than $20! https://a.co/d/27w65Kv

[wlu_lax6]

Just an endorsement for Wahoo (https://www.wahoofitness.com/). A few years ago, I had an issue with my bike trainer. Boom sent me a replacement with no hassle.

Well last week snapped a rivet on the heart rate monitor. Reached out to their support to see what options existed. Bought the thing in 2019 so was not expecting anything, but maybe a replacement part, instructions on how to fix it, or discount if I buy a new one. Nope they just sent me a new one.

[Nonlinear FC]

The one I bought a few years ago isn't on Amazon anymore, but it's pretty similar to this one that has good reviews. It's less than $20! https://a.co/d/27w65Kv

I have a Black and Decker "Air Station." I just tried to find it and the modern version is $75 and I'm almost positive the version I bought was more towards 30-40 bucks.

Can't stress enough... Make sure the cords, either lighter or extension cord compatible, are long enough. If you can't stretch them to get to your front and back tires it pretty much defeats the purpose.

[Steve of phpBB]

The one I bought a few years ago isn't on Amazon anymore, but it's pretty similar to this one that has good reviews. It's less than $20! https://a.co/d/27w65Kv

I have a Black and Decker "Air Station." I just tried to find it and the modern version is $75 and I'm almost positive the version I bought was more towards 30-40 bucks.

Can't stress enough... Make sure the cords, either lighter or extension cord compatible, are long enough. If you can't stretch them to get to your front and back tires it pretty much defeats the purpose.

Thanks. Yeah, that cord length seems like a big deal.

[garyclark]

I have bought a couple of them but never charge them.

I'm beginning to think I need to add a "charging day" in my house for things like this. Might be the lamest thing ever. But at least my stuff would work.

[Ryan]

Rumpl deal of the day is their PDX carpet pattern

[rass]

I can vouch for the quality of their garments mister d

[govmentchedda]

Yeah, I love everything I have from Homefield. Comfortable as hell and the retro designs are great.

Pretty sure "SZD" gets you 20% off your first order. Try that or "Split Zone Duo".

[P.D.X.]

Rumpl deal of the day is their PDX carpet pattern

Dammit. Could’ve matched my drapes.

[govmentchedda]

Yeah, I love everything I have from Homefield. Comfortable as hell and the retro designs are great.

Pretty sure "SZD" gets you 20% off your first order. Try that or "Split Zone Duo".

Strike that. "SZD20" is the current code.

[bfj]

Rumpl deal of the day is their PDX carpet pattern

Dammit. Could’ve matched my drapes.

Well done.