Useless kit

[Adi007]

Honesty time ... what's the most useless bit of kit you ever bought? What have you bought that looked good in the store or catalog but failed to inspire when you got it home?

My vote for shabby kit goes to Maglites ... all sizes but the small ones in particular (AA and AAA). Work for a few minutes, hard on batteries, poor electrical contacts ...

Really awful even when compared to even the cheapest LED torch.

 

[Andy]

i agree about the AA one. though my AAA cell has lasted well

 

[MartiniDave]

It has to be the Coleman "Gas stove toast maker" 4 bit of bent wire, supports bread over a gas burner so the heat can dry them out with no noticeable change in colour.

Dave

 

[Womble]

I bought a double ring gas (big camping gaz bottle) burner last year, and am really dissapointed with its' performance.

When using one ring it's reasonably OK (but not great; the gas is either on or it isn't - no fine tuning), but try using both rings at the same time and its performance dips so much as to effectively render it useless as a cooker.

I went to the shop where I bought the gas bottle and asked if they had heard of this happening, and they said that yes - it seemed to be a "feature" of those burners.

Back to a Trangia or an open fire for me!

 

[Andy]

who are the importers for maglites. i want a warrenty replacement for my AA one

 

[Adi007]

who are the importers for maglites. i want a warranty replacement for my AA one

I think you just take them back to the point of sale ... however, here in the UK with lifetime warranty meaning the lifetime of the sales receipt ypu might not get the kind of support that is sold to you on the box.

 

[Ed]

I've never had a problem with maglites and always got mine replaced/repaired when it finaly gave up on me. Adi is right though, you need to keep the shop reciept and the warranty card. If you just have the warranty card contact them, they told me to send it back to them directly. I found their customer service first class.


Ed

 

[Adi007]

I've never had a problem with maglites and always got mine replaced/repaired when it finaly gave up on me. Adi is right though, you need to keep the shop reciept and the warranty card. If you just have the warranty card contact them, they told me to send it back to them directly. I found their customer service first class.


Ed

Did you send it to the US or the UK? When mine packed up I could only send it to the US and for a torch that cost £10 or so it didn't seem worth the cost or hassle to send it to the US.

Still like the big 6-cell D Mags though :-D

 

[Ed]

I sent mine to the US. Just poped it in a jiffy bag with the warranty card and droped it in the out tray in the office :roll: ..... forgot about it..... a few weeks later a shiny brand new maglite turns up on my door by courier!!! :shock:

Ed

 

[dtalbot]

Not keen on the little Maglites, being sucked for a few minutes by a 3 year old was enough to cause the innards of my AA to corode beyond help, my 3D is still doing good service after about 10 years though.
David

 

[Andy]

ive had it replaced before by a shop who just sent it back. the shop it came from is no more though so i cant do that again still got the proof of sale though so i should be ok

 

[ditchfield]

Another vote for maglites. Nice looking, sturdy exterior, but don't work for *******.

 

[Adi007]

Anyone else found that aluminium corrosion at the joints caused bit problems ... such the the light not working because it relied on the joints for electrical conduction?

 

[Tumper]

My mini mag (AA) stays in the fuse cupboard...However, It's a long way of the most useless piece of kit I have ever purchased. That distinction must go to the SAK. I own 4. All of them were presents, so I had no choice in the matter. I use a battered old army clasp knife instead.

 

[Justin Time]

A teflon coated Crusader type mug I bought from Penrith Survival. Had a removable plastic rim to save your lips from burning. Problem was that the actual rim of the mug was sort of grooved so the liquid ran through these grooves, under the pastic rim, and then dribbled down my chin, t-shirt etc, Useless!

 

[Wayne]

I feel honour bound to defend the AAA maglite. It saved my bacon on the summit of Ben Nevis. Serious storm caused 3 seperate petzl head torches to fail. The only light for navigation left was my trusty solitare left in the top of my pac. We still ended up Benighted and alittle a bit frost bitten. I know modern Led torches are the dogs wotsits but very attached to my maglite

 

[Adi007]

A teflon coated Crusader type mug I bought from Penrith Survival. Had a removable plastic rim to save your lips from burning. Problem was that the actual rim of the mug was sort of grooved so the liquid ran through these grooves, under the pastic rim, and then dribbled down my chin, t-shirt etc, Useless!

On yes, I had one of those ... but I thought that the Crusaders were the newer ones without the lip rim (they discontinued the mugs witht he plastic rim because squaddies were getting upset stomachs from not cleaning the rim properly :yikes: ).

 

[maddave]

The most useless bit of kit I ever bought was a stainless steel credit card survival tool something like the pic below withouth the plasic.... It was about as much use as a chocolate frog !!

 

[dtalbot]

Anyone else found that aluminium corrosion at the joints caused bit problems ... such the the light not working because it relied on the joints for electrical conduction?

Yep, it was corroded Al that killed mine after one of the kids used it as a dummy.
David

 

[Chux]

Wire saws. I'm probably unlucky (or clumsy :-( ) but I've broken every one I ever owned within about five strokes.