Troy-Bilt TB22 Gas String Trimmer, Not quite ready for “Prime Time”

I’ve had quite a bit of experience with string trimmers. Gas, corded & cordless, I’ve used them all, my current outdoor tools are cordless. We wanted to see if we’d been missing out not using gas. I can say with no hesitation I’m sticking with my Ego Power+ Cordless tools.

I learned the hard way the grass isn’t always greener, pardon the pun. What moved me into cordless tools was the ease of start-up, lack of fumes & noise. Gas tools sometimes need many yanks on the cord to get going. Same with this one. This one took more than a few. With each successive stop, more yanks were needed. Then it started to sputter and stall out when idling, then I couldn’t get it started again at all. I checked the fuel mixture provided, & emptied and refilled, thinking I’d fouled the line somehow. I adjusted the choke. No go. I let it cool & went back to cordless to finish the front. When I tried to start it up again for the side yard, it took a lot of effort to get it running. By the time I got to the back grass, I could not get it to start or stay running. It’s brand new, it should not have given me these kinds of problems.

Hubby tried to fix it, as he can usually fix anything. He disassembled, cleaned, & reassembled the user serviceable parts & tried again, following the start-up instructions to the letter. It started up after some effort. He handed it over back to me & when I tried to get it started, it wouldn’t. I gave it back to hubby to try again, he couldn’t either. We were forced to give up. I went back to my Ego Power+ String Trimmer, which started up and ran like a dream, as it always does.

We used the provided & recommended pre-mixed fuel. The unit was new, had barely been used when it started giving problems. A online search to troubleshoot showed we’re not the only ones. I liked that you could build around the engine base with attachments like a blower, hedge trimmer, etc, but if the motor unit is this unreliable, all you’re left with is a bunch of stuff that doesn’t work. It’s loud, and creates a lot of fumes. It has good power to trim grass and weeds, beats corded by a mile in that regard. But it’s unreliable, even when it worked was difficult to start & keep running. I’m sticking with Ego cordless tools. They’ve never failed me. Troy-Bilt has now twice.

I received the above product(s) free of charge for the purpose of evaluation and testing for a review. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

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Cal Water H2O Classroom Challenge

Living in Southern California has it’s perks. Great weather, beautiful scenery and an abundance of recreational activities. You can enjoy everything from coastal living, take a mountain hike to even enjoying the desert lifestyle…..all within just a few hours from each other. We are not limited but these drastic weather changes that come with land changes, has taken it’s toll on the state. We have farmlands that are depleted and the water table is no longer able to support what was a bountiful land. There is a reason why our crops suffer and no longer yield the harvest they use to.  You add the enormous amount of fires are state suffers from, which have left “fire scars” on our lands.  You have lack of vegetation that creates a danger to the surviving homes.  So, even getting rain becomes a hazard from mudslides and flooding.

Education is crucial at any age, however sharing knowledge and the importance of conserving doesn’t require an age number. There is no age limit to learning not to waste! Water is abundant when you look at our very blue hued plant, but clean water is a another story. Water that can be safely used is not so easy to access. The world has been impacted by this ongoing crisis but simple changes can aid the situation greatly. The North American Association for Environmental Education has partnered up with the California Water Service, creating an educational program advocating projects in a classroom that impact global to local changes, I was all for supporting such cause.

Teachers and students will be able to brainstorm and contribute a final plan. The plan can be addressing global issues or local community changes that can make a positive impact. Conservation is a key, but being able to educate can also yield the opportunity in addressing a community resource waste (i.e. overrunning of sprinklers by municipalities). Teachers and students will then submit a portfolio that will be judged by a panel of experts, which will provide the opportunity in winning the Cal Water H20 Classroom Water Challenge!

     

Winners of the Cal Water H2O Classroom Challenge will receive:

• Grand Prize-
  Class Celebration: Classroom tent-camping
  trip to the Santa Monica Mountains with
  NatureBridge
  Class Funding: $3,500 grant
  Extras: Cal Water prize packs for every student

• Second Place Prize-
  Class Celebration: A Pizza Party
  Class Funding: $2,500 grant
  Extras: Cal Water prize packs for every student

• Third Place Prize-
  Class Funding: $2,000 grant
  Extras: Cal Water prize packs for every student
• Fourth Place Prize-
  Class Funding: $1,000 grant
  Extras: Cal Water prize packs for every student
  All Participant Prizes
  Student Recognition: An official certificate of
  participation for every student
  Teacher Recognition: A teacher certificate
  Teacher Gift: An AMEX gift card

Our local city has made changes by adding water drip systems and getting rid of water hungry plants like grass that use to suffer the heat waves.  Big decisions needed to be made and some became a local sore subject because old trees that suffered the impact of such temperature increases, needed to be removed.  Thinking green is not always easy and that means sometimes removing hazards like aging trees.  The root systems could no longer support ailing trees that were planted when water was abundant or when conservation was a choice.  We did the same when it came to reducing how much grass we have and have current plans to remove more, which will mean less sprinklers being needed.  Fountains have been turned into planters, more drought tolerant plants have been planted and we got rid of most our Italian Cypress trees (more than 23 of them) that are a fire hazard.  Our local Fire Department likes to refer to them trees as roman candles because this is how they light up, due to all the dead material they hold inside.  Hard decisions but we need to think not only about ourselves, but also the safety of our neighbors.  It’s no longer just about reducing the number of water gallons we use in California per household, but also making sure we have nothing that can feed a fire if one should arise.

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• Learn more about this wonderful program at: https://challenge.calwater.com/
• Checkout your local schools and their entries at: https://challenge.calwater.com/map.html

​​This is a sponsored post. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

 

TCP Global’s 7″ Variable-Speed Polisher Kit with 6 Polishing Pads

It is so easy sometimes to forget to take care of our vehicles properly, what with our hectic lives and lack of free time for anything substantial, like waxing and polishing our vehicle to properly maintain the paint and overall looks of something we paid 10’s of thousands of dollars for. And yet, we do, so TCP Global has something to make a tedious, mundane chore like waxing your vehicle so much quicker, easier, and simpler.

And yet the TCP Global 7″ Speed Polisher with 6 Polishing Pads kit can be as simple or complex as you need it to be, with multiple pads for different levels of waxing depending on the needs of your paint. Personally, I’ve been chewed out in my younger years for washing my car with soft soap and my hands before a big date, but Hubby came along and immediately put the kibosh on that, and showed me the importance of keeping the exterior or my car clean and properly maintained. This kit will definitely help you accomplish that, with variable speeds and a digital RPM readout screen to help you keep things even and uniform. There’s plenty of power in the 10 Amp, 1200 watt motor here for tough “cleaning” waxes for neglected paint, even as far as cutting waxes for severely weather-worn paints. But it’s also gentle enough for a clear coat quick polish as well, with a setting as low as 600 rpm, or as high as 3000 rpm for a liquid-like shine. The seven inch polishing pad covers enough real estate to make even waxing our big honking 4Runner a quick 45-minute task instead of an “all afternoon” task. You can even vary the grips as needed, with a simple side handle (similar to an angle grinder) for vertical applications, and a removable top mounted handle for trunks, hoods and tops that are horizontal. The 8 different waffle-foam pads are textured for 8 different levels of polishing, depending on the needs of your paint, with standar hook-and-loop attachment. Add a convenient high-impact molded carry/storage case, and you’ve got a professional-quality tool for less than the cost of a professional detail job.

And TCP Global stands firmly behind every product they sell. This 7″ Speed Polisher is comprehensive without feeling daunting for someone who’s just getting serious about automotive care, but not so over-the-top that a female like myself feels it’s “too much tool” for me. I’m glad I got to try it and can’t wait to see the results.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from TCP Global. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Feyachi Aluminum Carbine Quad Rail and Bubble Level Kit

I’ll not spend much time on this, because frankly the product isn’t worth it. Much like having to swear off supplements, I’m going to have to swear off these weapon accessories because so far I can list the ones worth the money they’re charging on one hand. This Feyachi/Xwin/Whatever quad rail takes the cake.

Shipped in an envelope, with the level and allen wrenches loose in a plastic bag with it, this rail was beat to hell before it even arrived. That didn’t matter much, because even though Feyachi swears otherwise, I still say this item looks used. The fit and finish is terrible, as is the quality control. I wasn’t expecting to be able to compare it to, say, a Daniel Defense or Noveske accessory, but I know you can grab n0-name drop-in rails for around the same $24.95 and get something much better, in better shape, shipped better too. The less said about the bubble level the better. I get the need for it, so you don’t cant your rifle and not hit your target at long distances, but who’s using a carnine-length AR with a quad rail for extreme distance shots?! Very few if any people, actually, but it wouldn’t matter because the bubble level is inaccurate as all get out, as my picture shows next to Hubby’s level from the garage.

In the end this stuff is so bad, I wanted to send it back to the company, even though I paid a few dollars for shipping, but it’s so bad I wanted those few dollars back. I got them and the company thought so much of their product that they told me to keep it or toss it, my choice. I chose to toss it, but I recommend you avoid this company’s products.

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Feyachi. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Tworld “Tactical” Red Laser Beam Dot Sight

Self and home defense are not things taken lightly in this house. From security gates, security cameras, to locks on every door and window, we try to leave nothing to chance. We also own a number of firearms. But they are only any good if you can hit what you are aiming at, and short of lots and lots (and lots and lots) of practice, there are a few add-on accessories that can remove as many variables from the equation as possible. Night sights, flashlights, and yes, even lasers.

A pistol is a staple in home defense, for good or for ill. There are those that believe a rifle or shotgun is superior, but let’s be honest: whatever makes the bad guy go away will do. Shot placement means more than your choice of weapon or caliber, and even the fellow with the most range time will be shaky and full of adrenaline when things go south. So, in theory, a laser will help you keep your shots center mass on the bad guy, or the 10 ring on the range target, with a little more accuracy and not making your house (or the neighbor’s) Swiss cheese. It also won’t affect night vision as much as a bright tactical light either. This laser does all that in theory, but since neither Hubby nor I have had time to range test it since the arrival of our new puppy, we can only say it certainly looks the part. It easily mounts to a variety of weapons with Picatinny or Weaver rails, but is quite large and the adjustment screws don’t seem to have a way to lock them (Hubby says some blue Loctite might work), so you may be constantly having to re-tighten the mount and/or zero it back in,  and without a bench vise that last part will be very tricky. It’s also quite long, as you can see from the pictures, as the end of the laser extends even beyond the frame of a large semi-auto pistol, and quite a distance beyond the end of a compact-ish pistol. You turn it on from the little button on the back, which means mounting any closer tot he finger guard makes turning it off and on impossible. It’s not heavy, but with the size it is I’d have expected it to project better in full daylight. It’s nearly impossible to see in full sunlight, so it’s useless at an outdoor range. What you have here is essentially a compact, office laser pointer with a simple universal aluminum mount.

The major advantages here are the super low price and near universal mounting capability, as well as availability of LR-44 type button cell batteries (this unit takes 3, & yes they are included) as a high-quality weapon laser can run you upwards of $50-$100 or more. This one is just $11.99 (at the time of this review), but you can see all the shortcomings of a cheap laser here, and honestly, I would not trust my life, or my family’s, to this product. Fine for an indoor range to practice, or maybe for a tacti-cool look, but functionally it leaves a lot to be desired.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from TWorld. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Tworld’s Adjustable and Foldable Rifle Bipod

Another day, another disappointing weapon accessory from overseas. The Quality Control in China on these products is abysmal, and the Tworld Adjustable Rifle Bipod is on exception. Parts were bent, damaged, scraped and jagged, possible from shipping, but possibly from poor manufacturing. Let’s get to the good on this bipod, though.

It can be easily mounted onto an existing swivel stud, or onto a Weaver or Picatinny style rail. It secures easily once you get the hang of it, and it takes some trial and error because there’s no instructions included. Plus everything is coated in that cheap machine oil, so a good wipe-down was in order immediately. The legs adjust from 6 to 9 inches, and can even be even set to different lengths should your blind or ground be uneven beneath you. The legs snap down hard and stay down, but do not lock, instead relying on tension from the springs that help actuate them. The non-slip rubber feet should hold the bipod in place long enough to get a sight picture as well.

The bad is, as mentioned, the terrible QC, the fit and finish is equally as bad too. The lack of instructions, the poor packaging, and the sheer size and weight. This is a bipod that you don’t want to have to pick up and shoot on the move with, as it will unbalance the rifle something fierce.

In the end, it’s a cheap $20 disposable bipod from China that you can use as a beater, or for seeing if that kind of target shooting is for you, and then buy something better made that won’t be delivered looking as rough as this one.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from TWorld. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Royal Imports: Decorative Rocks, 5 lbs Polished River Rocks #Review #RoyalImports

I am always hunting for polished rocks for projects in the garden but because I work on small projects at a time, I don’t require a huge bag from the local hardware store. Most of those rocks as it is, are not as polished and glossy, as the ones I received from Royal Imports. I usually would purchase the smaller bags for orchids and such but they always cost a bundle and I was never happy with the colors, tones and sizes. They were too mini and the hues the rocks carried were usually one tone, like gray/black or light tans. The Royal Imports polished rocks, they come in a double mesh bag, which helps in keeping all the rocks no matter the size from falling out. Much better than dealing with a plastic bag that when it spills, you are picking rocks out of the dirt. The mesh bag has elastic so as the stock lowers with use, the bag always accommodates the amount in it and will shrink down enough so none spill.

I used the rocks in my pots, which have succulents and then the rest along a stone path I created where my larger variety of succulents are along with my ceramic mushrooms. The colors and sizes made the area pop and added just that extra texture that my garden very much needed. For the price and quantity given, plus the ease with Amazon Prime shipping, well you just can’t beat the value. None so far have lost color, so they do not seem dyed or enhanced where you would lose luster with time. I also have a bird that loves to pick at my pots and many times uproots a succulent. These rocks keeps the bird from reaching the root system and the variety in sizes makes it harder for the bird to get a good amount of damage going. I no longer find hanging plants off of pots or worse, when the bird picked enough that the plant fell out of it’s pot.

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Royal Imports. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Precision Tactical Systems Universal Gun Cleaning Kit

 

One of the most important and often overlooked parts of gun ownership is proper maintenance. And while it can sometimes be a somewhat messy endeavor once in a while, it is absolutely essential to keeping your firearm operational.

Precision Tactical Systems knows this and have provided the beginner with quite a few tools to get you started down the road to proper firearm maintenance. Just in our home we have 5 different calibers of weapons, and buying a specific kit for each could run up a person’s bill quickly. Thankfully, 4 of the 5 can be partially serviced with this 27 piece kit. Unfortunately, the mops and adapters do not want to fit down the barrel of Hubby’s 5.56 rifle, and being how popular .223 and 5.56 caliber weapons are, this could pretty much disqualify this kit for a great many folks.  But, one brass brush and the thinner rods will easily fit, so it’s not like it doesn’t do some of the job. You’ll still need a way to mop the barrel, or apply CLP or oil (Hubby likes Hoppe’s #9) after. So I’d call it a “near universal” kit. The brushes are okay, and the mops drop fibers like crazy. The rods come in two sizes and can be extended to three lengths. The screw together true and shouldn’t bend or break like cheaper plastic versions would.

One other issue I ran in to was the “wooden” storage box. My first delivery the top was crushed. The thin balsa wood would have never withstood any real pressure. I notified the company and a replacement was shipped, but the replacement was crushed on top as well. This may (and probably is) Amazon’s fault, but the balsa wood it’s made from is so incredibly thin it wouldn’t take much to crush it anyways. I didn’t want to ding the company for a third, considering the likely result, but keep this in mind if you buy it as a gift or have it shipped directly to someone as a gift. The kit would make a fantastic gift for the person in your life just getting into firearms and needing a decent “jumping off” point when it comes to assembling what’s needed to be a responsible owner.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Precision Tactical Systems. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

 

Soft Digits’ 50-In-1 Accessory Kit for GoPros & Action Cameras

It seems everyone and their brother has some sort of body cam, action cam, or GoPro. And while I finally broke down and got one too, you quickly find out that you need accessories to make the most of your action camera experience. Soft Digits wants to make that happen with their affordably-priced 50-in-one accessory kit.

There’s a lot to like about this kit, and it has enough goodies to fit, mount or wear your action camera just about anywhere. The high-gloss plastic mounts are a little on the rigid side and I have some concerns about durability with repeated snapping in and out of the mounts, but as I’m not doing any “extreme” sporting with my camera, I’m not too worried. The elastic on a few of the body and wrist mounts have started having issues with retaining their elasticity, but that might be because their meant for smaller bodies that Hubby’s. The 50 pieces are really closer to 30 as well, because the 3M adhesive strips and other adhesive bits amount to nearly 20 of the total pieces. The lens cap/cover doesn’t fit my brand of camera housing (mine isn’t a GoPro), and a couple of the pieces don’t fit together as well as they probably should. In the end, my $30 action camera isn’t going to be a huge loss should any of the accessories in this kit fail, but I would be a little wary about a 3, 4, or 500 dollar camera being lost or damaged because one of the bits in this kit failed.

The way I see it, for my cheapie action camera, these are dynamite. A bunch of mounts to see what works for me and what doesn’t, and a zip-up carry case that hold most of it safely (seriously, don’t try to fit it all back in with your camera, because it won’t zip closed). And all at a price that doesn’t break my bank. But if you do major adventuring or extreme sports with your camera, and invested a good chunk of change into it, you might want to get higher-quality accessories, because these are fine for the occasional casual user like me, but the serious enthusiast will be disappointed in the quality.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Soft Digits. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Smarson WIFI HD Digital Action Sports Camera

You know a product is a hit when there are countless imitators and knock-offs of your innovation. Sometimes, it’s a product slapped together to cash in on a craze and it’s junk. Sometimes, it’s about making a quality product that comes in at a fraction of the price to open the market to buyers who’d never have thought about, say, an HD action camera before. Smarson isn’t the former, it’s definitely the latter.

We got a cheap-o HD action cam this summer to play around in the pool with the dog and record the memories. Sadly, though “Bresser” claimed full HD, the picture quality was poor, with washed out color and grainy video. And that was where Smarson’s camera shined. The picture was crystal-clear in outdoor light and there was no judder with quick “action” scenes (As much action as a 12 year-old dog can muster!). And there was a host of accessories included to make mounting your camera on nearly any surface possible. At 12 mp, and full 1080p (1920 x 1080) recording (30fps), you get all the clarity of high definition recording, or you can downgrade your image to 720p and go up to 60fps for great slo-mo. you get mutiple shooting modes, (treble shot function, time lapse, continuous shooting, self-timer, and driving mode), a 170 degree wide angle lens, and a similar user interface to the industry leader, the GoPro series of cameras. And, at this price point, you also get WiFi capabilities via Smarson’s iSmartDV App (for iOS and Android 4.4 and up), which is a real bonus to me, even if the range for the wifi is pretty limited (around 10-15 feet, line of sight). It’s small but rugged, and the build seems solid, unlike the other bargain brand action cam I tried that felt flimsy and the battery cover would constantly fall off. The included lucite case is dust and dirt proof and water-resistant up to 30 meters. My pool is only 9 feet deep, so I can safely say from experience it’s solid up to 9 feet! The included 3.7v 900mAh battery is rated for as much as 90 minutes of continuous recording, Thought I’ve gotten up to three hours of off-and-on recording in one afternoon with juice left after. But never worry, the camera will run off the included micro-USB cable and wall adapter, so you’re never without juice. I also had good success with up to a 32gb micro-SD card, and on that card you could record and store a few hours of full HD videos.

And while there is plenty of bang for your buck here, a couple of things are not particularly great. At the $50 price point, you get a lot of value, and a cheap 4gb micro SD card should really be included like most action cams do at this price point, so you can go right out of the box. And while almost every GoPro accessory should work perfect with this awesome Smarson HD Action Cam, the battery is non-standard and getting a replacement or spare might prove troublesome. Also, the 1.5″ TFT LCD at the rear is soooo tiny, with the screen to bezel ratio being almost 50-50. But, again, the value here is undeniable and the quality for the price is top-notch. I feel the positives far outweigh the negatives enough that this Smarson camera earns a full 5 stars from me.

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Samrson. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. I received no other compensation in exchange for my review. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.