Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Bus, Grocery store, shopping, test, April 21, 2009
THE VOYAGE:
Today I took the Out and About Roller Storage Tote and Folding Chair (tote/chair) out for it's first spin. I took it to downtown Denver Colorado on the RTD Mass Transit system -- the test of all tests! (okay, maybe not)
ME:
I should mention that I'm tall -- 5'11 and probably of average weight -- NOT! Let's just say slightly above what the charts say. That is average in America... isn't it? Enough about that...
THE HANDLE/PULLING:
Pulling the Tote/Chair on the sidewalk took some practice. If I could change one thing about the tote/chair, I would make the handle a little longer. I have a short stride, long legs and long arms but somehow this thing kept clipping the back of my heel. I learned quickly to pull it alongside me rather than directly behind me. It still worked if I pulled it behind me but I had to concentrate so as to avoid the heel-clipping. This short handle bit might not be a problem for someone of below-average or average height/stride etc,, but it's the reason I took off a half-star.
CONTRAPTION SIZE/FOOTPRINT:
Empty, the tote/chair barely fit (flat) in front of my knees on the bus. It barely fit down the bus aisles --- but it made it. This speaks to the size of the tote/chair -- it's a good thing because while it JUST fit - -it DID fit! While it was (mostly empty) it was entirely manageable to be lifted. There were several occasions when I just picked the thing in order to maneuver on the bus, up stairs or to haul-butta across a cross-walk before the light changed.
THE TERRAIN/WHEELS:
I dragged the tote/chair to my favorite bookstore (you know the one!! TATTERED COVER!), down lumpy-bumpy sidewalks and through a couple neighborhoods. I'd say that I put about 1.5 miles on the wheels and they appear to have held up well. There are a few dents but nothing unexpected. The wheels fit on with a sort of clip. After about the first 1/2 mile of walking this puppy, the wheels started to squeak. I was starting to get some nasty looks in the bookstore. So being the creative person I am, (smile) I stopped in a restroom and slathered some hand soap at all the points on the wheels that might have had friction -- it stopped. Tonight I'll wash that off and add some white grease. Should you choose this, you might want to add some appropriate lubricant when you snap the wheels on. Your choice.
The tote/chair made it over curbs, grass, and sidewalk and significant sidewalk cracks/holes with not much of a problem (again...except for that short handle).
HARDWARE/SHORTCOMINGS:
There was one "feature" I noticed -- there is a small rubber latch that (pretends) to set over a bolt to hold the chair closed while you are rolling the tote/chair.
That latch doesn't have much of a lip on it. So after hitting about 4 big bumps or 10 small bumps on the sidewalk, the chair would open on it's own. It didn't fly open but rather it slowly opened until I felt it resting on my calf as I walked. For a while I decided to hold it shut with my thumb while I was walking -- that got to be pretty annoying pretty fast. Although I mention the "bumps" in the walk, the latch is really pretty lame. Even without the bumps it worked it's way loose a couple times. Come the end of the day, I'll be adding a strip of velcro to hold it shut when I'm in motion. I took off another half-star for this.
THE (all important) CHAIR:
I rolled from my bus stop to a place called "INK" and grabbed a cappucciono (BTW - the coffee was great but that mug cost TOO MUCH!). I then had to sit at a bus stop that had -- you guessed it, NO BENCH! Fortunately I was prepared! The seat on the tote/chair is actually fairly ample. It's longer than most will likley need. Is it wide enough? Come'on! It's $30!! Actually, it's "so-so". I sat in it for about 20 minutes and while I could feel the bars on the sides, it was not terribly uncomfortable. There are no bars that run horizontally under the cloth seat -- which would make it really uncomfortable. Since some lightly padded fabric is the only thing that supports the tushie, I wonder if it might stretch after a good bit of use.
After my jaunt downtown, I took the tote/chair to the grocery store.
I had concerns since it barely fit in front of my knees when empty.
.
THE HAUL:
I loaded this sucker up with 2lbs carrots, a head of iceberg lettuce, 1 dozen eggs, 1 gallon milk, 16 oz cheese, 4 banannas, a 2lbs of asparagus, 2 lbs tomatoes, a 3lb cantelope -- all in a very large rectangular insulated bag. Then I added another very substantial reusable shopping bag that contained a tall can of oatmeal and a small bottle of mustard. I put ALL of this, a flattened rain slicker (you know, the cheapie ones), and a book from the bookstore, plus a scarf into the center pocket. Oh -- and I had a coffee cup and a water bottle in the front pocket. By the way, don't do that unless you have some jerry-rigged way to keep it upright or a leak proof container (sigh).
Well, needless to say, the tote compartment was FULL! I had to extend the belt/snap assembly all the way to the end to close it. All that stuff was also really heavy. Only then did it occur to me how much of an inconvenience it would be to have one of the wheels give out -- well, they didn't!
Suprisingly (except for the darned short handle again) it was not much more difficult to pull. I even had to pull it uphill to catch my connecting bus (which I missed by the way). The wheels did great! Because it was sunny, I openeded my umbrella, rested my book and umbrella-holding arm on the handle of the tote/chair and was quite comfortable while I read and waited for the (next) bus.
Since the tote/chair was pretty full, I had to sit in the front row. That's not always going to be possible. So for me, I'll ensure that I grocery shop at low bus-occupancy times
Summary:
I think that I've covered everything. If my opinion on this contraption is not clear, I'll conclude with this... I'm ordering another one, just to have it as back-up.
Lndh777
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
good product, April 8, 2009
I just received this product. It is very good quality, very easy to use. I like it very much.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy and hard to pull but handy if you need it, October 27, 2009
The chair is great if you need a quick place to sit down - the bag is handy if you have things to carry. However, it is heavy to drag around and low to the ground so even for someone petite in size, it's a strain to pull.
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