Cruftbox: My Box of Cruft

A while ago (ok, it was five months ago) I received an email from a marketing guy asking if I wanted to review Hefty Serve ‘n Store stuff for my site. Now I know that marketers are getting saavy to blogs and that this was basically a product pitch, but I thought it would be fun. So, let it be known that I received TWO PACKAGES of plastic bowls for FREE. No hidden astroturfing here at Cruft Labs.

Due to little things like work, my family, World of Warcraft and my general laziness, it has taken me quite a while to do the review that you, the Loyal Cruft Reader, would expect.
Now down to business.

The Serve ‘n Store bowls and plates are a kinda intriguing concept. The idea is that the edges can interlock and close up to form a container. So you eat off a plate, don’t finish it, and with the leftovers, you slap a second one on top and toss it in the fridge. Sounds reasonable.

The first thing I had to check was if it was water tight or not. I filled the bowl up with water, seal the lid and turned it on it’s side. Water poured out. It held food just fine, but it should not be used for liquids if you are used to Tupperware or other water tight containers.

As I took a closer look at the bowls, I was surprised to see the words “Do Not Microwave” on the bottom. At first this didn’t make sense until I condsider that if the closed set was put into the microwave, the steam of the food cooking inside, could cause the bowls to blow open in a messy way.

Of course, the only way to know was to test the bowls out in a real test. So I placed some chicken leftovers in the bowl and popped it into the microwave for a few minutes. Everything came out of the microwave fine and I had a nice buffalo chickens andwich and a beer.

After eating, I took a look at the bowl and noticed that it had indeed deformed slightly from it’s brief time in the microwave. My recommendation is that one reheat will be fine but more than that will wreck the bowls further. Of course, Hefty’s lawyers are wigging out that someone would disobey the clear instruction “Do Not Microwave”, but I’m a rebel.

Now on to more crucial tests. Once of the key roles that paper plates fufill is as makeshift frisbees. I took the girls outside and had them try throwing the sealed plates. They flew surprisingly well. The girls had fun with them and I guess that’s all that matters.
The second critical test was whether the Server ‘n Store could be used as maracas. Anyone that has participated in children’s crafts knows the way to make a maraca is to put some pinto beans in some paper plates and then staple the edges shut. It made sense that the sealing action of the bowls would make them perfect for the test, but a real test was in order.
And so I present a Cruft video, made especially for you:

As you can see, they passed this test with flying colors.
Overall, the Serve ‘n Store stuff works as advertised. We’ll probably keep some around the house from now on, but I think they should offer a microwave safe version to placate the worryworts out there.

Of course, the best commercial during the Superbowl was for the Gillette Fusion razor. At first I didn’t know what the commecial was about, but once I did I stood and began applauding since i knew they we about to announce the 5 bladed razor.
I have waited for the 5 bladed razor for a long time. I reviewed Shick’s 4 blade razor and there was the Onion’s post about the 5 blade razor, but it has not been a reality until now.
As a man with a heavy beard, meaning that I get a five o’clock shadow by about 10:30 AM, I am keen for improvements in this realm. Due to my tight industry connections (actually Michele got me one at the supermarket), I got my hands on a new Gillette Fusion razor.

First you’ll notice that Gillette is now boldy claiming orange as a ‘man color’ moving beyond the traditional blue and green. I will mention that the package was easy to open. Unlike many products that are encased in plastic requiring assault with pliers and knives to open, the package was easy to open with only my fingers with no difficulty.

Notice that the razor really has SIX blades. OUTF*CKINGSTANDING! The line has been drawn and it’s now at six blades!

The shaving head itself is a slight modification of the previous 3 blade models. Besides the addtion of the blades, the little rubber strip at the bottom has been widened significantly. The handle obviously has some metal in it since it has some heft and is not as light as many of the complete disposable razors. I’m not sure why, but a little weight makes the handle feel better in the hand.

The trim blade on the back is a novel idea. For those that don’t shave, all the rigamarole on the main shaving face can make it difficult to get a clean edge on your sideburns, leading to uneven and ragged edges.

The blade exchange system looks exceedingly simply, even easy to do with wet, soapy fingers. Now if only Gillette built a toothbrush attachemnt that you could swap onto the end of the handle…

So, how was the shave? It was superb.
I am serious about shaving and use Kiehl’s Shave Cream at the end of my shower when my face has been wet for a while.
On the first few pulls of the razor, it felt so smooth that I thought it was just wiping the cream off and not cutting. I had to check and and sure enough, a clean shave. The smoothness of the pull is significantly better than any other razor I have used. A light tough was all that was needed, and I didn’t have to go over the tougher places like my chin two or three times. I’m not sure if it’s the rubbery part or the five blades, but the razor lives up to the hype. It’s the smoothest shave available.
I tried the single blade trim part and that is a great innovation. It worked great and didn’t feel as if I would cut myself as I positioned the blade to trim my side burns.
The only drawback of the Fusion is that with it’s massive head, it doesn’t fit into the typical razor hold, like the kind you see attached to the mirror. I had to hang the razor on one of the hooks through the center of the razor. Not a huge deal, but to those of you that prize symmetry, it might bother you a bit.
Obviously, IMHO, the Gillette Fusion is the new king of the hill in manly razors and is a significant improvement on shaving technology. Going forward, it will be in daily use at Cruft Manor.