Loot Crate Unboxing March 2015

Last month I did a post on the February 2015 Loot Crate, and I thought I’d continue with the March crate.

Maybe it’s just me, because I’m not a big spy fan (except in the case of Archer), but this months crate felt like a whole lot of nothing.

The most notable items were:

• James Bond T-Shirt
• Agents of SHIELD Exclusive ID badge
• Orphan Black comic
• 2 Field Notes mini-notebooks
• Stealth Watch
• Spy Themed Mad Libs
• Ninjak #1 Digital Comic Download Code

Now, I know that when a shirt gets involved, the other items in the box tend to go down in quality.  If it was a great shirt, I’d be find with that, but when was the last time that James Bond was cool among geeks?  Archer, I could understand, but Bond is a relic thrown in among modern pop culture items.  Plus, the shirt was white, and a really thin fabric where you can see the nipples of whomever is wearing it.  And the graphic, if you notice in the video, has some flaws.  Overall, not impressed…

Now, Loot Crate had been plugging an exclusive Agents of SHIELD items all month long, and it’s not a bad item, but it’s not that noteworthy either.  It’s an orange ID badge with a holographic SHIELD emblem on it and a corresponding clip/string to hang it on.  There’s a barcode on it too, but no other identifying features.  I’m not sure if this is what they used in the show or not, but the way they were plugging the item I was expecting more of a mini-figure/model of one of the agent’s gadgets.

The Orphan Black comic is pretty standard, and also a Loot Crate exclusive.  Orphan Black is picking up more steam as a newer BBC series, so this comic may end up being a nice gateway intro into that show.

The Field Notes books are just on the “blah” side.  They’re cheap, they’re cheesy, and I’m pretty sure that yellow caution strip was supposed to be wrapped around them.  I know that’s a small detail, but presentation makes up for a lot in these boxes, and this was just bad filler.

The Stealth Watch, however, is actually pretty cool.  I didn’t quite understand the concept at first – why push a button to see the time “secretly” if you’re already wearing a big, black watch on your wrist?  My son got it though.  He explained that it’s for when you’re walking around at night, trying to sneak around like a Ninja, and you can’t see an analog watch in the dark, and you don’t want the glow of a digital watch making you a target.  Pretty neat once he explained it.  Probably the best item in the box.

But next there’s Mad Libs?  Seriously?!  Why not just say “we’re out of ideas, so have some cheap junk.”  Not only could I buy a similar item for $0.50, but I like Loot Crate for the collectible items.  I don’t like paying for paper goods that are meant to be used and tossed, and having two of those items in one box is just wasting my money.

Then we have the digital comic, which you have to make an account on ComiXology to redeem.  You can store it online and download a backup file, which is a nice feature.  I glanced over the comic and it isn’t my cup of tea, but I’d say my 10 year old will like it well enough.

My son was given a 3 month long gift subscription, and I do believe this will be the end of the line with us and Loot Crate.  My son is pretty happy with the box, but as a parent looking to continue paying for this service, I’m irritated.  Last month was a neat first box, but a number of those items were pretty iffy.  This month, between the Field Notes, the Mad Libs, and the white shirt, I am beyond unimpressed with the March 2015 box.  Next, we plan to try out Geek Fuel and/or Brick Loot (a monthly Lego box), both of which seem to offer a better value.  But, check back in around April 20th to see my son unbox his final Loot Crate.  Maybe that will be the box that wows me.

The Day I Turned My Whites Pink…

So, earlier this week I made a mistake, and it turned out to be a big one… 

While carrying a pile of whites up to my chin over to the washing machine, I had neglected to look inside the machine first.  As I dumped in the clothes and started the machine up, never once did I catch a hint of the red and black pillowcase that was hiding in the machine from my last load.  However, even though I religiously wash my clothes in cold water, I realized my mistake when, 25 minutes later, I went to get my laundry in the dryer and was that everything was now pink. 

Usually, I wouldn’t mind some pink underwear or undershirts, but both of my kids’ new Tae Kwon Do uniforms were in there too, and our instructor is a money grubber, meaning you have to wear his special uniform with his logo only, or he’ll throw you out of class (note:  a good place shouldn’t do this, but they were vague and dodgy with answering questions when I signed up – live and learn!).  So, that meant if I couldn’t make these uniforms white again, I was going to have to shell out another $100 to purchase two new uniforms (versus the $20 to buy black uniforms online).

Here’s what I did:

• I found the pillow case and threw it out of the laundry.  Do not let the stained laundry dry out or else the stains are harder to get rid of!
• I restarted the cycle, using a normal amount of detergent and a scoop of Oxi Clean.  At the end of the cycle, not much had changed.
• I went for cycle number 3, using HOT water and Oxi Clean, and let the load sit in the hot water for about 30 minutes before letting it run it’s course.  I did allow the machine to agitate for about a minute to allow the Oxi Clean to distribute through the water more evenly.  After that cycle, everything BUT the Tae Kwon Do uniforms and a pair of light pants were as good as new.  The uniforms were less pink than before, but still stained enough that they didn’t look alright.
• Since Oxi Clean wasn’t doing the trick, I took the few pieces still stained pink and got out a popcorn/mixing bowl.  In the bowl I put a mix of water and peroxide and let the pieces sit overnight.  Peroxide is the active ingredient in Clorox 2, so I thought I would try to cut out the over-priced middle man.  But, by morning, the clothes didn’t look much different, and I couldn’t see where any evidence of the dye coming out into the water.
• Then I tried to do everything at once.  I set my washing machine to hot, mixed in the detergent and Oxi Clean and let it fill.  Then I put in the uniforms and pants, dumped in the peroxide from the bowl, and added in some baking soda just for good measure.  I agitated the load, then let it sit, with the lid closed, for about 8 hours.
• After that, the uniforms were still slightly stained, but it was much, much less noticeable, and they dried white with just a vague hint of pink that you wouldn’t notice unless you were looking closely.  Everything aside from the uniforms were back in perfect condition.

I’m not sure which thing did the trick, but using Oxi Clean, regular laundry detergent, peroxide, baking soda, and a hot water soak all together didn’t seem to damage the clothes (or logo) at all, so I would recommend going with this over-kill method to treat your stained whites if the article of clothing is very important.  If the color is more of a nuisance than anything, the hot water Oxi Clean soak seemed to work just fine.

 

 As an extra PSA, avoid buying anything from Anna’s Linens.  The pillow case that caused this issue has been a long time problem item, along with the sheets and comforter that match it.  I fell in love with the look and the price of this set (they were on sale at $35 for the queen sized set of sheets, pillow cases, and comforter), but the stupid thing feels like sandpaper and after more than five washes every part of the set bleeds badly in the wash.  Not to mention, the fabric faded in a heartbeat and the black used on the sheets have stained my feet and legs to where I look like I’m being battered.  They are so cheap and such bad quality that I’m giving it to the dogs at this point.