I was more excited to review the MVP Portable Wireless Speaker from Acoustic Research than any other product I’ve reviewed for this site. Just a quick background on myself – I have a ridiculous amount of tailgate gear and have come across hundreds of products, so when I see something that is good – it’s good! There was very little I could find wrong with this portable speaker!

At first glance the speaker almost looks like a jumbo thermos or a portable heater. It is so light that you can even strap it onto your belt and walk around with it playing your music. It looks like a well built product and the sound is outstanding considering the size of it. This speaker was even tested against a similar product that was twice the price and size and there was very little difference in sound clarity and quality. The one thing this speaker might be lacking in is bass, but it isn’t something to be too concerned with (unless you are trying to blast music for 50-100 people)

There are a lot of great features about this product. For starters, the customized skinit’s that you can get allow you to show your team/school spirit and they seem to have almost every team available. There are no D batteries needed that suck money out of your wallet and seem to drain almost instantly (it takes six AA batteries). One nice thing about the battery option is the convenience. It will allow one to bring the system to a tailgate or to the beach, lake, etc. There is a compartment on the back of it that allows you to put your MP3 player in it – eliminating the hassle and worry of something happening to your MP3 while it is connected. The bluetooth feature is quite simple to setup and very convenient as well.

The way it is designed and the features it has makes this the most ideal portable sound system I can think of. This product was definitely very well thought out and it has an emphasis on convenience, sound clarity and a fair price. I think it would make the perfect holiday gift for anyone who enjoys listening to music on the go!

For more information and to see the SkinIt wrap options available for the MVP Portable Wireless Speaker from Acoustic Research, visit: MVPspeaker.com

The Holstar is a type of product that I have seen on websites before but never have been able to experience for myself. One of the first things I noticed that I liked was that these Holstar’s are made with a quality material. They’re not a cheap plastic or velcro product. Rather, they are made with high quality leather that looks and feels sturdy. One Holstar comes with a metal piece that allows you to slip it onto your belt and another comes with a piece that has a snap on button so both were nice features.

I like that you can have your own team name or a logo customized onto the Holstar as it adds a personal touch. The material is flexible enough to allow you to gain access to a cold drink in a can or glass. I did struggle more when I tried to use a water bottle in there however.

A downside to the product for me was that it seems to be tailored for someone in the Southwest or someone who considers themselves “country” or a “Cowboy”. Not the greatest fit for a tailgater from New Jersey, but that isn’t really their target audience to begin with.

Overall I enjoyed the product and think it could really thrive in a country or Western type tailgate setting. The price is nice considering the quality and effort that the product is made with and it sits so comfortably on your waist that if the Holstar is empty you forget it is there.

Pac 12 tailgating is certainly different from the other five BCS conferences. Considering it is comprised of mostly west coast schools, it should be. One thing it has that no other conference in the country can create, is the picturesque landscapes. Whether it’s the deserts of Arizona, the lake at Washington or the mountains of Colorado, almost every school’s tailgate has beautiful scenery surrounding the stadium. The Pac 12 might’ve been the most difficult conference to collect data on tailgating, but hopefully these rankings will encourage tailgaters to raise their school’s tailgating up to higher levels, generating more information and better rankings in the future.

Washington: Tailgate yachts, snow capped mountains, salmon and crab are just some of the nouns that describe a Washington tailgate. On most Saturday’s in the fall, over 10,000 people party out on Lake Washington before heading off into Husky stadium, makes Washington one of the most unique tailgating experiences in the country. Members of Washington’s rowing team will even shuttle you from the dock to your boat. How is that for service? “Sterngating” is very unique. Where else can you fish for your tailgate food and then cook it minutes later? Besides tailgating in boats, there are also several painted RVs that do a good job of maintaining a solid ground atmosphere near the stadium.  Bottom line is this is one of the coolest places to visit in the whole country.

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The Beer Tool was an invention created out a problem. According to the owners they were tired of using their wife’s bottle opener to crack open a drink and decided to make something tougher, stronger and manlier. A few hours later they came up with the Beer Tool and the rest is history.

The Beer Tool comes with a tag on it with a catch phrase, “The Manliest Bottle Opener You’ll Ever Own.” One doesn’t disagree with that, as having a wrench on you to open a drink is a pretty cool gadget to have. Obviously the tool is very sturdy because it’s a legitimate wrench that has one side cutoff and shaped, with the purpose of catching onto the bottle cap. The nice thing is that you don’t have to worry about breaking a cheap piece of plastic. Unless you run over your Beer Tool with an Excavator this gadget is probably safe.

Working at a bar I gave it to several bartenders to try it out and give some feedback. Obviously it’s not as fast as a bartender bottle opener, but as a novelty item several thought it was pretty cool and something unique. Coming from a guy’s perspective, one thing I never thought of was that it looked “cute”, but that’s what several ladies told me who took a look at it.

The tool comes in two difference sizes, with a 3/4 wrench and a 5/16 wrench. The 5/16 you could probably hang on your car keys, the other size is probably about 6” and can go in your back pocket. The end of the Beer Tool is convenient so you can hang it near your grill or on the wall and it’s convenient enough to carry in your pocket as well. The one thing I’d like to see added is having the tool in different colors (I might be spray painting mine with some red Rustoleum for Rutgers).

Overall it’s a cool little novelty item and for $8 (small one) and $10 (big one) the price is fair. For more information and to order one you can it from our online tailgating gear store: Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com.

For those folks who are a bit health conscious while tailgating, I thought it would be helpful to write a small article with some ideas and tips to watch what your consuming while still having a fun day. For those of you who love drinking micro brews and eating fried (insert favorite food here) please feel free to skip over this article.

 A list has been complied of things you can buy when you bring food/drink to a tailgate or things you can look to eat when you show up to a party. Hopefully this gives one some peace of mind about their diet while they’re tailgating.

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