Featured Gear Friday: SportMast

Since starting this tailgating blog back in 2007, we have tested, tried and demonstrated a lot of tailgating gear and written a lot of tailgating product reviews. Some good and some bad. But because we are a blog, a great product we discovered two years ago may be lost in the tons of posts we have published after discovering it. Maybe you are a new reader and haven’t had the time to pour through every single post we have done in the past three years. So in order to help out the tailgaters that might not have read about some of these cool tailgating products, we will be doing a weekly feature on products we reviewed a while ago. We call it Featured Gear Friday and this week’s product is the SportMast.

Avid tailgaters will all agree that getting to the tailgate should be just as fun as tailgating itself. Sure window stickers and those small window flags show team spirit. You could even break out the shoe polish and mark up your windows with clever slogans like “Geaux Tigers” or “Hook ’em Horns”. Then again, you’re not still in high school either. You need to show the world who your team is with a full sized flag flying proudly from the rear of your vehicle as you drive to the game. That’s why you need a SportMast, the only hitch mounted flag pole certified for full highway speeds.

Check out the video on how easy it is to attach a SportMast to your car. (Watch it just for the hot girl in a bikini top and mini-skirt doing the demo if for no other reason...)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FALabJvmUrM

To use the SportMast, all you need is a truck or SUV with a 2″ tow hitch receiver and a sturdy flag with grommets. The SportMast stands 6′ tall above your trailer hitch and weighs 16 lbs. Bolt it securely to your trailer hitch with the pad-lockable hitch pin (included), attach your team’s 3′ x 5′ flag to the SportMast eye bolts with the snap-hooks (included) and and you are off. The welded eye bolts of the SportMast are made of powder coated stainless steel for tough durability. The SportMast is designed to handle highway speeds of 65 mph so you won’t have to drive like your grandpa to the tailgate.

I tested out my own SportMast (click photos below for larger images) and it works great. I took it out on the freeway and hit about 70 mph and the SportMast did not wobble or jiggle at that speed. I did get plenty of double takes and a few thumbs up from people as I passed. There is no doubt that when driving with a SportMast you will definitely draw attention to your vehicle.

sportmast_oklahoma.jpgsportmast.jpgsportmast_usa.jpg

If you are going to use the SportMast I would suggest getting a high quality, heavy duty flag to put on it. A cheaply made flag will tear and tatter over time because of the high winds it will be enduring on the highway. Just make sure the flag you choose can handle high winds unless you plan on keeping it under 25 mph on your way to the tailgate party.The SportMast is manufactured in the United States and comes in a number of different colors. Color options include black, blue, chrome, green, orange, purple, red, white or yellow to match your car or your team’s colors. After testing it out myself, if you are a rabid fan of your team and want everyone on the road to know it, you have to get a SportMast.

When we first reviewed this product a few years ago, SportMasts were regularly sell for $149.99. A quick visit over to their website today and we noticed they are selling for $99.99. For more information or to get a SportMast for yourself, visit Sportmast.com.