Tailgating Gear in Review: August 2010 Edition

I don’t know about you but did it seem as though June and July were slow months for new tailgating gear and games coming out? I think the month of August surely made up for that because we have a ton of gear and games we took a closer look at this month. So in case you are new here or just didn’t read every post this past month, (shame on you if that is your excuse) here is what you may have missed.

Collegiate Licensed Pole Caddy – Around this time last year we introduced you to the Original Pole Caddy. In a nutshell, it is a drink holder/utility tray that fits around your umbrella pole or pop-up tent leg. The sample I received last year was fantastic to the point it became a regular part of my tailgating gear I would bring to the stadium. My wife would even ask for it by name and ask, “did you pack the Pole Caddy?”. When the wife approves of your tailgating gear, you know you have a winner on your hands.

The Pole Caddy is a little bit different this year in that they have made some improvements to it. Most notably they have made it so that it fits better on a tailgating tent leg. To use your Pole Caddy on your pop-up tent, simply take one of the expandable legs out of the top piece, slip the Pole Caddy on the top portion and return the bottom leg. Now you can tighten the Pole Caddy to your desired height. Take a look at our most recent demo video showing how easy it is to use the Pole Caddy on a tailgating tent.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkOenyyGOaU

For you college football tailgaters, another change to the Pole Caddy this year is that they now offer collegiate licensed Pole Caddies. Fans of schools like Florida, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Purdue, Miami, Louisville, Penn State, Tennessee, etc., etc. can now use the Pole Caddy while showing their support for their team. The handful of schools mentioned previously is only a small sample of those schools with collegiate licensing. A total of 36 colleges and universities are represented on the Pole Caddy with more being added.

If you would like to see if your school is represented, check out our Pole Caddy section of our tailgating gear store, Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com.
The Colorful ElectraPour – One of our other fearless writers and contributors, Chris Klinker, had the chance to review The Colorful ElectraPour. He was skeptical at first but was pleasantly surprised once he tried it out.

This is a pour that attaches to the opening of a liquor bottle and illuminates the liquor a color as you pour drinks. These might be best used at those post game tailgates after the sun has gone down (and you have a designated driver) to really get the full effect of the Electrapour. They do come in Red, blue and green so depending on who your team is, you can support your team colors even when you pour that victory vodka tonic. To read Chris’ full review, visit ElectraPour.

Winegard Carryout Portable Satellite Antenna – Another review from Foster and this one passed with flying colors.

We all would love to have satellite TV while tailgating to keep an eye on all the other games going on while you are prepping for yours. The main deterrent to getting a satellite system for your tailgating gear is the hassle of the time and the patience it takes to manually set up a satellite dish. The Winegard Carryout takes the hassle out of satellite TV at a tailgate and gives you back  the tailgating time you would have missed.

Cut to the chase…. what used to take Foster 90 minutes to properly set up his satellite TV while tailgating now only take five minutes using the Winegard Carryout. To get the full story behind this, make sure to read Foster’s Winegard Carryout Portable Satellite Antenna Review

Fan E Flag – It is common knowledge that if you don’t have a tow hitch receiver on the back of your tailgating vehicle, you are missing out on a lot of tailgating gear that utilizes that space. Fans and tailgaters alike love to show their support for their team not only in the parking lot but on the way to, during and after the game. We discovered Fan E Flag earlier in the month and they are a great way to show your team spirit off the back of your car.

Simply stated, Fan E Flag is a flag system that hooks into your tow hitch and flies two flags of your favorite team at full highway speeds. I tested out the Fan E Flag personally and took my car up to about 70 MPH. After coming home I inspected the flags and the Fan E Flag system and everything was in great working order.

The team flags are sold separately and if you would like to learn more, make sure to read my review of the Fan E Flag.

Snake Eyes Yard Dice – Chalk this one up as another product, this time a tailgating game, that Chris was a bit skeptical on at first. Also rank this one in the category of “Chris changed his attitude once he started playing it”.

Simply put, these are large, wooden dice that you roll and play outdoors. It sounds simple but then again, most dice games are. The bonus is that the Snake Eyes Yard Dice comes with instructions for a number of drinking games involving dice. So as you can imagine, this would make for a great ice breaker game while tailgating.

Chris was a convert and enjoyed the game thoroughly. To read a more detailed review of this game visit Snake Eyes Yard Dice.

Thirst Down Water Bottle – Foster flint had a chance to test out the Thirst Down water bottle. Basically from what you see in the photo is what you get. It is a water bottle inside a plastic football. That’s it. That’s all it does.

It does have spacing on the side where you could get a custom logo placed on there but as Foster pointed out in his review, this would be best aimed at large corporations looking to market themselves and not aimed at the end consumer tailgater. Some of the other shortcomings of the Thirst Down Water Bottle include it falls over and does not stand up on its own. To read Foster’s complete product review, visit Thirst Down’s Water Bottle Review.