Broom Hockey, The Ultimate Sport: Coghlans Whisk Dust Pan
Written: Aug 05 '04 (Updated Aug 20 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small, cheap, light.
Cons: Not for large jobs, a very poor piece of sports equipment.
The Bottom Line: The perfect solution for broom hockey if you are masochistic. A poor choice for the rest of us.
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| yakkowarner's Full Review: Coghlans Whisk Dust Pan 8407 |
What is it?
This is a small and lightweight broom/dustpan combination that is designed for tents or small areas. The entire thing is made out of a cheap plastic except for some synthetic bristles.
What is up with this review
This is my submission to Puckmugger’s sports write-off. He asked me to submit one and I couldn’t say no. Now he probably wished I did say no.
Setup
First you notice it is wrapped in a thick and strong sticker. I guess this was to prevent people from stealing the broom and not stealing the dustpan. But you painstakingly take off the sticker, scrap off the sticker the broke off, and continue to remove sticker particles. I gave up after 5 minutes and left a few particles on. Once you have done that the unit is ready to go.
How it works?
The broom snaps into the dustpan. This makes it a very compact and portable design. You remove the broom and sweep a mess up like you would any other dustpan and broom. When you are done you snap it back into place. It is not designed for large tasks.
How is it made
There are 2 rows of 10 holes each in the bottom of the plastic handle. In each hole there is approximately 100 bristles (I counted 97 in one of them.) Both the pan and the handle are made out of a flexible plastic. This makes it lightweight but susceptible to damage if you do not pack it properly.
How do you play broom hockey?
I really do not know but that was not going to stop me from finding out. Scott wanted me to be active in a sport so I was not going to let him down. I assume you hit a ball back and forth trying to get it in a small goal somewhere but no one at the gym was willing to teach me. And when I tried to learn by myself I kept getting hit by basketballs. I think it had to do with the fact the broom have a positive charge and basketballs have a negative charge. The attraction of the opposite polarities must of forced the basketball to come at me pretty fast. I knew it could not have been the people playing basketball because they swore they did not deliberately throw the basketball at me. They looked like nice enough boys and all.
I left the basketball court and decided to continue my learning experience at home. I grabbed the first ball I found, a croquet ball. It seemed like a good ball at the time but it was pretty heavy for such a small ball. Thankfully it did not have a negative charge otherwise I would have had a lot of nasty bruises. Well the brush was not rigid enough to push the ball very far, just a couple of feet. I could of hit it with the plastic but the plastic this product is made out off seemed pretty weak and I did not want to harm my expensive three dollar broom. So I decided to find another ball.
By this time my back was getting soar from all the squatting and chasing I did around my back patio. I was beginning to wonder if this really was an appropriate broom for broom hockey, but for the sake of the review I was not going to stop.
I grabbed a ping pong ball next, but it bounced around so much that I was doing more running than hitting. This was way too much exercise for me so I continued my search for another ball that worked.
After trying various ball out of my sons toy chest I decided that they used a very special ball, a different broom, or they were a bunch of crazy fitness freaks that had back muscles made out of steel. At this point I gave up and decided this type of exercise was not for me. So I sat down and played a real sport, Mario Tennis.
How well does it work for broom hockey?
For broom hockey it really sucks. My back hurts from crouching over and the broom is not strong enough to handle most balls that one will find.
A better solution
Go into the janitors closet and steal….I mean borrow one of his brooms.
How well does it work for sweeping up messes?
As far as a dustpan and broom is concerned it is fair. It is small and will take the user 5-10 minutes to properly sweep out a large tent. This fact makes it a better matche for smaller tents and for backpacking. The pan is not very wide and neither is the broom.
A better solution
Just unstake the empty tent, pick it up and shake it out. I do this with my smaller tents all the time, on bigger ones you will need help. If I am car camping I just bring my bigger broom/dustpan from the kitchen.
An even better solution
Do not use your tent for anything else but sleeping. Take off your boots outside of the tent, preferable in the vestibule.
Dimensions and Weight
Length compact: 8 inches.
Width compact: 5.75 inches.
Height compact: 1 inch at the maximum.
Total Weight: 3 ¾ ounces.
The width of the broom: 4.5 inches.
The width of the dustpan: 5.75 inches at the opening to 3 inches at the top.
Why I do not recommend this product
This product can only clean up small messes. If you have a lot of dirt in your tent then you will get frustrated.
Who is this for then?
People that need a broom/dustpan and do not have room for a larger broom/dustpan. Plus for 3 bucks you can’t go wrong.
Summary:
Not a good solution for sporting enthusiasts and an even worse solution for large tasks. But it is good for small jobs and a good teaching tool for children.
Other reviews you might not be interested in.
Northface Terra 40
REI clipper tent.
REI Piggyback.
Puckmugger's write-off page
Recommended:
No
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