At our old place I had a 25 foot extension cord that I used. Since we moved, however, and have much further to go in order to reach a power outlet, I had to purchase something a little longer. I needed between 60 and 70 feet in length I figured. Since they are usually sold in predefined standard lengths, 50 and 100 foot being the closest to my needs, that meant I needed to pick up a 100 footer. I don't plug anything heavy or power intensive into the extension cord, so I didn't need a bigger 12 gage or 10 gage cord. What I did need was something inexpensive, preferably from a brand that I recognized.

I found this Fellowes 99599 extension cord online for just shy of $50 including shipping. It's a whopping 100 feet long, which gives me plenty of length to reach from inside the house all the way out to the other side of the back yard. There's at least 20 feet of extra cable, but at least it reaches. The cord is bright orange so it's easily spotted stretched across the ground, even in mid-length grass. This is helpful so you don't accidentally run it over with a lawn mower or something similar. The Fellowes 99599 extension cord is a grounded 3 prong cord that is designed for both indoor and outdoor use. It's UL/CSA approved and is made in China.

I opted for this extension cord which uses 16 gage wire. It's rated to handle up to 13 amps of power draw, which is enough for anything I want to plug in that far from an electrical outlet anyway. My area lamp draws close to 10 amps, my drill draws 5.3, my reciprocating saw draws about 8.5 amps - since I only ever have one thing at a time plugged into the extension cord at a time, that works out nicely. I do have a shorter, heavier extension cord that I use as well, but I don't want to clutter up the yard right next to the house with any projects that might end up being long-term and in the way. Always make sure to obtain an extension cord that's rated high enough for your power draw needs. If the cord is too light, the heavier power draw can heat up the wires inside causing it to melt or catch fire. Definitely not a good thing, so if you're in doubt make sure to pick up the next higher gage of wire (smaller is thicker).

It's held up well for the few months I've had it. Both ends are still holding up well, it's not falling out of the outlet and nothing that's plugged in is becoming lose in the end of it. It hasn't become too stiff, sun faded, cracked or any of that nonsense. I'm pretty happy with it so far, the only down side being the fact that there's just so much extra cord to mess with. Being a light-duty 16 gage cord, at least it only weighs 7-8 pounds, but it's still bulky and it would have been nice to find a cord closer to 75 or 80 feet in length.

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