National Hardware Show

NATIONAL HARDWARE SHOW
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA  4-6 MAY 2010

The convention was awesome in size, scope and quality of products
displayed.  Our hats are off again to the wonderful staff that
organized all of this!  There is no way that we could have covered the
entire show in a week, let alone a day.  We had to make decisions at
what areas we would cover and miss a lot of very good products.  One
area that we enjoyed immensely, and that had products of use to the
Senior population (one definition of Senior, that I endorse, is anyone
older than I am.

The area that attracted us first was the Inventors corner and we saw a
few products that Seniors can use right out of the box.  The first is
The Ice Tube Tray.  This product makes ice in narrow tubes for bottled
beverages.  This product, shaped as a tube, allows small ice cubes to
go into soda bottles, and other narrow containers.
Another product, The Straw Claw, clips a band across spray cans,
lubrication cans, or similar cans that holds that famous and easy to
lose straw for a wide bunch of products.  As someone who had just lost
that straw, this product has huge appeal.  It even comes with an extra
straw!

A “cute” (needs to be tested) product is a garlic chop the shape of a
garlic.  Put the garlic in, give the product a twist and the garlic is
chopped!

Leaving this area was difficult, but there were so many booths, so
little time and energy!  A great product that has wheels but would
still be difficult for Seniors is a Door Brake.  This product is
wheeled to the front door and gravity and friction would keep the
front door secure.

A very small, but very useful product is made by ZooniTags.  This is
a ring with various names on top to identify what is in the corners.
Using this simple product one would never confuse kerosene with lube
oil!

If bed bugs are a problem, there is a new product on the market that
solves this.  Climb Up is an insect interceptor that is placed under
the legs of the bed to catch the bed bugs before they get to join you
in bed.  First, it tells you if there is a problem, second they stop
the problem.

Swiss Tech has quite a few products that can hang on a key chain:  6
to 9 to 12 tools small in size, are designed to solve small, basic
problems.  There are small screw drivers, light, hex wrench, and
others that can be chosen.

Blue Colt makes a variety of flashlights ranging from the very small
to a one that can record, take photos, has 4GB storage and has 300
lumens.  The small one is handy for Seniors but also a bit high in
cost.  The small one uses triple A batteries.

There was one rather different product; this one tests water level in
a Christmas tree and when water is needed plays Jingle Bells (but not
in the middle of the night).

At the end of the day there was a huge Tailgate Party.  There BBQ’s
the size of a Hummer as well as small ones that would fit in a patio.
They came with gas and electric, with a broad selection of types of
wood and related products for grilling.  The best part was that many
of the BBQ’s were in use making small foods that could be eaten in the
parking lot.  There was free beer for those that wanted to stand in
line for an hour (we flunked that test!).  All in all, it was a great
and exhausting afternoon.

Again, our congratulations to a staff that did an awesome job in
presenting a broad variety of products for the house, the yard and the
tool shed.

By, John Lustig, Senior Reporter