Carte Noire Classic 100g

Price: £2
Vendor: One Stop
Description: 100g classic roast instant Coffee

Straight from the bargain shelf at One Stop we have Cart Noire Classic weighing in at a pocket friendly £2 reduced from £3. And its not such a bad slurp after all. It's rich, full bodied and has no bitter aftertaste. Definitely a step up from the more expensive Nescafe Original in every respect.
I shall be getting a few more of these tasty jars before the offer closes!

Coffee-meter: 👍👍👍

Douwe Egbert's Smooth Caramel 50g

Fantastic Coffee Fiasco!

Price: £2.00 but varies

Vendor: Asda

Description: Coffee with Caramel flavouring

Size: 50g

Eeeuk! Is the first word opener to this (thankfully short) review. 

Initially this item was purchased with curiosity having previously trying the Hazelnut variety and finding it OK.
It seems after having the first few swigs from the mug my stomach turned. It was just too sickly. Way too sickly for my liking and bad enough for me to abandon the remainder of my brew! That never, ever happens with me when it comes to Coffee. Something must be very wrong. And it is!

Unicorn Silver Comets

Migrated/Archive Post

Step back in time with Unicorn Heritage Comets

I took an interest in these historic darts when I heard John Lowe talk about them on an old obscure training video from the 80s. 

He remarked that they were a milestone in the history of Unicorn and Frank Lowy dating back to birth of the brand.
Originally marketed by Wisdens under the same name they were a technological leap forward in terms of design. 
Wisdens as a company went and Unicorn took over, the rest is as they say 'history' (bad clich'e)
A couple of years ago Unicorn relaunched the Comets under its Heritage range, changing nothing from the original box of the 1930's.
The Barrels, Shafts and Flights are the exact replicas of the original, even the presentation box has the original literature reprinted on it. The only difference it would seem is the inclusion of an outer card box to make it shop friendly when displaying.



As you might have guessed, these Darts have specialist parts but thankfully spare Stems and Flights can be bought quite cheaply if something goes wrong.

Constituent Pieces
√ sizes shown are approx 

Thread Type: 2ba
Weight: 21g
Barrel: 48mm Chrome plated Brass
Stem: 48mm Aluminium with Aluminium end cap
Flights: Special Fiber board two piece slotted

The Barrels are a nicely finished Chrome plate with the original patent number etched towards the nose. Standard shiny Steel points are fitted.
The Stems are deep slotted Aluminum with a protective end cap which screws tight and locks the Flight in. It also acts as an incoming dart deflector (which it does impressively).
The Flights are made from Fiber board and are V shaped and two-piece in assembly. Each pack of Flights contains 6 pieces.
The Presentation box is made from a textured card with a card darts holder inside (built into the box) the darts can be stored fully constructed without dissassembly.

Points of Happiness
1. Wonderfully and faithfully reproduced Darts which look good in any display cabinet.
2. Owning a piece of history albeit, repro.... but history all the same Unicorn call them "priceless replicas" themselves
3. Stunning design, compact, different. they still look good 75 years later. The end cap innovation is currently being reworked by other manufacturers in one guise or another.
4. Nice to keep as an heirloom... well, from 2015! wish I had some originals!!!

Points of concern
1. I cannot throw these darts! 
2. Flights are cardboard and have a tendency to bend when under any sort of pressure. You may go through a few sets! (more than likely)
3. They fly better when the two parts of the flight are flat?? I dont understand that? 


Point of principle
1. You got to have a set of these, even if you dont throw them. 

Conclusion
I cant throw them as I said before, tried moving fingers forward and back etc etc and they still land funny. 
The flights are a complete mystery as they seem to glide better when you dont fan them out?? I found that they had excessive drag when shaped properly.
The stems again are another bone of contention. Not because of the design. but because of the weight or so it seems. 
The comets seem to be very tail heavy when coupled to the 21g barrel?? 
I dont know, it might just be me?
Having said all that, I still love them for what they are. fantastic value (especially when someone buys them for you!) and a talking point.
The innovation cannot be ignored, specifically the end caps. You feel like you have a piece of history in your hands.
I dont know, some of you guys may be able to make some good scores with these so dont let me put you off if you are up for a challenge.

Nivea Men Ultimate Fitness Bag

A bag full of goodies for under £8

Vendor: Tesco
Price: £7.50
Description: Sports Bag containing 5x Nivea Men products, 1x Foldable drinks Bottle, 1 x Sports Bag.
What's in the Bag: 

• Cool Kick Deodorant - 250 ml
• Originals Moisturising Shaving Foam - 200 ml
• Cool Kick Shower Gel - 500 ml
• Originals Rehydrating Moisturiser - 75 ml
• Originals Deep Cleaning Face Wash - 100 ml
• Water Bottle
• Sports Bag

If you stink, or even if you dont stink this special offer could be for you! With a quality brand name behind you, your masculine hygeine care is more than taken care of with this little number. Everything from deodorant to Shower Gel is nestled with this retro style bag (A style once regarded as 'Gypo' style back in the 80's).
How can you walk past this and NOT pick one up.... Seems unbelievable at this price. It works out that each item costs just over £1 which is surprising especially when you throw in the high quality retro style bag. 

Target True Play 22g Darts

Tantalising Tungsten for a Tenner! 

Trawling the clearance shelf can be a hit and miss affair as many of us can testify. Stumbling into these however is not such a gamble. In fact these arrows will only bring joy and enjoyment to your game.

Vendor: Darts Corner
Price: £10 reduced from £12
Description: 80% Tungsten Darts Weight: 22g  Length:  48mm
What's in the Box: Darts, 3x Aluminium stems, 3x Target play flights, Tri-fold case.

Here they are with different Stems and Flights fitted.

Poundland USB Vacuum

Is this Vacuum worth a £1?

This was exactly what I thought when I picked this up in the local Poundland recently. How well can this novelty item perform with only a tiny motor and tiny amounts of power (5V)?

(Incredibly well as it turns out!) So after walking away from the item, then walking back my curiosity got the better of me and I took it to the paydesk and pay my £1.

Vendor: Poundland 

Price: £1

Description: USB Vacuum cleaner

What's in the Box: Vacuum + attached cable. 1x brush attachme.

After unboxing and connecting to a power source the Vac was tested. 

At normal running speed it barely picked anything up and sounded thin and weedy. Disappointment started to creep in and I was all for writing this item off. However, things started to change dramatically when the magic button was pressed, at which point the sound changed to that of a jet aircraft and the Sugar I had spilled deliberately was sucked up in an instant!. Fantastic!  Feeling suitibly impressed by the performance I continued and managed to comfortably suck up a whole tablespoon of sugar. 

Note: This Vac does not have a collection bag for all the bits and consequently collects in the end piece. Disposal of the dirt is achieved by tipping the Vac forwards into a bin. This is fine provided you remember that fact and don't tip it forwards prematurely! (You can guess what happened to me)

Another point to be mentioned is the filter. This could be cleaned by removing the O-Ring and cloth gauze. But I wouldn't bother. It took half an hour to get the whole thing back together!.

A nice extra feature of the Vacuum is the little white LED light which helps illuminate the area you are cleaning. 

Curiosity led me to wonder if you could run this Vacuum from a Tablet or other smaller device rather than just a standard PC and so here is the result! 

You never know when you might want to Vac up loose Sugar from your Tablet screen! 

I probably wouldn't recommend you power the device from a Tablet really due to the inteference and possible malfunction from the high power draw on the Battery. It was fun to have a truely pocket run Vacuum cleaner though. 

Curiosity and the tear down.. 

Opening the device reveals a small amount of components really with the center piece being the motor. A Motor from a Scalectrix car!. Thought I'd seen one somewhere before! 

For a proper look at what makes this tick then c!ick Big Clive's Vacuum Tear Down

Thanks to Electronics Maestro Clive for his analysis.

So in conclusion it would appear that indeed this item is worth the £1 asking price regardless of its minor downfalls. This portable Vac almost made the best bargain award but just fell short. Instead its is presented with a novelty award because that is undoubtedly what it is!

Sainsburys Universal FM TX

Cheap Transmitter Wins Bargain Award

 

Walking through the local store (and more specifically the clearance aisle) sometimes turns up some little gems that you just can't walk by and this is one example.

Sainsburys Universal Transmitter 
Price paid:  £2
Description: Gizmo for transmitting audio from any device (with a Headphone jack) to any FM radio in range. Useful if your car doesnt have an audio-in facility.
Whats in the Box?:  The unit/Device with LCD screen (and backlight) featuring auto off functionality. Lithi-ion rechargable battery installed.
12V Cigarette lighter charger.
(This can also be charged from the mains if you have the right plug)

Originally priced at £14.99 this product may seem a little overpriced especially when so many clones can be bought on ebay. Happily Sainsburys had reduced this item to £7.00 in the first instant before further dropping the price to just £2 by the time I go to it!! Unbelievable really.

Winner of Best Bargain Award

Aldi Butterkeks Biscuits

Loving these Keks!

Price: 80p?

Vendor: Aldi

Description: 'ButterKeks' biscuits (half chocolate)

If you are from the Northwest of England you will know the words 'Keks' means something totally different! Trouser aside, these are truly lovely Biscuits. I almost walked past these at the time and Im glad I stopped. These are delicious and exactly how I remember them from years ago. The biscuit itself is well baked and has a nice crunch whilst the chocolate half covering is thick and not too sweet. 
German in origin, Butterkeks literally means 'Butter Cakes' it seems the original creators misheard the word apparently and the name stuck.
They were first made over 100 hundred years ago by German bakers Bahlsen and called Leibniz-Keks.

Whilst on the subject of Butterkeks I have to mention IKEA and their 'Kex' brand. Not only do they have a 'trendy' sounding name but they are letter shaped so you can spell IKEA whilst having your tea.These are also tasty.

Music Angel Frienz Speaker

Best performing portable Speaker

Music Angel Friendz        Portable Speaker

Price: £20 approx

Vendor: Various (test model bought at Tesco)

Description: High quality active Speaker.
What's in the Box: Active Speaker system, flat-line audio cable 0.5M, Soft touch storage Pouch, instructions.

Features: 2x3W Digital Amplifier, 2 Speakers, 150 hrs Battery life (depending on use), straight through circuit for multi connectivity

It seems really difficult finding the right mini Speaker to boost your lame sounding Electronic gadget. The shelves are full of them in all different shapes and sizes. Do you opt for a large Boom Bar type arrangement, a Bass Box affair or do you just want something small and portable?
You can stand there all day in the Supermarket fumbling about or you could just purchase one (or even two) or these little beauties and you won't be disappointed.

DONT be fooled be its weedy little size, looks are deceptive. As with a lot of mainstream budget Speakers you only get the one Speaker Driver but the Music Angel Friendz has two! one at either end neatly covered by a grille.

Battery life on this item is INCREDIBLE!! The Music Angel website boasts of up to 150 hours play from a full charge and so far they have kept to their word. The test model has yet to run down from its initial charge despite countless hours of play at varying volume levels.
This Speaker surely has the best Battery life compared to ANY competitor at the moment.

The Music Angel Friendz is not Bluetooth so is connected via a flat line audio cable which comes in the box. Also included is a standard USB micro cable for charging.

Charging only takes a couple of hours. The Speaker shines a Blue LED when charging is taking place, a Red LED when almost dead and Purple when charging and power is on.
This little LED light show is a nice touch to an already nicely constructed device. It looks particularly nice at night.

Sound quality is very clear and precise although lacking of any depth of Bass.
The Trebles here are perfect and the mid range tones are equally brilliant especially when listening to a top quality BBC Podcast.
The Bass does suffer though and not surprising considering the size of the two Drivers inside. You have to ask yourself if its big Speaker big Bass or just small and portable you are looking for?

Build quality on the Music Angel is very good. The outer case is made from Aluminium with Steel grilles at each end. The switches are plastic but of good quality. Everything feels quality with no rough edges.

Featured on this device is the ability to connect to other Music Angel Speakers via a second input/output port on the rear of the unit.
The result of daisy chaining two of these units is that the overall sound is so much louder!. This could definitely be an advantage for parties and get together with friends. The sound from just one unit fills a room on it own but connecting two really boosts everything! Presumably you can connect as many of these together as you wish?

Overall, this is a fantastic little Speaker and well worth the budget price. The Battery life, well built design and superb sound quality make this one of the best in its class if not THE best. If you can live without thumping Bass then this Speaker is for you.

EVO Move N Groove Scooter

Scooting super cheap at under £6

EVO Move N Groove Scooter  ages 3+

Price: £5.50 reduced from £19.95
Vendor: Tesco
Description: Kids Scooter
What's in the Box: Scooter in 2x pieces (Handle and main body)

Nifty little two piece from Tesco featuring lean-to-steer technology.
This child's Scooter is a bargain right now costing a miserly £5.50! You can't really argue over the price when you consider what you are getting.
If its a lightweight travel Scooter you are looking for to occupy the kids on a holiday or day out then look no further. The whole assembly is two piece with the Handlebars being the only removable section. The bars are fixed and so steering is achieved by leaning one way or the other. Probably takes a bit of getting used to but the kids will be flying about in no time. Braking is taken care of by means of a rear mud guard style friction stop.

Excellent Value for money as you probably wouldn't pay £20 for it normally

Sainsburys Basics Instant Coffee 60g

Outstanding Coffee for under £1!

A POKE IN THE EYE FOR NESCAFE ORIGINAL!

Price: 60p per 100g refil pack

Vendor: Sainsbury supermarkets

Where do we start with this little unsung Gem? its very cheap, its very nice to drink and you would probably walk straight past this in the Tea and Coffee aisle, turning your nose up as you do so.

You would be forgiven for walking by this product due to the 'Basics' style two colour plain packaging and its very low price.

You might think its too cheap compared to the next thrifty instant on the shelves and you would be wrong,  very wrong!

Adding one spoonful to a Mug is plenty for a medium strength brew. The initial taste is nutty finishing with a slight citrus note. There also appears to be absolutely NO bitter after taste or over burnt roast flavour you often get with cheapo Coffees. This seems remarkable at the 60p price mark!

Comparison?

Having used this Coffee regularly for over a week it seems painfully obvious that this is far more palettable than even Nescafe Original (a premium instant) costing 3 times the price of Sainsbury s  in its 100g form. This is astonishing! Nescafe pails in comparison and has a noticeable burnt after taste

Buy some now!

                                                     Winner of Best Bargain Award

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