Harbor Freight Wool Blanket

Discussion in 'Functional Gear & Equipment' started by RouteClearance, Feb 26, 2018.


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  1. RouteClearance

    RouteClearance Monkey+++

    For those of us that are near a Harbor Freight store, there are quite a few items in their inventory that will suit us in a basic survival or grid down situation.

    One thing I have learned about Harbor Freight is that most of their products are well made, long lasting, and economical,,,,,,,but there are some items that are down right junk and not worth wasting your money on. So i will be the guinea pig and buy these useful items and put them to a basic test, then put them to use in an actual field/work environment to see if they hold up.

    So for my first review, I will start with a nicely made wool blanket blend for $11.99,60 In. x 80 In. Wool Blend Blanket

    Now, I have read Brokor’s Thread on surplus wool blankets,Gear Review - 100% Wool Blankets (Master Listing)
    Problem is, these stocks of surplus blankets have all but dried up and any still in stock are no less than $100 dollars. Sorry, but for that price, I will buy a good sleeping bag. These blankets are 80% wool blend, weigh around 2.5 pounds and have a stitching on all sides,
    8523980B-1A01-453D-811D-3DDACEF7D261.

    Are 60”x80”
    6CFF6880-21ED-443D-B468-E645315D4484.

    I have Bought quite a few of these for various uses such as in a few cache kits, winter car kit and so forth. I even use a couple for my daily bedding.
    I also,wash these in a washing machine on delicate cycle and tumble dry on low. Which if you read the above tag is a no no. Well, for $12, I am not wasting any time washing by hand. The ones I have used for my bedding do get washed about once a month and they have yet to show any sign of breaking down.

    So in short, they are well worth the buy and so far have been very durable and long lasting for the ones that I have owned for over two years.
     
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  2. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Yes, the market is bare and has been for some time when it comes to quality wool blankets.
    The 80% wool blankets are very good and offer additional wear protection as a trade off compared to 100% wool.
    There's nothing wrong with an 80% wool item, even for hunting jackets and other clothing worn on the exterior since they do not wear through as quickly.

    $12 is a steal. :)
     
  3. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    I was just looking at their sale booklet tonight , and I'm going to break down and try out 1 of their Vise's , it's showing a 5" multi purpose vise , for 69.99 . The one with the pipe jaws as well . Unless someone knows of one that may be a better deal somewhere . Otherwise I can try and give a review on this one in a week or so . I know a good vise cane be expensive .
     
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  4. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    Thanks, RC! I have a Harbor Freight down in town and never knew they carried things like this. I will get down there this week and purchase a few to throw in the truck. Thanks again!
     
  5. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    Love HF for a lot of things. Bought one of their predator generators a year ago last black friday. Have used it over a year now and put 704 hours on it now. Running three 24cu foot freezers, a 120v lighting system, roof mount Air Conditioner, a 20cu foot refrigerator, and 2 dorm size refrigerators between 20-24 hours per week 32 weeks of the year on my Farmers' Market trailer. Regular oil changes and a spark plug in that time. Still starts first pull every time and powers everything with ease. Think I did a write up about it on here when I bought it......... Only problem I have had with it..... was not even it but hired hand that turned everything on and plugged everything in and then started the generator........ Causing me to blow a gasket and come totally unhinged.
     
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  6. duane

    duane Monkey+++

    I have found that it is usable for a lot of things, some total junk, but a lot of usable things. The quality seems to be about the same as the low end stuff sold at Tractor Supply, Lowe's, etc and often at 1/2 the price. A lot of the tools, ladders, cheap cement mixers, cheap movers blankets, cheap garden sprayers for weed killers, cheap solar kits, aviation clamp assortments, etc, are usable and darn handy before TSHTF. I wouldn't want to depend on a $8 machete for the long run, but it is handy having one on the tractor for now and it has held up well for knocking off that tree limb that always seems to hit you when you take the tractor to the garden or knock some brush away from the electric fence . It is also somewhat like a treasure hunt once you get on their mailing list. You get 20 % off coupons, and they have sale items that are really sales. It is funny, they will have an item for $29 with the coupon and in the same catalog, list it for $39 without the coupon. Bought one of their rock tumblers, cheap motor and plastic drum, use it for cleaning brass, works well, with lead balls for milling black powder, with 100 foot extension cord and run on a table in the garden, and it hasn't blown up yet, knock on wood. They have a mini cut off saw and a lot of people sell jigs that fit it that cut off 223 cases to make into 300 blackout that works like a charm. Bought one of their cheap drywall hoists, don't know if it is commercial quality, but for the first time in 10 years I can put a sheet of sheet rock up on a ceiling and position it where I want or take one down. They have a cheap cement mixer,works great for redimix, is light to move, and at about $200 was less than a motor to repair my old 500 pound one. Got one of their cheap small staging platforms and use it in the greenhouse, has 4 castors, a small platform that raises to different levels, and at 80 years old, it works much better for me than a step ladder. None of the stuff is heirloom quality, but a lot of it is real handy for occasional use and 1/2 the price of Home Depot etc. Their 2 wheel carts can't be beat for a greenhouse etc. $30 or so when on sale and you really don't care if they get rusty in the shed as you would on the $150 commercial quality one. A lot of Harbor Freight stuff is like a disposable razor, they don't give you quite the shave of the good razor, but they work well and a bag of 20 cost less than a couple of cartridges for the good ones and I don't even know where my good one is any more.
     
  7. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    Don't overlook the camo moving blankets! Decently made, cheap, and very warm. I keep these in vehicles to wrap fragiles, keep warm, ground cover, poor mans creeper, and yes, as a moving blanket.
     
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  8. T. Riley

    T. Riley Monkey+++

    I have owned the vice you are talking about for 4 year and like it. The handles for the lockdown are a little light so grip them near the vice are they will bend. I would not buy tools to make a living with or SHTF from HF but most for occasional use are fine. Built a large barn with a nail gun from there, but it took two. They honored the one year warranty on the first one although I worked the hell out of it.
     
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  9. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I got his 5" heavy duty vise at Tractor Supply when it was on sale, probably paid about that much for it. I do know it's quite a bit more expensive when not on sale.
    DSC00185.JPG
     
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  10. Meat

    Meat Monkey+++

    I’ve used their ball joint separator 3 times now. I did turn my back as I was hitting it with my rattle gun. There was even an explosion but that was the ball joint separating. I rate it two thumbs up. :D
     
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  11. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    Good news . I wont be making a living with it , just occasional use , so it may serve my purpose . Thanks
     
  12. T. Riley

    T. Riley Monkey+++

    It's on sale for $54.99 as of this morning.
    upload_2018-2-27_10-36-51.
     
    SB21 likes this.
  13. 3M-TA3

    3M-TA3 Cold Wet Monkey

    I like to get old vises off of Craigslist - an old vise is usually American made when vises were forged and not simply cast, also if it was going to break it already would have years ago. Signs of abuse on a used vise is a well earned battle scar that tells me it won't let me down. Estate sales are good too.

    There was a recent thread on NWFA where a Harbor Freight vise broke when one of the members was removing a barrel nut and left a gouge in his forehead that required stitches. I don't think it was the same vise, but I'd be very wary.

    Painful Harbor Freight fail.
     
    SB21 likes this.
  14. Ura-Ki

    Ura-Ki Grampa Monkey

    I have rhe bigger version of thay vice and its been bomb proof! I got several replacemen jaw sets for it, and have nodded the snot out of them for various needs. I find my self doing to roto welding, and this vice can take it with ease! I did disassemble it and ran it through my vertical mill to machine all work surfaces dead level and square, but other then that, it's lasted much longer then I would have thought!
    Serious thumbs up on HFs Predator line of small engines, I have the 412 and the big twin and they both have ran quite well for almost 4 years now! When they have the sales, those engines can be had for quite a savings over the regular price and are top quality units!
     
  15. sdr

    sdr Monkey++

    I use some Harbor Freight tools quite often in my job. I don't buy anything electric anymore. I'm way to hard on my tools for cheap Chinese electric stuff.

    I've found their pneumatic tools to be great. Only trouble I've had is running psi to high. But easy enough to reset the o-ring when that happens. Just had to disassemble part of my HF Brad nailer yesterday. Few screws had come loose. I've owned that nailer at least 10 years.

    Can't tell how many free items I've accumulated over the years. I have a box of multimeters, flashlights, screwdrivers, headlights ECT.

    Even the free batteries work good on low drain devices.

    The battery in my suburban would go dead after sitting 3 or 4 months. I installed one of their solar panel dash mount chargers. Haven't had any trouble with the battery for years now.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2018
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  16. Cruisin Sloth

    Cruisin Sloth Special & Slow

    Size of unit ? it seems like it runs half of texas
     
  17. Meat

    Meat Monkey+++

    I met my bro and his sidekick in the store awhile back. They are well trained because one would go through check out with a coupon for a freebie. Then shuffle back for the exchange to the next knucklehead. Repeat. I ended up with a tape measure. Those saps never suspected a thing. :whistle:
     
  18. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    8700/7000 LOL not running half of Texas AC is the big AMP eater pulling 12, the freezers pull 5amps running and 12-15 amps on start up, refrigerators pull a total of 8 amps combined, lighting system pull 4 amps so it is in total pulling 39-40 amps. In theory the generator produces 58.31amps with respect to the 80% of available rule allowing for 46.648Amps to be uses. In practice the generators produces 56.47 running amps (marginal difference that has some variation up and down) Electrician friend modified the gen to run on one cable that plugs into the trailers 50amp breaker box. And I forgot the hot water heater and on demand water pump that is 10 amps on heat up and 2-3 amps after. The trick is flipping the breakers one at a time on power up, the start up surge if everything is turned on blows the 50amp main breaker every time. The Predator replaced my 12,500 Generac on the truck as it was getting up there in operating hours and was wearing out with 5,770 running hours on it. The generac moved to the pull around the farm construction trailer because it still puts out enough to run drills, saws, air compressor and the little stick welder. Main generator for the house, Store and freezer building is a Generac 5734 15,000W that can power the two walk ins with Koolbots and the dozen 34.5 cu' chest freezers, with plenty of power left for me to troll the internet during power outages :) And with our electric coop tend to be every time there is a light breeze.
     
  19. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    @RouteClearance I picked up one of the Wool Blend blankets. It's a good deal! Made in India. Smells a bits so washing it now. Wife wants one now also for her car so stopping by Harbor Freight tomorrow.

    @Thunder5Ranch So you had good service from you Predator generator? The 8750/7000w is going on sale here next weekend: $499. That's a good deal. I am seriously considering it as a backup but truly wanted a dual-fuel (propane) so we'll see.
     
  20. Thunder5Ranch

    Thunder5Ranch Monkey+++

    Going strong for over a year of regular use now. Had planned on using it as a back up to a new 8k generac but it ended up staying on the truck and the new generac is still new and in the box on rack in one of the barns. Keep in mind the predators don't come with wheels, handles or a battery. Not a big deal for me as it is bolted to the truck bed and as long as it fires up first pull, I am not real worried about the electric start. Seriously I was expecting half ass junk when I bought it for under $500 and had my expectations blown apart. I have bought a couple of the predator engines for other projects and they are proving just as durable and easy starting. Year two will be a bigger test for it as it will be running probably 40-45 hours per week this market season and I am expecting to have it pretty well ragged out by the time November rolls around with another 1,344 hours I expect to put on it. Something else that I did not expect is it is a bit more quiet running than the generacs, I had to park the truck 100 feet away from the trailer to keep the noise low with the generacs, at 50 feet away with the cab facing the nose of the trailer it is just a low hum.
     
    Bandit99 likes this.
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