YardPal sheet composition changes

We had some news from the YardPal sheet supplier yesterday. The good news is we can get fragrance-free sheets to make YardPal with. In some of the recycled plastic I tried, the fragrance was so strong I could smell it from the house when I opened the garage door...and that's when the sheet was on the driveway outside the garage.

Unfortunately, the plastic available is not "already-recycled HDPE" as we had previously announced. However, it is still recyclable (polypropylene is #5) and still has at least the tear strength of HDPE -- we tested it to pull 500 lbs on driveway concrete!

We'll be giving you a comparison chart when the product launches - probably in late February - so you can easily compare YardPal and the Professional model.

Have a safe and productive day, Jeri

How Strong is BigSlider anyway?

I often get asked how much weight BigSlider can handle and how strong it is.
Take a look at our tear test conducted by a third-party service. We connected the tail by threading the rope through the PVC extension handle, then through the corner holes. The handle was connected at the other end with a webbing strap.

The handle pulled out a 402 lbs force -- that's equivalent to 800 - 2,000 lbs on the sheet, depending on the surface you're pulling over. In other words, no one's gonna rip the handle out without a pickup truck hitch attached to it -- like the guys who pulled the huge stump (see blog 9/26/08). Interestingly, the tail configuration was still going strong after the handle tore out. So if you've got something REALLY heavy, pull from the tail with the pipe and rope. --- Jeri

NOTE: we rate BigSlider to a 500 lb load, just to be safe! And of course, NEVER pull more than feels comfortable for you.

Good news from our customer with spinal stenosis stinosis

Good News from our customer with spinal stenosis (see Jan 7th and Jan 12th blogs)

"Hi Jeri!

Just wanted to let you know that the BigSlider worked for me! It made it a lot easier to move our boxes from the entrance of the crawl space to the back where we store the Christmas decorations. I had my husband read the information sheet on the various ways people have used it so, when the need may arise when he is working outside, he will think about using it also.

Thank You!" -- JH, Delaware

BigSlider and the Hoyer Lift for Wheelchair-bound Husband and his Wife Caregiver

One customer purchased BigSlider to help maneuver her husband so she could use the Hoyer lift to get him back into the wheelchair.

She came home from the store yesterday and had to use BigSlider for the first time. Her husband had fallen out of his wheelchair into a place where she couldn't reach him with the Hoyer lift. He rolled on his side, she slid BigSlider up to him, then he rolled back.

She was surprised at how easy it was -- and how much easier it was on him, too. It slid right over the Hoyer lift legs, and she easily got him into position. Now she wants to keep it in the car so that when they go to physical therapy, transferring him from the car to the chair will be easier and safer.

Which side goes up?

Q: "Received it and I'm ready to use the bigslider, however I'm wondering which side (the shiny or the dull side) is supposed to be facing up to put your boxes on? On the picture it looks like the label is supposed to be facing you -- that would be the shiny side up. However, that means you can see the screws in the handle, which I thought perhaps would mean it should be flipped. Which side is up -- shiny or dull??? Thank You!" -- JH, Delaware

A: Both sides of the white HDPE Professional model are equally slick, so don't worry about which side to use. Even after being scratched on driveway concrete for over 2 years, the original prototype still works great. (Mine looks like the one in the photo above.)

For YardPal the gray recycled HDPE is slightly less slick on the label side, so the label side goes "up" while pulling.

Above is a photo of another customer who's been pulling his loads through rocks and mud. You can see it's all scratched up. He keeps BigSlider in the pickup because it still works great! FYI - His is the third story about moving limbs and logs after hurricane Rita in the August 2008 archive.

Make Concrete Easy - BigSlider + CreteSheet at the World of Concrete

Concrete Projects Made Easy! Green, Back-Saving, Top Tools at the World of Concrete Feb 3-6, 2009: CreteSheet™ concrete mixer and BigSlider™ utility mover.

BigSlider will be displayed with CreteSheet at the World of Concrete February 3-6, 2009 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. CreteSheet and BigSlider are the perfect combination for concrete projects. BigSlider gets the bags where you need them, and CreteSheet quickly mixes 80 lbs of concrete in 90 seconds. Your back will thank you since both tools use the ground to carry the weight. John Shoemaker will demonstrate concrete made easy at booth S-22411 (South Hall, second floor).

Both tools are green: human-powered and made of recyclable plastic. Not only that, they have been chosen by Popular Mechanics to receive their coveted Editor’s Choice Award for top new tools. BigSlider has been featured on two DIY Network “Cool Tools” episodes and was named one of 14 top "Hot Tools for 2009" by Canadian Home Workshop. CreteSheet was also named a World of Concrete MIP Winner.

See more at http://www.cretesheet.com and http://www.bigslider.com

CreteSheet and World of Concrete Booth Contact:
John Shoemaker 866-571-7749

BigSlider Contact:
Jeri Masterson 713-459-0660

Looking Forward to Spring and Summer Gardening? You're worth it!

Last week a customer called after seeing BigSlider in her local newspaper in Akron, Ohio. She didn't have internet access and wanted to know if she could order over the phone. Yes, of course we happily take phone orders!

In the past, she's used a vinyl sheet to haul heavy stuff around the garden, and the vinyl would get shredded. She wanted to know if BigSlider was tough and would last. Well, the first one we made in mid-2006 is still in use on concrete, grass, pea gravel, bricks, tile and carpet -- with no signs of stopping. So she said, "I'm worth it. I'm going to get one." "Of course you're worth it!" I said.

"I'm looking forward to spring and summer gardening being more pleasant now." Aren't we all? Enjoy!

Spinal Stinosis Stenosis, Storing Christmas Decorations

I had a chance to speak with the lady from Delaware who asked the crawl space questions (see blog Jan 7th), and it turns out she has spinal stenosis (narrowing of the space inside the backbone that pinches the spinal cord - OUCH!). She's going to use BigSlider to put her Christmas decorations away in the basement crawl space, and needed hers right away. We shipped Priority Mail the next day.

This customer inspired me to get my tree out to the curb (another great use for BigSlider), and of course I spent the rest of the day picking up needles -- it has been so worth it just to have the lovely smell inside the house all Season long!

Home Office and Gardening Combined!

Reviews Written by M. Gollwitzer, Thank you, BigSlider™!, August 31, 2008

I work at a home office and must shred reams of confidential documents each month. The BigSlider™ makes this so easy! I just place a rolled-up BigSlider™ inside a trash bag, which transforms the bag into a free-standing receptable for all the shreddings. I can empty the shredder into the bag without the struggle of having to use one hand to keep the bag open. When the bag is full, the BigSlider™ easily and cleanly slides out of the bag and I can then just haul the bag (placing it on the BigSlider™ if it's too heavy to carry!) to the garbage can.

I use the BigSlider™ in the same manner to collect leaves in the yard. In addition, we have found the BigSlider™ to be useful in hauling heavy objects around the house or from house to car. BigSlider™ has made many tasks so much easier!

Using Bigslider in Tight Spaces

One of our clients recently had some questions about our products that we want to share with our readers:

• I would like to know if it would be useful in a storage area of our basement (which we call a crawl-space) because we have to walk very bent over to bring out and take in items which we want to store in that area?? (It is hard to lift things up off the floor and at the same time bend over while walking.)
• Is the only difference between the "Basic" and the "Professional" an attached handle? For my purpose (see above) would I need that?
• If ordered, how soon could I receive it?

Thank You for your time.

Here are our answers:

• BigSlider will be great for your crawl space because its just 1/16" thick, so your items will have the maximum clearance possible and you won't have to carry them.
• You will still have to bend over to move your items, of course, and the Professional model with the attached handle is the best for the tightest turning radius and the most control. Reason: the rope to extension handle in the Basic model has more "play" between your pull and the movement of the sheet. So the Basic is better for garden applications where tight turns are not as much of an issue.
• We ship out Priority Mail, and you should receive it in about 5 business days.

I hope this helps! Thanks for your inquiry, Jan.

With a new product like ours, we get a lot of questions about how and where it can be used to provide the most help for you in different situations. We welcome all these questions and will happily answer them, and we look forward to hearing creative uses for our product that we can share with other users.