Tough Koozies being used!
We have been receiving images of our koozies being used in the wild. We are honored to have people using them as they were intended. Please enjoy a few of our favorites here. We will be adding more of the best koozies in their natural habitat as we get them. Thanks again for your support.
Our TEQ Koozie handling the rigors of Moab.
Prototype wallet and deluxe koozie being salt water tested in Kauai
A monster sandwich and TEQ Koozie near Moab
Saltwater testing at Kauai
Building the best Koozie we can!
The Koozie Question?
I was recently asked by a customer why we make Koozies? I quickly replied "because we think they look cool and we make the best koozies". I didn't give it much thought at the moment, but now that I had time to reflect on the question a bit I would like to give a more in depth answer.
The Foam Koozie Problem.
We enjoy a ton of outdoor activities like playing softball, camping, bonfires, picnics, and working on vintage automobiles etc. We also like drinking cold beverages during these activities. In the past we would buy our favorite sports team koozie and some times pick up a foam koozie with some kind of fun saying like "rule #1 if she ain't happy you ain't happy!" at the local gas station or grocery store. They are fun to own and become conversation simulators amongst friends.
The problem with these foam koozies is that they do not last very long when exposed to water, sun, tool box, softball bag and or the occasional car tire. If I had a nickel for every season I unzipped my softball bag for the first time in the spring and pulled out a destroyed foam koozie I would have about .60 cents, but you get the idea. The picture below is of the author, late in the softball season after his foam koozie had failed him. Note the sweatband koozie improvisation and the picturesque fall leaves.
How the best koozies were born!
A few years ago my cousin Hugh Tucker and I were working out in the shop and I was going on and on how I was going to make cool tool rolls, laptop bags, chaps, and fender covers out of reclaimed inner tubes as a hobby. He looked at me and said "why don't you make koozies too?" At the time I had no idea if it would even work, but he assured me that they would be sweet. He sketched up some ideas and told me that since we were going to use upcycled rubber inner tubes they would be hell for stout! Below is the first ever prototype we created using vulcanizing rubber. Needless to say once the koozie received a healthy dose of water it came apart, but we really liked the look and feel and wouldn't be deterred.
- We are helping mother earth by taking inner tubes that would have been thrown away and turning them into something useful.
- We didn't create these all koozies willy nilly. They are the toughest koozie around, we have exposed our koozies to some of the meanest friends we know and told them to have at it. Go ahead and try to destroy our koozies. Happily they failed.
- Our koozies come in different sizes, we can make Tallboys, 12oz, Coors, and bottles currently. We are working on others and will share them when testing has been complete.
- Hand forged in Pendleton Oregon USA. Can you say that about other foam koozies that are made offshore in a sweatshop? Don't worry we sweat when making ours too.
- They will last multiple seasons in your tool box or softball bag.
- They fold up nice and fit in your pocket.
- They can be personalized with a embroidered patch and thread color.
- They come with the revolutionary mouth alignment mechanism to avoid embarrassing moments.
- It Can be stored in your ice cold cooler without it disintegrating like a cheap foam koozie.
- See #1
Mouth Alignment Mechanism
Imagine, if you will. You and your close friends are out at social event enjoying a cold beverage wrapped in a foam koozie. Sounds awesome doesn't it? Well it IS awesome until go to take a drink and BOOM a Pabst Blue Ribbon shower all over your favorite shirt, pants, etc. Two problems arise, first you just baptized yourself with an ice cold PBR wasting it's precious contents. The second problem is that you are now a mess. People are pointing and whispering, wondering if you should be cut off. The proverbial "Hello, I'm a filthy beast" spotlight has been turned on and is pointed directly at you. No escaping it..none! Trust me, you don't want to be that person again!
Moments before disaster strikes, note the orientation of the can opening vs the hand. Nothing good is going to happen here. All they wanted was to take drink without spilling..
You see the key design flaw in your foam koozie is that there is no easy way to know exactly where the hole is when taking a drink. Sure you can constantly look down while taking a drink while others scoff at you for not paying attention. Of course you can argue that your Superman like grip will keep things aligned just right with no such accidents, but really it is just a matter of time before you are going to slip up. Again, imagine you are talking with the future Mrs. Right..now and you get denied by the the foam koozie due to alignment issues, not cool! Here at Tuckington Industries we have been that guy at the party. The filthy beast with beer hole alignment issues and it is no fun at all.
How do you take something so simple "design wise" that hasn't changed for decades and make it usable? Well the answer was pretty simple for us. Focus on the core flaws that plague the foam koozies. Reduce the ridiculous size of it. (There is really no need to triple the size of your can is there?). Incorporate some kind of mechanism that allows you to keep everything aligned without having to constantly look down. Go trendy with making it out of reclaimed materials and last but not least, make it industrial strength.
So without further ado I would like to introduce the Mouth Alignment Mechanism. A solid seam on the back side your koozie opposite the opening that allows you to "feel" the beer can hole. Gone are the embarrassing days of making a mess of yourself. No more ignoring your friends while you look down trying to get it just right before putting your mouth on it.
Now check this out! Everything is lined up and they can focus on what is important.
We are excited to share these new revolutionary koozies with you and your family. You can try one of our budget models out here with minimal financial risk to you here The Cheap Koozie
Flexing our reuse muscle
One of the positives of living in a rural area is access to used ranch and farm materials that would either sit and rot away or be thrown away in the local landfill. The local wheat ranchers who own large amounts of land need to buy fertilizer and chemicals in bulk. These items usually come in a large 250 gallon plastic tank called a shuttle. The real gem is not the tank itself, but the metal cage that is used to hold and store the plastic tanks. The shuttles meassure a little under 48" square. Here is an example of a pair that has been dropped off at our shop.
