Screwpop Review

Before I begin today's regularly scheduled blog post, I must make an announcement. I am hereby declaring a regular schedule for my blog posts. From this day forward, I will be posting a blog every other Tuesday. I am committing to this publicly, in hopes that the risk of public embarrassment and shame will prevent me from reneging on this commitment. Wish me luck.

And now for something disappointing.

One of the things I have always wanted to carry with me is a Phillips screwdriver. Most pocket knives have good flat blade screwdrivers, but I find myself needing a Phillips version rather often.

I was rather excited to find this at thinkgeek.com:

It is called a Screwpop. It has several features that made me think it would be a perfect addition to my key chain.

• It has a full-sized #2 Phillips screwdriver bit! If you pull it out and flip it over, there is a flat blade on the other side. 
• It has a bottle opener!

Sadly, I cannot recommend this little guy. There are several drawbacks that I feel overwhelm the positive features of this tool. 

Complaint #1:  The bottle opener works poorly. It is even worse if there is a key ring going through the end of it. The opening on the Screwpop is not the right shape to easily fit over the edge of a bottle cap. I found that it took me several tries to open a bottle. This is disappointing, especially after being spoiled by another bottle opener that is such a joy to use, although it is not quite portable.

Complaint #2:  It is bulky. It takes up an excessive amount of space. I don't like carrying bulky items in my pockets. This is why I minimize the number of keys I carry. It is not worth dragging something around with me unless it functions especially well. 

Complaint #3:  The fit and finish was not as good as I would have expected. There were bits of the flash left at the seams from when the handle was cast. Not excessive, and nothing that a quick moment with a file couldn't fix, but still disappointing. 

Potential complaint #4:  It never happened to me while I carried it, but there is the potential to lose the screwdriver bit. It could fall out and be lost forever. The bit has spring-loaded detent to hold it in place, which makes it difficult to replace. A plain bit would just fall out. 

The one positive, was that the Phillips bit worked very well. However, I am convinced there must be a better option. It also makes me glad that thinkgeek.com is no longer selling this item. I do not know if it was because it didn't meet their normal standards, but I hope that is the reason. I like that site, and it made me sad that they carried something that didn't live up to its potential.