I truly dislike cable clutter in all facets of my life…..work, office, garage, etc. I collect and reuse packing ties, rubber bands, micro-bungie cords and the like, continually doing my best to lessen the mess. As the story goes, I was doing my weekly perusal of our local Fry’s sales ad and saw an ad for BongoTies and had to have them. Within an hour, I was searching my local Fry’s looking for these wondrous little organizational accessories.
The BongoTies are extremely Earth friendly; they’re made from natural Hevea (tree) rubber and wood. They are virtually 100% biodegradable. Their design is simplistic; a thick rubber band and old-world (patented) button-like closure.
The new Bamboo/Natural BongoTies are even GREENER than the originals, since they are made from even more renewable products: Bamboo and natural Hevea rubber. The BongoTies website touts them as being the ‘The GREENEST tie-wraps on the planet.‘ They are surprisingly popular around the world….BongoTies has its own youtube channel where folks show how they use them and provide positive testimonials for the eco-friendly ties.
As I said, in the past I have used a multitude of items to reduce my cable cutter. In my garage I primarily use micro-bungie cords to keep my tools organized. While effective, they are relatively expensive, can rust and degrade over time. The package ties I salvage from other items and reuse in my office are often not strong or long enough in most applications. Plus while reuse is environmentally friendly, the original creation of these items is not.
The bottom line is, along with being better for the Earth than other tie-wraps, BongoTies definitely get the job done. There is no negative in going green in this case. They do an excellent job of keeping cables, tubing, and wiring dialed in and well organized. Well worth the whopping $3 per pack I paid. It is my plan to systematically go through my world further reducing what cable/wiring clutter there is, using the BongoTies to make that happen…..
Product Information
| Price: | $3 for a 10 pack |
| Manufacturer: | BongoTies |
| Pros: |
|
| Cons: |
|
Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
Rubberbands – Staples and dowel pins – Homedepot. Make your own. You can also cut old inner tubes into rubber bands.
@blore40 Would a typical person go to the trouble to make their own though?
Thank you for the review, I will have to track down some of these near me.
big rubber band and a piece of wood….. sorry, cant find anything exciting about it.
but then again… i’m the least esthetics person out there
My only concern about “100% biodegradable” is: Are they going to eventually dry and shatter like cheap rubber bands?
Exactly Jim, her complaint that the micro-bungies rust and degrade over time, which somehow makes these natural rubber products somehow superior, completely ignores the fact that natural rubber dries and falls apart over time.
If longevity is the goal, this product will miss the mark. Green = Yes, But actually better (especially if tucked away for a few years in a bag of infrequently used cables) = No. When you go to retrieve said cables, you will find them attached to a sticky mess that no longer provides it’s advertised function.
Sorry, HIS complaint.. No slight meant Dave 😉
@Julie : because it is way cheaper than buying, the parts are easy to find, and if you are serious about going green, not having the items shipped across the country (or planet) is a very green act in itself.
@chriszzz I understand the reasoning behind making the yourself, I’m just saying that 90% or more of us are probably too last to do so.
If you really want to go green, recycle your old shoestrings.
I use velcro ties for this task, which are basically thin strips, one side velcro, other side fuzzy.
You can buy a pack of 50 for $5 at Home Depot, and they come in varying lengths from 8 inches to 40 foot long continuous rolls.
Dang I thought you said Bong Ties 🙂
Anyways I use them plastic bread ties thingy; their free, recyclable, and I’m cheap 😛