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Cables Direct Excel
by SoadFan
~A simple pack of cable ties~
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I have bought and used a pack of these simple cable ties made by Cable Direct and found them to be of a fair quality with them being something I have used to tie in computer cables and leads in the past as well as for use with tv and video cables etc. I have also found ... these of use for closing up plastic storage bags and have even used these in the garden at times, which I have found them to be of some use for. The size of the cable ties I bought from this company were 4.8 x 280mm which were adequate in both width and length for the areas where I used these to tie loose cables etc back in place.
~Price and presentation~
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The cable ties came packed quite neatly in a simple clear toned plastic wrap that was easy to handle and could be used to store the remainder of the unused cable ties in ready for future use. I didn't expect any fancy packing and felt that for the price paid, both the product the packing was good enough. The cost of the 100 cable ties was £2 at the time of purchase which I felt was fair value for the amount of cable ties in the pack. There were a choice of two lengths with one being a little longer (380mm) than the pack I bought. I didn't opt for the longer cables as I already had a pack of longer, slightly thicker cable ties that had been half used and I felt these shorter, thinner ones were more suited to the jobs I had in mind.
~Using the product~
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I have found these particular cable ties to be quite strong yet not overly bulky in width, with a light weight to them that means they can be put to use without weighing cables down once set in place. The cable ties only come in a very simple plain black finish which I feel is ok for use with dark toned cables, although I would have liked a mix of both black and white options as there have been white toned cables that I have had to tie back. I felt it best to use matching white toned cable ties that came in a colour option that would blend in better instead of these. To use these cable ties was really easy in my opinion, as all I had to do was simply position the cable tie over the area I wanted to tie back then thread one end of the cable through the other looped end. This looped end of the cable ties has really tiny teeth like markings as part of the design, which holds a cable tie in place once it is tightened up.
If using these the only thing you need to plan for in future is the fact that if you want to remove a cable tie for any reason you will need to cut through it in order to open it. This is due to the fact that once the tie end of the cable has been run through the toothed looped end it is designed to hold in place and cannot be opened up. To remove tied in cable ties you can use a pair of strong scissors or a Stanley knife and simply cut through the plastic type material which is easy enough to do. It is wise to keep a few spares around for those times when you need to remove and replace a cable tie in my opinion, but as you get plenty of spares in each pack running out of replacement ties should not be too much of an issue.
~Product rating~
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As far as I am concerned these do seem to work as well as most other similar cable ties I have bought and used and the price I paid seemed about right. My rating for these is 4 stars as they do what they should when they should if used with care and they seem to last well enough once in place. As mentioned once in place these cannot be re-used so it is helpful to keep a few spares if you can. Read the complete review |
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CMS Nylon Cable Ties
by JJJJ
Ah, the exciting world of cable ties - only those with a heart of stone wouldn't revel in the joyous anticipation of receiving a bag full of these little plastic beauties. Joking aside, cable ties *aren't* an especially glamorous product, nor do they make the pulse race with their aesthetic beauty - however, they do serve an important ... function and therefore deserve their time in the spotlight alongside dooyoo's more, let's say, 'interesting' items.
If you're not sure what a cable tie is, it's simply (and it's now time for the Wiki definition); "a type of fastener, especially for binding several electronic cables or wires together".
Why did I need cable ties?
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I have a huge bag full of cables at home - there's all sorts of leads in there (you never know when you're going to need one of those lengthy coaxial TV bad-boys, or yet another SCART lead) - and until recently it was in a complete mess. I decided that the cable bag needed sorting out, and went on a mission to buy some cable ties. I didn't set out specifically to buy CMS cable ties (as i'd never heard of the company), it's just that the CMS ones were being sold on eBay and they were the first I came across. I purchased a bag of 100 which cost me the not-so-earthshattering sum of £1.50.
Specifications & Performance
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Looking on the CMS website (www.cmsplc.com) I noticed that the cable ties are availble in a number of different thicknesses including 2.5mm, 4.8mm, and 9.0mm versions - I seem to have the smallest 2.5mm ones which are perfectly suited to the standard TV / AV (non-industrial) cables of this world. The ties are really easy to use - firstly arrange your cable into a neat ensemble, then wrap the tie around it and feed one end of the tie into the opening and pull tight. In my experience i've found that they grip the cable firmly without slipping, and won't move until you decide to cut the tie and release your cabley friend. The ties that I used last year are still supple and non-brittle, and show no sign of degradation.
Final Word
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Overall I would recommend this particular brand of cable tie as a high performance product which does exactly what it's supposed to do - from the CMS website the ties can be bought in multiples of 100, and there's lots of different lengths to choose from - recommended. Read the complete review |
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Excel Hook & Loop
by k2705
Technology is great, a lot of us would be lost without it, but along with all these wonderful gadgets whether they are computers. games consoles or kitchen appliances come wires and cables. An abundance of them in fact. So many that behind our TV unit resembled spaghetti junction. Ok if you don't need to move anything but recently we ... needed to unplug all these and move the TV unit out. The reason being 3 extremely excited cats and 1 poor terrified little bird. It was such a tangle behind there we decided to sort it all out resulting in the purchase of some Excel Hook and Loop cable ties.
These are such a simple little idea and originally designed for computers and printers etc, I assume this because I bought mine in a little independent computer shop in our local town. However since buying them I have used them for different cables all round the house. I bought a pack of 20 for approximately £5.00. Mine were white and I have seen them since in black as well.
The cable ties are simply little strips of varelco with one end being wider with a little slot cut across it, the other end is just rounded. To use the cable ties you simply wrap the tie around the cables you want to tidy up, post the rounded end of the tie through the little slot at the wider end and pull. The tie will fit snugly around the cables and being varelco or hook and loop as its sometimes called it will grip and stay closed.
The cable ties I bought are 2cm's wide and approximately 15cm's long.
We have found these little ties so useful, we have tidied all the wires behind out television stand, they are now all neatly laid behind there totally out of sight. If we need to unplug and remove anything its a simple job. There no more sitting and untangling a pile of cables.
I have also used these in the kitchen where I have several things plugged in behind the fridge freezer, once again instead of a jumble behind there its all nice and tidy. If you do need to remove one of the cable ties it isn't a problem, they can be used and reused many times.
Another area that these are ideal for is behind a computer desk, I have actually taken mine into work and tidied my cables which I'm sure health and safety would have had something to say about. They make life so much easier and tidier.
I would certainly recommend these little hook and loop cable ties. they wont cost a fortune and can be reused many times. They wont damage your cables either. If untidy tangled wires and cables bug you then these may well be the answer. Read the complete review |