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g1immer's Super Duper Analysis on "Is it Worth it?" Collection series
Part 4: Crate Crash - Mug



The most expensive item in the Crash Crate - the Crash Bandicoot Mug, is the next item for us to discuss. The mug is probably my favorite item of the box, mostly due to its size and usability for me. I'm a mug hog! Maybe one day I will share all my tacky video-game related mugs to you all, like my Tales of Xilia ones, my Animal Crossing ones or my Pokemon ones...

Let's get right into it then. The Crash Bandicoot mug is black on the outside and silver on the inside. It is made of stainless steel, which is much different from all my other mugs, made of porcelain. I appreciate the use of a different material to make the mug really stand out. I did some quick research to see two factors that would play into the company making a tin one versus a porcelain one. Also, what would the target audience enjoy more?

1. Which material is cheaper to manufacture?
2. Which material keeps hot liquids hotter longer?
3. Which material is heavier (aka making shipping costs more)?
4. Do different materials have different tastes when used on mugs?

To answer number 1, I did a simple Amazon search to compare prices of multiple mugs of that material on one page. It turns out, the common price of steel mugs was $4-11, while porcelain mugs was $9-17. This could be expected for a financial standpoint, as it is most likely cheaper to manufacture steel than it is porcelain. I would have to do a little more research to be sure this is the case, but I already have plenty of other facts from my other blog posts to learn about. Although this may sound cheap, I don't think that making a tin cup is all that bad. It is unique, and a fun addition to my collection.

I found an interesting video series to answer number 2. I found a Youtube video on "Which Cup Keeps Coffee Hotter Longer?" The "ThisvsThat" YouTube series sounds like something I could watch or hours. It is a great question, however, and one that lead me to my answer. According to the video, a tin (a close metal to steel) cup's hot liquid became warm around 4 minutes, while a porcelain cup's hot liquid becaume warm at the latest, 30 minutes. I should have expected this outcome due to the fact that I have more porcelain mugs than that made of tin or other materials. This information does mean, however, that a steel mug isn't as effective as a porcelain one, which is unfortunate for us users. I have noticed, that, holding on the Crash Bandicoot mug, it is nice and cool. Although mugs are mostly meant for hot liquids, I could enjoy a cool glass of lemonade or chocolate milk in this one.

Next up is number 3 - what is heavier? This would, of course, add to shipping costs so the finacial team of numskull had to put their heads together for this one. Holding my Tales of Xilla mug that is about the same size as this Crash Bandicoot one, I can confirm that porcelain is heavier than stainless steel. I enjoy the light feeling of the Crash Bandicoot mug. It's easier to carry around (when there is no liquid in it) and pick up to put up in the top drawer of our cabinet (okay I'm grasping at straws now).

Okay, this last question is a bit more random and just something I thought about when researching the other questions. On this website, the writer suggests that every material of a cup has a different taste to it (or no taste at all). It is suggested that porcelain is the standard, non-tasting material, and a material like stainless steel "doesn't absorb flavors, but sometimes imparts off flavors into coffee." Again, this information is just for our enjoyment and doesn't have anything to do with why numskull would choose steel over porcelain.


I mentioned before that this mug was my favorite product in the Crash Crate and I just thought of another reason. The mug is made of steel, and because of the size of it, along with the handle, it  reminds me of my childhood. The short video above (sound on please), shows the tinny-ness of the mug! Tin or Steel mugs remind me of my time at Girl Scouts, when we would go camping and get that crappy lemonade made from powder and well water. We would hook our tin mugs to our backpacks and wash them out later with more gross well water. Did the water even come from a well? A stream? I don't remember that part - the water just magically appeared in the troop leader's plastic jug. I'm sure I played Crash Bandicoot around this time, so the tin mug combined with the memories really made me found of this product.


Above is a closer image of the inside of the mug. The bright silver color is a nice contrast of the black exterior. Thinking back on the rest of the mug, the handle is a little small, but that could be due to the size. It had to fit in the crate with all of the other items. The image on the front repeats on the back (sorry, I forgot to talk about the Crash image on the mug, see the first image on this post). The image is iconic of the first Crash Bandicoot, and its my favorite image of Crash. He looks so silly and accurate to his character. The image originally comes from the win screen in Crash Bandicoot as the background. The circle around Crash's crazy-looking face is white, bordered by gold and says "Crash Bandicoot" twice. Crash's colors in this image are more brown than orange, which I can say I'm not a big fan of, but at the same time, they look better with the gold border of the circle.


The bottom is flat, but has a ring around it in a small groove. It sits very cleanly on a table. Below are images of the tag that comes with it. The tag is attached to the mug's handle.I have talked before about the logos, text and icons on this tag, as it was included on the packaging strip. Please view my blog post on the packaging strip if you are more interested on my thoughts there. Oh, excuse me, sorry, there is a little "FDA Approved" text at the bottom, as the customer is implied to put their mouth on this and the US Food and Drug Department wouldn't want people getting sick and looking like Crash Bandicoot.


Let's take a look at the tag's front, that says "Steel Mug" in white bold letters. The image appears to be the same one we've seen before, but this time, it appears to be the very left of the Jungle background image we haven't seen before. I really applaud their use of this one image! I can also say the material is very nice, a thick, soft paper for this tag that will 95% of the time be trashed.

So, was it worth it? The Crash Bandicoot Mug was set at a $15 price according to the packaging strip, and it was the most expensive item in the box. As I said before, the stainless steel is nicely used and different, making the mug stand out from the rest of my collection. The colors used aren't my favorite, but the size and lightness of the mug are nice. I also love that one of my favorite images of Crash was printed on the front and back of the mug. I would say, the mug is maybe worth $10 according to my little research, maybe not $15. Still a good product that I can't wait to use!

Do you disagree with me or have other comments? List them in the comments! Thanks!

Love,
glimmer

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