Loot Crate loot4love Part 1

I’ve been intrigued by Loot Crate for a while and when I heard about their loot4love sale, I lost my head a little and bought four of the boxes! It seemed like a good idea at the time, lol, seeing a cross-section of the items from past boxes in 2015 and judging whether or not I should consider subscribing in the future. What I’ve learned is that I probably would not subscribe to the original Loot Crate unless they had a theme I couldn’t live without, but am interested in the Level Up bundles.

Let’s look at the Extra Loveable Loot Bundle, which was $29.99 USD plus shipping ($10 to Australia). This promised: “A smorgasborg of awesome items from 2015, including the Captain America Hydra Pin! PLUS OTHER ITEMS WITH Over $120 in retail value that includes useful gear and exclusives from Captain America,Halo & Call Of Duty and more!”

This is what I saw when I opened up the box – bright color (I enjoy how you can turn the box inside out) and fewer items than I was expecting. At first I thought there had been a mistake in packaging, but then it turned out the rest of the items were inside the tin. Neat, a double-unboxing!

Two Doctor Who sonic sporks were included – that was great since you can use one and gift the other to a friend! (judging from the three-piece cutlery set, I’d estimate this at around $10)

Halo 5 Ammo Tin Box, which looks pretty neat! (a similar item on the official Halo store is priced at $29.95, although this specific tin is on amazon for $19.98). I would definitely use this for storage (somewhere to keep all the spare buttons that come with dresses/blouses!) or as a cool gift box to one of my gamer cousins.

It was packed with the following items:

Since this box was more expensive than the regular Loot Crate, I would’ve hoped there’d be no filler, but here we have a set of Team Fortress 2 pins. I’m not a big fan of pins, I don’t know anyone who wears them, although they can be fun to decorate handbags/schoolbags. I just have no idea what Team Fortress is, let alone its sequel!

Moving on, there was also what a judicious google search tells me is a Borderlands 2 gaming mat, which is basically a larger mouse pad (found online between $1.99 – $18.99). It’s pretty and good quality, but not something I’d use. So far, this box seems to cater to gamers rather than a general audience.

Call of Duty coasters ($10 for a similar item) – Call of Duty is not one of my interests, so I will be regifting this!

Call of Duty gloves ($13.99 on amazon)- I appreciate the usefulness of this item, because even though I may not be into CoD, at least I can keep my fingers warm while I’m catching public transport in winter! I keep a lightweight cardi in my bag when it reaches the cooler and I like that I can throw these in as well.

Agents of SHIELD replica lanyard (about $10 on amazon) – I know a few geeks were thrilled to receive this and I think it’s an excellent exclusive item to provide. I just don’t see any use for it personally because I’m not going to wear this anywhere and it’s not the easiest thing to display.

Captain America Hydra pin ($24.98 on amazon) – now this is really freaking cool! I wish I could get away with wearing that to work, it looks badass!

Batman multi-tool keychain! ($8.98 on Amazon) Another item I’m happy with, this is very timely with the upcoming movie and I’m glad to have this to regift to a superhero-crazy friend.

It took me a while with this first box, but I eventually got the hang of turning it inside out (only to later realize there were instructions instead of having to manage it through blind luck, lolwhoops).

Verdict: From the prices on these items or similar online, it appears it’s about the value promised, so I didn’t get ripped off, which is a relief. And really, I only bought these boxes in order to have nifty gifts for family and friends, so as long as that’s covered, I’m satisfied. Six out of the nine items have value either to me personally or for regifting purposes, so overall, I think I made out all right.

The lesson here is not to leap at a sale for items unknown just because it promises big value and instead bide your time and wait for the month with a theme that attracts you so that the items have a greater likelihood of winning your heart! I’d be interested in getting the Level Up bundles in future because I like the idea of fandom accessories/wearables as these aren’t just pretty/for display, they have a purpose as well. But probably not any time soon, I think I’ve exhausted my quota for Loot Crate for now!