Have you ever been outside at an event with a cold drink in your hand needing a place to put it down to eat (or keep your hands from freezing)? I’m fairly certain we’ve all needed an extra pair of hands at some point while casting a fishing rod, eating a brat or getting ready to toss a football around. There have been magnetic koozies and various other contraptions to help remedy this but they all have their limitations. What I’m about to show you should remedy that.
Meet RoboCup
I’ve said it before but this is one of those inventions that has you kicking yourself for not coming up with the idea because it solves a very important need. Inventor A.J. Zakarian spent years perfecting what I think is a near perfect drink and pole holder for those of us who spend time in outdoor activities.
The concept itself is rather simple, a tension based holder that can clamp onto nearly any surface narrow enough to fit inside the jaws of this beast (which are fairly wide). I was instantly impressed when I tried to open the clamp to attach it, it really takes a good amount of effort so you know once you lock it onto something it is going to stay there. As always I wanted to field test so through some really strenuous times fishing and sitting poolside…here are the results.
First up was on a boat fishing in a local river. When space is limited, out of the way storage is key. One function I really love is that the bottom of the cups unscrew giving you a pass through holder for fishing rods. There are no shortage of mounting surfaces on a boat so this is an ideal situation. I was able to secure the RoboCup to a pole and sit back with the hard work of waiting. Even with the rocking motion of the boat and strain on the unit it help tight. Thankfully there are two cups per unit so the other did a fine job securing my beer. Win Win.
Next up was at the pool, a place where you fight wind, flying plastic objects and the wandering hands of my children. The RoboCup gave me a place to secure bottles and cans in a location away from all of these, at the top of the umbrella pole mounted within the table. Not only were the beverages secure, they were out of the sun. Again it performed perfectly and didn’t budge an inch.
For those without little munchkins running around, it also fits on the support bars walking into the pool. Now these are fairly substantive in diameter and it had no problem staying secure. If you ever run into a situation where you want to be certain the unit won’t budge, there are spaces to attach a zip tie for added protection.
If you spend time tailgating or at local sporting events you will also be very happy. It easily attaches to the back of a chair, to a raised cooler handle or pretty much anywhere. Once you try this I’m fairly certain it will go everywhere with you. You never know when an impromptu tailgate party will break out. Not to mention how helpful this can be while grilling. You can have it hold marinades, hang cooking utensils from it and once again…beer.
I generally try to find flaws in a product but so far I haven’t seen any. They even address the issue of thinner drink cans/bottles by including straps to reduce the diameter of the holder. Over time we will probably see little tweaks so I can’t wait to follow as the company grows and refines their product line. At a price under $25, this will be at the top of my holiday gift giving list.
