ivancoleman•18d agoProlific Poster

That fish tape upgrade I laughed at actually saved my back

I used the same steel fish tape for like 15 years. My buddy kept telling me to try a fiberglass one with the glow in the dark coating. I told him it was a gimmick and a waste of $40. Then last month I had a 150 foot run through some nasty crawlspace in an old house in Pittsburgh. My steel tape kept kinking and I was practically crawling back and forth. I finally borrowed his fiberglass one and man I was wrong. It slid right through the insulation and the glow tip made it way easier to see in the dark. I bought my own the next day. Has anyone else been surprised by a tool they thought was overhyped?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_black18d ago

Right, the "glow in the dark coating" bit. That sounded like a kid's toy to me too. But yeah, crawling around with a flashlight in your teeth is for chumps. That fiberglass stuff just glides, no fighting with kinks every five feet. Still feels wrong admitting a gimmick actually works. Guess I was just stubborn.

michaelcoleman18d agoMost Upvoted

Friend of mine swore by the metal snakes for years. Bought into the whole "real tool" thing. His wife finally talked him into trying one of those fiberglass glow in the dark ones for a bathroom vent job. He spent twenty minutes getting the old one unstuck from a tight bend. Snapped the fiberglass one in half on the first try. Now he's got a pile of broken fiberglass rods in his garage and won't touch the stuff again. Guess some lessons you gotta learn the hard way.