The largest zip tie is nearly 4 feet long and $75

(thedrive.com)

115 points | by PaulHoule 5 days ago

16 comments

  • cyode 9 hours ago
    The supersized option in a line of products is always funny for some reason.

    Last week I chuckled upon seeing this online store's inventory of coffee makers: ...10 cups, 12 cups, 18 cups, 50(!) cups: https://www.bialetti.com/it_en/shop/coffee-makers.html?cups=...

    (The 50 cups option turned out to be a decorative piece.)

    • gkhartman 6 hours ago
      It's a shame they didn't add a photo with another object for reference. Without looking at the price and dimensions, it looks pretty unassuming.
      • embedding-shape 2 hours ago
        It's not even that large?

        > Dimensions: 31.5 cm x 30.5 cm x 46.5 cm

        I mean for a moka pot that's pretty large, but as a total size of an object? Maybe that's why they don't show it next to anything.

    • zamadatix 6 hours ago
      I managed to pick up a 22 lb Allen wrench/hex key for a good price a few months vack. Made for a great gag gift wrapped as a giant candy cane.
    • aaronbrethorst 8 hours ago
      "Product designed solely for display purposes."

      Sad. Although I am deeply amused that it's 'made' by Dolce and Gabbana.

    • rob74 5 hours ago
      Yeah, it's funny that they list how many cups this coffee maker could theoretically make if it were functional (and if you had a stove big enough, and were willing to risk damaging the no doubt hand painted artwork on your $3000 coffee maker).
    • lostlogin 5 hours ago
      > The supersized option in a line of products is always funny for some reason.

      Takeaway drinks, particularly coffee, have got so ludicrously large that it has me do a double take at times.

      A litre of warm milk…

    • buildbot 4 hours ago
      The 18 cup is good for car camping!
  • dotwaffle 9 hours ago
    They're 47 inches long. Amazon (UK) has 48 inch long zip ties for $14.45 (pack of 12), 60 inch long for $18. Not quite as thick or wide, sure... But that's not what was in the headline :P
    • jeffgreco 9 hours ago
      It doesn't say longest either.
    • lazide 2 hours ago
      Those long ones are great for certain…. Niche interests. That rhyme with ink.

      Also, law enforcement.

  • qq66 6 hours ago
    I used 250lb zip ties to hold down my convertible top in the open position, as an alternative to paying $2000 to replace the motors. When I'd need to put up the top I'd cut the zip ties and when I'd want to put it down I'd put on a new set.

    With California weather and an indoor parking spot I only ended up using about one pack (10? 12?) a year.

    • arethuza 4 hours ago
      I can't help thinking that people here in Scotland with convertibles (of which there are a surprising number) would probably use less than you per year ;-)
      • tmtvl 36 minutes ago
        Is that a 'Scots are cheap and greedy' joke?
      • y-curious 2 hours ago
        Can you elaborate please? I’m not getting the reference unless it’s some kilt thing
        • OJFord 1 hour ago
          The convertible is still the car, not a convertible kilt(?!), GP is saying with Scottish as opposed to Californian weather there would be less changing. Say, a single open-top-weather period (two changes) per year. Or none.

          (I imagine the Californian poster is changing twice per year too, just using 5-6 ties. With that reading the joke is Hey in Scotland you just keep it closed, never need any more ties.)

        • arcanemachiner 1 hour ago
          Gonna go out on a limb here and guess "lousy weather".
          • arethuza 1 hour ago
            Scottish summer - finest day of the year! ;-)
            • whynotmaybe 41 minutes ago
              Let me guess, you don't need to look at the weather, you know it is THE day when your inbox is full at 9am of messages from most of your colleagues taking the day off?
    • h33t-l4x0r 5 hours ago
      That's a really heavy zip tie.
  • PostOnce 10 hours ago
    • encom 8 hours ago
      Electrician here. When I went to school around 2006 or so, we actually learned how to do this. Except more like a historical curiosity. It certainly looks beautiful when done right. Sadly, nobody has time or budget for beauty any more, and that goes for all the trades. And so, I carry around bunch of cableties in my toolbag every day.

      If only people would learn to cut the ends off correctly, so the next guy doesn't tear his arms to shreds.

      • userbinator 8 hours ago
        Sadly, nobody has time or budget for beauty any more

        It's amazing how ornately decorated early equipment was --- especially 19th century and earlier.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cooke_and_Wheatstone_elec...

        • Cthulhu_ 30 minutes ago
          It's down to taste and materials too - in the past 50 years or so the general design trend is more minimalist, wood has become more and more expensive (and good quality harder to come by), etc.

          But the main reason is of course cost, the linked device looks like a woodworker would spend a few hours to build it (although they probably had machinery to automate parts of the process already).

        • blackoil 6 hours ago
          Or the utilitarian cost has gone down much faster than cost of decorative. If your bulb cost $10, spending $5 to make beautiful lamp post makes sense. But if bulb cost has fallen to 10 cents now to justify $2 is difficult.
      • linker3000 5 hours ago
        I learned how to do lacing during an electronics engineering apprenticeship in the 1980s.

        After the fact, when I moved more in to systems and networking, I found that flat, nylon, waxed lacing cord, with a small nut tied to the end, was lightweight and perfect for throwing through ducting and ceiling spaces very long distances, so you could backhaul cables through the void. It was a real time saver.

      • Nextgrid 1 hour ago
        Isn't cable lacing just inferior? Let's say you need to replace a chaffed/damaged conductor. With cable ties you cut the ones around damaged area, splice in a replacement, and slap new ties on there. With cable lacing, cutting the lacing anywhere would cause the lacing of the whole cable to lose tension and unravel?
        • wildzzz 28 minutes ago
          It's not too hard to slip a new wire into a laced bundle. In the places that still use lacing (aerospace), they use tefzel insulated wires that have the benefit of being super slippery against each other. This makes it easy to slip one in but it also helps reduce stiffness in the bundle because the insulation isn't sticking to itself as much as other things like vinyl.

          Last cable I made: https://ibb.co/4gw3GQGL

      • kqr 6 hours ago
        As one of the people who don't know how to cut the ends off correctly, how do I do that?
        • nandomrumber 2 hours ago
          Search for Flush cutters
        • cl3misch 6 hours ago
          Not OP, but I think they meaning cutting it as flush with the cable tie "head" as possible.
          • einpoklum 5 hours ago
            That is still relatively easy to cut your finger on.

            I don't know that there's a correct way, really. You would probably have to take the time to file or sand the edges. Which kind of levels the playing field with the cable lacing option really in terms of time spent.

            • gnfargbl 5 hours ago
              Trimming the excess flush with the head is the correct way. It's not perfect, but it is much safer than leaving a sharp stub sticking out.

              The absolute worst thing is to trim at any angle other than 90 degrees -- doing that creates a small knife.

        • lazide 2 hours ago
          Use a zero clearance cutter which cuts it flat and flush with the lock. The jaws aren’t ’v’ shaped like they are for heavier wires, one side is flat and cuts flush on that side.

          Usually these are used for small wires.

          Any electrical supply place will have them - search for ‘flush cutter’ and the like.

          A razor (surprisingly) also works, but tends to damage other stuff easier if you slip.

          You can run your skin over them all day, no issues.

  • ohadron 7 hours ago
    The maximum theoretical size for a zip archive is 16 exabytes (2^64 bytes). It's free if you have where to store it.
    • Someone 34 minutes ago
      Should be doable on consumer hardware nowadays, if you cheat by using a file system that either supports sparse files (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparse_file) or block-level deduplication (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_deduplication). You may need to use raw block I/O to create such file, and there will be lots of duplicated content in the archive.

      Also: how hard is that limit? ZIP archives have their TOC at the end of the file and allow for inserting ‘junk’ that is never referenced in the ZIP’s table of contents. Isn’t it possible to add such junk to make an archive go over that limit (assuming that your file system allows files larger than 2⁶⁴ bytes)?

    • pugworthy 7 hours ago
      The problem is once you zip them to full compression, you really can't use them ever again. That is unless you get the good ones that let you technically unzip without requiring destruction.
  • jalla 6 hours ago
    So, it's a overpriced plastic strap.

    Can get 10 m polypropylene strap or ratchet straps for $10 that does the same job and holds more.

    Alternately, just loop many zip ties together when you need more length.

    Doh.

    • lazide 2 hours ago
      It depends on what you’re doing. If you want to do an artsy hogtie real fast, those other options are kinda meh.
  • frou_dh 2 hours ago
    Used in space but NOT cleared for attaching the Space Shuttle to the fuel tank.
  • rhplus 10 hours ago
    This would need quite a lot of force to overcome friction and cinch tight, no? Aside from some fun marketing, the problem is already solved by items like ratchet tie downs, Velcro straps or even just cord/rope with the right bundling knots.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tie_down_strap

    • ok_dad 9 hours ago
      There is a pin you can put in it to lock it (there is a video) but it seems like mostly just a fun item with a bit of utility on the side.
  • Bendy 52 minutes ago
    I read the title as “The largest zip file…”
  • beerandt 10 hours ago
    Most HVAC contractor counters carry packs of longer ones for insulating ductwork (though not as heavy duty as what's pictured).
  • readme 10 hours ago
    I'm going to have nightmares about waking up restrained in this thing.
    • giardini 9 hours ago
      Can I buy one for a belt? I'm periodically needing to add another notch to my belts and this seems a good replacement! Maybe another few colors, please?
      • tzs 5 hours ago
        I've got a belt like this [1] which works great. It is a braided belt and the prong on the buckle simply goes through the braiding so you in effect can have a hole wherever you want one.

        I often adjust it depending on what I'm doing and after a few years I've not noticed in damage or degradation from sticking the prong through the braid.

        [1] https://www.walmart.com/ip/George-Men-s-35MM-Black-Stretch-B...

        • Cthulhu_ 27 minutes ago
          That one reminds me of the NATO straps popular in combination with Casio watches, I used to have that.

          But for a belt, I also have (used to have?) a canvas belt with a buckle that would pinch the belt instead of go through it. Two actually, the one had two D-rings, the other had a more involved system with a bar going through a slotted box of sorts.

      • eurleif 8 hours ago
        Ratchet belts exist, e.g.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PGV4ZRD
      • schoen 9 hours ago
        How will you undo it? With a little tool to release the ratchet?
      • pvillano 7 hours ago
        Columbia also makes an infinitely adjustable belt https://www.amazon.com/Columbia-Mens-Boys-Military-Belt/dp/B...
  • bandrami 9 hours ago
    I could put all of my cables in one giant bundle...
  • cucumber3732842 2 hours ago
    I'm not gonna go down the list, but any "looks down his nose at everyone without a degree" type mechanical engineer (you know the type I'm talking about) can provide you a litany of reasons that a zip tie gets inefficient at this scale and why other options are better.

    This product likely exists because of a stupid bureaucracy somewhere that has approved zip ties but is such a labor wasting pain in the ass to deal with $75 zip ties are cheaper than getting permission to use more reasonable options.

  • dheera 6 hours ago
    Here are some longer 5 foot zip ties on Amazon

    https://www.amazon.com/EzySup-Inch-Pounds-Tensile-Strength/d...

    • tiagod 5 hours ago
      "To be clear, we’re not just talking about length, although at 47 inches long it’s certainly substantial. But extremely long zip ties already exist for things like wrapping large bundles of cable. This one is also cartoonishly thick, and features a similarly upscaled locking mechanism that allows it to hold up to 2,000 pounds, according to the company."
  • insde 10 hours ago
    [dead]
  • tolerance 10 hours ago
    [flagged]
    • userbinator 8 hours ago
      Handcuffs already exist.
    • dyauspitr 10 hours ago
      Like running around trying to zip tie protestors around their bodies? Plus it’s a little expensive for a 1 time use.
      • tolerance 10 hours ago
        If there was a way perhaps to restrain the protester(s) in such a way that they can remain upright, present and vocal; but immobile, I’m confident that it would be so effective that law enforcement would be criticized for using anything but these apparatuses. Cost would not be a deterrent in this case.
        • RajT88 8 hours ago
          I read comments like this and am always amazed at people's understanding of how protest works. I don't advocate for violence and destruction, but protest absolutely works because it makes things inconvenient for the people they are protesting.

          When people complain about protesters getting in the way and being noisy and generally being inconvenient, they are bemoaning effective protest. That's a constitutional right.

          • dmitrygr 8 hours ago
            >When people complain about protesters getting in the way and being noisy and generally being inconvenient, they are bemoaning effective protest. That's a constitutional right.

            Since you did not exclude it, i will assume that by "being inconvenient" you mean all sorts of things done nowadays as parts of protests, like blocking roads and such... Thing is, it is not nearly as clear cut as you might think.

            > Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

            There has not yet been a SCOTUS test on whether impeding others' free movement is considered peaceably assembling. I expect we'll see such a test soon. You indeed do have a right to petition government, and assemble peaceably, it is not clear that you have a right to inconvenience unrelated persons whose only fault is living in the same town and trying to get to school to pick up their kids while you block a road.

            Inconveniencing unrelated persons is not nearly as clearly legal as you seem to claim it to be.

        • Yossarrian22 8 hours ago
          How are you expecting this to be used for crowd control without the risk of a person falling down without being able to arrest their fall?
        • hjoutfbkfd 9 hours ago
          google "chinese man catcher"
        • mcphage 9 hours ago
          ICE isn’t killing protesters because they don’t have any other option, they’re doing it because they want to. I don’t think this would solve any problems.