We see a lot of--shall we say--"interesting" products as RVers. In the end, it's kind of reminiscent of a Clint Eastwood movie. You know the one, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.Some time back we were asked to evaluate a new product called Funky Colored Flames. The press release had this to say, "This new innovative product creates a brilliant display of blue, green, and purple. It can be used in indoor/outdoor wood fireplaces, bonfires, campfires and backyard fire pits." When our sample arrived, we tucked it away on the shelf waiting for "just the right moment" to try this "innovative product" out.
Last night, a crowd gathered around our fire. This just had to be the time! Without saying a word, we tossed one of the unopened packets in the fire (as the instructions told us) and waited. Sure enough, we could vaguely see some green and purple flames--sort of. Another packet was tossed in with similar results. No one else around the fire said anything about the flames, until we finally had to ask, "Hey, what color are those flames?" And after squinting for a half minute or so, one of our test subjects ventured that perhaps he was seeing a little bit of blue.
Later, as our test fire flames came down in height, we tossed the third and final packet in. We got a bit more of a show here, but really it was nothing like that represented by the photos provided on the Camping World website touting this product. At over $5.00 a box of three, our feelings--and those of our ersatz focus group were you'd be better off buying a bag of marshmallows.
Still, if you have a gaggle of three-year olds, you can find Funky Colored Flames at Camping World, Target, and Walmart.
photo courtesy Camping World
