A bit over a year ago I bought a cheap knock-off of a "Flexi" lead from
Harbor Freight Tools. It was on sale for about $6 or so. I had a smaller
one, but that was rated only for dogs up to about 50 lb, and Muttley (as
y'all know) is a bit heftier than that. So this one, rated up to about 110
lb, seemed to be a good deal.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94717

I used it a few times, and it seemed OK. The constant slight tension while
the button was released did not seem to bother Muttley, and he mostly came
and went within the 16 foot range of the retractable nylon cord. Sometimes
I had to push the button and hold him back if he started to run, and
sometimes he got to the end of the reel. The nylon cord "gives" a lot more
than the heavier 6 foot leash, so I could not give a "collar pop" with it,
but it was effective enough to limit his travel. I have only used it on the
trails on my own property.

After a while, sometimes the leash would jam up, and act like a ratchet, so
it would only retract, making a grinding noise, and not unwind. Sometimes I
could let the button snap up, or else I could shake or hit the housing in
such a way that it would work correctly again, for a while. But doing that
also made clicking noises, and I thought I might be inadventently and
incorrectly "clicker training" my dog.

I stopped using it for awhile, and then recently I started using it again.
I liked the idea of being able to allow him extra room to wander along the
trails at more of a comfortable pace for each of us, but the problems
persisted and got worse. There were two screws holding the contraption
together, so I figured I would perform exploratory surgery.

I removed the two small screws, and tried to pry the two-piece housing
apart, but it seemed to be also held together by some interlocking snaps. I
got it a little further apart, but there were obviously some more permanent
inner fastenings. Eventually I had to use a pry bar to break it open, and
its inner contents were revealed in all their ugly splendor.

The button I mentioned consisted of two pieces of plastic and a small
spring. The pieces were supposed to be held together by tiny interlocking
pins, but they had broken off, so the exposed top portion of the button
operated normally with the spring, but the bottom portion, which actually
did the work, was free to slide up and down in a molded slot.

The reel that controlled the leash itself consisted of a two-piece plastic
assembly with the lead wrapped around the outer flange, and a retainer
disc, which popped off of a distorted plastic shaft, revealing the spring.
The spring had come partially uncoiled into a cloverleaf pattern, and I
thought it was beyond hope, but I was able to twist it back into shape and
replace the retainer disc. To repair it properly would have required making
a stronger metal shaft, as well as somehow fastening the button assembly
together using a more reliable method. There was also grease everywhere,
and the plastic itself was probably not of good enough quality or
sufficient strength, so I just left the button out, and reassembled it.

Now, the "flexi-lead" just reels in and out, without locking until it
reaches the end of its extension. It seems strong enough, but eventually
I'm sure something else will fail, and that adds too much uncertainty and
drama to my walks. So, I might look into buying a "real" flexi. I like the
idea, but it has to work properly.

This sort of experience has been repeated many times with Chinese made
items purchased by myself and others. They typically are made to look very
good on the outside, and they often work pretty well for a while, or for
light duty. After some time, or when used a bit harder than usual, they
very often wear out, break, or malfunction in some way. Sometimes they can
be fixed by using a little ingenuity, but the fact is that there is usually
a weak link, where the item has been value-analyzed and marginally
cheapened to be barely functional and doomed to failure.

The sad thing is that they could have made the item to be perfectly
functional and nearly as reliable as the original, but they seem to think
that shaving a few more pennies from the price will make it more
attractive. They sure sell a lot of goods, but I have grown increasingly
wary of buying cheap Chinese items. Those that are made to specification
for brand name companies are often very good, but there are many knock-offs
that are really not worth buying. It's tempting to purchase something that
looks really good at a fraction of the usual cost, but for many things it
is not worth it, and the disposal of defective and unrecyclable items
creates a landfill nightmare.

Paul and Muttley

Paul E. Schoen wrote:
A bit over a year ago I bought a cheap knock-off of a "Flexi" lead from

Isn't "cheap Flexi-lead" a bit redundant?

Oh, but maybe you were talking about cost, not usefulness.

--
Mark Shaw (And Baron) moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm
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"There is no psychiatrist in the world
like a puppy licking your face." -Ben Williams