When I first saw these keys I thought they were really cool, and might be great for pet sitters. They’re keys with a surface that allows you to write on it with a permanent marker. It’s supposed to stand up to just about anything, and not rub or chip off. So, since I was getting keys for my pet sitter, I decided to get one for myself too, so I could try it out.
As you can see from the images, these keys aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. I drew the smiley face on the key a few days ago then got distracted and the darn thing never made it to my key chain. Instead, it’s been lying here on my desk. Earlier today I picked it up while I was on the phone and twirled it between my thumb and forefinger. I wasn’t thinking about what I was doing – I was just fiddling with it while I talked. Then, when I got off the phone I decided to put it on my key chain. That’s when I saw that the smiley face had been rubbed off. Not good!
Once I saw that most of the marker was rubbed off, I tried to rub the rest of it off. Most of it did come off but the good thing is that there was still a slight shadow still on the key. So, if you did decide to use them and the marker rubbed off, you’d be able to identify the key and go over it with a marker again. For busy pet sitter though, that’s not a great option.
I’m not sure if there are any other keys out there like this, but it’s a great idea. The writable surface of the key is quite smooth though, which might be part of the problem. If it was a little on the rough side, I’m thinking the marker may stay on better. Regardless of what the problem is though, I have to say I’m disappointed. I was really hoping it would hold up as well. If the marker wouldn’t rub off this type of key could be an easy way to label client keys.
Price: $2.49
Available from: Home Depot
Rating: (it gets one paw for the idea)
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I like the idea but I wonder how many pet sitters would use them even if they did work right. Since clients usually make the key copies, I think it might be difficult to get them to use those.