O-Spring from DHDL in the test: strengths and weaknesses

test

“The Lion’s Den”
O-Spring from DHDL in the test: strengths and weaknesses of the mobile bag holder

Small problem solvers often cause great joy in the Vox start-up show “Die Höhle der Löwen”. In episode 7 of the current season, a mobile bag holder for indoors and outdoors should please investors. Does O-Spring keep what its inventor promises? The star-Check.

Filling a leaf bag can be a challenge even with two people. Alone, it’s virtually impossible to ship a stubborn pile of leaves into a no less stubborn garbage bag. And without making the container unusable. Michael Müller faced a similar problem when he unpacked a new wardrobe at home. The cardboard and the styrofoam waste absolutely did not want to go the way he wanted. The plastic bag kept collapsing and the paper waste to be disposed of ended up everywhere, just not where it belonged. There weren’t two much-needed helping hands either. Now Müller rightly asked himself: “Where is the simple tool that keeps the bag open in such a case?”

Seized by his inventive spirit, the 44-year-old took the practical problem into his own hands. The result was O-Spring, a simple bag holder system for many situations in life. But is O-Spring actually suitable for everyday use? Does it replace the hands you would need to stop? O Spring im star-Check.

O-Spring from DHDL: The first impression

O-Spring comes in a colorfully printed and imaginatively designed cardboard box. After opening we had to smile for a moment. “Caution! Product could jump!” it’s on a little piece of paper. watch out! But the three allegedly aggressive tension springs are securely packed. No danger to life and limb. In addition to the aforementioned tension springs made of stainless steel, there is a neatly sorted box with accessories and a small bag and the instructions for use in the box. There is a total of O Spring Set from 14 parts.

Three of them are said tension springs. They are of different lengths and are intended to transform garbage bags with a volume of up to 120 liters into a kind of mobile garbage can. The supposed inside of the spring feels a bit sticky at first. It is rubberized so that the tension springs hold better in the garbage bags. We’ll get to that later if it really works. Some caution is actually required when removing the steel springs. They lie bent in the packaging and are under tension. The warning on the small piece of paper is not entirely out of thin air. Before the practical test, we take a look at the accessory box: In it we find a large and a small hook made of sturdy hard plastic. In addition, a “handle holder”, a “screw holder”, four clips, a suction cup and a holder with an adhesive pad.

The drawings on the inside of the packaging also leave a lasting impression on us. A creative idea to show where O-Spring should help in everyday life.

The test

Because we suspected the advantages of O-Spring primarily in the garden, we first put the size L tension spring to the test. According to the instructions for use, it fits in garbage bags with a volume of around 35 liters or more. The maximum size is 120 liters. And that’s exactly what we used as a test balloon. Carefully remove the tension spring from the packaging. Then press together with one hand into a teardrop shape as described. The fact that the bag to be held should be open is only in the second step. Then the curved tension spring should be placed horizontally in the bag. Ideally a few centimeters below the edge of the bag. That worked in our test with a bit of fiddling. drum roll! Now carefully release the tension spring. This also worked with the large garbage bag. The edge of the bag is folded inwards, and the garbage bag is ready for on the go. Nearly.

To make the garbage bag ready for heavier tasks, we attached three of the four clips to the edge of the tension spring. They are very tight and can be difficult to undo. Too heavy from our point of view, because when removing the clips, the garbage bag tore open at exactly these points. However, the tension on the springs alone and the rubber coating already mentioned are not enough to fill garbage bags, regardless of size, with heavy waste. A maximum filling weight would certainly be helpful here. The clips should secure the system. In our test it didn’t work that way. We felt the same about the various mounts. They can be clamped very practically in the edge of the spring steel. But they are – for understandable reasons – so tight that they can only be loosened again with a great deal of finesse without damaging the bag. Once in place, the hooks and suction cup serve their purpose.

The idea of ​​the included handle made sense to us at first. Attach the tension spring, attach the handle, place the leaf or rubbish bag on the ground, fill in the green waste or leaves. But we didn’t find that really practical either. Yes, you no longer have to awkwardly hold the bag open to accommodate the leaves in it. Until the first load disappears in the gullet, however, you have to persuade the bag with angelic tongues not to fall over. Even in a light wind, the tension spring tips over and the entrance is blocked. Only when there is some weight on the edge does the open bag of leaves lie reasonably stable. It’s not really comfortable.

In the test with a small bin liner, O-Spring didn’t fare much better. We grabbed a conventional garbage bag (25 liters) and clamped the size M tension spring just under the edge of the bag as described. Or rather: we tried. Because even when you carefully let go of the spring, the bent ends immediately tore holes in the bag. The spring tension was clearly too great for the admittedly quite thin, but commercially available garbage bags from the drugstore.

The conclusion

The idea of O Spring is understandable and good. However, the mobile bag holder could not really convince us in practice. Even if we haven’t tried all of Michael Müller’s possible uses: O-Spring needs to be further developed to really make it easier to collect rubbish in the garden or at home. The tension on the springs seemed too high to us. Normal garbage bags tore even when carefully inserted. The accessories also clamped the garbage bags so tightly that it was hard to avoid tearing the plastic when releasing them. Collapsible plastic bags with an integrated metal ring on the edge are more practical, at least for the garden. You need two helping hands to transfer the leaves or clippings into a garbage bag, which is sometimes necessary – with and without the O-Spring.

For an investment of 50,000 euros, Michael Müller offers the lions a fair 20 percent of O-Spring GmbH. Will an investor bite or will the founder’s dreams be shattered? You will find out tonight from 8.15 p.m. in a new episode of “Die Höhle der Löwen”.

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