|
Electronics
Accessory Review |
Stains and Streaks
be gone with Wave Away Sonar & GPS Screen Cleaner
(continued)
  Operation
cont'd: Next we addressed the
console unit. We repeated the same procedure but found that one application
wasn’t enough, a second spray and wipe was necessary to remove all of the very
stubborn water stains completely. The difference was that because the unit in
front dirtied quicker we cleaned it before the waterspots really had a chance to
bake in. We did discover a trick however and that is to let the Wave Away sit on
the screen for a longer period before wiping it off. This allows the chemical
cleaner to better penetrate the stains making it easier to wipe them away. We
noticed that cleaning did not require much downward pressure on the cloth, just
let the Wave Away fluid do the work.
A look at our sonar unit prior to
cleaning. The entire screen is covered with waterspots
Throughout the tests I did
not notice any scratching on my electronics but it is a good policy to move away
any really large particles, grains of sand or whatever miscellaneous elements
have made their way to your screen with a quick and light swab of the cloth
before applying the Wave Away, this will ensure that the screen doesn’t get
scratched. When the Wave Away is applied to sunglasses I noticed the best way to
properly remove any smudge marks was to move the cloth in circular motion. Doing
this I found that Wave Away easily removed any oily smudges without leaving any
smears on the lenses.
The Wave Away fluid is thick and
sticky enough that it doesn't run. Leave it on for a few seconds...
Wave Away can also be used
on handheld electronics like portable GPS units, if the unit is not waterproof
like a marine GPS unit and you are concerned about the fluid getting into the
unit you can spray Wave Way directly on the microfiber cloth and proceed to wipe
the screen carefully.
...and wipe it off for maximum
visibility
While Wave Away does a
good job cleaning units it can’t really prevent new stains from forming and
after a few trips out units needed another wipe down. The good news is that it
only takes seconds to clean these units and even though the Wave Away bottle is
small and portable it should be good for hundreds of cleanings
depending on the screen size of your electronics.
The spray is also good for
sunglasses
Price & Applications:
This may not be the “sexiest” tackle product but the Wave Away cleaner addresses
a very real need that many anglers come across every time they go out and fish.
Whether it is simply to get rid of smudges on sunglasses or to properly wipe
away waterspots and grime from your electronics the Wave Away cleaner is both
easy to use and effective.
The fluid sticks on...
The Wave Away kit retails
for 14.99 which is in line with what most traditional LCD cleaners positioned
for computing retail products. The addition of the microfiber cloth is a big
plus. Wave Away claims it is capable of over 500 cleanings with a single bottle,
but it really will vary depending on how hard you run your boat, in what
conditions and how big of a GPS/Sonar you own. Suffice to say that a small
bottle does go a long way and each cleaning will cost mere pennies. The question
is how much of a premium do you put on having a clear and visible screen. I know
that after using this product I now favor having a clean screen whenever
possible as it really does improve visibility especially on bright sunny days
where the glare on waterspots can make the screens almost unreadable at times.
...and using a circular motion all
waterspots and smudges are removed
One other random but
noticeable observation we encountered during testing was the microfiber cloth
and how it feels on your hands. At the beginning of the day it feels just like
any other cloth but after catching a few fish the abrasion on our hands from
lipping the fish was enough to cause a “Velcro” effect with the microfiber. The
top surface of the cloth is so fine that it picks up the scratches on the
surface of your skin.
It may not be the first thing that
comes to mind when you "think" tackle but this product does work and helps
anglers get the most out of their electronics
Ratings:
(We've
re-calibrated our
ratings standard for
2008 and have
included a key at
the bottom of the
following matrix as
a guide):
|
Wave
Away
Sonar
and
GPS
Cleaner
Ratings
(?/10)
|
|
Construction/Quality |
We can
rate the
quality
of the
microfiber
cloth
and the
spray
bottle
here,
both are
built
well and
we
didn't
encounter
any
problems
with
quality
in the
field |
8 |
|
Performance |
The Wave
Away
cleaner
just
plain
works,
it
cleans
away
stubborn
waterspots
and
streaks
on both
electronics
and
optics |
9 |
|
Price |
The
price is
reasonable
and is
inline
with
what you
would
expect
from
traditional
screen
cleaners.
The
bundle
with the
microfiber
cloth is
a big
plus
|
8 |
|
Features |
Not a
whole
lot of
features
here but
it does
what it
is
designed
to do. A
very
nice
plus
would
have
been a
container
to keep
the
spray
bottle
and
microfiber
cloth
together |
7 |
|
Design
(Ergonomics) |
Easy to
use,
leave on
longer
for
tougher
stains.
|
8 |
|
Application |
A safe
and
effective
way to
clean
electronics
the Wave
Away is
a
product
that
addresses
a real
application.
Good for
both
freshwater
and
saltwater
anglers
that
depend
on their
electronics |
8 |
|
Total
Score
|
8.00 |
Ratings
Key:
1 =
terrible
: 2 =
poor : 3
=
lacking
: 4 =
sub par
: 5 =
mediocre
: 6 =
fair : 7
= good :
8 =
great :
9 =
excellent
: 10 =
unbelievable!
For More
Details
of the
updated
rating
system
visit
our
explanation
here |
Pluses and Minuses:
|
Plus
Minus
|
|
J
The
cleaner
works,
effectively
cleans
waterspots
and
misc.
grime |
L
Effective
as a
cleaner
but
doesn't
add
protection
against
future
waterspots
&
streaks |
|
J
Doesn't
drip
into
electronics |
|
|
J
Able to
clean
sunglasses
well |
|
|
J
Bundled
microfiber
cloth is
a big
plus |
|
|
J
Small
and
portable,
easy to
keep
onboard
at all
times |
|
Conclusion: I like the
Wave Away solution, it is one of those products that does exactly what it
claims. The bottom line, just spray on and wipe away those stains. I honestly
didn’t know what I was missing, or maybe I just learned to accept having a
cluster of waterspots obscure my vision, but once I started fishing with a clean
screen I did find it was easier to make out the data and now I clean my
electronics with Wave Away prior to every trip and keep it onboard just in case.
I can understand why a Pro Angler like Brent would want to maintain his
electronics, as every possible factor can be an edge during competition. Wave
Away may not be your conventional “tackle” but the product does work well and is
a nice addition for anglers that want to get the most out of their electronics
and optics.
Looking for Wave Away? Try
Tackle Warehouse
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