Loot Crate Unboxing and Review for January 2016

Well, January was a slow month for things like subscription boxes, because once again the delivery of all my fun stuff seems to align perfectly with the days I’m stuck on the other side of the country. You just can’t win with these things. But oh well, no sense in whining; you’ve just got to press on and publish posts like these a little late! It’s definitely not the end of the world. 😛

So, the subscription box I have for you today is Loot Crate, which is a company that has been making changes lately, so we’ll talk about those as we go. First, check out the unboxing video, which also happens to be the first video from the YouTube channel reboot, now known as “Tracey’s Basement”!

The theme of January’s Loot Crate was “Invasion”…

“X-Files” Exclusive t-shirt:
The first item out of the box is a t-shirt, and also heralds one of those changes I was talking about. I can’t find anything definitive on the Loot Crate website, but I’ve been told by fellow Looters that the original Loot Crate box will be coming with a t-shirt every month from now on, as opposed to the once-every-three-or-four months schedule from before. So I guess we’ll see how that goes.
This particular shirt is definitely a win for me, with a very glow-ish “X-Files” design just in time for the new version of the show. I loved the show as a kid, so it’s pretty awesome to pick up this wearable that has a nostalgic feel to it. Two thumbs up!
Approximate value: $15

“Space Invaders” exclusive vinyl figure:
This awesome little throwback to the history of video games could have come in three different color schemes, but I’m perfectly happy with the pink-and-blue design that I got. There’s not a whole lot you can say about him because basically a handful of pixels, but this is definitely a super-cute idea for a vinyl figure that would go great on any gamer’s shelf. It’s difficult to put a value on this because it’s an exclusive item and I wasn’t able to find anything really similar on the internet, so I’ll have to go with an average value based on the size and vinyl figures in general.
Approximate value: $10

“Facehugger” plush toy:
Prior to receiving this box, if you had used the word “cute” To describe a facehugger from the “Alien” franchise, I probably would have assumed you’d just had a stroke. However, here we are. Loot Crate took the disgustingly creepy little creatures that look like a trilobite that grew long, thin fingers to cling to your face with, and turned it into a super-happy little monster in sunshine-yellow. This is so odd it breaks my mind.
Cute though.
The ultra-happy-to-see-you version is a Loot Crate exclusive, but you can get a devilish-looking one with mean eyebrows from Entertainment Earth.
Approximate value: holy hell, $17? Really? Um…okay then.

(P.S. I began to suspect this while I was editing the video, and a couple of my YouTube followers brought it up as well…we think the giant yellow rubber band might be in the box for the purpose of affixing the facehugger to your face. Nice one, Loot Crate.)

“Loot Pins” pin for January 2016:
This is another one of those little changes…the collectible pin that comes in every Loot Crate apparently now comes on a little backing with “#LootPins” written on it and a claim on the back that “this pin unlocks something epic”. Upon visiting the lootcrate.com/pins site I discovered that the “something epic” is extra loot that you unlock with a code on the back of the pin. This month’s extra is a digital download of a comic called “Letter 44 Volume 1: Escape Velocity”. So that’s actually pretty cool. I know nothing of the comic itself, but it’s neat that the little pins that were always just a little commemoration of the box are now actually loot in and of themselves.
Approximate value: we’ll say about $1 for the pin and about $4 for the digital download, for a total of $5

“Fifth Element” multi-pass replica:
I’m just going to go ahead and say it: “The Fifth Element”…not really my bag. I saw it exactly once and I honestly can’t remember much of anything about it other than the fact that Bruce Willis is in it. That said, for a fan this item is probably pretty interesting. It’s basically an ID-holder with a chain, but for the right kind of nerd it could definitely make your day. I hope there are lots of Looters out there who are wearing this to work as I type this.
This is supposed to be an exclusive item as well, but I’m not sure what exactly makes it exclusive since I’ve found what appear to be identical items on several different websites.
Approximate value: $5

“X-Files” mini flashlight:
This second “X-Files” item is just a wee bit lame. It’s useful, for sure, because everyone should have a flashlight, but it’s also one of a variety of flashlights that is worth little to nothing. At the core, it’s the exact same as one of the little mini-flashlights that you can get at Walmart or the Dollarama for $2, just with “The X-Files” printed on the side. So, yeah…useful but practically valueless.
Approximate value: $2

Mini-posters from “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “War of the Worlds”
To round off the “Invasion” theme, Loot Crate provided us with a couple of mini-posters from two of the biggest alien-invasion movies of the past. Pretty neat; not worth a hell of a lot, but pretty neat, and cute for any cinephile.
Approximate value: $5

Loot Crate mini-magazine:
And I just thought I’d throw this in here because, while it’s not really worth much of anything to the average collector, it’s a cute little extra that the Loot Crate crew probably puts a bit of effort into. Cheers, you guys!
Approximate value: $2

Total approximate value of box: $61
Total approximate cost to me: $41

So, what did I think of the box? Well, as I said in the video: it wasn’t the best but it definitely wasn’t the worst either. The value is there, although a large portion of that value is taken up in the facehugger plush, which I personally don’t think is worth nearly that much. I definitely like the shirt and the “Space Invaders” vinyl, and the mini-posters are pretty neat, while the flashlight feels like a bit of a cop-out item and the multi-pass really means nothing to me at all. I do, however, also think that the “bonus loot” from the pin is a pretty neat change that Loot Crate has made, and if I’m right about the rubber band…that’s just amusing.

So yeah, basically this was an okay box that I enjoyed opening. Nothing super-special, but it’s definitely not a bad one or anything like that. I give it…one thumb up. 🙂

What did you guys think of the “Invasion” box? What was your favorite item? Least favorite? What’s your opinion on the rumor that Loot Crate will always have a t-shirt for now on? Please share!