Hasta La Ideas

Securing heavy loads can be done with rope or ratchet straps, the two dominant methods (at least where I live). The former requires a knowledge of knots, the latter, a bit of fussing with alignment and rewinding. Inventor Matt Hawkes, who grew up on a 600-acre cattle ranch where improvised physical solutions were the norm, reckons there’s space on the market for a third solution, one that’s faster to do and undo.

Hawkes’ invention, the Twisted GOAT, is essentially an industrial-strength twist tie. Made of braided wire sheathed in nylon and coated with grippy rubber, you “lock” it the same way you close a bag of bread. “Twisted GOAT is designed to be soft and easy to manipulate when you want them to be — and strong and secure when you don’t,” Hawkes’ company, also called Twisted GOAT, writes. “When you’re working on a project, you can bend the tie however you need to, and once you wrap it, strap it, twist it, or tie it around something, it will stay secure.”

“Our exclusive Non-Slip GOAT Grip™ uses a special hard-rubber tape that runs along both sides of the ties. These stripes provide an extra layer of grip that tacks well on most surfaces and gives you the maximum hold needed to keep things secure.”

A demonstration of use cases:

The ties come in 1.5′, 3′, 6′ and 10′ lengths. The respective prices are $12, $10, $14 and $20. (And yes, that’s not a typo—the shorter 1.5′ version costs more than the 3′ version.)