The desert is not only a place where someone rides "a horse with no name" (and sometimes forgets their own name, according to one "golden oldie" with rather goofy lyrics)...in the high desert, you live with intense heat and sun some of the year, monsoons featuring fierce dust, winds, rain and/or hail which can occur pretty much whenever the conditions are right and winters that feature both cold and snow. This isn't Phoenix, for which I am grateful, but living at higher desert elevations in Arizona means getting accustomed to some radical weather conditions and paying strict attention to selling points like "UV Protection" and "tough". I bought two of these, for starters. One has been working quite nicely, functioning as an informal curtain rod to keep a weighty heavy duty tarp in the doorway or our back porch secured through the winter. Yes, a door would have been a better choice, but with limited resources and a need to work quickly we've been able to block out the winds which formerly caused a 10-degree drop in our hallway and bathroom (no matter what you do, it's nearly impossible and not a tremendously good idea to seal off *all* airflow around a doorway). I haven't decided what purpose the second will serve. Possibly for securing another heavy duty tarp on the front porch (which has screening and a screen door, but no shutters and no "winter" door). Again, the difference in price and time between putting up heavy duty UV-and-water resistant tarp with super-strong bungee and the cost of DIY shutters built from suitably strong wood, painted to withstand the various conditions and all of the hinges and hardware would be considerable. Maybe next year, if the economy and our financial picture improves, we'll be in a position to "do 'er right." For now, a bungee like this is playing a significant role in solving a problem inexpensively without turning our place into a tacky eyesore. As for strength in strapping something inside your car's trunk and driving to Nevada at 75 MPH or keeping a piece of furniture from flying out of your truck bed onto the highway, this looks like a good investment to me. FYI, This part of my order arrived very quickly via the Amazon fulfillment, which was timely as it's gotten much cooler in the past two days. FYI2: these did not have tracking associated with them, but did require Signature Confirmation... you or someone in your home will need to sign for the package. For purposes of economy, I opted to make the grade for Super Saving Shipping, adding a book and CD I'd been interested in buying to my order. The bungees got here very quickly... I'm still waiting on the book and CD, which are "in transit". The cost of shipping for the two bungees, had I not chosen the Free Super Saver Shipping, would have exceeded the cost of the CD by more than a dollar! So? I'm no Martha Stewart, nor am I an Accountant, but based on the one bungee I've already got in use I must say it appears very sturdy and has come in extremely handy. Until we get a proper door for the back porch, I intend to keep that doorway blocked year 'round. Because I can switch to a reflective or sunscreen tarp in summer, which will keep the entire place a lot cooler...but I'm counting on my "tough UV-resistant" bungee to hang together like the Postal Carrier: neither rain, nor sleet, nor monsoons, nor blazing sun, nor dust devils, nor searing heat, et cetera, will cause this bungee to fail our needs and expectations. And, should these prove as resilient and tough as they look, I'll be back in a month or two to purchase some more (unless they're sold out because I've gone and shot myself in the foot by writing a 5-star review. heh).
