Having reached the month of October, this most black and chilling of all months when we play with the creatures of the night and listen to the beautiful music they make, I have returned to once again review the contents of not just one, but TWO of the most nerd-a-riffic monthly subscription boxes available today: Geek Fuel and Lootcrate.

A quick reminder that in September a Mandalorian Helmet/David Bowie t-shirt went a long way to earning Geek Fuel the win in the initial clash of these Titans.  A Lootcrate Pikachu hat of cuteness +5 just was not enough to overcome some good side-items from Geek Fuel including Doctor Who ice cube trays and press-on-nails with domino masks.  But that was then…this is now.  Speaking of time…

The theme for the month in Lootcrate is “time” and the promotional art for the box makes it evident that the box will include something from Doctor Who, Back to the Future, and even Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.  That’s a promising line up, but it turns out that I wouldn’t get my Lootcrate first this month.  This month, Geek Fuel arrived first.  And wow…

Geek Fuel box for October 2015

Featured T-shirt of the month: Video Games Live Alien in Headphones.

GF1

As one of those kids who grew up with an Atari 2600, and who has an entire wall in his Nerd Cave devoted to Galaga, this shirt speaks to me. I love the homage from all the systems and technology we have today, and how it all can be traced back to those darn aliens trying to land on our planet, and our dogged efforts to keep them from doing so.

Big item of the box: Yondu Pop Funko doll.

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My wife and I are not collectors of Pop Funko’s in general, but we do have one – and it happens to be a Groot, so I somehow doubt we’ll get rid of this guy. Great. I guess that means I have a Funko collection.

Bigger item of the box: It’s A Nap! Admiral Ackbar pillowcase.

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What. The. Everloving. Crap. This exists. And now I have one. I feel sorry for you silly folk who don’t have one of these. Cause really, THAT is awesome.

Would you like a drink with that? Guardianade: Energy Sword Citrus.

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Because when you’re busy being a total badass, sometimes you need to up the energy factor.

Extra items: Back to the Future trio!

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I know that I have some Back to the Future items to look forward to come my next box, so I was extra surprised to see this happy trio of items perfect for any true cosplay aficionado or just fans of this great franchise. The button is just a classic, I think Heather will love the sticker, and the flyer even had a number to call on the back. When I called it, because of course I called it, there was a really great impression of Doc telling me that I did not win any prize. That means someone DID win a prize for calling the random number printed on the flip side of a Back to the Future prop. This only encourages me further.

Bonus: The Hobbit pin collection.

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This is clearly labeled as the “bonus” item for this month that is coming because I am a new subscriber, and as such will not be factored in to the contest of box vs box…but I also want to give a thorough review. I think these are cute, but I don’t know when I would ever wear one…unlike the ‘save the clock tower’ button which has potential for cosplay use.

So that was the offering for Geek Fuel. Now I waited to see what Lootcrate would bring to go against what was a solid second effort from last month’s winning box. Lootcrate came about a week later and came with the thunder…

 

Lootcrate box for October 2015: Time

T-shirt: Be Excellent to Each Other.

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The only thing that would make this shirt any better would be if on the back it had the words “Party on Dudes!” with maybe a Wyld Stallions logo. But still…this is a pretty darn nice shirt.

Doctor Who item: Sonic Spork.

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OMGWTFBBQ! It’s a sonic screwdriver, and it’s a spork. I can now eat anything! Does it take a spoon? Got ya covered. Need a fork? Got one right here. And as a bonus I can point it at others eating with me and make strange noise pretending it’s a real sonic screwdriver!

Back to the Future item: Pop Funko.

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Yup. I think I have a Pop Funko collection now. This guy is pretty sweet.

MORE Back to the Future stuff: Scale replica hoverboard.

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This is one of those things that I call desk clutter. It’s neat and all, but it doesn’t have much purpose except to be put on a desk and be looked at by co-workers who came by to steal candy out of your dish and tell you about what happened last night on their favorite TV show that you don’t watch.

 

The Deliberation

At first I didn’t know how I would determine a winner between two such good showings, but when it came down to it, the boxes individual items match up very well against each other.

T-shirt vs T-shirt: I think I have to go with the Bill and Ted shirt from Lootcrate in this round. I like the alien shirt, but B&T holds a special place in my soul of pop culture. Point Lootcrate. Station!

Pop Funko vs Pop Funko: I am gonna have to go with Doc Brown. Yondu was one of my favorite parts of Guardians of the Galaxy, and I have strong man-feelings for Michael Rooker, but he’s a small part of one movie. Doc Brown is an essential part of three movies. Point Lootcrate. 1.21 GIGGAWATTS!

Back to the Future vs Back to the Future: This is the sticker/flyer/button of Geek Fuel going up against the Hoverboard replica from Lootcrate. You can use a sticker to decorate something, use a button to cosplay, and because the flyer had a number to call where you could possibly have won something ELSE… yeah. Point Geek Fuel. Save the Clock Tower!

Wild Card: Doctor Who Sonic Spork vs “It’s a Nap” Pillowcase: No contest. I like the spork a lot, but come on – it’s a pillowcase with Admiral Ackbar on it. Point Geek Fuel. Your taste buds can’t repel flavor of THIS magnitude!

SO! Using that easy metric, I can do some quick tallying to find the winner, and … crap. It’s tied 2-2. Well, while I try to figure out who will be the victor this month, here’s a photo of a piglet eating ice cream.

Pig

And the winner is…. Geek Fuel!

It seems that in my above comparison I forgot to include the Guardianade drink, so it was by the narrowest of margins that Geek Fuel managed to get their second straight win. But I must say that was a strong showing from Lootcrate. What will next month hold? Only time will tell…

Tune back in about a month from now for another review of these two leading monthly subscription nerd boxes. Till then, let me know if you agree/disagree with who won this month by commenting below.

About the Author

Noah
NoahContributor/ Ninja
Noah Westerfield is bad at naps. Its either “why did I lay down when my brain won’t turn off?” or “I have slept the day away and it’s now night.” But that pillowcase is still fracking epic.