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The Shoe Wheel, by Rakku Designs, is designed to hold a lot of shoes in a compact space while still letting each pair of shoes be accessible. While the Shoe Wheel looks like it is loaded with cool ergonomics and usability, its practicality may be limited depending on what kind of shoes you want it to hold.
Why is it Different?
The Shoe Wheel uses elastic chords on a rotating frame to let you store a bunch of shoes in a small space.
Rotating the wheel gives you easy access to any pair of shoes in the wheel. It is an interactive storage solution with a cool, stylish application.
Does it Deliver?
The Shoe Wheel marginally delivers. It works as advertised, but the practical application does not seem to follow through on the design.
The wheel is larger that you might think making it a little harder to find space for it in a cramped closet. It does not fit underneath clothes hanging on a standard height closing rod. Raising the closet rod high enough to store the Shoe Wheel under it will make it a stretch for most people under 5'6" to reach their clothes.
It stores shoes of any size, but high heels may get caught up on the elastic chords. Additionally those chords can scuff your shoes even to the point of marring patent leather.
Beneficiaries
If you wear shoes you can benefit from the Shoe Wheel. If you are cramped for space you can benefit from the Shoe Wheel. If you like cool looking gadgets you can benefit from the Shoe Wheel.
Some groups that will benefit from these tools are:
- Shoeaholics
- Small Apartment Dwellers
- Style Aficionados
- Apprentice Shoe Shiners
- Imelda Marcos
Summary
The Shoe Wheel works, just not exceptionally so. The initial idea is captivating and looks quite good, but depending on the types of shoes you need to store and the space you have for them it may not be the best solution for you. But it does look much better than a pile of shoes (and offers better protection too).
As a side note it seems to work great for baby toys.
Manufacturer's Site
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