cryptosteel alternative

COBO Tablet Review (2020) | Best “Value” Crypto Seed Backup | Only $39

In this review, we are going to deep dive into the Cobo Tablet metal recovery seed phrase backup device. How does it work? How much does it cost? Why do I need one? How is it different from CryptoTAG or CryptoSteel? I am going to answer all of these questions and more, so stick around for the full article and also for a special offer just for my readers here. So why is recovery seed backups and crypto seed storage so important? In as little words as possible, it’s a backup to your backup. And it’s only $39.00.

This device is so affordable and useful for what it actually protects, that EVERY single crypto user that holds more than $39 worth of cryptocurrency should have one. Period. This device has been thoroughly tested to withstand substantial heat, water, corrosion and other abrasive substances.

 

Crafted from 304-grade stainless steel, the new Cobo Tablet is corrosion-free, resistant to salt water and acids, and has a fireproof threshold ranging from 2550 to 2650 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can be sure that whatever happens your recovery seeds will be safe within.

 

In addition to that, it also has a design element that allows you to add a padlock for those extra paranoid that want to ensure no innocent parties who stumble upon this can use it to steal your crypto.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of metal recovery seed backups, I will link the reviews of CryptoSteel and CryptoTag ($99 and $185, respectively) HERE and HERE. This will give an in depth guide of how these devices work if you need a quick tutorial.

Let’s check out the Cobo Tablet details below!

 

Cobo Tablet – What’s In The Box?

 

 

Everything you need comes right in the box. All you need after you open the box, id your recovery seed card, which you will be able to safely set aflame once this is setup and installed correctly.

It comes with:

  • Cobo Tablet Stainless Steel Device
  • Screwdriver
  • Spare Screws
  • 252 Letter Tiles (Including a Few Blanks)
  • Basic Setup Guide

The tiles come in organized individually wrapped sheets that are alphabetically organized and easy to locate the letters you need to setup the device correctly. I will detail the setup process below and explain how easy it is to setup.

This process is actually a more seamless user experience than the CryptoSteel which just had scattered tiles that were all different sizes that needed to be sorted and found before you could actually install. You will not have this problem with Cobo Tablet, in fact, it took me less than half the time from start to finish to get this setup correctly.

 

 

Design & Setup

 

 

I showcase this a little bit better in the video listed down below, but here is an excerpt directly from Cobo on how the simple their product is. Here it is.

All you need to do is unscrew the plate, place the letters into the metal slots to create your recovery seed, and screw the plate back into place. No carving, etching or struggling to slide the characters into their right places. It is a very simple process that takes only a couple of minutes.

 

The new Cobo Tablet can support up to 24 words, but you can also use 12 or 18 depending on the length of your recovery seed. It is crafted in such a way that each word can hold only up to four letters. Obviously, you will use words that are longer, so you must be curious to know the reason behind this.

This product is made of the utmost quality. When I first pulled it out of the box, it felt really robust and solid. It didn’t feel cheap and/or flimsy and it gave off the first impression of being a stable and good quality product. I will also be doing a second video shortly that will detail the full tutorial and explain how to set this product up right out of the box (although you probably don’t need it, it’s super easy to figure out).

 

 

Who Is This For?

 

 

I’ll keep this short and sweet. If you have more than $39 or more worth of cryptocurrency, you need this product. Why? If something happened to your software or hardware wallet, could you afford that loss? Most people that take their crypto seriously will most certainly say no, so you need to ensure you have a backup of your backup. This is a VERY affordable product that serves a very valuable purpose. It needs no further explanation.

 

 

Cobo Tablet – Conclusion

 

 

Honestly, I liked this device better than the CryptoSteel and Bill Fodl. Why? Well, in addition to the price point which is less than half of both of these devices, I found the overall quality and user experience to be better. It took me much less time to setup, it came with everything neat and organized, and there wasn’t any need for the instruction booklet as it was pretty straight-forward. Now, I am not saying these other device are bad, because they aren’t at all.

When it came down to factoring in price, quality, ease-of-use, and overall impression, the Cobo Tablet won in all of those categories. I will say, however, that it didn’t beat the CryptoTAG. That device is a HODL’ers dream, as it comes in titanium, and you can use a freakin’ hammer to engrave your own seed (which was awesome and very satisfying to do by the way).

With that said, I could buy 7 Cobo Tablets for the price of one CryptoTag. The value is honestly unbeatable, and the quality felt comparable to the CryptoTAG, with the exception of the type of metal and the actual setup process.

If you don’t have ANY metal recovery seed backup, it’s essential. You need one. It’s honestly not optional at this point. If you can’t afford to lose your crypto, you can’t afford NOT to have one of these devices.

 

What do you think? Do you currently have a metal recovery seed backup for your software/hardware wallets? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

 

Bill Fodl Review (2020): Is It Better Than Cryptosteel?

In this review, I am going to deep dive into the Bill Fodl and whether or not you need one, and if you do, is it better than Cryptosteel? So what is Bill Fodl? It’s essentially a backup of your backup. It’s a stainless steel recovery seed backup for your cryptocurrency and your recovery seed words that you most likely have written down on paper.

As you may already know, when you setup a cryptocurrency wallet, you will be asked to write down your recovery seed phrase which is a series of 12, 18, or 24 words. These are given to you as a method to restore the funds in your wallet, in the event you lose access to it digitally or physically. This is primarily is used in conjunction with a hardware wallet.

When I started this site back in 2016, I was mainly focused on hardware wallets as the primary method to safely storing your private keys offline, and these types of devices didn’t exist at that time. As this industry has brought on more innovation, indestructible crypto seed backups were born! I also had a friend who had multiple bitcoins on a hardware wallet, and when he was moving, he realized that his recovery seed was in an open plastic bag that was in proximity to a spilled shampoo bottle.

As you can probably imagine, this didn’t end well. When he went to move and locate his recovery seed, it was useless. The oils of the shampoo had removed the ink he had on his paper backup and it was all but destroyed. This is just one of MANY reasons why you need an indestructible backup of your paper recovery seed card to protect yourself against, well, yourself. It also is designed to withstand the elements such are fire, water, wind, corrosion, and even your dog eating it.

As it’s relevant here, I wanted to point out that on the home page of this website, there is an orange button that will link you to my free e-book that I recently wrote that goes in depth on this topic and provides you the “5 Best Ways To Secure Your Cryptocurrency“. Go check it out, it’s free, and it may even save you from loss in the future. One of our motto’s here is “We help you protect YOUR private keys”. So there you go, let’s get to nitty-gritty of this review on the Bill Fodl!

 

Bill Fodl: What’s In The Box?

 

You can store up to 96 characters, allowing you to backup an entire 24 word seed in one unit. Don’t worry if your entire seed is longer than 96 characters; you only need the first 4 letters of each seed word to fully backup your coins. You can read the full setup guide and video from their website HERE.

They also have expansion packs, and multi-wallet packs that you can get as well that will enable you to receive a quantity discount for multiple wallets. I used this option as I have multiple hardware wallets and therefore need this protection.

This Bill Fodl device is really a solid insurance policy on your crypto holdings, that doesn’t require you to trust any 3rd party or custodial solutions. This device is typically used with all models of Trezor, Ledger, and KeepKey. Pretty much any standard BIP39 wallet, and you can also use this for hot or online wallets as a backup as well.

 

Why Do I Need One?

 

As I mentioned above in the first paragraph, your recovery seed is typically written down on paper. Most people don’t realize how important these words in succession are as they are writing them down, as this is your only saving grace of recovering any lost cryptocurrency if you lose access to your wallet (Hot or Cold). If you lose these recovery words, you have no one to blame but yourself, and there is no way to recover your funds.

In this new era of “Becoming your own bank“, that also comes with a new responsibility of being a banker that put safeguards in place to protect you in the event of an unforseen event. This is by FAR the best way to ensure that your recovery seed is safe and cannot be destroyed. I recommend that ANYONE that has more cryptocurrency than they can afford to lose, should have one of these. After all, if you lose your hardware wallet AND you lose this, you are completely out of luck and have no one to blame but yourself.

 

Bill Fodl vs. CryptoSteel

 

Bill Fodl vs. CryptoSteel. I’ll be honest… these two devices are eerily similar, however, there are some key differences that set that apart. For starters, I noticed that the CryptoSteel has some tiles that are not the exact same shape and size, therefore making it more difficult to setup. There is a small slot for each of your letters to fit in, and even 1/8th of a millimeter difference is noticeable when you’re performing this task, as it takes steady hands and precision.

Secondly, the slats are smoother and the screws are easier to open than the CryptoSteel when it comes to opening it and closing it during the installation process. It’s not a massive difference, but still noticeable. As I said, these are VERY similar, but I am noticing that the quality on the Bill Fodl to be slightly nicer.

Thirdly, Bill Fodl takes lightning payments via bitcoin to purchase, while the CryptoSteel does not. Now, I know that doesn’t matter top most people, but I am very vocal about wanting to support vendors and businesses that accept cryptocurrency as payment. You would think that both of these companies would do this by default, but CryptoSteel only accepts credit cards at the moment.

The one thing I didn’t like about the Bill Fodl, is that the stainless steel gets scratched very easily. This won’t affect the integrity of your tiles or have any affect on the readability of the device in the event of a catastrophe, but it also doesn’t look as sleek and brand new after a handling it after just a handful of times. Lastly, the Bill Fodl is cheaper than the CryptoSteel. Bill Fodl is only $79 for their device and the CrypoSteel charges $99 for the equivalent device. Seems pretty straight-forward to me.

If you want to check out my full review on CryptoSteel, you can check it out HERE.

 

***CLICK HERE TO BUY BILL FODL FROM THEIR OFFICIAL SITE***

 

Are There Any Other Premium Options?

 

As mentioned above, the Bill Fodl and CryptoSteel are very similar devices, with only minute differences. So you may be asking, are there any other options out there? Any other options I should consider? Well, the short answer is, yes. You may have seen some knock-offs of this product on Amazon or eBay, but I strongly recommend you ignore those completely. The wannabe’s found there are not as durable or easy to use as these two (I bought one for comparison and it wasn’t pretty). However, there is a premium version of this product, but is made out of titanium instead and has a much different, (but good) user experience and setup process. Behold, the CryptoTAG!

The CryptoTAG is a high-end device that comes with 2 titanium plates and even comes with a heavy duty hammer to literally pound your seed phrase into these plates, and has been tested thoroughly for quality. In fact, I personally think the quality is MUCH nicer than the Bill Fodl, but not everyone can afford $199 for a recovery seed backup, and ultimately is only differenced by the quality and personal experience you get with personally engraving your seed.

Ultimately, both will get the job done, but if you want the “Ferrari” of recovery seed backups, you check out the CryptoTAG HERE on their official site. I also will be writing a review on this device shortly, so keep your eyes our for it.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyEqb9Z8leE

Conclusion

 

So, Is the Bill Fodl better than Cryptosteel? Personally, I would say yes. They have some small differences that makes it better and easier to setup and use. For instance, all of the lettered tiles are all the same size and shape, so installing them into the steel plate makes it much easier for them to slide into place. The overall user experience was easier and I was able to fully set it up in about 20 minutes or so, which isn’t bad at all. It took almost half the time of the CryptoSteel setup.

This device is also the cheapest (legitimate) stainless steel recovery seed backup starting at only $79 and an unprecedented 1-year warranty and a 125% money back guarantee. If you’re getting your first recovery seed backup and you’re on a budget, I would recommend you start here. It’s a quality, durable device and it gets the job done whilst making you feel like a true crypto enthusiast.

I actually have 2 of these, but I also have multiple hardware wallets and have a lot more at risk at stake, but I’m a bit of an extremist. Overall, You can’t go wrong with the Bill Fodl, and if you have more than $79 worth of crypto, then you definitely NEED this to be safe. Don’t be sorry when it comes to your crypto savings.

 

***CLICK HERE TO BUY BILL FODL FROM THEIR OFFICIAL SITE***

 

What do you think? Do you have a metal recovery seed backup? If so, which one do you use? Comment down below!

 

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

 

 

 

CryptoSteel Review: Indestructible Or Not? (2020)

In this CryptoSteel Review, I am going to cover a few things that you may not see on any other reviews. This mainly consists of the quality of the product and if you have any other options out there to consider for an indestructible recovery seed backup. As a promoter of hardware wallets and complete offline cold-storage solutions, this was a no-brainer for me to try out for myself.

After all, I had recently met with a friend who was moving and found that his recovery seed was destroyed because it was in a toiletry bag and some shampoo leaked and removed the ink and made his backup completely worthless.

It was after he told me about this that I was really glad I already had my CryptoSteel in place and I felt relieved knowing that if my house burnt down or it got flooded, etc… That my precious seed words would not be lost or otherwise inaccessible. I do not wish that fate on anyone, because he had a size-able number of crypto attached to that recovery seed, but that was before any of these devices existed.

I also recently published my FREE E-BOOK that explains the what the five best ways to secure your cryptocurrency are. Give it a free download HERE.

In the next section, I am going to go over, what this product does, who it’s primarily for, and how it compares to some of the other options out there. Stay tuned for the full article!

 

WHAT DOES THIS PRODUCT DO?

 

This product is designed for having a backup to your backup, essentially. When you setup any cryptocurrency wallet or bitcoin wallet (hot or cold), you will be prompted to enter in a 12-24 word recovery seed phrase. This is to protect your private keys and to restore your coins to a new wallet in the event that your hardware wallet proves to be lost, destroyed, or otherwise inoperable.

It comes with several little tiles that contain letters and a metal plate for your to slide them in to form the words. This process can be tedious, but it’s worth it to have peace of mind. It took me about 30-40 minutes to input my entire 24 word recovery phrase as the tiles are tiny and some are mis-shaped and not the same size. That’s the bad part.

Assuming that I don’t need to do this again for any other seed phrases, it’s really not that bad. The good news is it comes with enough tiles to have 2 two full phrases if needed, so you have backups for redundancy, or can fashion another device to use it with if you happened to have an additional plate.

It’s fairly simple to use once you find the tiles you need, but for me it was kind of reminiscent of getting an Ikea table and opening it to an 86 page instruction book and over 500 pieces that needed to be assembled. Sure, that is exaggerating but it can be a tad overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re doing.

 

WHO IS IT FOR?

 

This device is for every single cryptocurrency or bitcoin wallet holder that has enough cryptocurrency that they cannot afford to lose. Unfortunately, paper just doesn’t cut it and even if you laminate it, it still wont be protected if there is a fire or any other type of destructive force, even if it happens to survive water damage.

As cryptocurrency is the wave of the future, it is extremely likely that almost every single person on the planet is going to have a bitcoin wallet at some point in their lifetime, and some people have many (myself included). It is only smart that if you are going to be self-sovereign with your finances, that you find a way to be responsible and have a back-up for the worst case scenario. There is no 1-800 number to call and complain to if you lose your “secret code words” to recover your bitcoin or other crypto.

Because it’s relatively cheap and most companies now even bundle it with hardware wallets, like Trezor, you can save money and have a backup and a hardware wallet for about $200, which is a small price to pay to protect your wealth and investment. It’s an entry level device and is one I would recommend if you currently hold more than $200 worth of cryptocurrency or you plan to in the future. This is a no brainer.

It’s also nice that it has a hole big enough to stick a padlock in there to lock out potentially nosey intruders, nice security touch!

 

HOW DOES CRYPTOSTEEL COMPARE TO THE COMPETITORS?

 

This is an entry level device and it absolutely gets the job done. I have found and tested this myself by having it sit in water overnight, and even used a blow torch to see if I could burn it to the point where I couldn’t make out the letters and it’s rock solid. It does everything as advertised and currently comes in multiples versions, depending on how much of a maximalist you are. For instance, the Cryptosteel Hex, features a unique way to secure just the private key without any seeds.

cryptosteel

 

“Featuring just the right character combo to keep things “necessary and sufficient,” the Cryptosteel Hex allows users to store raw cryptocurrency private keys with no third-party involvement.

The set contains one double-sided Cryptosteel stainless steel cold-storage wallet and over 285 tiles optimised for hexadecimal passkeys. These include uppercase letters, numbers and the lowercase x.

If you’re a less-is-more pragmatist – here is all you need and nothing you don’t.”

 

This is rarely used, but it’s nice to know they have several other options, instead of just the standard mnemonic phrases that come with standard bitcoin wallets.

The premium level recovery seed backup wallet that competes with CryptoSteel is called the CryptoTag. This device allows for a different method of actually using a hammer to imprint your seed phrase directly onto the device and is made with much nicer quality titanium and has a cleaner look and finish.

This is NOT targeted for your average cryptocurrency user and is designed for the more seasoned and upper class investor. It is a fantastic device, but at $199, it is more than double what the Cryptosteel offers and essentially does the same thing. It also has a much nicer presentation, and an entirely different user experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmEINI08g3U

 

CONCLUSION

 

In the end, you can’t go wrong with this device. It solves a proven problem and it is trusted and cheaper than the current competitor or CryptoTag. If you have the means, I would strongly recommend getting a CryptoTag, as it is a MUCH nicer version of this product, but hey, we all can’t necessarily afford that level of a premium product.

Someone asked me, “Can’t I just forego the hardware wallet and just get the CryptoSteel? After all, if my mobile wallet gets hacked, I can just use this seed to restore it to a new mobile wallet”. Here’s why that’s a bad idea. Sure, you could do that, and if your hot wallet does get hacked, it’s not very likely that you will be in a place where you can quickly access your CryptoSteel, setup a new wallet, and go through the full recovery process on a BIP39 compatible wallet before the “hacker” already transfers it to its own wallet with backup recovery.

It’s a smarter and better practice to have both, a hardware wallet AND a backup recovery seed device, whether it be CryptoSteel for the average consumer or the CryptoTag for the consumer that wants a higher end device that has a nicer feel and user experience. This will make it easier to have both devices stored in separate secure locations for when you need it most. That way, you never have to have the thought of your “Hot” wallet being hacked and rushing to your secure location when/if that scenario happens. Just my two satoshis…

 

Buy CryptoSteel Starting At $79 From Their Official Site

 

What do you think? Do you think CryptoSteel is a good device for Recovery Seed Backup? Sound off below in the comments!

Cheers,

 

The Crypto Renegade

 

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

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