The definition of a lanyard:
- A cord worn around the neck for carrying something, such as a knife or whistle.
I wore one (nearly) daily from Aug 1995 to Mar 2008.
Personal History
The story of my lanyards began with the question of what to do with my ?buttons. For eight months, I had been wearing a different button every day, and in so doing building up a personality for myself. This was about to change, though, with the start of college - I just plain couldn't afford to get a new button every day, both money- and time-wise, now that I was going to live in ?Allen Hall.
So, what should I do?
The answer came to me fairly suddenly - I was at Champaign Surplus, our local army surplus store, and spotted a key chain on a necklace. Whoa! I thought. Cool! I can avoid losing my keys... I picked one up for that purpose, blue with red stripes, and on the way home I realized that it was just right for attaching buttons...
My first lanyard lasted for a year and a half, from August 1995 to December 1996. It was deteriorating during all of this time, as I did more and more evil things to it (playing with the plastic on the back of the neck, adding more buttons, etc); it was about time for it to be replaced. Then suddenly came the ?Ch@os affair, something which shook me to my heart and threatened to send me spiraling into depression...
I had a nice long talk with myself, and decided to sacrifice the lanyard to the greater good of my sanity.
I chose a new lanyard soon, much to my surprise; I put it on at the beginning of the new year. I was much happier with this one, too - most importantly, the keychain was removable, so I wasn't threatened with strangulation every time I wanted to open a door. I also started putting more buttons on this one, up to about five from three; as such, it started falling apart a lot faster. Then, around the end of the next year, I broke down again due to another personal crisis (this time involving a couple of good friends getting together that really shouldn't) - and the process repeated. Again, on 01 Jan 1998 I chose a new lanyard, and this one stayed for the whole year...
In fact, it stayed until it outright broke.
In 1999, I went through four lanyards. This was due to two factors: one, I had started putting far too many buttons on the thing, which weighed it down and made it break sooner. I attempted to solve this by buttoning the things together on the back of my neck, but this a) hurt and b) only prolonged the inevitable. Two, and more importantly, Champaign Surplus decided to stop stocking the old lanyards. The new ones are just half as thick, and can't hold up to nearly as much punishment as before...
For a while, I was stuck; I couldn't find a new one that didn't suck, and the ones that did suck only last for six weeks or so. This lasted until my trip to ComicCon 2001; on the way back, I found out that America West Airlines was giving out these lanyards to their employees. Giving them out! Can you imagine? They gave me one... and that lasted me until I found out that you could now order them online. And so now, I gathered several in my desk drawer, and all was good.
That's the story of my lanyard. It was there for years, and I enjoyed it the whole time. I really kindof miss it now. It was a part of me, and maybe it's worth bringing back some day.
Reviews and Promotion
Besides the fact that I've worn lanyards a fair amount over the last decade or so, I don't really know too much about them. In fact, until recently I was not really aware that there was a fair-sized industry dedicated to them. I could have guessed, I suppose; after all, lanyards have begun to pop up in all sorts of corporate cultures, and are even worn with buttons at various coffee shops and bookstores. But the only time that this has entered my mind when was when I was off searching for a new one to buy...
One other thing that I've noticed is that I have very strong opinions about lanyards. Most of them, especially the ones with corporate logos on them, are complete, dangerous crap. I won't wear them, and I cringe when I see others wearing them. At some point, it was inevitable that I would begin to review them...
Sports Lanyard Plus - EK USA
These are the lanyards I've worn the most over the years. They're comfy, and made of a good material that doesn't tear up your neck.
Most importantly, they have a breakaway design, so that if somebody tries to kill you, the lanyard will break before your neck. A good, no-frills lanyard.Sports Lanyard - EK USA
I've worn several of these, but the lack of key clip bothered me all the time. I prefer the Plus.
Thin Sports Lanyard Plus - EK USA
These seemed like a good idea, but a) they can't hold too much stuff and b) they're more breakable then their non-thin brethren.
Not my cup of tea.CooLanyard Cammo w/Slider
I haven't actually gotten a chance to wear this one yet. From the outside, it looks great - good material, and the breakaway features appear to do what they're supposed to do (keep me from dying) while being fixable if it does break. The extra toys - whistle, knife, and flashlight - are just candy. I'm really tempted to buy myself one with the cell phone holder, too...
Full disclosure: they did send me a free lanyard. They asked for a review as well, but it was not required. I just happen to like the thing!