Hey, they were the ones that put it (their punishment) out there with "... we love spicy stuff...". So they got this particular "Man Crate" beefed-up with a bunch of extras & loads of TLC from James! I had heaps of fun just talking to (aka "conspiring with") James on this special surprise gift! He spent his valuable time listening to me, understanding what I wanted to do, followed up with his promises, & helped me send an awesome gift to some very deserving Warriors currently deployed to Afghanistan. Here's part of the response I just received from them today after 2 months since I sent it:

"The Men, Women, and Officers of Special Operations Task Force South West are currently deployed throughout Western Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan. Our Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines are very grateful for your support during our deployment. Both of your care packages were enjoyed by all our men and women. Specifically the "Man Crate", which was not only delicious and short lived due to popularity, but also fun to open and sample."

Thanks Man Crates crew! You helpd enable a few minutes of fun & reprieve for these deserving Warriors! YOU ROCK!

I sent this as a gift to my brother who is a HUGE fan of hot sauce! Not only was he impressed with the crate, he loves all of the stuff inside. It truly made his birthday more awesome!

Sent this to my boyfriend in Afghanistan and he loved it. I will be ordering again.

I both this for my boyfriend who was raised in the south but living in Ohio for his birthday. He loved it : ) thank you for being awesome!!

I bought this for my son-in-law's birthday - he loved it - it took him a while figure out how to open the crate, but he loved it. He has not tried everything, but he thought he had tasted "hot" before getting this crate! His wife, my daughter, loves the entire crate and crowbar idea with the themes. We will definitely be ordering from you again! Lots of fun!

I just bought this for my Bf who's a chili freak.. he loves hot wings.. so i know he'd like this. He opened the crate with his family and I thought was cute.. they were curious about what was in the crate. Would have been nicer if I did the duct tape option. Would have been hilarious.. he tried the Ultra sauce and told me it's the hottest thing he's put in his mouth! Well done! Glad it made him happy :)

oh and btw, thank you Alex.. your customer service is GREAT! :) I had a lil trouble placing my order and Alex who answered my call did a GREAT JOB helping me out. Thanks much :)

Got this as a gift from my sister - loved the crate (and the oh-so-helpful crate-opening directions on the website, which was a nice touch!) The collection of sauces was wonderful, but it was the chips that I popped open within minutes of the crate cracking. Very tasty, with good heat (nothing like those bitter vinegar "sear" sauces that taste like garbage!) Of course, after that I went right to the hottest sauce (the coffin-crated Ultra!), and just a dab had me dancing around the kitchen for a while, but for the ~10 seconds before my taste buds burned away, it was a pretty tasty build to some serious heat! Told my friends about it, and they scoffed - but they thought I was talking about the original recipe stuff. I can't wait to spring a game of Hot Wing Roulette on them!

Pops is a retired military man. He has had hot sauce all over the world and said this is up there. It shut me down. We made death wings that only we could eat. Good times. Man crates are the gift you give the guy who has it all already. Opening a crate with a crowbar is just too cool!

Dad tried the "do not eat without dilution" hot sauce and turned all red. We had to give him milk and plain yogurt to kill the burn!

I bought the Hot and Spicy Crate for my Thai boyfriend, who seasons his food with mounds of hot peppers, sauces, and pretty much anything spicy he can get his hands on. Nothing ever seems spicy enough for him, and after going shopping with him and watching him buy multiple different hot sauces, I decided the Hot and Spicy Crate would be a good move for his birthday present.

First off, shipping was exactly as scheduled. Second, the reaction to the crate itself was great. He prides himself on not ever being surprised, knowing what to expect, etc. and his expression upon seeing the crate was priceless. He was with his friends and they all commented on it, joking that it looked like there would be a live animal in it. Watching him pry open the crate was also pretty entertaining.

As soon as he got the crate open and went through the contents, he seemed really excited to try everything out. More than one of his friends seemed envious and even made, "Okay, now where's mine?" comments to me.

Appearances are all well and good, but I was really worried that it wouldn't be spicy enough and that he would be disappointed, especially with all of the claims the sauces make about being so hot. He immediately skipped to the hottest sauce in the separate coffin shaped box and poured a ton of it in his ramen, (wouldn't listen to my warning) and I was completely satisfied when he started coughing and kept saying how hot it was, because he never reacts like that.

For the next several weeks he took the sauce with him when we would see his friends and make them try it, describing it as the "hottest sauce he has ever tried" and daring them to taste it. Overall I was proud to have chosen something he loves so much, and would definitely recommend this and any other Man Crate to anyone interested. I'm thinking of getting him the bacon crate next...

When first opening the hot and spicy man crate my son was not impressed with habeneros... Been there ate that. He was however in for a surprise once he started to taste some of the things! The blends used where deceiving and hotter than he expected!
Nicely done man crate, nicely done.

I have been a fan of Blair's stuff for a while, but I never knew they had snacks.

Then ManCrates happened. I was blown away by the stuff in this, especially the Jolokia Chip, and the sauces will cover a plethora of palettes. If you're just getting into the hot waters, this is a great place to start.

I give this 5 charred husks up!

I ordered this for my deployed husband. It took a little while to get to him. He actually received it two days ago. He didn't know he was getting it so he took a big taste of one and emailed me telling me he couldn't eat that one anymore until he gets back do to the intensity of it. Him and his buddies ate the jerky and could only eat like two pieces of it because it was so spicy. I asked him how everyone reacted when he got it and he said at first when he got the box no one said anything but when he opened it up and there was a crate with a crow bar they were all excited. He said it was a wonderful box and all the sauces will come in handy. I will definitely be ordering more crates from you all in the future. You have a great company and my husband loved it and so did all his military buddies. Thank you for your hot and spicy crate.

I got this for my boyfriend and he absolutely loved it! He was very touched that I got him a "project" rather than just a gift. I will definitely be buying more gifts from man crates in the future!

Problems:
He actually realized rather quickly that the bottom of the crate wasn't gorilla-glued shut so it only took him a few minutes get it open.

Generally speaking, the prices are pretty unreasonably high for the amount of product you receive. If it weren't for the awesome packaging and presentation, I probably would not purchase from here.

i was pretty awesome, and the husband loved it, however....It is REALLY hard to get into. the super duper industrial grade glue is a little much. he broke the crow bar trying to get in. I would buy this and other products again, but, i will make sure we have extra tools...like a hammer.

I ordered this item for my dad for Father's Day on 5/23/14, requesting delayed shipping for the item to arrive at my dad's on Friday, 6/13. I received confirmation of my order, arrival date, etc. as I had requested.

On 6/13 around 5:00pm I had not yet seen a delivery notice from Fed Ex so I called my dad's wife to find out if the order had arrived. NOTHING. At 6:00pm on 6/13 I sent an email to Man Crates asking where my order was and why it had not been delivered. Saturday morning around 11:00am I received an email response saying that it appeared that the shipping was delayed out of their warehouse on the item due to an error in processing. They lined the order up to ship Monday with overnight delivery for Tuesday. While very happy for the quick response to my email and getting the item to my father quickly upon finding the issue with my order, it did not make up for my dad not having his gift for Father's Day. For the inconvenience I was refunded a total of $13.56 (shipping cost) plus 40% of my order cost! EXCELLENT customer service in hopes of keeping a customer (which it will).

Once my dad received his order, he called to tell me how much he loved the unique gift and couldn't wait to try everything out (he loves spicy!!!). I can't wait to hear what he has to say about the goodies in the gift.

Thank you Man Crates for having EXCELLENT customer service. Without it, I would not be returning as a customer.

I bought this man crate as a surprise for my never needs anything, difficult to buy for son. When it arrived he said his first thought was "wth?" Then he got the box open and saw the crate and crowbar and it was "WTH???" He was surprised and that makes me happy. Unfortunately the chips were opened, he said it looked like they just popped so maybe the trip was too hot ...who knows. Overall a great surprise and I'll definitely order man crates again. Thanks!

I bought this when I ran out of ideas for something unique to get my husband for his birthday. He loves hot sauce and uses it on way more products than I believe it to be originally intended. After he tore into the crate, he strategically planned to try all of the sauces by dipping breaded chicken into the sauce - straight up. He ignored the "do not eat without diluting" warning on a few of the bottles. He made it through 2 of the sauces and was lamenting they were "pretty good". By the time he got to the 3rd, I had to bring him a cup of milk. By the 4th, he was blowing his nose. When he finally hit the last sauce, he said it was so hot it clogged his ears!

The sauces tasted like vinegar , must have been old. The snacks were the best part but really was looking forward to the sauces as that was the main reason for the order.
-----------
MAN CRATES EDIT:

Hey there JMG,

Sorry to hear you were dissapointed in the quality of the crate! I have personally tried all of those sauces and can vouch for the fact that they definitely shouldn't taste like vinegar, while vinegar is one if the ingredients typically in hot sauce, the sauces included have nother notes of flavor besides heat and I'm sorry to hear that yours didn't have that extra bit of taste. Please give us a call at 866-902-7260 or send us an email to guys@mancrates.com, and we'll do our best to make it right, promise!

-Team Man Crates