Do NOT Buy These Safe & Sane Fireworks 2024 (TNT, Phantom, Freedom)

Basically a reverse buyers guide/rant on some specific items that are total junk! Timestamps included if you want to hear about a specific stand!
Let me know in the comments if you want to vouch the case for something on this list and also let me know what you think should be added! Perhaps I messed up on something great! Let’s talk about it!!
Demos are not featured in this video, they are put there however and I encourage all to do their own research by watching them!
Intro: 0:00
TNT Fireworks Do Not Buys begin at 1:27
TNT Fireworks Dishonorable Mentions at 6:20
Phantom Fireworks Do Not Buys Begin at 8:53
Part 2 of Phantom at 10:57
Phantom Fireworks Dishonorable Mentions at 13:38
Freedom Fireworks Do Not Buys at 16:11
DONT BUY ASSORTMENTS at 18:40

[@dm8189]

this is literally the video I'm looking for. I'm headed to Phantom and skyworks today.

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Glad to help

[@BBQRando]

Sad seeing the ridiculous prices in California 😢 thanks for your review 🙏

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

@@BBQRando Rando! Thanks for stopping by! Happy fourth!

[@qskii2365]

Agreed with eveything you've said so far (6 mins in) except for those strobe pots. Yeah don't light them in the middle of a show, but they're fun to me as a novelty. Light them when its around dusk, same time you'd do tanks or helicopters, and don't look straight at them! They're cool because they illuminate everything around you (which you can see as long as you don't stare at them lol)

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

We used to save them til the end then tie the fuses of a whole box together then light them and drop them in a spent fountain box.

[@andresnoneya]

2 years in a row I won’t be getting a stash, last year was Vegas and this year pismo 😢 but I def will buy some to get that itch scratched, so I thank you for this video! Have a great 4th 🍻

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Great luck and glad you found the video helpful. Tomorrow a video opposite to this one should give you some must buys!

[@pyroman6000]

holy crap!!!! $17 for a box of cheap HN series base fountains??? Do they at least buy you a drink, first? The Keystone tents by me sell them for a fraction of that... So does virtually every firework store that still sells base fountains. Theyre a good fun time staple item, for itch scratching or daytime fun, but thats about all. Not worth the price of a good multi-tube, thats for sure. I will say that some factories are actually putting in the effort to make these old school base fountains WELL again, and kudos to them. Speaking of hand helds, while I can't tell the size from your photo, Keystone also has a big one called Lightning Rod, which sounds similar- sold as a 4 pak for less than half the pirce of that single bazooka. starts as a firehose of golden sparks lots of them, and a powerful spray, then switches to a big red flare that lasts quite a while. I always grab at least 2 packs at any tent I go to, cuz I'm a geek for hand held items, and these are fun to light. Crown Jewel is $89.99 BOGO at the stores... $99 apiece? that hurts! I've had it and loved it, and still have the second. (several years old, so I don't remember the price) Loved New York Harbor, and Beast as well. I suspect we just have different tastes. I'm more into colors and pretty effects than crackle, and whistles i can do without being randomly included. (by itself, or in a pure noise item, great- especially for that one friend who HATES whistles, lol) I believe I also have Coral Reef, but haven't shot it yet. currently $65 BOGO in the stores. We do not have Freedom or DFS here, so I cannot compare the prices. Totally agree that the prices on your hatie list for them are outrageous tho. I don't shop at the TNT tents here, so nothing to add there.

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

@@pyroman6000 Phantom was previously selling these for $110 BOGO, steep but as you know they get a markup because the proceeds go to charity here. The problem this year is they just made them all single and everyone balked at them. I do love my crackle yes, but i think my favorite fountain effects will always be nitrocellulose globules or flying fish. Good crackle is certainly a staple though and nothing screams 4th of July like some big loud crackle! Crown Jewel and New York Harbor are by far the least objectionable of those finales. They are mostly there for the price. So Freedom is actually TNT doing business as Freedom/DFS. I’m not sure i mentioned that because I probably assumed that it was common knowledge in CA. But obviously not out of state. It’s basically TNT fountains for cheaper. They bought out the original beloved company and have thankfully chosen to keep at least some aspect of it around. It’s helpful but of course we all wish the original DFS was around. They had some amazing stuff from Black Cat, Winda, Brothers, etc. Now it’s all TNT fountains with a Freedom logo. Sad but we’ll take the price drops haha and they do in fact make some fountains exclusively for freedom which is neat. They all say the same thing on the bottom though “Made In China for American Promotional Events Inc (TNT)

[@pyroman6000]

@@mattscaliforniafireworks ah, okay. That sux for you guys - all of those brands you mentioned make excellent fountains. Keystone rewraps a lot of Winda for their tent items.

[@pyroman6000]

Do you guys have TNT's These Colors Don't Run? If so, run away!!! ZZZZZZZZ... a 500 gram fountain, that's just a bunch of low powered fountains strung together. Low powered, not much variety, and annoying awkward pauses, make it drag on and on. It doesn't offer anything you probably don't already have in your cart from buying the smaller fountains. (it just costs a lot more) We demo'd it at my friend's annual fireworks demo for their store. Every time she thought it was over, and would begin announcing the next item, it would start up again with another single tube. The next item was another 500g fountain from a local importer/wholesaler/retailer called Kellner's. THIS was more like it! High power sprays with LOTS of effect- it maintained a 12'+ diameter cloud of noise and sparks for it's entire duration. VERY intense! A collection of every kind of crackle the factory made- and lots of it. It got loud cheers from the onlookers- and a lot of people heading to the store to buy it, after. Urban Conflict was the name. It really was like a tale of two schools of thought about what a 500 gram fountain is. More of what fountains already do, vs something greater , that GRABS your attention.

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

@@pyroman6000 we sure don’t but i suppose that doesn’t rule out it coming in the future. We got a pretty boring (Probably not that boring though) 500 grammer from TNT called Candy Paint. The worst part is the price, 110 bucks for it! Sheeesh I think TNT got the idea for stuff like that from a company they acquired called red devil lol. Another user here, his name is starshell told me about the year Red Devil Fireworks came out with a Cone fountain called the California Humdinger. Come to find out it was literally a piccolo Pete stuck in some cardboard cone at a higher price LOL.

[@polarbearpyrotechnics]

Great video! I agree with all your picks! I really wish Phantom would just release a good finale 😤

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Thank you Polar bear

[@starshell1000]

Sure BELLA is something of a dud, but how can you resist that cute artwork? Never understood DINOEGG, suitable for small children but nobody else. Would never buy CANDY PAINT at its current price, should be BOGO. There has always been crap, you are not old enough to remember the CALIFORNIA HUMDINGER, which was a Piccolo Pete stuck in a cone- and nothing else! But Pete was only 25 cents, the Dinger was 35. Go figure.

[@Show-cv4tx]

Do you remember what year Purple Rain was new?

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

California Humdinger? That sounds like something ol’ Red Devil made. Firework companies exist to make money, that’s the bottom line. The need to profit will always top customer satisfaction, and most customers are easier to please than us, so that will sometimes result in mediocre or bad product. I feel this stuff should be highlighted for those looking to get the best fountains. I’m sure Bella and Dino Eggs sell plenty of units because of the art. Most shoppers do shop off of looks afterall. Candy Paint is insane, even the Freedom price on it, which usually saves it has people bawking at it. I should mention one of the upcoming videos is the opposite of this, a much more positive must buy. I just finished this one first haha. Thanks for the comment as always

[@starshell1000]

@@Show-cv4tx Going through the stack of stand brochures it was first pictured in the 1996 ad, but notes "1995 favorite" so I would guess it was introduced that year. Sold for $2.29 each.

[@starshell1000]

@@mattscaliforniafireworks The early Humdingers were Rozzi, but they were later made by Apollo (Rialto) for Red Devil. What made them "California" is they did not explode. Most of the others did. Regarding making money, Rialto stories are huge, Pat Moriarty would buy Army Surplus chemicals- most of which was rotten. They would scoop out whatever they could and throw the rest out in the desert sand. When the China imports came in they would glue Horse Brand tubes inside of everything and put an Apollo label on it. Lousy stuff.

[@imnobody7765]

I have a pallet of artillery shells and 500 grams cakes... I'm the furthest thing from safe and sane 😂 still watched the whole video

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Haha thanks! At least you know what not to buy!

[@dm8189]

is there a video on what to buy from Phantom?

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

I have a video of some must haves from all 3 stands. If you want some more in depth stuff Polar Bear Pyro has a lot of budget guides from all 3 stands that can be very helpful.

[@eddiemarin8520]

Preach Brotha!

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Haha glad to hear I’m getting agreement.

[@WildLife.562]

I suggest getting inform about when they open and at what time .. a lot of pyros buy by the case so items sell out quick and no restock .. sucks to make that long drive and don’t get the items you want

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Absolutely! Many including myself are usually the first customers at stands and it helps guarantee product. I understand some of the good deals for TNT will be in short stock this year, they go fast. The two Freedom stands in Socal usually sell out of Retro by the afternoon on opening day

[@bryanboruff5608]

Where do I buy artillery

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

@@bryanboruff5608 gotta find a plug for that

[@GarbageTrucksofCalifornia]

W video

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Thanks!

[@AA89GTA]

Crown Jewel used to be 30 bucks!!!

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Insane, right

[@DATISHIM]

I like fountains , but they all literally do pretty much the same thing.. Sparks / stars , then crackle . That’s it .. Hybrid fountains are the best !

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Sadly, we don’t really have a choice here. A lot do make the trip to get the goodies but the vast majority of us are stuck with these overpriced things so we try to make the best we can of it

[@DATISHIM]

@@mattscaliforniafireworks I can respect that .

[@DATISHIM]

@@mattscaliforniafireworks you should make the trip for the goodies too. I know there’s a lot of plugs that’s sell the good stuff all over California. You might as well , on the 4th literally everyone is lighting the good stuff now a days .

[@DATISHIM]

@@mattscaliforniafireworks I’m in Minnesota , and it’s safe & sane only but everyone heads to Wisconsin and gets the good stuff and every neighborhood sounds like a war zone on the 4th lol

[@NEWgEnPyro]

It's crazy how piccolo Pete's are cheaper at tnt and freedom are more expensive 😂😂

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Freedoms are BOGO at least though so there’s that

[@user-qk1kc3sl6o]

Majestic unicorns

[@user-qk1kc3sl6o]

Lightning flash

[@cwhite8606]

Bella, not worth $2

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

@@cwhite8606 i’d buy it at that but i think i’d buy any fountain for that haha

[@Whatudoingoo]

@@mattscaliforniafireworks what about Dino eggs?

[@cwhite8606]

Bella.....REALLY sucked.....BAD !!

[@user-qk1kc3sl6o]

16 84

[@Eric-fb2wp]

Who would buy any safe and sane fireworks lol

[@mattscaliforniafireworks]

Those of us who got no choice would, better than nothing

[@Big_flex_02]

Me