Jeffrey Donenfeld

Category: Reviews

  • Checking out the Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs with Longines and Wrist Watch Review

    Checking out the Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs with Longines and Wrist Watch Review

    I write watch reviews for Wrist Watch Review, and this past weekend covered for WWR the 2018 Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs as a guest of watchmaker Longines. My original writeup is published on Wrist Watch Review: WWR goes on-site as Longines times the 2018 Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs.  Here are a few excerpts and photos.

    Race horses, art museum parties, tiny bites of international food, gambling, shmoozing with socialites, luxury watches, and a 250lb whole tuna – what’s not to love about attending the 2018 Breeders Cup? Watchmaker Longines hosted me – and a number of other journalists and industry experts – at the 35th Breeders’ Cup World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky. We were treated to the race, parties, special events, and lots of Longines brand history and discussion.

    Rooting for our favourites…
    Our betting expert Katie helping place a few key bets at the Longines box seat in the mansion.
    Our vantage point on the Breeders Cup from the Longines box seat in the mansion.
    Tasty bites at the Taste of the World event at the Speed Art Museum
    Churchill Downs
    The Longines VHP, ready to hit the track at Churchill Downs
    Checking out the horses at the paddock before the next race…
    Checking my Longines VHP at the Breeders Cup
    Live music performances at Taste of the World
    Horses and jockeys fly by
    Lots of food and drinks at Taste of the World

     

     

     

  • Coming home to the Igloo Home Deadbolt 02

    Coming home to the Igloo Home Deadbolt 02

    Smarlocks, compatible with smart home, are increasingly popular lately. Major brands like Kwikset and Schlage make consumer focused models with basic features and a focus on basic smarthome access – but Igloohome has gone much farther than that with the IglooHome Deadbolt 02. This smart lock not only adds a keypad for owner access via code, but features a host of advanced features and 3rd party tie ins that make this a truly useful piece of gear. I’ve lived with the Deadbolt 02 over the last few months – here’s my experience. I’ll spare you the technical specs and features you can lookup on IglooHome’s website, and skip straight to my impressions.

    In Short: Despite a few software bugs and hardware nuances, the Deadbolt 02 is an excellent product that’s become a welcome part of my everyday life. If you’re looking for a deadbolt that can both give you basic keypad access, as well as generate new codes for guests and service workers offline, this is the one to get. 

     

    What It Is

    The Deadbolt 02 is a keypad access deadbolt, with a standard key cylinder as a backup. It’s battery powered, and meant to be primarily accessed via the keypad. A key cylinder and standard key are there for backup, as is a bluetooth key on your phone for alternative access. The deadbolt is all weather, and features a useful smartphone app for giving access and managing the lock. Additionally, it integrates with AirBnB for guest booking access.

    Who It’s For

    The Deadbolt 02 is for the smarthome power user who not only needs keycode access to their home for themselves, but is sophisticated enough to need to give keypad access to guests, service workers, and friends – and doesn’t want to share one code with everybody. If you take your home security seriously, but want to give easy access to authorized people too, this is a great option.

    Testing Method

    I had this lock installed on my front door. I used it daily, friends used it occasionally, service workers used it occasionally, as did air bnb guests. I used the app for generating keys and giving access, used the bluetooth feature, and did a firmware upgrade wirelessly.

    First Impressions

    Getting it out of the box and setting it up was relatively easy. If your door is fairly standard, installation is straightforward. I was impressed by the slick look, good looks, and unassuming black faceplate. I also appreciated the covered key cylinder. On the lesser side, I was dissapointed to see a relatively common SC1 keyway and standard hardware store keyway – making picking this lock relatively easy for a decently skilled lockpick.  A higher security cylinder would have been a great great addition.

    Like

    I love the keypad functionality – I never have to carry a key, and simply tap in my code. Additionally, the piece of mind of a 9V battery backup, and standard key cylinder is good. Additionally, the ability to generate new codes remotely – like for unexpected guests who need access while I’m away – is a huge benefit. Actually, it’s one of the key benefits to me. I also love the AirBnB integration, and it works reliably every time.

    AirBnB Integration

    Airbnb hosts, rejoice! We have partnered Airbnb to synchronize your reservations with access to your home or property, so that you would not have to worry about check-in and check-out of guests again.

    When a guest’s accommodation booking is confirmed, we send a unique PIN code to the guest. They will use it to enter your property throughout their stay. At the end of the stay, the guest’s PIN code expires. When the next accommodation booking is confirmed, a new PIN code is generated for the next guest.

    The constant changing of PIN codes heightens security of the property, so you have peace of mind.

    Don’t Like

    The main main issue with this lock is that the standard key cylinder is a cheap, easy to pick, run of the mill hardware store keyway. As a lock and security enthusiast, it’s embarrasing to have this keyway on my house. A high security keyway, or something a bit more esoteric or obscure would make this thing almost perfect.

    I’ve noticed that in the hot summer heat here in Colorado, the keypad can get a bit finniky with touches. Not a huge issue, but sometimes it’s not as responsive as it should be.

    Should you buy it?

    Yes, but get the newer version with a better keyway.

    Final thoughts

    Despite a few software bugs and hardware nuances, the Deadbolt 02 is an excellent product that’s become a welcome part of my everyday life. If you’re looking for a deadbolt that can both give you basic keypad access, as well as generate new codes for guests and service workers offline, this is the one to get.

    Find it

    Direct from Igloo Home

    Specs

    • Door thickness 38mm to 50mm
    • Clearance from door edge >110mm
    • Type of door Wooden doors (right/left-hand compatible)
    • Outer body 60x142x30 (mm)
    • Inner body 65x160x50(mm)
    • Weight 1.50kg
    • Outer body Zn, ABS
    • Inner body Zn, ABS
    • Operation method PIN code, Bluetooth Key, Emergency Key (2 provided)
    • Color Black
    • Operation temperature 0°C ~40°C
    • Emergency Power DC9V Alkaline Battery (not included)
    • Certification IP45 (advise to install under sheltered areas)
    • Power 4 AA Batteries (lasts up to 9 months)
    • Warranty 1 year on electronic/mechanical defects
  • Aftershokz Trekz Titanium headphones conduct sound through your bones

    Aftershokz Trekz Titanium headphones conduct sound through your bones

    Bluetooth sports headphones are common nowadays – I personally have a few pairs of them, and they’re cheap and readily accessible for a basic pair. To innovate in this space, a company needs to do something special – and Aftershokz may have done just that. Their Trekz Titanium are an interesting take on sports headphones – they’re used just like normal headphones, fitting around the back of the wearers head. However, instead of transmitting sound through your ear canals, they use bone conduction to push sound through the bones surrounding your ears. The result is a headphone that sits around your ear, doesn’t block outside noise, and isn’t affected by wind noise. 

    What It Is

    Sports headphones that use bone conduction to transmit sound – a nice take on sports headphones

    The lightweight and comfortable Trekz Titanium wireless stereo headphones are the safest alternative to traditional sport headphones and earbuds. Bone conduction technology, an open ear design and a suite of convenient features deliver premium music play and crystal clear calling without compromise. Designed with athletes in mind, Trekz Titanium are sweatproof, secure, and will allow you to hear your surroundings – no matter where life takes you.

    Who It’s For

    The Trekz Titanium are for athletes of all types. Specifically, however, they’re great for staying aware of your surroundings, because they don’t block ear canals and allow you to hear what’s around you. For me, running in the morning partially on the road and partially on trails, this is a great benefit. They also seem great for bikers who want to keep aware of traffic around them, but want to listen to podcasts too.

    Testing Method

    I wore the Trekz Titanium on daily road runs, trail runs, gym workouts, indoor bouldering, and around town for about two weeks in Colorado. I had them connected to my iPhoneX and usually used the Apple Podcasts app or Spotify.

    First Impressions

    They’re a nice little package – seem well built, no extra pieces or ear tip guards necessary, and come with a nice storage bag and charging cable. Of note on first look, the charging port is Micro-USB. Given that everything else nowadays is USB-C, the use of Micro-USB seems outdated and requires me to carry around an extra old school Micro-USB cable. Ugh.

    Like

    • The headphones pair easily via bluetooth, and the connection is solid. Running with my phone in hand, the connection never drops at all. Walking around my house, the range is just fine.
    • When worn properly, the sound on podcasts is nice and clear. I love that they let me hear what’s going on around me, but since the sound is conducted through bones, it doesn’t get drowned out by other noises. Pretty cool!
    • The one-piece design stays secure and snug on my head most of the time, and once adjusted to the right spot, it’s comfortable enough to wear.
    • The simple volume controls and multi function button on the side is easy and effective.
    • Battery life is good. I charged them after every workout, but during 3 hour gym sessions or long runs, they never had any battery issues.

    Don’t Like

    • As far as audio quality goes, they’re not the best. I wouldn’t really listen to music with them, because I’m a bit of a snob in that regard. But for listening to podcasts, they’re really great. Clear voice quality, and decent volume. But for any nuanced music, or watching TV in a loud gym where there are atmospheric audio nuances, these aren’t the best – for that I switch back to a pair of JBL Reflect Mini’s i have, which plug my ears and stop outside sound.
    • It’s worth noting that when connected to my mac, these headphones use only the “low quality” SBC audio codec. Even after forcing/enabling both APT-X and AAC in the mac Bluetooth Explorer utility, the headphones would still only connect using low quality SBC. This further supports my podcast-only usage of these headphones.
    • Yes, these headphones have a microphone on them for calls – but it sucks. I really wanted the mic to be good, because these would be almost the perfect “walking around my house on conference calls all day” headphones. But in my personal tests both recording audio and playing it back, and asking friends how I sounded on the phone, the results were consistently negative – scratch mic pickup, and lots of wind noise with even the slightest breeze. So, yes you can talk on them if you need to, but they’re certainly not a good bet for consistent calls.
    • That Micro-USB port needs to be replaced with a USB-C port.

    Should you buy it?

    Looking for solid wireless headphones for listening to podcasts on a morning workout, and like the open airiness of nothing in your ears? These are great!

    Looking for super hifi music listening, blocking out the outside world, or great call quality? Keep looking

    Final thoughts

    Aftershokz Trekz Titanium are a novel approach to sports headphones, and for my morning run, they’re great.

    Find it

    Aftershokz Trekz Titanium on Amazon

    Direct from Aftershokz

    Specs

    • Bone conduction technology delivers music through your cheekbones, ensuring ears remain completely open to hear ambient sounds
    • Titanium wraparound headband is lightweight and flexible for durability and portability
    • OpenFit™ design ensures maximum situational awareness and comfort during long-term wear
    • PremiumPitch+™ guarantees a premium audio experience, including wide dynamic range and rich bass
    • Wireless Bluetooth® 4.1 connectivity and convenient multipoint pairing
    • LeakSlayer™ technology significantly reduces natural sound leakage
    • IP55 certified to repel sweat, dust and moisture, from workouts to wicked weather
    • Enjoy six hours of continuous music + calls on a single charge
    • EQ presets boost bass and reduce vibration on the go
    • Dual noise canceling microphones exclude surrounding noise, effectively enhancing speech
    • Audrey Says™ voice prompts guide users through power, pair, play and talk
    • Hassle-free 2-year warranty
    • Speaker type: bone conduction transducers
    • Frequency response: 20Hz~20KHz
    • Sensitivity: 100 ± 3dB
    • Microphone: -40dB ± 3dB
    • Bluetooth version: v4.1
    • Compatible profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, HFP
    • Wireless range: 33 ft (10m)
    • Battery: rechargeable lithium ion
    • Continuous play: 6 hours
    • Standby time: 10 days
    • Charge in: 1.5 hours
    • Weight: 1.27 oz (36g)

     

  • Reviewing the Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Ceramic Clous De Paris Wristwatch on Wristwatch Review

    Reviewing the Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Ceramic Clous De Paris Wristwatch on Wristwatch Review

    I published a quick writeup of the Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Ceramic Clous De Paris on Wristwatch Review

  • Lima Ultra Review – Do I Need A Personal Cloud?

    Lima Ultra Review – Do I Need A Personal Cloud?

    Most of my data nowadays resides in “The Cloud”.. a nebulous term for the remote server I use to store data, which then goes and syncs on all my devices. I personally use a combination of Google Drive and iCloud – although there are lots of others out there. I pay Google and Apple a bit of cash every month, and they manage the server infrastructure and services needed to make my data available to me. However, if I didn’t want to entrust my data to a 3rd party, but still wanted to convenience of cloud access, I’d go for a “Personal Cloud” product – like the Lima Ultra. 

    What It Is

    The Lima Ultra is a Personal Cloud device – plug a hard drive into it, put it on your home network, and voila, you have access to whatever files are on that hard drive both locally and remotely – no paying Google or Apple a monthly fee, no more not knowing where you data is physically located.

    “Lima is a smart device that stays in your home and sends you securely your files where and when you need them. It’s like the Cloud, except your files are stored at your place.”

    Lima Ultra

    Who It’s For

    The Lima Ultra seems aimed at tech-focused consumers who are looking for an easy way to store lots of data at home, and make that data available online anytime. It’s not for the complete luddite, and it’s not for the business/enterprise user. It’s also not for the DIY user who wants lots of self-configuration options, open software, or truly solid data security.

     

    Testing Method

    I tested Lima Ultra at home over the course of three weeks, running on my home network connected to a 2nd Generation Apple Airport Express, Comcast 25/5 cable internet, and both USB Flash and USB hard disk drives. I installed the app on my 2011 13″ Macbook Air running MacOS Sierra, as well as on my iPhone 7.

    First Impressions

    Packaging is solid and smooth – the box is the perfect size for the gear, and it’s all securely packed in there. The box comes with the Lima Ultra, power adapter, and ethernet cable.

    Getting setup the first time was easy – connect lima to my network with the ethernet cable, plug in the usb hard drive, connect to power, and then load up the Mac app’s configuration utility. It was fairly straightforward to setup my initial Lima account, and get my drive formatted and recognized on the cloud.
    The device is small, and mostly unobtrusive in my electronics cabinet. It gets warm, but not hot. Additionally, the AC Adapter is smartly designed with a number of international plugs, and only takes up one spot on my power strip.

    Like

    • The ease of first use is really great- it took just a few minutes to get all of the hardware plugged in, and it was quick to download and setup the software. The only small snag was that the Lima Ultra needed a firmware update the first time I turned it on – but that was smoothly handled by the app.
    • Instantly having files I added to it available on my phone was a great convenience. The app is smart with data management, and if, for example, Im watching a movie on my phone, it will download the entire file while I watch the file.
    • On my Mac, Lima Ultra shows up in the system as another hard disk connected locally – so to add files to my Lima cloud, I just have to drag it into my Lima hard disk like a normal local disk. Synchronization with the cloud disk and the rest of my devices happens in the background.
    • The app supports Google Cast and Airplay – so movies I load on Lima can be easily streamed back around to my Chromecast – for me, that’s an essential feature – since it lets the Lima act sort of like a very stripped down media server. Don’t get me wrong – it still has a ways to go before it’s a truly useful home media server. It has the potential, but Lima hasn’t added any really great media server features yet.

    Don’t Like

    • Once the first account setup has been completed, it was very very difficult to make big changes. At one point, I wanted to use a different hard drive with my Lima Ultra. Instead of simply plugging in the new hard drive and setting up Lima again, I had to go through a long and convoluted discussion with support in order to get them to reset my account on their end, and then I could go in and set it up again on my end. So to change hard drives, Lima support holds the keys. They stay it’s a security measure, which is fine – but certainly there must be a better way to do it 
    • Lima Ultra uses their own encryption on the disk – which means that if you plug in the hard drive you used with your lima directly into your computer, you just see an encrypted disk image. So there’s no easy to directly load content onto the Lima drive locally, and then use that same drive and content with Lima.
    • The software, while it works, is sparse on features. Media streaming, downloading, and other management tasks aren’t there, and there’s no way to connect with other services, or to easily load your own management software.
    • While the Lima Ultra is a fairly powerful piece of hardware that could potentially do much more than Lima lets it, there’s no way to extend it. I’d love to add a USB hub to Lima Ultra and then connect a bunch of hard drives, in addition to networking a printer, and driving a USB DAC for Airplay and Google Cast Audio. Those are just a few of the possibilities that could be enabled with better software. There’s also automated downloads, remote management, network management and monitoring, etc etc.
    • The Lima Ultra uses a USB-A connector for the usb connection, and a tip-ring connector for power. I understand USB-A is still the most   popular, and the tip-ring connector is needed for the higher power necessary to power both the Lima Ultra and USB hard drive connected. However, if Lima had a bit more foresight and used USB-C for both the hard drive and power connections, they could make a much more robust, extensible, and future-proof device. USB-C could handle the higher power, could handle higher speed data transfer, as well as could support thunderbolt hard drives, ethernet, and even graphics.

    Should you buy it?

    It you’re looking for a simple way to have your own basic personal cloud – either for everyday document access or backup, and you’re not going to need any advanced features, aren’t going to be tinkering with the setup, and don’t need more than one hard drive’s worth of storage, then Lima is great. If you’re looking to push it any further – for a media server, for syncing with other cloud services, for flexible administration and management, multiple drives, usb hubs, automated file downloads, or anything like that, keep searching.

    Final thoughts

    Lima Ultra is a fine product that competently delivers its core functionality. However, a lack of open software, reliance on back and forth with support to make account changes and disk drive changes, and very limited expandability and connectability to other platforms leaves me very wanting.

     

    Find it

    Direct from Lima

  • Carlock Car Tracking Device Review

    Carlock Car Tracking Device Review

    Nowadays most cars are smart enough to offer GPS navigation, emergency assistance, and a wide range of other “connected drive” features. They’re even able to offer 3rd party tracking via app integrations available on Apple Carplay and other in-car computer systems. However, if your car doesn’t offer built in tracking apps, or you need to more discreetly track its location, the CarLock could be a great option. 

    What It Is

    Carlock is an electronic device that connects to your cars OBD2 diagnostic port. It monitors your cars speed, location, power levels, and other control positions, which it then sends back to the CarLock Cloud, allowing you to monitor car positon and driving conditions from afar.

    It’s a real-time tracking system that monitors your vehicle and alerts you of suspicious activity even if you are half way around the world! This is all managed through an app on your Android or iOS device.

    Who It’s For

    Carlock is advertised for a wide range of motorists – for people who want to track if the car is stolen, track their kids driving, monitor the engine, and a bunch of others.

    However, based on my testing and assessment of features, I really think it’s best for parents who need to track the driving locations and habits of their teens.  The features of the device, and style of the app seem perfectly setup to allow this kind of tracking.

    Testing Method

    I tested carlock over two weeks of driving in a 2006 BMW 325i, with the carlock plugged into the OBD2 port, and running the Carlock app on my Apple iPhone 7, on AT&T. I drove all around down, did a few commutes, one longer car trip, and a bunch of trips up into the mountain. Additionally, I had a friend drive the car while I monitored via the app from afar.

    First Impressions

    The packaging Carlock comes in is solid – a small cardboard box, with good packing and protection. Getting started with installing carlock is super easy – once I located the OBD2 port on my car, I simply plugged in carlock, and that was it. Conneting carlock to the app was easy as well. Since carlock uses the cellular network to communicate (not a bluetooth or wifi connection), there’s not manual pairing or anything. Simply give the app the code number for the carlock device, and I was up and running. Once installed, the carlock device is forgotten about quickly – it’s out of the way, unobtrusive, and doesn’t really need to be handed or dealt with again – everything else happens on the app.

    The app was easy to use and get started with. My only main issue was that there wasn’t as much info about the carlock cellular connection. Additionally, although it’s advertised as monitoring your engine, really the only car info you get is the battery charge level – good to know, but barely all of the information available from OBD2.

    Like

    • Setting up Carlock is really easy – the OBD2 port on most cars is easy to locate, and all that’s needed is to plug it in.
    • The app pairs up easily and is easy to navigate.
    • Despite being located down low in my car, the Carlock still was able to acquire satellite tracking reliably – a feat I didn’t think it would be able to accomplish. Additionally, the cellular connection appeared strong. Tracking was lost when I was deep in the mountains, but all of the data synced as soon as my car was back in the city.
    • The piece of mind in knowing I’d get an alert if my car was moved was great. I also like being alerted when I’m driving a bit aggressively.
    • The Carlock cloud service makes getting up and running really easy. No manual syncing or managing data – just connect the app and everything is up and running.
    • Overall, the system works as described.

    Don’t Like

    • Although the carlock can monitor car battery voltage, I think it would be great to monitor all other engine metrics as well – even though using a cellular connection is not “realtime” for speed monitoring, at least let it send engine data back to the app. (in addition to throttle and brake positions it already does)
    • Although it makes things easy, the Carlock cloud shouldn’t be the only syncing option. It would be great if Carlock could be programmed to use a custom server, or write its location to a Google Sheets file, or something similar.
    • What else can I do with my data? What about allowing me to connect my carlock account to IFTTT to link with other internet services?
    • And of course, there’s no local bluetooth or wifi connection. Since carlock takes up the single OBD2 port in my car, if I’m using it, I can’t have another bluetooth OBD2 dongle plugged in for realtime engine monitoring. If carlock used both cellular for theft prevention and remote tracking, and bluetooth for realtime monitoring, that would be the ideal solution.

    Should you buy it?

    If you have driving teens and want to track their location and driving habits, then yes, I believe carlock is a really great tool. It’s compact, simple, effective, and gives all the features necessary. However, if you’re looking for full engine monitoring, true antitheft, or to add your car to the “internet of things”, then I’d say keep looking – Carlock has nice features, but not the right combination to make it truly brilliant.

    Final thoughts

    Carlock is a solid performer for its core remote location tracking and driving habits features. If its essential feature is the only thing you’re after, get it.

    Find it

    Carlock on Amazon

    Direct from Carlock

  • Jabra Elite Sport Headphones Review – Truly Wireless

    Jabra Elite Sport Headphones Review – Truly Wireless

    Wires are out, and wireless is in when you’re on the go – both sound and power and now going truly wireless. The Jabra Elite Sport Headphones are truly wireless headphones that make a great companion for workouts, commutes, and chats. 

    What It Is

    The Jabra Elite Sport headphones are sport headphones with no wires.Each bud fits inside your ear, and they’re linked to each other wirelessly. One of them is linked to your phone via bluetooth. The headphones have an integrated heartrate monitor, include stereo noise cancelling microphones, playback and call controls, and play for about three hours per charge. They come with a nifty case that doubles as a charger and spare battery pack – giving 2 full charges before needing to be recharged itself via Micro USB. The only part of the system that needs a wire is charging the case via USB.

    “Catch every call while you’re exercising with these waterproof Jabra Elite Sport earbuds. These wireless earpieces have three hours of battery time and an additional six hours when topped up with the included charging case. These Jabra Elite Sport earbuds have an in-ear heart rate monitor and an integrated app for fitness analysis and coaching.
    ”

    Jabra Elite Sport

    Who It’s For

    They’re great if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to do short daily workouts with, where a cord gets in the way. They’re best if you primarily listen to podcasts/audiobooks, occasionally music, and occasionally take phone calls. They’re good if you always carry a gym bag and can tote around the storage case/charger.

    Testing Method

    I tested these over about 3 weeks of almost daily use – going to the gym, running outdoors, and traveling with them. I’ve also talked a few hours with them, and have gone through a firmware upgrade process. I use Strava on my iPhone 7 for fitness tracking, which I used with these. I listen to music with Spotify, and podcasts with the native iOS podcasts app. I also tried the Jabra Fitness Life app. I recharged the headphones case with their included microUSB cable, both connected to my Macbook Air’s USB port, as well as my iPad’s charging brick.

    First Impressions

    The packaging is great, and they came in a giant foam padded box. I’m not really one for unboxing, but my general impression was that this was a lot of packaging for a small product – but they certainly were well protected!

    In addition to the headphones headphones, the package comes with the charging/storage case, and a bunch of different eartips and fit guides, allowing you to pick and choose to get a customized fit in your ears. After playing around with a bunch of different size combinations, I finally found one that works well for me. I must say, it’s really really important to find a good fit – the headphones will sound terrible if you don’t. But as soon as you get the right fit, they sound great, and stay in well.

    Like

    • Obviously, the key feature of these is that they’re totally wireless. And I love that. Lifting at the gym, running, and doing lots of other sports are all easy with these. No wire around the back of my neck means they’re snag-free, and I have total movement when working out. Also, since they are bluetooth to my phone, I can easily set up my phone to watch Netflix on the rowing machine, while getting full wireless audio.
    • They stay in my ears very well. Not once have I had them fall out while working out, and they always feel secure and lightweight.
    • Love the microphone pass-through feature. I end up walking around with these in my ears all the time not listening to anything, but able to hear my surroundings.
    • The charging case is really convenient for keeping them charged.. and I know that they’ll always be ready to go when i get them out of my bag.
    • They turn on when the case is opened, and connect quickly and reliably to my iPhone 7. Also, the stereo sound seems to stay in perfect sync.

    app_main

    Don’t Like

    • Although they fit very well and stay in place, the sound on them isn’t the best. Maybe I’m not getting a perfect fit, but they seem to be perfectly adaquate for podcasts etc. But for music, the quality is just not up to the quality I’d expect. I do think it’s a fit issue, as well as a wireless bandwidth and power issue – but that’s my main complaint.
    • The bluetooth audio link has a significant lag on it – so much so that it’s hard to watch tv and movies on my iPhone because the audio is so out of sync. I’ve tried resetting, upgrading, etc – still audio lag.
    • The battery life is only three hours – so for a quick daily workout these are great. But for a long race or all day hike, not so much.

    Should you buy it?

    Super active sports, listening to mostly podcasts, doing a short daily workout and carrying a gym bag, these are perfect! If you need all day battery life without recharging, perfect audio sync, booming quality for music, or perfect calls, maybe not so much. But overall, this is a very solid product.

    Final thoughts

    Overall a solid project with a lot of engineering know-how in it. I love using these during daily workouts, and can see the future of wireless audio coming full force.

    Find it

    Amazon

    Direct from Jabra

     

     

  • Noyce Lightning Cable Review – It’s Long!

    Noyce Lightning Cable Review – It’s Long!

    Noyce Labs Longest iPhone CableNoyce Labs sent me their 4 Meter (13 ft) long USB>Lightning cable for testing. It’s the longest spec-compliant cable out there, and works great. The cable seems well constructed and durable, the connection is solid, and it comes with a nice leather wrap to keep the cable tied up when not in use. I currently use it next to my bed, and it’s been just fine. If you’re looking for the longest iPhone cable possible, this one will work just fine.  The only complaint I have is that Noyce isn’t making a long USB-C cable yet. Looking forward to that in the future, as USB-C takes over…

    Find it on Amazon

  • Charging Pow With The Orsden Men’s Slope Jacket

    Charging Pow With The Orsden Men’s Slope Jacket

    For the past week, I’ve been hitting it hard in Telluride, Colorado and Crested Butte, Colorado – riding huge power days, enduring freezing blizzards, and relaxing at the mid-mountain ranch while wearing the new Orsden Men’s Slope Jacket. Here’s a few thoughts on this new company, and new piece of snow gear.

    What It Is

    The Orsden Slope Jacket is a good-looking, minimalist, functional ski jacket from ski gear company Orsden. It’s made to be supremely functional on the mountain, and also look good off the mountain. The jacket is waterproof, breathable, insulated, and has a trim and modern cut that makes it look just as good when you throw it on to go out for dinner.

    Orsden is a new company, created by Sara Segall and her husband, and the slope jacket is their first product. They sent me a jacket to try out during my recent snowboarding trip to Telluride and Crested Butte, Colorado.

    The Slope Jacket has 4-way stretch construction, allowing for freedom of movement. Micro twill shell with 20k/20k laminate and DWR finish keeps out the elements. Luxurious internal lining and dynamic insulation are engineered to work in harmony with the shell, balancing temperature.

    The Slope Jacket is also equipped with 5 pockets, internal stretch cuffs with thumbholes, zippered underarm vents, and a helmet-compatible hood, so you’re always prepared regardless of the conditions.

    Orsden Men’s Slope Jacket Product Page

    Who It’s For

    The slope jacket is for skiers and snowboarders who put performance first, and style a close second. It’s for athletes skiing all day, and then immediately showing up for apres ski drinks. It’s for season-pass holders who need a do-everything jacket to take with them every trip to the mountains.

    First Impressions

    When first trying it on, I was immediately struck by the light insulation, and the apparent stretchiness of the fabric. The jacket is cut trim, but because it’s stretch, you can move freely. I also noticed that there are nice fleece cuffs with thumb openings. I’m somewhat tall and skinny, so the sleeves were a bit short for me when using the thumb holes – but the rest of the jacket fit well. I immediately appreciated the sculpted and textured zipper pull, which is moulded into the zipper, so it doesn’t flap around in the wind. And finally, I noticed that although the jacket is insulated, the arms have a lighter insulation, and preserve freedom of movement.

    On The Slope

    I spent a solid week snowboarding in the jacket every day, on warm days, cold days, in blizzards, in rain, and in 16 inches of fresh powder at Crested Butte. The jacket certainly performs well as a ski jacket – it kept me completely dry, stretched to let me move an twist, and wasn’t super bulky.

    During the ski day, I stored some granola bars in one of the hand warmer pockets, my phone in the other, my chap stick and the included lens cloth in the outer chest pocket, and my wallet in the inner pocket. The pockets worked well, I liked that the hand warmer pockets are fleece lined. However, they weren’t perfect. The hand warmer pockets are build so that the pocket rests outside of the jacket’s insulation, just underneath the waterproof shell. This means that on cold days, the pockets offer bare hands almost no insulation. If the pockets had been designed to rest under the insulation, the’d keep your hands warm when walking around. Additionally, one of the inner cords that keeps the pockets from turning inside-out seems to have broken, so now every time I take my hand out of the right pocket, it turns inside out – hardly cool!

    The tethered lens cloth is a great touch, and it’s perfectly situated in the chest pocket. However, the cloth is permanently sewn into the jacket, so if it needs to be washed or replaced, there’s no way to separate it from the jacket – a simple clip would fix this.

    The high and thick collar of the jacket was great for keeping wind out on lift rides and runs, and I appreciated the attention to detail with the zipper pull, and overall construction of the collar.

    Finally, I found that even in super wet snow or light rain, the jacket’s fabric stayed waterproof, and water beaded up and rolled right off.

    Around Town

    Wearing the slope jacket around town is just as nice as wearing it on the slopes. The waterproof zippers and trim cut make it look sleek and minimalist. Over a button down, I had no worries walking into various bars and restaurants around Telluride. However, I’m not sure I’d take this jacket to a proper city or wear over a suit. Kicking around ski towns in it is perfect though. The detachable hood is extremely convenient, as is the detachable powder skirt.

    Like

    • Minimalist design and paired down features make is classy and functional on and off the slope.
    • Stretchy fabric is great for intense activity and overall comfort – the fabric is soft and not “crinkly” like some other tech shell fabrics.
    • The logo and lettering are made of a thin plastic and glued onto the face of the fabric, giving a cool relief to the logo – certainly feels and looks like a premium product.
    • Well thought out pockets and small details like the hood zipper garage and detatchable powder skirt.
    • Just the right amount of insulation – warm enough for spring days, and layerable for colder days.

    Don’t Like

    • For me, the sleeves were a bit too short.
    • The hand warmer pockets sit above the insulation, making them not very good at keeping hands warm when walking aroudn town.
    • Lens cloth is permanently tethered to jacket, making washing a pain.
    • I never really figured out what to put in the arm pocket.
    • For $330, I’d expect a bit more precision in the stitching and overall finish. There were a few seams that were double stitched, and the  right hand warmer pocket broke free from the inside and kept turning inside out.

    Summary

    The Orsden Slope Jacket is a great first product from a new company, and does a lot of thing really well. It’s slick, hip, and functional. However, small design details like the lens cloth, pockets, and seams leave a small amount of room for improvement.

    Should You Buy It?

    If you’re looking for a minimalist and good looking ski jacket and are into supporting a small company working hard on their products, go for it. This jacket will likely last a few seasons while making you look good on and off the slope. However, it’s not the jacket for you if you want big-dog design and engineering, technical mountaineering features (for which this jacket was not designed), or upper-market style details.

    Final thoughts

    Snowboarding with the Slope Jacket from Orsden has been a great experience, and I’ll likely keep using it as my go-to jacket for the rest of the winter here in Colorado, without hesitation. It replaces my Arc’Teryx BetaLT+down jacket as my outer layer and main insulation layer. Looking forward to more solid runs with Orsden.

    Find It Here

    Orsden Direct

  • DJI Phantom 4 Quadcopter Review – Your Eyes On The World

    DJI Phantom 4 Quadcopter Review – Your Eyes On The World

    This is the summer of drones. DJI has its Phantom Series, Yuneec has Typhoon, and today GoPro released Karma. Earlier this summer I flew and reviewed the Yuneec Q500 Phantom drone – with mixed reactions. Over the past month, I’ve had the pleasure of flying the DJI Phantom 4 quadcopter drone – which is an absolute dream.

    What It Is

    large_p1The DJI Phantom 4 Drone is DJI’s flagship drone. It sits at the intersection between hardcore professional filming drones and more accessible consumer level drones, offering easy flying, lots of advanced features, and great image quality. The packaging, handling, and utility is made to be easily accessible to first time flyers, and continuously useful to experienced pilots.

    DJI Phantom 4 Product Page

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    Who It’s For

    large_p2The Phantom 4 is aimed at semi-pro flyers who want to focus on getting the shot, every time. The drone comes almost completely assembled, and is a breeze to get all setup and into the air.  Without reading any instructions, I got the drone setup in under 10 minutes, and was ready to fly in 20 for the first flight. The camera, with its fixed lens, is well suited for semi-pro photographers who want easily spectactular shots, but who don’t necessarily need to customize their choice of lens focal lengths. Finally, the Phantom4 is for enthusiast pilots who just want a drone that’s a kickass fun time to fly – high, fast, close quarters, etc – it’s just plain fun and easy to use.

    First Impressions

    large_p3Out of all of the consumer electronics I’ve reviewed lately, the packaging of the Phantom 4 is by far the most slick – it comes in a great foam box which doubles as a storage and transport case. There’s not too much extraneous accessories or packaging. The extra propellers come in a nice microfiber bag. The entire drone and controller are packaged nicely, and make an immediate impression.

    The Phantom 4 certainly feels like a premium item. The white plastic is tough and solid, as are the rest of the accessories. Fit and finish of the entire package has been carefully considered, and it really comes together as a unified system. No piecemeal attachments here.

    First flight was scary, but easy. Using the DJI GO app on my iPhone connected to the controller, I was able to get the Phantom 4 airborne with a quick swipe. On first flight, the software puts the pilot in “Beginner Mode”, restricting flight options until gaining more experience. Great idea! I flew my first flight for 20 minutes on a tour of the neighborhood, and used to “return to home” feature to make a smooth landing right in front of me.

    The first round of footage looked great – I shot in 1080P, and it was certainly spectacular to look at. Smooth, stable, and with great exposure. The only issue I had with my first couple of shots is that the controls are so responsive, it’s easy to make jerky flight movements, which result in jerks in the footage. This is all tunable in the software – but it does take a bit of fiddling around.

    Recharging the battery was easy, as was the controller. The only question I had about the controller was, why can’t we charge it with Micro USB? I know it charges slower, but it would be a nice fallback option for charging on the go.

     

    large_p6

    Flight Platform

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    The Phantom 4 is a rockstar in flight. It’s solid as a rock, super agile, and flies reliably in very sketchy conditions. The one time I ran it into a building, it actually bounced off the roof, and recovered to normal flight in seconds – amazing!

    Like

    • Easy to get started flying. The automatic modes are robust and easy to use, as well as give good expandability as your skills get better. I love that there are programmed flight modes, allowing you to setup a shot and then have the drone reproduce it for multiple takes.
    • Status lights on the craft are bright and easy to see, especially at dusk.
    • After flying at 12000+ feet, I’m confident that this thing has the power and stability to fly in almost any situation. It takes off easily, and holds its position in the sky without any difficulty. Take your hands off the controller, and the P4 just hovers perfectly still.
    • Range is great, and the video transmission quality is dynamically scaled back as the drone gets farther away.
    • Return to home works great. Upon pressing the button, or loss of signal, the drone flies reliably back home. There were many many many instances where I was flying the drone well out of visual range, and pushed it as far as it would go. After it got so far away that the connection was completely lost (a few miles in rugged mountain terrain at 10000ft), the thing just made its own way back to takeoff point and landed smoothly. With battery to spare. Amazing!
    • Sport mode is FAST! So much fun to fly like this.
    • Battery life – 20 minutes or so, is pretty good! Of course I want to fly this thing for hours, but the 20 or so minutes you get per charge is perfectly acceptable. Be sure to pick up extra batteries.

    en_12

    Don’t Like

    • Turning the unit on and off is weird – it requires a “dot-dash” button press to turn it on and off – not super intuitive.
    • A few times while auto landing, it got into a major vertical oscillation, forcing me to take over manual flight to get it to land without crashing.
    • While it is fairly small, given how much fun it is to fly, I wanted to take it lots of places with me. I know there’s a backpack for it, but it’s still a bulky system. Would be cool if the legs folded and camera detached, to make the whole thing fit in a more flat profile (hint hint).
    • I know you can get prop guards as an accessory, but I really think they should come standard. People fly these things around other people. Prop guards.

    Camera System

    en_06

    The 4K camera of the Phantom 4 is gorgeous. It’s a fixed focal length, gimballed and stabalized camera, with a rotating filter mount on the front. The camera takes up to  4k/24 video and raw quality photos, and offers a great versatile field of view.

    Like

    • It’s certainly stable. Video footage looks smooth and nice, with good image quality, and good auto exposure.
    • Photos are great too, and I love that it can capture in raw.
    • Notably, the app also can record the lower quality video it receives over the air. So even in the case of a flight system loss, you’ll still have a little footage on the app. Great idea.
    • The SD card for the camera is held on the side of the flight platform – meaning it’s fairly well protected against impact, and is also easy to take out. If it were mounted in the camera, it would be a pain in the ass dealing with a swiveling camera mount every time.

    Don’t Like

    • The Phantom 4 is nimble. Super nimble. And with  the stock control configuration, it’s easy to make quick, jerky flight moves. This translates into jerks on the camera too, which although stabilized and relatively vibration-free, still looks weird when the gimbal suddenly moves quickly. There are controls to add speed buffering to the controls to make each move slower or faster – but I was a bit confused by how to set that up.
    • Only up to 4k/24? I’d love a slightly higher framerate, at least 4k/30.
    • I know this is the way it is, but I’d love an interchangeable lens on the camera. Maybe not even the whole Micro 4/3 mount of the Inspire1, but perhaps some interchangeable lens kits – Wide, normal, tele?
    • As far as flying while shooting.. What are those four “nav”cameras (two forward, two down) seeing when you’re flying? I know they’re looking for obstacles.. but why can’t I see what they’re seeing on my screen, as a bit of a nav/engineering cam view? This could help me keep situation awareness during the flight, while the main camera captures pretty footage.

    Controller

    en_08

    The DJI controler is a tight package. It includes a white controller with rechargable battery, antenas, and a holder for your iOS or Android device.

    Like

    • Pairing the controller with your iOS or Android device is a BRILLIANT move for DJI. This allows them to distribute the primary flight software as an easily updatable smartphone/tablet app, and lets you use your own device – where a tiny iPhone up to a huge iPad Pro.
    • They have an SDK! This is an incredible feature which allows 3rd party developers to create their own flight control apps, opening up the doors for all sorts of creative use cases. This is a whole article in itself.
    • The controller uses a wired connection to your smartphone or tablet – meaning the connection is solid and sure.
    • If for some reason your app crashes, the drone is flyable only with the controller – no app required. This is great for emergencies.

    Don’t Like

    • For some reason, the controller doesn’t charge your smartphone while connected. I know this has to do with battery life issues – but still, it would be a nice little feature.
    • The antennas are not replaceable – so short of modding the whole thing, there’s no way to swap out more powerful antennas.

    Should You Buy It?

    If you want a super easy flying drone, with great image quality, and an almost infinite universe of features to explore, yes, go buy this thing immediately. It’s so so so much fun to fly. If you’re looking to shoot a big studio movie, then move on up to the Inspire 1 or Matrix. If you just want a toy to fly in your living room or backyard, then go to the toystore.

    Final thoughts

    Flying the DJI Phantom 4 is a revolutionary experience. The company has absolutely nailed the fit and finish of the product, made a solidly performing piece of hardware, and has build a memorable experience. I’m certainly sad to be returning the Phantom 4 to DJI after this review.

    Find It Here

    Amazon

    DJI Direct

  • Jabra Sport Pulse Special Edition Bluetooth Headphones Review – Run, Bike, Work, and Talk in Comfort

    Jabra Sport Pulse Special Edition Bluetooth Headphones Review – Run, Bike, Work, and Talk in Comfort

    **Update 2017-04-07**
    After less than a year of usage on daily light runs and workouts, the Jabra Sport Pulse headphones have failed, once again, after a previous warranty replacement.  The headphones red charging light lights up when plugged into power or my computer, but when unplugged, the headphones fail to turn on. I’ve tried updating the firmware, charging overnight, using multiple USB cables, etc – nothing works, the headphones are dead. Physically they’re in great condition, haven’t been abused at all, and simply died. Although Jabra does have a support department, it’s certainly disappointing that multiple sets of these Sport Pulse headphones have died on me. Because I’ve had multiple units fail, I can no longer recommend this product. :(
    **
    With the introduction of Apple’s iPhone 7 without a headphone jack, water resistance, and focus on sports apps, wireless workout headphones are more relevant than ever. The Jabra Sport Pulse Special Edition headphone fit the bill nicely – they’re made by headset and electronics leader Jabra, are aimed at sports and active use, and use the latest version of bluetooth for both audio and heartrate monitoring. Oh, did I mention they’re a heartrate monitor? That too. Here’s the rundown on these multifunctionally convenient headphones.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGjdYLtr7Og

    What It Is

    jabra-sport-pulse-closeup

    The Jabra Sport Pulse Special Edition Headphones are wireless bluetooth headphones with a built in heartrate monitor, inline remote control, and microphone for calls. They connect to your phone and/or computer with Bluetooth 4, are water resistant, rugged, and fit securely for active use. Thre’s a microphone on the remote for taking calls, and they recharge with micro usb. Additionally, they feature a built in heartrate monitor, which is integrated into one of the earbuds, and gets HR data from a sensor pressed against your ear while in use. It’s also worth noting that these headphones are wirelessly connected to the audio source, but wired together. Additionally, they use micro-usb for charging and updating.

    “Your all-in-one training solution with a built-in heart rate monitor. Made towards US Military standards, it’s sure to withstand even the hardest workout. Get immersive sound and real-time voice coaching that helps you reach your goals. Cut the wires and enjoy true freedom of movement.”

    Jabra Sport Pulse

    Who It’s For

    jabra_sport_pulse_wireless_summary_1440x1440The headphones are for mobile, active athletes who love using apps to track their workouts and metrics, drive towards a goal with their workouts, and listen to both music and podcasts, and occasionally deal with taking a call while working out. They’re great for gym-goers, or fitness-minded runners who favor convenience and features over battery life. They’re also a capable pair of office headphones with the ability to pair to your computer for wireless music listening, as well as for taking calls.

    Testing Method

    I tested these over about 3 weeks of almost daily use – going to the gym, running outdoors, and traveling with them. I’ve also talked a few hours with them, and have gone through a firmware upgrade process. I use Strava on my iPhone 6S for fitness tracking, which I used with these. I listen to music with Spotify, and podcasts with the native iOS podcasts app. I also tried the Jabra Fitness Life app. I recharged the headphone with their included microUSB cable, both connected to my Macbook Air’s USB port, as well as my iPad’s charging brick.

    First Impressions

    The packaging on these headphones is slick – a nice box with a magnetic latch, and nice presentation of the headphones with the different eartips.

    In addition to the sport pulse headphones, the package comes with a bunch of different eartips and fit guides, allowing you to pick and choose to get a customized fit in your ears. After playing around with a bunch of different size combinations, I finally found one that works well for me. I must say, it’s really really important to find a good fit – the headphones will sound terrible if you don’t. But as soon as you get the right fit, they sound great, and stay in well.

    There’s also a nice USB cable included, as well as a so-so black storage bag. The storage bag get the job done, but I think it’s a bit stiff and cheap feeling, considering the price. In this case, I’d prefer a small “microfiber” bag, like what comes with sunglasses.

    screen-shot-2016-09-08-at-3-44-55-pm

    Like

    • After playing around with the different eartip and earwing sizes, I finally got a good fit to these – and it’s great. The headphone stay in well, even during intense workouts. They’re also relatively unobtrusive, except for the cable. (covered below)
    • Given the design and use case, the sound from them is pretty good – certainly good enough to enjoy listening to streaming music both while working out as well as at the office. They may not sound as good as a pair of studio headphones – but for mobile headphones, they’re great. They also provide a good amount of passive noise isolation, making them ok for commuting and transit, and blocking the rest of the world out.
    • Voice quality is solid as well – listening to podcasts, voices are super clear and find. On calls, the sound quality is as good as the call quality, even with VoLTE and VOIP calls. The bottleneck is the call quality – not the headphones.
    • I love that there’s an inline microphone. Certainly not required for these, but it’s a nice feature. I hate talking on the phone while at the gym, but for the few times i take a call while working out, these work fine – callers can hear me fine.
    • The inline remote works as it should and surprisingly it doesn’t bounce too much.
    • One small addition, which is critical for real world use, is the little cable-keeper clips. They’re used to bunch up the cable connecting the headphones – which is a bit long, but with these clips, it can be adjusted. I have mine so thay lay on the bottom of my neck – not too tight, but not flopping around either.
    • There’s not a lot to say about the heartrate monitor other than – it works reliably and accurately. It connects quickly and easily to Strava, and keeps reporting HR reliably when working out. Its functionality is seamless and invisible – nothing to set up, no problems at all.
    • Finally, on the left ear there’s a “sports button”. This button is used to start workouts with the Jabra Sport Life app. A cool feature – but I don’t use the Jabra app – i use Strava. I was initially a little disappointed that an entire hardware button is usable only with one app. However, I spoke to Jabra a bit, and they let me know that the sports button can actually be used by any app, if the developers update their app to work with it. Currently the Endomondo app works with it too. Hopefully others will follow.

    app_main

    Don’t Like

    • The cable connecting the headphones is one of the biggest issues. As much as it seems like a bit of an afterthought, I think the design and build of the connecting cable is hugely important. When in use, the cable connecting the two headphones rests on the back of my neck – which is fine when I’m not moving or sweating. However, then I’m working out, I get a bit sweaty on my neck. The cable has a nice-looking matte rubber coating – which, when a little damp, gets super sticky and tacky. This causes the cable to kinda stick to my neck when turning my head, which causes constant little snags. I know it’s a small issue, and one that will probably resolve itself with a bit of adjustment and use. However, it’s bothering me a bit for now. As a solution, I’d love to see these headphones come with a more slick-surfaced plastic coated cable, rather than soft and tacky rubber. That way, the more plasticy cable coating might slide when it gets sweaty, rather than stick. OR, you could just eliminate the cable all together…
    • Batterylife is perfectly adaquate for daily workout routines. However, the 4.5 hours of battery seems short for longer workouts or races, or for using at the office AND at the gym. It’s also a little short for cross-country travel, but is perfectly fine for commuting. So, if you’re up for using them for your morning commute, charging them at your office, and then using them at the gym after work, they’ll be perfect. If you’re planning on sitting at your desk all day listening to them, maybe try something else.
    • The storage bag, while a small items, could be improved – switch it to a microfiber lens-cloth-type baggy.
    • While I appreciate the sports button’s functionality, I wish they had either gotten more 3rd party partners to integrate its functionality into their app, or focused on other features. I don’t really think I need a dedicated button to start and stop my workouts and get voice feedback. How about making the sports button a bit more versatile? Like allowing it to be reassigned to be a PTT button, or interact with the IFTTT app?
    • The eargels are great, and once they fit, they’re in. However, I noticed that the small metal mesh that covers the sound holes into the actual earphones isn’t removable or replaceable. So after a bit of working out, I’ve found that earwax and gunk has started to collect on this mesh. How do I clean it?
    • Bluetooth range – not as great as it could be. When connected to my iPhone 6s, if I put the iphone under my armpit, I can block the bluetooth enough to stop the music. With my Plantronics Explorer 500 headset (which is more of a business call headset), the music keeps going in the same circumstance.

    screen-shot-2016-09-08-at-3-44-40-pm

    Should you buy it?

    sport_pulse_wireless_closeup_outside_v01_0If you’re looking for a rugged set of wireless headphones for daily gym use, and love tracking your heartrate and using sports apps, then yeah, these are really great. They work well for their purpose, look good, and seem to be durably built. It’s obvious Jabra put a lot of thought into these, and these are certainly contenders in the premium wireless sports headphones domain. The addition of a heart rate monitor make these a compelling buy.

    However, if you’re looking for perfect audio quality or all-day battery life, keep looking. Also, while you could only wear one of these at a time to take a one-eared phone call, the other headphone is dangling by the cord. If you’re looking for a headset you can wear one at a time for calls (Like Apple’s forthcoming Airpods, keep looking.

    Final thoughts

    This is a great product from Jabra, and as the wireless headphone competition heats up in the wake of iPhone 7, I’m expecting to see even more compelling options. These headphones are solid, and will likely stay relevant and useful for their expected lifespan.

    Find it

    Direct from Jabra

    Amazon

  • Juice Up Your Gear On The Battlefield with the FuseChicken Titan Charge Cable

    Juice Up Your Gear On The Battlefield with the FuseChicken Titan Charge Cable

    Charging cables are a part of my every day life, and it seems like I’m constantly destroying them – over bending, snagging, melting, and generally wearing out. So when FuseChicken contacted me about testing out their metal-armoured Titan Charge Cable for my iPhone, I was more than happy to give it a try. Any cable thats advertised as “virtually indestructible” sounds good to me.

    What It Is

    Titan-cableThe Fuse Chicken Titan Cable is a USB-A>Lightning cable, meant for charging and syncing an iPhone or iPad. The cable is ruggedized with a full length metal jacketing, which protects the cable from over-bending, wear and tear, and general abuse. The metal jacket feels very similar to the metal jacketed cables that connect handsets on old-school pay phones – except this cable is much more stiff.

    “We’ve all seen it – the frayed cables, cords tied in knots, and the happy puppy chewing on our charger. TITAN solves all of that and more with its industrial-grade cable that is wrapped in not one, but two layers of flexible, high-strength steel. The Lightning and USB connectors on TITAN are permanently sealed with a one-piece housing fused directly over the electronics and metal cabling. Meet the last charge cable you will ever need.“

    Who It’s For

    The cable is for the commuter who is thrashing their cables around, busy families dragging cables through the house, and people who use their devices in harsh conditions – like talking on them when plugged in, using them for live performances, etc. It’s also for propping up your phone – like in the cup holder of a car.

    Testing Method

    I tested out the Titan cable both at home and in my car, as well as while on the go. At home, I had it plugged into the charger in the middle of my kitchen bar. This is the charging area that typically sees the most use, both static charging, as well as actively using my phone while it charges. It’s front and center in my house, and frequently gets splashes from the sink, hot pots near it, and pushed around by papers and stuff. In my car, the cable was used with my 12v charger, and used to charge my phone as I drove. On the go, I coiled it up and stuffed it in my bag a bunch.

    titan-cable-boat

    First Impressions

    The cable is THICK, STIFF, and HEAVY. It certainly has a solid feel to it, and feels like it will last a lifetime. Because of the coiled metal outer jacket of the cable, it’s only possible to bend the cable so much – after too much of a bend, the coils of the jacket stop more bending – thus protecting the inner cable which carries power and data. Additionally, I appreciated that the USB and Lightning connectors seemed solid and well made – one piece moulded plastic. However, I did immediately notice that the Lightning connector was too big for the cutout in my Lifeproof iPhone case.

    Like

    • The cable is certainly tough. After using it daily for a few months, it barely looks used – the silver color is still bright and sparkly, there are no kinks, dents, or scratches, and it continues to work reliably.
    • Its lightening connector, and USB connector seem to be well made – they’re not showing any signs of corrosion or wear – even after being forcefully plugged and unplugged a bunch of times.
    • I actually really like the combo of the chrome-silver cable and white connectors – looks classy, and I’m always proud to have the cable lying on my desk. It certainly doesn’t feel like just any old cable lying around.
    • The cable is magnetic due to its metal jacketing. This is actually a really great little nuance of it, that’s not really mentioned anywhere. Since its magnetic, I can stick it to a magnet that’s also stuck to a bolt on the side of my car console, thus propping up the cable a bit, I can also stick it with a strong magnet to the corner of my wall in the kitchen, where a thin corner strip of steel hides underneath a layer of spackle and paint, to reinforce the corner of two pieces of drywall. If I used this cable at my desk more, I could fully see a system using a magnet to keep this, and potentially other cables in check.

    Titan-Cactus

    Don’t Like

    • Overwhelmingly, the one thing that I don’t love about this cable, using it as I’ve described above, is that it’s really stiff. Sure it looks like a metal payphone cable, but this thing is much stiffer than that.  So stiff that it’s sometimes challenging to plug it in if you’re not paying a lot of attention, and so stiff that it’s kind of a pain in the ass to talk on the phone while the cable is plugged in. I can see how this stiffness would be nice for a product like FuseChicken’s “Bobine” products, which combine a self-standing dock with a cable. But for a simple cable that’s meant to be flexible, this thing just isn’t. I think this is the one killing issue for this cable. If I could weigh in with any advice, I’d say keep the “Bobine” line sold as flexible docks and use a stiff cable like this, and then keep the Armour line as the flexible tough cable, and get rid of the titan line. However, I’m yet to try an Armour cable yet…

    It’s USB-A, and not USB-C. Of course, this is the spec of the cable, so of course it would be USB-A. However, I’d love to see FuseChicken start to roll their designs into the new futurespec of USB-C. I’m sure they have this on the radar, and I can’t wait to see an “indestructible” cable that works with a new spec bound to be in use for many years.

    Should you buy it?

    If you’re looking for a really burly cable to use where the cable is subjected to harsh wear, are going to be using the cable to power iOS devices in live performance settings with lots of setup/teardown, are going to be tacking this onto a wall for permanent installation, or other rough uses, go for it. However, if you need a rugged cable for every day use, including occasionally using the phone with the cable plugged in, than no, don’t get this cable – it’s overkill, and way to stiff for practical everyday use. There are lots of other rugged cables out there, and FuseChicken’s Armour line even fits this bill.

    Final thoughts

    Interesting to see different ways to imagine the simple charging cable. I’ve gone through my fair share of cables, and understand the frustration of a cable failing. The FuseChicken Titan Cable is extremely rugged and burly, and should last a long time. However, it’s stiffness prevents it from being truly easy to use, and makes it hard to plug/unplug, and hard to handle your phone with the cable plugged in.

    Find it

  • Take Flight with the Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K Quadcopter Camera Drone

    Take Flight with the Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K Quadcopter Camera Drone

    YUNECCLOGOEveryone wants a quadcopter drone. Over the past year or two, these small, multi-rotor radio controlled aircraft have hit the mainstream. There are tiny palm sized ones, giant professional camera ones, and then the middle of the road – the backpack-sized, easily flyable, fun-sized ones. The Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K fits right in there – it’s relatively compact, easy to fly, takes great video footage and stills with its CGO3 4K stabilized camera, and is high enough performance to really be fun to fly. Over the past couple months, I’ve put the Q500 to the test – flying it for many hours in a variety of weather, terrain, light, and flight conditions. I’ve crashed it at least ten times, broken a few propellers, and gotten actually pretty good at flying. Here’s my review of the good – and bad- of the Q500.

    What It Is

    maxresdefaultThe Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K is a quadcopter camera drone from Yuneec. It retails for about $800, and is intended for taking stabilized video and photos from aloft. The package includes the flight platform, CGO3 camera, ST10+ radio controller and video monitor, handheld battery grip for using the camera handheld, and a variety of accessories including charger, two batteries, hard case, programming cables, extra parts, etc. It competes with the likes of the DJI Phantom 3 drone, as well as a few others.

    Capture every moment with highest quality on the market. Not only does the Typhoon 4K shoot impressive 4K video, it also captures 1080p/120fps slow motion video with the option of manual camera settings. Handheld SteadyGrip™ is included.

    Yuneec Q500 4K Product Page

    TYPHOON_4K_ST10plus_Steadygrip1

    Who It’s For

    81Ks8WE9JKL._SL1500_The Q500 is aimed at the mid-market enthusiast flyer who wants a platform that requires minimal setup and maintenance, is easy and reliable to fly, and takes good quality, immediately impressive video footage. The aircraft packages goes a bit further in offering compelling features to more serious photographers, including the ability to shoot RAW photos, white balance control, follow flight modes, and of course a handheld camera grip for shooting with the CGO3 camera on the ground. The drone IS dangerous with its spinning propellers, requires a good bit of space to fly, is not suitable for flying indoors, and requires a bit of knowhow and practice to fly – and land- well. It’s not for absolute beginners or kids looking for a toy to play with and forget – it’s a bit too expensive and complicated for that. It’s also not for the pro photographer who needs custom lenses or cameras while flying, needs the flight redundancy of more than 4 props, long flight times, or extended range.

    First Impressions

    81m+tDXjv2L._SL1500_My very first impression on receiving the box was that it’s a huge package. The hard-sided case is huge, and filled with squeaky molded styrofoam for protecting the aircraft. It does protect well, but seems a bit overbuilt and huge for the purpose. I certainly would have preferred a backpack, or more compact package.

    The whole kit is well-organized, and I was able to put the drone together myself without any instructions – camera snaps on, propellers twist on, battery slides in, and then you’re ready. The controller requires a bit of battery charging, and then comes on and connects easily.

    On the first flight – I crashed hard, and broke two propellers. So there’s certainly a knack for understanding the flight controls and figuring out how to get it to take off and hover reliably. But once in the air, the Q500 does a great job of maintaining its position, and providing stable flight. Even in heavy winds, the aircraft fights hard to keep its location, and the stabilized CGO3 camera does a good job of smoothing out shocks and sudden movements.

    Regarding flying the thing – it’s worth noting that there’s a layer of automation between the controller and the aircraft – which is great! The aircraft takes care of flying itself level and stable, and moving where you tell it to on the controller – but the pilot doesn’t have to actually “fly” it in that the computer is taking care of keeping it aloft. If you take your hands off the controller, the Q500 just hovers where you left it – you don’t have to keep hands on the controllers giving it micro inputs to account for wind etc. This is great

    41gsRJ+3XgLThere are two flight modes – the smart and angle. Smart will follow you around, but also allows you to fly visually. If the Q500 is in front of you, facing any way, push the stick away from you, and it flies away from you. Push left, it goes left. It’s easy to look at it in the air, and control it. The angle mode gives you more traditional control, which keeps the inputs uniform to the actual aircraft. So if it’s facing you, push left, it goes right. But if it’s facing away from you, push left, it goes left. This is great for flying while looking at the screen, for a more “first person” view. I took the time to reassign the yaw and forward controls to the same stick, so i can steer forward while looking in the monitor much like flying an airplane – the yaw controls the turns, with the altitude and side to side on the other stick. Great for tracking somebody moving down a road, following geographic features, etc.

    Landing is automatic, although it can be done manually – and I prefer to land manually anyway. If the battery is too low, or the signal is lost, or the pilot just gets lazy, you just flip the home switch, and the Q500 comes right back to you and lands automatically. Notably, while landing, you can still give it direction input to control exactly where it lands.

    Q500

    typhoon_4k_spec_aircraft

    The Q500 is a solid flying platform. After many crashes, and lots of flying, it’s held up well. Aside from a few cracked (and replaced for about $5/each) propellers, it’s survived really well – no cracks or breaks. It flys well.

    Like

    • It’s easy enough to fly where you want it to go – automatic modes are useful, and the angle mode is nice for tracking while filming.
    • The lights on the bottom are good for assessing the state of the drone, and if its batteries are low. Also when flying at night, they’re bright enough to keep track of it easily.
    • After a bunch of crashes, I can confirm that this thing is well-built and strong – no cracks, besides the propellers.
    • Although the propellers are brittle and crack in crashes, they’re easily replaceable – just screw on a new one and tighten.
    • The battery is easy to replace in the field, and I love that it comes with two batteries.
    • While flying in bad weather or winds, this thing fights to stay flying! I’ve seen it way way way up there almost sideways as it fights to stay aloft – and it usually does pretty well. There have been few cases where it lots a lot of altitude very quickly, but it stayed flight, and went right back to where it was before it dropped.
    • In steady weather and on a flat surface, the automatic return to home and landing works well – it lands reliably, and shuts off.

    714H06JUrgL._SL1500_

    Don’t Like

    • Yes, while it’s easy to fly, there’s a LOT to be desired for flight modes and flexibility. It’s certainly not able to fly as fast as some of its other competitors, and sometimes has a hard time keeping a steady position for filming. I’ve seen it drift a pretty significant amount when hovering, even with no winds at all. So while it’s fun for basic filming and flying, its position-keeping doesn’t seem as fine tuned as it could be.
    • There’s no way to pre-program or record a flight. So while it’s fun to manually steer around to capture footage, if I wanted to rehearse a scene, and then go film it, I would have to manually fly the same course every time. For real filming, there absolutely needs to be a route programming/recording feature. Additionally, while the “follow me” mode is great, certainly there must be a bit more location-based modes, etc.
    • I usually fly this in open spaces, but during the times I’ve been flying it around buildings, or trying to get tighter shots, I’ve found that holding position using only the built in GPS isn’t as accurate as it could be. Ideally the drone would be able to use a combo of GPS, optical tracking, proximity tracking, and the IMU.
    • Although the hard case that it comes with is very protective, it’s huge and heavy too. For a drone that’s supposed to be used for filming cool locations, this one sure is hard to get to any location. I know there’s an add-on backpack for this, but even if you could strap it to the outside of a backpack, its rotor arms are still pretty big – ideally the “Q500 V2” could be downsized a bit, or made collapsible. After playing with a competing drone, the Q500 does indeed seem a little bigger than it needs to be for the features it offers. That being said, it is stable in flight – so maybe the larger size is good for that. But could stability be created from better flight software instead?
    • Four props in a square configuration are about the minimum for stable flight. And luckily, none of them have failed yet. But I’m waiting for the day when a prop hiccups in flight, and the whole thing comes out of the air. I’d love to see a 3-prop flight contingency mode, if that’s possible. Or perhaps add another one and rearrange everything for redundancy.  But that seems like a step into a higher end product.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS5pgC-i2yA

    CGO3 Camera

    Typhoon_Q500_modular

    The CGO3 camera comes with the Q500, and is the main and only camera of the drone. What’s unique here is that the camera can not only fit onto the drone, but also on its own handheld grip. This makes it a lot more useful for getting shots both in the air and on the ground, using the same gyro stabilized gimbal.

    The CGO3 camera has its own wifi signal, which connects independently of the drone’s control signal. This means that in addition to downlinking live video to the controller, it’s also possible to connect to the camera with an iOS app. In fact, it’s even possible to view live video on both the iOS app and the controller simultaneously.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBLOX3jIqy4

    Like

    • The stabilization works well. Even when the drone is being shaken by violent winds, being flown fast by me, or being jostled on the hand grip, the picture stays steady. It even gracefully deals with smoothing out motion when it gets to the limits of its range of motion.
    • I really love the flexibility of the camera. It’s small ball-like shape fits neatly under the drone, but it also slides off and connects just as easily to the hand grip. There are three metal contacts in the slide on connector, which provides power while in flight, and minimal control of its tilt. There’s actually an auxiliary control cable that seems to connect between the camera and the drone body, but I’m still not sure what this is for.
    • The video footage it takes looks great. While flying and looking in the monitor, it’s hard to really appreciate how spectacular the footage is. But once I get it downloaded from the card and on my big screen tv, it really is stunning. Super smooth, good color in the default gorgeous mode, and a wide field of view.
    • It’s great being able to angle the camera down to the ground, or anywhere in between – the movement is slow and smooth, and combined with a bit of forward movement, really makes shots look amazing.
    • In addition to connecting to the controller, the camera can also connect to an iPhone or iPad running the iOS app – great for checking shots, sharing the live feed, and shooting with the handheld grip.

    TYPHOON_4K_tripod_in_the_sky

    Don’t Like

    While the camera  does work in a basic sense under most conditions, it’s far from an optimized experience. I really think there could be a good amount of polish on this product to make it really great, rather than adequate.

    • The wifi connection is solid when it’s connected – but when connecting to my iPhone 6s, the wifi connection takes a solid minute to connect. No idea why it takes so long, but that’s certainly not normal.
    • USB Port on camera doesn’t appear to do anything – camera doesn’t show up at mass storage or anything. What’s it for? I have no idea.. but there’s no documentation of it either.
    • Rubber shock mount seems to bounce around a lot when camera is connected to SteadyGrip – This rubber shock mounting doesn’t seem optimal for handheld/walking footage. Although I love using the camera on the grip, it seems like there could be some more stiff rubber isolators that could be used when handheld – would prevent a lot of bouncing.
    • The camera has its own fan to keep it cool, but it’s loud. When using the hand grip and capturing video with sound, the fan noise definitely makes in it. Not a huge problem, but worth noting.
    • Shoots MP4 Files that Apple iMovie won’t natively import. The huge range of shooting resolutions is great, but I’ve consistently found that the files the camera produces are not the most compatible files. Maybe it’s because of the high quality codec, or other reasons – but these video files aren’t the easiest to work with. In fact, really the only way I’m able to watch my footage is to upload the files to YouTube, let YouTube process them, and then watch them online.
    • The gyro gimbal does work great – however lately I’ve been getting a weird drift out of the level calibration. Today while flying, the camera took off level to the horizon, but when it came back, it was consistently tilted about 30 degrees to the side. Weird.
    • The iOS app that works with the camera is fairly minimal – not a ton of options, basic user interface, and works just fine. But it’s not great. There’s certainly a ton of room for polish and shine on the app, including nicer menus, more diagnostic info about the camera, etc. Of note, there’s a “home” button in the app which simply crashes the app, returning you to the iPhone home screen – is that really necessary? This kind of weird nonsensical button really makes me feel like the app was developed as an afterthought, and not rethought at all.
    • What’s the connector cable for? I don’t know. The camera comes with a small connector cable that can be run from the camera gimbal mount to a port on the bottom of the drone. However, it seems like the camera works just fine without this cable, using the connection contacts inside the slide on mount. There doesn’t seem to be any mention of this in the manual, either. Another piece that makes it feel like they released a just “good enough” product, without the polish you’d hope for.
    • Stability in iOS App – if there’s no camera connected, the app crashes and exits to home screen, with no troubleshooting screens or anything.

    CGO Steadygrip for Typhoon

    Typhoon_Q500_Steadygrip_skater.png

    The CGO Steadygrip allows shots with the CGO3 camera from handheld. The grip provides power from a bunch of AA batteries, and allows both horizon level and tilt shooting. On the top it has a spring loaded plastic clip for propping up your smartphone, and relies on wirelessly connecting to the app for control and viewfinder.

    Like

    • It’s simple and works. Load it up with batteries, slide the camera into the mount, turn it on, connect the wifi, and you get the great stabilization of the active gimble in you hand. Running around outside shooting such smooth footage is kind of an amazing feeling.
    • I appreciate the tilt wheel. This is a great way to be able to shoot stabilized footage looking down, or at other angles.
    • Using an iPhone as a viewfinder works well – the lag isn’t too noticeable, and the screen on my iPhone 6s makes the preview footage look great. I actually really wish that all of the drone control screens could be displayed on an iPhone –  or larger and nicer iPad display. Too bad you have to squint at the crappy, mis-oriented android screen on the controller while flying.
    • Battery life is great! Using Eneloop batteries, Im able to get a few hours of use. Additionally, housing the batteries in the bottom of the grip increases the stability lots.
    • Providing a solid camera like the CGO3 with only an aereal platform would suck – so it’s a great idea that Yuneec packages the handgrip in with it – way way more options for filming.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52OmDQ1VR_Y

    Don’t Like

    • Would be cool if there was a usb port for keeping smartphone charged from batteries in grip. There are a ton of batteries, and filming with my iPhone connected and screen on full brightness kills the battery – how about a connector there so i can keep my phone charged?
    • No battery level display, except when it’s almost out, and is the same flashing light as the mode change indicator.
    • I think it might be easier for filming and for keeping the camera inherently more stable if the whole grip was reconfigured to hang the camera below everything, much like other small camera stabilizers. The “pistol” grip here is ok, but kinda weird sometimes. A small issue though, and there might be the same issue either way.

    Controller 10+

    TYPHOON_4K_ST10plus_Overview_3

    The ST10+ Controller is both the flight control and live video monitoring platform for the Q500. It uses two radio links to connect to the drone – one for video, and one for flight controls. The controller includes all flight controls, video/photo controls as well as a good sized android-powered touchscreen interface for getting to all of the settings, viewing flight status, and live video. It’s powered by a rechargeable battery, and can use micro-usb for recharging. It also includes a micro-sd card slot under the battery, for saving flight data.

    Like

    • The controller starts quick, and connects to the drone fairly quickly. I’m never really left waiting around for the drone to connect, and the interface loads nice and quick.
    • The controller comes with a nifty collapsible plastic sun shade that suction cups onto the screen – given the super shiny plastic covering of the screen, this shade is essential in bright sunlight.
    • The controls are laid out well, and the control sticks have a good grip to them, and good response. The drone response to control inputs, and I’ve never had the controller crash or have any glitches.
    • I appreciate that the start/stop button is red and protected – makes it a deliberate act to start and stop the drone.
    • I love the micro-usb recharging, and long battery life of the controller. No need to carry around an extra proprietary charger – just used your existing car charger or whatever. Easy!
    • Love that (when working) the controller saves flight logs and low-res received video to a micro sd card. Although the card that came with it failed, its nice to have this option.
    • Since it runs android, it’s easily software upgradable. Yuneec hasn’t really added any new features or polish to the controller interface via software update, but the option is there. The few updates that have been provide are merely bug fixes.

    imagesafety108 (1)

    Don’t Like

    • The first controller I was shipped was a complete lemon  – the touchscreen didn’t work, and it had many many glitches and errors. Luckily, the Yuneec customer support team was a pleasure to deal with, and quickly shipped me a new working controller.
    • As I’ve been using the controller, the rubber grip pads on the back have been slowly loosening and falling off – the double-stick tape that keeps them on is losing it stick, and the grips are getting slidy and gummy. In terms of overall build quality, the controller, including the grips, seem plasticy and cheap. It works, but it’s not the nicest to hold.
    • The android screen is TERRIBLE. First of all, the screen is oriented for you to look at it horizontally. However, the pixel alignment and polarizer are optimized for vertical viewing of the screen (like it was meant for a phone). So when you look at the screen horizontally, the brightness and colors seem a little off, and changes depending on which eye you’re looking at it with. It’s a small nuanced detail, but to me, it really matters in overall enjoyment of the screen. Seems like this screen is basically adaquate to get the job done – but not anything more. Just ok.
    • The screen has a crappy plastic covering over it which is EXTREMELY reflective. It’s just the plastic covering of the rest of the base of the controller – so every glint of sunlight reflects off of it, and its easy to scratch. For a screen acting as the primary flight display, I’d say this definitely needs an antiglare coating on it, if not even a matte coating. Seeing this screen is so important, it definitely needs way more attention.
    • The range of the video link kinds sucks. Sure, it works for basic flight around the parking lot, but for any real shooting at a distance, I’ve found that both the video and control links drop out way to easily. The video drops first, and not too long after it the control link drops. Luckily the drone will stay safe and return to home if the control link drops, so it’s not a critical flight risk – but given the flight performance of the Q500, i really think the range needs to be better. Additionally, there are no external antenna ports on the controller, so without hacking and modding the controller, there’s no better option than the somewhat basic built in antennas.
    • Given that this is a camera drone, there absolutely needs to be ability to have a separate pilot and photographer screen/controls – be it an included hdmi or usb link, or another controller that can be daisy chained – but this needs to happen for a drone like this to really be used for compelling footage short of demo stuff.

    Should You Buy It?

    If you’re looking for a good performance, easy to fly drone that takes really great demo footage, give a bunch of room for more advanced flight, and is sure to impress and delight friends, and you have around $800 to spare, then yeah, get it! It’s a good product, and does what it says well. It’s easy to get the knack for flying it, has enough automation and safeties to make it not too stressful to fly, and makes good quality footage. However, if you’re looking to get specific shots for a photo project, need to do live aerial surveillance over a large stretch of land, need repeatable footage results, need to fly in tight spaces where accurate positioning is key, or need to work with a larger crew (and need video outputs etc), then there may be other options from competitors our there that have more features in a tighter package.

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

    Final thoughts

    Flying the Yuneec Q5004K Quadcopter Drone is a ton of fun. It’s easy to setup and fly, has solid and stable flight performance. takes great stabilized footage, and includes everything you need to fly and maintain it in the package, plus a very nifty handheld grip for the camera. It really does to everything it’s supposed to, and it does it well. However, there’s a distinct lack of inspired polish and integration that prevents it from being a really truly great product – certain design, interface, and feature implementations basic, rushed, or not fully considered, and the lack of expandability is disappointing. But in general, it’s great to fly, and footage fantastic to watch. Go grab one and take off!

    Find It Here

    Amazon

    Yuneec Direct

    From Amazon
  • USB-C Is The Connectivity Standard of the Future. Here’s a Cable That Will Last The Duration

    USB-C Is The Connectivity Standard of the Future. Here’s a Cable That Will Last The Duration

    Courtesy of Accell
    Courtesy of Accell

    The future of cable-connectivity for our technologies is almost definitely USB-C. It’s a new standard that combines an incredible variety of technologies into one unified, reversible, flexible, and expandable cable and connectivity standard. It’s combination of physical size, ease of use, and technology integrations make it seem like an obvious candidate to replace most of the cables we’re using today. With its  available features, USB-C can certainly replace your monitor cable, USB cables connecting your external hard drive, dock connector cable, phone charging cable, laptop charging cable, tv display cable, and even your headphone cable.

    Although USB-C does theoretically support all of these operations and then some, not all physical cables are created equal. Within the USB-C standard exists a bit of flexibility as to which features manufacturers build their cables to support. For example, the USB-C cable that comes as the charging cable for the new-ish USB-C Apple Macbook supports charging plus only USB-2 data transfer speed.

    Since USB-C can be used for so many things, I think the best way to buy new gear is to go with a cable that supports as many USB-C features as possible. Sure I may only need to charge my phone with my new full featured USB-C cable now, but down the road, with a good quality long lasting cable, I’ll be able to use it not only for my phone, but also as a high speed transfer cable, monitor cable, etc – without needing to buy new cables, and without needing to hunt around for just the right cable. I want all of my USB-C cables to be able to be picked up and used for whatever USB-C connectivity application I want.

    Cable and accessory manufacturer Accell recently sent me their brand new, full-featured USB-C>USB-C cable to test out. After a bit of usage, here are my thoughts. In summary – the cable is well build physically, and supports the highest USB-C/3.1 standards, and is a solid, future-proof performer.

    type-c-pinout

     

    What It Is

    The USB-C to C USB 3.1 Cable is a fully featured USB-C cable. It has the same reversible connector at each end, and is really the “ideal” USB-C cable variety. This is the direction all cables and connectivity schemes will be heading in. The cable I tested is 1m long.

    The Accell USB-C to C USB 3.1 Cable allows easy connection between your USB-C (also known as Type-C) host computer to a USB-C device. With reversible USB-C connectors the cable connection works in either direction. Able to charge, transfer data to and power a connected device, this USB-C to C cable with ultra-compact connectors is incredibly powerful.

    Find official specs here: http://www.accellcables.com/collections/cables/products/usb-c-to-c-usb-3-1-cable

    Who It’s For

    Courtesy of Accell
    Courtesy of Accell

    As I noted above, this full-featured USB-C cable is good for almost ALL users of USB-C. Since it supports virtually all technologies using USB-C, it will work with basically any application. The only group it might not work great for is the hyper-minimalist traveler looking for an ultimately compact cable for only charging and low-speed syncing. The cable is built thick and strong, so it’s not the most compact. Whereas my 1 meter long USB>Lightning cable for my iPhone will coil up and fit in the 5th pocket of my jeans, this cable will not.

    First Impressions

    https://www.synopsys.com/Company/Publications/DWTB/Pages/dwtb-usb3_1-2014Q4.aspx
    https://www.synopsys.com/Company/Publications/DWTB/Pages/dwtb-usb3_1-2014Q4.aspx

    After checking out cables for years, and going through my fair share of broken cables and crappy ones, this one feels pretty solid. Its jacketed in a soft black rubber, with molded connectors. The rubber jacketing is not as sticky as some other cables – but it’s also not slick. A definite matte appearance. The connectors at the end are moulded rubber  – and while they’re beefy and strong, they’re not exactly the most compact. Contrast this with the lightening connector on my OEM Apple cable, and the Accell moldings are proportionally much more bulky than the svelte Apple lightning cable moldings.  If I had an android phone with a form-fitting case, I’m not sure if this cable would be able to fit in the typically small cutouts of some cases. (but I guess that’s why they include a lower-rated charge-only cable with phones – less complexity to support lower standards lets them build a sleeker cable)

    Like

    • Full featured cable. I love using this cable with a Macbook for charging, and knowing that if I need to plug in a high speed SSD into my macbook, I can use the same cable as I’m using to charge, and get the full 10Gbps speed of the standard/max speed of my ssd. DP_AltMode
    • The cable seems beefy and solid. I surely haven’t thrashed it around for months yet but so far, it’s holding up just fine.
    • The USB-C connectors are one-piece metal – not the lesser folded metal I’ve seen in other cables. Win one for durability here.
    • Well, it works just fine. I was able to get rated speeds from the cable, as well as fast charge times – the cable is certainly able to deliver on it’s stated specs.
    • Accell states a “Lifetime Replacement” on the cable. I certainly haven’t tested this policy myself, but for a cable that’s on the leading edge of a new standard poised to be in place for a bunch of years, I think it’s worth investing in a cable that has this kind of policy. It’s certainly up to you to keep records of your purchase, and up to Accell to uphold their end of the deal, but if all goes well, this could be a cable you can use every day until it wears out, and then just get replaced with a new one. But again, I haven’t tried it.

    Don’t Like

    • The connector moldings are kinda bulky – not an issue if it’s permanently installed as a monitor cable – but for using as a mobile charge/sync cable, or using with a form fitting case, this might be an issue.
    • After a bit of merciless twisting, the cable coating has developed some wrinkles and stretch marks. It hasn’t torn or failed in any way, but there’s definitely some wrinkles in it from extreme bends.
    • It’s somewhat stiff. I know it supports a bunch of tech and has lots of quality wire strands in it – but for a 1 meter cable, this one is on the thick side. A worthy compromise for multi-role flexibility.

    Should you buy it?

    If you’re looking for a “one cable to rule them all” kinda purchase, that will be able to be used for lots of roles well into the future, and are willing to spend good cash for it, sure, go for it. However, if you’re looking for simple charge cable, or can wait another few months until full featured cables have a bit more competition and the prices come down, then you could probably either go with a lesser cable, or wait a bit and pick one up on Monoprice.

    Find It Here

    Accell Direct

    Final thoughts

    It’s cool to be using  a new standard of cables, and I’m very much hoping that USB-C does become the new ubiquitous connector standard of the future. Let’s just go with USB-C for wired connectivity, and make all of our lives more simple.

    Here’s another great primer on USB-C, from cNet: USB Type-C: One cable to connect them all

    Courtesy of Accell
    Courtesy of Accell
    Courtesy of Accell
    https://www.synopsys.com/Company/Publications/DWTB/Pages/dwtb-usb3_1-2014Q4.aspx

     

  • Shooting Lightfield Photos with the Lytro Illum

    Shooting Lightfield Photos with the Lytro Illum

    71kJnHFEtML._SL1500_Last November, I had the privilege of testing out the Lytro Illum Lightfield Camera while exploring Cuba. Here’s my quick review of the innovative camera.

    The Lytro Illum takes photos using a specially developed lens and sensor that essentially captures all focal lengths and multiple angles of a scene simultaneously, and lets the photographer recompose and refocus a photo after it’s been shot. It’s an incredible new technology, and essentially adds a whole new element to the post-processing creative possibilities of digital photography. With traditional digital photography, exposure, color balance, and light levels can be tweaked and edited after the photo has been taken. Now with the Lytro Illum, focus is added to the creative possibilities.

    https://vimeo.com/102169690

    Shooting with the Illum

    71jh5FUww3L._SL1500_While the Illum was an interesting camera to shoot with, after snapping multi thousands of photos with it, and editing a countless number, I can say that it’s not really the best camera I’ve ever shot with. Sure, the perspective shift and focus shift features are really neat and enable more creative possibilities – but besides these neat tricks, the photos the camera makes is just not that great quality. When looking at just the flat photos it takes, I’m underwhelmed, and was constantly wishing I had my RX100m3 in my hand instead, to just take a great quality version of the same scene, even without the re-focusability. So I’m definitely a fan of the Lytro Illum for it’s extremely innovative new features and unlocking of new photographic realms. However, I don’t feel like these new capabilities really added anything substantial and long lasting to my photos, once the novelty of clicking around in the custom viewer wore off.

    Holding the Illum

    lytro_product_shots-8The Illum is a cool looking camera. It’s futuristic and sleep, representing an SLR from the far future. However, its actual physical functionality is extremely limited, compared with the functionality of a similarly sized and shaped standard DSLR camera, for example any Canon Digital SLR, from a Rebel on upwards. The buttons just weren’t as responsive as the could have been, the screen not as bright and clear as it could have been, and the touch screen interface is just not great. For in-the-field, from-the-hip shooting, you need to have your physical controls dialed in perfectly, easily adjustable, and to a point where there’s absolutely no time needing to be spent waiting or dealing with the interface. The Illum wasn’t there yet.

    The Illum is an interesting proof of concept camera, and a valiant effort to make it appealing the pro photogs. It was fun shooting with it and learning the quirks – but I’m still looking forward to the next advance.

    Shots from the Lytro Illum

    Exploring Cuba:

    The Fall 14ers – Grays and Torreys:

  • Stay in Contact with the Thuraya SatSleeve Hotspot

    Stay in Contact with the Thuraya SatSleeve Hotspot

    Staying in contact while traveling across the remote and inaccessible reaches of our globe is an issue I’ve (fortunately) been faced with quite often over the last few years. Between multiple Antarctic deployments, a myriad of open ocean sailing expeditions, and the usual stream of backcountry and alpine mountaineering adventures, sometimes it seems like I’m more often relying on deep-field comms rather than my good ole iPhone. So when I was offered the opportunity to be able to actually pair my loved iPhone with a satellite data gateway, I jumped at the chance. Enter the Thuraya SatSleeve Hotspot. Thuraya was nice enough to send me a unit to test out during a recent trek around northern Japan – here’s the rundown.

    What It Is

    The Thuraya SatSleeve Hotspot is a Satellite Wifi Hotspot. It connects to a Thuraya satellite in geosynchronous orbit around the earth and establishes a data connection. It then rebroadcasts that data connection as a standard WiFi hotspot, accessible to standard iPhone and Android smartphones running the Thuraya app. Your smartphone can then send messages on whatever messenger service you use, sync emails, and whatever else you need data for. Additionally, within the Thuraya app, you can place satellite phone calls and send/receive SMS messages. Finally, the SatSleeve unit itself has a dedicated SOS button that can be programmed to call any number you like, and used independently of a smartphone in emergencies.

    “The SatSleeve Hotspot supports the communication needs of all smartphone users – from frequent travelers and adventurous explorers to corporate and NGO users.

    Created for customers preferring to use their smartphone separated from the satellite unit, with the SatSleeve Hotspot, a portable Wi-Fi Hotspot, you have the range and the room to move while you make calls, use email, send messages, or enjoy your favorite social media apps in the comfort of being in an indoor location while the hotspot is outside and facing the satellite.

    The SatSleeve Hotspot comes with a stand inside the package and is compatible with various iOS and Android models.“

    Find official specs here: http://www.thuraya.com/satsleeve-hotspot

    Who It’s For

     

    It’s for the frequent far out traveler who absolutely needs to be able to stay in touch on a range of data-centric internet services, including syncing emails and chat messages. It’s for the person who can’t be bothered to have to go stand outside to make a call, but wants to be able to talk on their smartphone like normal, while using a satellite connection. It’s for the group of people who need to place their data uplink outside, while wirelessly using the data inside their base or heated tent. It’s for the sponsored expeditioner who needs to be able to send status updates, tweets, and photos from the deep field. It’s NOT for the extreme traveler who needs a foolproof emergency communicator that will absolutely work when they need last ditch effort critical communications. It’s not for the person who primarily needs to make voice-based calls to register their location or communicate expedition details only.  It’s not for the survival minimalist who wants a pack-and-forget backup comms system. And importantly, it’s NOT for anybody wanting any of these services in the Americas – Thuraya covers Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia only.

    satsleeve-Hotspot-0_0Testing Method

    I tested the SatSleeve Hotspot while exploring northern Japan in the winter. This included testing from the roof of my homestay in Shizuoka, testing from a bullet train moving very quickly, and testing from the very very snowy mountains of Hokkaido. I used the SatSleeve Hotspot, charged with Micro-USB only (I did not use the included charger), and connected it to my Unlocked iPhone 6S with a DoCoMo SIM (and usually used in the states on AT&T).

    First Impressions

    It’s a solid unit. The SatSleeve electronics unit comes in a sturdy box. On opening, the actual electronics package is connected to a foldable plastic stand, which lets the antenna be directed toward the sky. The design is such that the stand clicks into the back of the SatSleeve, and is easily removable. This lets you replace it with a phone holder, or probably a bunch of other accessories. Removing the stand also reveals the SOS button and emergency speaker/microphone. The Satsleeve also comes bundled with a charger and some international plug tips. I was a bit confused by the inclusion of a traditional wall wart charger – the SatSleeve can charge with this via its “ring type” charging input port. but the SatSleeve also has a Micro-USB port, which it can charge from as well. If this is meant as a piece of field gear, it’s my opinion that simplifying the design to use only the standardized Micro-USB charger would be the thing to do – everybody has a usb charger, the cables are everywhere and universal, and the design of the unit could be simplified. Simple is good for field gear. I realize there could be a time savings by charging with the bundled charger – but why not just bundle a high-power 2.4 amp usb charger? Better yet, make the SatSleeve Hotspot with a USB-C port, and then charge however fast you want – and be updated with the latest and greatest connectivity standard.

    Setup of the app was a breeze, and in no time I had my iPhone connected via Wifi to the SatSleeve.

    Thuraya-map-for-the-website-latest

    Like

    • The SatSleeve is easy to get connected to the smartphone, and it acquired the signal from the satellite relatively well. Once I figured out where in the sky to point it, it made the connection and I was online.
    • Data was slow, but it did work. I was able to send text messages, and made a couple of calls. Of course, the call quality sounds like a satellite call – compressed and with a bit of delay – but that’s to be expected.
    • The unit is solidly built, and the rubber mat on the stand gives the satsleeve a solid grip on the roof or whatever I propped it up on. The extendable antenna is a good design touch, allowing the SatSleeve to be stowed without risking breaking the antenna.
    • I certainly appreciate that the SatSleeve can be charged with Micro-USB. This lets me carry one fewer charger while I travel.
    • The SOS Button. YES. This is an absolutely essential feature of a satellite communicator, and I’m very glad they included it. Once you’ve programmed your emergency number in with the app, just hit the SOS button and the unit calls that number. It’s great that they included a speaker/microphone for the call, so you don’t even need to tether a smartphone.
    • The app works well, and I love the calling and sms features – including the ability to restrict numbers, check account balances, modify ring tones, etc etc. It really feels like a normal cell phone when you’re using the app. There’s also a lot of advanced config options in the app, which luckily I didn’t have to fiddle with.
    • The battery life on this thing is great. I left it setup for a solid afternoon, and the battery lasted, providing a wifi hotspot the whole time. Additionally, when it’s setup and connected, I can select within the app to turn the satellite data on or off. So I can stay connected, but not burn data while I’m composing and email – only turning on data when I need to actually send that email.
    • Although I didn’t thoroughly test it, I like that there’s some SIM card/provider flexibility here, and the SatSleeve can be configured for a variety of providers and access profiles.

     

    Don’t Like

    • Pointing the SatSleeve was difficult. Thuraya includes no way of figuring out where in the sky the satellites are. I know they’re geosynchronous so they’re in the southern sky (when you’re in the northern hemisphere like I was). However, if I didnt know this myself, there’d be no way of knowing where to point it aside from trial and error. The signal meter in the smartphone app doesn’t provide quick enough signal data to make it useful for actually pointing the SatSleeve antenna – there’s not enough info, and no feedback on refresh rate of the meter. Additionally, the app doesn’t seem to include any kind of guide for pointing. It would be great if the app could look at the smartphone’s gps location and then give a simple arrow to the user (based on compass bearing of the smartphone) of which way to point it. Just that one screen would make it so much easier. Also, since the SatSleeve has a speaker built in, how about an audio cue for when the antenna is optimally pointed? This was a huge missed opportunity.
    • It’s great that I’m able to use my SatSleeve Thuraya SIM card directly in my mobile phone to get on GSM networks with my Thuraya account. However, even after reading the liteature on their website explaining the feature, I was still thorougly confused. Could I put my AT&T SIM in the SatSleeve? Did the SatSleeve have a GSM radio in it too and could get itself on GSM? So many different ways it could work, and there wasn’t any one clear and simplified explanation.  I did eventually reach out to Thuraya, and their awesome product expert got back to me with this explanation: ‘
      • There are 4 elements in the matrix:
        • SatSleeve Hotspot
        • iPhone 6s
        • Thuraya SIM card can be used in both:
          • SatSleeve Hotspot – to make a satellite call and billed on the Thuraya account
          • iPhone 6s – to make a normal GSM call and billed on the Thuraya account
        • AT&T SIM card
          • SatSleeve Hotspot – to make a satellite call and billed on the AT&T account
          • iPhone 6s – to make a normal GSM call and billed on the AT&T account

        Therefore in summary, either SIM can be used in the SatSleeve Hotspot to make satellite calls, and either SIM can be used in the iPhone to make GSM calls.

        To answer the specific question; does that mean I can put my AT&T Sim card in the satsleeve hotspot and use it in japan, on my AT&T account?

        Yes, you can put the AT&T SIM card in the SatSleeve Hotspot and use it for satellite calls in Japan, and will be billed on the AT&T account.

        So, I’m still not totally clear on how that would work with my AT&T account billing, or how it would work with the Thuraya account billing – but it’s good to hear that they do seem to have a system in place here .satsleeve-Hotspot-1

      • Still on the SIM swapping feature – the SatSleeve uses a full sized SIM card. My iPhone 6s uses a super tiny Nano-SIM. So, I really can’t put the Thuraya SIM in my iPhone without first trimming it down – and then to put it back in the SatSleeve, I’d have to use a size adapter. I guess it’s most flexible to do this and outfit the SatSleeve with a full size SIM port that can accept all sizes of SIMs with adapters.. but I’d love it if the Thuraya SIM I was sent was a Nano-SIM, with an adapter – then I could adapt it to fit full or micro sim, or go naked with my iPhone 6s and the Nano-SIM size.
      • The Thuraya Satellite Network – it works, but I gotta say it’s not the best. Coverage is not global, and is concentrated over Europe and Asia. Since the satellites are in Geosynchronous orbit, they’re at a fairly high altitude, making the round trip time of the signals long. This makes for a noticeable lag on voice calls, and a delay on data.  Compared to my years of experience making Iridium calls both on the high seas as well as in Antarctica, the Thuraya calls are considerably more laggy, and sound a bit worse. Sure Iridium isn’t perfect, but the calls are more consistently clearer, with much less lag or delay. Additionally, with Iridium, there’s no pointing of the antenna, since the satellites are orbiting overhead – Stand in one spot and one will probably pass over you in time. With Thuraya, you must point the antenna in the general direction of the satellite. That’s good for static connections, and is fairly solid once you have the connection – but not the best for randomly pulling out the phone and connecting. Especially in Antarctica, I loved that I could just turn on my Iridium phone and there would almost instantly be a satellite overhead. (Admittedly, Antarctica is a special use case for Iridium – since Iridium satellites are polar orbiting, their coverage gets awesomely concentrated around the poles. At the equator, coverage is much more spread out – although still good.)
      • That SOS button – it calls one number, yet there’s a whole speaker/microphone dedicated for it. What’s to stop Thuraya from adding a few more buttons, or at least a simple one or two button interface to select from a speed dial menu? Even with that one button, I’d love to be able to long-press the button to get the emergency number, but click the button to scroll through a speed dial list, read out-loud through the speaker. I understand adding this feature potentially dilutes the product line targeting – but it would be cool. Heck, why not just roll the hotspot feature into a more full featured XT-PRO”v2″?
      • The usermanual on this thing is not great. Even after looking through the website a few times, and browsing the manual, I wasn’t aware of the multiple APN’s and compression settings, or how the SIM swapping worked. Much much much more clear startup and messaging could really increase the utility of this product.

      Should you buy it?

      If you’re looking for a dedicated Satellite Wifi hotspot and need basic data, and live in the Thuraya coverage zone, this could work. For example, at a distant mountain cabin where you just need to get a few emails and checkin on things, but aren’t moving much. But for other more mobile users, and users who need a ruggedized there-when-you-need it expedition phone, I’d say don’t go for this. Additionally, unless you know you’re ONLY going to be in the somewhat limited coverage area, there are other satellite networks that offer better global coverage that could make your investment in pricy hardware go farther – such as Iridium. However, the SatSleeve Hotspot is a well executed Satellite Hotspot, which is easy to get setup and online in a basic sense. If you do grab this, I’d suggest going through a 3rd party seller such at Outfitter Satellite (whom I’ve used before, and like), who can provide you with setup help and support perhaps a bit more efficiently than Thuraya can directly.

      Find It Here

      Direct from Thuraya 

      Final thoughts

      Satellite comms in this day and age is such a cool thing – the ability to be on any spot on the globe and make a call, send a message. It’s super cool that companies like Thuraya are welcoming in the age of smartphones, and building a product specifically to get these mini-computers online. I’m excited to track the future of these development, as radios and comms hardware continue to be miniaturized, until someday hopefully soon, our now-terrestrial-based cell phone towers can somehow move to the sky, and there’s no such thing as “coverage area”. Beyond that, with future advances of quantum computing and entangled bits, we could someday rid ourselves of radio-based communications altogether. Thuraya, thanks for helping pave the way.

       

  • VR In Your Pocket with the Homido Mini

    VR In Your Pocket with the Homido Mini

    homido-mini-1-f4afThis year while attending CES 2016, Homido hooked me up with their super tiny Google Cardboard VR viewer, the Homido Mini. After a bunch of testing, my verdict is: this is the cardboard viewer to get.

    The Homido Mini is small – it’s a foldable plastic contraption, with two lenses on one side, and a spring-plastic clip for your smartphone on the other side. The frame folds in half for easy carrying, and that’s about it. To use the Homido Mini, simple unfold it, fire up whatever Google-Cardboard compliant or similar app on your smartphone, slip your smartphone into the cip, and then hold look through the lenses. Boom, VR.

    There are LOTS of VR viewers out there – all the way from fully integrated ones like the Oculus Rift, to simple ones that just work with Google Cardboard and similar. For the Google Cardboard crowd, which the Homido Mini is part of, the viewers range in complexity. The NY Times cardboard viewer, for example, consists of an origami-like cardboard box, with velcro closures holding your phone, a foldable light guard, a spring loaded cantilevered button for interacton, etc. homido-mini-2-34a2Those work great, but I think that the quality of VR on your smartphone is somewhat limited, and is not the best. A simle viewer like the Homido Mini is all you need to get a great experience with VR on your smartphone, and there’s no need to go any more complicated with larger viewers. If you want higher quality, upgrade to an overall higher end, dedicated system, like the Oculus.

    It’s for these reasons that I’d say, if you want to experience the fun and simple thrills of VR on your smartphone, look no further than the Homido Mini. It’s small, cheap, and folds up to fit in your desk drawer. When you get tired of the mini and yearn for more quality.. take a big step up to dedicated hardware.

    Buy it direct from Homido. 

  • Remocam Smart Home Security Camera Review

    Remocam Smart Home Security Camera Review

    The Remocam Smart Home Security Camera bills itself as a super versatile, next generation home security camera. I tested it out at my home, in my office, and while on the go over the last few weeks. Here’s how the Remocam performed, and how it stacks up to the competition.

    61DJOOCZqrL._SL1500_

     

    What It Is

    The Remocam is a home security camera, with integrated pan/tilt motion, IR illumination, wireless connectivity, audio, and local storage. It pairs with its own mobile app.

    61hAlty1ozL._SL1000_“Remocam is a Smart Home security camera that can monitor your home, business, or vacation home. It sends live video feed and motion detection alerts to the Remocam app on your smartphone. It’s also equipped with a Smart Home capability that lets you control your electronic devices.”

    Find Remocam on Amazon

    Who It’s For

    The Remocam claims to have lots and lots of functions, from home video monitoring all the way to controlling your tv from afar. It’s marketing to and situated for the home use, who wants to be able to keep casual tabs on what’s going on in their house while they’re away. It would be great for a family with young kids and hectic schedules.  It’s not ideally tasked for corporate users, 24/7 security monitoring, or multi-camera integrated systems.

    Testing Method

    I tested the Remocam in my home. I first had it setup on my fireplace mantle, where it had a view of the entire living room and kitchen. From there, it was setup with a view to my outside porch, and then setup in my office with a view over my entire office area. I had it running on my own home WiFi, and tested the mobile app with my Apple iPhone6 on AT&T.

    Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 4.03.23 PM

    First Impressions

    On unboxing the Remocam, I was actually surprised by its size. It’s a little larger than I had expected, but given its large range of functions, that’s understandable. The camera is solidly built and reasonably heavy. Setting it up above my fireplace, it sits solidly, and the small tug from the power cord isn’t enough to move it at all. The box also contained the power cable, and a weird piece of lens protection film, which was never fully explained.

    Setup was easy, and in a few minutes I had it connected to my home wifi. It didn’t come with its own SD card, so I used one I already had. It also did not come with any cables for connecting the audio input or outputs – which are not essential for operation.

    Once I got it setup, I had a bunch of questions about its operations – so I fired off a few queries to their support email. These questions were asked on 2016-02-08, so features may have been changed/updated since then.

    Here’s what I asked:

    • Q: Howdy guys, I’m loving my Remocam so far. and love checking in on the camera with the iPhone app. However, there are cases when I’d like to be able to check in on the camera on my macbook, using a normal web browser. How do I do this? I can’t seem to find any sort of functionality on the website – and of course, this is a super important feature.A: I’m happy to hear you are enjoying your camera!! We currently do not have Remocam accessible from a web browser. You can only view the camera’s feed from our app on Android or iOS phones or tablets. However, we are working on making it accessible via website browser and hope to offer this in the near future!
    • Remocam_DetailsQ: Hey guys, I just installed my Remocam to test it, and it’s working great. For permanent installation, I’m thinking about putting it somewhere where I have some other gear installed. Unfortunately there’s no proper electrical outlet nearby, but there is an avaiable high-power USB port I could use. Is it possible to power Remocam via USB, like most other electronics? I see that the power adapter is 5volts, 2 amps – so that seems like it’s low enough power to be supported by USB. Is there a Micro-USB or USB-C version?A: If you would like to power Remocam via USB, you will need a 5V/2amps USB charger. We only provide the power cord that comes with Remocam, we do not supply the USB chargers. Does this answer your question? [ed: No, this didn’t answer the question – since the Remocam has no Micro-USB or USB-C input port, it’s not possible to power it via USB. Even with the existing power input port, they didn’t supply any sort of USB adapter cable – so no, it cannot be plugged into a usb charger, even if the power rating is correct.]
    • Q: Hey guys, I noticed on the back of the remocam that there’s a line in and line out ports – but there doesn’t seem to be any documentation on these ports anywhere – how exactly do they work?A: Thanks for emailing in about this. The in and out ports are for external speakers/microphone that you can use. If you have an external speaker or microphone, you can plug it into Remocam so that the noise is louder when someone speaks through the camera and when noise is picked up from the room Remocam is in.
    • Q: Hi guys, how do I get the remocam to loop or cycle record on the SD card? I’d like it to be recording video locally, and overwriting the old video when the card fills up, so I can always see the most recent stream of video, in case something happens, or if the network goes down, etc. How do i get the remocam to do this?
      A: Remocam is not able to loop or cycle recordings on the SD card. Whenever the SD card fills up, you will need to manually delete the videos you would like to delete.If you would like to always see the latest videos and have old videos automatically recorded, I would suggest using the Cloud recordings. Then, you will see the videos from the app, and the oldest videos will automatically be deleted.Update 2016-03-29 – After sending this post over to Remocam, I received this update regarding cycle recording: When the microSD card is almost full (with 500MB of storage left) the oldest videos will be automatically deleted and replaced with the newest motion videos. You will receive motion push detection at all times as long as the push notifications and motion sensor are turned on. You will receive the push notifications even if your microSD card is full.
    • 81W2ktBAs7L._SL1500_Q: Hey guys, I love the remocam, but I currently use a self-managed cloud server to record security camera footage. How do i configure the remocam to stream its video to a different server, other than to Remocam?A: Remocam can only include to our Cloud serve that we provide. It is unable to be configured to stream to a different server. Sorry about this! Hope it is not too inconvenient for you!
    • Q: Hey guys, the place where I’m going to install remocam has one very bright lightsource, but the rest of the scene is darker. I need to adjust the exposure on remocam to be correct – its automatic exposure is making everything too dark, because the 1 light source is so bright. How do I do this?A: Currently, you can not adjust the exposure of Remocam’s video feed. This is something we are working on offering in the future, however it is not currently available. Sorry if this is an inconvenience. Is the video feed view-able near that light source?
    • Q: Hey guys, I noticed in my Remocam box there’s a yellow piece of paper with a circular clear sticker attached – what is this for? There’s no mention of it in the documentation.A: This sticker is just to protect the lens. We just include it for customers who would like to protect the lens, however we do not recommend using the sticker while using the camera as it can make the feed blurry.
    • Q: Hey guys, I noticed that there’s no documentation of the format of the MicroSD card. Can the remocam support Exfat? HFS+? FAT32? Where is the info on this?A: Remocam is compatible with micro and ultra micoSD cards that are 32GB or less. This information can be found here on our shop page for Remocam. We only support fat32, not HFS+ or exfat.

    41PvGYkKbFLLike

    • I love the pan/tilt features. The camera has a great range of motion, which makes it easy to monitor an entire room, and makes it very easy to setup.
    • The ability to record to an SD card directly on the camera is a cool way to backup the cloud recordings.
    • The ring of infrared LEDs really help illuminate the room during the night.
    • Pairing the camera with my TV remote was cool – I love being able to control gadgets from afar. I’m not sure these things need to be paired, but it’s still cool.
    • I love that the audio listen/speak features are complimented with proper line in/out ports – makes for very flexible installations.

    Don’t Like

    • The only way to monitor the video feed is through the mobile app. There’s no online browser-based access. So if I’m without my phone, I can’t get to the feed.
    • No way to cycle record on the SD Card. That means the SD card is really only good for actively storing moments I trigger myself, or via motion, but can’t be used as an always-on recording so I can go back and see the last however many hours of footage. This forces me to rely on Remocam’s (paid) cloud recording service. This also makes my home monitoring entirely dependent on the wifi. If wifi goes out and something happens, there’s no way to see what happened – the camera has to be connected to the internet to record (save for spot-recordings on the sd card)
    • No USB power. I know this is a small one, but in the age of higher and higher power usb, I hate getting yet another wall-wart that’s good for only one gadget. I know it would be expensive, but Remocam should power this via USB-C, and really future-proof that section of the product.
    • Another small thing, but that polished surface on the top of the base is going to show dust really quickly.

    Should you buy it?

    While the Remocam is a good quality camera with a fairly wide range of features, I’d say wait on buying this. The hardware/software integration is not as tight as it could be, and a couple critical features to make it a truly great and reliable security camera are missing. The camera is certainly a fun gadget to play with, but unfortunately, the entire package is not at the level of design and engineering inspiration that makes me want to add it as part of my home.

    Remocam is coming out with a doorbell soon, and based on the experience with the

    Find It Here

    Amazon

    Final thoughts

    I’m sad to not have the greatest review of Remocam, because this little camera is trying, very hard, to be great. However at this point I feel like there are too many half-baked features being packed in. All of the features basically work, but none really shine.

    Remocam is coming out with the Remobell soon, and given the solid first try with Remocam, I’d reconsider the Bell. Don’t write off the whole company – they clearly have vision and drive, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with next in this highly competitive market.

  • UE Megaboom Review – The Best Boom

    UE Megaboom Review – The Best Boom

    Over the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to the current-generation of Ultimate Ears’ Bluetooth Speaker lineup; the UE Megaboom, UE Boom2, and UE Roll. This comes after owning the original UE Boom for about two years, and listening to is almost daily in my car, at home, in my office, and in parking lots while putting on ski gear. That’s to say, I have a lot of experience with the Boom, and know how it sounds. This review focuses on the big daddy of the lineup – the UE Megaboom.

    uemegaboom-app-min

    What It Is

    The UE Megaboom is the latest generation of Ultimate Ears’ popular portable, rugged bluetooth speakers. It’s the largest, beefiest, loudest, and most robust speaker in the lineup, and still sports the awesome ruggedness, waterproofness, and class-leading sound quality and features of the rest of the UE lineup.

    “UE MEGABOOM is the 360-degree wireless Bluetooth speaker on steroids that blasts freakishly amazing sound to every corner of the party.”

    Find official specs here: http://www.ultimateears.com/en-us/uemegaboom

    913TIthhRCL._SL1500_Who It’s For

    This is the largest UE speaker, but it’s still waterproof, rugged, and portable. This speaker is for the more discerning listener who wants the highest quality sound from a portable bluetooth speaker. It’s for the rich kid who wants to totally rock his medium-sized house party. It’s for the weekend warrior who is setting up at the campsite and making lots of noise. It’s for the home listener who has a hip and new kitchen or living room and wants simple, high quality sound throughout without fuss. The Megaboom is sleek and cylindrical, and comes in a variety of nice colors – so it’s easy to fit in with your decor, it sits flat on a surface, and it has no weird shapes that stick out, get in the way, or call too much attention. The one place it’s not best for is for the permanent, integrated home or office audio solution. Sure, it can be mounted on a tripod or similar, and can be charged and powered at the same time, and connected to aux-input. However, the general design makes it not the best. If you’re looking to wire your house for permanent sound, go with something else. But if you’re looking for rockingly loud, high quality, portable, rugged speaker that can rock your kitchen as well as it can rock your picnic, and you have the cash and discerning ear to want the best you can get, this is the one.

    If you’re looking for something smaller and less pricey, and want more casual listening or background music, get the Boom2. If you’re on a budget, want to listen to mainly podcasts, want to give it to your kids, or want to backpack it out to the campsite, get the UE Roll.

     

    Testing Method

    I tested the UE Megaboom in my home, in my office, and while traveling up and down to the Colorado ski mountains over the course of about a month. I listened to music on Spotify from my iPhone AND an android phone, locally stored FLAC tracks from my computer, podcasts from the iOS podcast app, audio cast from the Chromecast Audio and connected to the aux port, and took a bunch of conference calls on it.

    First Impressions

    I owned the OG UE Boom for two years and loved it. I tested the UE Boom2 and UE Roll, and they were both great. But after 2 minutes of turning on the Megaboom, I’m blown away – this thing is awesome. For the modest increase in size and weight, this speaker rocks so much harder than any of the others, and is still easy to pick up and drag around. The battery came 30% charged, and it didn’t quit throughout my entire hours-long first listening session. Awesome.

    61fmx80matL._SL1000_

    Like

    • The Megaboom has mega sound quality. It’s definitely a step up from Boom2 in both loudness, clarity, and range. The bass of the Megaboom is deep and present, and doesn’t sound overly processed. It’s obvious that the larger physical size of the Megaboom allows it to produce genuinely deeper, clearer, louder bass. The highs are still crisp and clear, like they’ve been on the other UE speakers. But the bass here really shines.
    • The pairing process of the Megaboom is a breeze. Additionally, it pairs quickly with my iPhone when I turn it on, and confirms power, pairing, and power with nice sounds and voice feedback.
    • The volume of the Megaboom is controlled directly from my iPhone. This is a small detail, but important. When I click the volume buttons on my phone, the actual volume of the Megaboom changes. This is in contrast with the other, less-good method of volume control, where I change the volume on my phone, giving the speaker a “hotter” output, but the actual volume setting of the device is independently controlled on the device. With the Megaboom, these two volumes are the same, which I like a lot.
    • I love squeezing the Megaboom and hearing it tell me how much battery I have left.
    • For its size, the Megaboom gets LOUD! Like, really loud! It can easily rock a good size room of people, and can fill a living room with loud, clear music for a whole party. The battery life is great – it plays all night.

    Don’t Like

    • I kinda hate that the power and audio ports are on the bottom, and the power on the top. I know it’s meant to be picked up and handled and dragged around – but it would be cool if it was a bit easier to keep plugged in while using etc. I know I can just turn it over, but I like having the bass drivers at the bottom of the speaker.
    • The motion activated functions – tap tap for track skipping etc – I don’t care. I never used these except to test that they work. And even when I was using the speaker in a more “dynamic” environment.. with friends rocking out in a parking lot before skiing – my phone was never so far away that I felt I needed to pick up the speaker to change the track. It just seems like an unnecessary feature.
    • That’s about it that I don’t like – everything about this speaker is pretty amazing.

    91bsqG77dmL._SL1500_Should you buy it?

    If you’re looking for a great quality bluetooth speaker that can rock your house, house party, backyard etc, and you have the budget to buy the best, this is the one you should get. Of course it’s not as portable as the other smaller speakers. But it’s still small enough to throw into a picnic bag, or weekend bag. I really don’t think that a more portable speaker is necessary. Do you really really really need a speaker small and light enough to backpack with deep into the woods, or carry in your luggage as you travel the world? I dont think so – take a break, enjoy nature. Leave the rocking out for when you can rock out with the best bluetooth speaker – the UE Megaboom.

    Find It Here

    Amazon

    Final thoughts

    Of all the bluetooth speakers I’ve reviewed, this is the one that sticks around as the offices daily listening speaker. Sure I’ve tested a bunch of others and listened to them for a while – but this the one I actually use on a daily basis when not evaluating for a review. Get it.

     

  • UE Roll Bluetooth Speaker Review – Great Sounding, Wobbly, Fun

    UE Roll Bluetooth Speaker Review – Great Sounding, Wobbly, Fun

    The UE Roll is Ultimate Ears smallest, and least expensive bluetooth wireless speaker.  I had the opportunity to test it out for a few weeks around the house, in the office, and on the go. Here’s how it went, and what you should consider when buying it.

    ueroll-sound-min

    What It Is

    The UE Roll is in the latest generation of Ultimate Ears’ popular portable, rugged bluetooth speakers. It’s a rounded disc, a little larger in diameter than a BluRay, fires sound out of one of the broad sides, and sits on its back resting on bungee cords. It’s bungee cord allows it to be attached to a variety of object, and it includes an audio-in port.

    “UE ROLL is the 360-degree wireless Bluetooth speaker that brings unapologetically awesome sound to beaches, cliffs and mountains.”

    Find official specs here: http://www.ultimateears.com/en-us/ueroll#ueroll

    And be sure to check out this quick video from Digital Trends, which goes behind the scenes of the development of the UE Roll:

    71oEZbOMdzL._SL1200_Who It’s For

    The Roll is the smallest, lightest, and least expensive speaker in the UE wireless speaker lineup. It’s aimed at kids on a budget who want  a fun, decent sounding speaker that won’t break the bank. It’s aimed at travelers looking for acceptable sound in a lightweight and rugged package. It’s aimed at beachgoers who want to turn on some podcasts or background music while hanging out. It’s certainly not for the audiophile, home high quality audio listener, or for rocking a good sized party alone.

    The roll also has somewhat unconventional looks- its rounded shape make it awkward to sit on a shelf – but for getting out and about, it’s perfectly fine being placed randomly on a tree stump, poolside, or bungeed to a support beam or whatever. The volume buttons are huge and easily accessible on the front of the speaker, impossible to miss, and totally usable with gloves on.

     

    Testing Method

    I used the UE Roll around my home, sitting next to me in my office, bungeed to the showerhead in the shower, and even dragged it into the woods and hung it off twigs of a tree stump. I listened to lots of podcasts, and music with it, mostly on Spotify.

    First Impressions

    The Roll is a fun, bright color, and is kinda fun to hold and play with on the desk. I initially thought that the bungee cable enabled the Roll to stand up on edge with the bungee acting like a rigid kickstand – but no – the bungee is limp and rubbery, and is really just good for strapping it to bars, handing it from hooks, and attaching it to its floaty. I wasn’t super impressed with the aesthetics of it at first, but given its pretty good sound for the size, i’m convinced it’s pulling its weight.

    51t+PeNlxEL._SL1200_Like

    • For its size, the Roll sounds pretty good. Music at low volume is perfectly find for background, or passive listening. If you’re hanging out with friends and need some random music to fill the background, this is great. It’s also great for podcasts. It certainly gets loud enough with no distortion to listen to podcasts over the noise of the shower or cooking. And when paired with my Macbook via Bluetooth, it’s nice to bring a louder speaker closer to me while I’m watching Hulu and cooking at the same time.
    • For a shower speaker, the bungee cable is pretty neat. It’s easy to slip over the showerhead, and the waterproof port covers keep everything dry.
    • The volume of the Roll is controlled directly from my iPhone. This is a small detail, but important. When I click the volume buttons on my phone, the actual volume of the Roll changes. This is in contrast with the other, less-good method of volume control, where I change the volume on my phone, giving the speaker a “hotter” output, but the actual volume setting of the device is independently controlled on the device. With the Roll, these two volumes are one and the same, which I like a lot.
    • Hit both volume buttons and it tells you the battery charge level. It’s a small feature, but for a speaker that’s a pain in the ass to keep plugged in all the time, this is a good stress-relief feature.
    • For its size, it gets plenty loud, and doesn’t distort.
    • It’s rubberized and rugged – I’m not going to try, but it seems fairly indestructible.

    Don’t Like

    • The Sriracha color I was sent is pretty damn ugly. It’s fun for beside a pool, I suppose, or if I was a bit younger. If I had kids, they’d love playing with this thing and listening to kids songs on it.
    • No speakerphone feature. I guess I’m not super missing this feature, but it’s kinda nice for impromptu conference calls. I understand with the price point etc, though.
    • It’s sound quality isn’t all that – it’s clear with good highs, but the bass lacks a bit. Given the size though, I’m ok with it.
    • It rocks and rolls when sitting on a flat surface. Again, great for running around with, but not the best home speaker.

    Should you buy it?

    Sure! At this point, it’s inexpensive enough to almost impulse buy. And compared to all the other speakers in this price/size category, this is definitely the best one. If your’e looking forward to lots of hanging out at home listening to podcasts, want an occasional speaker to bring out for some background party music, or want some light tunes at the campground this summer, grab the Roll. Any more rocking out, go for the upgrade with the UE Boom or UE Megaboom (the Megaboom is my favourite..)

    Find It Here

    Groupon Coupons partner T-Mobile sells a few colors of the UE Roll here, and paired with one of the many coupons on Groupon Coupons, there could be some sweet discounts.

    Or, find it on Amazon

    Final thoughts

    For its price and size, the Roll is fun and sounds great. It’s indestructible, versatile, and interesting. Don’t look to it for party rocking volume or audiophile sound, but it gets the basic music job done well.

  • UE Boom 2 Wireless Speaker – A Worthy Upgrade to an Already-Great Product

    UE Boom 2 Wireless Speaker – A Worthy Upgrade to an Already-Great Product

    Over the past few weeks, I’ve been listening to the current-generation of Ultimate Ears’ Bluetooth Speaker lineup; the UE Megaboom, UE Boom2, and UE Roll. This comes after owning the original UE Boom for about two years, and listening to is almost daily in my car, at home, in my office, and in parking lots while putting on ski gear. That’s to say, I have a lot of experience with the Boom, and know how it sounds. First, the flagship of the line is the original Boom – called the Boom2 in its current generation. It’s mid-sized in the lineup, and straddles the line between portability and sound quality.

    UEBoom2-party

    What It Is

    The UE Boom2 is the latest generation of Ultimate Ears’ popular portable, rugged bluetooth speaker. It’s roughly the volume of a pint of beer, fits in cup holders, comes in bold colors, is minimally waterproof, ruggedized, and has premium, eq’d sound. From UE:

    “UE BOOM 2 is the 360-degree wireless Bluetooth speaker that blasts loud, insanely great sound with deep, powerful bass. Everywhere you go.”

    Find official specs here: http://www.ultimateears.com/en-us/ueboom2/specs

    Who It’s For

    The cool thing about the Boom2 is it’s broad appeal to a bunch of audiences. The speaker is small and portable, so makes a great travel speaker if weight isn’t your primary concern. Think travel like car camping, road trips, tour groups (the kind with rolling luggage, tour busses), etc. The speaker is rugged, coated in rubber, and waterproof – so it’s great for busy families with rowdy kids knocking things over, great to drag around the vacation house out to the edge of the hot tub or to the side of the pool. The Boom2 also has singular, handsome looks, and is right at home (in some of the colors) on the edge of the desk (where I have mine right now), on the kitchen bar, or in the middle of the cocktail table. The one place where it’s not the best is for more permanent installation – yes, the speaker can be powered and charged from MicroUSB, and has a line input port –  but they’re on the bottom of the unit. So if you want to use the Boom2 while plugged in, connected to the aux audio port, have access to the top power and pair buttons, and have it in the “correct” orientation for the side-firing stereo speakers (with treble on top and bass on bottom), then you’ll have to use the tripod screw mount to elevate the speaker up a bit. Kind of weird. But anyway, the Boom2 is great for portability.

    Testing Method

    91ILPP983RL._SL1500_I tested the UE Boom2 in my home, in my office, and while traveling up and down to the Colorado ski mountains over the course of about a month. I listened to music on Spotify from my iPhone AND an android phone, locally stored FLAC tracks from my computer, podcasts from the iOS podcast app, audio cast from the Chromecast Audio and connected to the aux port, and took a bunch of conference calls on it.

    First Impressions

    After owning the OG Boom for two years, the Boom2 is a definite, albeit modest improvement. The units physical fit and finish are tighter – the speaker grill is a tighter weave. The buttons feel clickier. The port covers on the bottom are nicely integrated. The unit fits in your hand and feels heavy and solid. There are no weird protrusions or catches – each surface feels great. Turning it on gives a reassuring power on noise, and instantly goes into the drumbeat pairing mode. It just works well.

    big-04Like

    • The Boom and Boom 2, when Doubled Up, each act as a stereo speaker individually, playing the same audio source. That makes sense, since the Boom and Boom 2 aren’t acoustically identical, so using each as one side of a stereo pair would be weird. I assume that if I were to double up two Boom 2’s, each would act as one side of a stereo pair. I can’t try this because I only own one Boom 2.
    • The sound quality is a definite improvement form the OG Boom. It’s clearer, and gets considerably louder without distorting. I noticed that as the volume is turned up, the Boom2 seems to adjust the EQ accordingly, so nothing gets distorted, but the volume increases. I’m not a huge fan of this, but it works to consistently squeeze acceptable sounding audio out of a relatively small speaker. The only way to do this without a computer controlled EQ would be to just build a bigger speaker… which is not the point here.
    • The pairing process of the Boom2 is a breeze. Additionally, it pairs quickly with my iPhone when I turn it on, and has a much longer Bluetooth range than the original Boom.
    • The volume of the Boom2 is controlled directly from my iPhone. This is a small detail, but important. When I click the volume buttons on my phone, the actual volume of the Boom2 changes. This is in contrast with the other, less-good method of volume control, where I change the volume on my phone, giving the speaker a “hotter” output, but the actual volume setting of the device is independently controlled on the device. With the Boom2, these two volumes are one and the same, which I like a lot.
    • I love squeezing the Boom2 and hearing it tell me how much battery I have left.
    • For the size of this thing, the sound is really really fantastic. Sure it doesn’t have the best most ground shaking bass, but it sounds good in almost all regards. Music sounds smooth and pleasing. Podcasts are clear. And the speakerphone function works as it should. The FLAC files I listened to sounded good too – but no better than the compressed tracks I listened to on Spotify. I’d say if you’re looking for an audiophile grade speaker that will really make your super high end audio tracks shine, this is not the speaker. But for rocking out to Spotify tracks, this thing is really great.

     

    Don’t Like

    • In “Double Up” mode, paired to my original UE Boom, I experienced a good amount of crackling and sound dropouts on the Boom 2. In this mode, it appeared that my phone was paired over bluetooth to the Boom, and then the Boom was paired to the Boom 2, sending audio data. I’m not sure if this is an issue with the Boom sending audio data to the Boom 2, the Boom 2 receiving the audio stream, or some other linking issue between the Original Boom and Boom 2 – but it was a pain to deal with. Of note, the speakers were about 15 feet from each other, and the Boom was 10 feet from my phone, in a normal living room, both with charged batteries, latest firmware.
    • The color of my Boom 1 is orange rubber and a purple grille. How horribly ugly, and unfitting in any decor. I understand that it’s fun and youthful, but for my desk space, it sticks out like an eyesore. Luckily, Logitech does sell Boom 2 in more subdued colors.
    • The motion activated functions – tap tap for track skipping etc – I don’t care. I never used these except to test that they work. And even when I was using the speaker in a more “dynamic” environment.. with friends rocking out in a parking lot before skiing – my phone was never so far away that I felt I needed to pick up the speaker to change the track. It just seems like an unnecessary feature.
    • On a few tracks, the super low bass does get cutoff. I know this is because of its small size, but still, I really love that deep bass in XX’s “Fantasy”.
    • I wish the audio in, charging ports were all on the top, so i could keep this thing standing up correctly while charging, connecting to external audio, etc. I know it’s easy enough to turn over, but it still seems upside down when I do that.

    Should you buy it?

    If you’re looking for a super versatile,  great sounding Bluetooth speaker that will sound great in normal rooms in your house, and have good chops for rocking small parties as well as your campsite, get this one. It’s totally usable in the widest range of situations I can imagine, and looks great doing it.

    Find It Here

    Amazon

    Final thoughts

     

    I’m psyched that the UE Boom2 is doing so well for Ultimate Ears – it’s really a great speaker that’s hard to be truly disappointed with in any areas. It has its flaws, but it really is overwhelmingly great and versatile. Get this speaker and drag it around everywhere.

  • The Best Insulated Pint Glass Buyers Guide – Keep Cold Cold and Hot Hot

    The Best Insulated Pint Glass Buyers Guide – Keep Cold Cold and Hot Hot

    If you want to keep your cold beer cold, hot coffee hot, and look good doing it, an insulated pint glass may be for you. Here’s how things went during my 2 month long evaluation of a 5 of the leading insulated pint glasses on the market.

    TL;DR: The Stanley Stacking Vacuum Pint is the best insulated pint glass.

    Kevin enjoying fresh morning coffee from the Stanley Stacking Vacuum Pint before a late-fall ascent of Grays and Torreys peaks.
    Kevin enjoying fresh morning coffee from the Stanley Stacking Vacuum Pint before a late-fall ascent of Grays and Torreys peaks.

    The insulated pint glasses I tested were:

    • Hydro Flask True Pint
    • Stanley Stacking Vacuum Pint
    • Avex Brew Insulated Pint Glass
    • Kleen Kanteen Vacuum Insulated Tumbler
    • Silipint Happy Camper Measuring Pint
    • Primus Commuter Vacuum Insulated Mug
    • Kathmandu Coffee Grip Tumbler

    What It Is

    The vacuum insulated pint is the outdoor industry’s answer answer to the traditional pint glass. It’s the shape of a traditional 16oz pint glass, made of stainless steel, and has a double-walled vacuum insulated construction. The glasses don’t usually come with lids, although a few are available. They’re easily hand washable, are super durable, and look great. They don’t need coozys to insulate your hands from them, they don’t sweat with cold drinks, and you can pick them up immediately after pouring boiling water in them.

    Who It’s For

    It’s for the hip beer drinker or coffee connoisseur who love the form factor and universal utility of a pint glass (LIKE ME). It’s for the person who is sensitive to keeping their drink at the perfect temperature, and loves to look good while holding their drink. It’s for the person that needs more than an 8oz cup of coffee to get started in the morning, and wants the first and last sips just as hot. It’s for the person who wants to enjoy their drink in extremely hot or extremely cold environments. It’s for the person who doesn’t want their cold drink sweating on their wood table.

    First Impressions

    I love the general feeling of the pint glass – it’s perfect to hold, 16oz capacity is great for a solid drink, and the shape makes it easy to clean. All of these glasses, save for maybe the Primus one are generally shaped like traditional pint glasses.

    Stanley, Silipint, Kleen Kanteen, and Primus ship theirs with lids – a nice addition for sure, even though I usually don’t use the lid.

    While most of the glasses come in a variety of colors, I immediately prefered the universally good looking brushed stainless steel color.

    The Avex pint comes with a nifty silicone band which provides additional grip, and prevents multiple glasses from dinging against each other when they’re in a box.

    Testing Methodology

    I used each one of these glasses in a regular rotation over the course of about two months. I drank my coffee out of them in the morning, drank soda water from them during the day, and relaxed with a cold beer at night. Additionally, I took the glasses on a bunch of camping trips for use hot and cold. I also dragged them out to my car to accompany me on my daily driving commutes.

    How the pints stack up.

    Each pint is different, and they each have their strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I tended to prefer the traditional-shaped glasses without too many extra bells and whistles like a built in bottle opener or lid. Here’s how testing went on each:

    Stanley Stacking Vacuum Pint

    61k7Plzq89L._SL1500_

    The Stanley Stacking Pint is the undisputed winner of the insulated pint glass bunch. Its design is straightforward and good looking, it feels great in the hand, and it insulates both hot and cold like a champ. Out of all of the pints I tested, this is the one that naturally became my go-to pint for my morning coffee and afternoon soda water. I liked using it so much that I had to make a conscious decision to keep my rotation going so I could give equal review time to each pint.

    The Stanley Pint features a minimal and basic design – it’s the size and shape of a standard pint glass, nothing more. No strange shapes, snazzy grips, bottle openers, or other superfluous features – just a pint glass. But a great one. The pint I tested was unpainted stainless steel, but they also sell it in a number of other colors, including the very handsome and classic “hammertone green”. The stainless steel is brushed on the outer wall, polished at the lip, and untextured/matte inside. The bottom has a very small lip around the edge, with a stainless steel disk covering the finishing port.

    On the table, the Stanley Pint is handsome and singular. It holds its own as a nice looking drinking glass for social gathering, outdoors sports, etc.  In addition, I believe the stainless steel color would even be at home in a more “trendy” house, classy yacht, or private rooftop poolside – it’s simple and classy. The black Stanley logo doesn’t stand out too much, and is understated and cool. The only improvement I could wish for on this front would be for the stanley logo to be laser etched into the steel near the bottom of the glass as simply the logotype without the box, rather than screened on with ink near the top – that would truly make it at home in the most sophisticated tables and for restaurant use.

    In the hand, the pint feels natural and solid. The outside wall is smooth, but the combination of texture from the brushed steel and pint-glass-standard taper makes it solid to hold, even when wet. The lip at the top is slightly thicker than the Hyrdo Flask True Pint, but it’s still a pleasure to drink out of, and the polished lip keeps things looking and feeling clean.

    Inside, the pint is matte steel, with straight walls down to the bottom. There’s a very slight lip at the very bottom, but nowhere near as pronounced as the True Pint. The straight inner walls of the pint make it easy to clean quickly with a sponge. So if you have a stack of these after a raucous party, they’re a cinch to wipe out.

    Performance for this pint is excellent – hot stays hot, cold stays cold as you’d expect. It’s not leaps and bounds ahead of the competition – all of them did their jobs well – and this one is no exception. Buy this if you’re looking for the ultimate performing and good-looking vacuum insulated pint glass, and can do without added features, and a lid. 

    The Stanley Stacking Vacuum Pint isn’t widely available yet, and I tested a pre-release unit. Pick one up when they do go on sale on Amazon. 

    In the mean time, if you’re looking to pick up an insulated Stanley beer vessel, I’d recommend checking out the currently-available Classic Vacuum Pint. It’s much larger and heavier than the Stacking Vacuum Pint reviewed above, but it does come with its own lid with built in, removable bottle opener, and is more heavily insulated. It works great and looks good – although it’s certainly not as slick or nice as the Stacking Vacuum Pint. Use this Groupon coupon to pick up a Stanley Classic Vacuum Pint for a sweet discount online at Kohl’s.

    Hydro Flask True Pint

    295539_40142_41

    The Hydro Flask True Pint looks and feels great. It’s brushed stainless steel inside and out, and remains true to the simple pint glass form factor. It doesn’t have any super special bells and whistles, and is purely an insulated pint glass – excellent.

    For its 16oz capacity, the True Pint is remarkably svelte an feels great in the hand. It’s a bit more “conical” looking and feeling than other pint glasses – which is actually pretty nice to hold. The walls of the pint gently taper as they go up to the lip, and the lip is remarkably thin considering it’s a vacuum insulated pint. The True Pint I’ve been using is simply brushed stainless steel. It’s matte/brushed on the walls, except at the top lip, where it’s shined to a bright shine. The pint glass looks great, both on the table, and in the hand.

    One small design detail that I’m not a fan of is the step-down lip on the inside of the pint. At the very bottom of it on the inside, the diameter suddenly narrows, breaking up the smooth and straight inner wall. I understand this is probably to aid in stacking the pints and preventing them from sticking together. However, I really do think it takes away from the complete aesthetic of the pint, and makes quickly cleaning it a bit of a pain – it’s hard to quickly stuff a sponge down in that little constriction at the bottom. Stanley seems to make a stacking pint work without this design quirk.

    In use, the True Pint works very very well – it keeps hot hot and cold cold, no problem. The outsides of the glass never get hot or cold, and it sits flat and stable on the table.

     

    Avex Brew Insulated Pint Glass

    brew_cyangreen_front_1

    Gotta love them for trying to add a little something extra -the Avex Brew has a built in three-position bottle opener on the bottom. This allows you to grab a bottle of beer, use the base of the glass to open it, and then pour into the pint. The pint has a slightly higher capacity than most other pints, and comes with a nifty rubber ring that sits 2/3 of the way up the glass, and provides a bit of additional grip. There’s also a black grip ring glued onto the bottom, making it grip the table well. The blue color is bold and eye catching, and the polished steel at the top has a nice, although slightly warmer glow than others.

    The bottle opener feature of this mug is great in theory – of course the time you really need a bottle opener is when you’re about to pour a beer. However, to make the bottle opener work, additional space is needed in the bottom of the pint – this increases the overall size, without any additional capacity. Additionally, the cavity needed for the bottle opener to work is nearly impossible to clean, and after a bunch of use, I’ve noticed a build up of random dirt and grime. I accidentally smushed some peanut butter into the bottle opener opening while it was sitting in the sink, and it took a good bit of scrubbing and a partially shredded sponge to get it out. The rubber grip ring is a fun accent – but in usage I didn’t feel like it added too much. similarly, the bottom grip ring is a nice touch – but i don’t feel like I was lusting after more grip in the first place, and I’m afraid that the ring is going to become unglued at some point in the future and fall off.

    Also worth noting, Avex is partnering with 5 water conservation organizations and for one month, working with them to bring awareness to that organization. Check it out here: https://www.avexsport.com/ittakesadrop/

    Buy this if you’re planning on dragging it to picnics and parties, and need a functional and distinctive glass that’s easy to spot and won’t slip from your hands once you’ve had a few. 

    Kleen Kanteen Vacuum Insulated Tumbler

    K16VSSC-BS_41f76d45-d23f-4ac0-96a4-9bbaa8b9d3b8

    The Kleen Kanteen Tumblr looks great – its stainless steel has the best finish and lustre of the bunch, and the chrome cap on the bottom is classy. The pint works great too. Out of the bunch, it was one of the best insulators, seemingly keeping my coffee hot for a bit longer, and cold drinks cold all day. Its construction is solid and reliable, and it sits firmly on the table.

    However, after holding it and using it for a while, I felt that for a 16oz capacity, it was a little bit clunky. Its softly rounded base seemed to sit a little fat on the table, and holding it wasn’t as sleek as the rest.

    Their lid is undeniably good – it seals on the pint well, opens and closes, and has a bonus straw hole. However in use, the shape of the lid made it hard to sip hot coffee without slurping up a bunch of air too. I’d much prefer the shape of a starbucks lid. I do commend them for making a pint glass lid – if you’re looking for an insulated pint that performs well, and can also transform into a commuter mug in a pinch, this is the one. If you’re a kitchen worker and are looking for a personal cup with lid to keep your shift-drink cold, this is the one. Buy this glass if you want an solidly built and shiny insulated pint that comes with a multifunctional lid. 

    Silipint Happy Camper Measuring Pint

    SILIPINT-16OZ-HAPPY-CAMPER-PNT-001-022-F

    Although not a vacuum insulated stainless steel pint, the Silipint stands on its own. The Silipint, as the name would imply, is a food-grade silicone pint glass. The walls are thick, yet the glass remains bendable and soft. It holds its shape perfectly, and its rubbery texture is easy to hold. My Silipint is the “happy camper” model, which is a frost-clear silicone, and has handy oz and cup measuring markers printed on the outside. I love that the pint glass is see-through and has the measuring markers on it – I recently used it to measure out all the ingredients for pancakes, and it makes for handy mixing of cocktails too.Although the pint glass doesn’t insulate quite as well as the vacuum insulated stainless steel ones, I was surprised at how well it did insulate. I could hold coffee at any temperature, and although the glass sweated a bit, it didn’t drip from sweat much.One other key feature is that since the glass is indestructible silicone. They’re flexible, so they can be crammed into your backpack, dropped by friends and kids, and generally abused as much as you want – they just bounce back to their original shape. And yes, they do bounce – I’ve tried it, and with the right angle, I can bounce it from the floor onto my kitchen counter.

    One final note. After a bit of use, I’ve noticed that this pint has absorbed a little bit of food odor, which won’t seem to come out. The rest of the pints in this review are metal, and this one is silicone rubber, so I understand that it’s a slightly unfair comparison. However, it’s worth mentioning. As an example, this morning I drank 2 glasses of very strong, near-boiling coffee from an orange Silipint pint glass. After those, I quickly rinsed it out, filled it with ice, and drank about 3 glasses of plain soda water from it over the course of the day. Then I washed it out very thorougly with dish soap and water and sponge, and let it dry on the drying rack. Not sitting here with it clean and dry, I can faintly pick up the smell of coffee when I smell the inside of the glass. Comparing that to my Stanley stainless steel pint glass, which I have treated the same way on other days, I smell no odor at all. So, for that it’s worth, there go. If I wasn’t specifically testing for this I doubt I’d notice anything, but for the purpose of this review, I think it’s worth mentioning.

    Buy this glass if you have kids or are prone to dropping things, and want a fun, indestructible glass that’s as good for poolside as it is barside.

    Primus Commuter Vacuum Insulated Mug

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    The Commuter Mug is more of an insulated travelers mug than a pint glass. However, it’s still the basic size and shape of a pint glass, so I thought I’d include it in this review. The glass holds 16oz, and insulates great. After a an hour or so, my coffee is still hot, and my cold beer is still cold.The glass comes with its own screw-on commuter top, and the threads are molded directly into the steel of the glass. The screw on top seals well, and is easy to sip out of. However, after a bit of use, the clicky seal top began to stick and malfunction, and I ended up just leaving it unsealed most of the time. The other flaw with this glass is that the white paint on the outside goes right up to the lip of the glass. Making for a cool-looking white glass, however after a few uses, the paint started to chip off the tup, right where I put my lips. Flaking paint where you put your lips seems like a decent safety concern – so I removed this from the rotation as soon as I saw the flaking.

    Buy this glass if you’re mainly on the go and in/out of your car a lot, but only use it with the included sealing top.

    Kathmandu Coffee Grip Tumbler

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    Major fail. The pint glass is single wall stainless steel. Its insulation comes from an outer skin of corrugated rubber, which surrounds the entire outside of the glass, including wrapping around to the bottom. The corrugated rubber traps a layer of air between the rubber and the outside of the steel. This works in theory. However the rubber is soft and stretchable. So when the glass is used for hot beverages, the air in the gap expands, and stretches the rubber out into a bulbous shape around the glass. On the sides this would be fine, but the real failure here is that the normally flat bottom becomes rounded, preventing the glass from sitting stably on a surface. So, add your scalding hot coffee to the glass, set it down on your table, and by itself, this flawed pint glass will spill itself. I used this twice – once to test hot, and once to test cold. The cold performance is marginally better than a standard glass glass.

    Don’t buy this. 

    The Best

    The Stanley Stacking Vacuum Pint is the best insulated pint glass. Bold and handsome looks, awesome insulating performance, stacking perfection, and easy cleaning make this the leader of the bunch. Buy it on Amazon. 

    The Rest

    • Hydro Flask True Pint – Near perfect design and good looks. Slightly more flared shape makes design impact softer. The weird interior constriction in the bottom of the glass makes it a bit more of a pain to clean, and perhaps needlessly decreases volume. A strong runner up, though.
    • Silipint Happy Camper Measuring Pint – In a class of their own – perfect for accident-prone areas where ultimate insulation isn’t the goal. Fun and durable, but not the classiest of the bunch. Should be compared to other silicone pints.
    • Kleen Kanteen Vacuum Insulated Tumbler – Good, but not perfect lid. Lustrous and good looking finish with performance to match, but feels overbuilt.
    • Avex Brew Insulated Pint Glass – The built in bottle opener and rubber ring is fun, but ultimately not worth the added complexity. Love the larger capacity.
    • Primus Commuter Vacuum Insulated Mug – Flaking paint and a finicky lid. Even if you’re a commuter, there’s probably a better one out there.
    • Kathmandu Coffee Grip Tumbler – It spills itself. Enough Said.

    More Info

  • Cheero Power Plus 3 Review – Charging All Day

    Cheero Power Plus 3 Review – Charging All Day

    In the lead-up to CES 2016, lots of new electronic products are being released. Cheero just brought out it’s high-power Power Plus 3 portable battery pack.

    What It Is

    The Cheero Power Plus 3 is a 13400mAh mobile USB Battery Pack. It’s meant to be carried with you to give you two USB power ports, for charging your mobile phone and other USB-charging electronics.

    Who It’s For

    Cheero-power-plus-3-onbikeThis power pack is for the mobile professional who uses their phone and electronics hard throughout the day, and may need multiple charges throughout the day, need to charge multiple devices simultaneously, or may need to charge over the span of a few days. It seems great for traveling if the lightest weight is not a concern, or for mobile content producers who have lots of gadgets that need to be powered up.

    First Impressions

    The Power Plus 3 comes in a small, unadorned cardboard box, very much reminiscent of the Amazon “Frustration Free Packaging”. It’s easy to open and simple. Inside, the power pack is a small white square puck, almost exactly the size of 4 18650 batteries lying next to each other. The battery is slick and small, and remarkably heavy for its size. HIgh density. The package also comes with a good quality white Micro-USB Charging cable and user manual in Japanese and English.

    Testing Methodology

    I tested it by throwing it in my daily bag and using it to keep my iPhone, digital camera, and bluetooth headset powered up throughout the day. I also used it while traveling on a recent business trip.

    Using It

    B6tlirkCYAERQndUsing the battery pack is simple and straightforward – charge it up with the Micro-USB port. Plug in your USB cables and attach your devices to charge, and click the button. The battery charges quickly and consistently – and it has a ton of power. On a recent trip, I used this thing with two phones almost every day, and it never skipped a beat. For its size, it’s surprisingly powerful, charging two phones at least twice every day.

    Additionally, since the battery pack supports pass-through charging and has two output ports, I can plug it in to recharge overnight, as well as charge up two phones at the same time. The next morning both phones are completely charged, as is the battery pack. Perfect – and it only requires one usb power input to the battery to charge the battery and two phones simultaneously.

    One other benefit of the large capacity, pass-through charging, and dual ports is energy buffering for less-than-ideal charging situations. For example, if I’m charging the battery from a solar panel and the sun goes behind the clouds (thereby dropping the panel’s output power), the devices I have plugged into the battery will still keep charging at their original speed, sipping from the battery directly.

    The one subtle feature this battery is missing is a way to change the on/off behavior of the battery. Since the battery automatically turns off after a certain amount of time, and doesn’t turn on automatically when plugged into power, the battery won’t automatically start charging connected devices when it receives a charging current. This could potentially create issues in instances when I’m using the battery as a buffer from a solar input. Companies like Voltaic address this by adding a way to change from auto-off timer to always on, depending on the use case and what the user selects.

    Good

    For 13400mAh capacity, this thing is small! Seems like they got a great power density out of the Japanese 18650 cells they use inside. The USB ports are nice and tight, providing a good connection to your cable. The power button large and easy to find. The case is smooth and sleek feeling, and has a high quality look and feel to it. It’s flat on two opposing sides, so it stands up on end, which is kinda nice when it’s sitting on your cluttered desk. It charges with Micro-USB, which is the current standard for mobile charging (although I predict it will soon change to USB-C). Somebody made a custom leather case for it. 

    Bad

    It doesn’t include a flashlight like most battery packs do – but in reality, I’ve never ever used the flashlight in any battery pack for anything. It just adds complexity. I’m glad they left it out of this. There’s only one high speed charging port – so one of your devices gets charged fast, and one slow – but if you’re charging an iPhone and a Bluetooth headset, it’s perfect. It doesn’t have USB-C, which I think is, or should be, the new universal data and power standard for electronics. Get rid of display port, usb-a, micro, mini usb, lightning, and just go with USB-C

    Should You Buy It?

    Buy it if you’re looking for a very high capacity in a relatively small size, only need 1 high-speed charging port, and don’t need USB-C. I’d tend to wait for the next round of battery packs to be release which support USB-C charging – which will be backwards compatible (with an adapter) to USB-A, and be able to charge up your new Macbook, Chromebook Pixel, or future laptops and gadgets which use the new and super-versatile USB-C spec. I’ waiting for one of those. I’m personally waiting to get my hands on a MOS Reach Go.

    Specs

    • [Built-in Battery / Capacity] Panasonic Lithium ion battery / 13400mAh 3.6V (48.24Wh)
    • [Body Dimensions] 3.8× 3.1 × 0.9 inches (92 × 80 × 23 mm)
    • [Body Weight] 0.5 pounds (245g) (8.6 oz)
    • [Color] White
    • [Recharging time] Approximately 8 hours *With use of 2A USB AC adapter
    • [Usage Time] Approximately 500 Times
    • [Input] DC 5V/2A Micro USB
    • [Output] USB1: DC 5V/1A USB2?DC 5V/2.4A?Total: 3.4A?
    • [Accessories] USB-Micro USB charging cable, user manual / warranty card (six months warranty)
    • Note – I tested it, and this battery DOES support pass-through charging.
    • Note – I tested it, and this battery does not auto-sense devices being plugged in. You must click the button to turn it on.

    More Info

  • Field Test Review: Squeeze Pod Toiletries Smell Amazing, Great For A Night Away From Home

    Field Test Review: Squeeze Pod Toiletries Smell Amazing, Great For A Night Away From Home

    squeeze-pod-logoTravel is getting hipper and hipper, and toiletry companies are getting in on developing new packaging and products for those of us on the move. Squeeze Pod makes convenient single-serving toiletry pods aimed at the lightweight traveler. They sent me a few packets to try out on trip or two – here’s how it went.

    What is it:

    Squeeze Pod Travel Size Toiletries are a series of super-small, single use toiletries packets, made for quick and easy traveling and usage when you only need a few night’s worth of bathroom supplies. Each pod has a rigid plastic shell and foil cover, which is snapped open for use. All products are natural and eco-friendly. Products in the line include: Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, facial cleanser, shave cream, hair gel, hand sanitizer, moisturizing lotion, toilet odor eliminator.

    From Squeeze Pod:

    Squeeze Pod is an innovative line of single-use natural toiletries. Made in the USA, these single-use pods are leak-proof, TSA-compliant, vegan and PETA-certified cruelty-free. Squeeze Pod natural toiletries are perfectly suited for those with on-the-go lifestyles; busy families, business travelers, adventure-seekers and more.

    Who it’s for:

    It’s for the on-the-go traveler who needs only a few nights worth of toiletries, and who is mainly staying at hotels or homestays, rather than camping or backpacking.

    fa1737888242c78b8abcd52421abdd21First impressions:

    I received the box of toiletries on the mail, and was impressed that they included a plastic toiletry bag, which is actually pretty nice. The pods are bundled together in strips of three, and are relatively easy to separate. Once opening the package and dumping them all out, I was a little scared with all the little plastic pods scattered everywhere.. seemed like a lot of small items for just a few toiletries.

    How I tested:

    Squeeze Pod sent me a package including sample of all of their pods, as well as a clear toiletry bag, I do a bit of travel, and used the pods during a few recent trips, as well as at home. Notably, recently I took a weekend trip to NYC for a bit of business, and flew Spirit Airlines. Spirit has very strict baggage policies, so I packed only in my small briefcase shoulder bag. The small travel pods were perfect for this!

    Design:

    Each pod is a teardrop shaped plastic pod, with a semi-circular rounded back, and a foil piece covering the flat front. The pods are connected in groups of three, and they’re easy to snap apart. However, once separated, they leave jagged sharp bits of plastic on the edges. Kinda hazardous when fishing around in your toiletry bag for one after getting out of the shower with wet, soft skin.

    Black-Clear-Toiletry-BagIn Use:

    The actual products the pods contain is great. They smell great, and all work great. Some of the products, like the body wash are items I’d love to start using full-time, if there were large bottles available. I appreciate that they’re all-natural too, although to be honest, that wouldn’t be the biggest selling point for me. The pods are small, and opened by folding the plastic tip backwards, breaking the plastic and opening the packet. The foil and plastic are soft enough that the product can be squeezed out. However, because half of the pod is made of plastic, it’s difficult to squeeze every last drop out. Still an easy experience though – and totally possible with wet, soapy hands.

    After the product is dispensed, the pod becomes trash – so for each use, you generate a piece of trash that’s a combination of plastic and foil. This was actually my only big complaint about the Squeeze Pods – they generate trash! I understand the use case for individual-serving packets,but really hated cleaning up little plastic pods all over the bathroom floor that I had chucked over the curtain as I used them in the shower. I feel for travelers, the utility of the small packets is great, but if you’re going to any more than a few nights, a small 3oz bottle (the 3oz bottles from Sea-to-Summit are what I swear by – they’re cheap, come with product in them, have a tried-and-tested no-leak cap, and are refillable) of product would much more convenient, generate less trash, and be refillable. The teardrop, half rigid pods are a cool way of packaging the product, and make it easy to snap open when your hands are slippery. However, I feel like the product could also have been packaged in ketchup packets to contain the same volume, pack down even smaller, and generate trash that may compact down more after use.

    • Shampoo, conditioner – A great combo, works as well if not better than what I usually use in the shower, and smells great – like what I’d get at a salon.
    • Body wash, facial cleanser – Both of these smell great and work just fine. The facial cleanser was good, but I’d still opt for my regular. The Body wash smelled so good I’d opt for that all the time, if they sold a big bottle of it.
    • Shave cream – It spreads! Just the little pod of it is good for all but the heaviest beards.
    • Hair gel – I actually didn’t use.
    • Hand sanitizer – NOT alcohol based, but very creamy feeling and nice smelling. Takes a minute to rub in.
    • Toilet odor eliminator – It works, but I’m not usually so finely concerned about this issue, so I think the utility may have been lost on me.

    featured18Good:

    • The product in Squeeze Pods is top-notch. Works great, smells great, and is definitely on-par with any other premium toiletry I’ve used. Using Squeeze Pods is not a compromise on product quality.
    • They’re small and convenient for a night or two, or for your “office overnight” kit.
    • The plastic case they come with is nice for a basic dop kit.

    Bad:

    • The actual pods are one-time-use and generate trash on every use. You end up with lots of little plastic pieces in the trash.  If you’re camping, lots of little plastic to pack out, or risk losing in the woods.
    • The plastic pods have sharp edges once they’re separated from each other. Not the biggest issue, but could be pokey if you’re fishing in the bottom of your bag for moisturizer.

    Specs:

    Squeeze Pod’s current product line includes the following: Natural Shampoo (SulfateFree,) Natural Conditioner (Sulfate-Free,) Natural Body Wash, Natural Facial Cleanser, Natural Shave Cream, Natural Hair Gel, Natural Hand Purifier, Natural Moisturizing Lotion and Natural Toilet Odor Eliminator.

    Should you buy it?

    Buy it to keep in your desk at work just in case you need to stay overnight. Buy it to take with you on a single-night work trip where you’re packing in only one hand-carry bag. Buy it for your wife so she can keep a few small packets of moisturizer in her bag, instead of letting a pump-bottle spill everywhere. But if you’re traveling for more than a few nights, going to the outdoors, etc, I’d suggest looking to a refillable, reusable bottle.

    More info…

    Buy Squeeze Pods direct at Squeezepod.com or on Amazon with free shipping for Prime members. .

     

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