REVIEW – Our house has two living rooms, and we recently redid our “back” living room. Since that’s where the wood stove is, and a big new couch, we’ve been spending more time there. Our front living room has a TV with soundbar, but the back living room just has a TV with built-in TV […]
REVIEW – As we come into the holiday (and eating!) season, a lot of people will be paying attention to their weight, myself included. I’m a competitive athlete, but tend toward the “big boned” side of things. So I need to pay attention to my body composition and distribution of muscle and fat to ensure
RunStar Smart Scale review – a lot of information, at (and from!) your fingertips. Read More
REVIEW – If you spend any time with a vehicle in the outdoors, you’ll encounter a need for a shovel. It can be for digging out of a snowbank, cleaning out a fire pit, or for me most recently, seeing an awesome patch of wild roadside black eyed susan and bee balm (wild flowers) to
Gerber Dredge Folding Shovel review – A great folding shovel with a strange name Read More
REVIEW – We recently went on a family vacation to a state park and stayed in the park cabins. While we had a great time, the beds were awful. Plastic prison mattresses with broken springs that poked all night and made awful noises. This is a trip we take every year and we knew the
Cherimor air mattress review – a portable bed, but better! Read More
REVIEW – I have tended to keep wallets for a very long time in fact, in the slightly over half a century that I’ve been on this planet, I have only had 3. I’ve worn them all out, and they’ve all been the same – a nylon billfold with a velcro closure. But what I
Ekster Cardholder Pro wallet review – a new style wallet for all you really need to carry Read More
REVIEW – I exercise a lot outdoors, alone. That gives me an opportunity to listen to music, podcasts, and audio books, which I absolutely love. But running and riding bikes on streets with cars can be a bit dangerous, even more so when you can’t hear those cars coming. My “go-to” ear buds for my
Shokz Openfit Air earbuds review – All your audio, while still hearing your environment Read More
REVIEW –My family and I live to be outside as much as possible all year long. We love camping, road trips, and spending time with family and friends. A lot of these activities involve coolers, which are great for keeping things cold, but come with the hassle of ice, the water that results from the
REVIEW – I am a passionate and dedicated cyclist, and have been for the last 30 years. I ride on the roads with cars several times a week, but I’m always nervous about it, and getting more so. Just this year alone, several of my friends and riding buddies have been hit by cars, one
Trek CarBack Radar Rear Bike Light review – Ride on the roads with newfound confidence! Read More
REVIEW – I wear sport earbuds a lot. Several times a day, in fact. It starts when I walk my dog in the morning, continues when I run or cycle, and then usually once again on another dog walk. That’s the daily. Then throw in traveling, mowing the grass, and innumerable other random occasions, and
REVIEW – My wife loves hot tubs. Whenever we travel, a hot tub is the first filter on the Airbnb listing that she checks – it’s a “must-have.” I’ve always been opposed to getting one at home due to the initial cost both for the tub, and also to have a new 220V line run
REVIEW – I’m fortunate to live in an area with epic cycling right out my front door. However, not all my rides start at my house. Often I am driving to a different area or heading to a race, which means I ned a bag for my gear. I usually grabbed whatever was closest –
REVIEW – I find myself tinkering quite a bit. We have an off-grid solar system that powers my home office and all of our outdoor lighting, with a Redodo 12V 200Ah battery as the hub. We built a camper from a cargo trailer. I’m constantly building or rewiring something. All of this involves wiring, and
Tesmen TWS-322 self-adjusting wire strippers review Read More
REVIEW – Carrying small bits of gear on your bike like an inner tube, small jacket, or a snack traditionally meant a bag that hung off the back of your seat, or maybe a handlebar bag. These work to carry things, but it’s not easy to grab what you need while riding. Enter the Race
REVIEW – Our family room has been the main gathering place in our house since we moved in in 2005. We got a new sofa then, and it survived almost 20 years and two kids. It was still comfortable, but in rough shape. When the opportunity to review the FlexiSpot modular sofa, I jumped on
REVIEW – One of the most interesting aspects of writing reviews is seeing how products evolve. It’s not often that one gets to review the same product twice, but that’s the case here. Last year, I reviewed the Engwe L20 e-bike. The bike was OK, but there were some obvious misses. This year’s version does
Engwe L20 2.0 fat tire e-bike review – new features, and a lower price! Read More
REVIEW – For almost 20 years, my desk has been a hollow-core door sitting on top of two filing cabinets. It’s served me well, but I thought it was time for an upgrade. I’ve wanted to try a standing desk for a while now, with all the information coming out about how sitting is the
FlexiSpot E7 Pro standing desk review – All your work, seated or standing! Read More
REVIEW – During the pandemic, my wife and I built a camper into a box trailer. A big part of that build was an entire 12V power system, including solar panels, a solar charge controller, a DC-AC inverter, and a battery. The battery is the key to this system because nothing works without it. When
REVIEW – It used to be that you had two choices for TV audio – the tiny speakers that are built into TVs or large home theater systems with many speakers that dominate the room. Then soundbars became popular and added a third option for folks that wanted much better sound than a TV can
Ultimea Apollo S50 Detachable Soundbar review – Better TV sound, with a few options! Read More
REVIEW – When I was a kid, we planned a ski trip to the mountains of West Virginia. The forecast was shaping up to be VERY cold, so my dad got me a pair of heated socks. They were wool socks with a bunch of D batteries in a holder that strapped to your
Kemimoto Classic Heated Vest review – Stay warm, just about anywhere! Read More
REVIEW – It seems like most of the activities I’m involved with involve mud. Caving, mountain biking, and trail running can get you very dirty, often far from any “normal” places where you could clean up. Additionally, you usually end up with muddy gear. This leaves me with the option to drive home sweaty and
Flextail Max portable shower review – clean off, anywhere! Read More