REVIEW – I recently had the chance to try out Gerber Custom, a new tool on the Gerber Gear website that lets you design a customized knife or multi-tool that Gerber will then build and send to you. The design process was simple and fun, and I was impressed with the number of customization options […]
REVIEW – Transitioning from a decades-old IKEA desk in the corner of my cramped apartment living room to a dedicated office in my new home has been a real game-changer. As I excitedly planned my new workspace, I knew finding the right desk would be crucial and that it was definitely time for a proper
REVIEW – For many, fall marks the end of summer, the start of winter, or the lead-up to the holidays—but for me, it’s all about one thing: New York Comic Con. Every October, the Jacob K. Javits Center transforms into a haven for pop culture enthusiasts, comic book aficionados, cosplayers, and fans of all things
New York Comic Con 2024 video trip report – All the pop-culture you can handle! Read More
REVIEW – With my niece and nephews all having reached driving age, I find myself increasingly worried about their safety on the roads. One piece of safety equipment that I’ve found to be essential these days is a really good dashcam. I’m still using the Road Angel Halo Pro Dashcam that I reviewed back in
Botslab G980H dash cam review – Driving safety and 4K clarity all in one! Read More
REVIEW – It’s rare when a new development in outdoor gear surprises or impresses me. Usually, unique entries to the market turn out to be more about gimmicks and less about usefulness and practicality. The Tentsile Safari Stingray Tree Tent, however, is one new product that definitely lives up to the hype. This inventive shelter
Tentsile Safari Stingray Tree Tent review – Defy gravity and embrace adventure! Read More
REVIEW – Having finally realized my dream of home ownership—well, condo ownership actually—I now face the challenge of furnishing a space twice as large as any I’ve ever lived in. The first order of business is finding appropriate coverings for my new living room’s wonderful, huge windows. As a technophile, I hoped to incorporate any
SmartWings Motorized Light Filtering Roller Shades review – Smart Shades for a Smart Home! Read More
REVIEW – One principle I’ve always lived by is that, just like good socks and underwear, one can never have too many hatchets. With PNW weather uncharacteristically great this summer, my hatchet-using opportunities have increased significantly, so it’s time to add to the family. While I still love my Gerber Bushcraft Hatchet that I reviewed
The James Brand TJB hatchet review – A stylish chopper for the sophisticated woodsman Read More
REVIEW – While I continually look for ways to simplify my overlanding gear, I’ve found that a lot of compromises need to be made. With limited space and payload, weight and portability are prime considerations for everything I bring along. Always complicating matters is the unknown quotient of food and cooking supplies. Cooking fuel, in
Stoke Voltaics Nomad Cooking System review – Ditch the propane and cook off the grid! Read More
REVIEW – As I add more and more extraneous lights and accessories to my truck, powering them all efficiently becomes an issue. Right now, everything is powered by my main starter battery, which is fine to a point. The ultimate goal is to protect that starter battery at all costs and power everything else from
REVIEW – The part of Seattle where I live is home to all manners of cutting-edge personal transportation. At times, when I’m stuck in traffic, insulated in the little climate-controlled metallic cocoon of my beloved Toyota Tacoma, I watch all of the brave commuters zip by on their various wheeled contraptions with more than a
REVIEW – The more camping gear I research and acquire, the more I’m amazed at some of the latest space-saving innovations they showcase. Bringing larger items, like a table, along on a camping trip has always required some advanced Tetris-like packing skills. Since testing the Helinox Table Four and Café Chair, however, I can put
Helinox Table Four and Café Chair review – Portable table and chairs set for fun!!! Read More
REVIEW – Spending any significant amount of time living outdoors requires a lot of equipment, planning, and special considerations. One of the most important things to plan for is what’s known as “the bathroom situation.” Every time I invite someone along on an outdoor adventure lasting more than a day, the question I’m most asked
REVIEW – After years of dealing with soggy hamburgers and hot dogs, I finally decided to upgrade my camping cuisine. Now, when I’m enjoying the great outdoors, dinner is either a nice steak cooked over the campfire or some other simply prepared protein. While this cuts down on the amount of condiments and soggy rolls
REVIEW – As much as I love my Toyota Tacoma, one thing that it’s lacking is a decent infotainment system. Most car manufacturers still seem to treat this vital part of a car’s configuration as an afterthought, and the older the car, the worse the experience. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have stepped up to
REVIEW – Now that I’ve adapted to a hybrid work schedule—splitting my time between a home office and company campus—I’ve had to set up two full workstations. That means equipping two of everything, so I can remain effective in both settings. For me, the most crucial parts of my setup are my keyboard and mouse.
REVIEW – When it comes to electronics, smaller is always better. I like to think that the ability to pack supercomputing power into palm-sized devices is a trade-off for the grand promises of the past, like flying cars. Intel’s Next Unit of Compute (NUC) mini PC series is the perfect example of how useful small
REVIEW – Apple computers have a lot of advantages over PCs, but connectivity isn’t one of them. For literally decades, I was a dedicated Apple user, and as such, I was burned every time Apple decided to sunset another connection option. I still come across Firewire cables and adapters in random corners of my apartment.
REVIEW – One of the biggest problems I often encounter as a maker/tinkerer is finding room on my workbench for the latest new tools. Case in point, my current laser engraver, the TwoTrees TS2, which I reviewed back in January 2023, is great, but it takes up pretty much all of my workspace whenever I
ARTICLE – Once again, costumed and body-painted heroes, villains, and all characters in between descended on New York City for the annual New York Comic Con. The crowds and enthusiasm were both at pre-pandemic levels, and most of the big players, like Marvel, had returned. Notably absent, though, was DC, not seen at NYCC since
New York Comic Con 2023 video trip report – Bringing pop culture fun to the fans! Read More
REVIEW – As a proud Gen Xer, I still have an inordinate amount of memories stored on “old media”. Over the years, I’ve painstakingly converted VCR tapes to MP4s, CDs, and records to MP3s, and scanned countless photos, all with varying degrees of success. Despite my background as a digital artist, photo scanning, in particular,
Vivid-Pix Memory Station review – Scan all the things! Read More