Joe Porletto

Joe became a Maker at the age of ten after piecing together a Sinclair ZX80 that his grandfather had given him. The bug bit him hard and he’s been tinkering, building, deconstructing and generally creating gadgetry mayhem ever since. Joe lives in Seattle with Addy, his rescue pitty, and Chino, his blind kitty.

Stoke Voltaics Nomad Cooking System review – Ditch the propane and cook off the grid!

By / / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment
StokeNomad Rev 0005

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

PowerUrus 12V 100AH LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Rechargeable Battery review – A feature-packed battery with tons of uses!

By / / Reviews / / Leave a Comment
PowerUrus Rev 0063

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

PowerUrus 12V 100AH LiFePO4 Deep Cycle Rechargeable Battery review – A feature-packed battery with tons of uses! Read More

HAOQI Cheetah Full Suspension Electric Bike review – A powerful fat-tire e-bike with maximum range!

By / / Reviews / / 1 Comment
HaoqiCheetah Rev 015726092

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

HAOQI Cheetah Full Suspension Electric Bike review – A powerful fat-tire e-bike with maximum range! Read More

Helinox Table Four and Café Chair review – Portable table and chairs set for fun!!!

By / / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment
HelinoxFourCafe Rev 0005

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

Trelino Evo S Portable Composting Toilet review – This travel toilet is number one for number two (and number one)!

By / / Reviews / , / 1 Comment
TrelinoEvo Rev 0003

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

Trelino Evo S Portable Composting Toilet review – This travel toilet is number one for number two (and number one)! Read More

Gerber ComplEAT 6-Piece Cutting Board Set review – This meal prep kit is a cut above the rest!

By / / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment
Gerber Compleat Rev 0015

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

Gerber ComplEAT 6-Piece Cutting Board Set review – This meal prep kit is a cut above the rest! Read More

CARLUEX PRO+ Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto Adapter review – Add features to your boring car stereo!

By / / Reviews / , , / 1 Comment
CARLUEX PRO Rev 0011

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

CARLUEX PRO+ Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto Adapter review – Add features to your boring car stereo! Read More

Keychron V1 Max wireless mechanical keyboard and M3 Mini wireless mouse Metal Edition review – Premium feature-packed peripherals for power users!

By / / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment
KeyChronM3 Rev 0002 scaled e1709620467192

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.

Keychron V1 Max wireless mechanical keyboard and M3 Mini wireless mouse Metal Edition review – Premium feature-packed peripherals for power users! Read More

Intel NUC 11 NUC11PAHi7 Panther Canyon Mini PC review – Big processing power in a small package!

By / / Reviews / / Leave a Comment
IntelNUC Rev 0028

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

Intel NUC 11 NUC11PAHi7 Panther Canyon Mini PC review – Big processing power in a small package! Read More

UGREEN Revodok Max 213 Thunderbolt 4 Dock review – A powerful, versatile dock to max out your computer’s connectivity!

By / / Reviews / / Leave a Comment
RevoDok Rev Lg 025

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.

UGREEN Revodok Max 213 Thunderbolt 4 Dock review – A powerful, versatile dock to max out your computer’s connectivity! Read More

LumiTool F20 20W Fiber Laser Engraver review – A unique design for an innovative and compact laser!

By / / Reviews / / 1 Comment
Lumitool 0001

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

LumiTool F20 20W Fiber Laser Engraver review – A unique design for an innovative and compact laser! Read More

New York Comic Con 2023 video trip report – Bringing pop culture fun to the fans!

By / / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment
NYCC 2023 003

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

Vivid-Pix Memory Station review – Scan all the things!

By / / Reviews / , / Leave a Comment
VividPix Rev 019

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

Godox Virso S M2 2.4GHz Wireless Microphone System review – Record three subjects at once with this innovative mic set!

By / / Reviews / / Leave a Comment
VirsoMic Rev 033

REVIEW – One aspect of my amateur video making that always seems to fall a bit short is the audio. The internal microphones on smartphones and cameras are never quite good enough to capture the full range of sound, resulting in videos that never reach professional quality. However, after testing the Godox Virso S M2

Godox Virso S M2 2.4GHz Wireless Microphone System review – Record three subjects at once with this innovative mic set! Read More

Cololight Colo Play Desktop Controller review – A cool accessory for gamers, cyberpunks, and everyday users alike!

By / / Reviews / / Leave a Comment
ColoplayController Rev 024328184

REVIEW – The more time I spend at my desk, whether for work or play, the more I appreciate stylish accessories that not only look cool but also add functionality to my setup. Whether it’s a sleek new mouse with tons of extra buttons or a retro-looking mechanical keyboard with extended media controls, as long as

Cololight Colo Play Desktop Controller review – A cool accessory for gamers, cyberpunks, and everyday users alike! Read More