NEWS – Surfer Dudes look like a miniature surfboard and surfer dude or dudette. These beach toys have been specially designed to automatically return to you when you throw them out into the ocean. This makes them the perfect toy to take with you on your next trip to the beach. Your kids (and even you) will have fun throwing them into the water just to watch them surf the waves back to you every time with perfect balance.
Surfer Dudes are made of ABS plastic and closed foam so they won’t sink. They come in a variety of colors and are priced at $19.99 each. You can order one from The Grommet or Amazon.
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REVIEW – AirPods have been out for the better part of a year now, and I’ve been seeing them in more places “in the wild.” There are, of course, AirPod cases and leashes and all manner of add-on products for the new Apple wireless buds. I was sent a Leather Case for AirPods from Air Vinyl Design in a camel brown to test. The cases are also available in Black, Red, and a Chocolate Brown.
Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.
What is it?
The Air Vinyl case is just that – a cover to fit over the AirPod recharging case. The inside is a smooth plastic that fits perfectly around the AirPods case, and a hinged cover fits perfectly into the flip-up top of the AirPods cover. Once it’s installed, it’s actually difficult to remove the case.
What’s in the box?
Just the cover – nothing more, nothing less.
Design and features
The cover is based on a plastic form-fitting overcase for the AirPods and covered with a thin, glove-soft overskin of leather. The inside of the case is the actual plastic, but the outer covering is pure leather, with its true feel and scent and wearability. In the few weeks I’ve been using it, I can already see the personality of the leather develop. There is a hole in the bottom center which allows charging with every Lightning cable I’ve used with it.
What I Like
Individualizes my AirPod case
Gives me a bit more grip when taking AirPods out or replacing them
Looks nice
What needs to be improved
Not really necessary
Final thoughts
I was perfectly happy with my AirPods with just the bare case in my pocket. My boss has a silicon case around hers, and I thought I might want a case, but then I thought “I’m not going to try and resell these.” Others in my office have their AirPods on their desk, but we rarely have them out together in a conference room or snack area where they might get mixed up. Not like phone cases or your computer or iPad. Usually, with a phone, I need the grip, and I want to protect the phone for resale. But, now that I have the AirPod case, I do like it and enjoy the feel of the leather. Would I buy it? Probably not. But I can’t deny it brings me a little happiness. I would love it as a gift.
The company also has vinyl stickers sized for your bare AirPod case for major cities ($7.99) and offers custom designs as well. I might like a Bull City logo even more than leather.
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NEWS – We recently told you about the Col. Littleton leather sleeve for Yeti tumblers, and here’s an option for those of us who don’t like leather or who want to carry completely handsfree. This Tempo carrier fits the 30-oz Yeti or similar insulated tumblers. It’s made of neoprene for a little extra insulation to keep your drink at the proper temperature.
The top drawstring closure keeps the sleeve firmly in place. A small exterior pocket holds cash or cards. The detachable strap is reflective to keep you visible at night, and a buckle adjusts the length of the strap for comfortable carrying.
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REVIEW – You’ve no doubt heard of clothing that has been made of merino wool right? It’s well known for keeping you warm when it’s cold, comfortable when it’s warm, and it can be worn multiple times without getting smelly. Many people seek out clothing made of this material, but is there another type of wool that is even better? How about yak wool? Let’s take a look at the Shola 230 Zip yak wool shirt from Kora.
What is it?
The Shola 230 Zip is a base layer shirt made of 100% pure Himalayan yak wool fabric that has been sourced from nomad families on the Qinghai Tibet plateau in the Himalayas. The Himalayan yaks live in altitudes between 12-18,000 feet which causes their wool to be finer and according to Kora, up to 40% warmer and more breathable than merino wool.
Design and features
I was sent the women’s version of the Shola 230 Zip in obsidian blue. The shirt is thin and lightweight with a YKK zippered neck and contrasting wine colored stitching along the flatlock seams on the shoulders, arms, and sides.
When fully zipped the shirt has a sleek sporty turtleneck style. The only noticeable branding on the shirt is the Kora logo which is embroidered in silver on the left shoulder.
There is a decorative fabric tape on the left cuff that depicts the contours of the Himalaya mountains and the colors of Tibetan prayer flags.
The Kora Shola 230 Zip has tapered sides for a flattering fit. It’s available for women in sizes XS up to XL and for men in sizes S up to 2XL.
I asked for the Shola 230 Zip in size medium even though I normally wear a size small shirt. I decided to go up one size larger just because I knew this shirt was designed as a base layer and I don’t really like a skin-tight fit. As you can see from the image above, the shirt does fit me. But even with the medium size, it was still much tighter than I find comfortable and almost felt like a compression shirt. That said, I found the length of the sleeves and the hem of the shirt to be fine and the tightness of collar/neck area was also just fine. It was just the arms and torso that felt too tight to me.
I don’t know if the tight fit of the Kora shirt made me notice the very slight scratchiness of the yak wool, or if that’s just the way yak wool feels next to my skin, but unlike the Shadow Pass Trailhead bamboo and merino wool shirt that I also reviewed, recently, the Kora shirt wasn’t quite as soft or comfy. Of course, the Kora shirt is all wool, while the other one is 50/50 merino and bamboo. But according to the Kora website, yak wool is actually supposed to feel softer than merino wool. Note that I’ve worn other clothing made entirely of merino wool like socks and haven’t had issues with them feeling itchy.
What I like
Lightweight
Sporty look
Keeps you warm
Wicks away moisture
Machine washable on cold (don’t dry in the dryer though)
What needs to be improved
Expensive
Size runs small
Felt a little scratchy
Final thoughts
I wore the Kora Shola 230 Zip shirt off and on for a few weeks without washing it and it never got smelly even when I got sweaty which is easy to do right now since it’s in the upper 90’s here in southern Indiana. This really isn’t the right time of year to review base layers, but I gave it my best shot by giving the shirt a day to day wear type of test.
With clothing this expensive, I expected to feel the difference, but I really didn’t. Yes, the Shola 230 Zip is well made, looks nice, kept me warm, and didn’t stink after wearing it for a few weeks. But that’s about all I can say about it. So I looked at a few other reviews of the Kora products to see what others were saying about them and most people really loved Kora’s yak wool garments. So I guess yak wool just might not be the best choice for me personally. Hey, every product isn’t perfect for everyone.
If you decide that you want to buy one of these shirts, make sure that you order a size or two larger than your regular size. At least Kora allows for 30-day exchanges or returns with no questions asked if you end up getting the wrong size on your first order. If you’re going to spend $160 on a shirt, you definitely want it to be the right size so that you’ll actually wear it.
Price: $160.00 Where to buy: Kora Source: The sample for this review was provided by Kora.
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REVIEW – Every minute, a staggering one million plastic bottles are purchased, many of which simply contain filtered water, and that figure is on the rise. Homeware designer Black+Blum aims to help curb that rampant bottled water consumption with their double-duty water filter and infuser bottle, the Eau Good Duo.
What is it?
The Eau Good Duo is an easy-grip, dual-purpose plastic water bottle that has both charcoal purification and infusion capabilities. It’s meant to act as a natural replacement for that packaged bottle of water that you’d normally grab from the fridge or gas station.
Hardware specs
holds 700ml/24 fl oz
122g/4.3oz empty weight
24.2cm/9.5″ high x 8.2em/3.2″ max width
built-in infuser cap filters infusing ingredients
easy-grip silicone hand strap
bottle made from taste-neutral, lightweight Tritan
fast-flow polypropylene spout
binchotan charcoal filtration stick
What’s in the box?
one Eau Good Duo bottle
one charcoal filter (good for 6 months)
It comes with the bottle and a charcoal stick (not pictured).
Design and Features
The Eau Good Duo can be used just like any other water bottle. Fill it up and hit the road. It’s perfectly fine for that, and the silicone hand straps and quick-flow spout make it a nice little sports bottle. But it’s true strengths lie in its purification and infusion functions, which I’ll get into below.
A nice sporty look and easy to grip.
One note about the spout, at least on my sample bottle, it was really hard to open. I think if the spout were made of a more flexible or softer material, it would have been easier to wiggle and pull up with my fingers, but most of the time I had to employ my teeth to pull it out, which is probably cringeworthy for any dental professionals out there. The other option was to completely remove the cap and push the filter from the other side, popping the spout up… or just drink directly from the bottle.
It’s also worth mentioning that if you decide to drink from the capless bottle, the threading for the cap is on the inside of the bottle, so the outside is nice and smooth, like drinking from a glass.
The thread is on the inside of the bottle, so you can drink from the mouth without feeling the thread on your lips.
After using the bottle for several weeks, I’ve found that it was best to simply treat it as a replacement for a single-use water bottle. Since it’s roughly the size of a bottle of Dasani or some other 20oz water, I found myself grabbing it out of the fridge in the morning for my commute into work, refilling it when I arrived and grabbing it out of the work fridge around lunchtime. That allowed for enough time to purify and chill the water in each instance.
Infusion
One could make the argument that pretty much any container could be used to make flavor-infused water, but there are a couple of built-in features that make the Eau Good Duo good for that purpose. One being the wide opening, allowing for easy insertion of ingredients, and the other being the fast-flow filter on the spout. The filter keeps seeds, stems and other pieces of fruit or mint debris from blocking the flow of water.
The quick-flow spout has a handy filter to block seeds and large pieces of infusing ingredients.
I really like the design of the spout. It allows for the water to flow quickly without creating that suction vacuum effect on the bottle.
Of course, placing an entire wedged lemon or bunch of strawberries into the bottle takes up a lot of space, and since the bottle can only hold about 24oz of liquid, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for actual water. In each of my tests, I was able to gulp down that delicious lemon water in a short amount of time, leaving me wishing the bottle was at least a little bit larger.
All that fruit and ice takes up a lot of volume.
Filtration/Purification
Binchotan charcoal is a type of activated charcoal that has been used for hundreds of years as a natural water filter. When left in a bottle of water overnight, it purifies water by absorbing chemicals (such as chlorine) and heavy metals commonly found in tap water. This leads to better tasting and pH-balanced water.
The bitochan charcoal stick balances pH and removes impurities… eventually.
The Eau Good Duo comes with a perfectly-sized charcoal stick, ready to be inserted into the bottle and locked into place with a quick squeeze on the nifty locking mechanism. One of the key factors to remember about charcoal purification is time. The instructions recommend 8 hours for the best effect, and once you’ve downed that 20 oz or so of purified water, it’s another 8 hours until you can drink some more, if you want the best taste.
The charcoal sticks absorb chemicals and flavors for about 3 weeks or so and then can be “recharged” by boiling them to release the absorbed chemicals. The stick should be replaced every 6 months.
I don’t buy a lot of bottled water, but over the last few weeks, I tried to imagine that every time I emptied the Duo, that was one less plastic bottle I’d be putting out into the world. That’s a lot of bottles for just one person! Not to mention potentially a lot of money.
Positives
charcoal filter neutralizes water flavor well
spout filter flows well and keeps infused ingredients from blocking water flow
replacement for individual bottles of water
Negatives
is not insulated
spout is rather hard to open
bottle could be a bit larger
Final thoughts
Overall, the Eau Good Duo is a nice little water bottle. I almost wish it was a bit larger so that one could purify more water at a once, since it takes about 8 hours for full effect. But it’s super-lightweight, has a unique, easy to carry design, and I love the high-flow spout. And most important, it accomplishes the goal of keeping plastic out of the landfill.
Price: Pre-order for £25 (approx. $33.42) Where to buy: The Eau Good Duo filter/infusion bottle is, at the time of publishing, only available for pre-order on Crowdox. One bottle plus 1 charcoal is £25.00, or about $34. There are two other pre-order levels with additional charcoals and bottles. Source: The sample of this product was provided by Black+Blum. Visit their website for more information and to check out their other products.
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