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BauBax Women’s Sweatshirt jacket review

I’m a big fan of comfy clothes and that extends to my outerwear. Hoodies and other short jackets are my preferred type of jacket when the weather is cool. Of course, any old hoodie just won’t do when you’re the Gadgeteer, so I want my hoodies to have extra features over and beyond a hood and two handwarmer pockets. I heard about BauBax almost 3 years ago when we told you about their crowdfunding campaign. Recently they offered to send me one of their original women’s sweatshirt jackets which I’ve been trying out for the past few weeks. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

Designed in the USA, the BauBax Women’s Sweatshirt is a 60% cotton 40% polyester, machine washable hoodie style zippered jacket that comes in three colors (charcoal, black, and blue) and in men’s and women’s sizes XS up to XXXL for men and XS up to XXL for women.

Design and features

At first glance, the BauBax Women’s Sweatshirt looks like a traditional hoodie jacket that most of us already own. But when you take a closer look at it, you’ll discover several extra features.

First of all, the jacket has two open handwarmer pockets like most hoodies. But the jacket also has two additional zippered pockets on the front. There’s a horizontal pocket on the upper right chest and a vertical pocket on the left chest.

The right pocket is the drink pocket and it has been designed to be large enough to hold a regular sized soda can or bottle of water. The vertical pocket has been designed to be large enough to hold a passport. I was too lazy to find my passport for the photo above, so I substituted a Field Notes sized notebook which fits great.


If you need something to write with or a stylus, BauBax has you covered because they include a telescoping combo pen/stylus that clips on to the jacket. They also include 3 extra ink refills for the pen.

If we flip the jacket over and look at the back, we don’t find anything special, but you can see that the cuffed sleeves look longer than is typical.

That’s because the sleeves have built-in slidegloves that you can use to keep your hands a bit warmer than with no gloves at all, and it helps to keep the sleeves from sliding up your arms.

When you unzip the jacket, you’ll find a black lining and additional pockets. First about that lining. I do wish that they had used either a satin lining or regular fleece lining because the lining is a lint magnet. Since it’s black, you can see every little piece of lint, every cat hair, etc. It’s also thin and stretchy so I don’t know how it will wear over time.

As for the pockets, there are 5 interior pockets (not including the hood, but more on that later). There’s an open-topped sunglasses pocket on the upper right lapel that holds an elastic tethered eyeglass cleaning or screen cleaning cloth.

Below the sunglasses pocket is a long vertical zipped pocket that is large enough to hold a tablet. It’s just big enough to hold a Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 shown here.

On the left inside lapel, there is a vertical zippered satin lined pocket for your phone and along the waistband area, there are two open-topped pockets. One is for the optional blanket and the other is for a power bank.

The hood of the BauBax Women’s Sweatshirt jacket had a built-in eye-mask. There’s also a built-in pocket that holds the inflatable neck pillow and you’ll notice in the image above that there are elastic loops that you can use to route your earbud wires.

The inflatable pillow stores in the hood. To remove it you can just unbutton the hood’s pocket and pull it out.

The pillow has a soft plush cover and a zipper reveals the air valve. The cool thing about the port is that it takes barely any air or effort to inflate the pillow. Just place your mouth over the valve and blow a few puffs of air to inflate it. You don’t even have to quickly plug the valve because as soon as you stop blowing, it automatically closes on its own.

To deflate, you just press your finger in the air valve to open it and press out the air. It’s quick and simple.

How does it fit?

I originally asked for the jacket in small, but it felt too tight, so I traded for a medium which is a perfect fit for my 5ft 6in 130 pound frame.

The jacket is soft and comfortable. The only part of the jacket that I didn’t like was the pillow stowed in the hood because it caused the hood to tug on my neck from the weight and bulk.



Oh look, I’m Mr. Robot. 🙂 You can click the images for a larger view. The hood with the built-in eye mask is actually useful when you’re not trying to sleep as it gives your head a bit more protection if it’s raining.

Accessories

The BauBax Women’s Sweatshirt jacket comes with the combo pen/stylus, but if you want the 55x37inch 100% Polyester pocket blanket, it’s an optional purchase with a price tag of $25. You can also get a collapsible BPA free bottle that runs $10. I think both of these accessories should be included with the jacket.

What I like

  • Comfortable like a traditional hoodie
  • 9 pockets
  • Hood has a built-in eyemask and can hold a neck pillow

What needs to be improved

  • Expensive
  • Blanket and bottle should be included with the jacket
  • The lining is thin and attracts lint.

Final thoughts

When it comes down to it, I think the BauBax Sweatshirt is too pricey compared to my favorite hoodie (the SCOTTeVEST Cotton Hoodie). That said, I do like the little extras that come with the BauBax, like the combo stylus/pen and pillow, but I think asking people to pay an extra $35 for the blanket and bottle is too much considering that the jacket already costs $150.

When it comes to clothing, personal style is a huge part of the selection process. Some people aren’t “hoodie people”. But if you are a hoodie person and would like to have a jacket that offers more ways to carry your gear besides the two handwarmer pockets, the BauBax Sweatshirt jacket for men and women is one option to consider.

Price: $149.99
Where to buy: BauBax and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by BauBax.

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BauBax Women’s Sweatshirt jacket review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 21, 2018 at 2:00 pm.

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Bastion Braza Bro EDC folding mini-knife review

One of the much-debated yet virtually universal axioms of EDC philosophy is that you need at least two items in your EDC kit: a flashlight and a knife.  While some prefer or even need to carry flashlights and/or knifes that are on the more powerful or larger end of the product spectrum, there are some (likely many) who done need or just cannot effectively a higher level of bulk or weight.  While I think I have found the perfect EDC light for me, the Lumintop Tool AAA flashlight, the perfect knife had been eluding me until I stumbled upon the Bastion Braza Bro EDC folding mini-knife crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign.  This little giant is small but very functionally packed with just about every feature I’d been wanting in a small EDC knife.  Let’s check it out!  Gadget on!

What is it?

Bastion designed their Braza Bro to be a “little brother” version of their larger Braza EDC folding knife.  Translation: the Braza Bro is smaller, lighter, and less expensive, but retains virtually all of the functionality of its larger sibling, such as flipper deployment, a frame lock, pocket clip, other features.

Hardware specs

  • D2 tool steel blade
  • Ceramic ball bearing pivot
  • Titanium-coated stainless steel frame and pocket clip
  • Stainless steel Torx fasteners
  • Flipper for fast deployment
  • Ergonomically-contoured grip
  • Keychain/lanyard hole
  • Ultra strong frame lock
  • Weight = 4.18 oz (41.9 g)
  • Length closed = 2.75 in (70.0 mm)
  • Overall length open = 4.77 in (121.3 mm)
  • Blade length = 2.12 in (53.9 mm)
  • Width = 0.93 in (23.5 mm)

What’s in the box?

Let’s start with the packaging itself, seen in the two images above.  The box is a clamshell style with magnetic lip closure and inside includes a foam tray with cutout for the Braza Bro.

Inside the box were the items shown above and listed below:

  • Braza Bro EDC folding knife
  • Standard keychain-sized split ring
  • Smaller split ring

Design and features

 

The Braza Bro was one of those items that immediately felt and looked high-quality right out of its box.  It actually looked and felt even more impressive than I expected from the pics and videos in its Kickstarter campaign.  Its Titanium-coated stainless steel frame looks and feels very solid.

I was stoked to try the Braza Bro out and immediately began playing around with it.  I was impressed with its small but functional pocket clip, a feature that I was especially happy that it had.

The Braza Bro is not only small in a footprint (length and width sense), it is also quite slim (in a thickness sense), as seen in the images above and below.  I especially liked this as well, as it cuts down on the knife’s bulkiness, which helps make this a much more effective EDC knife for me.

The Braza Bro utilizes tiny stainless steel Torx head screws to secure its frame together, as seen above.  While Torx drivers are not exactly easy to find, they are available, and if you had to disassemble the Braza Bro, it could be done.  Additionally, Braza Bro includes a small loop built directly into its frame, that can be used to attach either of the split rings include with it, as well as 550 paracord or other items that can be used to attach and secure Braza Bro.

As mentioned further above, the Braza Bro has a small but very solid and functional pocket clip.  Again, it is secured with a small Torx screw, so the clip could be removed if desired, though the clip is such a low-profile shape and size that I can’t see a reason to do so.

Above and below, I’m including several images of the Braza Bro from various angles and positions to showcase its styling, but the images don’t really do it justice.

In the image above the Braza Bro’s frame lock mechanism can be seen.  Like most folding knives today, the frame lock is a feature that “locks out” the blade into a fixed position, thereby effectively turning it into a fixed blade knife and preventing the bland from closing accidentally.  The frame lock is disengaged by pressing it slightly outward, allowing the blade to be folded back into the frame.

Braza Bro’s blade is quite complex in its feature set.  For starters, it is made from heat treated D2 tool steel with a stone washed finish before its edge is ground.  The blade’s tip is a Sheepsfoot Blade Mod Sloping Front which helps with tasks that require more of a sharp tip.  It has a Drop Point Blade Belly (or cutting edge) which is versatile and easier to sharpen.  Along the back of the blade is Harpoon Style Blade Spine that can act as a spot for the thumb or forefinger, giving more precise control when cutting.  Finally, it includes Tanto Blade Inspired Grind Lines, which give it a more tactical appearance due to having been drawn from the Tanto style heritage.  I found the Braza Bro’s blade to cut quite well for most everyday applications, such as opening boxes or letters, cutting loose threads and slicing fruit or other food at my desk at work.

Additionally, the back of the Braza Bro’s blade includes three spine jimping grooves, as seen above, which are a spot that the thumb or forefinger can further utilize to improve grip and control when cutting.

Before we get into functionality, let’s check out the Braza Bro’s size.  As seen above, it really is a small knife; it is probably as large in the open black position as many other folding knives are in the open position.  However, I think that its small size is actually a strength in Braza Bro’s case.

This is because although Braza Bro is indeed small, it is intended to pack a lot of larger knife features and functions into a small package.

Although I would prefer to be able to carry a larger knife in my EDC kit, it is just not practical for me, mainly because of where I work and what I do (engineered desk jockey). 

The Braza Bro, however, is darn near perfect for me because of its small size.  If I want to toss it into the bottom of my pants pocket, no probs.  If I want to clip it to the edge of my pocket, not a big deal, because the location of its clip allows the knife to ride low in my pocket without attracting unwanted attention.

I measured the Braza Bro to be just shy of 3 inches in length while closed.  That’s a pretty small knife.

 

I measured the total, fully-opened length of the Braza Bro to be just under 5 inches in length.

Next, let’s talk about the flipper-style deployment of the Braza Bro.  Again, like many cutting edge knives today (pun very much intended), the Braza Bro includes a one-handed, rapid deployment feature, in this case, a “flipper.”  The Braza Bro’s flipper utilizes a small nub attached to the back side of the blade that protrudes through the frame when the blade is closed.  The user places their finger, typically the index finger, on this nub and rapidly flicks the nub downward into the frame, which deploys the black rapidly in a flipping motion.  That’s it—no spring, no assist, and not an automatic blade, so it is a manual and generally much safer deployment operation than other knives.  The image above and next three below demonstrate this from starting to fully deployed position.

The flipping deployment can take a bit of practice to master, but due to Braza Bro’s solid yet smooth Ceramic Ball Bearing Pivot, it generally doesn’t take long and you are flip-deploying like a pro.  In fact, my 15-year-old son, who has little experience with flipper-deploying knives, correctly and fully did it on the first try.

Once the blade has been fully deployed and frame locked, Braza Bro can be held quite securely and comfortably due to its contoured grip which includes a choil or indentation, for the index finger, and your next three fingers fit along the grip’s contour securely.  The flipper nub becomes a finger guard for your index finger.  And finally, the three spine jumping notches provide a perfect spot for your thumb to sit and give it extra grip and control.

My one and only complain about the Braza Bro is that it seemed to have some debris, grit or grime on a few areas of it right out of the box.  I’ve attempted to capture what I am referring to in the image above.  However, I am willing to give Bastion the benefit of the doubt on this, considering that this is a product sample that they were very gracious to send to me for review even before the end of their Kickstarter campaign, which is a rare occurrence with crowdfunded items.  I’m going to chalk this up to attempting to get this item in my hands as quickly as possible, and I suspect that a final Kickstarter reward item would not have the above-mentioned debris or grit.  It just doesn’t seem consistent with otherwise very high quality Braza Bro. Edit: At work today, I showed the Braza Bro to a friend and incredibly, he produced HIS full-sized Bastion Braza from his pocket!  What an amazing coincidence!  This allowed me to take a few quick comparison pics between the Braza and the Braza Bro:

What I like

  • Superior quality of materials and construction
  • Very well thought-through design incorporates many features of full-sized knives into a very small package
  • Perfect size for those of us who can’t practically or effectively EDC a larger knife
  • The entire knife feels very solid and the flip-deploy action is quite satisfying

What needs to be improved

  • Grime or grit on various areas

Final thoughts

I really like the Braza Bro EDC folding mini-knife.  It is packed with many features of larger knives in a very small size, and because of this is perfect for folks like me who can’t practically carry a larger knife in their EDC kit.  I really like its flip-deploying action and pocket clip, and it just looks cool, which is an important factor as well. 🙂  If you are interested in Braza Bro, you may want to move quickly, because as of this writing, the Braza Bro Kickstarter campaign only has about 10 days left (it ends May 31, 2018).

Price: Kickstarter campaign pledge packages start at $34
Where to buy:  Braza Bro Kickstarter campaign page
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Bastion via their Braza Bro Kickstarter campaign.

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Bastion Braza Bro EDC folding mini-knife review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 21, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Belkin Classic Pro laptop backpack review

I have an admission to make. I’ve never owned a backpack in my adult life. I know, shocking right? Honestly, up until now I never felt the need for one. But owning a 13″ MacBook Pro, 10.5″ iPad pro and more chargers and cables then you can shake a stick at I figured it was time to give this backpack thing a try. So I decided to review the Belkin Classic Pro laptop backpack. Here are my thoughts.

What is it?

The Belkin Classic Pro is a backpack with a padded interior pocket designed to carry and protect laptops up to 15.6”.

Specs

Backpack size: width x height x depth: 11.7” x 16.7” x 4.9” depth

Weight: 1.15lbs

Design and features

The Belkin Classic Pro Backpack has a really nice slim profile design. The heather grey polyester material and simple black accents give it an understated modern look. Perfect to go from commute to boardroom.

I really like how the one-piece shoulder strap design adds to the backpacks sleek-modern look, at the same time adding a little extra padding just below your neck.

There are pieces of polyester that span halfway up on either side of the opening. This accordion-style design makes opening the bag upright and finding items inside simple.

I like this feature because it gives you quick access to items even when you’re on-the-go. 

Other small things like the textured zipper pull, a protective water-resistant bottom and even the raised Belkin logo on the front pocket finish off the backpacks sharp minimalist design. 

Interior pockets

Inside the Classic Pro, there are two vertical organizational pockets and a zippered mesh pocket. The padded laptop pocket is located on the backside and can accommodate a laptop up to 15.6-inches. The placement of the laptop pocket takes advantage of the backpacks padded back panel. Meaning your laptop is protected on both sides.

A smaller vertical pocket perfect for carrying a tablet is stitched onto the front of the laptop pocket.

On the opposite side, there’s a 6.5″ x 11″  zippered mesh pocket that’s perfect for carrying chargers and cables.

 There’s even a small sleeve for a pen or in my case my Apple Pencil.

I was able to fit my 13” MacBook Pro, 10.5” iPad Pro, chargers, cables, and a portable battery pack using just the inside pockets. Leaving plenty of extra space inside for my headphone case and more. 

Exterior pockets

There are two zippered pockets on the outside of the backpack. A vertical pocket and a larger padded pocket. The 8” x 9” vertical pocket is accessible without having to remove the backpack, perfect for things you need quick access to like keys or a snack. However, if the backpack is loaded the vertical pocket is a tight fit and a little more difficult to access.

The dual-zippered horizontal pocket measures 6.5” x 11” and utilizes the same padding as the interior laptop pocket. 

The padding isn’t exclusive to the inside of the Classic Pro. The back panel, shoulder straps, sides, and front of the backpack are all padded.

The padded back panel adds comfort and also keeps items in the bag from pressing uncomfortably against your back. Both the back panel and shoulder straps have a mesh covering for breathability.

A thin layer of padding around the sides and front of the backpack provides just a little more protection for all your devices inside. The bags carrying handle is also padded and the luggage strap can be used to fasten it to a trolley or case.

Performance and fit

I wanted to see how comfortable this backpack would be during extended use. So, I decided to load it up and wear it while walking my dog. The walk was two miles and I can say that the backpack remained extremely comfortable the whole time. The backpack felt well balanced and the padded back panel and shoulder straps felt good. I liked how the backpack fit flat to my back and how the padded straps seemed to hug my shoulders. The best part is it doesn’t look or feel bulky.

Overall construction

The Belkin Classic Pro backpack is really well made. The polyester material used both inside and out makes the bag lightweight without feeling cheap. Stitching on things like the shoulder straps and zippers is clean and gives the bag a real durable feel.

What I like

  • Slim profile design
  • Lightweight
  • Padded back and  shoulder straps
  • Plenty of storage pockets inside and out
  • Price

What needs to be improved

  • Not waterproof

 Final thoughts

It won’t blow you away with a lot of extras but the Belkin Classic Pro is a quality minimalist laptop backpack with a nice design and plenty of built-in functionality, all at a very reasonable price. Not bad for my first backpack.

Price: $39.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Belkin.

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Belkin Classic Pro laptop backpack review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 20, 2018 at 10:30 am.

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Etekcity Voltson Smart Wi-Fi outlet review

Smart devices are becoming all the rage in the popular press. For many Gadgeteers, they are pretty much old hat, but if you’ve not yet taken the plunge, there may be no easier way into the world of home device automation than a smart plug. These are small wall warts that sit between your current non-smart device and the outlet they plug into and have a way to connect to your home wifi. Etekcity sent me a trio of their Voltson Smart outlets to run through the gauntlet.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

What is it?

The Etekcity Voltson Smart Outlet is a controller for a single electric receptacle. Once connected to the building’s power and whatever Wifi is available, it will pair with your Android or iOS device and allow you to control the outlet via the app. You can monitor, schedule, and group devices, as well as act on them together.

Hardware specs

  • Works with Alexa for voice control (Alexa device sold separately).
  • Track power usage for connected devices and figure out which devices use the most energy. You can effectively cut your usage so that you can save money on your next electric bill
  • Easy to install and stable connection. Controlled from different devices and manage your home on your smartphone or tablet from anywhere
  • Get ready to have a smart home and create customized schedule to automatically turn on and off any home Electronics or appliances such as lamps, Christmas Lighting, coffee maker, etc
  • NOTE: A secured 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network is required, 30-Day money back, 2-year warranty and lifetime support.

What’s in the box?

  • 3 Voltson Smart Wifi outlets
  • quick start guide

Design and features

The Etekcity Smart outlet is a 2.25” diameter puck with a small bump on the rim. It sticks out of a regular North American outlet 1.5”, which is barely more than the blades of the plug it takes in. On the back, there is a three-prong connector, and on the face, there’s a three-prong socket, as well as an LED light and a power button in the aforementioned bump.

Setup

Setup is done by connecting the device to a power outlet, and then allowing it to start its own internal wifi hotspot. You join it with your phone through the app you have to download to use it and pair the two. This forces the outlet to restart, and your phone then reverts to your home WiFi. When the device wakes back up and grabs your phone, it will be connected to your home network. From there it is controllable, renewable, and groupable. You can also assign it to a cylinder-that-you-talk-to if you have or purchase one of those.

Performance

Once I had the smart outlets configured to my home network and renamed (Winking, Blinking, and Nod), I could control any outlet I plugged into them. Lamps are a big issue in our house since several of our rooms have no overhead light or one that we prefer not to use. I tested with several lights, and found pretty consistent results – you turn it off in the app, and the lamp turns off. There is an icon that changes to show whether it’s powered or not.

I have a power cord that controls my photo studio lights through a three-way connection. I plugged the controller between the wall and the extension cord and now can fire up most of my studio lights with a single switch. Sure, I can do this from a power strip, but it’s cooler with a phone app, right?

What I Like

  • Fairly easy setup
  • The app is light and doesn’t require onerous setup.
  • Works as expected

What needs to be improved

  • These guys are still expensive, and I think artificially so. If 6 cost $90, then why can’t 1 cost $15, rather than $21?

Final thoughts

While I enjoy having these outlets, it’s still strange to have to open an app on a device to turn on lights, but the fact I can do it from the driveway or from another point in the house makes it a powerful tool.

I remember my parents had a timer on their lights in the living room that came on at 6 in the evening and turned off at 11 PM. They couldn’t change it unless they were at the house, and if the power went off for two hours during the day, the times would be offset by that amount. The improvement with smart outlets is that not only are they controlled or programmed from remote servers, but they can also be edited and maintained from anywhere in the world. What you can’t do, however, is see that the items you’re wanting to remotely power are plugged in and switched on or not. For that, you’re going to have to add remote cameras, which is usually step two of the Smart Home takeover!

Price: $24.99 for 1, $38.99 for 2, 58.99 for 3, or $74.99 for 4 (slightly less at Amazon)
Where to buy: Company website or Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Etekcity

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Etekcity Voltson Smart Wi-Fi outlet review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 19, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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Rowkin Surge Charge earbuds, Keysmart Pro, Bellroy Duo Tote, and more – Review updates

We have seven review updates for you today. We think that you’ll appreciate our regular updates to our reviews days, weeks, months, and even decades after the original post. These updates let you know how a product stands the test of time. You’ll find the updates at the bottom of each page.

Keysmart Pro key holder plus Tile finder review By Steve Holt

OtterBox Symmetry Series Star Wars iPhone case review by Howard Sneider

Rowkin Surge Charge wireless earbuds review By Julian Perry

Star Wars — The Last Jedi Portable Battery Charger with Laser Pointer review by Bob Patterson

Bellroy Duo Tote Pack review by Bob Patterson

United By Blue Lakeland Laptop Bag review by Bob Patterson

Mission Workshop Rhake Backpack review by Bob Patterson

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Rowkin Surge Charge earbuds, Keysmart Pro, Bellroy Duo Tote, and more – Review updates originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 18, 2018 at 4:37 pm.

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