Home Reviews

North St. Bags Pioneer 12 Hip Pack review

Imagine a high school where instead of normal students the attendees were bags. If the jocks were big, tough backpacks and the cool kids were sleek messenger backs, then certainly the nerds of the class would be fanny packs. I feel like they’ve been sort of unfairly picked on… sure, they’re useful but lack that cool factor of a sweet leather satchel or messenger bag. But North St. Bags is out to change that perception with their line of tough, waterproof Hip Packs.

I’ve been a fan of Portland-based North St. Bags since I reviewed their Flanders backpack several months ago. Their backpacks are hand-stitched and incredibly rugged and durable. The Pioneer Hip Pack is no exception.

Beautiful color on that waterproof sailcloth material.

The Pioneer 12 is the larger variety of North St.’s hip packs. That expanded size makes it the perfect companion for bike enthusiasts, hikers, running or any other outdoor activity where a backpack feels like overkill, but you’d need to carry equipment too large for pockets.

The back contains several loops for custom belts, straps and bike mounts, all removable.

I immediately noticed several ways to use the bag. There is, of course, the typical adjustable belt and clasp to wrap around your waist, but also includes handlebar loops and straps for mounting to the front of a bike. Additionally, North St. offers a shoulder strap for further stabilization while on the move or for converting the pack to a small shoulder bag.

The specs:

  • Made from waterproof X-Pac™ LiteSkin™ sailcloth
  • Belt sizes: Small 28″-37″ and Large 36″-52″
  • Features loops to insert your own belt if you prefer
  • Extra long zipper ties
  • Handy side grab loops
  • Water resistant DWR finish on exterior
  • Dimensions: 12” x 7.5” x 4”
  • Capacity: 350 cubic inches / 5.7 liters
  • Weight: 9.5 oz / 269 g
  • Handmade in Portland, Oregon with a lifetime warranty

I love the feel of the sailcloth, somewhere in between canvas and nylon. It’s thick and rugged and can really take a beating.

An inside view of various pocket sizes and a handy velcro side for further customization.

The outer waterproof zipper on the pack is high-quality, chunky and silky smooth. Fully unzipped, the pack lays flat and reveals several pockets of various sizes. The opposite side sports two long strips of Velcro for securing additional inserts.

Pockets inside a zippered pouch with pockets on top of that! Hello, organization.

Plus, behind the pocketed panel is a zipper pouch containing even more space and pockets. This pack can hold quite a bit and, thanks to the adjustable side straps, can expand to accommodate more than you’d think.

And a surprising use… a rugged case for toting around your new gaming system!

Personally, I’ve been using it as a carry-all for toting to work. Typically, I’ll throw in my Nintendo Switch, USB cables, pens, checkbook, sketchbook, keys, wallet, cleaning cloths, granola bar and still have plenty of room. It easily accommodates a typical business-size envelope, just to give you a sense of size. It’s been fantastic.

The humble fanny pack just got a big upgrade…

Did I strap it on in the standard around-the-waist format? Yes. A bit. For this photo. But if I have to be honest, I took off all of the straps and carry the pack around by the loop on the top, sort of like a small briefcase. I’m not putting fanny packs on blast, here, there’s just not a lot of sense it strapping it around me for the 30-second walk from my car.

It did make me wish I had a pack like this back in my motorcycle commuting days. I could give the Pioneer Hip Pack a hearty recommendation for anyone looking for the function of a fanny pack with the looks of a sporty backpack.

The only negative I could find was the price… the pack starts at $77, and that’s without belt straps, which you would more than likely want. You could easily top $100 with additional inserts and straps, but there’s no doubt this pack would last a lifetime. It’s quality that’s well worth the premium.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by North St. Bags. Please visit their site for more info and to order.

 

Product Information

Price: from $77.00
Manufacturer: North St. Bags
Pros:
  • – waterproof
  • – plenty of room
  • – lots of organization and pockets
  • – actually looks cool
Cons:
  • – a bit pricey, especially when adding on all wanted accessories

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged:

North St. Bags Pioneer 12 Hip Pack review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 2, 2017 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Joli Originals Smooth 10.5″ iPad Pro Sleeve review

Several years ago, I reviewed the Joli Originals smooth leather sleeve for the MacBook Pro and while that behemoth of a laptop is long gone, I continue to use the sleeve to this day. I keep it on my nightstand as a soft, secure space for my iPad and iPhone… a safe haven from the hectic whirlwind that is our house. When I was looking for a sleeve to protect my new 10.5″ iPad Pro, Joli Originals was one of the first on my list to look into and thankfully they sent one my way for this review. 

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

Like all of Joli’s products, this sleeve is handcrafted in the Netherlands from fine Italian leather and 100% pure wool felt. The leather is extremely soft, supple, and smells/feels wonderful. The sleeve is lined with a high quality Dutch wool felt. Instead of my usual black or dark brown color selection, I decided to live on the wild side and get the gray leather lined with the red felt interior.

The pictures do not do justice to how nice this sleeve looks in person. The quality of workmanship and finish of the sleeve are excellent. As you would expect, the cut and stitching of the leather is straight as an arrow. The stitching itself is done with strong, durable nylon parachute thread.

This sleeve is perfectly fitted for Apple’s latest flagship tablet. Initially sliding the 10.5″ iPad Pro in and out was a bit tight but quickly stretched just a hint for a glove-like fit.

The Joli Originals smooth sleeve has a simple but extremely functional design. It appears that the wool felt is glued to the leather then the two halves are stitched together to form the slipper case.

Like I’ve said, the feel of the Joli Original sleeve is wonderful. Its overall design is ideal for protecting your naked iPad while in transport solo or in a larger bag. The sleeve will not protect your iPad from any significant drop but does a great job protecting it from scraps and bumps. The sleeve is available for all the various sizes of iPads and you can select a roomier sleeve to accommodate Apple’s Smart Cover or Keyboard. They are available in various color combinations.

I really like the Joli Original sleeve they created for my iPad Pro. Its handmade craftsmanship, high quality materials, and simple design are excellent. Joli Originals customer service and attention to detail are very good as well. I regularly use this sleeve to transport my tablet either by hand or in my gym bag to protect my iPad from my hectic lifestyle.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Joli Originals. Please visit their site for more info and to order.

 

Product Information

Price: €81.82
Manufacturer: Joli Originals
Pros:
  • Excellent materials and craftsmanship
  • Handmade
  • Perfectly fitted
Cons:
  • None

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: ,

Joli Originals Smooth 10.5″ iPad Pro Sleeve review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 1, 2017 at 11:02 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Peel Super Thin Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus case review

Here’s a new flash: cell phones are expensive.  With the upcoming flagship phones from Samsung, Google, and Apple the upward trend in pricing probably won’t stop.  So with a significant investment in technology that generally lives in your pocket or in a bag, most people develop a powerful motivation to protect that investment.  The Peel line of cases for your smart phone positions itself as a minimalist protector, but does it do the job?  Read on to find out.

The Peel brand has been around for a while, making minimalist cases for Apple and Samsung devices.  Their main claim in the case market is that they are the thinnest case available for your device.  And in that claim I am reasonably sure you won’t find many contenders – this case is thin.  I mean almost not there thin.  Ridiculously thin.

Before you put the case on the phone one of the first things you should notice is that there is literally no branding on the case.  Nothing about this screams “we’re Peel and we made this case!”, which to me is a plus.  I spent a lot of money for a nice looking phone, and I am not fond of the idea of turning it into a billboard.  With the Peel case, you get to see the curves of the phone without having a brand name shouted out at you.

The fit on the phone is snug without being so tight it is difficult to put on or take off.  When the case is on the phone you would be hard pressed from a foot or two away to tell there was even a case on the phone.  There are precise cutouts for all of your ports, and the buttons come out flush with the edge of the case.  That means I have not accidentally pressed buttons with the case as I did with the naked phone, but when I want them I don’t have to feel like I am trying to push the button out the opposite end of the phone like you do with some cases.

The question, though, is how well this case protects your phone.  And the answer lies in the intent of this particular case.  A more traditional case seeks to protect against drops so these types of cases are bulkier.  Put one on your phone and you will know it is there.  The class of case Peel represents is more about protecting your phone against the everyday indignities – being scratched by something in your pocket or worse, the glass back of your phone cracked accidentally.  Because the case is so thin there is practically no protection against the accidental drop from, say, 3 feet onto a concrete sidewalk.

And because the case is so thin, unlike the bulkier cases there is no lip around the edge of the screen to protect the screen should you set your phone face-down on a table.  Your phone’s screen will come into contact with whatever surface you set it face-down on.

The Peel case is not a rugged case, nor does it try to position itself that way.  It wants to protect your phone from the casual accident and do so unobtrusively.  The case feels “grippy” in your hand, so unless you really have butter on your fingers, it should not slip from your hands.  And if you are like me – and not like my son – you don’t idly flip your phone around, so the case should handle most of the accidents you would encounter on an average day.  There have been complaints around the Interwebs that the case will stretch if removed repeatedly (and therefore no longer fit well), but in the 2 weeks I have had this case I have removed it pretty much daily and it still fits as well as it did day one.

At $24.99 it is not an inexpensive case and there are cases like this that can be had cheaper.  I tried a couple of those when I first purchased my Galaxy S8 Plus and had bad results.  The first case literally tore as I tried to fit it on the phone, and the second one had loose sides that caught on things like the edge of my glasses.  I haven’t had any of those issues with the Peel case, so I guess this is one of those rare occasions where you actually get what you pay for.

After years buying bulky rugged phone cases, I am now a convert to the minimalist design of the Peel case.  It comes in a few colors including a white-ish one that will let the actual color of your phone shine through (especially nice if you were able to buy a Hulk Smash Green S8 model).  The Peel case will remain my daily carry up until the release of the Note 8 – and hopefully soon after, Peel with have a case for that, too.

The sample for this review was provided by Peel.  For more info please visit their site.

 

Product Information

Price: $24.99
Manufacturer: Peel
Pros:
  • Minimalist
  • Logo-free
Cons:
  • Not as protective as a traditional case

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: ,

Peel Super Thin Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus case review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 1, 2017 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Activ5 isometric workout device review

The Activ5 handheld system, by Activbody, is a portable isometric workout program that can be used for 5 minute (or longer if you choose) workouts at home, at the office, or while traveling. I’m a fitness junkie,  so I was more than excited to give this a try!  Let’s take a look…

What’s in the box (See pic below)

1 Activ5 handheld device
1 Stand for your smartphone during workouts
1 Towel

Setting it up

The first thing that is required is to go to the app store (Apple or Android) and get the free Activ5 mobile coaching app.  After you follow the directions to register, you will be instructed to power on the device. There is only one button and it is located on the side of the unit next to a little indicator light.  You need to hold down that button for 2 seconds and the indicator will turn blue, which means it’s looking for a Bluetooth connection. After it’s connected, the light turns green and when not connected, the light will be red.  Very straightforward and easy to set up.

Now comes the fun part!  The screen appears below that runs you through a quick tutorial on where to place your hands on the unit to get the maximum benefit and most precise readings on the display.

Now you get to set the max power for each exercise as they come up so you have a starting point and you can track your strength as time goes on. As you can see for the shoulder press, I set my new personal record at 22 lbs. of pressure.  After you set the max power, you go on to the actual exercise.

How it Works

There are many different kinds of exercises and workouts. There is the Activ5 challenge, which is a 6-week workout that you do three times a day for 15 minutes.  Circumstances didn’t allow me to do that for this review, but I will be doing that next and I’ll post an update on my results.  Other types of workouts to choose from are: Upper Body, Lower Body, Get Strong, Get Toned, Yoga Pilates, Awesome Abs, Butt Burner, Lean Legs, Office, Watching TV, Car/Plane/Train, Hotel, and Surprise me! Below are examples of some exercises that you can do (Click on the pics to enlarge).



You can also choose between over 100 sitting, standing and advanced exercises that target the shoulders, chest, biceps, triceps, forearms, core, obliques, back, glutes, hip flexors, quads, abductor and adductors, hamstrings, or calves and shins.  Each exercise has very detailed instructions on how to do them and give you a diagram on what specific muscles are being targeted.  So, depending on your mood or what you want to accomplish, you just pick a workout, follow the instructions and away you go!

When you are actually doing the exercises, the screen looks like the ones below depending on which you choose.  When you squeeze and put pressure on the device from whatever position you are in, you try and keep your indicator stream (the squiggly orange line) as close to the dotted line as you can.  You will be required to push harder at certain times and the goal is to keep as steady as you can on the line.  In general,  I think isometrics are challenging and keeping a position for any length of time requires some mental discipline.  With the Activ5, you don’t think about how long you are holding a pose because you are concentrating on staying on that line!  It’s pretty amazing.

I personally like the top one because I like it to go horizontally across the screen rather than vertically in the skiing screen.  Just my personal opinion.

Additional Uses

There are games on this thing!!!!!  Sorry, I’ve been waiting to blurt that out.  But seriously, if there are days when you just can’t mentally get yourself to focus on exercise (we’ve all been there), playing these games can make you feel accomplished anyway. There are independent gaming companies that have made games that may just get you addicted to exercise.

My personal favorite is Creep Jump (see screenshot below).  If you remember the game “Flappy Bird” from a few years ago, this is a lot like it, but you have to apply pressure to the device to keep the square from dropping or hitting anything. See the screenshot below.  You can play it on different difficulty levels and use different parts of your body to squeeze the device for an extra challenge.  The first time my daughters and I played this game, we all couldn’t put it down and we were very sore the next day!

Final thoughts

All in all, I was very impressed with this device.  I can see people at any age and activity level benefitting from its use. I used to work with patients in an elder care facility and I led chair exercises.  This would have been a great tool to use to help motivate them to move.  I think it would also be a great tool for people recovering from injuries that need lower impact exercise to stay fit while they recover.  As with anything, to see results you need to DO IT and the nature of this program makes you want to keep going.  The results are trackable so you get input from each exercise and each week as you go forward.  It was my intention to complete the 6 week Activ5 Challenge right off the bat and report my results, however, a vacation and a broken phone interrupted that process.  I realized I had used it enough to do a Part 1 review and now I will begin Part 2, which will be the Challenge and I’ll see first hand how my strength improves. Stay tuned!

Source:  The sample for this review was provided by Activbody, Inc. please visit their site to learn more or to purchase.

 

Product Information

Price: $199.90
Manufacturer: Activbody, Inc.
Requirements:
  • iOS or Android device with Bluetooth
Pros:
  • Portable
  • Fun
  • Can be used by a person at any fitness level
  • Requires only 5 minutes per workout
Cons:
  • If you don't like isometric exercise this is not for you

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged:

Activ5 isometric workout device review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 31, 2017 at 11:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Plotagraph iOS image animation app review

The iPhone’s camera can take amazing pictures, but if static images bore you and you want to take your photography up a notch, you need to check out Plotagraph.

What is it?

Plotagraph is an easy to use image animation app for the iPhone or iPad.

How does it work?

First, you take a static image that can be improved with an animated element. The image above looks fine as it is, but wouldn’t it be cool if the water showed movement? Plotagraph can’t do that with just a few clicks.

The app has a very simple interface with the tools at the bottom.

I like to anchor or mask all the parts of the image that I don’t want to animate first. This is can be done using the mask or anchor tools at the bottom of the screen. I like the anchor tool best. All you do is tap around the areas that you don’t want to move.

Then you use the animate tool to draw little lines in the direction that you want the image to move. That’s it! When you press the play button, you’ll see the results which are pretty freaking cool. I’ve exported this example as a 3 second MP4 video clip below.

Pretty cool right? The app will also let you crop the image and adjust the speed of the animation.

Let’s do another.

Water and cloud images are a good choice to animate.

Load the image from your existing camera roll.

Mask off or anchor the area of the image you don’t want to move.

Draw some animation lines.

And check the results. This app is a lot of fun because it’s so easy and fast to use.

Here’s another one saved as a PNG.

In the Plotagraph app, you can choose different time lengths for the clips and export them to your device’s camera roll as an MP4 video or animated PNG. You can then submit them to your favorite social media sites like Instagram or Facebook. Unfortunately, you can’t share directly to those sites from the Plotagraph app.

Watch the video below which shows the whole process.

Final thoughts

I had a lot of fun playing around with the Plotagraph app on my iPhone 7 Plus and my iPad Pro 10.5. Animate images like this remind me of Harry Potter. 😉

I found it was easier to use the app on the iPad Pro just because the screen is larger and it’s easier to do a better job masking off areas that you don’t want to animate. With the iPad Pro, you can also use the Apple Pencil to make things even easier.

If you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned using this app with Android device, that’s because this app is not available for Android devices yet. Supposedly a version for Android is in the works but there’s no info when it will be available.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Plotagraph Inc. Please visit their site for more info and App store to buy it.

 

Product Information

Price: $4.99
Manufacturer: Plotagraph
Retailer: App store
Requirements:
  • iOS device
Pros:
  • Easy to use
  • Transforms old photos into living photos
  • Can't see where there loop starts and ends
Cons:
  • Can't share directly to social media from app
  • No Android version

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: , ,

Plotagraph iOS image animation app review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 31, 2017 at 9:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.