Home 2018 January

CouchCoaster solves the problem of where to put your drink

No matter how carefully your furniture is arranged, sometimes you find yourself without a convenient, secure place to put your drink while you read or watch TV.  With the CouchCoaster, you can have a steady, easily reachable place to hold a bottle, cup, or can right on the arm of your sofa or chair – without leaving behind stains or rings.  Made of flexible, weighted, BPA-free silicone, the CoachCoaster has a tacky base to hold it in place over the arm of your sofa or chair. The arm must be at least 5.5″ thick with gently sloping sides; the furniture can be made of leather or fabric.  If the arm won’t work, you can open the coaster and lay it along the seat, tuck it between the cushions, or even lay it over the back of the seat.

CouchCoaster holds bottles, glasses, bottles, or cups up to 3.5” in diameter; a slot in the side accommodates cup handles, and an insert gives a tighter fit for smaller bottles and cans.  CouchCoaster was created by Barry Freeder from London, UK, but it’s available to us in the USA for $25.00 through Amazon.

HEAdesigns Wingman knife review

I have reviewed my fair share of finely crafted pocketknives made from some of the best materials available. But all of them were more or less of classic folder design. The HEAdesigns Wingman aspires to be different, specifically created with a “futuristic, next level design.” Let’s see how well it does achieving its objective.

What is it?

The Wingman is a Wharncliffe flip folder made from 6Al4V aircraft grade titanium and S35vn stainless steel. HEAdesigns took two years with fifty refinements in that time and over a dozen prototypes to perfect their vision. In addition to looking like it’s meant as a prop for the latest SciFi movie, the Wingman is engineered for serious speed and performance as well.

Design and features

The titanium handle is 4.8 inches in length. I received the green version highlighted with yellow/gold titanium hardware. This picture captures the 3D contouring and wrapped edges of the handle pretty well. The handle is nicely sized with an excellent textured, quality feel and overall weight to it.

Specifications:

Blade:

  • S35vn steel, 3.5in blade length flat ground from 1/8in stock w. 3 grinds per side
  • Two-tone sandblast and hand sand flat finish with full depth speed groove
  • This blade flies out faster than Dominic Toretto at a drag race

Handle:

  • 6Al4V Aircraft Grade Titanium starting at a .19in custom designed to angle taper down to .09in
  • 4.8in long by 1.12in wide with heavy interior scalloping for weight reduction
  • Machined lock relief, steel lock insert, over travel stop, ceramic bearings, and detent
  • Full cutouts through both handles with 3D contoured and wrapped edges unlike any other design

Hardware & Clip

  • 6Al4V Ti hardware and clip
  • Custom HEA pivot with mirrored AEH on back with torx accommodations
  • Blind screwed clip with design cues that make it feel right at home on the frames
  • Full-Length Ti backspacer with hidden hardware, secure screw tech, hidden lanyard hole, and speed milling down the entire piece

The Wingman is just over 8 inches long when extended and weighs in at a 4.2oz. The blade itself is 3.5 inches in length. The custom HEA pivot is very responsive and lightning fast deploying the blade. The pivot has a polished surface and HEA machined into it.

On the flip side, the pivot has a mirrored AEH on back with torx adjustment point. The right side of the handle has a titanium blind-screwed pocket-/beltclip with matching space-age design. The belt clip is stiff and does a solid job of keeping the knife securely on your belt or in your pocket. There are two cutouts through the entire width of the handle, with the lower one going thru the blade as well.

The top of the Wingman has a full-length titanium back spacer. There is a channel machined into the spine of the backspacer for feel and design.

There are ridges machined into the thumb ramp and blade flipper for added friction/grip when force is applied (aka flipping the blade open).

The precision frame-lock secures the blade into the open position with zero blade movement and little chance of the blade accidentally closing. To close the blade, simply press the frame lock aside and the blade smoothly rotates back into the closed position. The Wingman does not have a closed lock that keeps the blade from accidentally opening. Though this is unlikely under normal circumstance, the blade seats firmly within the handle and doesn’t deploy without a good amount of force.

The two-tone blade is razor sharp as you would expect, created with six grinds to achieve its unique style and shape.

The spacer has a hidden lanyard hole built into the rear of the handle…a nice touch.

The Wingman is available in gray, green, gold, blue, and bronze.

Sam Abdelrahman is the founder, president, and lead designer of HEAdesigns, creating bold, futuristic knives. He brings a decade of engineering experience, the highest quality materials, and excellent craftsmanship to all HEAdesigns products. His goal for the Wingman specifically was to create the perfect midsize flipper “that looked like it could move at the speed of light”.

Positives

  • Unique, futuristic design
  • Made from high-quality materials
  • Excellent engineering
  • Lightening fast blade deployment
  • Rock solid, wiggle-free frame-lock
  • Nice contoured feel to the handle

Negatives

  • The space age design might be too much for some

Final thoughts

HEAdesigns had a vision of designing a pocketknife that pushed the limits on style and design while striving for the highest quality of materials and craftsmanship. The Wingman hits the mark on all those counts. Functionally this midsize flipper/folder is fast, well sized/weighted and ideal as a high-end EDC.

Price: $329.00
Where to buy: HEAdesigns.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by HEAdesigns.

Bellroy has already slimmed down our wallets. Now they slim down our keychains!

We’ve seen what seems like dozens of different key chain solutions here on The Gadgeteer.  Our current find, the Bellroy Key Cover, looks like a little leather taco to enfold your keys to keep them away from scratchable electronics they share space with.  Bellroy has mastered the art of designing slim-profile wallets that carry all your stuff in a slim package, and now they have designed a key case that’s worthy of the Bellroy name.  The Key Cover is 1.7″ x 3.1″ closed; it has a magnetic closure to keep it closed and the keys corralled inside.  Outside is a leather loop to attach a car fob; the interior has a metal and elastic band that inserts through the holes on the top of the keys.  As always, Bellroy says their leathers are “premium hides tanned under gold-rated Leather Working Group environmental protocols, then dyed through so they age gracefully.”

The standard size Key Cover holds 2-4 keys; the Plus size is a little longer (3.6″) and has an extra internal loop to hold 2-4 more keys.  The Key Cover is $44.95; the Plus is $49.95.  Both sizes are available in caramel, black, blue steel, or teal leathers from Bellroy.

TiBag review

The Gadgeteer will turn 21 years old this summer and that means that we’ve reviewed a LOT of products over the last 2 decades. One of our favorite products to review are bags, and we’ve sure reviewed a lot of them. A few weeks ago I was asked if I might like to review the TiBag. The brand sounded familiar to me so I used the site’s search feature to search on the name and sure enough, we had reviewed the original TiBag back in 2002, over 15 years ago. I look a little different than I did back then, but how has the TiBag changed? Let’s find out.

What is it?

The TiBag is a shoulder bag made of Polyester canvas material that has been designed to hold your laptop or tablet.

Design and features

The TiBag is a vertical oriented shoulder bag that is available in a color that goes with anything – Black.

The bag has a flap with a built in zippered pocket on the exterior that is large enough to hold magazines and other flat items. The only branding on the bag is the TiBag logo on the flap. The logo is not bad looking, but it is kind of large. I’d rather see the logo under the flap instead of on the outside.

The flap is held closed with a large strip of Velcro. When opened, you will see a small zippered pocket with 3 pen slots next to it, an open-topped pocket behind them, another large zippered pocket behind them, an open-topped pocket behind that one and finally the main compartment. This bag has quite a few pockets, which means it can hold a lot of gear.

To give you some idea of the size of the pockets, you can see that a typical 3.5 x 5-inch notebook fits in the open pocket behind the pen/pencil slot organization panel.

Speaking of the pen slots, I noticed that they are pretty short, which means that some pen clips barely clip to the edge. This might be an issue if you carry your favorite pens with you and don’t want to chance losing one.

Here you see my 12″ MacBook in the large zippered pocket. Although this pocket isn’t meant to hold your laptop, it can easily hold other gear. The front of this pocket is padded, but the back of the pocket is not.

The open-topped pocket behind the zippered pocket is also very large and easily swallows magazines (the magazine in the image above is pulled out just to show it, but the pocket is much deeper) and is meant to be used as a sleeve for laptops and tablets.

The main open compartment is padded on the back, sides, and bottom, and is very roomy. It can hold even large 15-inch and maybe even 17-inch laptops, but if you use this compartment for your laptop instead of the TiBag’s built-in sleeve, you will probably want to put the laptop in another protective case since the main compartment is large and your other gear might rub against the laptop when you’re mobile.

Here I am carrying the bag. For reference, I am 5’6″ and weigh about 129 lbs.

Positives

  • Inexpensive
  • Plenty of room for gear
  • Removable shoulder strap

Negatives

  • No grab handle
  • Pen slots too shallow

Final thoughts

There isn’t much to fault with the TiBag. It’s made well, has a simple design and enough pockets to carry all your gear. I do wish it had a grab handle to make it easier to move into and out of a vehicle, but for less than $40, it’s a bargain for someone looking for a good deal on a basic shoulder bag to carry their laptop and everyday gear.

Price: $34.95
Where to buy: tibag.co
Source: The sample for this review was provided by TiBag.

Chargetech PLUG Pro portable power supply review

I have become quite the collector of portable power supplys. I have reviewed probably a dozen of them here on the Gadgeteer and I have them everywhere… my house, my office, and my car.  I give them as gifts, and I use just about all of them at some time during the day/week.  I used to have a portable power supply about 4 years ago that had enough juice to charge my laptop almost all the way full, but it died.  So ever since I have looked for one to replace it.  And I believe I have found the solution with the $399 Chargetech PLUG Pro.

What is it?

The Chargetech PLUG Pro (hereinafter referred to as the PLUG) is a portable power supply that can power just about any small gadget or appliance.  It is meant for electronics, so using it with power tools or things with motors probably will not work.  But have no fear, if you do plug something up that the PLUG can’t handle, then it will shut down before short-circuiting or overheating.

Hardware specs

Weight: 2 lbs 3 oz
Dimensions: 5.6 in (w) x 8.6 in (h) x 1.6 in (d)
Compatibility: International Power Adapter Available

Input:
– 1x Charging Port
Output:
– 2x International AC Outlets
– 2x Fast Charge USB Ports
– 1x USB Type-C Port

AC Adapter comes in both 110V and 220V options for worldwide usage.
When finished charging, the LCD screen will display ‘FF’ to indicate a full battery.
Input: 100-240V ~ , 50/60Hz, 1.0A
Output: 24.0V ⎓ 1.8A   L.P.S

Certifications:  CE, FCC Listed

Capacity: 54,000 mAh

What’s in the box?

The PLUG comes with a cloth carrying bag with a drawstring and a power adapter to charge it.

Design and features

The title of this review says the PLUG is ‘portable’, but it should be noted that it is quite heavy for a portable power supply.  I would say it is about the same weight as one of your kids history textbooks from school, should it won’t be a device that you carry around every day.  It will easily fit inside your backpack or large purse, but again, it is heavy coming in at over 2 lbs.  Here is a picture of my Nexus 7 table sitting on top of the PLUG.  It is a little over 1.5 inches in thickness, so it is pretty thick as well.

With a USB-C port on the side, 2 fast-charging USB ports and 2 regular power outlets, the PLUG can charge multiple devices at the same time.  I have a bunch of portable batteries around my house, office, and car.  And none of them have these many ways to charge.  I have the 54,000 mAh model and that means I can recharge my Galaxy S6 Plug about 15+ times.  My laptop requires a 19V/3.42V charger, so the PLUG can charge my laptop from completely dead to fully charged in 1.5 hours, and the PLUG can do that 2 times before it needs to be recharged.  Not bad.

And speaking of recharging, it is going to take you quite some time to charge the PLUG because, after all, the capacity is 54,000 mAh.  It will take at least 7-8 hours to fully charge, so I charge it overnight when I need to charge it and by morning it is ready to go.

So what situations is it best to use the PLUG?  Well, because of the size and weight you won’t be carrying it around in your pocket unless you are MC Hammer (a little throwback to you 80’s music fans). When I travel there are of course wall outlets in the hotel room, and for my cellphone, it is much more convenient to carry one of my small portable charges that really does fit in my pocket.  So I would say that the PLUG is perfect for when you are literally going to a place that has no power outlets.  Like camping, or the park, or working a booth at a convention where your boss won’t spring for a power connection at the booth!  You convention workers know what I am talking about.

It has an LED reading on the top that shows you how much juice is left.  And it has all the bells and whistles you would expect like protection from overheating and short-circuiting.  The model I have also has the international plugs.  Which is another great use for the PLUG.  International travelers will find this gadget invaluable for their US-designed gadgets but will also be able to plug in international devices as well.

Positives

  • Portable (sort of)
  • Huge capacity
  • 5 plugs for devices
  • True power outlet on-the-go

Negatives

  • It is heavy for a portable battery supply
  • It is very expensive
  • Fast-charging USB slows down when you also use the power outlets

Final thoughts

For $399, the PLUG isn’t for everyone.  But for someone who regularly finds themselves without access to a power outlet, it is worth every penny.  With the number of ports it has, and humongous capacity, and the portability it affords, the PLUG is a great gadget.  Plus, unlike most other portable power supplies, you can actually use it with large gadgets like TVs, laptops, gaming consoles, small household appliances, even CPAP machines.  I highly recommend this gadget.

Price: $399.00
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Chargetech.