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KUWOW backpack, Pitaka MagDock, Camper Hooded Jacket, and more – Notable crowdfunding campaigns

NEWS – This week we are bringing you info about six different crowdfunding campaigns that are currently running on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. This week’s campaigns are for people who like to want a good night’s sleep, gear bags, travel gear, and more.

KUWOW 2.0 – The Versatile Anti-theft Backpack

What is it?

The KUWOW is a backpack that is made of Kevlar and has been designed to be theft and cut proof.

Why is it cool?

I like the KUWOW backpack because it’s a well thought out travel bag that has a ton of features. It’s constructed of waterproof and cutproof material and offers pockets and attachment points for all of your gear, from laptops and tablets, to even your clothes and toiletries. It also has built-in reflectors, a password lock, Bluetooth tracker, and even a USB port.

They sent me a pre-production sample of this backpack and I was very impressed with the construction and all the built-in features. This bag isn’t huge but it can hold a lot of gear and the small touches like a metal grab handle and a pass-through for rolling luggage are great.

Where can I find more info?

The KUWOW campaign ends on 10/21/18 and they have already reached their funding goal of $5,000. You can pre-order a KUWOW starting at $99. After the KUWOW campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in December 2018. Visit their Indiegogo page for all the details.

Pitaka MagDock

What is it?

The Pitaka MagDock is a multi-device wireless charging station with an onboard battery for on-the-go wired charging. When used with a magnetic mount case, the MagDock can position your phone at a 45-degree angle so it can be used for FaceTime, watching movies or web surfing.

Why is it cool?

Generally speaking, you can find wireless chargers that can handle 2 devices. Finding one that can handle 3 devices simultaneously is something of a unicorn. This could come in very handy for couples and families traveling together.

Where can I find more info?

The Pitaka MagDock Kickstarter campaign ends on October 16. Within 24 hours of launch, they had already hit their all or nothing goal of $15,476. The campaign states that the MagDock will ship in November and will be in your hands for Christmas. You can get the base version of the MagDock on an early bird perk for $49 or the Pro version for $64. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details.

Camper Hooded Jacket 2.0 | Packable, Lightweight, & Eco

What is it?

The Camper Hooded Jacket available in men and women’s sizes that is a lightweight and packable puffy jacket for the city or the woods.

Why is it cool?

I like the Camper Hooded Jacket because it’s it stuffs into its own bag for great portability. You can put it in your travel bag and forget about it until you need it. It features a synthetic multi-layer insulation that has expanded cells for increased warmth in a jacket that doesn’t weigh much at all. It also has a lot of little extras like a headphone port, cinch waist and cuffs, and 6 pockets for your phone or other items.

They sent me a pre-production sample of the jacket and it’s going to be my new go-to travel jacket to pack when I travel from a warm spot to a cold spot and don’t want to actually wear a jacket until I get there. I can just put the jacket pouch in another bag and break it out when I need the extra warmth.

Where can I find more info?

The Camper Hooded Jacket campaign ends on 11/6/18 and they have already passed their funding goal of $50,000. You can pre-order a DreamOn starting at $95. After the Camper Hooded Jacket campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in February 2019. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details.

EVERMORE Origin // a functional rugged EDC Sling/Beltbag

What is it?

The EVERMORE is a small travel pack that you can wear around your waist or across your back like a sling bag.

Why is it cool?

I like the EVERMORE because it’s small but has the ability to carry almost everything you need (except a laptop or tablet) when you’re on the go. It also has attachment points all over the pack so that you can clip things to it like your keys, a water bottle, etc.

Where can I find more info?

The EVERMORE campaign ends on 10/7/18 and they have already reached their funding goal of $8,000. You can pre-order an EVERMORE starting at $60. After the EVERMORE campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in October 2018. Visit their Kickstarter page for all the details.

DreamOn: Your 1-Step Solution For Better Sleep

What is it?

The DreamOn is a wrist wearable sleep aid and sleep tracker.

Why is it cool?

I like the DreamOn because it’s a drug-free way to fall asleep faster by providing a low-frequency pulse that gives your brain something to focus on so that you can relax and drift off to sleep quickly.

Where can I find more info?

The DreamOn campaign ends on 10/20/18 and they are still working towards their funding goal of $40,000. You can pre-order a DreamOn starting at $109. After the DreamOn campaign ends, rewards are estimated to start shipping in January 2019. Visit their Indiegogo page for all the details.

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KUWOW backpack, Pitaka MagDock, Camper Hooded Jacket, and more – Notable crowdfunding campaigns originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 21, 2018 at 11:30 am.

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Nomad’s new Base Station wireless charger is a beauty

NEWS – Wireless chargers have been around for a while in all kinds of shapes and sizes. However, most designs tend to go more for function than form. The newly-announced Nomad Base Station is a wireless charger that not only chargers four devices at the same time it also looks good doing it. The charging pad has a sleek, modern design that includes a padded leather wireless charging surface with a soft finish for your phone to rest on.

Making it one of the most beautifully designed charging pads on the market to date.

Along with good looks, the charging pad boasts 3 high-power coils, for dual 10W wireless charging. There are also two USB ports, A USB-A 7.5W port and a USB-C PD that has an 18W output for fast charging.

There’s also an LED charging indicator light and an ambient light sensor that dims the LEDs at night.

The Base Station wireless charger is up for pre-order on Nomad’s website for $99.95. And will officially begin shipping on October 1.

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Nomad’s new Base Station wireless charger is a beauty originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 21, 2018 at 10:30 am.

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Baron Fig Wander Dream Journal review

REVIEW – Are you the type of notebook or journal user who likes to have a separate notebook for different subjects or topics like travel, daily journal, tasks, etc? How about a journal that’s dedicated to recording your dreams. But, not dreams for your future, I’m talking about the dreams you have when you’re asleep. Baron Fig’s new Wander Dream Journal is a journal just for that task. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

The Baron Fig Wander Dream Journal is a 192-page hardbound notebook that has been specially designed to make it easy to record the dreams that you have during the night.

Design and features

The Wander Dream Journal is a 5.4″ x 7.7″ cloth-bound book that is dark blue with silver stars and a moon stamped into the front and back covers.

The journal has rounded corners and a grey elastic band that can be used to secure the top cover.

Each notebook has 192 pages of acid-free fine grain 90gsm paper that’s a light cream color.

When you open the front cover, you’re greeted with a lively geometric design and a blank area where you can write your name and contact info should you lose the book, or dates that the book covers, etc.

You’ll have to flip a couple pages before you get to the actual journal area of the notebook.

You’ll find a quick start guide at the beginning of the book that explains the page’s outer edge “gadgets”… at least that’s what I’m going to call them.

They say that the best way to remember your dreams is to document them as soon as you wake up. The Gadgets on each page help you do that by including things like emoticons for your mood during your dream, your sleep quality, when your dream took place in history, if your dream was in color or in black and white, the viewpoint of the dream, and type of dream.

Then the 2-page layout gives you a whole page to write about what happened in the dream on the left and a place to draw and interpret what the dream might have meant on the right side.

Notice at the top of the left page that there’s a place to circle the day of the week and add the current date. This dream journal has all the bases covered.

What I like

  • 2-page layout for each dream
  • Lots of info to record about each dream
  • Attractive book
  • Lay flat design

What needs to be improved

  • The book isn’t a standard size, so it would be nice if they offered one that was A5 sized just so it would be the same height as other journals on a bookshelf

Final thoughts

The Baron Fig Wander Dream Journal is a nicely made notebook that has all the features that someone would want in a journal. It has acid free pages, a lay-flat design, ribbon bookmark, and an elastic closure. But then they add extra features to the pages to help you document each dream. All in all, this is a nicely designed dream journal. The only thing missing is a pen with a built-in red light so you can write your dream in the dark without bothering your sleeping partner or wrecking your night vision.

Price: $22.00
Where to buy: Baron Fig
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Baron Fig.

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Baron Fig Wander Dream Journal review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 21, 2018 at 9:26 am.

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Levenger has just the tools to organize your desk

NEWS – The Tools Desk Caddy has the tools to neaten your desk by holding a pen or pencil, 3 x 5 note cards, a roll of tape, and even your business cards (behind the small wrench at the bottom).  It’s hand-assembled in the US from steel tools collected internationally.  It stands 6″ wide x 3″ deep x 4″ tall and weighs four pounds.  It’s a rustic touch for your desk, but it has sharp edges, so it’s not suitable for the child fan of Bob the Builder.

The Tools Desk Caddy is available at Levenger for $70.00.

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Levenger has just the tools to organize your desk originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 21, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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Vankyo LEISURE 3 2200 LUX LED Portable Projector review

REVIEW – The Vankyo LEISURE 3 2200 LUX LED Portable Projector is a low-cost, easy-to-use, portable digital projector with a good amount of input options. At a price of $89.99, the Vankyo LEISURE 3 does what it’s supposed to do, but don’t expect too much from the viewing experience. The Vankyo is serviceable, but it takes a few hits for not being able to process Dolby Digital Sound, function as a digital presentation projector, or including cables for iPhone or Android devices.

What is it?

Portable digital projectors have become pretty popular recently. The ability to immediately project a wall-sized video of content from your phone or laptop is really exciting and when compared to the price of televisions of comparable size, the cost of a digital projector seems to make sense. The best digital projectors are usually in the $300-$800 range. They offer a viewing experience on par with that of a modern, reasonably priced television with the added benefit of portability. Generally, the smaller and more feature-rich the projector, the higher the price.

The Vankyo LEISURE 3 can’t compete on any level with those high-end projectors. This projector costs only $89.99 for a reason. The build quality, included features, and picture quality are all sub-par to mediocre. But, you get what you pay for, and there are a few instances where purchasing a projector of this caliber makes sense.

The Vankyo LEISURE 3 comes in a sturdy cardboard box with a carrying handle. This box would make a great case if the Vankyo didn’t already come with a cool zippered carrying case.

The carrying case is a great accessory and of good quality, it makes the Vankyo stand out a bit from other projectors in this price range.

The case has internal velcro straps to keep the projector safe, a separate adjustable compartment for the extra cables and remote, and a sleeve for the manual and quick start guide.

What’s in the box?

  • Vankyo LEISURE 3
  • Quick start guide and manual
  • Remote control (batteries not included)
  • VGA cable
  • Power cable
  • Standard HDMI cable
  • RCA to 3.5mm video cable

Hardware specs

  • LED Brightness: 2200 LUX
  • Contrast Ratio: 2000:1
  • Keystone: ±15 degree
  • Lamp Life: 40000 hrs
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3\16:9\auto
  • Projection Size: 33-170 inches
  • Native Resolution: 800 x 480
  • Display Technique: LCD
  • Weight: 2.12 lbs
  • Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.9 x 3.1 in

Design and features

With the provided cables and inputs, the Vankyo LEISURE 3 can accept video input from a few sources. The included cables let you input video from an HDMI source, a computer with a VGA output, an RCA video output, an SD Card, or a USB source. Because you’re only given three included cables, you need to buy additional adaptor cables to be able to input video from your iPhone, Android device, or newer laptop.

You can also output audio from the projector to an external speaker. The internal speaker on the Vankyo works OK in a quiet room or if there isn’t a lot of background noise. The fan on the Vankyo is pretty impressive in how quiet it is. You know it’s running, but it doesn’t really affect the viewing experience.

The USB input is what I found most useful. If you format a USB stick with movies, music, or images and insert it into the USB slot, the Vankyo can access the folders with a rudimentary file system. By using a low profile 128gb USB stick, I was able to pack up the Vankyo projector along with about 30 movie files for outdoor viewing on a recent camping trip.

The remote for the Vankyo proved useful at times, but since the Vankyo works best in absolute darkness, I found myself wishing it had a light-up feature to help make the keys visible. Additionally, the IR receiver for the remote is on the back of the projector, so if you’re sitting adjacent to or in front of the projector, the remote is useless.

Setup

Setting up the Vankyo LEISURE 3 is pretty easy. Just plug in the power cord, connect your video source, power on the projector and you should have some type of image projecting. There are control buttons on the top of the projector and it takes a bit of time to understand them, but once that’s been figured out, the rest of your setup time will be spent on trying to get the best picture and focus.

Focus can be adjusted with the Focus dial on top of the projector or by turning the lens itself. The Keystone adjustor allows you to fix the geometry of the picture if it’s not hitting your screen correctly. It’s of note that the keystone can only be adjusted vertically, which I found frustrating.

Performance

For my testing, I set up a screen using a white bedsheet and had the projector about three feet away projecting an image comparable to a 32 inch television.

I watched several movies and television shows to test the Vankyo, but mainly tried it out using “Thor: Ragnorak” because of the bright color palette and great audio tracks.

It took me a while to find the best configuration for the picture settings. The picture from the Vankyo LEISURE 3 looks best in COMPLETE darkness, so using the remote to change the picture settings in the dark was frustrating at times.

After some trial and error, I was able to get some decent contrast and color although this varied as the scenes changed.

I was impressed with the color, but disappointed and frustrated by the focus and sharpness of the image.

I was never able to get the bottom of the frame to stay completely in focus, no matter how I adjusted the keystone, focus, or position of the Vankyo. Also, at times the picture would take on a pinkish hue in the whites.

The internal speaker handled the music and cinematic sound from the movie fine. There are a few audio parameters that can be adjusted as well and that helped a lot, but not having the ability to enable Dolby Digital Sound really hurts the experience.

And this is why the Vankyo LEISURE 3 is just a mediocre performer, there was no point during my testing where I was like, “This is so much better than my TV.” The whole point of digital projectors is that “wow” factor to kind of bring the cinematic experience home; the Vankyo just doesn’t come close to evoking that feeling.

Ultimately, for me, the Vankyo LEISURE 3 is kind of like a novelty purchase. It’s cheap and fun to take on camping trips or maybe to play the occasional movie outside after a BBQ or family gathering, but it’s not of good enough quality to use and enjoy on a regular basis.

Additionally, and most importantly for some, you can’t even run a digital presentation on it! Of all the reasons I mentioned to get and use a digital projector, that’s one of the main ones and the Vankyo can’t even function in that sense.

What I like

  • Easy to set up
  • Inexpensive
  • Carrying case included

What needs to be improved

  • No support for PowerPoint, Word, or Excel presentations
  • No support for Dolby Digital Sound
  • Mediocre picture quality and focus
  • Large for a “mini” projector
  • No included smartphone cables/adaptor

Final thoughts

The Vankyo LEISURE 3 2200 LUX LED Portable Projector is a mediocre product at best, but some of its shortcomings are offset by its low cost. The Vankyo functions properly and does what it’s supposed to do, but it lacks options offered in a number of other products in its class, like support for Dolby Digital Sound and the ability to run digital presentations. This might qualify as a good novelty purchase, but you’d be better off investing a little more money in a more versatile, higher quality projector.

Price: $89.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Vankyo.

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Vankyo LEISURE 3 2200 LUX LED Portable Projector review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 20, 2018 at 11:00 am.

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