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The Ignite ring is made of lava rock and glows

Although this Kickstarter project falls more into the cool factor than a gadget, the Ignite ring does fuse lava rock, a proprietary polymer and carbon fiber to a unique ring. As you can see from the picture, the Ignite has an outer hard shell (lava rock) and a glowing inner polymer ring. The lava rock in this ring is actually broken down, reformed and then shaped into the ring form. The Ignite has three versions on the Kickstarter page each with its own characteristics. The V1 is the ring with the inner glow. V2 has the inner flow and an outer glow ring of the same color. V3 lets you pick the colors of the inner glow and outer ring, they can be different from each other. I am drawn to the Ignite V3 that lets you pick the inner glow and the outer ring glow. With glow colors including white, teal, violet, orange, green and blue there is probably a color that will appeal to you. Pledges for this project start at $35 for an Ignite V1. This project runs through February 15, 2018, and if successful will ship in the April 2018 time frame.

This Traveler mug is S’Well


We told you about the S’Well bottle that keeps your beverage at the perfect drinking temperature before.  That bottle had a shape similar to an iconic cola beverage, with a narrow neck and mouth.  That bottle was perfect for sipping from, but you couldn’t add ice to the drink.  Now S’Well has introduced the Traveler mug, which is still made of high-grade 18/8 stainless steel, still BPA-free, and still has a triple-walled construction for maximum insulation, which means no condensation on the exterior.  The Traveler bottle has a wide mouth, which means you can easily add ice, makes it easier to add hot beverages or thick smoothies to the bottle, and allows you to stir your beverage.

All S’Well bottles not only help you reduce waste, but they also help you support charities with your purchase.  S’Well supports UNICEF USA, American Forests, BCRF, and (RED).

Just like the original S’Well, the Traveler shape will still keep cold beverages cold for 24 hours and hot beverages hot for 12 hours.  The Traveler is available in 12 ounce ($30), 16 ounce ($35), and 20 ounce sizes ($40), and in a variety of designs at S’Well.

Why pack your lunch when you could stack it?

If you aren’t a sandwich-and-chips-for-lunch person, you might like the Black+Blum Stackable Lunch Pot.  This reusable set of stacking bowls is reminiscent of the Tiffin food carriers, but it is much smaller than most Tiffins I’ve seen and is, therefore, more suited for a single person.  This kit has two phthalate-free and BPA-free bowls that stack and are held together with a carrying strap.

The larger top bowl holds 18.6 fluid ounces, and the bottom holds 10 fluid ounces.  Stacked, the Lunch Pot measures 4.7″ wide x 7.9″ tall.  A reusable spork fits in the carry strap.  The bowls are watertight, so you can carry the Lunch Pot in your daily gear bag without worrying about spills.  Both bowls are microwave-safe for re-heating, and they can be tossed into the dishwasher for easy clean up.

The Black+Blum Stackable Lunch Pot is available in several colors for $24.95 from Amazon.

Control your HomeKit devices with the Elgato Eve Button

When you have home automation devices, you find you’ll need to have a mobile device handy to be able to control your devices.  It’s not always convenient to carry a tablet or phone with you, and there may be people in the home – guests or children – who won’t have a mobile device with the controller app.  If you use Apple’s HomeKit as your home automation controller, you can add an Eve Button from Elgato to activate three different scenes (already defined in your HomeKit system) with a button push.

The Eve Button has a contoured aluminum housing, and looks attractive in your home environment.  It measures 2.1″ x 2.1″ x 0.5″ and uses replaceable CR2032 batteries.  It connects via BLE to your HomeKit hub, so it won’t need a bridge to connect to your home system.  Once it’s connected via Bluetooth to the Apple TV or iOS device you use as your HomeKit hub, you can set one scene with a single button push, a second scene with a double push, or a third scene with a long push.  For example, you could get ready for movie night with a long push of the Eve Button to turn off the kitchen lights (after you’ve popped the corn), turn on the projector, and turn on the background lighting you use when watching movies.

The Eve Button is available now for $49.95 from Elgato, or it will soon be available from Amazon.

Always have a stable place for your coffee cup and phone with this wooden arm rest table

The LOHNtech store at Etsy has another idea for adding a stable place to set your drink without needing to add a table to your room.  Just lay the laser-cut arm rest table over the arm of your sofa or chair (or flat out on the sofa cushion beside you), and you can rest your beverage without risking damage to the sofa.  The arm rest table also has a built-in stand to hold your cell phone.

The table measures 15.1″ x 7.8″ x 0.28″.  It’s made of multiple strips of poplar wood with a felt backing, so it can conform to the shape and thickness of the arm of the sofa.  The built-in mobile device stand is available in two sizes to fit devices with a thickness 9mm or less or devices between 9 and 12mm.

It’s available in a couple of wood stains or in a selection of colors to match your decor.  The LOHNtech laser-cut arm rest table is hand-made in Italy and is ready to ship in 3-5 business days for $45.57 from the LOHNtech Etsy shop.