Reviews – Page 15

Leatherman Free T4 pocket multi-tool review

REVIEW – How many times have you needed something – a screwdriver, knife, something to pry with? One solution is to carry the well-known Swiss army knife, but those tend to be bulky and heavy. That need led to the creation of multitools – small, pocketable tools and Leatherman is at the forefront of that market. Always innovating, Leatherman has a new tool in the game – the Leatherman Free T4.

What is it?

The Leatherman Free T4 is a small and lightweight multitool that comes with a cool dozen tools.

What’s in the box?

Leatherman Free T4 tool
A really basic “how to use” card

Hardware specs

Closed length: 3.6 in / 9.3 cm L x 0.62 in / 1.51 cm W
Blade length: 2.2 in / 5.6 cm
Weight: 4.3 oz / 121.9 g

Design and features

Each side has a lock-release thumb switch to release opened tools. The back has a removable pocket clip with a lanyard loop included on the clip.

The T4 feels great in the hand. It’s super-solid and at the same time, very lightweight. In fact, my wife, the engineer, couldn’t believe how light it was. But, a tool’s value isn’t in how it feels or how light it is. It has to function, and the T4 brings a dozen tools to the party. Let’s see what’s included in this beauty.

Item #1 is a 420 high-carbon stainless steel knife
Item #2 pulls triple duty as a pry tool, package opener and, a medium screwdriver
Item #3 is is a twofer with a wood/metal file and a small screwdriver
Item #4 is a spring-action pair of scissors
Item #5 is both an awl and an extra-small screwdriver
Item #6 is a Phillips screwdriver as well as a bottle opener
Item #7 is a pair of tweezers in the top of the unit and pictured below

When a tool is opened, it locks in place. There are two releases – one for each set of tools. A push of the thumb releases the lock so the tool can swing back to its stored position.

A cool feature of this locking mechanism is that it uses magnets and makes for a very smooth open/close.

Speaking of opening – historically, that was one of the pains with multitools. To get at specific tools, it took industrial-strength fingernails to pry the tool out from its stored position. The Free T4 changes that with a thumb-driven opening mechanism that simply pivots the desired tool up so it can be easily accessed.

This design allows for one-handed opening operation – a very nice feature.

What I like

It’s solid
It’s light
It has most everything I need

What I’d change

It is a tad thick in my pocket, making it a challenge to get my wallet out (perhaps that’s a bonus…), but I don’t know how I would include all these features in anything smaller
Including a reusable toothpick would have been nice

Final thoughts

I tend to travel light. I have my trusty cell phone in one front pocket and wallet (and sometimes key fob) in the other. Adding the Free T4 on the wallet side was a non-event. I never felt it. It clipped perfectly on my pocket and rested in my pocket. As I mentioned above, because it is a little thick, it will take some getting used to getting my wallet out, but I expect that won’t take much time.

All Leatherman tools (including the Leatherman Free P2 which we also reviewed) are proudly made in the USA. The Free T4 comes with a 25-year warranty. I really like the Free T4 and look forward to it becoming a key player for every day carry.

Price: $59.95
Where to buy: Direct from Leatherman. It is announced on Amazon but pricing and availability are not available.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Leatherman.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: EDC, Knives, Multi-tool

Leatherman Free T4 pocket multi-tool review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 11, 2019 at 8:40 am.

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REECHO EchoWeek Wireless Earbuds review

CROWDFUNDED REVIEW – Today, we’re taking a hard look at the REECHO EchoWeek to find out if these truly wireless stereo earbuds are an instant classic or a cautionary tale of crowd-funding gone awry.

What is it?

REECHO’s EchoWeek TWS earbuds are yet another entry into the crowded wireless earphone market. They are currently in prototype stage and have only in the past month or so sent out their first batch of product to their Indiegogo backers. I received a sample product with that first shipment, and I really hope I didn’t jump someone’s place in line who paid real money for a pair.

Behold, another tiny Truly Wireless earbud.

What’s in the box?

earbuds and case
3 different earbud tips and sports wingtips
micro-USB cable
manual and quick guide

It does come with an array of eartip and wing sizes.

Hardware specs

Unique rounded balanced armature
True-wireless stereo earbuds
3 sizes of wingtips & 3 sizes of eartips
IPX6 sweat resistance
Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connection
Up to 48 hours with use of charging case (750mAh case capacity, 50mAh earbud capacity)
Easy access to voice control smart assistants

Design and features

The EchoWeek earbuds have a nice look to them. Made from smooth, black matte plastic, they have sleek, sporty feel and are very lightweight. I was pleased that the largest of the earbud tips fit well in my notoriously difficult ears, fully sealing my ear canals.

The case is … fine. It’s colored metal, with chamfered silver edges, and you can tell that they were simply trying to match the color of the plastic cases pictured in their Indiegogo campaign page. Looking at what they were promising versus what they delivered, it’s clear that they either ran out of time or the glossy plastic of the 3D prototype just couldn’t be achieved.

They don’t even match the box they were shipped in. It must have been a really late decision in the manufacturing process.

The earbuds were supposed to match the color of the case, but instead, all of the shipped products were black, which garnered a lot of complaints from their project backers. I would have preferred a straight silver case instead of this color, but I’m assuming they still had to try to match the seven colors they were offering in the campaign.

What they were promising vs. what they delivered. Yes, really. Big oof.

I wonder if REECHO called it the EchoWeek because there were 7 colors, one for each day of the week. Indeed, the top-tier perk ($399) was for a 7-pack. Just a random thought.

Setup and Functionality

Pairing is, as usual, pretty straightforward. I’ve heard that these TWS earbuds are sort of hit and miss when it comes to Bluetooth setup, since they’re technically two separate devices that work together as one, but I’ve never run into any issues.

Once you’re paired up, it’s a simple matter of opening the case and removing the earbuds from their chargers to connect to your device. You can use one or both earbuds, which is nice for when you want to keep an ear free for traffic or talking to others.

One thing that I’m a bit torn on is the button function. Look at this button guide.

It’s comprehensive as to what you can do with the buttons, but difficult to remember what hitting the right button 2 times or the left button one time will do. Plus, the buttons are a bit tough to press, so completing a triple-click is quite difficult. Compare that to a programmable double-tap on Apple’s AirPods, and, well, even if that’s not a fair comparison, I guess I just like things simple.

Just look at this “easy setup guide.” Come on.

Sound

The sound drivers, which Reecho is dubbing their “balanced armature drivers (BADs?),” are claimed to have superior sound isolation, require less power, and are very small and lightweight. And given the apparent uniqueness of this driver, REECHO can tout on their IndieGoGo page that the EchoWeeks are the “smallest rounded BA TWS Earbuds,” because everything has to the be the first and/or only thing of its kind on crowdfunding sites.

Overall, they sound pretty good! Especially if these earbuds would only set you back a mere $29. They sound a little flat, overall, like the highs are a bit muted. I can’t say if the

Connection

As with some past TWS earbuds that I’ve come across, the connection seems rather spotty. Reecho claims 10m “straight line connection distance,” but it seems even putting my phone in my pocket is enough to interrupt the audio at times. Placing my hands over my ears is also enough to cause music to fuzz out to silence.

You’re certainly not going to be full on swimming with these things on, despite REECHO’s promotional videos might show. I mean, seriously?

I can’t even get a wall to work between these earbuds and my iPhone, and this dude is full on Michael Phelps-ing around the pool. I’m not buying it.

Battery Life

Unsurprisingly, the battery life on these earbuds didn’t quite match their advertised 6 hours. I got about 3.5 hours of constant music out of them before they died. I imagine you would get 7 charges out of the case, though, mathematically speaking, bringing that total listening time to over 24 hours. That’s not too bad, it’s in keeping with most other TWS earbuds of this size.

What I like

They do sound pretty great for the apparent price
Build quality is good, too

What I’d change

Buttons are a bit hard to press
Weak connection, sound drops out
Simplify the button controls

Final thoughts

If the time spent with the EchoWeek’s taught me anything, it would be to approach crowdfunded products with a side of caution, because this is a very real outcome.

From an objective standpoint, these earbuds sound great for $29. If REECHO somehow launched their product on a mass scale at this price, they’d be a clear favorite. Even with the weak connectivity issues. But as to whether or not you’ll actually be able to get your hands on a pair … let’s just say I wouldn’t hold my breath.

I tried to get in touch with a representative from the company and didn’t hear back from them. Reading the comments on the Indiegogo page, there are a lot of others who unfortunately had the same issue.

Price: Lowest backing “secret” price was $29, but no word on what the final retail product cost will be or if they’ll go into full production.
Where to buy: This product is, as of the time of writing, unavailable for purchase. You can find their closed Indiegogo page here. And if you want a bit of schadenfreude for their backers, read through the comments section.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by REECHO.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Crowdfunded, TWS earbuds

REECHO EchoWeek Wireless Earbuds review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 10, 2019 at 10:10 am.

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Kiwi Design Google Nest Hub wall mount review

REVIEW – I’m an enthusiastic investor in the Google ecosphere. I have a Nest thermostat and Hello doorbell. Before they were rolled up into the Nest brand, I purchased a Google Max, two Google Assistants, two Google Minis and three Google Home Hubs. I particularly love the Home Hub (now the Nest Hub) – the screen size is just right, great sound and ambient information display with slide show. The problem is – if you can call it a problem – sometimes where you want the hub there just isn’t a good place for it to sit. Kiwi Design wants to fix that situation with the Nest Hub Wall mount. So yeah, let’s check that out.

What is it?

The Kiwi Design Wall Mount for the Nest Hub is just what the name suggests – a mount to fix your Nest hub to the nearest wall or other vertical surface.

What’s in the box?

The Nest Hub wall mount and a brief instruction guide.

Design and Features

The mount is almost entirely metal with a rubber hood that covers the core mounting bracket. The bracket itself has 4 mounting holes that allow you to permanently fix the mount to a surface where you care to drill into. Under the wall plate, there is also a 3M sticky pad in case you don’t want to drill holes in your wall or cabinet.

Almost visible in the shot above is the cable management loop (almost visible thanks to black on black coloring). This is a pretty nifty little feature – just make a doubled-up loop of the excess power cord, push it through the loop and wrap it around the base of the mount. No unsightly cords dangling all over the place.

The metal oval is where you place the Nest Hub. There is a rubber disk on the back side of the oval that protects your Hub from any damage and also provides a friction point to prevent the hub from moving around. There is a ball joint between the mount and the oval which allows you to re-position the Hub to a suitable angle.

And the Hub sitting in the mount viewed from the front. Other than a minor bit of the metal oval, the mount is almost completely invisible.

Performance

Kiwi Design certainly brought the rubber to the road with this one. I decided to mount the Hub that lives in my home office because I wanted to reclaim the desk space but didn’t want to lose the Hub itself. I mounted it just to the right of my desk over a set of bookshelves where it would be close enough to see without giving up valuable real estate. I chose to use a wall anchor to mount the…well, mount. To me, that suggests a more permanent solution than 3M tape, and a solution I am willing to commit to.

Here it is on my wall under my whiteboard.

From the side. As you can see, the ball joint allows me to angle the Hub to the right viewing position, and the entire affair is hidden from view. The mount is close to perfect – the only thing I would change is to make the swivel mount somehow capable of a 90 degree angle so it could be mounted under a cabinet (thinking ahead to mounting the Kitchen Hub). Otherwise, this does exactly what you’d expect, it does it well, is solidly made and reasonably priced – some might consider it a little high, but I have an investment in this equipment, so I want premium materials and a mount that doesn’t feel like cheap plastic.

What I Like

The look and feel of the mount and how it gets out of the way to let the Hub shine
The cord management
Being able to angle and swivel the Hub as needs dictate

What I’d Change

Make a 90 degree version – although that is a VERY minor issue compared to how well the current mount works

Final Thoughts

The Kiwi Design Wall Mount for the Nest Hub is just what I’ve been looking for. It feels and works like a well-made unit with all the right touches. I can definitely see myself buying a few more for my other Hubs and I hope they make a mount for the upcoming Nest Hub Max.

Price: $21.99
Where to buy: The Nest Hub Mount can be purchased directly from Kiwi Design at the link below or from Amazon.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Kiwi Design.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Device mount, Google

Kiwi Design Google Nest Hub wall mount review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 10, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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V-Moda Over-ear Headphone Custom Shield Kit review

REVIEW – In the world of headphones, design can be as important as: 1. Sound; 2. Quality; and 3. Comfort. Many times it seems like you can have any two of them—just not all three. V-Moda is one headphone maker that disagrees with that. Their headphones—beginning with the original Crossfade to the latest wireless Crossfades—are designed like no other headphones with outstanding comfort and great sound. Except that V-moda doesn’t stop there, because if you want, they offer customization to make your headphones your headphones. They call this customization the V-Moda Over-ear Custom Shield Kit.

What is it?

The custom shield kit is an extra-cost service V-Moda offers to buyers of their Crossfade headphones. V-Moda’s headphones come with a metal plate on the ear cup exterior. These plates are removable and can be replaced with other colors, metals or customizable designs (what I’m reviewing). These designs can be printed, laser engraved or embossed. Artwork/designs can be either chosen from ready-made selections, personally made and uploaded by you or developed in conjunction with one of V-Moda’s own designers through their concierge service. Each one of these choices has its own pricing structure. These choices are so numerous that I won’t list all the prices in this review. However, to give you an idea, prices for the shields run from a basic color with no printing for $35 all the way up to solid platinum for $28,000—I kid you not! Ordering is done through V-Moda’s web site. Delivery takes anywhere from 2-20 days, depending on design and metal chosen.

Design and features

It’s hard to talk about design for the custom shields because it’s totally up to the buyer. I can only relate my own experience based on what I ordered, but it should give you an idea of the possibilities.

Note that the custom shields are purchased separately and do not include the headphones. Also custom shields can be purchased later for those who already own a V-Moda Crossfade headphone.

Since I am an art director by day, I decided to go with one of my own designs—my personal logo. V-Moda offered to print what I wanted, as long as it followed their basic guidelines and rules. Copyrighted art or design (Coca-Cola or Nike, for example) is not allowed.

If you’re not an artist, V-Mode offers a good selection of designs to choose from. In fact, there are almost too many choices, which can be a bit overwhelming. Also, the multi-step process of making selections can be confusing because choices are dependent on whatever previous selection was made.

The process is: After you choose your headphone (if you don’t already own one), you navigate to the Shield Kit page. From there you choose Type for the design you want and then choose: Color Printed, Laser Engraved or 3D Printed (embossed). After choosing Type, choose Design and then choose: Designs, Monograms or Upload Your Own (my choice). As I said, it can be confusing because the choices are almost limitless. It requires taking your time to get what you want—or close to it. Note that V-Moda’s FAQ section is a big help for answering any questions, especially if you’re uploading your own design. They even provide a useful downloadable template for sizing and placement of art.

For my design, I downloaded V-Moda’s template and used Adobe Illustrator. Accepted formats from most art apps are: JPG, .PNG, .GIF, .BMP, .TIFF, .PSD, .PDF, .AI, .EPS, .SVG, .DOC(X), .CDR.

My logo is usually black/white, but since this process allows multi-color designs, I decided to test that out. After preparing the art, it was then uploaded. I received an emailed confirmation and all I had to do then was wait. It didn’t take long.

Just a few days later, the shields arrived in a bubble-wrapped envelope. Inside were the shields, a small allen (hex) screwdriver and a package of tiny screws. When ordered, you can also choose the color of screws. I went with plain black. All that needed to be done for each shield was removing the six screws that held the original shield and replace with the new design. This process is easy enough to do. Even though the screwdriver and screws are magnetic, the screws are tiny and can easily be dropped or misplaced, so paying attention is a good thing.

The printed shield is identical to the design I uploaded and color accuracy is spot-on. Interestingly, my design on the shield felt slightly embossed even though I did not request or pay for 3D printing. It gave the design a bit of welcomed depth. One caveat is that while one shield was printed perfectly, the other had small but noticeable bubbles in the paint. I’m okay with it, but I can see where some might want to return the defective shield for a re-print.

Once the new shields are screwed into place, that’s it! You now have your headphones.

What I like

V-Moda’s ready-made designs are almost limitless. Any custom design is only limited by your imagination—provided you’re budget allows. All tools are provided and moving and replacing the shields is easy.

What I’d change

There are so many choices and design directions, that unless you know what you want beforehand, the complete process from beginning to end can be daunting.

Final Thoughts

Even though V-Moda’s headphones are unique looking out of the box, I like that they offer this service for those who aren’t satisfied with the stock design. Being able to upload custom designs, using a ready-made design or even using V-Moda’s help with designs are nice choices to have. Plus the price range can fit any budget—even for those with $28,000 to burn!

Price: $35 – $28,000 US
Where to buy: V-Moda
Source: The sample for this product was provided by V-Moda.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Headphones

V-Moda Over-ear Headphone Custom Shield Kit review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 9, 2019 at 1:46 pm.

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Stealtho office chair wheels review

REVIEW – Tired of your old, creaky office chair wheels rolling across that cracked plastic mat? Stealtho office chair caster wheels may be just the thing to rejuvenate your trusty office chair.

What is it?

Stealtho wheels resemble inline skate wheels, made of an elastic polyurethane, for a smooth, scratch-free glide across your hardwood floors.

What’s in the box?

Pretty straightforward: I found exactly five replacement wheel assemblies.

Hardware specs

From the product description:

STEALTHO embedded support skirt, no wobble even with worn-out base housing holes.
Wheel has two additional thrust ball bearings in the cage that prevents them from falling out.
STEALTHO combined the elastic polyurethane with luminophore on the base of strontium aluminate which can radiate light at a level 20 percent. It increases the wheels wear, as well as makes the wheel glow in the dark and roll over cables. This combination of durability and “no stumble” function gave STEALTHO the basis for its PATENT (currently pending).
The body of the wheel is made of heavy-duty tool steel and its shape is achieved by 3-times pressing at a temperature of 3000 ºC, that’s why the set of wheels can withstand up to 660 pounds.
STEALTHO wheels fit standard office chairs from Herman Miller Aeron, Mirra 2, Steelcase, Dxracer, Humanscale Freedom, Lazyboy Serta, Hon Nucleus, Boss, Staples, Office depot which have the universal grip ring stem 11 mm x 22 mm (7/16″x7/8″), (don’t fit IKEA).

It’s important to note the last part. The casters will fit chairs that accept a 7/16″ diameter stem. Apparently IKEA, chairs are different.

Setup

Simply pull out your old casters and insert the Stealtho ones. Here’s my dirty office chair, resting atop a floor mat.

Notice how the Stealtho assembly is slightly taller than my original ones. You may have to readjust your seat height.

Wheels installed! Piece of cake. No more floor mat.

Performance

The first thing I noticed was how grippy these wheels are versus my original hard plastic ones. They glided smoothly but sometimes changing directions meant a brief moment of “sticky” grip, similar to wearing new sneakers on a smooth basketball court. However, after a week of use, I noticed the wheels were getting a little dirty and the grippy “squeak” sensation has gone down a bit.

The wheels are advertised as glow-in-the-dark, and it’s true. However, my desk area isn’t very bright so the wheels never got enough ambient light to be visible in the dark. I took a flashlight and “charged up” one wheel to see the effect. You can’t see the wheels in the background, but they’re there… not glowing!

What I like

Easy to install
Rolls smoothly without the need for a floor mat

What I’d change

The glow feature isn’t very powerful
I wish the wheels weren’t quite so grippy

Final thoughts

Despite the grippy squeak of the Stealtho office chair wheels, I kind of like not having a plastic floor mat that keeps shifting around my floor. That’s a tradeoff I can live with.

Price: $39.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Stealtho.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Office

Stealtho office chair wheels review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 9, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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