As I’ve gotten older, I’ve not only picked up a coffee habit, but I’ve started understanding the differences in types of brewing methods, beans and how a good barista can take a decent cup of coffee to greatness. That’s why I got pretty excited to see the GEESAA – Your Home Barista announce it is starting a KickStarter.
What is it?
This Taiwan based business has brought together a coffee maker system that heats the water to a specific temperature, has a rotating base for the carafe as well as a swing arm dispenser for the hot water that mimics the swirling motion of your barista pouring hot water over the grounds to create your favorite beverage. It is compatible with a smartphone app that is preloaded with recipes from professional baristas but will also allow you to create your recipes.
Why do I like it?
I love that all you have to do is simply select your recipe, put your grounds in the top of the carafe and then let the machine do it’s magic. As an avid coffee drinker, I love the complex coffees and this product lets me have this coffee that I would normally have to go to a shop for or learn how to make myself. The fact it has an app for my phone preloaded with recipes is an added bonus.
Where can I find more info?
The actual KickStarter won’t begin until April, but at this time you can go to the GEESAA – Your Home Brew website and delve into the information they have available. I’m looking forward to seeing how this Kickstarter goes and possibly picking up one of these units myself, as pour overs have become our favorite methods for making a fresh cup. The price point is still unknown, but if you sign up for their e-mail notification you’ll get a $50 discount on the KickStarter.
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REVIEW — Everyone’s seen those nylon drawstring bags that look like a modern replacement for a hobo’s bindlestiff. Usually they’re just cheap, single-compartment sacks used to tote a change of clothes, but Rever Brand offers an evolution on that design with their SERK Drawstring Backpack. Read on to see how it stacks up.
What is it?
The SERK is an upgrade to the iconic drawstring backpack design, utilizing durable materials, waterproof insulation and a unique duo-entry design that isolates wet and dry items.
What’s in the box?
just the backpack itself
Hardware specs
Duo-entry design to separate dry and wet or dirty items
Waterproof oxford canvas exterior construction
Tear-resistant ripstop nylon
1/4″ diamond braided nylon ropes
Weather-sealed coated zippers
RFID protective storage compartments
Leather accents
14 liters capacity
Design and features
The SERK drawstring backpack looks a lot like a premium drawstring gym bag, but hides a pleasant surprise. While other bags offer one single large chamber for toting around clothes and shoes, the SERK proves a separate, waterproof compartment accessed from the bottom of the bag. This allows an isolated area for storing wet or dirty items or shoes while keeping the rest of your stuff clean.
The rear view side that lies against your back.
Additionally, the SERK has several internal pockets and two small RFID protected external pockets that can be accessed by weather-sealed zippers, perfect for storing your phone, wallet and other items that need to be quickly accessed.
The side pockets, while easily accessed wearing the pack, are indeed fairly small. I had a hard time fitting my entire hand inside to fish smaller items out. Phones and wallets should be a snap to get out, but anything that may find its way into the very back of the pocket like a pen or pack of gum may be hard to nab quickly.
Smallish side RFID protected pockets for your phone, wallet, earbuds or whatever will fit.
This bottom entry compartment is separated from the main compartment with a zipper in the bottom of the bag, allowing it to be rolled up and stored until needed. That was a clever touch to keep that part out of the way when using the bag in the conventional way.
There’s the hidden bottom compartment on the underside of the bag.
I would say this bottom compartment works well in keeping wet stuff from spreading to other clothes/material in the main chamber. It’s a great place to store damp towels, dirty shoes, even food or cold bottles that would collect condensation. This compartment, when expanded into the main chamber, will place the items within it alongside your belongings in the main space, so some adjusting and moving things around is necessary to keep the bag from feeling too “thick.”
And here’s the zipper that allows the bottom compartment to expand into the main chamber.
The SERK’s outer material is a thick, slightly stiff, waterproof canvas. It’s much more durable than a typical gym bag, though I found it does take some adjusting to conform to the curve of your back and shoulders. It’s not uncomfortable, but I never got to the point where I didn’t feel like I had something on my back, if that makes sense… I was aware of that material, stretching and moving around with it on my back, and it made me wonder if I’d get annoyed with it after wearing the bag all day, or if I’d eventually get used to it.
The top opening, when fully expanded, is very large.
It’s worth noting that the bag itself isn’t totally waterproof, as in you couldn’t drop it into a lake and have everything be all right, seeing as there is obviously a big hole at the top of the pack where the drawstrings pull it closed. I couldn’t get it to close any tighter than the circumference of a small egg. I think that’s good enough for most, just don’t get caught in a downpour.
For something that is made to be slung quickly on one’s back, I managed to accidentally pull the knotted nylon ropes through the d-rings a couple of times. That could easily be remedied with another (or thicker) knot at the end of the ropes, but the default size of that double-knot can be pulled through without much strength.
Speaking of those straps, they’re definitely not as comfortable as most typical backpacks I’ve used. It is recommended that the content weight not exceed 4kg (about 9lbs). That doesn’t seem like a lot of weight for such a heavy-duty pack. While the diamond-braided ropes can withstand 700lbs, I think the weight limit recommendation is there for comfort’s sake. It takes some fine-tuning to get the dual straps to rest on your shoulder with equal distribution.
You probably won’t want to overstuff this bag.
Funny thing about those ropes, I remember reading on the original Kickstarter page for this product that they could be removed from the bag and unraveled like paracord in an emergency situation, because of their high tensile strength. I suppose this is true, provided you were later able to feed a new cord back into the bag! That’s just a fun extra feature worth noting.
Here is the expanded bottom compartment inside the main chamber.
If you wanted to use the SERK as your daily commuter bag, as I did, once you get a laptop and a few other items in there, you might not have room for too much more before going beyond that weight limit and causing some discomfort on your shoulders. It definitely can be used as a work bag, the design even encourages it with pockets for a laptop, notebook and tablet, and padding on the bottom of the bag itself. I’d just caution against too much weight so that the straps don’t dig in to your shoulders.
Best for light loads, I would say. And tough, to boot.
Side pockets are quite narrow, hard to fit hands inside
Final thoughts
The SERK backpack stacks up to be a great replacement for that nylon gym bag, and could be an excellent day bag for hitting the beach or park. But you might find it a little lacking for the serious work commuter.
Price: $40.95 in gray or $44.95 in black Where to buy: The SERK drawstring bag can be purchased directly from Rever Brand’s website. Source: The sample of this product was provided by Rever Brand.
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NEWS – With spring and summer just around the corner that can mean only one thing, IT’S GRILLING SEASON! Traeger, the popular manufacturer of wood pellet grills, introduced a new line based on their best-selling Pro Series grill.
There are two models available for 2019, the Pro 575 and Pro 780. The names correspond with the amount of square inch cooking capacity each model has.
The new wood pellet grills have been updated with Traeger’s WiFire Technology. WiFire enables grillers to monitor and change the grills temperatures, track the temperature of the food being grilled, and even add smoke from anywhere using the Traeger smartphone app.
With the app, you can browse through and download hundreds of recipes directly to the WiFire Controller to get step-by-step guidance through the entire cook cycle with GrillGuide.
Traeger’s new D2 Direct Drive Technology delivers more power to the grill, creating ultra-fast startups. A variable speed fan and auger provide optimal wood pellet smoke for the finest hardwood flavor.
The new Pro D2 controller gives users more precise control over cooking temperatures, leading to more consistent results.
Each Pro model includes a 2-tier grate system, meat probe, and 18-pound capacity wood pellet hopper. The Traeger Pro 575 ($799.99) and Pro 780 ($999.99) are available in black or bronze. You can purchase them online from Traeger or your local Home Depot.
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Google has been working on the idea to implement a game-streaming service for three years with “Protect Steam.” This week they will finally announce the service at the Game Developer Conference (GDC). In addition to the game-streaming service, they are widely expected to also offer the “Yeti” gaming console. The hope is that along with Project Stream, they’ll combine to become what has been described as a “Netflix for video games,” which makes so much sense it makes you wonder why no one has fully put that idea into use yet. Cloud Gaming This could revolutionize gaming. Presently you can spend a couple hundred dollars… Read more
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