You can charge your phone with this car emergency escape kit

We’ve told you about a variety of emergency escape kits to keep in your car to help you escape quickly if you’re ever trapped in the car after an accident.  Some of them hang on your keychain, others are larger and are kept in the map pocket on the door or in the glove compartment.  Some of them might be hard to find or to reach after an accident, but you’ll not lose sight of the Ztylus Stinger Car Charger Emergency Tool.  This tool incorporates the window-breaking, spring-loaded punch and a blade to cut through a seatbelt into a USB charger that plugs into the car’s power outlet.

There are two USB outlets, each capable of a maximum of 2.4A; a Plus version has a maximum output of 3.1A per outlet.  You can use it daily to charge your phone or even a tablet.  Hopefully, you’ll never need it to escape a damaged or submerged car, but you’ll be able to easily see it and reach it if you ever have the need.  The Ztylus Stinger Car Charger Emergency Tool is available in black or white for $14.95 each for the standard or $24 each for the Plus version, or get two standards for about $28 or two Plus for $40 from Amazon.

Peak Design Everyday Sling 5L bag review

The bags we use to carry our daily gear are chosen based on a variety of criteria. Large messenger bags work great when you have a lot of bulky items, smaller bags are better when all you need to carry is a wallet and a phone. And then there are medium sized bags like the Peak Design Everyday Sling bag which we’re going to talk about today.

What is it?

The Everyday Sling 5L bag from Peak Design is a small bag that can be worn over the shoulder or as a waist bag (aka fanny pack) and has been designed to be used as a camera bag, small drone bag, or general purpose bag.

Design and features

The Sling bag is available in two sizes, the 10L version and a 5L version like the one that was sent to me. Both versions of the bag are made of weatherproof 400D nylon canvas and are available in black or ash. I was sent the ash version of the Sling bag which matches the Peak Design Everyday Messenger bag and Everyday Tote bag that I’ve also reviewed.

This bag doesn’t have a flap, but a zippered top that provides access to the interior. On the front of the bag is a horizontal zipper which secures the quick-access front pocket. This pocket is roomy enough to hold a large phone like my Pixel 2 XL.

For security, the zipper pull for the main compartment can be locked into the zipper pull for the quick-access pocket.

Here’s a view of the back of the Sling bag which as you can see, does not have any pockets.

The top of the bag has a padded grab handle with a leather accent.

The adjustable shoulder strap can be flipped for left or right shoulder carry and the extra length of the strap can be hidden in a slot on the back of the bag.

The strap has a quick adjuster loop that makes it easy to loosen and tighten the strap while you’re wearing the bag, and the g-hook provides a way to quickly switch the bag from shoulder to waist carry.

I prefer to wear bags crossbody style, but I was surprised by how comfortable the Sling is to wear around the waist. I can imagine wearing it this way while hiking.

The exterior of the Sling also has a dedicated attachment point for Peak Design’s Capture Clip system which is designed to attach cameras to the outside of the bag for quick access.

The Sling reminds me of a clamshell. The main compartment doesn’t have a flap to secure it, but a zipper which allows the front part of the bag to hinge forward.

Peak Design bags all have FlexFold dividers which are a really cool way to organize your gear inside the bag. Inside the Sling are two FlexFold origami dividers that can be repositioned, folded or even removed to configure the interior of the bag exactly how you want it.

The interior of the bag is an open compartment with a small stretch pocket on the side and a padded open topped pocket along the back that is large enough to hold a tablet with dimensions no larger than 9.4 x 7.3 x 0.6 inch (24 cm x 18.5 cm x 1.5 cm).  The top of the tablet pocket has a magnetic closure.

If we flip the Sling bag around, we can see the other side of the bag where there’s a zippered pocket.

Inside the pocket are 4 small pockets that can hold memory cards or other small items.

The Sling 5L is designed to hold small drones like the DJI Mavic or DJI Spark, and small mirrorless or DSLR cameras.

I don’t own a DJI drone and I no longer have a dedicated DSLR camera, but do have a collection of EDC gear that goes with me to and from work each day. Here’s my latest selection minus an A5 notebook, and my Pixel 2 XL which I used to take this photo.

And here we see all my items stowed neatly in the Peak Design Everyday Sling 5L bag. The bag was able to hold the majority of my essentials, but I did have to compromise and remove one of the individual notebooks from my X47 leather notebook binder instead of carrying the whole thing. I was able to put the thin A5 notebook in the tablet pocket inside the Sling.

Another compromise I made was not being able to put my lunch in the Sling since there was absolutely no room left to hold even a small container of food.

Bonus points for the fact that the Sling 5L sits upright on a flat surface without falling over.

Positives

  • Multiple ways to carry
  • Customizable FlexFold organization dividers
  • Small but can hold a lot of gear

Negatives

  • 5L version can feel cramped if you like to carry a lot of gear

Final thoughts

Since reviewing the Peak Design Everyday Messenger bag, I’ve become a fan of their bags. The bags are well made, expertly designed for customization, and stylish. The Everyday Sling 5L is a great little bag for people who don’t carry a lot of gear with them each day or want a dedicated bag for a small mirrorless camera kit or drone kit. This is another winner for Peak Design and I’m happy to recommend it.

Price: $99.95
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Peak Design.

Agate guitar picks resonate in a way plastic cannot

These agate guitar picks are handmade in Pennsylvania by Seth Maranuk, a jewelry designer and craftsman.  When he randomly found a tumbled stone chip that was shaped like a guitar pick, he began working to develop a “carefully shaped pick with just the right contour that allows for precision picking”.  These agate picks 1.2″ long X 1″ wide, and they “resonate in your hand in a way a plastic pick cannot, giving you a closer, smoother, and more integrated experience”.  Agate guitar picks are made by hand from natural materials, so no two are alike;  they are exclusively available for $20.00 at UncommonGoods.  They would be a great gift for the musician in your life.

ZAGG Slim Book Apple 10.5-inch iPad Pro keyboard case review

Have you seen Apple’s latest iPad Pro commercial with the teenage girl bouncing around town with her iPad getting much accomplished, finally asking “what’s a computer???” Apple is trying to convince the world that the iPad Pro can be their everything computing device, competing with the likes of the Surface Pro, Chromebooks, and the MacBook itself. Well, to make this even close to reality the iPad needs a keyboard as a cohort in crime. ZAGG has recently introduced their Slim Book for the Apple 10.5-inch iPad Pro to fill this niche/need, let’s see if it’s up for the task.

The ZAGG Slim Book is a well made, two-piece solution for adding productivity and protection to the 10.5″ iPad Pro. The back panel encases your iPad Pro in rigid plastic, securely protecting your tablet as any case should. The front cover or base of the Slim Book is a well engineered keyboard that magnetically attaches to the iPad Pro/case. Surprisingly the Slim Book does not use the iPad Pro’s smart connector for connectivity. The keyboard communicates with the iPad via Bluetooth. But ZAGG has done a good job making this a non-issue.

Even though the keyboard case more than doubles the weight and adds a good amount of bulk to the sleek & slim iPad Pro, overall the duo work really well together. The Slim Book transforms the iPad Pro into a great touch screen, media consuming, lap-friendly computing device. Instead of minimalistic, flimsy functionality (other keyboards add), the Slim Books adds excellent no-compromise usability and features to the iPad Pro.

Not only does the Slim Book look good but its sturdy overmold engineering absorbs impact and withstands drops up to one meter. The case has a ToughBook vibe with tear-proof, tight weave fabric inlayed in the plastic of the outer casing giving it a professional look and feel. The fabric also gives much better grippability.

A green LED flashes when you press the power button, confirming the keyboard is on. Pairing the iPad Pro to the ZAGG keyboard is as easy as you would expect, simply hold either of the bluetooth buttons until the LED starts flashing blue. From there, all you need to do is pair them within iPad’s bluetooth settings. The process was seamless.

The Slim Book allows for multi-device pairing, enabling two separate devices to be paired simultaneously with toggling back and forth between them at the touch of a button.

The Slim Book’s adjustable hinge cradles the iPad Pro/case combo, providing a secure, solid connection. Along with a magnetic connection between the iPad case and keyboard, there are also two hard points on either end of the interior of the hinge rail for added stability. The connection between the two is extremely solid and takes a good amount of force to separate them.

The Slim Book’s hinge allows for a wide variety of viewing angles. I LOVE how lap-friendly the Slim Book is, transforming using the iPad Pro into a true laptop-like experience. Unlike a wobbly kickstand solution, the hinge hold the tablet solidly in place making for an excellent viewing and typing experience.

Keyboard cover attaches on the left side of the iPad.

The top of the hard case has a push-thru for the power button and cutouts for mic and audio plug. Though you’ll notice the complete lack of speaker holes on the sides. The back of the case has a triangular cutout for the camera and flash.

The right side of the case has a built-in holder for Apple Pencil and push-thrus for the volume buttons.

The Apple Pencil safely and securely clicks into the plastic hard points when you’re not using it.

The base of the case has a small cutout allowing access to the iPad’s lighting port and once again no cutouts or holes for the speakers. Instead of being powered by the iPad’s smart connector, the bluetooth keyboard charges via a built-in microUSB port. This engineering choice allows the two to communicate when not connected.

According to ZAGG, the keyboard’s long-lasting rechargeable battery lets you type up to two years between charges. Which seems like a bit of a stretch but after weeks of use the keyboard still tells me it’s fully charged. You definitely don’t need to charge it nightly.

The iPad case has four forward facing slots, two on the top and two on the bottom for the speaker sound to escape. The slots work well enough at forcing the iPad’s sound forward.

A backlight function button toggles through 4 brightness settings (off, low, medium, and high) and another through seven color choices.

Instead of today’s low profile, short-click chiclets (12″ MacBook on the right), the Slim Book’s keys are very old school, standing comparatively high and have a good amount of movement. The keys move easily with decent key travel making typing fast with a good feel.  The key size is a bit smaller than the typical modern day keyboard but more than usable.

The keyboard gives you a multitude of function buttons allowing for better and more convenient management of the iPad (as compared to digging into the Control Center or settings). These functions help the keyboard/iPad combo feel more MacBook-like. Though initially I’d regularly start to dive into the iPad Pro’s touchscreen controls and have to remind myself the function keys were there.

Here is a comparison shot of the iPad Pro with Apple keyboard, 12″ MacBook, and ZAGG Slim Book. I would guesstimate the Slim Book triples the volume of Apple’s flagship tablet.

The ZAGG Slim Book and 10.5″ iPad Pro weigh in at a hefty 2.5+ pounds…somewhere between a 12″ MacBook and 13″ MacBook Pro. Crazy I know. But I guess it comes down to what you need and/or prefer when it comes to usability and functionality.

Positives

  • Well made from quality materials
  • Excellent design/engineering
  • Provides good protection
  • Adds much functionality
  • Uses Bluetooth connectivity
  • Excellent laptop-like experience

Negatives

  • Adds bulk and weight
  • Uses Bluetooth connectivity

Final thoughts

I like many things about the ZAGG Slim Book and as I said, it surprised me. This well done keyboard/case combination really does transform the iPad Pro into a more serious computing device. The only thing it’s missing is a trackpad but that’s on Apple. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s no MacBook Pro. But for a majority of folks who already have a 10.5″ iPad Pro and want functionality on the fly, the ZAGG Slim Book could be their answer or at least their serious consideration 😉 .

Price: $119.99
Where to buy: ZAGG and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by ZAGG. Please visit their site for more info.

Connect a large tablet to your laptop as a second screen with the Mountie+

A couple of years ago, Julie told us about the Mountie clip from Ten One Design that connects a phone or tablet to your laptop screen for use as a second monitor.  Ten One Design now offers the Mountie+, which is bigger and sturdier and designed for use with larger-format tablets.  The Mountie+ clip works with all tablets 5.0mm to 9.0mm thick, and it will work with all laptops and with tablets as big as the 12.9″ iPad Pro.  Mountie+ has two grip units with a 2.6X increase in front grip surface area and gripping strength compared to the original Mountie with its single grip unit.  There’s a charging cord pass through that keeps the cord hidden behind the laptop’s screen.  The Mountie+ is $34.95, or you can get a set with a Mountie+ and an original Mountie for $49.95 at Ten One Design and Amazon.