Nitecore’s latest power bank is the lightest and most compact yet
Nitecore’s latest power bank is the lightest and most compact yet

There’s two things you should know about me, your intrepid reviewer: I hate the feature creep associated with modern power banks, and I love shaving grams off the gear I carry when backpacking, bikepacking, and trail running. So imagine my delight when Nitecore released a new generation of its ultralight NB10000 battery. After a few […]

Forget expensive sleepbuds. Buy this pillow instead
Forget expensive sleepbuds. Buy this pillow instead

Tech companies love to sell us expensive gadgets to solve all of life’s little problems. Sleepbuds sold by the likes of Anker and Ozlo are a good example. These miniature marvels of engineering sit flush in the ear, and allow side-sleepers to doze off listening to podcasts, audiobooks, music, or white noise without annoying their […]

Orchid is a delightfully retro and approachable hipster synth
Orchid is a delightfully retro and approachable hipster synth

In 2017, I bought an old Magnus chord organ off Craigslist for $10. It’s one of my favorite music gear purchases. Electric chord organs let you play full chords with just a press of a button, making them perfect for aspiring singer-songwriters or fooling around at home. But chord organs largely fell out of favor […]

Are you filthy enough for a $700 portable shower? 
Are you filthy enough for a $700 portable shower? 

Hot showers, like electricity, are a luxury that’s easy to take for granted. That all changes after a few nights camping at a music festival, a week toiling at a backcountry job site, or overlanding all summer in the great unknown. An itchy scalp and the vague smell of warm clams suddenly make the idea […]

Fi’s Starlink-enabled pet tracker found my dog when LTE couldn’t
Fi’s Starlink-enabled pet tracker found my dog when LTE couldn’t

Fi Ultra is the first Starlink-enabled pet tracker you can buy. It expands on GPS and LTE trackers, adding automatic failover to T-Mobile’s T-Satellite-branded direct-to-cell service when venturing into cellular dead zones. That lets owners tap into SpaceX’s constellation of low Earth orbit Starlink satellites to track their pets anywhere in the US. But it […]

Qi fan fan
Qi fan fan

Despite my initial skepticism, I’m now sold on wireless Qi chargers that add integrated fans to keep your phone cool while charging. I figured they’d be too loud, or too weak, or too gimmicky, but I’m a convert after spending a week with the new $59.99 Kuxiu D5 Qi2.2 charging dock. Its active cooling system […]

SwitchBot’s Standing Circulator Fan is worth fighting for
SwitchBot’s Standing Circulator Fan is worth fighting for

I can’t remember the last time I got excited about a fan. Normally, I just buy whatever Vornado or Dreo model fits my budget, but that was before I started testing the battery-powered Standing Circulator Fan from SwitchBot. As the name indicates, the SwitchBot fan is a 3D circulator – a fancy way of saying […]

Kaleidescape’s movie player blows streaming, and your wallet, away
Kaleidescape’s movie player blows streaming, and your wallet, away

We’ve lost something in the past 15 years. Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple; they’ve all convinced us that streaming is the best way to watch movies and shows at home. With everything at our fingertips, there’s no need to run to Blockbuster for the weekend’s entertainment, or wait for a DVD rental to arrive in the […]

This portable light is great for way more than camping
This portable light is great for way more than camping

It’s intended for camping, but BougeRV’s T1 light is so versatile that it also makes for a great summer travel companion that’ll continue to light the dark corners of your life long after you return. I used it for a few months during a recent road trip in my camper van, and it’s the light […]

I went to the woods to drink surprisingly great espresso
I went to the woods to drink surprisingly great espresso

With summer’s return, I’m again reminded of my limits as I head into the great outdoors: I can put up with a heavy, uncomfortable backpack, bug bites, mud, and even bland dehydrated food, but I will not forsake my morning brew. I’ve tried every imaginable coffee gadget in my half-century of camping. These range from […]