July 2018



3Doodler Brings Out Your Inner Artist and Engineer

Art is not my strong suit. In fact, the last time I did anything remotely artistic prior to my son being born was when I took a mandatory art class my senior year of high school. However, I’ve learned to get creative with stick figure comics, and my game has stepped up dramatically with the 3Doodler I’ve been testing!



The Studebaker SB-450 Vinyl Record Cleaning System

I really like vinyl records. And I mean like, a lot. Most of my extra spending money goes to adding to my collection. I’m not typically a very organized person, but I have several spreadsheets cataloging my records, all sorted in different arrangements. I run a vinyl blog where I review every record I have in order. The only thing keeping me from starting a video review blog is all the headaches I expect from getting flagged on YouTube over copyright issues. But for all the talk of vinyl’s superiority as a medium, it has one weakness: dust.


WITTI Design CANDI Wireless Charger ‘Stands’ Out in the Crowd

With Apple finally jumping on the wireless device charging bandwagon, most of the phone users in the world can now take advantage of this cool inductive charging technology. The Qi wireless standard seems to have become the most popular of these and one of the newest chargers offering this is the CANDI from WITTI Design.


Wolffepack Escape Backpack is Something Special

Every now and then I’ll get a text from Raina that says “Cool. Get and review please?” That’s how we got the CleverPet that Nava continues to love. (Read the review.) And it is what happened with the Wolffepack Escape backpack. Its “expetoSYSTEM” is a “patented orbital trapeze technology [that] frees the bag [allowing it to] swing around.” It’s ingenious.


Mimish Sleep N’ Pack Lets You Carry Bedtime with You Anywhere

Mimish Designs is a company that knows about multitasking. Just take a look at the portfolio of products they have released since coming on the scene in 2013, specializing in household items that double as storage. Now they have released a backpack that converts into a sleeping bag in the Sleep N’ Pack.


2019 Toyota Avalon Leading a New Revolution for Cars

Toyota has just launched the new flagship of its North American fleet in the form of the fifth-generation Avalon mid-premium sedan. Designers and engineers have addressed nearly every aspect for the 2019 model year, but is it enough, especially given these troubled times for sedans?






Kinin Eco Takes Personal Aromatherapy to a Whole New Level

Last year, we looked at the Kinin “personal aromatherapy” pens, which were basically vape pens for essential oils. At the time, they came as sealed, disposable pens, and only three flavors were available. Now Kinin has switched to a rechargeable pod system and expanded to 8 available flavors, so we’re revisiting the whole Kinin system!


Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC Power Pack: Redesigned and Ready to Power

Are you looking for a high-capacity battery pack that can charge your laptop, tablet, DSLR camera, phone, and almost anything else you might carry? Take a look at the redesigned Goal Zero Sherpa 100AC Power Pack. It has two USB Type-C ports, 2 USB Type-A ports, an AC outlet, wireless charging, and it includes all the cables you might need!


AutoworldDavid Turns 20!

A couple of notable anniversaries have come and gone quietly this past season, the first marking 10 years that I have been here at Gear Diary. The second commemorates the 20 years I have been involved in automotive journalism, and what a “ride” it has been.


RolliBot RolliCool COOL 100H Portable AC with Heater Review

My office is a room that was built on the back of our house. The only issue that we ran into when adding it was that there was no affordable way to tie that room into our central heat and air. An effective and convenient solution for situations like mine is the RolliBot RolliCool Cool 100H Portable AC with Heater.


2018 Toyota C-HR Is Distinctively Different

Toyota parked its national headquarters in our backyard a couple of years ago, and in recent weeks they have parked some new vehicles in our test driveway out front. We have written about a few Lexus products already, and now it is Toyota’s turn beginning with the new, distinctively different C-HR.


Belkin ScreenForce TemperedCurve Screen Protection for iPhone X Review

I’m the person who drops their iPhone often — not some simple 1 or 2′ drop, but a hard drop on the corner or face that would shatter a phone’s screen or ding a corner. For drop protection, I keep my phone in a protective case; for the screen, I’m using the Belkin ScreenForce TemperedCurve Screen Protection for iPhone X.


Can You Breathe Your Way to Weight Loss with Lumen?

What if I told you there was a device that you could blow into multiple times a day that could then read your breath and tell you what you need to eat to meet your dietary goals — to effectively hack your metabolism? Sounds crazy, right? Well, that’s what Lumen says it can do.


MEATER Wireless Meat Thermometer Is the #1 Summer BBQ Accessory

The latest high-tech grilling accessory for the summer is here: MEATER, the first wireless smart meat thermometer.  MEATER is a Bluetooth enabled meat probe that you can leave in your meat throughout your cook, allowing you to keep track of your meat’s internal temperature remotely through a mobile phone app.