Misc Gear

The Anova Precision Cooker is the Harbinger of the Sous-Vide Revolution

The Anova Precision Cooker is, in essence, a high-quality consumer-grade sous-vide water circulator. It is dipped into your own cooking vessel and it heats and circulates the water to a very precise temperature, gently cooking whatever is placed in the water bath. It features WiFi and Bluetooth connections for simple control via iPhone and sells for $199.



The Vapir Prima Vaporizer Review: An Awesome Little Package

WARNING: The products discussed may contain or use nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical; in many cities and a few states, you must be 21 to purchase vaping products or products containing nicotine. Please familiarize yourself with and obey the law in your location. I’ve only reviewed a few dry herb vaporizers, but I have a strong sense of what works for me and what doesn’t. As I’ve mentioned before, I like to vape a mixture of 12 Aromatic Dry Blends that produce a calming effect — specifically a combo of damiana and lavender.


Hautllybox Is a Great Last Minute Gift that Makes a Difference

If you are down to the wire with your gift giving you might want to consider giving a subscription to Hautllybox. The subscription gives three pieces of jewelry per month, either men’s or women’s, and the company makes a donation each time. Let’s look at what my $39 sample box included and what the process looks like. We created Hautllybox to give you access to some of the best jewelry & other accessory designs at an incredibly affordable monthly rate. Each carefully curated piece is selected to bring JOY when you wear them. Once a month you will discover luxurious designs arriving…


Just for Procrastinators: Some Last Minute Holiday Gifts

Somehow — in between travel, office parties, and life — the holidays have snuck up on you, and you’ve no time left to purchase a gift. That’s okay, thanks to the internet and its own special brand of instant gratification, we’ve got you covered. Every one of these last-minute gifts can be sent via email, and each is awesome.


Synology Adds Two New Exciting Products to Their NAS and NVR Lineups

Synology, one of my favorite NAS manufacturers, has announced two new additions to their product lineup. The DS216 NAS targets small workgroups and offices, featuring 111.18 MB/s read, 112.79 MB/s write. The NVR216 Network Video Recorder targets offices and retail spots where space is at a premium and features a dedicated 1080p output and supports up to 9 IP cameras.


Get a Real Minimalistic Wallet Courtesy of Wocket

To start out this review, let me just say: I’ve wasted a LOT of time trying out minimalistic wallets, and “combination cards” (ahem.. COIN) that simply didn’t understand what I wanted when it came to consolidating all of my cards/information. But the Wocket Wallet is the CLOSEST I’ve come to something perfect. The Wocket Wallet is the wallet that actually blends technology, sophistication, leather, and credit cards all in one. They sent me over their wallet to review, and I’ve been doing just that for the past month or so, and I can actually be the one to say this…


The Monowear Silver Ceramic Apple Watch Strap: Unexpected Femininity

Most of the bands I’ve tried on my Apple Watch have been leather or sportier rubber styles. I’ve stayed away from the metal bands because they either looked too fussy, clunky, or masculine. The Monowear Silver Ceramic Strap is a lovely change of pace; it’s a feminine metal and ceramic combo that elevates the 38 or 42mm watch’s appearance.


Beddit Smart Sleep Tracker is a Sleepaholic’s Dream Come True

Beddit is a completely unobtrusive sleep-tracking device that’s installed under your bed sheet and gives you a sleep score in the morning. Beddit measures your total sleep time, respiration rate, heart rate, time to fall asleep, and more. When you wake up in the morning, Beddit gives you a detailed overview of your night’s sleep. Beddit is available for $149.


The Oral-B Black 7000 Bluetooth Toothbrush Review: One Smart Brush!

Are you still using a manual toothbrush? I did for years until I found out that I was over-brushing to the point that I needed a gum transplant on the left side of my mouth. Gross, right? I’d brushed my gums so hard that they had prematurely receded! How did I correct my bad habit? By using an electric toothbrush.


Boogie Board Play n’ Trace eWriter for Kids is my #1 Holiday Gift Winner

The Play n’ Trace eWriter is a fantastic use of Boogie Board’s existing LCD writing technology, now targeting improvement in children’s learning and development. With this transparent eWriter, children can practice writing, drawing shapes, sketching freehand, and more. With the included tracing templates and companion iPad app, there is no end to creativity! Play n’ Trace sells for $29.99.


Holiday Gift Ideas for Photographers

One of my tech oriented hobbies is photography. I almost always have at least one other camera with me be it my Nikon D3300, a point and shoot or a Kodak ZI8 video camera. So other than a camera, here’s a list of ideas for that photog on your list.



TRNDlabs Is Offering 20% off Everything Black Friday through Cyber Monday!

TRNDlabs, the guys who brought you the SYEYE Mini Drone and other cool gadgets, are having a 20% off sale site-wide in celebration of Black Friday!  You can finally pick up that limited edition black SYEYE Nano Drone, or even the new SKEYE Hexa Drone, which Gear Diary will be reviewing shortly. Be sure to shop TRNDlabs Friday though Monday!






Nile Threads Offers a New Path to a Great Night of Sleep

Raina and I went to register for all new bedding. Unfortunately, the sheets we initially picked out were a fortune! Right about that time I was offered the chance to review the initial offering from Nile Threads. They are “a radically transparent bedding company” that charges just $154 for Egyptian cotton bedding that could be as much as $500.


Take off with a Parrot Minidrone! #ad

This is a sponsored post; we received compensation from Parrot, but all opinions are the author’s. I recently had the chance to check out one of the new Parrot MiniDrones. There thirteen “ultra-technological connected robots” in the Parrot MiniDrone lineup and each has something special to offer.


Jungle Gym XT Review: Make Anywhere Your Home Gym!

I’ve been committed to getting in better shape this year. We ended up canceling our gym membership at the start of the summer, and I switched to bodyweight workouts for strength training. There are a few ways to take bodyweight training up a notch, including suspension straps, and Lifeline Fitness sent me their Jungle Gym XT straps to test!