Travel Gear

Reviews July 17, 2013

Lowepro DryZone Duffle 20L Review – For the Adventure Photographer in You

A regular old camera bag is fine for regular old photography, but what if you are headed out on an adventure? What if you are taking your camera and gear somewhere where there is water, ice and other environmental hazards just waiting to claim your camera’s last shot? That’s where Lowepro’s new DryZone line of camera bags comes in. The DryZone line consists of the DryZone Backpack 40L, The DryZone Duffle 20L and the DryZone 200. And while the Backpack 40L and Duffle 20L are IPX6-rated the Backpack 40L ups the game and offers an IPX7 rating making it “the world’s…

Reviews July 12, 2013

Tenba Discovery Photo/Tablet Daypack Mini Review

If you’re looking for a thin and light camera backpack that not only protects your gear, but also has enough room to let you carry your tablet or 11″ MacBook air, then you’ll want to check out the Tenba Discovery Mini Photo/Tablet Daypack. The Discovery Mini Photo/Tablet Daypack is a great way to take your camera gear on the road for the day but it also converts into a standard backpack in a matter of seconds. That flexibility, combined with the bag’s subtle but effective design and $109.95 pricetag combine to make a compelling way to carry your small DSLR…

Reviews July 11, 2013

Lowepro Transit Backpack 350 AW Review – Take Your Gear and GO!

Lowepro describes their Transit Backpack 350AW as “Designed to adapt to your carrying needs, this discreet camera backpack gives you fast access with no compromises.”. The backpack has an MSRP of just $119.99 and it packs in all of Lowepro’s best features. Let’s take a look at it on video, and I’ll then run down the specifics of this backpack to help you determine if this is the best camera backpack for your needs. Specifications: The bag is made from 600 D polyester, 300D honeycomb polyester and nylon webbing. It weighs just 2.4 pounds, and it has an interior camera…

News & Features July 8, 2013

Skooba Design Introduces New Mini Checkpoint-Friendly Bag for Subcompact Laptops

If you travel a great deal, then you know that small things can make a huge difference during a journey. For example, getting through security quickly can mean the difference between starting a trip stressed out or feeling relatively relaxed. That’s where Checkpoint-Friendly bags come in handy. These bags allow you to move through the security screening without having to go through the hassle of pulling your laptop out of your bag and laying it in a separate bin. And while remove-screen-replace may not SOUND like a big deal, each item with which you need to deal during the chaos…

Reviews July 7, 2013

Timbuk2 Aviator Travel Backpack Review – Your New Travel Companion

The Timbuk2 Aviator Travel Backpack is a serious backpack for people on the go. It has an MSRP of $179, and it is made with the fit, finish and design Timbuk2 is known for. This isn’t a travel backpack for someone looking for a simple casual bag, but rather it’s for someone who is planning on doing some serious trekking around the world — someone who needs a great and flexible way to both carry and protect their gear. Let’s take a look. The Timbuk2 Aviator Travel Backpack takes two different forms — a backpack and a carryon — and…

News & Features July 4, 2013

Wilson Electronics’ 21st Century Tech Survival Kit

Wilson Electronics recently featured their electronic/technology products in a specially packaged “21st Century Survival Kit”. Gear Diary has tried Wilson Electronic products before, especially in emergency situations, and I recently tried out the six items in this well-chosen package – a great guide as you shape your own emergency tech kit. This 21st Century Survival Kit considers communication and sustenance ranging from minor snafus to major disasters to help yourself and others while communicating vital information to first responders. “We began thinking about what has changed in technology and society, and how that would affect what we would want to…

News & Features July 3, 2013

NHTSA Release New Traffic Safety Facebook Game

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants you to stay safe this holiday weekend and looks to reach a wide audience with their traffic safety messages through their new Memory-type game “Buzzed. Busted. Broke.” now on Facebook. Players choose a difficulty (easy, medium, or hard), then click panels on a board to match pairs and win. The game is a new twist on the familiar photo match game — except in this version, all the images are related to buzzed driving, which gets players thinking about possible scenarios involving alcohol intoxication and drunk driving. THe NHTSA collaborated with Play…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear June 28, 2013

Cobra iRadar ATOM Radar Detector Review- A Small Package With Big Protection

Last October I reviewed the Cobra iRadar iOS 200 radar detector. This system is a combination of an iRadar application and accompanying hardware. It is an interesting solution in that the radar detector itself works quite well on its own but becomes far more powerful when paired with and connected to a mobile device. It obviously impressed me since I continue to use it on a daily basis. (You can read the full review here.) Now the company has come out with the next generation of the hardware/app combination. The iRadar ATOM radar detector is smaller and more powerful. Let’s…

News & Features June 19, 2013

Why Settle for a Stationary Hot Tub When You Can Set Sail with the HotTug?

Hot tubs. A lot of people seem to really like them. Hot tubs are great for relaxing and letting the troubles of the day melt away, but they have one big drawback: they are immobile. That means while you are relaxing in your hot tub and looking around, you will be looking at the same scenery time and time again. Seems to me that might get boring after a while. Why settle for locational ennui, when some clever designers in the Netherlands have developed a way to enjoy your hot tub AND get new vistas each and every time? Introducing…

Reviews June 14, 2013

Get the Most from Your iPhone With the Mophie Juice Pack Plus

Get an extra 120% battery with the mophie juice pack plus When the iPhone 5 arrived, it was a welcome change. After two years using the iPhone 4’s design, the iPhone 5 was both new and familiar at the same time. The new phone was thinner, longer and lighter. It also sported the new Lightning connector. Unfortunately, the new design meant that any accessories that were “form-fitting” and either wrapped around the phone or relied upon the now-obsolete 30-pin connector were of no use. Among the accessories that were now unusable were docks with a 30-pin connection (unless an adapter…

Reviews June 3, 2013

The Lifesaver Filtered Water Bottle Review

There are a few basic necessities that all humans need to survive: Food, Water, and Shelter. Shelter can be built by people with materials one finds throughout the world; wood, stone, sand, clay are all examples of items that can be found in nature in order to build and provide shelter for humans. Food can also be found by either scavenging or hunting and there are simple ways to prepare food with fire. However, clean, drinkable water can be extremely difficult to find and there are no real fool proof ways to ensure that one can remove all bacteria, viruses,…

Reviews May 25, 2013

Think Tank Photo Mirrorless Mover 30i Review

Think Tank Photos Mirrorless Mover line of bags is a great way to carry and protect your mirrorless camera. The line is “scaled to fit today’s compact, mirrorless cameras, this collection of bags offers the same top quality materials and craftsmanship that Think Tank is known for. “The Mirrorless Mover 30i is also the first accessory I am getting to review for it.

Events, Travel, Vehicles & Gear May 22, 2013

2014 Kia Cadenza Stylishly Conquers the Pacific Coast

Last week I was invited to test drive the 2014 Kia Cadenza along with a small group of other bloggers and auto journalists. The location Kia chose couldn’t have been more beautiful; we arrived in San Diego on Wednesday afternoon and took a short ride 20 miles north to Del Mar, an oceanside resort town. We stayed at the L’Auberge Del Mar, a 120 room boutique hotel on a hill overlooking the ocean. Our views were spectacular. I heard repeated apologies from Southern Californians for the “May Gray” (overcast skies) we were experiencing, which made me laugh; I was steps from…

Reviews May 18, 2013

Geneva Sound System Model XS Review

Geneva Sound markets the Geneva Sound System Model XS as “the world’s first portable audio system with true Hi-Fi sound”. That’s a pretty daring claim to make and one that can easily be dismissed as a good bit of hyperbole. Does this Bluetooth speaker whose design is inspired by the classic travel clock, truly sound like something much bigger and more expensive? We couldn’t wait to get out hands on one and find out. We did get one for review, and were immediately impressed by the sturdy leather-like clamshell case. It really does look like the travel alarm clocks of…

News & Features May 16, 2013

Timbuk2 Aviator Travel Backpack

Timbuk2 has a brand new bag that is ready to go with you on your next adventure. The Timbuk2 Aviator Travel Backpack is a soft sided bag and backpack in one. Carry it like a suitcase, or wear it like a backpack — the choice is yours. And because the Aviator Travel Backpack comes from Timbuk2, you know it works well when serving either purpose! The bag/pack weighs just 4.4 pounds empty, and it offers a whopping 28.5L capacity. The Timbuk2 Aviator Travel Backpack features a laptop pocket that fits up to a 17” MacBook Pro and quickly and easily converts from a…

Reviews May 12, 2013

The ContourRoam2 HD Action Video Camera Lets You Capture Life On the Go

When it comes to HD action cameras there are a few key “musts” the device needs to have if you are going to take it seriously. It has to be tough. After all, action cameras need to endure bumps, bruises, vibration and moisture. It has to be mountable, since an action camera that can only sit on a tripod is called… a camera. It has to be simple to use, since having to stop in the middle of an activity to turn the camera on or off defeats the purpose. And, of course, it needs to take good quality video…

Reviews May 9, 2013

Harman Kardon NC Noise-Cancelling Headphones Review

When shopping for a pair of headphones, it seems that things keep getting harder and harder. After all, in the battle for your ears there are an ever-growing number of headphones vying for attention. Admittedly we haven’t done much of anything to make the task any easier. After all, in just the past few months we’ve reviewed headphones from Phiaton, Monster, AKG and many more. Worse- or better- yet, pretty much all the headphones we have reviewed recently impressed us enough that we would recommend them to a family member looking for some new cans. Is there room for another pair…

Reviews May 3, 2013

Travel HoodiePillow Hooded Travel Pillow Review

Welcome to part two of my two-part hooded pillow review humiliation. In Part One I came clean and related that, while still watching the good folks from HoodiePillow make their pitch on SharkTank, I ordered a hooded pillow case from them. The HoodiePillow is a quality pillowcase made from sweatshirt material. What makes this pillow case special is that, as the name indicates, it has a hoodie built right into it. And as if that wasn’t enough, the HoodiePillow also has drawstrings, a pocket for your phone or mp3 player and a cable pass-through so the headphones can run from…

News & Features April 29, 2013

3 to 5 Hours of Streamed Music from the MiPow Boom mini? Not Even Close!

We brought an exclusive first look at the MiPow Boom mini (read the post), and then we shared the first ever review of the diminutive new speaker coming from MiPow. As you might recall, Judie and I met with MiPow in January when they were showing off their newest offerings at CES 2013. We were impressed by the company and its products and were glad that the company, unknown in the US but widely popular internationally, was finally bringing their products State-side. Here’s our unboxing of the MiPow Boom mini. So here’s the thing, the MiPow Boom mini sounds great,…

Reviews April 25, 2013

Rokform Rokshield v3 and v3 Suction Mount for iPhone 5 Review

Some weeks ago, I had the opportunity to review the Rokform Rokshield v3 for iPhone 5 (read the review). The case itself offers nice protection, but that wasn’t what stood out for me. No, what stood out when I reviewed the case at the time was the numerous possibilities a case like this afforded any iPhone user. Why is that so? Simple, the Rokform Rokshield v3 for iPhone 5 is more a system than it is a case. The Rokform Rokshield v3 for iPhone 5 is a hard case, but it also ships with a rubber bumper that wraps around it…

Reviews April 21, 2013

Phiaton PS 210 BTNC Noise Canceling Headphones Review

I had the opportunity to look at a number of different headphones from Phiaton in recent months. The first pair of Phiaton headphones I reviewed were the Phiaton’s PS 20 BT Stereo Headset. (Read the review.) These wireless bluetooth headphones were incredibly comfortable and sounded great. I found the control module to be a bit awkward. It’s round and the buttons were rather difficult to access times. I also didn’t love the fact that you couldn’t use your own earbuds but, thankfully, the earbuds that came with the PS 20 BT Stereo Headset were comfortable and sounded great. Here’s what I…

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