The warmest wools are: qiviut (musk ox down), yak wool and bison wool.

Merino and alpaca wool are also very warm fibers. See my previous article for a closer examination different types of wool.

Listed below are the warmest socks I’ve tested:

Warmest Boot Socks

• 50% Bison and 50% Merino Boot Socks by Buffalo Wool Company — a very warm sock with full terry loop knitting — $45
• Icebreaker Mountaineer Socks — 79% Merino Wool, 20% Nylon, 1% LYCRA Spandex — $21
• Smartwool Merino Wool Heavy Cushioned Socks — 70% Merino Wool, 29% Nylon, and 1% Elastane — $22
• Time May Tell Merino Hiking Sock — 80% merino wool, 14% Nylon, 5% Poly, 1% Spandex — $15
• Darn Tough Boot Socks — 64% Merino Wool, 33% Nylon, 3% Lycra Spandex — $25
• Wayfarer Sock by Khunu — 56% yak wool, 34.5% nylon, 9.5% Elastane — £22 ($28)
• 78% Alpaca Socks by Williamston Alpaca — 78% Alpaca, 20% Nylon, 2% Lycra — made in the USA — $22

Warmest Crew Hiking Socks

• Icebreaker Everday Crew Sock — 79% Merino Wool, 20% Nylon, 1% Spandex — $20
• Fox River Trailhead Heavyweight Crew Sock — 77% merino wool — $17
• 100% Cashmere Socks by Lona Scott – very soft and warm — made in Scotland – $40
• 100% Alpaca Wool Socks by Gamboa — $20

The post The Warmest Wool Socks appeared first on Reactual.

Almost every professional Christmas light installer uses conical LEDs for their displays. Conical LEDs are waterproof and snowproof because the LED is injected molded into the plastic cordage. Conical LEDs are also 25% brighter than an incandescent indoor Christmas light. The brightness comes from the intensity of the LEDs and the magnification of the conical lens.

The Details On Conical LED Lights

Overall, LED lights are a great choice for Christmas because the lights almost never fail, and they are impervious to freezing temperatures. They are also much more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs. For this reason you can string up to 40 sets of LEDs together, and plug them into a normal electrical socket.

Conical LEDs are not recommended for indoor use due to their intensity (M5 or C6 LEDs are a better choice inside).

Conical 5mm LEDs are available from Amazon.

The post The Brightest and Most Durable Christmas Lights appeared first on Reactual.

Schott Zwiesel Glassware

Schott Zwiesel is a German company known for glassware innovation since 1872. They create break-resistant, chip-resistant, and scratch-resistant stemware. The crystal glass has added titanium for strength and zirconium for crystal clarity, making it dishwasher safe.

I have their glassware at home — the pieces are versatile and can be used daily, yet they are elegant enough to use on special occasions. They are slightly expensive, but the investment is worth it.

Schott Zwiesel is available on Amazon.

Duralex Picardie Tumblers

Duralex has been manufacturing tempered glassware in France since 1929. Their Picardie Tumblers are known for lasting decades — they will bounce several times when dropped on the floor and survive without a crack. The tumblers can also withstand a sudden thermal shock — the temperate glass can go from -4° F to 212° F without breaking. This means they can be used to drink hot beverages. Duralex glasses are also lighter and more elegant than similar tempered glass products.

Duralex went into court-ordered liquidation bankruptcy in 2006 but has since partnered with Emile Henry, an old French manufacturer of cooking ware, to return to production.

Duralex doesn’t offer any product warranty beyond a 21-day return policy. However, we found no tempered glass tumblers with an extended warranty.

Durlaex Tumblers are available from Amazon for about $18 for a set of six.

Fortessa Fortaluxe Vitrified Dinnerware

Fortessa is a dinnerware company line created by the German company Schott Zwiesel. Fortessa specializes in vitrified china dinnerware. The china is reinforced with alumina or magnesium oxide for durability and thermal shock resistance. The dinnerware is called Fortaluxe SuperWhite, and it is used in many restaurants around the world and is reasonably priced.

You can find Fortessa dinnerware on Amazon.

Pyrex Bowls

Pyrex is another brand of tempered glass products renowned for their durability. The Pyrex brand was introduced by Corning Incorporated in 1915. Today, Pyrex is owned by World Kitchen and Pyrex glass products are manufactured in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. Recently, there have been rumors circulating about Pyrex products. The rumors suggest that Pyrex products are made with inferior materials, prone to breakage, and manufactured in China. However, this lengthy article on the myth-busting website Snopes.Com, concludes that the rumors are false. Here is an excerpt from the article:

While it is literally true that the material used in manufacturing Pyrex brand glass bakeware has changed from borosilicate glass to soda lime glass, the brand’s current owner, World Kitchen, claims that changeover began back in the 1940s and long antedates Corning’s 1998 sale of the brand, stating that “The Charleroi [Pennsylvania] plant has produced PYREX glass products out of a heat-strengthened (tempered) soda lime glass for about 60 years, first by our predecessor Corning Incorporated, and since 1998 by World Kitchen. In fact, since the 1980’s, most, if not all consumer glass bakeware manufactured in the U.S. for consumers has been made of soda lime glass. Consumers should know that soda lime glass, such as that used to make PYREX glass bakeware, is significantly more resistant to breaking on impact than borosilicate glass and comparably resistant to breakage caused by severe temperature changes.”

World Kitchen itself states that it has received complaints from only “a very small number of consumers” about unexpected breakage. It notes that the Consumer Safety Product Commission has found no safety issue with Pyrex glass bakeware.

Pyrex Bowls are available from Amazon.

Le Creuset French Ovens

Le Creuset has been producing handcrafted French Ovens in their foundry in Northern France since 1925. Their cookware is made with enameled cast iron and is known for lasting decades. The Le Creuset foundry uses standard sand-casting methods to produce its cookware. After hand finishing, items are sprayed with two coats of enamel, and each is fired at 800 °C. The enamel becomes resistant to damage during regular use.

Le Creuset cookware has a lifetime warranty that the products are free from defects in material and workmanship.

If you want an equivalent American-made product, see Lodge Dutch Ovens. We choose to feature the Le Creuset French ovens because, based on our research, they have an edge in quality.

Le Creuset French Ovens are available from Amazon for about $235.

The post A List Of Break-Resistent Glassware and Dinnerware appeared first on Reactual.

The Details

Ultraviolet light is the preferred light source of TV crime scene investigators on the hunt for body fluids. Distinguished by its trademark purple glow, it has a wavelength that is shorter than visible light but longer than X-rays, in the range of 10 nanometers to 400 nanometers. It is useful to make fluorescent substances glow that can’t otherwise be seen by the naked eye. Portable UV light used to be too unwieldy and expensive for consumer purposes, but that all changed after ultraviolet light emitting LEDs were introduced in 2006. They are now widely available in flashlight form.

These flashlights are most often used to detect fraudulent documents such as fake IDs, see watermarks, read invisible ink or investigate crime scenes. They can also be used to “fluoresce” scorpions and certain types of minerals, and charge “glow-in-the-dark” object like fishing lures. Use them to protect your businesses from counterfeit money and your home from pointy tailed pests.

Gallium Indium Nitride UV Flashlight

This Gallium Indium Nitride UV flashlight gets great ratings from Amazon buyers, so we thought we’d include it here. Reviewers were impressed by the flashlight’s durability, and the fact that it emits 365 nm UV light, which is at the very edge of our visible range. The light from this flashlight appears as a dim purple-blue to the eye, but when it shines on items that fluoresce they light up brightly.

It uses three AAA batteries — we recommend using low self-discharge AAA rechargeable batteries like Eneloop Pros in this flashlight.

The post The Best Ultraviolet LED Flashlights appeared first on Reactual.

The world’s thinnest tablet in the “mini” category, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, runs Android 5.0 (Lollipop) OS and has a 2048 x 1536 screen resolution. Its Quad 1.9GHz Intel processor and 32 GB Flash Memory makes it a capable machine for browsing the internet and for running apps from the Google Play Store.

The AMOLED display delivers the vibrant, lifelike colors with deep contrast and rich display that consumers have come to expect from Samsung’s flagship line of portable electronics. The Galaxy S2’s rear-facing 8-megapixel camera takes reasonably good pictures, although your phone likely has a better camera. Its battery life also leaves something to be desired. The battery lasts six hours on average.

The Galaxy’s most attractive feature is, of course, its svelte figure. At .22,” it is even thinner than the iPad Air 2. Other perks such as Samsung’s exclusive Smart Switch software and fingerprint scanning round out the tablet.

Samsung also offers a 9.7” edition of the Galaxy Tab S2.

The Thinnest Tablet Running Windows: Toshiba dynaPad

While the Android OS is fine for entertainment purposes, you will want a tablet with Windows OS if you intend to do serious work on your tablet. Think of the Galaxy Tab as an over-sized smartphone and of the dynaPad as an undersized laptop.

The dynaPad packs much more impressive hardware in its extra .05” of thickness. It runs the powerful Intel Atom CPU and has 4GB of RAM and 65GB of internal storage. Engadget writes:

“The 1.28-pound tablet feels at once luxuriously light and reassuringly well-built. The secret ingredient is a carbon fiber frame that’s coated in a soft, rubbery paint that makes the device easier to grip than a big-screen tablet ought to be. It also helps that the device has a mix of rounded corners and flat, slightly chamfered edges.”

It has Gorilla glass screen, which is resistant to scratches and cracks, and a sturdy carbon-fiber frame. The dynaPad’s durability is a great asset for an ultrathin tablet, because it doesn’t require a bulky case for protection.

The dynaPad is now available for pre-order and will be sold online and in Windows stores later this month.

The post The Thinnest Tablet appeared first on Reactual.

• Tusa Freedom HD
• Atomic Frameless 2

A scuba trip can take you to the  tranquil waters of a Caribbean cove or to the murky depths of the Scottish aisles. But no matter the environment, you will need a quality scuba mask to take in your surroundings. Cheap masks fog up or obstruct your view with a narrow field of vision and low-quality tinted glass. When choosing a scuba mask, only comfort matters more than visibility.

There are two main styles of scuba mask: multi-lens and single-lens. Multi-lens masks have two separate lenses divided by a nose bridge. They are easier to clear and can be outfitted with corrective lenses, but have a narrower field of view. Therefore, single lenses tend to offer better visibility.

Best Overall Scuba Mask for Visibility: Tusa M1001 FREEDOM HD

The M1001 Freedom HD is a framed single lens mask with an incredible field of view: 6 inches across and 3 inches from top to bottom. The immense lens provides panoramic near uninterrupted viewing, with some divers stating that they can’t even see the top of the mask. Its wide field of view earned the top score in Scuba Diving magazine’s 2016 best mask round up.

Because of its large circumference, the Tusa Freedom HD is ideal for people with large heads and big noses. Usually, the big-nosed will have to settle for a two-lens option to comfortably fit their face. The mask also has 180 degree adjustable buckles that bend outward and inward to fit your face and help for storage.

The mask is quality made and the supple silicon clings effortlessly to your face. The skirt has dimples that soften the silicon and molds to the face, decreasing the chance of a leak. It also has stability ridges that hold the mask skirt in shape as you descend.

After the normal treatment (a rubdown on the lens with abrasive toothpaste) there are no problems with fog.

Best Frameless Scuba Mask For Visibility: Atomic Frameless 2

Frameless single lens scuba masks offer unobstructed panoramic view for unmatched visibility. The Atomic Frameless 2 is among the best frameless masks currently on the market, popular among divers for its thoughtful design and luscious comfort.

The mask earns top marks in visibility for two reasons. First, the lens is constructed with a glass designed to maximize optical quality without color distortion. Most scuba masks have a green tint as a result of iron impurities. This green tint distorts light transmission and blocks true colors, a bummer when you are trying to take in the majestic panorama of exotic fish and flora. Atomic uses “ULTRACLEAR Lenses,” which offer clear and distortion free view.  This allows 99% light transfer, which makes a world of difference underwater when compared to cheap green view.

The second reason that this scuba mask is great for visibility is its wide design. Like the Freedom HD, this mask is extra-wide for a panoramic view. While not as wide on top, it still surpasses most low volume masks with a wide field of vision.

In addition to visibility, this is a real comfortable mask to wear. It uses high quality super soft silicone which seals effortlessly to your face. In fact, the whole mask is made of high quality materials for high durability and resistance to accident.  Atomic also offers the mask in three sizes, so you should be able to find one that fits your face.

The post The Best Scuba Masks For Visibility appeared first on Reactual.

The Details

Projectors are replacing traditional televisions in more and more houses across the country. Why? A few factors account for this trend. The days of wire clusters and ultra bulky projectors is fading into distant memory. The newest projectors are equipped with a slew of wireless connectivity options, making them viable competitors of smart TVs.

But the real reason is that projectors provide an equally vivid and high definition image as TVs on a larger screen at a fraction of the price. You can get a 100 inch image on a 1080p full HD projector for less than a $1000. If you can even find a TV that size it will cost well into the thousands.

But not all 1080p projectors are made the same. Contrast ratio, lumen count (measure of brightness), and refresh rate all factor in to viewing experience. Finally, consider the size of your projection screen and the amount of space in your room. Ultra short throw projectors can cast a full HD image from inches away from the wall, but sacrifice brightness and contrast ratio.

Finally, rest assured that 1080p (1920 x 1080 native resolution) doesn’t suffer any signficant loss in picture quality over the much pricier 4k resolution projectors if your screen is going to be 100 inches or less. If you plan on going larger and have deep pockets, then 4k models might be worth a look.

Best 1080p Projector For Bright Rooms: Epson Home Cinema 1440

The Epson Home Cinema 1440 1080p definitively lays the misconception that projectors need cave-like darkness to rival LCDTV contrast to rest. That’s not the case with this  thing. Far from it. It has a staggering 4400 lumens and uses 3LCD projectors to create vibrantly colored Full HD 1080p with rich contrast. Want to watch a 2pm NFL game on a 100 inch screen? Done. Want to watch Netflix while your spouse prepares dinner in the next room? They can leave the lights on, it’s won’t interrupt your viewing.

But the Home Cinema 1440 can cast in True HD up to 300 inches, making it a great option for both home theaters and outdoor movie nights for a larger audience. Sure, if you want to get up to the full 300″ potential of this beast you will need the darkness, but it works even if there is ambient light from the odd streetlight or neon sign flickering nearby.

Besides its blinding brightness, the Epson 1440 really excels in image quality. It offers 3x Higher Color Brightness than other projectors in its class, casting vivid images worthy of the movie theater. Convenient color mode optimizes color, turning animated movies into a feast of bright hues and dramas into sharp shades of dark.

The 1440 is an MHL device, allowing easy connectivity for Roku and Chromecast streaming. It lacks Bluetooth functionality, which is a major knock against it if you rely on it. The other major downside is that it lacks lens shift, which means you have to place the projector dead center from where you want the image cast. It does include keystone correction, although it is not the most intuitive keystone alignment out there.

The Best Short Throw 1080p Projector: Optoma EH200ST

The Optoma EH200ST shines even in rooms that are both cramped and well-lit. This short throw projector calls on 3000 lumens to cast a 100 inch image from just 3.5 feet, making it ideal for big city apartments that just never seem to get as dark as you want.

For less than $1000 you get a powerful true-to-life colors and crystal clear full HD graphics. Unlike other 1080p projectors that falter on dark blacks, the EH200ST has a 20,000:1 contrast ratio, bringing low-light images and text onto your screen in crisp resolution. And with all digital connectivity, the EH300ST has a low latency and fast response time, making it ideal projector for gaming.

The projector can cast a 100 inch image from just 3.5 feet away, 200 inch image from 7.3 feet away, and 300 inch from 20 feet away. Get 3D image at any distance and connect your wireless devices via MHL.

The post The Best 1080p Projectors appeared first on Reactual.

The Details

Projectors have moved out of the movie theater and into your apartment living room. Once the domain of houses with large media rooms, the new generation of short throw and ultra short throw projectors only need a few feet (or in some cases inches) to cast true HD image of up to 100 inches. Short throw projectors also include a host of wireless options and functionalities, making them an ideal way to eliminate claustrophobia-inducing clutter in small spaces.

So what do you need to know before you invest in a short throw projector? First, consider your needs. If you are really tight on space (say, living in a studio apartment in Tokyo or NYC) go with an ultra short throw projector. These devices can cast an image the size of widescreen TV from half a foot and a full 100 inches from just 2 feet away.

This is a niche category without too many options yet, and it lags behind other classes of projector in terms of lumen count, which determines image brightness. Black out curtains reduce ambient light and can make them a viable option for most apartment owners.

Short throw projectors deliver more value, but usually require at least 3 feet to obtain full image size. They are brighter and more affordable, but do take up more space.

Best Overall Ultra Short Throw Projector: LG PF1000U

This recent offering from LG is the first quality ultra short throw projector that is at a price point affordable to most consumers. While it isn’t as bright as most standard home theater projectors, the PF1000U shines with a great design that can turn any reasonably dark room into a home theater.

Let’s start with the biggest strength of this projector: you can put it anywhere. It is about the size of a large shoe box and weighs less than 5 lbs. Just connect it to the power source and it is ready to go. It casts a 100″ screen when placed 15″ away from the wall. Move it as close as 5″ from the wall to get a 60 inch screen.

The PF1000U comes with an internal speaker, which is nice to have if you are in between sound systems, but you’ll want to sync up speakers via Bluetooth. It does have smart functionality, so expect access to the usual streaming suspects like Netflix and Hulu. There isn’t an app store, though, so you should get a Roku. Otherwise connect via Bluetooth, DLNA, Miracast, WiDi or through one of the 2 HDMI ports.

So how about picture quality and brightness? The PF1000U bright at 1000 lumens, but not as bright as standard home theater projectors at a similar pricepoint. Still, you don’t need a short throw projector to reach the same lumen count because it is less affected by ambient light at the short distance. The bulb lasts an impressive 30,000 hours.

It reaches 1920 x 1080 full HD at 100″ with a contrast ratio of 150,000:1. The LED bulb excels at delivering sharp, vivid colors. It falters on darker hues, so Game of Thrones and horror movies look a little washed out on dark scenes. The other major complaint is that the fan runs on the loud side. It’s not loud enough to be an issue for most people, but if you demand whisper quiet performance from your technology you will be irked by this.

Best Short Throw Projector: Optoma EH200ST

If your room is small and not particularly dark, you’ll do well with the  Optoma EH200ST. This short throw projector can cast a 100″ image from 3.5 feet away and delivers a bright 3000 lumens.

The DLP short-throw lens delivers ideal white and black contrast with a high native contrast ratio of 20,000: 1. It also performs well with colors. The EH200ST comes with BrilliantColor Technology which offers 6-color processing to create vibrant colors on the screen. It has full HD at 1080p and VESA 3D capability.

The EH200ST is a little bulkier than LG’s short-throw offering, but with dimensions of 4 x 12.4 x 8.8 you can still tuck it away in small rooms. You connect your devices via wireless connectivity, which works with laptops, smart phones, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles, and many other digital devices. Back ports include a USB mini-B, 2 HDMI ports, or a 12V out.

The post The Best Projectors for Small Rooms (Ultra Short Throw Projectors) appeared first on Reactual.