Best Design: The Z-Bar Mini LED Desk Lamp

The slender Z-Bar High Power LED Desk Lamp features high-tech power-saving LED bulbs in a minimalist frame. With its angular black aluminum housing and unique pivot, it belongs on a Berlin engineer’s desk or in the lobby of an upscale New York architect.

The ingenious design extends beyond aesthetics; this is a seriously bright light that uses very little energy. The Z-Bar’s six daylight white LEDs generate about 240 lumens of light and only expends 9 watts of energy.

If 9 watts is still too much energy usage for your taste, activate the built-in 4-step dimming function to produce a softer light for even less wattage. This feature works incredibly well when you are unwinding prior to bedtime. Lower the light before you fall asleep to adjust your brain to get ready for bed.

The thin circular base is weighted to keep the light from tipping over, and adjustable joints can be placed in almost any position without tightening or loosening knobs or screws, simply move the light to where you need it and the lamp will hold to form.

The Z-Bar is the winner of I.D. Magazine “best of category” award. It is available on Amazon for around $300.

Best Overall: Lumiy Lightblade 1500S

If you find your desk lamp’s brightness underwhelming, buy a Lightblade and let there be light. This is the LED desk lamp for those who want only the brightest crispest replica of perfect natural light. With 1100 lux of brightness and a high CRI, the Lightblade can transform even the dreariest space into a warm and bright zone of productivity.

The Lightblade’s radiant lighting comes from its cool and warm white LED’s for a color rendering index of over 90 CRI. A light’s CRI determines its ability to accurately display an object’s full color. The higher the CRI, the more faithfully the color is displayed as if it would be in natural light. The Lightblade’s high CRI makes it a perfect choice for artists and other professionals who require brilliant vibrant colors.

The lamp has other desirable features, including an omnidirectional pivoting head for better control of the lighting. It also has touch sensors that control brightness and monitor energy expenditure.

The Lumiy Lightblade 1500S is available on Amazon for about $100.

Best Value: TaoTronics Smart LED Desk Lamp

The TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp is perfect for those who want bright light at an affordable price. 30 dollars gets you  410 lumens of power and up to 11 levels of brightness, perfect for any setting. The best feature of this lamp is its versatility. It includes 5 color modes, which function as temperatures that you can adjust depending on your need. The soft uniform light is ideal for reading and doesn’t flicker like other value options, while the natural light is perfect before bed. It also has an incredible lifespan. According to the manufacturer, this lamp is rated to last for 50,000 hours and uses 75% less energy than incandescent lights with similar brightness.

The Smart LED desk lamp also looks elegant.  An adjustable gooseneck gives further control over light positioning and brightness, while the blend of silver metal looks modern and can fit in any room. 

The TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp is available on Amazon for about $30.

Most Customizable: The Softech DL-90 Multi-Function LED Desk Lamp

Softech‘s latest LED desk lamp offers an astounding amount of customization for total brightness control. You decide the lighting mode you want and the DL-90 will conform to your request. The lamp has 27 high-power daylight LEDs with a 90+ CRI that comes extraordinarily close to natural light.

The lamp has four distinct lighting modes and 40 brightness levels in total for total precision. The first two modes are for desk work: a reading mode with mid-range colors (4300K-5300K) that are easy on the eyes, and a study mode which has a high range color temperature (6000K-7000K). The lamp can also be switched to a relaxation mode and a sleep mode — these have softer, warm color temperatures.

This lamp uses 10 watts or less of power to provide light equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent bulb. It lasts about 40,000 hours or 20 years of normal use. An automatic turn-off feature extends lamp life even further.

The Softech DL-90 lamp is available from Amazon for about $70.

Most Versatile: BYB E-430

Clamp-on desk lamps are a great option for those working who need high-quality illumination but are working with limited desk space. The award-winning design of BYB’s E-430 dimmable LED desk lamp delivers energy-efficient lighting from a slender device latched onto the side of your desk. It has a swivel lock socket that tilts in any direction, whether it’s on the desk or not. The adjustable arm is matched by a flexible head and includes built-in dimming strips.

It delivers 4 lighting modes and 6 levels of brightness, ranging from study mode to bedtime mode. We also like that the lamp is rated for 50,000 hours and comes with a 5-year warranty.

The BYB E-430 is available on Amazon for around $110.

Best Smart Design: TaoTronics TT-DL27 Desklamp

Take advantage of four distinct lighting modes with this versatile smart LED desk lamp from TaoTronics. You can set the lamp to sleep mode, study mode, reading mode, or relax mode, each delivering a customized LED distribution designed to satisfy your needs. And if study mode is likely to become sleep mode, you can just activate the 1-hour off timer on the lamp to make sure it shuts off as you drift to sleep.

I also enjoyed that you can swivel, rotate, and bend the head and neck of the lamp to fit your lighting needs. Just tilt the head to activate a wide 62cm2 area of light, enough to illuminate your entire desk area. The metal arm and sturdy base are hallmarks of great construction, making sure the light doesn’t fail on you.

The TaoTronics LED Desklamp is available for around $35.

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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.

Brightest Bike Light: Niterider Pro 3600 Lumen Light

The Niterider 3600 Pro is a 3600 lumen light made in the USA. This light has two chambers, and each chamber contains three Cree XML LED bulbs.

Niterider have a great reputation, and I’ve found their lights to be very durable — they’ve survived a few falls onto pavement from my bike.

This light is very bright and projects a wide beam hundreds of feet. A unique feature of this light is the included DIY software, which allows you to customize the settings it to your needs.

Brightest Bike Light With Built In Battery

Note that the light’s beam is just too bright to use in an urban area, unless you greatly step down the intensity! If you feel you’ll be doing this, you might consider the 1800 Lumen Niterider or the 1200 lumen Niterider.

The post The Brightest Bike Light appeared first on Reactual.

The softest merino shirt I’ve tried is the Outlier Ultrafine T-Shirt. The fiber used in this shirt feels almost buttery to the touch. It has a excellent drape too, due to the use of 17.5 micro merino fibers.

Merino has the ability to draw moisture into the very core of the fiber. This pulls moisture away from your skin. It also allows the fabric to keep breathing if it gets wet. As the temperature cools the natural crimps in the fabric insulate you.

Outlier constructs their shirts in Brooklyn, using merino from New Zealand. The company says this about the wool:

We use a Mackenzie 17.5, 195gsm Merino Jersey who’s name stems from the Mackenzie Basin on New Zealand’s South Island, where the bulk (but not all) of the merino used is sourced. It’s all non-mulesed, farm traceable and certified by AsureQuality. More importantly though the merino is a tight spectrum, low variance, top capped fiber blend. Generally merino micron numbers are generated by averaging a mix of various micron fibers. This means a standard 17.5 micron fabric will actually include much larger fibers in the mix. The Mackenzie blend is tight spectrum and low variance to create a more consistent and precise yarn. More importantly the Mackenzie 17.5 is top capped at 17.5 microns, there are no larger fibers making it a softer and smoother fabric, and in fact the yarns and fabric actually average a number lower than 17.5 micron.

Link: Outlier Ultrafine T-Shirt ($95)

The post The Softest Merino T-Shirt: Outlier Ultrafine appeared first on Reactual.

Yaks are primarily raised by nomadic Tibetan and Mongolian families. Their wool is combed (not shorn) once per year in the springtime when the animals shed their winter coat.

Some advantages of yak wool:

• Yak wool is 66% more breathable and 40% warmer than merino, weight for weight
• Wicks moisture efficiently and allows sweat vapor to escape from your skin, so you won’t overheat or feel clammy
• Naturally anti-bacterial fabric smells fresher longer
• Feels soft like cashmere – and there’s no itch

The major producers of yak wool clothing are: Kora, Khunu and Handcombed.

The post Underrated Fiber Series: Yak Wool appeared first on Reactual.

The best mouse pad is the Artisan Hien mouse pad. This Japanese-made pad has a unique woven surface that allows for very precise mouse movement.

The Details

The mouse pad enthusiasts over at Reddit say that Artisan mouse pads are the best you can buy. What gives these mouse pads their edge is their woven surface. It’s a special polyester which provides a very precise reaction to mouse movements — useful for everyday computing or during game action. The fabric also resists dirt and moisture, and there is a non-slip material on the bottom of the mouse.

Artisan mouse pads come in four different level of friction. Here’s Artisan’s humorously translated description of these levels:

HARD: It is near the taste made of the plastic. However, it is not too hard like plastic.

MID: It is not soft. However, it is not hard. Light gliding and the stopping are good balances.

SOFT: Soft more than usual cloth pad. It stops in sharp. Stopping with rigidity feeling.

XSOFT: It is considerably soft. This flexibility provide the stopping performance on the surface.

Typically, the Soft or Mid levels are good for everyday mousing.

The Artisan Hien mouse pad is available from Amazon for about $20.

The post The Best Mouse Pad 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.

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