• Dell Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme — for outdoor adventures and construction sites
• Update: Dell has released the Latitude 5424 — an updated ruggedized Latitude laptop
• Lenovo Thinkpad 11e — a ruggedized business laptop
• Panasonica Toughbook CF-33 — a ruggedized outdoor laptop

A Laptop For Outdoor and Work Environments: Dell Latitude 14

If you need a laptop that can survive construction sites and industrial environmental hazards, go for the Dell Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme.  It is fortified by a magnesium alloy backbone and is compression-sealed.

The Latitude Rugged Extreme stands up to MIL-STD-810G testing. That means it can withstand Transit drop (72”,60”,48”; single unit; 78 drops), operating drop (36”), blowing rain, blowing dust, blowing sand, vibration, functional shock, humidity, salt fog (optional with rubberized keyboard), altitude, explosive atmosphere, solar radiation, thermal extremes, thermal shock, freeze/thaw, tactical standby to operational.

It has an operating thermal range of -20°F to 145°F and has ANSI/ISA.12.12.01 hazardous location certification, so it can be used in pretty much any environment on earth.

The Dell Latitude 14 Rugged Extreme is available from Amazon.

A Ruggedized Business Laptop: ThinkPad 11e

Lenovo’s Lenovo Thinkpad 11e has carbon-fiber frame lid, magnesium body and stainless steel hinges. The hinges are both flexible and durable, lasting longer than any other on the market. The Thinkpad 11e meets MIL-SPEC standards in 11 categories: high pressure, humidity, vibration, high temperature, temperature shock, low pressure (15,000 ft), low temperature, solar radiation, fungus, salt fog, and dust.

The Thinkpad 11e also features a spill-proof ergonomic keyboard. ThinkPads are renown for their comfortable keyboards, so they are great for extended typing. A backlit keyboard is also available.

Lenovo’s Thinkpad 11e is available from Amazon.

The post The Best Ruggedized Laptop appeared first on Reactual.

• For well water or other problematic water, I recommend Big Berkey drip filters. These filters use a combination of ceramic and carbon block filtration. Overall, they are the least expensive type of filters to maintain.
• If you are only interest in a pitcher filter — this BWT filter will remove most contaminants
• If you are able to spend $1500 to $3000, “whole house” filters are the an inexpensive long terms option. These filters are installed at the pipe where the municipal water pipes enters your home. I recommend the whole house filter by Pure Effect.

The Contaminants You Want To Remove

Typically, you want to remove these contaminants from your water:

• Toxic metals (Lead, Mercury, Aluminium, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, etc.)
• Additives (Chlorine, Chloramines, Fluoride)
• Chlorination By-Products (Trihalomethanes or THMs)
• VOCs and other Organic Compounds (Pesticides, Herbicides, Pharmaceuticals, Fuels)
• Bacteria and viruses (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, etc.)
• Radioactive substances (Radon and Uranium, etc.)

If you use municipal water, you will usually find these contaminants:

• Chlorine
• Chloramines
• Fluoride
• THMs (Trihalomethanes)
• VOCs (volatile organic compounds)

If you use well water, these are the most common contaminants you’ll find:

• Particulate matter (dirt, bits of leaves, etc.)
• Bacteria and viruses
• VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
• Radioactive substances

The Effectiveness Of Different Types Of Water Filters

Pitcher Filters

Pitcher-style filters such as Brita filters are inexpensive units, making them very popular with consumers. However, in the long term, they are actually one of the most expensive option. The filters cartridges require frequent replacement — the cost for 40 gallons is $7-10 each, or $130-$190 for 750 gallons.

Almost all pitcher-style filters use GAC or “granulated activated carbon” as the filtration medium. Typically, GAC is coconut husks that have been heated to a high temperature in the absence of oxygen and then granulated. These filters do remove some chlorine and hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs odor) — but are not effective at removing VOCs, metals, pesticides or fluoride. Overall, they are not very effective water filters.

Faucet Filters

Filters that attach to your kitchen faucet are very similar to Pitcher Filters, but they do filter a little better than the pitcher-style filters. However, they have the same drawbacks — they are expensive to maintain and they do not remove many contaminants. You must replace filters every 100 gallons at $20-$40 each or $140-$180 for 700 gallons.

Colin Ingram, author of the The Drinking Water Book rates all faucet filters no higher than “Acceptable”.

Gravity-Fed Drip Filters

In my opinion, the best water filters are gravity-fed drip water filters. These filters are excellent at removing chlorine, chlorination by-products, fluoride, VOCs, pesticides, particulates and pharmaceuticals. These filters use “candle” type filters, which are widely available and can be customized to your specific filtration needs.

Gravity-fed filters require no electricity to operate — water is filtered as it drips from the upper chamber to the lower chamber. Because the water is filtered slowly, the filtration is much more effective than a faucet-mounted filter. Generally, slow filtration methods tend to be best.

Berkey is best-known drip filter manufacturer. They make good quality filters. You might also consider ProPur filters. Their latest filter, the ProOne G 2.0, will remove fluoride — including hydrofluorosilicic acid (few filters remove this contaminant).

These filters use carbon block filtration, which works by the process of adsorption (different than absorption). In this process, the carbon attracts certain contaminants at the molecular level, and the contaminants become attached to the surface of the carbon. Once the surface of the carbon is full, the filter must be thrown out and replaced. However, the ProPur filters can be periodically scrubbed, and thus reused for years.

These filter are certified to NSF/ANSI standards #42 (test for chlorine, taste, odor and particulates), NSF Standard #53 (tests for Cryptosporidium, Giardia, lead, VOCs and MTBE) and NSF Standard #61 (tests that toxins aren’t leached into water). They are manufactured in England.

Berkey filter are available from Amazon for about $300.

Overall Rating: Excellent

Reverse Osmosis Filters

Reverse Osmosis filters use a membrane which removes many contaminants from water. They are usually paired with a Granulated Activated Charcoal filter to remove chlorine. Most reverse osmosis filters are installed under the sink and have a holding tank. The semipermeable membrane separates many contaminates (which usually have a larger particle size that water) from the water and rejects a large amount of water in the process. The result is a waste of several gallons of water for every gallon filtered and many naturally occurring minerals (including calcium and magnesium) are also removed from the water.

However, they are quite effective filters, in terms of removing contaminants. However, they do not reduce VOCs or pesticides (unless a Carbon Block filter is included). They can take up to an hour to filter one gallon of water and the filters need to be replaced regularly.

If you want to go this route, I recommend the iSpring Reverse Osmosis System, which is quite reliable.

Overall Rating: Very Good

Countertop Distillers

Countertop distillers are effective water purifiers, but they take some time to distill water (for example 5 hours to distill 1 gallon). They also require electricity to run, and they give off some heat and the integrated fans make some noise. Also, most distillers do not remove VOCs (like benzene) because they have a lower boiling point that water. So they will vaporize together with the stream, resulting in a contaminated distillate.

Countertop distiller that get a rating of “Excellent” from Colin Ingram in the The Drinking Water Book are: Megahome Countertop Distiller, Waterwise 4000 and Waterwise 8800, Kenmore 34480 and Pure Water Mini-Classic.

Megahome Countertop Water Distiller

This distiller is sold under many brand names — it’s the most widely distributed distiller in the world. It has many quality components despite being inexpensive. It produces 1 gallon of water in 5 hours. The water is passed through a small granular carbon filter. There’s a sealed connections from the distiller to the water collection container, so there is minimal risk of contamination by air. The unit has a stainless steel boiling chamber that is easily accessible for cleaning.

The Megahome Countertop Distiller is available from Amazon for about $150.

Waterwise 4000 Countertop Distiller

This is a more powerful version of the distiller listed above. It has the same features but produces 1 gallon of distilled water in 4 hours. Also received an “Excellent” rating from Colin Ingram in the The Drinking Water Book.

The Waterwise 4000 is available from Amazon for about $320.

Overall Rating: Excellent

The post The Best Water Filters appeared first on Reactual.

• The best kitchen knife set is the Wüsthof Classic 8-Piece Knife Set with Block. This knife set from the well-known cutlery brand feature blades that are precision-forged from a single piece of high carbon steel; full tang; and triple-riveted handles.
• A less expensive but still high-quality alternative is the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Signature 7-Piece Knife Block Set. These knives are made from special formula steel and have been hand-sharpened and polished. The ergonomic design features a full tang and triple-riveted handles.

The Details

Consistently named a top pick from culinary and consumer product review magazines and websites, the Wüsthof Classic Knife Set is German craftsmanship at its finest. With proper care, these high-quality, durable knives will easily last a home cook or professional chef a lifetime of use.

The set includes a paring knife, 4.5-inch and 6-inch utility knives, 8-inch bread knife, 8-inch chef’s knife, kitchen shears, 9-inch steel sharpening rod, and 17-slot knife block made of beechwood, measuring 10.5 inches long, 4.5 inches wide, and 8.5 inches tall.

The blades are precision-forged from a single piece of carbon stainless steel, and have been heat tempered to a hardness rating of 58 Rockwell. High-quality kitchen knives typically receive a Rockwell hardness ranking of between 56 and 62; the higher the number the harder the steel, and therefore the ability to hold an edge and stay sharp. Furthermore, Wüsthof uses robotic precision edge technology to create an edge that is 20% sharper and maintains double the edge retention than a blade that has been sharpened by hand.

The knife blades have a full tang, or extension, to the end of the handle. The full tang allows the weight of the knife to be evenly distributed throughout in order to maximize precision control and comfort, which is important when dicing or chopping for an extended period of time. In addition, the knife handles, which adhere to the tang via three strong rivets, feature a full bolster and finger guard, and are made from comfortable and highly-durable black polyoxymethylene, a synthetic material that resists fading and discoloration.

Wüsthof offers a limited lifetime warranty on its products, which covers defects in workmanship and materials under normal use and conditions.

Note: If you love this set but do not care for the beechwood knife block that comes with it, Wüsthof offers a deluxe version, which includes the same classic eight pieces with your choice of wood, such as cherry, walnut, acacia, and bamboo. Deluxe knife sets are available from Amazon and other sellers starting at approximately $400.

The Wüsthof Classic 8-Piece Knife Set is available on Amazon starting at $379.90

A Less Expensive Alternative

Zwilling J.A. Henckels has been producing quality German cutlery since 1731. The company has many lines of varying quality. Twin Signature is a mid-range line, offering high-quality, durable, and sharp knives at a more affordable price point.

The seven-piece set includes a 2.5-inch peeling knife, 4-inch paring knife, 5-inch serrated utility knife, 8-inch chef’s knife, kitchen shears, sharpening rod, and 10-slot knife block, made of hardwood and measuring 7.2 inches long, 4.5 inches wide, and 10.8 inches high.

The blades are precision stamped from a single piece of Zwilling special formula steel, and have been ice-hardened to a hardness rating of 57 Rockwell. The ice-hardening process further strengthens the steel and prevents discoloration. Each blade is hand polished and sharpened with the help of precision lasers that angle the edge to a perfect 15 degrees on each side.

Similar to the Wüsthof set, the knife blades feature a full tang. The ergonomically-designed handles are made from polymer and are triple-riveted to the tang for strength and durability.

Zwilling offers a lifetime warranty on its products, which covers defects in workmanship and materials.

The Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Signature 7-Piece Knife Block Set is available on Amazon starting at $149.99.

The post The Best Kitchen Knife Set appeared first on Reactual.

• The best electric kettle is the Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfectTemp Stainless Steel Cordless Electric Kettle. The Cuisinart kettle includes a durable and heavy stainless steel carafe and base, non-slip handle, and concealed heating element. It features six preset variable temperatures, a removable scale filter, and easy-to-use back-lit control buttons, as well as a host of other features, including boil-dry protection, internal memory, and sleep mode.
• Another top contender is the Breville BKE820XL Variable Temperature Kettle. This also features a cordless stainless steel carafe and variable temperature controls, but didn’t quite match up to the Cuisinart in terms of value.

The Details

Already staples of European homes, electric kettles are slowly gaining popularity in the U.S. Although mostly sought after by tea and coffee aficionados concerned with the achieving the optimal water temperature when brewing their beverage of choice, electric kettles are also prized by office workers and college students for efficiently boiling water for oatmeal and other packaged food.

The Cuisinart electric kettle is one of the most well-reviewed and popular kettles on the market due to its high-quality and durable construction, myriad of features, and reasonable price. The entire unit is four pounds, including the base and 1.7-liter carafe. The stylish carafe is mostly made of durable brushed stainless steel; only a few pieces, such as the spout, water-level window, and parts of the handle, are made of BPA-free plastic. The corded base is equipped with 1,500 watts of power for quick and efficient heating, and is designed to allow the carafe to swivel 360˚. The carafe itself features a drip-less pour spout with splash guard, removable scale filter, a comfortable, easy-grip handle, and a water-level window, and LED back-lit control buttons located on the handle.

The unit has six preset temperature control buttons ranging in temperature from 160˚F for delicate green and herbal teas to 200˚F for French-press coffee. Special features include an internal “memory” that allows the user to remove the carafe from the base for up to two minutes without shutting off or stopping the brew process, a 30-minute “keep warm” option, and a sleep mode. In addition, the unit maintains boil-dry protection, with the heater automatically shutting off to prevent damage if water is not detected in the carafe. Cuisinart offers a three-year limited warranty on this unit, and will either repair or replace it if defects not consistent with normal wear and tear are discovered.

The Cuisinart CPK-17 Electric Kettle is available from Amazon for around $90.

A Close Contender

While the Cuisinart is our pick for overall durability, features, and price, the Breville BKE280XL is also a very good buy. While more expensive, the Breville is similar in design and construction to the Cuisinart with one significant exception – all control buttons are located on the base, rather than the carafe. Although the Breville holds slightly more water than the Cuisinart, it doesn’t have back-lit buttons, only offers five preset temperatures ranging from 175˚F to 212˚F, and only keeps the water warm for 20 minutes. Furthermore, Breville only offers a one-year limited warranty. However, the Breville offers two water-level windows, a heavier base, and a metal spout.

The post The Best Electric Kettle appeared first on Reactual.

The Details

The lightweight (about seven ounces) Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphone II model is a remarkable set of less-than-$300 headphones. Unlike their predecessor these wireless, Bluetooth-enabled headphones don’t come with an attached ugly dongle, making them efficient to use and able to give you the feel, sometimes, that you don’t even have any headphones on at all while the music or the talk streams through your ears.

The Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphone II set features memory-foam earpads designed to help the headphones “learn” the shape of your ears, and they are quite comfortable, also including “glass-filled nylon and corrosion-resistant stainless steel” for durability. Controls are integrated on the right-ear cup while being intuitively easy to use.

These are not “noise cancelling” headphones, but the memory-foam earcup linings do a fine job of keeping out unwanted external noises.

A strong feature of these wireless headphones is that you can attach them to more than one device at a time by way of the incorporation of Bluetooth 4.0 and supporting multi-link technology, which makes it seamless to switch between listening to music and taking a phone call with the touch of the center control-button (which also acts as the fast forward and rewind toggle button when you’re in music-listening mode).

Needless to say, the sound quality is overall the most important feature of headphones, and the Bose SoundLink II wireless set delivers on that superbly. As is virtually always the case with Bose headphones, the sound is sleek and well-balanced with barely any distortion even at high volumes, making use of Active EQ and volume-optimized EQ technologies.

The treble is clean and clear while the bass has strong punch. If there’s any drawback to the sound quality, it’s that these headphones won’t impress music fans who love their music to be bass-heavy. The bass is punchy but the overall sound is balanced, not favoring the bass end of the music.

There’s also the added benefit of an excellent battery charge of 15 hours. You can also do a “quick charge” in just 15 minutes which lasts for two hours.

What it all comes down to is that you would be hard-pressed to find better wireless headphones priced at less than $300 than the Bose SoundLink Around-Ear Wireless Headphone II.

The post The Best Wireless Headphones Under $300 of 2016 appeared first on Reactual.

The best waterproof laptop case is the Pelican 1495 Protector. It can fit a 17 inch laptop and is watertight, crushproof and dust proof. Pelican protects laptops with a combination lock and a lifetime warranty.

The Details

Those who take their laptop to construction sites or hazardous terrains need extra protection than what standard laptop cases provide. Pelican has manufactured equipment durable protection cases for over 40 years and specializes in rugged designs that can survive everywhere, from the ocean to the desert.

The Pelican 1495 is a medium case in the company’s Protector series. It has a tough-as-nails polypropylene exterior that can resist heavy weight and even survive IED explosions. It operates effectively in temperatures ranging from  -40° F to 210° F. US Service personnel prize the case for its rugged versatility and IP67 dustproof and waterproof ranking. The laptop is sealed off from the elements with an Automatic Pressure Equalization Valve that balances interior pressure and keeps water out.

The 1495 comes with a Pick N Pluck block of foam to secure the laptop in place for transit. Some reviewers noted that the included foam was too thick to house thinner laptops and opted to modify their own memory foam setup. If you prefer to outfit your own padding, get the 1495NF, which comes without foam.

A 3 dial combination lock further secures the case’s contents. Easy open double throw latches with stainless steel padlock protectors offer easy access. The 1495 includes a padded shoulder strap for comfortable transport.

Don’t purchase this case just for everyday use; it weighs well over 10 lbs with a laptop inside and is quite unwieldy. Its durability makes it ideal for extreme conditions, but it is too large for airport carry-on.

Another Option

The crowd-funded Vivax case is another crushproof case designed to protect your laptop from extreme elements and fierce impact. The exterior is designed with Nex resin, a heterophasic copolymer commonly used in aerospace applications. Nex resin guarantees the case shell is resistant to atmospheric and corrosive agents, extreme impacts, and crush damage.

The case is also protected by Poron XRD, a unique technopolymer developed by Vivax that behaves like a non-Newtonian fluid. That means the materials are normally soft and instantly stiffen to form a protective shield on impact. According to Vivax, the protective shell defends the object from shock better than any other existing material.

Hyperlastic interior protects the inside of the case. It lets kinetic energy dissolve progressively and forms to fit any laptop, a more flexible alternative to Pelican’s foam block.

The case has an IP68 waterproof/dustproof ranking and floats in water.

The post The Best Waterproof Laptop Case appeared first on Reactual.

The Lenovo ThinkPad T450s‘s capability to browse the internet for over 15 hours without a charge makes it the laptop with the longest battery life. The ThinkPad T450s starts at around $1070 and the extended battery is available for around $80.

The Details

The stock T450s comes with a 3-cell battery that lasts for a respectable 7-8 hours, but the extended 6-cell battery significantly increases the battery life. Laptop Mag tested the ThinkPad T450s using their Laptop Mag Battery Test, which includes continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi, and found that the extended battery lasted for 15 hours and 26 minutes. That means the 14-inch, 3.5lb laptop can last the duration of a trans-Pacific flight.  The battery capacity is NOM 11.22V 6.34Ah 72 Wh and Lenovo offers a Power Bridge feature which lets you change batteries without powering down the laptop.

Reviewers are split on the quality of the RAM upgrades, and it does not come with the most expansive storage. There is, however, an overwhelming consensus that the ThinkPad T450s has one of the most comfortable keyboards on the market. Finally, the T450s’s 500GB SSD and Intel 5th Generation Core i5 cpu assure a speedy performance.

While the T450s is not among the lightest (3.8lbs) nor thinnest (.83″) laptops on the market, it is among the most durable. Laptop Mag writes on the T450s’s durability:

With a carbon-fiber lid, magnesium body and interior roll cage, the notebook is designed to take some abuse, passing MIL-SPEC tests for extreme temperatures, humidity, vibration, sand, shocks and fungus. The company also tests the T450s by opening the device’s stainless steel hinges 30,000 times and dropping metal balls on the machine from over a meter in the air.

Another Option

Chromebooks are a cheaper alternative to the pricey ThinkPads and offer a competitive battery life. I have an ASUS C200 Chromebook and its battery lasts for 11 hours of continuous wireless browsing. While Chromebooks are lightweight and inexpensive, their functionality and pared-down OS make them good for browsing the web but not much else web.

The ASUS C200 is available for around $200.

The post The Longest Lasting Laptop — 15 Hours Run Time appeared first on Reactual.

• The best waterproof watch is the Rolex Deepsea. It’s waterproof to a depth of almost 13,000 feet. It features a titanium and stainless steel case that impedes corrosion, shows a long-lasting lighted display, and maintains a helium-escape valve. It is available for approximately $10,000.
• A less expensive but high-quality alternative, Omega Seamaster is the runner up. Retailing for just under $3,000, the Seamaster is water resistant to a depth of 1,000 feet and the base model is made of steel.

The Details

Professional divers and watch enthusiasts alike agree that the Rolex DeepSea watch is not only a timeless, visually appealing accessory, but is one of the most durable, high-performance watches available on the market today.

The 44-millimeter watch case and bracelet is made from 904L stainless steel, which is a superalloy primarily used in the aerospace and chemical industries, and grade 5 titanium, both of which are known for their strength and anti-corrosive properties. As such, this watch can be submerged in salt water and chemically-treated pools without tarnishing or losing its luster. The watch face is black with platinum-coated dials to promote readability and prevent tarnishing. In addition, the dials feature a luminescent blue glow that lasts for up to eight hours for visibility in the dark. The glass topper is made from 5-millimeter-thick scratch resistant sapphire crystal.

Inside the watch, the patented 3135 caliber, self-winding mechanical movement features a paramagnetic hairspring that is unaffected by magnetic fields and offers increased resistance to shocks and temperature variations, making it one of the most reliable watches on the planet. The movement has been tested and certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute.

The DeepSea is water-resistant to a depth of almost 13,000 feet. The watch maintains an exclusive system of rings to lock out water and withstand water pressure. It also has a helium-escape valve for use when diving to certain depths. All watches are tested for water resistance in a specially-designed hyperbaric tank to simulate water pressure.

Rolex offers a five-year warranty on all new watches.

A Less Expensive Alternative

The Omega Seamaster is an extremely high-quality, durable watch without the Rolex price tag. It’s also a stylish accessory worthy of an international spy, and has been worn by both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig in several James Bond movies.

The 41-millimeter case comes in a variety of models, the base being stainless steel. It features an anti-magnetic master co-axial mechanical movement, and anti-corrosive metal treatments to reduce tarnishing from salt water. Depending on the model, the Seamaster has either a blue or black dial with recessed hour markers which glow when in the dark. The glass topper is made from sapphire crystal, which is scratch-resistant. The watch is certified to be water-resistant to a depth of 1,000 feet.

Omega offers a four-year warranty on its Seamaster watch.

The Omega Seamaster is available on Amazon for about $3000.

The post The Best Waterproof Watch appeared first on Reactual.