Monday, December 28, 2015

SantaMedical PM-120 Electronic Pulse Massager



This is a nice and discreet electronic massager that you can use almost anywhere. The four pads allow the ability to have a massage going on at two different locations of your body at any given time. The LCD display is clear and the buttons are intuitive. It has 6 modes which are ideal for different areas of the body. It has enough strength to really manipulate your muscles deep down to provide long lasting relief. Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

LyxPro HAS-30 Professional Over-Ear Headphones


Find them here: http://goo.gl/F9XYrQ

I've only had these headphones for a couple days now and I can't stop wearing them. For the price ($70 at the time of writing this) these headphones blow competitors out of the water. They're big and the completely engulf your ears. What's better is that they are without a doubt the most comfortable headphones I've worn in the last 15 years. I work eight hour days behind a computer and pretty much listen to music, podcasts, or audio books all day long. If it wasn't for the loud music blasting in my ears, I would completely forget I even have them on my head.

The leather (maybe it's pleather?) that surrounds your ears is so incredibly soft but yet it seems to breathe very well. I never get sweaty or too hot wearing them. The part that goes over your head is equally comfortable and only needs to be readjusted every few hours. The last thing I liked about the comfort of the headphones is that the ear pieces can rotate 90 degrees in either direction. This means that you're not stuck with whatever position they were put in from the factory. To me, that increases comfort significantly.

Since these are pretty big they have a protective case that is equally as large. It definitely provides reasonable protection and comfortably fits the headphones and all included accessories. One thing I'd like to point out is how smart someone in the design department was. First off, these come with two interchangeable cords. You get one straight one, and one curled one. Some smart guy in the design department came up with this brilliant idea to notch the plastic piece of the cable that goes into the opening on the headphones so you put the cable in and turn it to lock it into place. Guess what's not coming out accidentally? Yep, the cord. It's also a huge positive to have screw threads on the opposite end of the cable to allow the included 1/4" adapter to go on snugly and not come off in a receiver.

So you might be saying, "Alright Jered, you talked about how comfortable they are and how some smarty pants said it was a great idea to notch the cable but how do they sound?" I'm glad you asked. These sound AWESOME. Pardon my excitement, I'll try to be as objective as possible with this part.

These are obviously designed with professional intent so although they provide very good listening from your phone or PC, they'll shine the most when plugged into a receiver or something that is amplified. Every sound comes through as clear as a whistle. I can't remember what song I was listening to last night, but I heard background lyrics that were whispered that I had never heard before. It's going to bug me that I can't remember what song that was. Anyway, the music actually sounds full, inclusive, and immersive. I also believe that since they aren't ear buds or on-ear headphones, the music is allowed to flow more freely and naturally into your ears giving you a greater appreciation of the music as it doesn't sound forced into your head.

When you have these plugged into an amplified source, the bass can quickly rattle your brain. It can definitely get pretty deep but it always seems to maintain a tight punch to the response. None of the sounds seem to get muddled with the others and nothing seems to get lost at high volumes. It wasn't until I hit the last 3-4% of the volume ceiling on my receiver that they started to hit their limit and sounded pretty rough. I tried all sorts of music on these and not a single song sounded bad. Hip-Hop was deep and had punchy bass. Rock was loud, clear, and incredibly responsive. Country let all the highs and lows shine through. Classical music gave every little twinkle on the piano its own spotlight.

Overall these headphones are comfortable, versatile, and an absolute knockout for the price. I finally have something I can listen to all day long at the office and not have to take a break from them due to wear fatigue. Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

Keedox Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Receiver



After my fiance got her 2015 Golf that has Bluetooth built right in, I got jealous. I have an '09 Jetta with an auxiliary port that I always just had a cable run from my phone to the aux port and I never had an issue with it. Well when she got her car and I saw the beauty of a wireless connection, I needed to have one and I didn't want to spend $300 for a new in-dash receiver with Bluetooth. I found this little unit and immediately jumped on it. At the time of writing this, it costs $17 on Amazon. So $17 instead of a few hundred is a no-brainer.

It was easy to pair as you simply hold the play/pause button until the LED lights reds and blue, then find the device on your phone and you're done. The audio was incredibly clear and I couldn't personally hear a difference between this device or the wired connection I had before. The battery life is rated for 10 hours, but I leave mine plugged in all the time so it never shuts off on me.

It has a great form factor and overall I'm extraordinarily pleased with this product. For my personal needs of making my car wireless, it definitely works incredibly well. Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Snug Wireless Pan/Tilt Camera


Find it here - http://goo.gl/OSiadI
This camera as purchased to replace a wireless D-Link camera (that did not move) we got for our son's room when he was still a baby. He's creeping up on 4 years old and he no long sits still so we needed something that provided a bit of movement. I also needed something that not only allowed me to hear him, but allowed him to hear me. Set up was a breeze when I used the Snug Camera App on the App Store. Once I had it out of the box, I was up and running in less than 5 minutes...no thanks to rather spartan instructions.
The camera itself is built pretty sturdy. It doesn't feel like a $400 camera would feel, but it's definitely sturdy for the price. It's heavier on the bottom which makes me feel confident it will stay in place and not tip over with a simple bump. My D-Link was top heavy and it fell over quite a bit so this is a nice change for me.
Utilizing the camera is very simple on a phone or tablet, I just wish they would make a desktop based client a little easier to obtain. The app for using this camera is pretty straight forward. You have options to adjust the brightness, mute incoming audio, turn the night vision on or off, have the camera auto-pan/tilt and a few other options. My personal favorite feature of this camera is the ability to set up preset positions (up to 16). So if your youngster has some known spots they sit or play in frequently, you can simply mark them as a preset and simply pressing the corresponding number will point your camera in those positions automatically!
And now the Airing of Grievances:
1. The picture quality is not nearly as clear as some of the screenshots would have you believe. I've attached a screenshot from my phone with the camera into my son's room. I have the HD feed selected, so unless there is a setting I'm missing here, the video feed leaves room for improvement. Don't get me wrong, for the price and the features that come with the camera, it's still very good and allows you to see everything that you need, but my iPhone provides clearer images.
2. This camera has the great ability of providing two-way audio. Not only can I hear my son playing, I can also tell him to lay down and go to bed! And that's all well and good, but the problem with this is sort of two fold. The first issue is that when I press the microphone icon on the app so I can speak, it mutes all incoming audio. What this means is that you can get some serious communication issues, especially when you're talking to a toddler. I can't hear him and talk at the same time. The other problem here is that after I talk, more often than not I hear myself talking right back through the phone speakers. I don't think I should ever hear myself back on the phone side after I talk. This complicates the two-way audio even more because not only do you have the inability to speak and listen at the same time, you end up overlapping with yourself and it seems to make the audio pretty rough. Both my son and I are often saying "what?" to each other when we try to use it.
3. Panning and tilting the camera with the app can become cumbersome. The camera moves by swiping the screen. It's inverted so when you swipe left, it goes right. When you swipe up, it goes down. That's fine, I can get used to that. My real issue here is that each swipe only moves the camera so much and you can't hold a swipe. If I want to turn the camera 90 degrees to the right, I need to swipe about 5-6 times. What would be ideal is to swipe once and hold your finger on the screen until the camera reaches the position you want.
Overall, this camera provides me with some great abilities I didn't have before. I can move camera remotely, I can talk to my son through my phone, and I can set up automatic preset positions. To me, the pros outweigh the cons on this one and I can confidently recommend this product to those looking looking for a way to remotely keep an eye on their little ones. Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!



Saturday, December 26, 2015

Better Body Sports - Amino Ammo


I've gone through a good variety of BCAAs over the last few years and they've always sort of worked but they tasted sort of strange and had a metal tang to it. This one was immediately different. The watermelon taste is sweet and inviting and definitely reminds me of Kool-Aid. I always drink mine mid-workout as my personal experience leads me to feel that I get the most benefit from this supplement that way. It mixes in very smooth and doesn't leave any grainy powder behind. Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

Saturday, December 19, 2015

SantaMedial - Electronic Pulse Massager



Who wants to watch me shock myself?

Just got this Electronic Pulse Massager from Santa Medical and it's great for relieving tension. I've been having a lot of neck pains lately and this has been very beneficial in getting rid of that. It's easy to operate, has an easy to read LCD screen, and various settings. It has presets for your shoulders, waist, joints, sole, and hand/leg. It also has manual settings that allow you to really dial in what you're looking for.

I wasn't a fan of the size of the unit as it's bigger than any one of my TV remotes. I also wasn't the biggest fan of it not being rechargeable. But neither of these really take away from the efficiency of the device. Overall it was easy to use, easy to read, and was very effective in relieving the muscle pains in my neck. Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

Find it here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TOJ948

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Simply Earth - Clove Essential Oil


As I get deeper and deeper into the essential oils rabbit hole, the more cool things I find. This clove oil is my new favorite. I've recently had some pretty significant pains in my mouth and a single drop of this clove oil takes the pain away for a couple hours at a time. If you're unfamiliar with the smell of clove, just think of the hipster kids who sit around smoking "cigarettes" that smell funny. More than likely, it's the same smell.

There are plenty of uses for clove oil, too many to document here, so you may want to search Google to find them all. As far as the company Simple Earth is concerned, they do a great job indicating the country of origin for their ingredients. They also seem to want to give back as they say they donate 7.5% of every purchase to a different non-profit organization each month! Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

Midori Spring Ceremonial Grade Matcha


After having tried a handful of matcha brands, I'd have to say that Midori Spring matcha is among my favorites. Where many have brands have been bitter or just didn't seem to blend in smoothly, Midori Spring doesn't have that issue. The flavor is robust and memorable, immediately reminding me of my favorite green tea ice cream. The color is vibrant and alluring.

Once I opened mine up I immediately wanted to dig right in. After a few days drinking it mixed with hot tea, I feel my metabolism has absolutely increased and while simultaneously curbing my hunger. Consider me hooked! Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Simply Earth - Peppermint Essential Oil



Essential oils are a something that has been brought to me by fiance and step mom and I'm pretty well sold at this point. I'll be honest, essential oils are a dime a dozen at this point and the prices are cheap as dirt all the way to insanely expensive. Simply Earth seems to be a company that really wants to provide a great product at a reasonable cost. Let's be honest, $5 (at the time of writing this) is absolutely nothing considering all the things peppermint oil can help with. I personally use it when my stomach is unsettled and also to help breathe more clearly at night. Seriously though, Google what else it can do...it's a very long list!

Along with using natural ingredients, Simply Earth donates 7.5% of each purchase to a non-profit each month. If enough people buy, that can really add up quickly! To me, this seems to be a very good product that has way more benefits compared to the small cost.
I also found this to be quite invigorating in an essential oils diffuser. The smell is strong and relaxing and sort of made me feel like I had a candy cane under my noise. Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Xtreme Canteen - Boasts the ability to keep hot liquids hot for 12 hours.


Can the Xtreme Canteen really keep liquids hot for 12 hours? I put near boiling water inside, sealed the lid, and let it sit on my desk at work for 8 hours. I drove home (about an hour total) and let it sit on my kitchen table for 3 more hours. I opened it up, and steam was STILL coming out. It lives up to the hype and leads me to believe the claim that it will keep cold liquids cold for 24 hours. Hunters should have this with them on those really cold mornings. Or if you go hiking you could attach the loop at the top onto your backpack and off you go.

My dad always had Stanley mugs and thermoses so I followed in his foot steps and always gravitated toward them myself. I'll be honest, I've never had a problem with them and they've always been very reliable and durable. However, I always thought they were sort of heavy and bulky. After using this canteen, I can definitely back that up. This is so much lighter than the Stanley counterparts and feels just as durable. Not trying to bash Stanley at all, I'm not running home and throwing all my current mugs and thermoses in the dumpster, just my observations with this.

The black color on this canteen is deep! I feel like I'm looking into a deep abyss, it's that good. It doesn't look like a cheap spray on coat either. Overall, I'm entirely impressed with how well made this canteen is. But I'm even more impressed by how well it functions, because that's what really matters here. Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Etekcity LED Night Light / Flashlight: Rechargeable Emergency Light



It is so incredibly cool how this night light works. Pull it off the base, it turns on. Put it back on the base, it turns on. Power button on the side, it turns on. The dual feature of having a wall based, rechargeable night light and flash light makes this awesome. The motion detector makes it a slam dunk! If you have kids, or if you just need some extra lighting in your house at night, I can't recommend these enough. They have saved my feet from countless toy based accidents when I just can't see completely. 

Overall, this is a well crafted, sleek, intuitive, and a conversation starter every time! Although I received this product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions expressed are my own and reflect my personal experience with this product. Feel free to ask me questions about this product and I'll respond within 24 hours. I hope my opinions help to enhance your purchasing experience!

You can find the two pack here for $30: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013Q8F5MU