6 Aug 2020

How to Quickly Teach a Child to Ride a Bike + Woom Review (Kids Balance With No Training Wheels)

By |2024-03-16T14:46:40-07:00Aug 6, 2020 - Thursday|Family, General, Product Reviews, Reviews|

Read: 15 mins. Teaching children how to bike is perhaps one of the most rewarding (and possibly important) duties for parents to take on, a job relegated mostly to dads among my family's circle of friends. Naturally, my wife had tasked me to teach our son the skill, a challenge I gladly accepted as I wanted to have the family go out on day trips and spend quality time together. Our son started peddling on a bike -- without training wheels -- four months after he turned 3 years old, and I credit my wife's foresight to putting him on something I had never heard of before: a balance bike. Follow along on our son's FOUR-DAY journey to becoming a confident, fast-riding, joyful bicyclist!

3 Aug 2020

Review: Foho 34 Quart Car Freezer/Fridge (BCD-32) (34qt/32L/32 Liters)

By |2022-07-19T00:06:08-07:00Aug 3, 2020 - Monday|Product Reviews, Reviews|

Read: 14 mins. Over the past 2.5 months, I had the fortunate opportunity to test and review 3 car freezers/refrigerators that could be powered by the 12V port/battery of a car. Their energy efficiency allowed them to be powered by a battery power station and supplemented with solar panels. We came to love the Foho over the Rockpals and Domende ones, and in this review, we look at the smallest model of that product line: the 34qt Foho BCD-32. There was much to like!

17 Jul 2020

Review: Domende 54 Quart Car Freezer/Fridge (HC-50) (54qt/50L/50 Liters)

By |2022-07-19T00:06:42-07:00Jul 17, 2020 - Friday|Product Reviews, Reviews|

Read: 11 mins. A family with two, young children was preparing for their first trip to Yosemite after having secured a visitation permit, a temporary requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mother asked me how the Domende HC-50 (54 quart) car freezer compared to my Foho BCD-52. I have never heard of Domende, but there was one glaring difference: it only has one compartment. With no section divider (like the Foho), what does that mean in regards to temperature control, storage space, and flexibility? Here are my impressions.

5 Jul 2020

Review: Rockpals 26 Quart Car Freezer/Fridge (RP-25L) (26qt/25L/25 Liters)

By |2022-07-19T00:06:49-07:00Jul 5, 2020 - Sunday|Product Reviews, Reviews|

Read: 13 mins. Those who have known me know that I really like the Rockpals 500W battery power station for its compact size, but ultimately gave it away after falling in love with the Goal Zero Yeti 500x. It was no surprise then when one of my former coworkers bought the company's car refrigerator/freezer last month, the 26qt Rockpals RP-25L, and asked for my opinion of it. At first glance, I really liked the look: solid black with accents of bright orange in a compact size. I told him that it probably was good based on my past tests with the solid battery power station. As it turns out, the car freezer is Rockpals' first one ever. Did it live up to my expectations? How did it compare to my Foho 54qt car freezer? I asked him if I could borrow it for a week for evaluation, only to find a serious issue (and workaround) with the product.

4 Jul 2020

Review: DvSport Sunshine Inflatable Stand Up Paddle Board (iSUP) (WH305-10)

By |2022-08-03T01:37:17-07:00Jul 4, 2020 - Saturday|Product Reviews, Reviews|

Read: 6 mins. Ever since my best friend and I tried stand up paddle boarding (SUP) a few years ago, we had always wanted to purchase one but did not know whether we would enjoy it enough to buy one. Today, after having rented one many times, we decided it was time to own one but were unsure about whether to get an inflatable (iSUP) or a hard SUP. This review dives into the differences between them, and why I ultimately chose the inflatable, DvSport Sunshine.

30 Jun 2020

Review: Garmin inReach Explorer+ (vs Mini), Tips, and Subscription Plans

By |2023-05-24T16:18:28-07:00Jun 30, 2020 - Tuesday|Product Reviews, Reviews|

Read: 14 mins. A week ago, I took my young son on his first backpacking trip into the Sierra Wilderness on a multi-day journey. Naturally, my wife was worried for our safety, and that gave me the opportunity to finally purchase something I had been eyeing for a while: an emergency GPS satellite communication device. I looked into SPOT, Garmin inReach, and various other products, but ultimately went with Garmin for its reliability and Iridium global, satellite network. How did it work for the trip? Did it send timely updates on our status and whereabouts?

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