Salutations, dear reader! Welcome to our 2023 Christmas Catalog, which I am dubbing the “Relatively Shorter and Sweeter Edition.”

You see, in recent years the scope of this annual holiday gift guide has reached somewhat…extravagant heights. And while it’s always a lot of fun to put together, it’s an extremely time-consuming task for one person to compile, curate, edit, and publish. Unfortunately for yours truly, that kind of time simply hasn’t been there these past few months.

However! I can’t let even a difficult season of life stop me from offering our loyal readers a handy list of great gift ideas. This is one of our most beloved and time-honored traditions, and uphold it I shall, even if I have to simplify the format quite a bit.

With all that said, here are nearly three-dozen fun and useful gifts for 8 different types of people you can click through in the table of contents below.

Find a Gift For…

• Creative/ Types

• ⚙️ Gadget Lovers

• ☕️ Coffee Obsessives

• 🛠️ Handypeople

• 🥘 Home Cooks & Grillmasters

• 🤵‍♂️ The Well-Appointed Gentleman

• 🧶 Homebodies

• 🧠 Clever Kids

For Creative Types:

• Kalimba ($46) — Much like a ukelele and steel tongue drum, picking up a kalimba (aka “thumb piano”) is an easy and fun way to pluck out some soothing tunes whenever the urge strikes, and this one is a beautiful instrument with a glossy flat board made from solid rosewood.
• The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin ($18 hardcover) — If there’s anyone alive whose brain is worth picking about the creative process, it’s Rick Rubin. The legendary and award-winning music “superproducer” released a book this year that takes a bunch of his wisdom and distills it on the page for the rest of us to learn from and be inspired by. You’ll not only learn how to get better at your craft, but also come away feeling more in tune with your own humanity.
• Magnetic putty pebbles ($35) — Sometimes you just need a way to get the creative juices flowing, and the best way is to actually occupy your attention with something else for a while. This so-called “ferrite putty” is super fun and sensory for your hands to play with, freeing your mind to do its work in the background.
• Wooden yarn bowl ($27) — Knitting is another way to occupy your hands (or simply relieve stress), and once you take up this hobby, you quickly realize the importance of keeping the yarn in place while you work. A yarn bowl cleverly takes care of that pesky issue, and makes moving your project around from room to room a bit easier besides.

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⚙️ For Gadget Lovers:

• Retro gaming mechanical keyboard ($100) — Somewhere within the Geek Venn Diagram™ there is a particular spot where the circles of “mechanical keyboards” and “retro gaming” overlap. Every person who lives in that segment should have 8BitDo’s Retro Mechanical Keyboard at their fingertips, featuring two designs inspired by the classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Family Computer (Famicom) gaming consoles, respectively.

• Light-up word clock ($29) — Any old clock can give you the time with analog hands or digital numbers, but how many will tell you what time it is in full sentences? That’s right, the Word Clock from Sharper Image is a unique alternative to normal clocks, presenting the time in phrases like “It is five minutes past eleven” or “It is twenty minutes to nine”. It’s a bit like a flip sign board in miniature.

  • Alternative gift idea: The LaMetric TIME Wi-Fi Smart Clock.
• Portable vinyl turntable ($199) — Audio-Technica’s cult classic “Sound Burger” portable record player from 1983 has made a comeback, and it not only brings all the 40-year nostalgia, portability, and unique listening experience of the original model but also features modern aspects like Bluetooth connectivity and USB-C charging.
• Temperature-changing massage gun ($88) — Whether it’s because you sit at a desk all day or you have an intense workout regime, having sore and/or tense muscles is an issue that demands direct attention. We’ve previously recommended a great little massage gun to work out muscle knots, but if you want to go a step further, you can get one with a temperature-controlled head that can be heated or cooled for a more therapeutic experience.

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☕️ For Coffee Obsessives:

• Gaggia Classic Pro espresso machine ($499) — The GCP is often touted as the starter machine for budding espresso enthusiasts, and it’s hard to disagree. Gaggia first introduced the original Classic model in 1991, and over 30 years later, its successor holds up that reputation as a reliable workhorse. Don’t let its beginner-friendly reputation fool you however, because it definitely has the capability of being an “endgame” espresso machine.
• Clear AeroPress ($50) — We’ve written so many words about the AeroPress coffee maker over the years, from brewing recipes to the best attachments and accessories and beyond. So, I won’t repeat what you probably already know about the thing — all I’ll say is that if you’ve never liked the dull gray or brown color of the more recent AeroPress models, you’ll be glad to know there’s finally a crystal clear version available once again! And this time, it’s made of BPA-free shatterproof Tritan plastic.
• Manual coffee grinder for press and pour-over brews ($69) — For any coffee drinkers hoping to obtain a hand grinder this holiday season, the Timemore Chestnut C2 is the “new” hotness that makes our old favorite feel almost like a toy. It grinds faster and more efficiently, the crank handle feels smoother and sturdier to use, and the catch container screws into place rather than being held on with friction, so you don’t have to spend effort holding the pieces together as you grind.
• Kintsugi cups (£29 / ~$37 USD) — Inspired by the old Japanese art of restoration ceramcs, these espresso and tea cups are beautiful and each one is totally unique in pattern. They aren’t true kintsugi since they’re merely decoratively painted with gold rather than being broken pieces joined together, but they do pull off the look well.

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🛠️ For Handypeople:

• Nigh-indestructible tool box ($105) — When a job calls for the toughest, most indestructible tool storage you can get your hands on, Milwaukee’s PACKOUT Large Tool Box is there to endure whatever is thrown its way. It boasts an impact-resistant body with metal-reinforced corners — along with a metal-reinforced carry handle and heavy duty latches — that can hold up to 100 lbs of weight. It also has an IP65-rated weather seal to keep out rain and worksite debris.

  What makes the PACKOUT series of tool boxes even more awesome is that all the various sizes/styles feature integrated locking cleats, so they can be stacked and securely connected together into one modular rolling tool transport system.

• X-Acto knife set ($23) — All craftspeople, handyworkers, and hobbyists should have at least one X-Acto blade in their toolkit, and the X-Acto Basic Knife Set is a great way to collect every variation of it in one go. It comes with three knives — one for precision cutting, one for trimming/cutting medium- to heavy-weight materials, and one just for cutting heavy materials — plus ten more assorted blade styles, all in a conveniently giftable and transportable carry case.

• Revolving-frame caulking gun ($28) — Sometimes it’s the little features that turn an okay tool into a great one, and in the case of the Newborn 250 caulking gun, there are two of them worth noting:

  1. The steel revolving frame makes it easier to maintain a single bead of caulk/sealant around corners or in tight/hard-to-reach spaces. Simply rotate the barrel with your non-trigger hand as you work.
  2. It uses a smooth rod plunger mechanism rather than the old-school ratchet style, giving it an 18:1 thrust ratio instead of a measly 6:1 or 5:1. What this means for you is, it takes way less effort to extrude caulk from the tube, giving you much more control over the smoothness of the bead and helping prevent hand fatigue.
• Multi-tool pens ($25) — Perfect for that DIYer who wouldn’t mind feeling like James Bond or MacGyver now and again, the RAK Multi-Tool Pen Set is a pair of retractable ballpoint pens (both made from robust military-grade aluminum) that each double as a collection of little tools for handling small tasks anywhere, including a bright LED light, bubble levels, Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, and more.

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🥘 For Home Cooks & Grillmasters:

• Hand-hammered carbon steel wok ($52) — In the right hands, a well made wok can be the most versatile and awesome piece of cookware in your collection. On a busy weeknight, nothing beats tossing some oil and a bunch of ingredients you have on hand into a blazing hot wok and stir-frying up a flavorful dinner in a half-hour or less. With time and use, it develops a wonderful nonstick patina that only gets better the more it’s cooked on.

• Instant-read cooking thermometer ($15) — At some point you may have learned about the palm “trick” that’s supposed to help you figure out how done your steak is. However, it’s been shown time and time again that this is a wildly inaccurate test and should never be relied on.

  What you want instead is an instant-read thermometer. There’s simply no better or more affordable way to get a fast and easy read on what’s happening in the center of the food you’re cooking, whether it’s steak, chicken, fish, or even bread.

• Cast iron bread oven & loaf pan ($140) — A much more affordable alternative to the much-desired Challenger Bread Pan that works just as well, this generous-sized oblong bread pan is awesome for cranking out bâtards and boules to your heart’s content, with a well-fitted lid to seal in that all-important baking factor: steam.
• Portable induction cooktop ($68) — Perfect for any small space or travel setup, this induction hob heats fast and is easy to customize. To give you an idea of the speed, let’s just say you can forget any notions you have about pre-heating skillets — if you step away for even a minute, you’ll likely come back to a pan that’s too hot to melt butter without browning it. Think of it as microwave-fast.

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🤵‍♂️ For the Well-Appointed Gentleman:

• Safety razor set ($8) — As we’ve said in previous posts on the subject, a man should see the daily act of shaving as a calming and enjoyable ritual, not a chore. And it should never be done with some throwaway plastic razor that will end up in a landfill for literally centuries alongside billions of others.

  Instead, we recommend a good double-edge safety razor like the Baili BD176. On top of providing a very smooth, close shave with minimal risk of nicking (provided you approach the task with care), you (or your gift recipient) will absolutely feel more manly shaving with one of these. Might even make grandpa proud as well.

• Pocket mustache/beard brush ($17) — ZilberHaar’s pocket-sized beard and mustache brushis a travel-friendly grooming tool that keeps your facial hair in line whether you’re standing in line or jet-setting elsewhere. Each one is made in Germany using sustainably forested pearwood and 100% boar bristles (in your choice of soft or stiff).

  Whichever bristles you go with, they’ll do a fantastic job of untangling beard hairs and reaching through to the skin underneath, both exfoliating the skin and ensuring full distribution of your favorite beard oil to keep everything moisturized and healthy.

• Vertical passport wallet ($79) — Handcrafted with premium full-grain leather in Spain, the Harber London vertical passport cover is a super slim way to carry one or two passports in the main compartment, two to four cards in the back, and a few folded bills or boarding passes in the ‘secret’ front pocket. The leather is nice and soft to the touch and the interior is lined with 100% wool felt, so this thing really feels like quality throughout.

• Japanese nail clipper ($22) — Manufactured in Seki, a city historically reknowned for being the epicenter of Japanese swordmaking and more modernly known as the capital of high-end cutlery and other sharp tools, these nail clippers exude all the craftsmanship and dedication to quality that have made their hometown so famous over the centuries.

  They cleanly cut through even the thickest nails like butter, with far less pressure needed than you’re probably used to with cheap drugstore clippers. They also just look cooler than most nail clippers. It’s not uncommon to hear people say these are the best clippers they’ve ever used.

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🧶 For Homebodies:

• Chunky-knit weighted blanket ($289) — For some people, the comfy hug-like feeling of a weighted blanket can make the difference between a good night’s rest and…not that. However, they can admittedly feel a little stifling for those of us who tend to run hot at night.

  That’s why the Nuzzie weighted blanket exists. Rather than being one solid mass all the way across, the Nuzzie is chunky-knit like a big open-weave sweater, allowing it to be much more breathable and cooling than most blankets this heavy. And even then, you still get that “wrapped in a bear hug” feeling of gentle, soothing pressure every time you wrap yourself in it.

• Touchless soap dispenser ($20) — If you’ve ever found yourself needing to wash hands after handling raw meat or touching something gross, and you’d rather not touch the soap bottle about it, then an automatic soap dispenser will be a game changer.

  A simple wave of your hand (or a sponge) beneath the nozzle tells it to dispense some soap — whether it’s dish soap, hand soap, hand sanitizer, shower gel, shampoo, or a facial cleanser — in one of three amounts that you can switch between by pressing the power button.

• Faux-leather accent armchair ($168) — One way you can instantly level up the refinement of a given room is by introducing a piece of furniture with timeless style and the appearance of luxury materials, even if it’s not the real deal. This “leather” armchair could almost be confused for an antique inherited from a grandparent or something you picked up at an estate sale, thanks to its classic mid-century modern aesthetic.

  It’s also a rather comfy chair to sit in and is made to hold up over time, with pocketed steel coil springs to back up the already-resilient internal foam padding. To round things out, that wide winged back has a certain Drama™ to it that might just make you feel like a diabolical genius every time you sit in it

• Cooling gel memory foam pillows ($40 for set of two) — Similar to much more expensive options, these pillows are filled with shredded memory foam infused with cooling gel for a luxurious-feeling sleep experience. And when I say filled, I mean stuffed to the brim — you’ll notice some complaints from Amazon reviewers that the pillows are too thick and firm, apparently not realizing you can remove any amount of extra fill you like to achieve the desired level of support.

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🧠 For Clever Kids:

• Folding pocket knife for kids ($26) — The Swedish stainless steel blade of this beginner folding knife from Opinel is blunt-tipped so you don’t have to worry about your kid accidentally stabbing themselves, and it has a locking ring to keep it securely open or shut as needed. We also like that there’s a safety whistle built into the wooden handle.

  We recommend pairing this gift with Chris Lubkemann’s  The Little Book of Whittling as a starter reference guide for your young scout/adventurer.

• Rock tumbler kit ($60) — If you know a kid who’s super into collecting rocks and minerals everywhere they go, they’re exactly the right person to have a rock tumbler. It’s a device used to smooth and polish rocks by tossing and rolling them around with water and some abrasive gritty material. Over the course of weeks or months, the inner beauty of those rough rocks comes out and they become beautiful, shiny gemstones that are fun to collect, can be made into jewelry or used for decorative purposes around the home, or whatever else.

• STEM Master building toys ($15) — We love a good toy construction set around here, whether it’s building bricks, snap-together circuits, wooden machines, foam blocks, or kinetic sculptures.

  Now we’ve added STEM Master building toys to the list. They make use of a variety of piece shapes that allow you to engineer all sorts of buildings, vehicles, creatures, geometric shapes, and more. It’s one of those things where your imagination is the only real limit, and it comes with a guide for making 42 designs, from easy to advanced in difficulty.

• 3D maze game ($35) — If you have a kid whose first instinct is to reach for a screen or video game whenever they’re bored, try handing them Spin Master’s Perplexus 3D marble maze and watch as it consumes their whole attention and gets their problem-solving skills going. The game makers managed to fit this 22-foot-long maze into a small clear globe, which the user must spin and flip in order to move a weighted metal ball along the numbered track, with 100 different obstacles to overcome along the way.

  Honestly, this isn’t just a kid’s game. There’s plenty enough challenge to keep us grown-ups entertained as well, and there are even three different starting points so you’re not running the same exact path over and over once you’ve solved it.

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After all these years (that one’s for my fellow Silverchair fans out there) the AeroPress remains the best way to brew coffee while traveling or exploring the outdoors. The portability, ease of use, and extraction quality just can’t be beat.

However, even the best travel coffee maker is nothing without a supply of freshly ground coffee beans. VSSL’s beautiful JAVA manual coffee grinder is almost over-engineered to get the job done, and you can be sure it won’t let you down, whether you’re in the backcountry or hopping from one hotel/Airbnb to the next.

The JAVA’s body is crafted from water-resistant aircraft-grade aluminum so that it’ll last a lifetime even while weighing under 13 oz, and it makes use of a high-carbon stainless steel conical burr with dual-axle bearings to ensure consistent grind size every single time, without any “wobbling” while grinding.

One of the cleverer bits of the JAVA’s design is its dual-purpose extendable handle, which not only offers smooth and effortless rotation during the grind process, but can also be flipped over and attached to the other side of the cap, creating an ergonomic handle or carabiner clip for your carrying/packing convenience.

Get the VSSL JAVA grinder for $160 on Amazon in your choice of Black, Predator Green, or Tusk White.

Buy Now

We’ve written so many words about the AeroPress coffee maker over the years. We’ve discussed our favorite brewing recipes, the best attachments and accessories, nifty organizer stands, alternate forms of the brewer itself, and more.

So, I won’t repeat what you probably already know about the thing. All I’ll say is that if you’ve never liked the dull gray or brown color of the more recent AeroPress models, you’ll be glad to know there’s finally a crystal clear version available once again! And this time, it’s made of BPA-free shatterproof Tritan plastic.

Look Ma, you can see what the coffee’s doing in there!

Now before you go buy this thing, you might want to know that despite costing more than previous models, the clear AeroPress no longer includes the funnel accessory, and it comes with fewer paper filters than before (100 instead of 350).

Actually, if there’s anyone whose first impressions are worth listening to about this, it’s James Hoffmann:

If those factors aren’t major concerns for you, then you can get the AeroPress Clear for $50 on Amazon.

Buy Now

Welcome to the 2022 Tools & Toys Christmas Catalog!

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Bienvenue, everyone. It’s that time once again to proudly share with you our favorite and most gift-worthy items of the past year, hand-selected for your holiday shopping and personal wishlist needs. We’ve been doing this every year for nearly a decade now, and it’s still something we get a lot of joy from putting together.

As usual, this is a pretty extensive catalog to browse all at once, so for your convenience, we’ve grouped the items into categories and have a handy  Table of Contents  that lets you click around to any section you like and back again.

Moreover, we are continuing our tradition of highlighting two of our favorite non-profits.Here at Tools & Toys we have always given away 11 percent of our gross income to charity, and during the months of November and December, we’ll be donating 11% of our gross specifically to these two non-profits: Operation Christmas Child and St. Jude.

As we say every year, thank you so much, dear reader, for your attention and your patronage. Tools & Toys continues to be predominately supported by readers like you who purchase something on Amazon through one of our links. You — yes you! — make our work possible, and we only hope that in return you’ve found some truly awesome stuff to have in your life.

Thank you, and happy holidays!

— The Tools & Toys Staff

Table of Contents

 Apple

• Magnetic stand for iPad and iPad Pro
• Solid walnut MagSafe charging stations for iPhone, Apple Watch, and/or AirPods
• Premium calf leather iPad case
• Rugged yet comfortable Apple Watch strap with magnetic buckle
• iPhone gaming controller with PlayStation-like design
• DSLR-style iPhone shutter grip + wireless power bank

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CharJenPro “MagFlött” magnetic stand for iPad and iPad Pro. ($119 for 12.9″ size, $109 for 11″/10.9″ size)

CharJenPro “MagFlött” Magnetic Stand for iPad & iPad Pro »

With its premium, almost Apple-like solid aluminum base and adjustable magnetic back panel that creates a “floating” effect, the MagFlött iPad stand by CharJenPro would make a sweet addition to any iPad owner’s workspace. Comes in two sizes to be compatible with a bunch of different iPad sizes from the past few years.

Studio Neat’s new Material Dock MagSafe charging stations. ($54 or $85, depending on model)

Studio Neat “Material Dock” MagSafe Charging Stations for iPhone, Apple Watch, and/or AirPods »

Just in time for the holiday season, our friends at Studio Neat have launched two new versions of their Material Dock, both of which are designed with MagSafe-compatible iPhones in mind.

1. The Material Dock “Trio” ($85) offers 3-in-1 for charging your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods.
2. Meanwhile, the Material Dock “Upright Duo” ($54) is for charging your iPhone and AirPods together (or two iPhones).

As with previous editions, the new Material Docks are milled from solid walnut wood and given a matte finish, with a molded cork backing piece for the Apple Watch to wrap around while charging. Underneath is a microsuction pad to keep it securely in place wherever it lives.

(Note: No MagSafe connector is included; the user must bring their own.)

DODOcase Noblessa leather case for iPad. ($155, $175, or $195 depending on iPad size/model)

DODOcase Noblessa Leather iPad Case »

In a happy marriage of modern technology and ancient tradition, DODOcase’s Noblessa leather iPad case is handcrafted from premium calf leather using age-old bookbinding techniques. The leather has characteristics of high durability and resistance to water, along with a naturally occurring embossed grain print unique to every item.

The case interior is lined with a soft suede leather, while the exterior features a magnetic Smart Cover to activate the iPad’s sleep/wake functions when opening or closing it. When open, the iPad can be angled in one of two viewing positions while it’s set on a desk or table, or the case can simply be opened all the way around to the back for comfortable handheld reading.

DSPTCH “Fidlock” strap for Apple Watch. ($36)

DSPTCH Fidlock Apple Watch Strap »

Made from a soft herringbone nylon webbing, DSPTCH’s “Fidlock” Apple Watch strap has a kind of rugged “mil-spec”-esque look while being quite comfortable for everyday wear.

The most interesting bit however is the Fidlock Hook 20 Flat clasp it gets its name from, which features integrated magnets and a hook to easily yet securely snap together, and just as easily disengages later when you want to take the watch off. No having to fiddle with buckles or strap holes or anything like that. Just click it together and be on your way.

The PS5-inspired “Backbone One” iPhone gaming controller. ($100)

PlayStation Edition “Backbone One” iPhone Gaming Controller »

For the past couple years, the Backbone One has been one of the mobile gaming controllers to have if you’re going to buy one. It’s certainly gotten a lot of love on r/iosgaming ever since its release.

Now, portable gaming feels even more like the console experience thanks to the officially Sony PlayStation-licensed edition of the Backbone One, which takes all its design inspiration from the DualSense 5.

ShiftCam ProGrip iPhone shutter grip + wireless power bank. ($150)

ShiftCam “ProGrip” DSLR-Style iPhone Shutter Grip + Wireless Power Bank »

Know someone who’s never not taking photos with their iPhone? Then they’ll appreciate the ShiftCam ProGrip, which adds a comfortable and ergonomic camera-style grip to your iPhone — complete with industry-standard tripod and hotshoe mounts — and has a wireless shutter button that seamlessly pairs with your camera app, allowing you to take photos with your index finger just like the real thing.

The grip and shutter button alone are cool enough, but then you discover that the device also acts as a 6,400-mAh wireless (Qi) power bank that keeps your iPhone topped up through longer shooting sessions. You can even hook up a second small device via USB-C and charge it up as well.

Audio

• Noise-cancelling wireless headphones that intelligently tailor the audio experience
• Sleek and stylish true-wireless earphones with active noise cancellation
• Hi-fi bookshelf speakers that won’t break the bank
• Luxury gaming headphones with exceptional sound and comfort
• Studio-quality condenser mic that makes your music recordings/podcasts/streams sound awesome
• Portable Bluetooth speaker with vintage rock amp design

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Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones. ($349)

Sony WH-1000XM5 Noise-Cancelling Wireless Headphones »

With the release of their WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones earlier this year, Sony once again took things to another level in terms of audio quality, noise cancelling technology, and comfort.

In addition to the world-class, high-resolution and natural audio quality this family of headphones is known for, the WH-1000XM5s are able to automatically optimize your listening and noise cancellation experience based on your environment (including atmostpheric pressure!) and can even cut out background noise during phone calls so your voice always comes through crystal clear.

The cherries on top? All-day listening comfort and up to 30 hours of battery life to back it up.

Master & Dynamic MW08 true wireless earphones with active noise cancellation. ($299)

Master & Dynamic MW08 Noise-Cancelling True Wireless Earphones »

Made from ceramic, aluminum, and stainless steel, Master & Dynamic’s MW08 true wireless earbuds are for those who to stay productive even while commuting or going on a morning run, and maintaining a certain level of style while doing it. They’re super sleek, feel premium to the touch, offer superb sound quality, and are quite comfortable to wear for long periods.

The earphones use an array of six microphones that work together to reduce wind noise and other distractions during calls. They’re also IPX5-rated so you can work up a sweat while wearing them without fear of damage. And, if you include the charging case’s battery capacity, they offer up to 42 hours of total playtime (or just 12 hours with the earphones alone).

Triangle Borea BR03 bookshelf speakers. ($350–$400 per pair, depending on colorway)

Triangle Borea BR03 Hi-Fi Bookshelf Speakers »

Hi-fi bookshelf speakers make an excellent addition to any home audio setup, but not everyone can afford to drop, say, $1,600 on a pair of LS50 Metas. That’s okay, because you can spend a quarter of that amount on the Triangle Borea BR03s and still have something you truly enjoy coming home and listening to after a long day.

These speakers offer a flawlessly natural and ear-pleasing audio experience that can make any recording sound real — especially once broken in a bit — almost as though the artist is putting on a live concert right there in your living room. Even if you crank up the volume, you’ll hear nary a distortion or buzz with the BR03s. These babies sound clean all the way up, even with the incredible richness and deepness of the bass that just about removes any need for a separate subwoofer.

You can place the speakers on a shelf or other surface of course, but there’s also the option of pairing them with the company’s own glossy black or glossy white speaker stands, which allow you to play with their placement a bit more (and look awesome besides).

Master & Dynamic MG20 gaming headphones. ($449, available in Galactic White and Black Onyx)

Master & Dynamic MG20 Luxury Gaming Headphones »

If there’s a company you can trust to put out a set of absolutely premium gaming-dedicated headphones, it’s Master & Dynamic, and with their over-ear MG20 gaming headphones, they really cranked the ‘Luxury’ dial to 10.

Boasting 50mm Beryllium drivers, 7.1 surround sound, and Qualcomm technologies like aptX HD for music and aptX Low-Latency for mobile gaming, the MG20s deliver exceptional sound that will make you feel like you’re truly in the game, no matter your platform of choice. Meanwhile, the sophisticated materials they crafted the headphones from — like the Alcantara headband, the lambskin-wrapped memory foam ear pads, the anodized aluminum body, and the lightweight magnesium ear cups — offer a first-class comfort experience all the way from level 1 to 100.

Other nice touches include the detachable boom microphone, the secondary onboard mic that works great for phone/video calls, Bluetooth 5.0 functionality for a secure connection up to 100 feet away, and 22 hours of battery life on a single charge

The RØDE NT-USB+ USB condenser mic. ($169)

RØDE NT-USB+ Professional USB Condenser Microphone »

Released nearly a decade after the original NT-USB mic, RØDE’s new NT-USB+ aims to continue being the go-to recording device for musicians, podcasters, streamers, audiobook narrators, and content creators everywhere.

This next-generation mic sports the same iconic form factor as the first — especially thanks to the included pop filter and desktop stand — but brings it into the modern era with a bevy of new features, including internal DSP, upgraded internal circuitry, a USB-C output, and more.

Marshall Acton II Bluetooth speaker. ($150)

Marshall “Acton II” Portable Bluetooth Speaker »

Similar to their “Emberton” model, Marshall’s stylish “Acton II” Bluetooth speaker rocks the company’s classic amp style, drawing the attention of both the eyes and the ears as it delivers a powerful listening experience in a portable package.

Inside the Acton II’s wooden cabinet construction are three dedicated class D amplifiers that power dual tweeters and a subwoofer, the sound of which can be fine-tuned to your liking thanks to the separate bass and treble adjustment knobs next to the volume dial on top of the unit.

The speaker supports Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity for up to two devices at once, so you can take turns choosing songs with a buddy. There’s also an AUX port in case you wanna go old-school.

  + Thanks to the recent release of the next-generation Acton III ($280), the price of the Acton II has been marked down considerably. All the better for your shopping needs!

Bags & Organizers

• Small and slim zip pouch for organizing all your tech accessories
• Classy leather Dopp kit with waterproof lining
• Slim laptop sleeve that manages to be both featherlight and protective
• Waxed canvas + leather knife roll bag that will make you feel like the coolest cook in town

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Bellroy Tech Kit Compact organizer pouch. ($55, available in a variety of colors/materials)

Bellroy Tech Kit Compact »

Bellroy’s Tech Kit Compact is a small and slim zip pouch for keeping all your tech accessories — cables, adapters, dongles, earbuds, etc — neat and organized.

The pouch unzips flat for easy access to everything stored inside, all of which is held in place by a combination of stretch mesh pockets and wide elastic loops. There’s also a slip pocket with a magnetic closure that’s perfect for fitting a power bank into.

Aaron Leather Goods Dopp kit. ($40)

Aaron Leather Goods Dopp Kit with Waterproof Lining »

For you frequent travelers out there, this leather Dopp kit from Aaron Leather Goods is a classy way to keep your toiletries organized and conveniently grabbable, without spending nearly as much as you’d expect for a leather bag of this quality.

The exterior is made from genuine buffalo leather — with the exception of vegan leather handles and bottom trim — while the spacious dual-zippered main compartment and side pocket both have waterproof linings to protect from any possible product leakage inside the bag.

Underneath the bag are four metal feet so you can set it by the bathroom sink without fear of it resting in a puddle. Of course, the company also added metal YKK zippers for maximum durability, and there are multiple inner pockets in the main compartment for keeping things all the more neatly organized.

Bellroy Lite Laptop Sleeve. ($45)

Bellroy Lite Laptop Sleeve »

A MacBook has never exactly been a cheap purchase to make, and you want to make sure yours is protected as well as it can be, even from the other stuff in your daily carry bag. Bellroy’s Lite Laptop Sleeve is everything you could want in this department.

With an exterior made from a sleek matte diamond-patterned ripstop material, this sleeve manages to be both featherlight and protective against water splashes and scratches, while its two different types of lightweight foam padding keep the laptop safe from bumps and bangs.

This is one of those laptop cases that just feels nice in the hand, in a squishably soft way. It gives off the luxury vibes of a high-end leather case, with the “feels good” that comes from knowing it’s actually made from 100% recycled PET plastic bottles.

Tolredo waxed canvas + leather knife roll storage bag. ($129)

Tolredo Handcrafted Waxed Canvas & Leather Knife Roll Storage Bag »

Have you ever daydreamed of rolling up on some situation where a cook’s skills and expertise are needed, and everyone gathers ’round while you place down and unfurl your shiny collection of kitchen knives, eliciting oohs and aahs from the crowd? Then this knife roll from Tolredo Handcrafted should appeal to you.

Crafted from waxed canvas with genuine leather trim and lining, this storage bag fits and protects up to 10 knives and/or other kitchen implements up to 18″ long. When rolled up and buckled shut with the dual leather straps, the knife case is fitted with a nice leather carry handle that you can use, or you can clip on the optional leather shoulder strap for hands-free carry.

Books

• The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
• Aggressively Happy: A Realist’s Guide to Believing in the Goodness of Life
• Tools: The Ultimate Guide
• Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe
• Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide
• The Flavor Bible

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The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig. ($17 hardcover)

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig »

Based on John Koenig’s long-running website and YouTube channel of the same name, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is a 300-page “dictionary of made-up words for emotions that we all feel but don’t have the words to express.”

If that sounds too strange to understand, here are some examples of words you can look up in the book:

• sonder — The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own — an epic story in which you might appear only once
• lachesism — The desire to be struck by disaster, hoping it will shake up your life.
• anemoia — A pang of nostalgia for a time you’ve never actually experienced, like you might feel when looking through someone else’s old photos.
• kenopsia — The eerie atmosphere of a place that is usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet.

Accompanying the definitions throughout are plenty of otherworldly illustrations and other imagery, which are a treat on their own.

Aggressively Happy by Joy Clarkson. ($25 hardcover)

Aggressively Happy by Joy Clarkson »

In an online world full of ugliness, cynicism, and despair, Joy Clarkson’s Twitter and Instagram pages are always an oasis of…well, joy — a teatime balm for the soul. As such, her book Aggressively Happy: A Realist’s Guide to Believing in the Goodness of Life, is definitely one you should have on your radar, especially if the world has been getting you down lately.

This is a book all about cultivating happiness in your life, despite the darkness and pain out there, using lessons and insights taken from literature, poetry, and scripture. (Even if the latter isn’t your thing personally, hopefully you can accept that {Chef Gusteau voice} great teachings can come from anywhere.)

By the end of the book, you’ll have the tools to find encouragement and comfort in all things (yes, even sadness); to enjoy things unironically; to face down outer turmoil with inner light, bravery, and hope. A book best enjoyed with a latte or cup of hot tea in hand. ☕️

Tools: The Ultimate Guide by Jeff Waldman. ($19 hardcover)

Tools: The Ultimate Guide by Jeff Waldman »

Look, not everyone is lucky enough to grow up with a mentor who shows them how to use tools to fix/build stuff. If you (or someone you know) could use a helping hand diving into the world of DIY and making for the first time, Jeff Waldman’s Tools: The Ultimate Guide is a handy resource that just might save you a whole lot of trial-and-error as you learn the ropes:

Cataloging more than 500 tools for measuring, cutting, fastening, and shaping-from hammers and saws to wrenches, welders, and drawknives-along with their uses, their histories, and how to care for them so they last a lifetime, this compendium is your steadfast guide to home improvement and skilled craftwork. With it, you’ll avoid wasting countless hours on head-scratching home repairs, wonky backyard builds, and failed garage tinkering. This is the book for answering all your tool questions, gaining knowledge before hiring a professional, or riffling through just for the joy of learning something new about the objects that shape our world.

Flip around. Browse at random. Figure out how a tool works and how it doesn’t. Put a tool in your hand and fix something. Make something. Grab this book and get to work.

Bought your first house and have no clue how to fix what needs fixing, or what tools you even need for those jobs? Thinking of trying your hand at woodworking? Already have knowledge about some tools but lack experience with others? Then this is the book for you. Very approachably written and fun to browse through.

Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe by Yumi Sakugawa. ($18 hardcover)

Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe by Yumi Sakugawa »

Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe is a 2014 book by comic book artist Yumi Sakugawa that acts as a kind of hand-drawn spiritual guidebook for reconnecting with the universe.

Might sound corny or even “woo-woo” to some of you reading this, but it really is a delightfully sweet and gently playful little graphic novel full of wisdom and meditations on metaphysical matters:

Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe erases the boundaries of the standard self-help book and sets you free on a visual journey of self-discovery. Set against a surreal backdrop of intricate ink illustrations, you will find nine metaphysical lessons with dreamlike instructions that require you to open your heart to unexplored inner landscapes. From setting fire to your anxieties to sharing a cup of tea with your inner demons, you will learn how to let go and truly connect with the world around you.

Whether you need a little inspiration or a completely new life direction, Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One with the Universe provides you with the necessary push to find your true path — and a whimsical adventure to enjoy on the way there.

Gastro Obscura by Cecily Wong & Dylan Thuras. ($26 hardcover)

Gastro Obscura by Cecily Wong & Dylan Thuras »

Brought to you by author Cecily Wong and the curious minds at Atlas Obscura — which we’ve covered many times around here — Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide follows in the footsteps of their first book, taking you on an eye-opening adventure through the often-surprising culinary world:

This breathtaking guide transforms our sense of what people around the world eat and drink. Covering all seven continents, Gastro Obscura serves up a loaded plate of incredible ingredients, food adventures, and edible wonders. Ready for a beer made from fog in Chile? Sardinia’s “Threads of God” pasta? Egypt’s 2000-year-old egg ovens?

But far more than a menu of curious minds delicacies and unexpected dishes, Gastro Obscura reveals food’s central place in our lives as well as our bellies, touching on…

• History: Trace the network of ancient Roman fish sauce factories.
• Culture: Picture four million women gathering to make rice pudding.
• Travel: Scale China’s sacred Mount Hua to reach a tea house.
• Festivals: Feed wild macaques pyramid of fruit at Thailand’s Monkey Buffet Festival.

…and hidden gems that might be right around the corner, like the vending machine in Texas dispensing full sized pecan pies. Dig in and feed your sense of wonder.

The book is organized by country and is full of utterly fascinating facts about our relationship with gastronomy, with lavish illustrations and well-researched and engaging writing that you won’t want to put down. Just don’t go in thinking you’re going to find a bunch of recipes — this is NOT a cookbook. (We’ll leave that to the item below.)

The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. ($20 hardcover)

The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg »

No cookbook ever printed has embodied the saying “flavor is the spice of life” more than Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg’s 2008 best-seller, The Flavor Bible. If you’ve ever gotten bored of your own cooking — chicken breast again?! — then this is the book for you.

Rather than simply presenting you with a bunch of recipes to follow, The Flavor Bible is all about becoming more intuitive with flavor combinations and seasonings so you can coax deliciousness out of pretty much anything. It’s indexed into an alphabetical list of ingredients that you can peruse and cross-reference to discover compatible flavor combos that can be employed for the rest of your home cooking life.

There are also plenty of quotes and little essays by all kinds of chefs throughout that will further inspire you in your culinary advenures (and hopefully, experimentation).

☕️ Coffee & Tea

• One of the sleekest-looking coffee grinders on the market, with some awesome new upgrades
• An upgrade to our favorite variable-temp gooseneck kettle
• Nice little bamboo organizer stand for the AeroPress + accessories
• The smallest, most portable espresso maker you’re ever likely to find
• Barista-approved mug for pouring better latte art
• Travel mug that regulates temperature even better than vacuum insulation

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Fellow’s second-generation Ode Brew coffee grinder. ($345, available in matte white and matte black)

Fellow “Ode Brew” (Gen 2) Coffee Grinder »

Fellow’s original Ode Brew grinder has been doing quite well for itself since it launched in early 2021. However, some people had issues with how messy it could be, along with an issue in the hopper design that sometimes prevented a continuous feed of beans into the machine.

The company has taken these criticisms to heart, and they’ve introduced a second-generation model with a number of new features such as much-improved burrs they designed in-house, anti-static technology for less grind mess, expanded bean/grounds capacity, and smoother bean feeding from the hopper.

Fellow Stagg EKG Pro gooseneck kettle. ($195 with matte black handle, $225 with walnut wood handle + lid pull)

Fellow “Stagg EKG Pro” Variable-Temp Gooseneck Kettle »

We’ve written many times about Fellow’s Stagg EKG electric gooseneck kettle — you know, the one you see all the fancy coffee shops using for pour-overs — and we still think it’s one of the best things to have in your home coffee setup. Now this often-imitated kettle has gotten even better with the release of the Stagg EKG Pro.

The EKG Pro brings everything you love about the original EKG and adds a bunch of neat new features to totally customize your brew experience, such as heat scheduling, altitude adjustment (hi, mountain people!), an optional Guide Mode with various coffee/tea brewing temp presets, an alert chime, firmware updates over Wi-Fi, and a new full-color high-resolution LCD display on the base.

Hexnub bamboo organizer stand for the AeroPress. ($33)

Hexnub Premium Bamboo Organizer + Stand for AeroPress »

This nice little bamboo stand, gives an AeroPress coffee maker and its accoutrement a place to rest when they’re not being used. It accommodates two coffee mugs up top while the AeroPress’ two plunger pieces hang separately inside for optimal drying. On the side of the caddy are slots for the official stirrer and coffee scoop.

Silicone mats on the top and interior surfaces keep the bamboo protected from residual heat and moisture. They’re easy to rinse off when needed, and even the bamboo only needs to be wiped down with a clean damp cloth once in a while to maintain its good looks.

  + This wall-mounted caddy is a similar solution that could free up even more counter space. Just be sure not to mount it too close to the underside of an above cabinet or else you won’t be able to get out the scoop and stirrer very well. (Some reviewers have mentioned using magnets to mount it on their fridge, which is a neat idea.)

The Picopresso ultra-portable espresso maker. ($130)

Wacaco “Picopresso” Portable Espresso Maker »

Over the past decade, Hong Kong company Wacaco has become well known around the world for their portable espresso makers, like the Minipresso and Nanopresso. Last year, they released their smallest model yet: the aptly named Picopresso.

Aimed at pro baristas and advanced-level enthusiasts — people who are already comfortable with shot-pulling technique, dialing in grind settings, tamping correctly, etc— the Picopresso gives you the power to pull an authentic cafe-quality espresso anywhere that will rival any high-end machine, right in the palm of your hand.

Despite its tiny size, it’s capable of reaching 18 bars of pressure — achieved by hand-pumping the piston on the side — which is way more than enough to pull fantastic, syrupy espresso shots worthy of Instagram (the usual recommendation is ~9 bars).

notNeutral LINO small latte mugs. ($25 per cup; includes saucer)

notNeutral “LINO” Small Latte Mug & Saucer »

notNeutral’s LINO small latte mugs are what countless cafés and professional baristas around the world use for their lattes. In fact, they were designed in collaboration with award-winning baristas to create a perfect blend of form and function that actually makes latte art easier thanks to the interior curvature — not to mention the increased thermal insulation that also comes as a result.

Each mug is beautifully made and feels good in the hand, with a handle that sits flush with the rim for better comfort and control, whether you’re pouring or drinking. You’ll almost swear it makes your lattes taste better, which obviously we can’t scientifically prove but it feels true anyway.

BURNOUT temperature-regulating travel mug. ($80)

BURNOUT Temperature-Regulating Travel Mug »

As much as we love vacuum insulation technology, it can sometimes feel like scientists have gone too far with its effectiveness. Having your coffee stay hot for hours on end seems great on paper, but what if you want don’t want to wait until deep into the afternoon before it stops scalding your mouth?

A few years ago, the team of aerospace engineers behind the BURNOUT temperature-regulating tumbler set out to fix this problem. They developed a clever technology they call “HeatZorb”, a bio-based phase change material that turns from a waxy substance to a liquid at 140°F.

Since the mug is lined with this substance and has a vacuum chamber outside of that, what this does is quickly take all that excess scalding heat from the beverage and stores it as thermal energy, slowly transferring back to your drink throughout the day.

In other words, your coffee cools down to drinking temperature within minutes and stays there for hours and hours. No more burning mouth, whatever the time of day!

Using literal rocket science to solve the little problems of life ☕️

🧑‍ Food, Drink & Kitchen

• Stainless steel pizza oven that can be fired up with wood or propane
• Dual-basket air fryer capable of handling up to 8 quarts of food at once
• A bread machine that’s almost like having a personal baker at home
• Beautiful 11-piece bartender kit with display crate/stand
• Mason jar pump dispensers for homemade syrups, sauces, etc
• Collapsible silicone microwave popcorn popper
• Swedish handcrafted cast iron spice grinder that’s almost too pretty to use
• Cheese slicer with rose wood handle (y’know, to make your life feel a little fancier)

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Solo Stove “Pi” stainless steel pizza oven. ($500 without gas burner, $700 with gas burner)

Solo Stove “Pi” Stainless Steel Pizza Oven »

If you had a choice between throwing a frozen pizza in the oven or cooking up a homemade one over a wood fire, which would you choose? Yeah, we thought so.

From the makers of these smokeless fire pits comes the Solo Stove “Pi” (get it?), a dual-fuel stainless steel pizza oven that, when fully equipped, can be fired up with your choice of either real wood (for max flavor) or propane (for ultimate convience). Either way, it takes only minutes to perfectly cook one pizza up to 12″ across, or a few personal-sized ones together.

  + Pairs nicely with this handmade rocking pizza cutter. ️

Instant Vortex Plus XL dual-basket air fryer. ($190)

Instant “Vortex Plus XL” 8-Quart Dual-Basket Air Fryer »

If you love your air fryer but often find yourself wishing you could have two batches of food cooking at once, then Instant’s Vortex Plus XL is the appliance for you. This thing is a beast, capable of handling up to 8 quarts of food at once across two side-by-side baskets, each with its own set of controls so you can adjust them for separate purposes (e.g. an entrée in one basket and a side dish in the other).

We really like the see-through windows on the front of each basket, allowing a clear video of the food as it’s cooking without having to stop the process. There are also smart programs built into the Vortex Plus XL that help synchronize cooking times between the two baskets, whether you’re preparing two different kinds of dishes or simply different proportions of the same thing.

Another nice touch is that, unlike so many air fryers out there, the handles for both baskets are attached at the top and bottom, which offers a greater feeling of control and stability when handling them.

Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus bread machine. ($377)

Zojirushi “Virtuoso Plus” Breadmaker »

Zojirushi’s “Virtuoso Plus” bread machine is almost like having your own personal baker at home. I mean, you have to add your own ingredients and press the buttons yourself (exhausting stuff, right?), but the machine takes care of pretty much everything else.

This thing makes two-pound rectangular loaves (and other things) with ease, whether you prefer white, wheat, multi-grain, gluten-free, vegan, or whatever else — and the crust will be perfectly browned every time, thanks to the combination of the lid’s built-in heating element and the option to select a light, medium, or dark crust shade.

The dual blades at the bottom of the removable nonstick baking pan also help keep all those ingredients thoroughly kneaded throughout the pre-bake process.

There are lots of other neat settings and options to play with as well, like the delay-start timer that can put off the end of the baking cycle up to 13 hours, so you can prep in advance and have a loaf ready at a more convenient time.

Mixology & Craft 11-piece bartender kit. ($29)

Mixology & Craft 11-Piece Bartender Kit »

One surefire way to make a home more interesting is setting up a small cocktail bar there, and this stylish 11-piece bartending kit comes with all the tools needed to whip up some fantastic drinks: a stainless steel shaker, a strainer, a long spiral stirring spoon, a muddler, ice tongs, two jiggers (small and large), two liquor pourers, a corkscrew tool, and a wooden crate/stand that can be hung on the wall by a rope for display purposes.

Each item in the set has a chic copper/rose gold hue that makes them just as enjoyable to look at as they are to use.

Jarmazing mason jar syrup dispensers. ($23 for set of two)

Jarmazing Mason Jar Syrup Dispensers »

Know someone who takes pride in making their own salad dressings, coffee flavoring syrups, and/or dipping sauces? Then they’ll dig these 16oz mason jar dispensers, which not only give them a place to store those homemade concoctions, but also make it easy to pump them out as needed.

Popco collapsible silicone popcorn popper. ($14)

Popco Collapsible Silicone Microwave Popcorn Popper »

Some families are VERY serious when it comes to their popcorn consumption, and they go through a TON of the stuff. For them, a collapsible popcorn popper will undoubtedly get a lot of use. You don’t even have to put oil into the thing before microwaving it; just pour in a ¼ or ½ cup of kernels and you’re good to pop away. However, you can still add just a touch of coconut or avocado oil and some salt and get great results that way too.

When it’s done, you’ll almost always find very few unpopped kernels in the batch, and after being rinsed out, the container collapses down into a more easily stowable size. (Just know that the silicone can be a bit hot to handle right out of the microwave, so be careful and maybe use pot holders just in case.)

Skeppshult cast iron spice grinder. ($66)

Skeppshult “Swing” Cast Iron Pepper Mill & Spice Grinder »

This handcrafted cast iron spice grinder from Swedish company Skeppshult is almost too pretty to use, but if you do decide to grab it off the shelf where it’s displayed, it’ll make short work of grinding peppercorns and other fresh spices:

Its two-tiered construction is pretty clever actually. Once you’ve ground up a spice in the bottom canister, you can pour it into the top compartment and store it there under the silicone-sealed walnut lid.

Boska cheese slicer with rose wood handle. ($17)

Boska Cheese Slicer with Rose Wood Handle »

Once you’ve decided to step up your cheese game, your tools for the job need to step up with you. Toss out that old cutter with the breakable wire and replace it with a traditional-style Boska cheese plane instead.

This sleek stainless steel cheese plane has a handsomely dark beech wood handle that’s comfortable to hold as you effortlessly create uniform slices from all kinds of semi-hard to hard cheeses (manchego, gouda, aged cheddar, pecorino, etc). It also works wonders on cold sticks of butter.

Gadgets & Accessories

• The latest and greatest base-model Kindle e-reader
• Entry-level 3D printer that offers a phenomenal amount of model detail
• Portable power station and solar generator
• Home theater projectors that give any home media setup a sweet upgrade
• Handheld sound studio for creating music immediately, wherever you go
• Portable charger capable of charging an iPad Pro 2.6x over while you’re actively using it

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The 2022 base-model Amazon Kindle e-reader. ($100 with lockscreen ads, $120 without ads)

The 2022 Amazon Kindle »

Recommending Kindles is a tradition that goes all the way back to our first Christmas Catalog. Nearly a decade later, we still believe it’s the best way to consume ebooks, and the 2022 base model is the latest and greatest option, now featuring an upgraded 300ppi high-resolution glare-free display (3x the pixels as the old model!), double the storage (now up to 16GB), USB-C charging, and longer battery life.

ELEGOO Mars 2 Pro 3D printer. ($171)

ELEGOO “Mars 2 Pro” MSLA Resin 3D Printer »

Elegoo’s Mars 2 Pro is a fantastic way to get into the world of 3D printing, whether you’re wanting to craft figurines to paint, design and manufacture your own chess pieces, create little sculptures to place around your house, add some fun accessories to your kids’ toys, prototype physical products, or produce those bits and bobs you might need on DIY jobs.

It can print at 2K HD resolution (2560×1440), so your prints can have a phenomenal amount of detail, with print layer lines so fine they’re practically invisible, resulting in unbelievable crisp, smooth models. Moreover, each layer only takes about two seconds to cure, whereas many printers at this price point would take more like 6–8 seconds per layer — it’s a huge time saver.

Ecoflow DELTA 2 portable power station. ($899)

EcoFlow DELTA 2 Portable Power Station »

If you’re familiar with portable power stations from the likes of Goal Zero and Jackery, then you’ll get the idea behind the DELTA 2 by EcoFlow right away.

Whether you’re out adventuring on the trail, dealing with a power outage at home, tailgating outside a stadium, attending a weekend-long festival, or whatever else, this awesome portable battery system will keep your stuff powered up and good to go.

With 1024Wh of battery capacity and up to 1800W of power output across a bunch of different ports and outlets — which you can supplement by adding solar panels or an additional battery unit — this thing can easily power just about any collection of gadgets or even an appliance or two if needed. (See our original post for a chart with device examples.)

Anker NEBULA “Cosmos Laser” home theater projectors. ($1,100 for 1080p model, $1,600 for 4K model)

Anker NEBULA “Cosmos Laser” 1080P & 4K Projectors »

From Anker’s movie projector sub-brand Nebula comes this pair of high-definition “Cosmos Laser” projectors that can turn any space with a flat surface into an impressive home theater experience.

Available in 1080P ($1,700) and 4K ($2,200) resolutions, these portable projectors make every last pixel pop as they beam brightly across a huge 150″ screen (or all the way down to 60″) at an intense 2,400 ISO lumens, so you can see every detail at any time of day — indoors or outdoors, lights on or off.

On top of that, the projectors both make use of a special technology that intelligently analyzes any space you’re using one in (including the furniture and decorations) so it can automatically focus, perform keystone correction, and adjust the alignment to your screen size. Doesn’t matter if you bump into the projector or move it to another location; you don’t have to spend time fiddling with focus settings or tilting the device to get a better picture. It just works.

Artiphon Orba 2 handheld sound studio. ($150)

Artiphon “Orba 2” Handheld Synthesizer, Sound Looper, & MIDI Controller »

Artiphon is a Nashville-based company that designs what they call “smart instruments”, one of which is the Orba 2. This round handheld gizmo looks like some kind of game controller, but is in fact a portable sound studio that lets you create music immediately and wherever you go, even while walking.

With the Orba 2, you can create “instruments” from sounds in your environment — singing birds, a bicycle bell, your own voice, or whatever else — and then “play” melodies with them using the capacitive touch pads on top of the device, along with various gestures and movements that are picked up by its accelerometer and gyroscope.

From there, you can create 128-bar loops (up to ~5 minutes) with up to four layers of samples — Drum, Bass, Chord, and Lead — and have each of them automatically quantized to play in time perfectly, all right there on the device. You can also connect it to MIDI-based software and hardware via USB-C or Bluetooth to expand your music-making horizons even further.

Anker PowerCore Essential 20K PD portable power bank. ($59)

Anker PowerCore Essential 20,000mAh PD Portable Charger »

When it comes to portable chargers, it doesn’t get more reliable than Anker’s “PowerCore” lineup, and their PowerCore Essential 20K PD USB-C battery bank is no different.

That “PD” (Power Delivery) at the end of its name is really the key thing here, as it allows you to charge an iPad Pro while you’re actively using it, which is huge for those of us who rely on our iPads all day for work, gaming, and media. It also holds enough charge (20,000mAh) to accomplish this 2.6x over, so yeah — awesome.

If you use it to charge your phone instead, all the better. Even the 14 Pro Max gets 4.6x charges out of this thing. Basically, you’ll never regret having this battery bank on hand, no matter what you’re charging it with.

Games & Puzzles

• The new OLED-edition Nintendo Switch console
• Heirloom-quality editions of Scrabble and Monopoly
• The long-anticipated sequel to Psychonauts
• Colorful jigsaw puzzle based on a geometric painting by Frank Stella
• Root board game by Leder Games
• DUNE board game by Gale Force Nine

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The new OLED-edition Nintendo Switch portable game console. ($350, available in white and classic neon blue + red)

The Nintendo Switch OLED Edition »

Released a couple months ago, the new Nintendo Switch OLED edition takes everything you loved about the original Switch and added several improvements to make the gaming experience feel more premium:

• As its name suggests, this new Switch sports a 7-inch OLED screen, up from the original’s 6.2-inch LCD.
• It has a new device-wide adjustable kickstand that makes the original one look like a joke. (Let’s be honest, that stand was a joke, even for those of us who loved the console itself.)
• The Switch’s internal storage has been bumped from 32 GB to 64 GB.
• They’ve enhanced the onboard speaker audio for handheld and tabletop play.
• There’s now a built-in LAN port on the dock for physically connecting to your home internet setup.

Games you might pair with the OLED Switch are Mario Strikers: Battle League and Splatoon 3. We would also recommend a protective carrying case.

Heirloom-edition Scrabble and Monopoly board games. ($350 each)

Scrabble and Monopoly “Heirloom Edition” by WS Game Company »

Designed for those who enjoy the finer things in life, these heirloom-quality editions of the classic board games Scrabble and Monopoly are both crafted from solid walnut wood and feature their own integrated storage drawers to keep game pieces and other accessories contained nicely between sessions.

In addition to being handsome showpieces when they’re not being used, both game editions bring unique touches to the table (heh):

• The top of the Scrabble cabinet is actually a rotating turntable that allows players on all sides a comfortable view of the words currently on board.
• Meanwhile, the Monopoly set comes with custom-designed Chance, Community Chest, and Title Deed cards, as well as custom-designed money slips.

Each set includes solid wood and/or die-cast metal game pieces, which adds to the overall sense of quality you feel when playing either game.

Psychonauts 2: Motherlobe Edition for Xbox One and PS4. ($70, or $54 for standard Xbox edition without extras)

Psychonauts 2: Motherlobe Edition for Xbox One and PS4 »

The original Psychonauts video game by Double Fine Productions was a cult classic that still holds a special place in the hearts of many of us who were lucky enough to play it in the mid-2000s. We were even more excited when, a full sixteen years later, the long-awaited sequel was released.

Picking up right where the first game left off — which involved our young hero Razputin’s adventures at a psychic “summer camp” (read: secret government training facility) where he uncovered the mystery of his fellow campers’ brains being harvested for nefarious purposes — Psychonauts 2 once again follows Raz as he navigates a new set of mysteries.

Per our original synopsis:

Raz, who believes himself a fully inducted Psychonaut — the international team of pyschically gifted spies who use their abilities to stop evil-doers — finds out when he gets to Psychonauts HQ that he’s to be a mail room intern, not a proper agent.

What’s more, it’s been determined that a mole has infiltrated the organization with the aim of resurrecting a powerfully evil psychic named Maligula, and it somehow falls on Raz to once again piece together the clues and stop this plot before it’s too late.

Firuzabad jigsaw puzzle by Frank Stella + MoMA. ($18)

Frank Stella + MoMA “Firuzabad” Jigsaw Puzzle »

Based on the colorful geometric painting Firuzabad by American artist Frank Stella in 1970, this 750-piece jigsaw puzzle is a unique and vibrant way to challenge yourself for a few days. With its odd-shaped pieces and the abstract nature of the artwork itself, you’ll not only stretch your brain muscles a bit, you’ll come away with a great appreciation for this classic and complex work of art.

Root: a Game of Woodland Might and Right board game. ($75 for base game; expansions also available)

Root Board Game by Leder Games »

If you’ve ever wondered what Game of Thrones-style strategy and intrigue might look like in a humorous storybook/fairytale context, well, look no further than Leder Games’ Root: a Game of Woodland Might and Right.

Released in 2018, Root is a superbly fun asymmetric board game that has you leading one of four animal factions — the industrious Cats, the flying Eyrie, the shadowy Alliance, or the singularly mysterious Vagabond — each of which is fighting to control as much of the board as possible:

Root is a game of adventure and war where 2 to 4 players battle for control of a vast wilderness.

The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the region, the proud, squabbling Eyrie have found a new commander who they hope will lead their faction to resume their ancient birthright.

The stage is set for a contest that will decide the fate of the great woodland. It is up to the players to decide which group will ultimately take root.

You can see what we meant about that whole Game of Thrones thing, eh?

DUNE board game by Gale Force Nine. ($40 for base game, $23 for expansion set)

DUNE Board Game by Gale Force Nine »

Whether you’re a new fan because of the 2021 film remake) or you’ve long been a reader of the original novels, you’re going to have a great time playing Gale Force Nine’s DUNE board game, which they reissued in 2019 — 40 years after the original edition) was published.

This modernized version of the classic strategy game has you leading one of six powerful factions taken straight from Dune lore, each vying for control over melange (aka spice), the universe’s most valuable resource found only on the barren planet Dune.

Whichever faction you choose, you’ll need your political A-game to gain control over as much Dune territory as possible — and thus, control over the spice itself — by making alliances with other players and committing acts of treachery (so your allies don’t become too strong, you understand). During all of this, you must deal with military invasions, sandstorms, giant sandworms, and yes, backstabbing plots against your own leaders.

Home, Office & Decor

• Wooden wall murals with a surreal retro-futuristic aesthetic
• Handmade Star Wars oil paintings
• Smart light panels with a warm wooden aesthetic
• Levitating moon lamp that floats and rotates as if by magic (but really it’s just magnets)
• A clock that tells time in full sentences rather than numbers
• Personalized solar system art prints

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Frank Moth x Society6 wooden wall murals. ($150 or $180, depending on size)

Society6 x Frank Moth Wooden Wall Murals »

You’ll hardly find a more unique-looking way to spice up a given space than putting up these wooden mosaics, which are based on the atmospheric and surreal digital collages by “Frank Moth” (the pseudonym a pair of anonymous Greece-based graphic artists work behind)

These artworks often combine retro artwork with images of space travel and/or various forms of psychedelia, like nostalgic postcards that somehow arrived by way of the distant future. It’s a very cool and interesting aesthetic.

Star Wars oil paintings by Naci Caba. (from $340)

Naci Caba’s Handmade Star Wars Oil Paintings »

We’ll bet you never thought Star Wars and oil painting were things that could go together well, but Turkish artist Naci Caba is here to prove you wrong. The guy also does paintings based on The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and more. Cool, right?

Nanoleaf Elements “Wood Look” smart light panels. ($200 for 7-panel starter kit, $380 for 13-panel bundle, or $70 for 3-panel expansion pack)

Nanoleaf Elements “Wood Look” Smart Light Panels »

Nanoleaf’s standard light panels are cool enough as is, with their ability to change colors to suit your tastes or dynamically match the media you consume. However, their wooden hexagon light panels bring a whole different vibe that feels warmer and more understated.

Like the original panels, the “Wood Look” series is modular in that you can arrange them on your wall in whatever pattern you like. The difference is, they manage to look like an elegant and subtle piece of decor even when the lights are off, whereas the RGB ones don’t present nearly as much ambiance without their bright colors active.

While you don’t get a vibrant rainbow of colors to play with, you do get to create a cozy and calming atmosphere customized to your tastes (controlled via the Nanoleaf app), with the ability to configure animated light “scenes,” such as a crackling fireplace-like glow or a cascading waterfall effect.

FIRPOW levitating moon lamp. ($107)

FIRPOW Levitating Moon Lamp »

Have you ever dreamed of having an office like Dumbledore’s, where bits and bobs charmingly float and spin about? Well, you can take a step closer to that fantasy with a levitating moon lamp like this one.

Using the power of MAGNETS {insert Insane Clown Posse meme here}, this lunar light-up globe floats and rotates above its wooden base, suspended in the air by a seemingly invisible hand. With the included remote, you can switch the lamp between 18 different colors, adjust its brightness level, and activate one of a few different lighting modes: solid, flash, or fade.

Sharper Image Word Clock. ($27, available in black or copper)

Sharper Image Light-Up Word Clock »

The Word Clock from Sharper Image is a rather unique take on telling time, presenting it in full sentences (e.g. “It is five minutes past eleven” or “It is twenty minutes to nine”) rather than a simple numeric display. It feels reminiscent of a split-flip signboard.

You can mount it on a wall or set it on a table/desk. Not much else to say, other than that it’s a cool alternative to normal clocks. The one drawback is that it doesn’t run on batteries; you have to keep it plugged in to operate. Other than that, this is a sweet clock to have in your home or office.

SpaceTime Coordinates personalized solar system art prints. (from $39)

SpaceTime Coordinates Personalized Art Prints »

Got a space nerd in your life? Are you the space nerd and looking to treat yourself? Then you should check out these SpaceTime Coordinates prints, which use NASA data to precisely depict what our solar system looked like at any specific point in time that matters to you or a loved one:

Enter your special event date and get a perfect representation of the solar system at that point in time. See how our planets were aligned when you met, when you bought the house, when you became parents and commemorate the most important moments in your life.

No two different dates produce the same design, that’s why SpaceTime Coordinates products are so distinctive and personalized.

You don’t even have to go with a personalized date if you don’t want. You could pick… I dunno, the birthdate of your favorite president, or the date of an important event in history you’ve always been obsessed with. Anything goes!

Style, Grooming & Everyday Carry

• Wallet with anodized aluminum frame wrapped in leather or DTEX
• Mysteriously sweet and boozy fragrance that may become your new signature
• Dive watch with an autumnal spirit
• Stylish watch with case literally made from used coffee grounds
• Black bladed pocket knife with ebony wood handle
• The warmest, highest-quality sweatshirt of your life
• Suede slippers that can pass off as boots
• Merino wool calf socks with superb cushion and comfort

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Dango D03 aluminum + leather bifold wallet. ($39)

Dango D03 “Dapper” Bifold Wallet »

The D03 “Dapper” by Dango is a bifold wallet with a 6061 anodized aluminum chassis surrounded by your choice of black DTEX, black leather, or brown leather, which is fastened on with mil-spec bolts.

Between its two outer pockets (front and back), the inner ID window slot, the card ‘rail system’ built into the chassis, and the integrated elastic band, the D03 can hold up to 14 cards and some cash without breaking a sweat. That elastic band can be moved to the front exterior, the back exterior, or the interior as you like, so you really have a lot of options for how you load out this wallet.

Maison Margiela “REPLICA Jazz Club” fragrance. ($123 for 3.4 fl oz bottle or $38 for 0.34oz travel spray)

Maison Margiela “REPLICA Jazz Club” Fragrance »

French fashion house Maison Margiela has a line of fragrances they call REPLICA, each of which is intended to be evocative of a very specific moment or memory, like sailing around Paros Island in 2001 or relaxing by a crackling fireplace while snow falls outside. Yeah, that specific.

One of their more sophisticated offerings is Jazz Club, an alluring and thoroughly masculine fragrance (although some women also wear it well) that’s supposedly like stepping into a cozy Brooklyn nightclub in 2013.

Whatever its inspiration, this fragrance is sweet and boozy without cloying. You’ll get notes of smooth vanilla and dark spicy rum on top, with hints of leather and tobacco leaf in the background. We could imagine Don Draper wearing this.

  + We also recommend “1899” by Histoires de Parfums, a spicy yet smooth wintertime fragrance that opens with woodsy spicyness before mellowing into warm tones of cinnamon-y vanilla and tobacco with hints of citrusy orange blossom.

Timex x Todd Snyder Utility Ranger dive watch. ($259)

Timex + Todd Snyder “Utility Ranger” Dive Watch »

Designed in collaboration between Timex and menswear designer Todd Snyder, the Utility Ranger watch is an iteration on the timeless design (heh) of Timex’s Navi XL diving watch.

Although it’s a diver by nature — and it does boast 100-meter water resistance — the Utility Ranger evokes the colors and textures of woodsy autumn with its military olive dial and strap, along with the eyecatching orange bezel and second hand. It’s a real looker.

On the technical side of things, the 41mm stainless steel Utility Ranger features a Japanese automatic movement, a glass exhibition caseback so you can see those inner workings tick (and tock), and the strap is made from ballistic fabric for those rugged woodsman vibes.

Lilienthal-Berlin x Kaffeeform Coffee Watch. ($210 as of writing; normally $349)

Lilienthal-Berlin x Kaffeeform “Coffee Watch” »

In what may be the most Tools & Toys item of all time, the Coffee Watch is a stylish timepiece that features a case literally made from recycled coffee. What?!

Using a complex and 100% carbon-neutral upcycling process developed by Kaffeeform, used coffee grounds are collected from cafés and roasters around Berlin, then combined with renewable plant-derived materials and biopolymers to become a durable and sustainable material that can be used to create all sorts of products — in this case, a watch…er, case.

What’s crazy is that the material retains a hint of coffee aroma, so when you first put it on, there can be no doubt you are actually wearing coffee on your wrist.

They didn’t forget about aesthetics or utility either, as proven by the watch’s minimalist Bauhaus-style face, precise Swiss quartz movement, and the fact that its crown is recessed into the case back, lending a strikingly round look to the overall appearance.

Civivi Elementum pocket knife. ($64)

CIVIVI “Elementum” Pocket Knife »

CIVIVI, who you may remember as the makers of this interesting carabiner multi-tool, also produce the Elementum, a sweet-looking pocket knife with a stonewashed black D2 steel blade and an ebony wood handle.

On top of its slick presentation, the Elementum boasts a caged ceramic ball bearing at the blade’s pivot point for super smooth and fast opening/closing action. The blade also arrives wicked sharp out of the box, enough so that you could shave your arm hairs with it if needed.

  + Honorable mention goes to the stylish (but 3x expensive) Benchmade 533 “Mini Bugout” folding knife.

Arborwear Double-Thick Pullover Hoodie. ($120)

Arborwear Double-Thick Pullover Hoodie »

Looking for the warmest, highest-quality possible sweatshirt of your life? The Arborwear “Double-Thick” is it. Seriously, you don’t have to research any further.

This thing was designed for people who have to work outside all day in the extreme cold, right down to the oversized hood that fits over a hard hat or work helmet. Its super heavy (that “double thick” in the name isn’t just marketing), super warm, and it’ll still be going strong years or even decades from now.

All the comfort and warmth of a thick blanket, with the freedom of movement of a light jacket. This is an investment no one ever regrets.

UGG “Neuman” men’s suede slippers. ($120 per pair)

UGG “Neuman” Men’s Suede Slippers »

Taking design inspiration from their Neumel Boot and their Tasman Slipper, UGG’s hybrid Neuman Slipper is a treat for your feet on those cold mornings and evenings at home.

They feature a rich suede upper and a cushioned rubber Treadlite outsole with a sheepskin lining and wool insole, offering the ultimate warmth and comfort whether you wear them indoors or while you’re out walking the dog. What’s nice is, they don’t look like slippers at first glance — more like casual boots — so if you decide to wear them with sweats or jeans in public, nobody will think twice.

Bombas men’s merino wool calf socks. ($20 per pair)

Bombas Men’s Merino Wool Calf Socks »

A quality pair of socks can make all the difference in your daily comfort, and if they’re made of merino wool, that “first class” feeling increases all the more.

These merino wool calf socks from Bombas are what you’ll want on your feet this coming winter season. They’re superbly cushiony and comfortable, offer exceptional arch support on top of that, and they sport the natural moisture-wicking properties that make merino wool so great to begin with.

🛠 Tools & Trinkets

• Cordless electric screwdriver that’s easier on the wrists than a manual one
• 21-tool Leatherman with clever magnetic locking system
• Swiss-made pruning shears that will last a lifetime
• Drawstring tool bag for staying organized on the job
• 48-in-1 multifunction socket wrench
• Copper-headed hammer for driving tent stakes

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Hoto NEX O1 PRO cordless electric screwdriver. ($54)

Hoto NEX O1 PRO Cordless Electric Screwdriver »

This 3.6V electric screwdriver from Hoto a super handy gizmo to have in your toolbox, and could save your wrists a lot of strain in the long run.

Unlike your typical cordless drill, this isn’t some heavy and unwieldy tool; it’s designed to be easily used one-handed with the press of a button (either forward or backward). And there’s no big case or chunky charger to lug around either, because it conveniently plugs in via USB-C to recharge its 1,500mAh battery — that’s enough power to drive more than a thousand screws on a single charge.

The neck of the screwdriver has a built-in ring LED light that illuminates what you’re working on without casting annoying shadows, and it has four torque settings you can switch between as the job demands.

  + Add a leather holster to make the gift recipient even happier.

Leatherman FREE P4 multi-tool. ($150)

Leatherman “FREE P4” Multi-Tool »

Leatherman wasn’t messing around when they developed their FREE P4 multi-tool. This bad boy manages to pack 21 tools into its small frame, which is a lot of functionality to always have in your pocket. And with a closed length of just 4.25 inches and weighing in at only 8.6 ounces , you’ll barely even notice it’s there until you need it.

On top of that, they incorporated a clever magnetic locking system that makes it easy to access any of those 21 tools single-handedly, in almost fidget toy-like fashion:

Felco #2 pruning shears. ($59)

Felco #2 One-Handed Pruning Shears »

If you do a lot of gardening or landscaping and want a set of pruning shears that will last a lifetime, look no further than the Felco #2 pruners.

Made in Switzerland — with 100% renewable energy, no less — these shears tackle any pruning job with almost disturbing ease. If they had any sentience, we’re certain they’d be just as happy to snip off a whole finger as easily as they do thick branches and vines.

One of the best features of these shears (and there are many) is the sap groove that prevents the blade from sticking or gumming up from plant secretions, so you can keep pruning uninterrupted and worry about cleaning after. We also like the bright candy red handles that make them easy to find if they’re dropped in a bush somewhere.

If you treat them right, cleaning, oiling, and sharpening the blades regularly, these pruners will serve you well for decades to come. And if anything should go wrong, like a prematurely rusty blade or a busted spring, all the parts are user-replaceable, so you can Ship of Theseus these bad boys until the end of time.

CLC “BucketBag” drawstring tool bag. ($21)

CLC (Custom LeatherCraft) 18-Pocket Drawstring “BucketBag” »

Custom LeatherCraft’s BucketBag is a versatile polyester tool bag that keeps all your small stuff organized on the job while being very easy to carry around and accessible when needed.

It has six big compartments in the center where you can stow wrenches, pliers, and other essential handtools. Each of those compartments has an inner pocket, and there are six more around the outside of the bag — bringing the total number of compartments to 18 — all of which are perfect for stashing accessories, fasteners, and other bits and bobs you may need along the way.

The bag cinches together tightly with a locking drawstring to keep everything snugly inside as you use the center carry handle to tote the whole setup around. It’s also designed to fit at the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket, and when you get it out and set it somewhere, the soft bottom panel keeps the bag from tipping over. Just super convenient all around.

iPstyle 48-in-1 socket wrench. ($20)

iPstyle 48-in-1 Multifunction Socket Wrench »

If you’ve ever bought one of those cheap socket wrench sets, you know what a pain it is to keep up with all those little socket pieces. They inevitably fall off and get lost somewhere in your toolbag, and somehow it’s always the size you’re looking for that’s hardest to find when you need it most.

But not so with this multi-function socket wrench, which has sets of rotating sockets at each end that can accommodate a bunch of different SAE and metric sizes, both in a variety of nut/bolt head shapes. It’s an entire socket set in one tool!

Snow Peak Copper Head Peg Hammer. ($70)

Snow Peak Copper Head Peg Hammer »

The next time you head out on a tent camping trip, be sure to bring Snow Peak’s Copper Head Peg Hammer along to help with campsite setup and takedown — specifically, driving tent stakes into the ground and pulling them out later.

The hammer’s copper head lends it a shock-absorbing property, reducing stress on your arm and making the job feel a lot less laborious. It also has a side benefit of softening the ping noise each time you strike a tent stake, which your ears will thank you for.

  + Best gifted with the matching carry case, which will also hold several of those tent stakes linked above.

🧸 Toys & Kids

• Science activity kits from the makers of Snap Circuits
• YETI Rambler water bottle for kids
• Build-it-yourself spinning LEGO globe of the Earth
• Kids wireless headphones with a built-in mic
• Kaleidoscopic science books with magic viewing lenses
• Curved wooden balance board for endless kinds of play
• Star Wars R2-D2 Tamagotchi toy
• Magnetically rotating foam building blocks

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SMARTIVITY scientific activity kits. (Prices vary)

“Smartivity” STEAM Activity Kits »

The SMARTIVITY family of do-it-yourself kits by Elenco — makers of the also-excellent Snap Circuits product line — are a series of wood-and-rubber-band activity kits designed to get kids thinking about and playing with all kinds of scientific, mechanical, and mathematic subjects: gravity, hydraulics, centrifugal force, elasticity, optics, momentum, pressure, and so on.

To that end, they offer a whole bunch of different engineering kits to explore those topics:

• Pinball Machine ($39) — Teaches kids about levers, momentum, and energy transfer.
• Music Machine ($46) — A fully functioning mechanical xylophone for learning about gear mechanics, vibrations, and musical notes.
• Pirate’s Telescope ($38) — Refraction, depth of field, and trigonometric ratio.
• Chain Reaction ($55) — The domino effect, momentum transfer, and gravity.
• Hydraulic Crane ($29) — Hydraulics, pressure, and simple machines.
• Kaleidoscope ($35) — Mirrors, reflection, and color theory.
• Globe Explorer ($39) — An AR-enabled wooden globe that teaches about the geographic coordinate system, day versus night, trade routes, cultures and languages, cuisines around the world, etc.

…and there are even more where that came from. No matter which one you start with, you will quickly see how these kits get your kid thinking more critically, creatively, and confidently as they learn through play.

YETI Rambler Jr. kids water bottle. ($25)

YETI Rambler Jr. 12-ounce Water Bottle for Kids »

YETI’s 12-ounce Rambler Jr. is likely the last water bottle your kid will need until they’re an adult. It’s just as tough and over-engineered as its brethren, with the same double-walled vacuum insulation and long-lasting DuraCoat powder-coated color options that will withstand just about anything, including all the times you run the bottle through the dishwasher.

The Rambler Jr. comes with YETI’s flip-up straw cap for easy sipping. The lid is leakproof and shatter-resistant, sports a carry handle, and is just as dishwasher-safe as the bottle.

LEGO Ideas “The Globe” building set. ($230)

LEGO Ideas 21332 “The Globe” Building Set »

Based on a fan-created build by a French LEGO hobbyist — who was himself inspired by the adventurous tales of Jules Verne — this brilliant vintage-style LEGO globe is a customizable 2,585-piece display model of our planet.

The set makes use of LEGO Technic pieces as part of the globe’s axis, allowing it to spin just like the real thing. There are little ship and compass icons you can assemble and attach anywhere on the globe, and there are even glow-in-the-dark printed name tiles for the continents and oceans.

  + If you need more LEGO gift ideas, we have a whole backlog for you to peruse.

Riwbox kids wireless headphones with built-in microphone. ($31)

Riwbox AB005 Kids Wireless Headphones with Microphone »

If you thought wired headphones were already prone to breaking too soon, try buying a pair for your kids and see how long they las- aaaaand they’re already wrecked, aren’t they?

Don’t waste your money on anything with a permanent cord. Get a wireless kids headset like this one, which are intended to be used via Bluetooth 5.0 (although a 3.5mm audio cable is still included in case you need it). They sound surprisingly good for the price point, and they’re comfy enough for kids to wear on long road trips or during online classes without a problem.

Since the headphones have a built-in mic that doesn’t stick out in front of their face, using them for online schooling is actually pretty ideal. And when it’s time to put them away, they fold up and can easily be tucked into a bag or drawer.

The colorful flashing lights on the sides of the ears are a nice bonus on the ‘cool’ front.

Carnovsky “Illumine” kids science books. (Prices vary)

The “Illumine” Kids Science Book Series by Carnovsky »

The Milan-based art/design duo known as “Carnovsky” is perhaps best known for their three-layered RGB artworks, which can be viewed through each part of a three-color lens — red, green, and blue, respectively — to reveal just one of those layers at a time.

Keeping the theme of those pieces of art, they’ve partnered with a handful of authors to publish a series of STEM-friendly books for kids, each of which uses the same kaleidoscopic layering technique and comes with its own colored lenses, through which kids can explore various facets of whichever topic the book in question is about:

• Illuminature — All about the natural wonders of the world, with layers split into nighttime animals, daytime animals, and plants.
• Illuminatlas — Travel the continents of the world, learning about everything from landscapes to famous buildings to cultural artifacts…and yes, to more plants and animals.
• Illumisaurus — You can guess from the name, but this one’s about dinosaurs and other kinds of prehistoric life, as well as the habitats they once roamed.
• Illumanatomy — A colorful look into how the body works, divided into the skeleton (red), the muscles (green), and the organs (blue).
• Illuminightmare — Covers the histories and secrets of the most haunted and supernatural places in the world.
• Illumibugs — All about bugs, invertebrates, and other creepy crawlies the world over.

Any of these would make a great gift for a curious young reader, and even better would be handing them the entire collection at once

  + Another great book worth any kid’s attention is Oceanarium, or any of the other entries in the “Welcome to the Museum” series.

Kinderfeets Kinderboard balance/wobble board. ($90)

Kinderfeets “Kinderboard” Curved Wooden Balance Board »

Similar to the “Bilibo” toy we wrote about a couple years ago, Kinderfeets’ “Kinderboard” wobble board is the kind of open-ended toy that imaginative kids can do just about anything with, indoors or outdoors.

It can be a seesaw, a bridge, a low seat, a doll bed, a Hot Wheels ramp, a slide, a make-believe surfboard or snowboard…the possibilities are endless. It holds up to an impressive 485 pounds (!) too, so it’s not likely to break anytime soon.

The secret of the thing is that it’s kinda neat for grownups too. You can lay across it in “bridge” mode to pop your own back (at your own risk of course), you can incorporate it into a light exercise routine, keep it near your standing desk to get in some quick balance/leg work, do feet stretches on it, etc.

R2-D2 Tamagotchi toy. ($20)

Star Wars R2-D2 Tamagotchi »

In case you forgot  Tamagotchis were still a thing, you should know that the late-’90s fad is very much alive and well today, with new digital pets in the lineup being released all the time.

The R2-D2 Tamagotchi in particular puts the classic Star Wars droid in the palm of your hand, where you can care for the cute little guy, have him master skills through various training games, and enjoy several fun Star Wars “Easter eggs” (get it?) as they pop up throughout the day.

Similar to other Tamagotchis, you have to keep up with R2-D2’s maintenance, keeping him clean and charged up — or else he’ll start malfunctioning and eventually be carried away by Jawas :(

Blockaroo magnetic foam building blocks. (Prices vary)

Blockaroo Magnetic Foam Block Building Toys »

Blockaroos are a series of teacher-developed STEM toys that are made up of soft-touch, bath-safe foam pieces with magnetic touch points on one or more sides.

Those factors alone already make the blocks fun to mess around with, but what makes them really cool is that the magnets — which always attract, never repel — also enable the pieces to rotate 360° once connected, opening up entire other avenues of imaginative building.

Rotating the blocks creates an oddly satisfying clicky noise and feel, making them quite the tactile/sensory experience. The ease of connecting the magnetics together also makes it so younger toddlers can start building right away without struggling with the fine motor skills that other building toys require.

Highly recommended for parents of young ones who need a fun and safe outlet for their creativity. (And anyone sick of stepping on hard blocks with sharp edges in the middle of the night.)

Travel & Outdoors

• Portable 3-fuel grill & fire pit
• Guide book for tracking visits to US national parks
• Gardening stool that comes with an attachable tool bag and some basic tools
• Long-distance hiking backpack that’s built like a tank
• Portable tire inflator that could save your road trip
• Universal travel power adapter with four types of prongs to choose from

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Volcano Grills 3-in-1 camping grill and fire pit. ($184)

The Volcano Collapsible Propane + Charcoal + Wood Grill »

Stay at enough campgrounds and you’ll discover they can have very different rules about what kinds of campfires they allow. With the Volcano Grills 3-in-1 stove + fire pit, you get the best of all worlds. It can run off propane as needed, or you can build a wood fire in it, or you can burn some charcoal in there for cooking purposes.

What’s extra cool is just how portable the thing is, since the legs and body all collapse down into an easily transportable size/form factor. This is one of the most versatile tools to have in your outdoor travel kit. You’ll find uses for it almost everywhere you go.

  + Two great companions for the Volcano are the company’s own Dutch oven and these kabob grilling baskets.

Anderson Design Group National Park Adventure Guide book. ($35)

Anderson Design Group National Park Adventure Guide Book »

This little spiral-bound guide book is a fun way to track and commemorate your US national park visits.

With a page spread for each of the 63 currently designated national parks (as of 2022), the guide offers fun facts about each park and has spaces for you to sketch or jot down notes during a given visit, along with a checklist of 10 things to do and see there. There’s also a collection of “badge” stickers at the back of the book that you can place on the respective pages of any parks you’ve visited.

Gardening tool bag + stool set. ($26)

California Picnic’s Gardening Tool Bag + Stool Set »

Tending to your backyard garden doesn’t have to involve being on your hands and knees all day. With a lightweight and portable stool like this one, you can work all around your garden in comfort for as long as you need.

The cool thing about it is, it comes with a heavy duty multi-pocket bag with a spacious main compartment that conveniently snaps onto four straps hanging down from the seat, so you always have your tools as you move about the yard.

Alongside the bag — which can be carried separately if you don’t want to keep it snapped to the stool — this kit also includes an aluminum trowel, a grass fork, a transplanter, a set of pruning shears, and a pair of gardening gloves.

Even if you’re not a gardener yourself, this would be an excellent starting kit for you or anyone you know. It can also come in handy on fishing trips, at concerts, you name it.

Mystery Ranch Glacier hiking backpack. ($375 for all sizes/colors)

Mystery Ranch “Glacier” 70L Backpacking Pack »

When it comes to backpacks that hold up to wear and abuse, Mystery Ranch is easily one of the top-tier brands you can always put your trust in. Their “Glacier” backpacking pack in particular is one you can turn to for long-distance hikes and city treks.

This is a bag you can toss a lot of weight into — all the way up to 75 pounds, across 70 liters of capacity — without compromising your comfort. And to call it durable is an understatement; Mystery Ranch builds their bags like tanks, the Glacier being no exception. It’s made from 500D “Lite Plus” Cordura fabric and sports all YKK zippers like any worthwhile backpack should.

The Glacier is the kind of bag where every single detail has been considered and re-considered to ensure you won’t regret your purchase, especially after taking it on miles and miles of adventures, whether in the backcountry or anywhere else.

Slime 40063 portable tire inflator. ($59)

Slime Elite Heavy-Duty Tire Inflator »

Roadside assistance is great and all, but when it comes to the simple matter of a low tire, you don’t want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere while it takes who-knows-how-long before anyone can come to help you. That’s why this tire inflator from Slime is such a handy thing to have around.

There’s no need to call anyone up when you can just plug this thing into your vehicle’s accessory jack, hook it up to the tire in question, set your desired pressure, and walk away as the tire airs back up in minutes.

The inflator supports up to 99 PSI, the air hose reaches up to 28 feet away from the main unit, it has a carry handle for easy portability, there’s a bright LED light on the end for nighttime visibility (not to mention the device’s backlit display), and it works just as well for bike tires as it does for vehicle ones.

  + On a similar note, keeping a portable jump starter on hand is another pro move.

APzek universal travel power adapter. ($18)

APzek Universal Travel Power Adapter »

When traveling internationally, there’s a certain peace of mind that comes from knowing that you’ll be always able to keep your devices charged, no matter where you go. To manage that, you need a “universal” power adapter like this one.

We put “universal” in quotes because there are always limitations on these kinds of gizmos — in this case, a lack of a built-in voltage converter, thus making it unsuitable for high-power appliances like hair dryers, clothing irons, etc.

As long as it’s used only for charging things like smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, Bluetooth speakers, power banks, and the like, you should be fine.

The adapter comes with four types of power prongs that you can slide up to expose as needed: Type A (US standard), Type C (Europe standard), Type G (UK standard), and Type I (Australia standard). You also get three USB-A outputs (5V/2.4A) and one USB-C port (5V/3A) for charging a handful of devices at once.

Writing & Stationery

• Black anodized aluminum space pen with hexagonal finger grip
• Stylish and ultra-portable waxed canvas pocket journal
• Japan-made large-format notebook for your best and biggest ideas
• Nigh-indestructible titanium bolt-action permanent marker

↑ Return to Table of Contents

Fisher Space Pen Clutch. ($50)

Fisher Space Pen “Clutch” »

Anyone familiar with the Fisher space pen needs no introduction to what it can do, but for those unfamiliar with it, the main thing you need to know is that it can write anywhere — in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, through grease, and at temperatures both below freezing and above boiling — without missing a beat. If you need a pen you can always count on, this is it.

The Space Pen Clutch in particular has a hexagonal finger grip so you can keep a good grip on it even with thick gloves on, making it an ideal writing tool in the field. It’s also constructed from black anodized aluminum, so it manages to be both lightweight in the hand and super sturdy, all while lasting 3x longer than a typical ballpoint pen.

LOCHBY waxed canvas pocket journal. ($44)

LOCHBY Waxed Canvas Pocket Journal with Nylon YKK Zipper »

Despite having the ability to whip out a phone and tap out a note anytime an important thought strikes, there’s still something so pleasing about jotting down those ideas by hand instead. But cramming a notebook into your pocket or bag several times a day is going to tear it apart fast.

Not to worry, LOCHBY’s Pocket Journal can keep your notes perfectly safe, and in rugged style. It’s a premium double-stitched waxed canvas case that can accommodate any typical 3.5″ x 5.5″ memo book, and comes with a dot-grid one to get you started.

The front of the case has pockets for holding a pen alongside a pocket knife or multi-tool, while the interior has a pocket on one side for the memo book itself and another pocket where you can stash cards/cash, a passport, business cards, or other such things. On the back is yet another pocket that’s perfect for index cards.

Maruman Mnemosyne N110 landscape notebook. ($14)

Maruman N110 “Mnemosyne” US Letter-Sized Grid Notebook »

Sometimes your ideas are just too big for a typical notebook. When inspiration hits hard and you need to get it all down on one page, you’ll be glad to have the Japan-made Maruman Mnemosyne N110 notebook handy.

Once detached from this notebook, the 70 micro-perforated white pages are US Letter-sized but in landscape orientation (so, 11″ x 8.5″), thus offering even more room for your notes and sketches than their A5-sized “Inspiration” N182 notebook (8.3″ x 5.8″) featured back in our 2016 Christmas Catalog.

Like that previous notebook, the Letter-size edition is top-bound with Maruman’s signature twin-ring wire system, which allows the pages to lay perfectly flat — with the added bonus of being pleasant to write/draw in for both left- and right-handed users. The pages also have a subtle ¼” square grid system to keep your drawings and brainstorms nice and orderly, all while allowing very little ghosting or bleedthrough.

This is just an excellent notebook all around, worthy of all your best thoughts and ideas.

Soul Built MARKSMITH titanium bolt-action permanent marker. ($100)

Soul Built MARKSMITH Titanium Bolt-Action Permanent Marker »

Thanks to its nigh-indestructible grade 5 titanium body — the same alloy used to make aircraft turbines, among other high-performance aerospace/marine/automotive applications — the MARKSMITH marker from Soul Built really puts the “permanent” in “permanent marker.” It’s the last one you’ll ever own.

It’s compatible with Sharpie-branded fine-tip retractable permanent marker cartridges — although Soul Built sells their own refills in various colors — and the bolt-action mechanism not only makes the marker easy to use one-handed, but is also satisfyingly clicky and fun to fidget with.

They even put some consideration into the clip, featuring a sturdy, non-wiggly design along with layered grooves at its top to offer tactile feedback while keeping your thumb from slipping off when you use it to deploy the marker tip.

Charities

At Tools & Toys we have always donated 11% of our gross income to charity. If you click this link before you do your shopping on Amazon, we’ll be donating 11% of our affiliate earnings for the months of November and December specifically to the charities listed below.

We also encourage you to consider making some charitable donations this year, and invite you to give alongside us to these two organizations:

• St. Jude Children’s Hospital: St. Jude is unlike any other pediatric treatment and research facility. Discoveries made at St. Jude have completely changed how the world treats children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Moreover, their hospital has been described as “a hospital without walls” where children in need are treated at no cost to their family.

• Operation Christmas Child: Samaritan’s purse is a Christian ministry, and every year they work with volunteers and donors from around the nation to pack and ship shoe boxes full of gifts to children in need around the globe.

↑ Return to Table of Contents

Similar to this bamboo organizer stand I wrote about a while back, this wall-mounted caddy gives your AeroPress coffee maker and its included accessories — funnel, coffee scoop, filter holder, and stir stick — a nice place to rest between uses. Except this time, all that stuff gets to live up off your counter, freeing up even more space!

The bamboo used to make this organizer is polished to give it a chic look that suits most kitchens, and all the pieces are easy to grab and deploy whenever the Need for Caffeine™ strikes.

Just be sure you don’t mount it too close to the underside of an above cabinet or else you won’t be able to get out the scoop and stirrer very well. Some reviewers have mentioned using magnets to mount it on their fridge, which is a neat idea.

Get this wall-mounted AeroPress caddy for $19 on Amazon.

Buy Now

Happy Day-After-Halloween, everyone!

Welcome to the latest edition of our Quality Linkage column. Please enjoy this week’s collection of interesting spooooky and entertaining haaaaunting links. Brew a fresh cup cauldron of coffee potion, find a comfortable place coffin, and relax.

(Okay, I’ll stop now. I’m a day late anyways :\)

☕️: Somehow, it only feels appropriate to kick off this week’s link list with this personal attack of a video:

The attacks just keep coming:

✍️: Over at our sister site The Sweet Setup, we’ve been putting up some really great stuff. This week featured articles on…

• Building a daily writing habit.
• Our ✌️“first impressions”✌️ of the iPhone 12 Pro (I use air-quotes because the thing reads more like an actual review than just some impressions; I mean look at those photos ).
• We held a whole mini-masterclass on using Ulysses as the center of one’s writing workflow.
• And finally, we’ve published the first major update in three years of our review of the best GTD app.

🧈: You may or may not remember back in February 2017 when I linked to a chef’s visit to the Bordier butter factory in Brittany, France.

Well, now I’m here to link you to this video from 6 months ago, wherein Claudia Romeo of Insider, as part of her “Regional Eats” series, got to meet artisan butter maker Jean-Yves Bordier himself and learn how his factory uses 19th century hand techniques to give its butter such a unique and luxurious texture (not to mention an interesting series of flavor profiles, like seaweed-infused butter??).

As delicious as the butter looks, Bordier is the real star of this interview. What a delightful guy, I want him to be my grandpa.

: Here’s something interesting that I’ve always kind of known in the back of my mind but never put words to: A study has found that people often overestimate walking distances in places without “Walk Appeal”.

Software developer and urbanist Andrew Price summed it up best on Twitter:

That explains why I can walk around Disney World all day long and not be bothered by it in the slightest, but trying to make my way through some dreary urban hell feels like a chore of the highest order.

This sort of thing is exactly why urban design is so, so important. My travels across the US these past five years have shown me how pitiful our cities can be when it comes to any non-car mode of transportation. Our entire infrastructure was built around the car, regrettably. I wish it weren’t so.

: Speaking of urban design, marvel at the 45-year (!) process — sped up to a mere three minutes in that 3D model animation — that it took for 14th- and 15th-century builders to construct the still-standing Charles Bridge in Prague:

The video’s description points to a page (I’m linking the Google-translated version for English readers) that goes much more in-depth about what you just watched.

Just an astounding level of architectural work. Imagine watching the beginnings of this bridge being built as a child and only seeing it finally completed as you reached what might’ve been considered “old age” at the time. I’ll be thinking about this all day.

: You know, a lot of people out there who are trying to “build a brand” or whatever have a case of mixed-up priorities. They’re focused more on trying to increase their numbers, or getting more people to buy what they’re selling (whether they really want it or not), or any number of other selfish things.

But that’s the wrong way of looking at it, as Seth Godin explains:

I transcribed the most important bit, starting from the 35-second mark:

So traditional marketers, if you went to business school or whatever, would talk about “differentiation.” They talk about, “How do I cut through the clutter and the noise?”

That’s selfish. That says, “I’ve worked hard, how do I get people to me?”

Let’s throw that out and say… that person you seek to serve, they have a problem, and the problem is, there’s too much noise. The problem is, they don’t know what to pick. The problem is, they’ve got a kid, they want to educate in music but they’re not sure how.

Can I offer them a service to help them see what their choices are? Now it’s generous.

[…]

[Jumping ahead to the 2-minute mark] If I talk to you and I realize it’s not what you’re looking for, I will eagerly send you to that other teacher. Because I am here to help you get what you want, not to persuade you that you are wrong.

Preach!

: For those of you who, like me, are always on the lookout for great new wallpapers for your devices, Jean-Marc Denis — product design manager for the Facebook Messenger app — continually puts up new wallpapers on his Gumroad page.

One of his more recent works looks fantastic on the gold iPhone 12 Pro:

🤯: Ever since Bon Appétit’s YouTube channel went up in flames — and the company apparently learned nothing from the ordeal — I’ve been enjoying Sohla El-Waylly’s new “Stump Sohla” show on Andrew Rea’s Babish Culinary Universe channel (formerly Binging With Babish).

This episode is my favorite so far. The things she’s able to create with only a bunch of bodega snacks is unbelievable.

Neat Stuff We’ve Published Recently

• Guide: App Subscriptions Worth Paying For (As Voted on By TSS Readers)

• The all new base-model 2020 iPad (8th gen) combines tremendous capability with unmatched ease of use and versatility.
• …and Logitech’s Slim Folio is still the keyboard case we recommend for it.
• Rick Atkinson’s The British Are Coming is an engrossing and impeccably researched examination of the brutal 18-century military conflict between the underdog Continental Army (of the pre-USA Thirteen Colonies) and the formidable might of the British Empire.
• With the retro-styled Oregon Trail handheld game, you can now bring one of the most successful computer games of all time wherever you go.
• Give your AeroPress coffee maker and its accoutrement a place to rest when you’re not using them with this bamboo organizer/stand.
• Yama Glass’ cold brew coffee tower is the most 19th-century-science-experiment way of making cold brew at home.
• These sweater-knit memory foam women’s slippers are almost like wearing winter sweaters on your feet.

Got any suggestions for articles, videos, stories, photographs, and any other links you think we should be posting in our weekly Quality Linkage? Please do let us know on Twitter.

Welcome to this week’s edition of our Quality Linkage column. Please enjoy this week’s collection of interesting and entertaining links. Brew a fresh cup of coffee, find a comfortable place, and relax.

: I would honestly be remiss if I didn’t start this week’s linkage by pointing you to this incredible full-live-album performance by Parcels, a band I only recently discovered but which immediately intrigued me on a number of levels.

For one thing, each of them looks like they were ripped straight out of different eras — the guitarist a late-’60s Beatle, the bassist a fairy tale prince who somehow found a career as an ’80s fashion model, one keyboardist a ’90s boy band member and the other a carbon copy of Neville Longbottom if he’d grown up a musician, and the drummer…well, he just looks like a regular guy. On top of that, the music they play is unmistakably ’70s disco-pop-funk, sometimes blended with more modern electronic/synth stuff.

And yet, this five-piece of twenty-something misfits has some of the slickest and most compelling musicianship I’ve ever heard in a group so young. They play as though they’ve been together for decades, and even on an individual level they’re each very skilled at what they do. You’ll wanna listen with good headphones to catch all those sweet musical details in the mix.

Did you notice how I never mentioned a frontman/vocalist above? That’s because there isn’t one, not really (although some articles identify the Beatles-looking guitarist as “lead singer”) — they all contribute vocals and take turns sharing the spotlight.

On their site, here’s what the band says about the performance:

The performance isn’t edited in any way, just mixed, mistakes and all, so we’re concentrating hard in the video on making it sound nice. There’s a lot of nervous eye communication, a little bit of polite dancing and occasionally moments of just enjoying being right in the zone together. We’re stoked with how it turned out.

You can watch the whole thing on YouTube, or stream the album version on Apple Music, Spotify, etc.

🧊☕️: I’ve been getting back into the whole AeroPress thing lately, after focusing purely on espresso for a while.

As such, I’m very curious to try this Redditor’s method for doing an “ice brew” in the AeroPress:

The recipe:

• The ice brew will be done with a 1:10 coffee to ice ratio by weight. In my case this usually means 20 grams coffee to 200 grams ice for a single serving, but you can scale up this recipe a bit as long as you can still fit ice into the brew chamber.
• Grind your coffee a little on the fine side; something a little finer than you’d use for a standard pour-over.
• Set up your aeropress with two rinsed filter papers and place over a glass. Add your ground coffee and give it a shake to make sure it’s level.
• Add your ice directly on top of the grounds. You can use the Aeropress’s included funnel to hold any overflow.
• Leave at room temperature and allow the ice to melt. The melting ice will slowly drip through the grounds and yield a fairly strong cold brew concentrate.

I usually hear of methods involving brewing directly over ice, or setting up drip reservoirs atop the AeroPress, or something like that, but just…putting the ice directly on top of the grounds? That’s a new one on me.

Sounds like they’re not the only ones to do this either, based on this thread and this one. You’d definitely have to grind pretty fine to restrict water flow and prevent channeling, I’d say. Looking forward to experimenting with this!

☕️: On the topic of coffee, resident YouTube expert James Hoffmann shows you how to make the ultimate pumpkin spice latte:

Grab the full recipe from the video’s description, or from his website.

✈️: Here’s an interesting thing I just found out: Airlines don’t make money from selling flights; if anything they lose money on that. Their real profit comes from loyalty programs.

For example, Delta Air Lines is worth $19 billion — unless you take away their loyalty program, which would drop them to -$7 billion.

Negative. Seven. Billion.

  + It’s worth noting that if airlines start going under because of this whole coronavirus thing, it would undoubtedly be a good thing, as far as the planet and climate are concerned. The cruise ship industry too, as much as I enjoy going on a cruise.

: In a piece about the ideas that changed his life, Morgan Housel offered some great food for thought:

Your personal experiences make up maybe 0.00000001% of what’s happened in the world but maybe 80% of how you think the world works. […] Start with the assumption that everyone is innocently out of touch and you’ll be more likely to explore what’s going on through multiple points of view, instead of cramming what’s going on into the framework of your own experiences.

It’s easy to look at people around you (or in the world at large) and imagine that most of them have life all figured out, or that because someone is an expert/best-selling author/authority figure/etc then they’re infallible or even noob-like in other ways. You’ve gotta remember that every one of us, old or young, is figuring this stuff out all the time, making it up as we go.

There’s a Steve Jobs quote I think about all the time:

“Everything around you that you call ‘life’ was made up by people who were no smarter than you.”

🧑‍: If you didn’t already know, the folks at Serious Eats have been doing a “Food Lab Junior” series with recipes designed so kids can get involved in the kitchen. There’s only four posts in the lineup so far, but I’m hopeful they’ll be doing lots of these:

1. Kid-friendly dumplings
2. Red beans and rice
3. Bibimbap recipe for all ages
4. Kid-friendly pozole verde

: As an RVer, the bridge documented on this YouTube channel is my nightmare:

The 11foot8 bridge is a railroad trestle over Gregson St in Durham, North Carolina and it has earned a reputation for for its rigorous enforcement of the laws of physics. No truck taller than 11 feet and 8 inches will pass under this stubborn piece of infrastructure. Period. On this channel we document the various attempts of hapless drivers trying to get past this bridge. Some try to be sneaky, some try to be quick, some try to argue, but the bridge always wins. There is a reason why the locals call it “The Can Opener”!

We’ve come across some low bridges in our time, and luckily we’ve always found a way to get around these things — or in one specific case we dealt with this past summer, underneath still, because years of other RVers coming and going had created an unofficial lower path off the side of the road

If I’m ever going through Durham, South Carolina, though, I’m going to be very wary of encountering this bridge.

: If you’ve ever been curious about learning CSS code to modify the look or behavior of your website, this guide is a great primer for understanding the anatomy of CSS queries and what you can do with them.

🥁: Back in August, CNN featured the story of a blind percussionist who created a new type of orchestra conductor baton that lets him feel a conductor’s movements rather than see them. I love this idea, along with anything that can make people’s passions more accessible.

Neat Stuff We’ve Published Recently

• Guide: Our Favorite AeroPress Attachments and Accessories

• Although the special launch pricing window has closed, it’s never too late to sign up for our sister site’s new “Calm Inbox” course.
• Don’t mess with a classic: Bialetti’s Moka Express can make some darn good coffee; there’s a reason it’s been around for nearly a century.
• “Lord of Maps” is a small studio producing perfectly Middle Earth renditions of places you can actually visit.
• Longtime author Antony Johnson knows how to be a productive writer, which is why his book, The Organised Writer, is worth your time.
• The Ooni “Koda” gas-powered outdoor pizza oven cranks out jaw-dropping pizzas in 60 seconds flat. No assembly, no mess, no fuss.
• Stop grabbing those plastic produce bags at the store in shame and bring your own organic cotton mesh produce bags instead.
• NEFF’s Daily Beanie is nice and stretchy without fitting too loose. The perfect beanie for falltime.

Got any suggestions for articles, videos, stories, photographs, and any other links you think we should be posting in our weekly Quality Linkage? Please do let us know on Twitter.

In our recent guide to accessories and attachments for the AeroPress, we included this nice little bamboo stand, which gives your coffee maker and its accoutrement a place to rest when you’re not using them.

If you’ve got the counter space, its bigger sibling is even more useful to have around, as it can accommodate two coffee mugs up top instead of one, and it lets you hang the AeroPress’ two plunger pieces separately for better drying. Like the smaller version, the side of the caddy has slots for the official stirrer and coffee scoop.

On top and inside of the stand are silicone mats that keep the bamboo protected from any residual heat in the AeroPress itself or any mugs you place on it. They’re easy to rinse off when needed, and even the bamboo only needs to be wiped down with a clean damp cloth once in a while to maintain its good looks.

Get this bamboo AeroPress organizer for $40 on Amazon. The smaller one is $32.

Buy Now

After all these years, the AeroPress remains one of our favorite ways to make coffee each morning. It’s simple to use, works with fine or coarse grinds, is easy to clean, and you can brew with it in a number of ways that all result in a heckuva cup of coffee.

It’s a tad more expensive than it used to be ($32 instead of $25) but we still consider it relatively inexpensive when you think about how much a good coffee machine usually costs. It’s also just as portable, versatile, and easy to clean up as ever.

As good as the AeroPress is on its own, it can be made even better with the addition of a few key accessories. We’ll share a few of our favorites below.

The Able Travel Cap. ($12)

Able Travel Cap »

The AeroPress is an excellent coffee maker to take when traveling. You can slide a dozen paper filters and a plastic bag of beans inside of the plunger whenever you’re going on a trip — the only problem being that the filters and beans have a tendency to fall out.

To fix this problem, the guys at Able Brewing made a rubber travel cap that fits snugly over the open end of the AeroPress plunger, allowing you to securely store filters and coffee beans when traveling. It also doubles as a comfortable brewing grip when you’re actually making your coffee.

Able Brewing stainless steel filter disk. ($15)

Able DISK Metal Filter »

When you buy an AeroPress it comes with a pack of paper micro-filters. These work fine and are easily disposable. However, for something different, there is this stainless steel AeroPress disk.

The disk is reusable and has ultra-micro perforations so that only water gets through the filter, even when brewing a super-fine espresso grind. Many people prefer the flavor that stainless steel filters allow as opposed to the bleached paper filters. Paper filters absorb some of the oils from the coffee beans; metal filters allow those oils to pass through for richer cup of coffee, particularly for dark roasts.

Fellow’s “Prismo” attachment gives your AeroPress espresso-like superpowers. ($25)

Fellow “Prismo” Espresso-Style Attachment »

The folks at Fellow — makers of many fine coffee products — have an interesting attachment called Prismo that you can use in place of the standard cap to produce an espresso-like shot. No, it’s not actually espresso, but it’s pretty dang close, and you don’t have to buy a whole separate machine.

It’s comprised of two main features: a pressure-actuated valve and a reusable fine-mesh stainless steel filter (much like the Able one above). The airtight valve doesn’t drip unless you put pressure on it, solving the “slow drip” problem inherent to the AeroPress. Two things to keep in mind:

1. It does take more pressure to pull a shot from Prismo than you’d apply for a typical AeroPress brew, so expect a bit of an arm workout.
2. Don’t use it on a thin/fragile glass vessel.

The resulting shot is full-bodied and has a long-lasting “crema”, with a thickness and consistency comparable to traditional espresso. You can even do a bit of latte art with it. If you think tomorrow will call for some cold brew, it can do that too.

The PUCKPUCK turns the AeroPress into a cold-brew drip system. ($25)

PUCKPUCK Cold-Brew Coffee Attachment »

Another way to make cold brew with the AeroPress is with the PUCKPUCK attachment, which is more specifically designed to turn the coffee maker into a cold-brew drip system.

The idea is that you twist a compatible mineral water bottle — ideally an empty one with its bottom end cut off — onto the attachment valve, fill your newfound “reservoir” with ice water, and you then get a controlled drip over a bed of coffee grounds within the AeroPress chamber, which themselves are topped by the PUCKPUCK’s separate dispersion screen. (The AeroPress itself should, of course, be place atop a decanter of some kind.)

If you got the drip rate right — and their free companion app will help you do just that — then after a few hours you’ll come back to a batch of deliciously cold coffee that you can dress up however you like.

If sourcing a mineral water bottle sounds like a pain, the company offers a “PUCKPUCK Original” kit on their website that includes their 500mL water vessel (as pictured above).

Hexnub’s compact AeroPress organizer/stand/caddy, made from bamboo. ($32)

Hexnub Compact Organizer »

Serious AeroPress users will appreciate this nice little bamboo stand, which gives your coffee maker and all its other components (like the scoop, stirrer, and paper filters, if you’re using those) a place to rest when you’re not using them.

The company also makes a larger version ($40) that can accommodate two coffee mugs up top and lets you hang the AeroPress plunger pieces separately for better drying.

Welcome to this week’s edition of our Quality Linkage column. Please enjoy this week’s collection of interesting and entertaining links. Brew a fresh cup of coffee, find a comfortable place, and relax.

: Rick Astley covering “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters is way better than you’d think it would be. I promise, this isn’t a rickroll, which I know isn’t a very convincing thing to say, but…argh, just watch the video. This guy is so talented, and most people only know him from memes, which is kind of a shame.

🤦: Tobias van Schneider returns to our link list once again, this time with an article on writing marketing copy that isn’t cringey. The next time you find yourself having to write up a landing page for your product or service, refer back to this so you can avoid common pitfalls — for example, trying to be too clever with taglines that only confuse your customers/users. Aim for clarity over brevity.

: You’ll likely have to pry Pinboard and Instapaper out of my cold, dead fingers, but I did find this exhaustive list of every bookmark manager ever made interesting.

🦊🦋: Joshua Dunlop is a London-based concept artist and creature designer who’s created an entire series of realistic takes on Pokémon, which he’s dubbed “Pokémon Zoology”. Some of these really do seem like something you could feasibly come across in real life, although my personal favorites don’t quite fit under that umbrella, such as:

• Geodude / Graveler / Golem, which were the first of the series I came across.
• The incredibly creepy Ghastly, Haunter, and *shudder* Gengar, which are even more nightmarish as a trio.
• His Mewtwo makes me deeply uncomfortable, which I think is the point?
• And of course, Snorlax.

🧙‍♂️🧝‍♂️: A lot of interesting media experiments have come out of this whole quarantine phenomenon, like actor Josh Gad’s “Reunited Together” show on YouTube, where he brings together the casts of various films on Zoom calls so they can indulge in some nostalgia for a while.

Easily the best episode of the series is “One Zoom to Rule Them All”, which reunites the cast of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. If you’re a fan of the films, I probably don’t even have to say this, but set aside an hour to watch this — you won’t regret it.

: So by now, you’ve probably seen or at least heard about the recent craziness at Bon Appétit, which I don’t have a lot to add to that other people haven’t already said. What I will say is that I am fully on #TeamSohla, who is a culinary genius and it is an outrage that she (along with other nonwhite colleagues) wasn’t being paid for her many on-camera appearances.

One thing that I discovered in all this mess was that Sohla and her husband used to be the owners of a restaurant in Brooklyn, which sounds incredible except…they had to shut down after only eleven months. And it wasn’t because of any lack of talent, because they’ve both got that in spades. No, it was because customers expected the food to be “ethnic” just because of the couple’s cultural backgrounds.

The closer of that article is so heartbreaking too:

As for the El-Wayllys, they haven’t given up hope of owning a restaurant again one day. Just this time around, they won’t be slinging high-end versions of grilled cheese and Pop-Tarts. Their next concept?

“Brown. We’ve learned our lesson.”

Nobody deserves the kind of treatment Sohla’s had to endure for years now. Bon Appétit had better start paying her and everyone else who hasn’t been thus far. Moreover, she should have her own show — perhaps one focused on recipe experimentation?

(Personal rant: Hopefully they’ll also instate a new editor-in-chief who isn’t so smarmy and unlikeable. Seriously, every recorded appearance Rapaport made in the Test Kitchen was so uncomfortable to watch, like when he barged into the beginning of a video to ask Brad Leone, “Aren’t you supposed to be funnier than this?” Who does that?!)

⌨️: Whew! Now that I’ve got that out of my system, I will now point your attention to JazzKeys, a cool little site by artist/designer John Soat that turns your keyboard strokes into jazz piano riffs. Extremely fun to play with, and a little cathartic in some ways.

I wouldn’t at all mind this technology being added to writing apps, Twitter clients, etc. Everything you type feels so much cooler with this thing.

⌚️: We’ll close this week’s linkage with Vanity Fair’s in-depth look at the fascinating history of smartwatches, which I feel should’ve at least mentioned Dick Tracy, but is a pretty good read anyway.

Neat Stuff We’ve Published Recently

• Previously on Quality Linkage: Monday Link List: The “Being a Better Ally” Edition

• After trying Flatiron Pepper’s chile flake blends, you’ll never go back to generic red pepper flakes.
• Lamicall’s adjustable laptop stand is very stable and well-made, and just so happens to work as well for the iPad + Magic Keyboard as it does MacBooks.
• Simply place your phone in the Andobil auto-clamping car mount and it automatically and securely grips the device, then begins charging it wirelessly with the Qi pad on the back.
• Someone developed an attachment that lets you cold-brew coffee with an AeroPress — it’s called the PUCKPUCK.
• This stylish and compact pocket printer lets you print all kinds of things straight from your phone.
• The 2020 limited-edition Swiss Army Knife collection features a cool aqua blue coloring that would look great alongside last year’s champagne-colored edition.

Got any suggestions for articles, videos, stories, photographs, and any other links you think we should be posting in our weekly Quality Linkage? Please do let us know on Twitter.

The PUCKPUCK is an interesting add-on for the AeroPress that lets you turn the popular coffee maker into a cold-brew drip system.

The idea is that you twist a compatible mineral water bottle — ideally an empty one with its bottom end cut off — onto the attachment valve, fill your newfound “reservoir” with ice water, and you then get a controlled drip over a bed of coffee grounds within the AeroPress chamber, which themselves are topped by the PUCKPUCK’s separate dispersion screen. (The AeroPress itself should, of course, be place atop a decanter of some kind.)

If you got the drip rate right — and their free companion app will help you do just that — then after a few hours you’ll come back to a batch of deliciously cold coffee that you can dress up however you like.

Get the PUCKPUCK Solo (meaning the attachment alone) for $25 on Amazon. The company does also offer a “PUCKPUCK Original” kit on their own website that includes their 500mL water vessel (pictured in the hero image up top) if you’d rather just use that instead of trying to source a mineral water bottle.

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It’s been I don’t know how many years since we first discovered the Baratza Encore entry level coffee grinder here at T&T, and to this day we still love it for our pour-over, AeroPress, and general press coffee needs. However, there’s one area where it simply doesn’t excel, and that’s grinding for espresso.

The harsh reality of making espresso is that, by its very nature, it’s an expensive hobby to get into — that is, if you’re trying to replicate or even exceed the level of espresso you get at a fancy-pants coffee shop. You have to shift your idea of what “budget” or “entry level” means in this context. The table stakes are simply higher. Otherwise, there’s not much point even trying to get into espresso; you’d be better off sticking with an AeroPress or even a $20-something moka pot and using a Porlex hand grinder.

If you’re going to do this espresso thing right, you must have a quality grinder that allows for ultra-fine adjustments, and the Baratza Sette 270 is consistently among the most recommended “entry level” grinders for this purpose.

Now, the Sette 270 is not entirely stepless, as would be most ideal for dialing in the exact grind you want every single time. However, the “270” in its name refers to the fact that, between its 30 macro adjustments and the secondary micro adjustment system for working between those steps (with 9 markings for easy reference), you get 270 grind settings to work with, and that’s almost as good.

Since this is a grinder designed for working with espresso (though it serves admirably for other brewing types as well), it has a built-in convertible portafilter holder that works with PF sizes between 49mm and the commercial-standard 58mm.

On the front of the Sette 270 is an LED-backlit display panel where you can program those buttons on the left side, which let you save up to three grind time/dosing settings within 0.01 seconds. Once set, you just hit one of those buttons and the Sette automatically delivers precise dosing. It’s pretty slick.

And of course, like all Baratza grinders, if something does fail somewhere down the line — not that it’s likely to anytime soon, this is a fairly robust machine — the company makes it easy to find replacement parts.

You can get the Sette 270 new for $399 on Amazon. If you don’t mind getting something that’s already been used, returned, and fixed up by the company itself, you can also buy it refurbished for $299, provided Baratza has any in stock.

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Unibene’s bamboo coffee filter holder solves a somewhat different problem than that Chemex organizer I wrote about a couple weeks ago.

If you’re the type of coffee nerd who owns not only a Chemex but also a single-serve dripper and an AeroPress, then chances are you’ve got a scattered collection of filters and boxes in a cabinet somewhere. This holder collects all those filters in one place for easy grabbing, no matter which contraption you’re brewing with.

You can simply set the holder upright on a countertop, or hang it on a wall with the notch on the back. Either way, it’s a real nifty way to ensure your filters are always on deck.

Get it for $13 on Amazon.

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The 2019 holidays are coming to an end and we’re all still coming down off the high of exchanging fantastic gifts with our loved ones. Let’s take a breather from all the consumerism for a moment and unwind with some top-shelf links from around the web, shall we?

If you’re able, help yourself to a tasty snack or freshly poured beverage before we get started.

Featured Links

 

Federico Viticci’s MusicBot: The All-in-One Apple Music Assistant »

About a week and a half ago, Mr. Viticci of MacStories unveiled MusicBot, a bananas-crazy workflow powered by Apple’s Shortcuts app and designed to be the ultimate all-in-one assistant for enhancing your Apple Music listening experience.

It’s like a whole app within Shortcuts just for interacting with Apple Music, and I’m still blown away every time I use it. This is one of very few shortcuts I’ve found worthy enough of saving to my home screen for easy access.

From the shortcut’s description:

MusicBot speeds up access to your favorite music and comes with dozens of features to help you play albums, browse songs, check out new releases, and even listen to Beats 1 radio or ambient sounds by Apple Music. Additionally, MusicBot lets you create your own collection of favorite albums and new music releases, comes with AirPlay 2 support, and provides you with Smart Mixes — intelligent playlists to discover songs you love from your Music library.

…and in Federico’s own words:

I’ve spent the past several months working on MusicBot and trying to make it as comprehensive as possible for all music fans. While MusicBot is a complex shortcut based on hundreds of actions, you don’t have to be a Shortcuts expert to use it: in fact, I created MusicBot to require as little Shortcuts knowledge as possible, and I tried my best to design its actions, messages, and notifications so they could be understood by all kinds of iPhone and iPad users. At the same time, because it’s a shortcut, MusicBot can be customized to fit your needs and preferences — the decision is entirely up to you.

I hope you’ll enjoy MusicBot and that it’ll help you rediscover, manage, and simplify access to the music you love.

You can get the shortcut right here. It does take a few steps of configuration to get going, but it shouldn’t take you more than a couple minutes. For best results, check out the article’s section on setting up MusicBot’s custom home screen icon.

Repairing Willie Nelson’s “Trigger” Guitar »

I found this video of Austin-based luthier/repairman Mark Erlewine repairing Willie Nelson’s iconic Trigger guitar oddly relaxing. It’s remarkable that the guitar still works at all, much less play as beautifully as it does. Then again, Erlewine’s been Trigger’s “doctor” for over 40 years now, so he surely knows what he’s doing.

  + Speaking of oddly relaxing videos, the Best Unintentional ASMR channel is full of stuff like that — videos that weren’t necessarily meant to induce ASMR tingles but do it anyway.

Photo: João Silas

Stab a Book, the Book Won’t Die »

Strap in for a long read folks, because Craig Mod wrote quite an essay on “the resilience of books in the face of apps, attention monsters, and an ad-driven online economy.” I’ve put some choice excerpts down below.

I:

A printed book is an object over which no third party has agency once in your possession. […] The immutability of printed books is their superpower.

II:

Superficially these images look similar: folks committed to a horizontal surface held in front of their faces. But the contract of these two objects [a newspaper and a smartphone] couldn’t be more different.

The printed newspaper of 1919 had edges, ended. There were ads but they were passive, not active members of the reading experience. They were not reading you. You paid. You got some paper. The paper did not continue forever.

III: (with edits made by me)

James Clear makes the argument that identity change happens as a cascade of incremental 1% changes in positive or negative directions. Opportunities for this percent change present themselves dozens of times a day. The best way to guarantee success is by preemptively engineering systems to reduce friction for positive habits, and increase friction for negative ones.

IV:

I suspect most folks reading this would not want to self-identify as an Instagram hope-to-be-influencer or Twitter combatant or Netflix binger. But most wouldn’t shy from self-identifying as, say, a reader.

V:

Sitting outside all of this digital contractual complexity is the simple, boring, blissfully inert physical book. Given its plainness, it may be the most magical of all our contemporary technologies. It exists simply to be still, cannot be optimized, will never know us, and though a body is still while reading, the mind is active, telepathy is happening, and a sense of self-betterment and hope pervades as we turn the final page.

$500 vs $16 Steak Dinner: Pro Chef & Home Cook Swap Ingredients »

I won’t say that Epicurious’ viral “4 Levels” series is necessarily on par with all the Bon Appétit stuff I’ve posted about around here, but they’re entertaining enough in a fluffy sort of way. This video is interesting because it shows what it’d be like for a home cook to work with professional-level ingredients, and vice versa:

Expert chef Frank Proto and home cook [and actor] Lorenzo Beronilla are swapping their recipes and ingredients, just for your viewing pleasure. We gave Lorenzo $500 worth of ingredients and Frank’s notebook to make the best steak dinner he could (with a quick assist from food scientist Rose!) On the other side, Frank received $16 worth of goods and tried to improvise his way up to gourmet. Who achieved the most impressive results under these mixed up circumstances?

Miscellaneous Links

• ☕️ Just for fun, watch James Hoffmann — who I’ve mentioned previously — get upset about IKEA’s coffee brewing offerings as only a well-dressed British man can.

• I often find myself thinking about Anthony Bourdain and wish he were still here to share the foods and cultures of the world through his uniquely wry lens. However, we can all at least enjoy some of his favorite songs and, perhaps, find some small connection to who we was.

• The “Mr. Puppet” animation system might just revolutionize the animation industry, particularly for budding artists who might enjoy skipping many of the hurdles between their imagination and making a show happen.

• Kim Hill’s retrospective as a previous member of the Black Eyed Peas (she quit just before they took the world by storm) is a fascinating dip into hip-hop history, with a dash of “finding happiness beyond worldwide success” by the end.

Neat Stuff We’ve Published Recently

• Head into the New Year with a Plan of Action: The 2020 Focus Course “Plan Your Year” Workbook and Digital Planner

• The Primitive Technology guy from YouTube wrote a book showing you how to build huts and tools using only natural materials in the wild.
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle is a surprisingly high quality co-op deck-building game set in the Wizarding World.
• Speaking of cooperative board games, Forbidden Sky continues the story of Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert, taking you to new, electrifying heights.
• With the AeroGarden “Bounty Basic” indoor gardening system, you can grow up to 9 of your favorite herbs, veggies, or flowers indoors, all year long.
• AeroPress fans, meet your new travel buddy: the AeroPress Go travel coffee maker.
• Keep your hands nice and toasty even in sub-freezing temps with Savior’s rechargeable heated gloves.

Got any suggestions for articles, videos, stories, photographs, and any other links you think we should be posting in our weekly Quality Linkage? Please do let us know on Twitter.

Alright fellow AeroPress nerds, this is it. The folks behind the mega-popular AeroPress coffee maker have finally developed a version of it that’s made for traveling right out of the box: the AeroPress Go.

The AeroPress Go looks pretty similar to its predecessor, except it’s a little smaller, holding only 8oz. (237 ml) of coffee versus the original 10oz. (296 ml). But more critically, it now comes with its own drinking mug (with lid) that conveniently doubles as a carrying case for the brewer and its accessories.

Watch the demo video to see how it works:

The mug holds 15oz./ 444 ml of coffee — enough for about two servings. It’s also microwaveable. The scoop it comes with holds the same 14g of coffee grounds as the old one, but it’s shaped differently so that the new folding stirrer (below, left) can nest within it for travel. The AeroPress Go also comes with 350 of the same micro-filters used by the original, twenty of which fit into the travel filter holder included with the set (below, right).

When it’s all packed up together into the mug with the lid on, the entire kit weighs only 11.4 ounces (323 grams) and fits easily into a bag. If you wanna see the differences between the original AeroPress and the Go, I’ve got the handy chart right here:

Click here to view full size.

I feel like this is a perfect occasion for watching one of my favorite videos to this day:

The AeroPress Go is $32 on Amazon, which is right around the same price of the old one. Happy travel brewing ☕️🛫

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