Featured Gear
The Cool, the Refined, the Hardcore gear worth having.
Recent Reviews
Allex Scissors — Fluorine Coated
Leave it up to the Japanese to make a pair of scissors desirable.
Allex scissors are both beautifully designed and fine in their craftsmanship. Forged from the single piece of stainless steel, the black version of these scissors are fluorine coated giving them unique resilience.
Starting out as a bit of research for some scissors turned into a favorite item for Adrian.
Hexclad 10” Pan
I have been so impressed with this pan that I will definitely replace my 12” pan with Hexclad and perhaps my pots too. I usually do not need my pots to be nonstick but my pots are very old and the handles are wearing out.
It is an expensive endeavor to replace all these but I will do it over time. And having great cookware is always worth the price. There are some things you just should not go cheap on—cookware is one of them.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite and Gen10
I’m enjoying reading on my Kindle more than any physical book. Battery life is very refreshing having no need to charge frequently. As of writing this, I have only charged my Kindle Paperwhite once since getting it and while I have been reading daily for 30-60 minutes.
It is a nifty device and for anyone who reads, I would recommend Kindle or any e-reader. Once one has it, it is hard to go back to “traditional” books. Pick up a Kindle for $60 on Amazon and try it. If you already have one, perhaps you don’t need to upgrade but the Paperwhite, a bit more money, might be your next Kindle.
Bear
Bear is both simple and beautiful and serves one well. I prefer the minimalist because it hides the many distractions that can come along with productivity apps.
Warren Gunmetal Flask
Simple is its design, this super-polished 304 stainless steal, 180mL (6 fl oz) is a work of minimalist art. While it is called ‘gunmetal’ I call it my Space Black Flask as it nearly matches my Space Black Apple Watch. (Part of why it was purchased, too. #nerd) It is just about a perfect flask. No one is above its design and surely will say “wow, this is a cool flask.”
Oars + Alps Blue Charcoal Exfoliating Bar Soap
Oars + Alps is a favorite brand of mine. I have several of their products but, during the COVID-19 Lockdown, I was running low. I took this opportunity to try one that I’ve had my eye on.
This Blue Charcoal Exfoliating soap not only has the color I like to see in soap, rather than just plain white, it’s charcoal infusion for exfoliating and very pleasant scent completes the package.
Jack Black Supreme Cream Triple Action Shave Lather
Supreme Cream is well deserved name. While it isn’t cheap, it looks an feels good enough to eat and smells like something your want to put on and get close to your significant other.
Native Union Drop Wireless Charger
As all Qi chargers do the same thing, the options one has comes down to quality and design. Native Union always delivers on both. This is just one of the options they provide but definitely one that I love and recommend.
At $60 it is a bit more than some from other companies but as with most things, one pays for a bit extra quality and design. For an extra $10 over much of the competition, it is a better device. I literally use it every day and will look at Native Union’s selection of not only charger but other devices and accessories the next time I’m in the market for such gear.
Harry’s Winston Razor
The Winston razor looks like something your grandfather would have passed down to you as a treasure, right of passage to becoming a man while the designers also instilled some modern design and elements to make it function for the 21st century.
Feisol TT-15 Mark 2 Tabletop Tripod
The best tabletop tripod out there. Made from metal and carbon fiber, it is quite simply a miniature version of a full tripod without any compromises.
A New Beginning
The relaunch of an old passion of mine. Adrian’s Gear™ returns to its own website with all the previous reviews coming back soon.
Laowa 15mm ƒ4 Wide Angle Macro Shift Lens
The most fun you’ll have with a lens—bar none. A rare and unusual wide-angel macro lens from Laowa.
Deliveries — Package Tracking on your Apple Devices
Some of the best apps are apps that make every day things a little simpler. One of my favorite apps to help with little tasks is Deliveries. It does one thing and does it really well. It tracks packages.
K&F Concept Lens Adapters
I can’t recommend these more. For $25ish, one can get a bunch of these for the price of one Metabones adapter. They are low enough cost to allow one to collect all sorts of old lenses and enjoy the artistic elements of lense that are essentially extinct.
An old photography adage: You date the camera but marry the lens.
Keep those old lenses around and put them to good use with these simple and great adapters.
Fellow Stagg EKG
With a beautiful silhouette, black matte finish, temperature controls, and a pretty spot on gauge, this electric kettle has found a home and will be much appreciated. Fellow had a sale so I was able to pick up this lovely device for $126. While it is normally $149, making it five times more than my old one, good things are worth the money and I foresee this Red Dot Design Award 2018 winner to never cause any regrets.
Chirp — Twitter, Back on Apple Watch
Will Bishop brought Twitter back to Apple Watch with his Apple Watch-only app. Quick and simple, he built in much of what a Twitter app can do to watchOS. One can view their Timeline, Trending items, Mentions, Messages, List, Likes, one’s profile, and search, with a final menu item for Settings. A Force Touch will bring up the option to tweet and it supports Scribble so hashtags and mentions are easily input.
Bee House Teapot in Noble Black
It has become a favorite kitchen item of mine. It is not only beautiful and functional but part of my daily life. There are thousands of teapots out there but ever since I saw these round globes at Argo Tea, I’ve loved them. And seeing the noble black in person, I loved them even more. One knows something is great when opening the box and softly saying, “wow.”
Sigg Traveler Alu .6L — Minimalist Water Bottle
Saving the planet and looking good doing it, if one wants a great water bottle, this is one I’d highly recommend. And if you do want something little more bold than raw aluminum, they come in dozens of colors: white, black, smokey pearl, turquoise, green, royal blue, etc. Check them out and pick one up.
Nikon D500
I choose the D500 for a good price point, blistering performance on multiple fronts, and knowing that it will be a workhouse. Correction, a god damned battleship of a camera. I will be able to take it out in the rain, walk through the desert with it, a blizzard, concerts, film shoots, in the air, underground, all over the planet, drag it through the mud, and it will still fire and capture exactly what I see just as my D700 did for nearly ten years.
As I write this, I pick up my D500 for the first time and already recognize, I’m gonna love this camera.
Leave it up to the Japanese to make a pair of scissors desirable.
Allex scissors are both beautifully designed and fine in their craftsmanship. Forged from the single piece of stainless steel, the black version of these scissors are fluorine coated giving them unique resilience.
Starting out as a bit of research for some scissors turned into a favorite item for Adrian.