Independent reviews
From everyday tech and home products to lifestyle and specialist gear, each review focuses on practical use, strengths, limitations, and who the product suits.
Everyday Carry Knives
A new steel-handle variant of the CJRB Pyrite brings powder metallurgy steel, a button lock, and excellent fit and finish under $60. Here's how it compares to the Pyrite XL, Elementum 2, and Vosteed Corgi.
Everyday Carry
Excellent steel, action, and fit and finish make the CJRB Pyrite V2 a standout budget folder, but the crossbar lock with a hidden cutout holds it back.
Aircraft
A 100% carbon fiber, six-passenger amateur-built kit aircraft with a 350 hp turbocharged Lycoming, 840 nm range, and a builder-friendly single-piece wing.
Everyday Carry Knives
A 3.41-inch Dirk Pinkerton flipper with 154CM steel, green Micarta, and a crossbar lock. Strong fit and finish, one notable clip shortcoming.
Gadgets & EDC
From a 20-year-old dancing iPod speaker to a titanium Bic pen and a flip-up camera phone, 13 unusual gadgets, knives, watches, and everyday carries that actually deliver.
Gift Guide
From a pocket-sized retro handheld to a magnetic SSD enclosure, these ten affordable picks solve real problems and make memorable gifts.
Aircraft Engines
The Corvair 2850 is a horizontally opposed, air-cooled six-cylinder conversion engine with a flexible build path, honest weight, and support for experimental aircraft builders.
Wallets
A hand-cut, hand-stitched roll-up leather wallet from Craft and Lore that is more practical than its styling suggests, with one notable finish flaw to consider.
Subscription Boxes
The Fall 2022 Crate Club General Box packs a fixed blade, a huge rechargeable battery kit, a spotlight, a trail camera, dry bags, and a camping card tool. Here's the full breakdown.
Survival & EDC Gear
A ratcheting multi-tool, two fixed blades, an indestructible power bank, a complete med kit, and a 65-liter backpack from a single quarterly gear drop.
Gear & Subscriptions
A quarterly subscription box packed with practical gear, from a pressurized water tank to a concealment-friendly tactical backpack.
Tactical Gear
A deep dive into the Crate Club General Box lineup, from two standout knives to a concealed-carry case, survival manual, and a serious gun maintenance station.
Outdoor Gear
A practical look at the Crate Club General Box contents, from waterproof binoculars and an assisted-opening SOG knife to moisture-fighting gun storage.
Tactical Gear
A full breakdown of the Crate Club General quarterly box, from the Zero Tolerance 0350 folder and MTech Alpha fixed blade to the Zip Range mobile target system.
Gear Subscription Boxes
A quarterly subscription crate packed with sharpening, lighting, EDC, and organization gear, including a folding karambit and a waterproof lighter.
Subscription Boxes
Nine pieces of tactical, outdoor, and everyday carry gear from the Winter 2024 Crate Club General box, with what each item actually does well.
Survival and Tactical Gear
A GPS tracker, a water purifier bottle, a wide-beam headlamp, a massive folding knife, a Faraday bag, and a compression sack, all reviewed for real-world use.
Art Supplies
Austrian-made watercolor blocks with high-quality lightfast pigments, a chunky crayon-like format, and a price that makes them easy to recommend.
EDC & Tools
CRKT's new pen pairs smooth writing with a hidden carbide scribe and a clever collar that hints at even more utility, all under fifty dollars.
EDC Knives
The Mag Blade pairs polished M390 steel with grade 5 titanium and an innovative magnetic butterfly hinge, but daily practicality falls short of the $199 price.
Everyday Carry
Three titanium gravity knives from Daily Carry Company, including the first gravity knives on the market with magnetic closures.
EDC Wallets
Three aluminum AirTag wallets from Dango, tested for how well the AirTag integrates and how much it gets in the way of everyday use.
Everyday Carry
Dango's D03 Dapper combines a CNC-machined aluminum rail frame with a top grain leather bifold, holding up to 14 cards and offering impressive flexibility through a repositionable elastic band.
EDC Wallets
Dango combines the M1 Spec Ops and M1 Rail into one slimmer aluminum wallet with a rail system, a multi-tool clasp, and plenty of expansion options.
EDC Wallets
Dango's S2 Stealth Bifold trades the brand's usual overbuilt bulk for a minimalist design that still swallows 10 cards and 20 bills.
Everyday Carry
Dango's SK1 is a front-plate slide wallet with CNC-machined aluminum construction, RFID blocking, and an optional titanium money clip. Here is how it performs in daily use.
Art Supplies
Delmagna's artisanal Italian watercolors deliver Renaissance-inspired formulas, rich single-pigment colors, and beautiful hand-poured half pans, at a boutique price.
Art Supplies
A compact clamshell palette of watercolor-style pans made from Derwent's dry media, paired with three pencils and a water brush, priced well under $30.
Wallets
The Dex Wallet from Design Nest pulls all your cards up with a single tab. We look at the leather Version 2 and the microfiber version, including build quality, capacity, and cash carrying.
Wallets
A USA-made full grain leather bifold with horizontal card pockets, a clever cash flap, and a genuinely useful quick-access pocket for $60.