Summer Round Up - Boating, Luggage, Gadgets, Strength Training and Fall Apple thoughts

Hi Readers!

I did not write much this summer. As we look to fall, I plan to get back into more regular writing. So, to catch up, I thought I’d share some of the products I picked up recently.

Boating

Mission Boat Gear makes some fantastic products, and this year I purchased a Reef Lite inflatable mat.

What I like about this mat is that it can be inflated quickly on the boat (to 1 PSI) using their DC inflator and then topped off to 2-3 PSI with their hand pump. This mat is like a Stand-Up Paddle Board. Our family has used this to hang out on our lake and enjoy the water. I also love their tether and tie down.

Mission makes all sorts of great Boating products. I also picked up their towels.

This is a great tidy kit to keep on the boat.

Travel

The Patagonia Wheeled Duffel is just an enormous carry-on bag. After testing numerous carry on bags to maximize what I can take on a plane, I have determined that this bag is the GOAT bag has been around for over a decade, and I really appreciate the updated colors, matte fabric, and design.

Patagonia says the bag has capacity for 40L but that’s very conservative. I’d rate it closer to 45L or a bit more.

You can pair it with the mini MLC to have a great combo for travel giving you a lot of storage (40L + 30L).

Gadgets

The Air Blaster 2.0 is an incredible piece of technology. As a kid I always had compressed air around to clean and remove dust, but the canisters always ran out and were quite annoying to keep stocked. This thing is an indoor leaf blower.

Well, the Air Blaster has just some incredible power for dusting. I picked up four of them to stash in various places around the house and my car.

Now that we have transitioned to a USB-C world, cables like this make a lot of sense, especially when traveling. I can use this Anker 2-1 cable to charge my phone and laptop at the same time on a plane using a 67W+ charger.

If you have a kid, chances are their phone batteries don’t last even half a day. This charger + battery is a fan favorite in our house as it has a built-in charger and cable.

I recently purchased this portable AC/Heater Heat Pump for our kids loft rooms at our cabin. This is an exceptional product if you have a van or small space that needs heating or cooling. It can also run on batteries and only consumes 600W of power. It has an auto evaporate mode to dissipate the water by-product of cooling (below 70% humidity).

Strength Training

Four Months ago, I started strength training. For my whole life I would walk into Gyms and have no idea what to do. In addition, I get bored easily. So, Cardio has never been that successful an endeavor.

Caliber Fitness is an app that pairs you with human coaches. They get you started achieving your goals through a plan you can stick to and nutrition.

Each month your coach will change your workout focusing on different movements and equipment and balancing different muscle groups.

I’ve managed to maintain my routine (2x a week, 45-60min sessions) for four months and have stuck to a high protein diet. I feel a lot better and stronger. The best part is that whenever I travel my coach creates workouts for me, I can do where I am going (depending on the gym) and I have someone to be accountable for. I have yet to get bored doing this and can see the results very clearly (you take progress photos every month in the app so you can see your changes). The app tracks your weight, nutrition, and exercise. In my case I did food logging for 2 months till I got the hand of how to consume the amount of protein and calories I was after.

My wife started to use Caliber a few weeks ago and seems as happy as I am!

3D Printer

My friend

Adam Sheppard

turned me on to the Bambu Labs 3D Printers. I’m just blown away with how incredible it is. I don’t like tinkering with printers, and this thing just works. I’ve made nearly 100 prints since getting it and am so impressed. Most of my prints are Gridfinity organizational items but we’ve been using it for all sorts of things at home. You can print directly from your iPhone which is a time saver.

I got the Bambu Lab X1-Carbon 3D Printer. It comes with a device that allows you to have four printer spools / colors loaded at once. Very neat. If you are looking to spend less money the Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printer is similar. My sister has this printer.

You can follow my saved items to see what nerdy stuff I print.

Fall Apple Stuff

iPhone Season is upon us. I am making the switch from the iPhone 15 Pro Max to the iPhone 16 Pro. After using the monstrosity of the 15 Pro Max for a year, I’m ready to lighten the load a bit. The new iPhone 16 Pro is a tiny bit larger this year.

I’m also moving from the Apple Watch Ultra to the new Series 10 in Black Titanium.

I’m a “no case” phone user, but I am now religious about using this awesome screen protector. They do a good job keeping the screen free of smudges and if there are scratches, I just replace them - it feels like getting a new phone! They are super easy to install, especially if you have the Air Blaster I mentioned above!

Which reminds me, I should share my current hardware setup:

• MacBook Pro 14 with M3 Chip - my daily workhorse.

• Mac Studio and Apple XDR Display for my Home Office

• iPhone 16 Pro - Looking forward to the new camera button and better thermals. My previous iPhone 15 Pro Max is known to overheat outdoors. I’m also excited it can charge with a 30W charger and 25W Wireless MagSafe Charger this year.

• iPad 13 Pro with the Nano glass screen - This device is just a joy to use. It’s so thin and light. I love using it.

• Apple Watch Series 10 - first regular Apple Watch in a few years.

• Apple Vision Pro - gets very little use these days, mostly for travel.

• AirPods Pro 2 - I have two pairs so I can use on long haul flights, a must for the Vision Pro.