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Osprey Daylite Daypack Review: Updated For The Better

by Anil Polat | Jun 10, 2021 | Luggage, Pictures and Video | 0

Let’s keep this simple. The last Osprey Daylite was a good daypack for hiking or just touristing your way around a city. Big enough for a day’s worth of clothes, light electronic gear, or some combo of the two it didn’t have many noticeable downsides. Now, Osprey have taken that bag and made it better in all the ways that matter with an updated Daylite.

Even Stronger

The Daylite’s materials have been enhanced through cross-stitching and certified recycled recycled polyester. This is a tough bag, even though it’s unassuming at 43 x 26 x 20 centimeters and weighs only 493 grams. You can collapse the Daylite nearly entirely flat or pack it up with 13 liters of stuff.

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Osprey Daylite Commuter Backpack, Black

The shoulder straps have been improved as well. They’re now lighter but with more support – somehow Osprey knew you’d have a tendency to over-pack and compensates for that extra weight. Additionally Osprey removed the lining (coming apart in my older Daylite) for a more durable design.

Easy Choice

Overall, if you’re coming from a previous version of the Daylite but are happy with what you have, this isn’t a must-have upgrade. But if you are thinking your current Daylite (or other daypack) is getting a bit rough around the edges, this is an updated you won’t be disappointed by.

You can watch my full review of the Osprey Daylite in the video above.

A Review Of The Ridge Wallet, The Slim Way To Carry Only What You Need

by Anil Polat | Jun 8, 2021 | Money | 0

The Ridge Wallet is a minimalist way to carry your money without the bulk of a traditional wallet. It’s basically a redesigned wallet made up of two metal plates, elastic, and an optional money clip or cash strap – all of which might sound spartan, cheap, or otherwise useless. Ridge Wallets though they might be the extreme, even for slim wallets, are impressively functional if you’re willing to take the time to adjust.

You can watch my full review in the video above or read on.

Cutting Out The Fat

Trimming down the folds, thick leather, and pockets for stuff you’ll never see again found in traditional wallets, Ridge come in style. There are a number of designs to choose from starting with plates. You can select from aluminum, titanium, and even gold plated wallets with a variety of colors and looks.

Ridge Wallets for Men - Slim Minimalist Wallet For Men, Front...

Functionally though, these wallets are basically the same. Two pieces of metal-plated plastic, held together by elastic bands measuring a total of 86 x 54 x 6 millimeters and weighing about 71 grams. The Ridge holds up to 12 cards that you pop out by using a cutout in the bottom.

Limited Cash

When it comes to cash, you’ve got two options: a cash strap or money clip. The money clip is reminiscent of more traditional wallets, potentially enticing if you’re not ready to go off the slim deep end entirely. Personally, I prefer the cash strap since it doubles down on the slimness, not to mention it’s easier to slip in and out of your front pocket.

The other benefit of the cash strap is you can slip in a contact free card there. Since Ridge wallets are RFID blocking, if you still want to tap to pay, you’ll have to place that particular card on the outside. You can do this with the money clip as well but it puts a bit too much pressure, easily scuffing up many credit cards.

Ready To Switch?

Ridge is betting that if you’re going slim, you’re going all the way. There are slim wallets that take a more measured approach like some of Ekster’s offerings or the fabric Trove wallet, but if you want slim with metallic durability, the Ridge wallet is hard to beat, in any color.

Swissdigital Made A Backpack With 4 Massage Motors And It’s Ridiculous

by Anil Polat | Jun 3, 2021 | Luggage, Tech | 0

Well, this isn’t a turn in backpack technology any of us were expecting but Swissdigital have debuted a backpack. With massage motors. To massage you while you’re wearing it. Of course it sounds ridiculous and of course it is, but with a few modifications, the Swissdigital Cosmo 3.0 might not be as crazy as you think.

You can watch my full video review here or read on.

Starting With A Backpack

First though, it’s worth considering the Cosmo 3.0 as a backpack. Massaging motors aside, it’s a medium sized bag (28 x 13 x 41 centimeters) weighing 1.37 kilograms. Swissdigital don’t provide any specs in liters but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s around 26 liters. Split into two compartments, the Cosmo 3.0 has a large turtle shell with a smaller pocket for more vertical gear like a laptop.

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The turtle shell opens up flat 180 degrees, great for organization and easy access while packing. Overall the Cosmo 3.0 is a respectable backpack designed better for weekend trips rather than as a daily carry due to its bulk.

Let’s Talk Motors

But the most interesting feature of the Cosmo are the 4 massage motors. Two are built into the shoulder straps while on the lower back two other motors add to the mobile massage. You power those massage motors with a portable charge bank (not included) activating 4 massage modes with a little button on the right hip belt.

There’s the shoulder massage, the lower back massage, the combo, and a high intensity mode where all the motors are on at full blast. And it’s a pretty relaxing massage until you notice the noise.

Integration Situation

Loudly humming backpacks don’t make for discrete airport lounging. Having motors in the shoulder straps mean they can’t bend too well so when the massage isn’t running, they’re not the most comfortable. Plus you have to bring your own power and possible explanation to airport security who might be wondering why your backpack is motorized.

In all, the Cosmo 3.0 feels like a prototype. A concept you didn’t know you wanted and once they iron our the design a bit, could be one you look for in your next bag. For now though, unless you really want a massaging backpack, it’s better to wait to see what the next version brings.

Airtags vs. Tile: What’s The Better Bluetooth Tracker?

by Anil Polat | May 27, 2021 | Air, Luggage, Tech | 0

Tracking your lost luggage for finding house keys you’ve misplaced is made a lot easier with Bluetooth trackers. These small, electronic homing beacons let you locate items in your home or far-flung locations through their smartphone apps. Until recently, Tile was the biggest Bluetooth tracking network. Now that Apple has joined the market with Airtags, which one is better and for who?

Comparing Trackers

At their core, both Tile and Airtags work to accomplish the same goal: help you find lost things. They also work in similar ways, via Bluetooth and by leveraging their user networks. Right now, in both regards Apple has an advantage.

Let’s look at the two problems trackers attempt to solve. The first is finding things that go missing locally, like around your house. These aren’t so much lost items but more misplaced ones. Chances are they’re going to be in one of a few usual places or at least within the walls of your home. Both Tile and Airtags have chimes you initiate through their respective apps and using those beeping tones, lead you to the tracker.

Airtags though use ultra-wideband (UWB) technology which is more precise in close range. Tile is rumored to be working on a UWB version of its trackers this year but for now, you’ll have to rely on the chimes. In other words, Tile can tell you lost keys are in your house but not show you where exactly.

Stitched Through Networks

Now when things gets really lost, like blocks or across a city (or further) the Bluetooth signal on your phone (about 10 meters of range) isn’t going to do you much good. In these cases, what Tile and Apple do is leverage everyone else’s Bluetooth connection to geo-locate a tracker marked as missing.

Apple AirTag

With Tile, you have to be using their app. With Apple, if you’ve got an iPhone, you’re already part of their network. In both cases as you walk by (within Bluetooth range) a tracker marked as missing, your phone sends back an anonymous, encrypted location of that tracker back to Tile or Apple. The person walking by has no idea this happened but you will get to see a location of the missing tracker on a map.

What Recovery Is Like

Once you’ve got a location you can retrieve the tracker (and lost items it’s hopefully still connected to). Getting that location in the first place though as you may have guessed, comes down to the size of the network. Tile says they’ve got 26 million users (potential people running their app who might happen to walk near a lost tracker).

Worldwide however, there are a billion iPhone users, according to Apple. A network of users 42 times the size of Tile is a major advantage, as is the use of UWB. Tile for their part does make trackers in different shapes (some flatter, better for wallets) but otherwise lose out to Apple’s massive user-base advantage for most people.

How To Handle Photos On Your Phone When It’s Out Of Storage

by Anil Polat | May 25, 2021 | Pictures and Video, Tech | 2

A lot of people’s primary camera is their smartphone. It’s portable, good resolution, and always with you but what happens when a “not enough storage” warning pops up? Well, you can try offloading pictures and video to your laptop but maybe that’s full too. Fortunately there are some options on backing on photos you’ve already taken on your phone so you can have space to take more.

Here’s how to handle photos on your phone when it’s out of storage space.

Clear Up Space Elsewhere

Before going nuclear on your photo albums, start with some basic clean up. Obviously check for any duplicate photos or those taken in sequence (you know the one that turned out good, delete the rest). Sorting through and deleting photos and videos you don’t need is good practice because like clutter in your house, there’s only so many cabinets you can stash crap away in. Eventually, you need to clean the house.

You should also check the rest of your phone for common storage culprits. Here’s how to see what’s taking up space on your phone:

Android: Depending on the version you’re using the exact steps will vary but generally going into Settings > Storage will show you bloated apps.
iOS: On most of the latest versions, go to General > Device Storage

Some storage hungry apps tend to be Whatsapp (all those memes you’ve been texting add up) and Podcasts (particularly on iOS).

Cloud Options

Assuming you’ve cleaned up what you can, if you’re still low on storage space, try looking at cloud options. Both Android and iOS devices have services that let you upload your photos and videos to online storage, freeing up space on your phone. All of you media will still be accessible if you want to download it but will live in the cloud otherwise.

Android: Some options include Google Photos (free up to 15 gigabytes) and Google One ($1.99/month for 100GB).
iOS: iCloud is Apple’s service that starts at 99 cents in the U.S. (prices vary internationally) for 50GB of storage up to to terabytes for $9.99 a month.

There are a lot of other cloud options but keep in mind, anything that goes to the cloud is more vulnerable than it is on your physical device. Check the privacy policies and use two factor authentication before using any cloud provider to backup photos.

Physical Drives

For phones that can charge wirelessly, SanDisk’s Ixpand can both automatically backup photos and charge your phone, acting as a backup drive. Older phone users that don’t support wireless charging can check out drives that plug in directly, like the iDiskk Photo Stick for iOS devices or SanDisk Dual Drive for Android.

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SanDisk 2-in-1 Ixpand Wireless Charger Sync (wireless fast...

These direct-to-phone options though require a (free) app download to use them. No problem there but be sure to carefully read the privacy policies and permissions of the app prior to using it. Some do allow manufacturers to access your photos – and to be extra cautious, make sure you turn on airplane mode once you get the app and transfer your photos to the drive without an Internet connection.

Tropicfeel Makes Travel Shoes You Can Wear Anywhere

by Anil Polat | May 20, 2021 | Health and Fitness, Travel | 0

This post is sponsored by Tropicfeel. [What is this?]

When you’re packing for a trip, trying to figure out the right shoes to bring can be confounding. There’s your walking shoes, hiking shoes, and causal sneakers but what Tropicfeel have designed are one shoe to fit them all. Based out of Spain, Tropicfeel claim to be the most funded shoe on Kickstarter and that’s only the beginning of what make them unique.

All-Terrain Sneakers

Tropicfeel make three varieties of their shoe. Monsoon are made to be ultra-light and quick drying, since these shoes are designed to be work in water. The Sunset line are more casual but also made for long walks and handle water without any problems. Tropicfeel sent me the Canyon, which are a combination of the Monsoon and Sunset but with thicker soles made for hiking.

Having worn the Canyon for several weeks, they stand out in several ways.

What Makes Tropicfeel Different

Right out of the box the vibrant colors of the Night Blue I received stand out but there are four other color options you can choose from. The Canyon are light, weighing just 198 grams, with thick soles made from 80% recycled polyester. The top part of the shoes are a thinner, breathable mesh that can be worn underwater and will dry within minutes on a hot day.

The insoles are firm but soft and can be removed for hand washing and the rest of the Canyon can be machine washed, then air dried, as needed.

Streamlined Functionality And Comfort

There’s an efficiency to the way Tropicfeel have designed their shoes. First, the Canyon are comfortable to wear on hikes, long walks, or quick jaunts to the grocery store. There are no laces to be tied. Instead, the elastic bands make slipping the Canyon on and off fast; leaving you to wonder why so many other shoes mess with string laces at all.

To get the right fit though, you’ll need to account for socks. See, Tropicfeel’s shoes are meant to be worn barefoot but they can definitely be comfortably worn with socks. You’ll need to order a size up in European (e.g. 40 to 41) or half a U.S. size if you plan to generally have socks on. Once you’ve found the right fit, both barefoot or with socks, the Tropicfeel Canyon are comfortable, especially after they’ve been broken in over a few days.

For those of you wondering, to further prevent odors (whether you’re wearing these barefoot or not) the Canyon are lined with Agion, a silver antimicrobial to prevent odor. Tropicfeel says this Agion treatment should last the entire lifetime of any of their shoes.

Minimalist Footwear

In many areas of the design Tropicfeel have made the Canyon an impressively efficient shoe for daily use. Yes, these are shoes made for travel but versatile and stylish enough to be worn even when you’re not on the road. All of the clever features Tropicfeel have built into their shoes – like being machine washable – are useful no matter where you are.

Sure there are elements of the Canyon that show off its portable side, from the thin mesh than can be collapsed down for packing – but Tropicfeel haven’t made a shoe that’s a collection of travel gimmicks. Rather, the Canyon are a hybrid of several types of shoes you probably already own but this time with some clever enhancements.

About Anil Polat

Hi, I'm Anil. foXnoMad is where I combine travel and tech to help you travel smarter. I'm on a journey to every country in the world and you're invited to join the adventure! Read More