Hard Graft Notebook
Hard Graft's new Notebook keeps things simple and beautiful: Cover made from Austrian wool Endleaves made from structured grey paper with logo print 160 plain off-white pages, edged in grey. Grey fabric bookmark Black elastic fabric rubber band Inner pocket in back Dimensions: 5.5” x 8.27” x 0.6" $65 at Hard Graft. Pairs nicely with their leather trip case, which holds necessary…
Texas Tan Leather Coasters
Need: Volume 9 is out, courtesy of our friend Matt Alexander and his team. Plenty of great items and photography to gawk at, but the things that really grabbed my attention were these Texas Tan Leather Coasters. They're handmade in Texas from English bridle leather and measure 4" in diameter. But mainly, they're gorgeous. These are the kind of coasters that will…
Everlane’s ‘Reverse Denim’ Collection
The folks at Everlane have just updated their Reverse Denim bags, which now sport black leather detailing rather than brown. There are three types of bags in the collection: Snap Backpack (pictured above, left) — Has a padded laptop sleeve that can fit a 15” MacBook Pro. $65 Weekender (pictured above, right) — Great for travel. 12" shoulder drop, fits into any…
Kingston Digital MobileLite Wireless Flash Reader
As much as I love my iPhone and iPad, their limited storage space makes traveling feel like a juggling act. Do I transfer this movie or that movie? Should I delete several podcasts to make room? Which games can I bear getting rid of? Forget all the data juggling and just get a Kingston MobileLite Wireless. This portable media reader can take…
Yu-Be Foaming Skin Polish
We talk about a lot of gadgets and other fun stuff here on T&T, but every now and then it's important to step back and think about our health, even in terms of skin care. This foaming skin polish from Japanese company Yu-Be is a non-gendered facial scrub that exfoliates the skin, regulates oil production, and leaves your face (or other skin)…
Navdy
Navdy (coming early 2015) is an intriguing little heads-up display that mounts on your car dash. As their Sandwich-produced video explains, Navdy is capable of many things: Real-time turn-by-turn navigation instructions. Displaying things like your current speed, RPM, or fuel economy. Displays texts (which you can reply to using your voice) and other notifications from your phone. Much safer than staring at…
Distressed Leather Case for iPhone 5
This distressed leather case from Etsy shop JooJoobs gives your iPhone 5/5s a handsome, rustic look while providing some protection from damage. The stitching is all done by hand, and there's a convenient credit card slot on the back. The JooJoobs shop is based out of Chiang Mai, Thailand, so this case goes for about $24 + $6 shipping to the U.S.
‘Wool’ by Hugh Howey — Omnibus Edition
Thanks to a recommendation from Sid O'Neill a while back, I found out about a series of sci-fi books by Hugh Howey called Wool. I finally picked up the omnibus edition (which collects books 1-5) over the weekend, and I was hooked from the get-go. Finished it just yesterday, and can't wait to pick up the next entry in the series. Wool…
JayBird BlueBuds X Sport Bluetooth Headphones
The JayBird BlueBuds X — recently recommended by our editor Shawn Blanc — are an awesome set of Bluetooth earbuds to run with. They sound great (especially if you replace the default rubber tips with these Comply memory foam earbud tips) and aren't likely to fall out during your workout, especially since there's no cable between the buds and your iPhone to…
‘Will It Waffle?’ by Daniel Shumski
If there's one thing I love in the morning (besides my daily regimen of coffee injections), it's a good Belgian waffle. So, you'll understand why I'm more than excited about Daniel Shumski's upcoming cookbook, Will It Waffle? You'll learn how to waffle all sorts of stuff: bacon, eggs, hash browns, muffins, French toast, mac & cheese, sweet potato gnocci, potato and cheese…
SpeakerSlide
The SpeakerSlide is a Kickstarter project that reminds me of the SoundBender from a while back, but modernized for today's iOS devices. It plugs into your Lightning port, placing a curved space directly over the device's speaker so that its audio redirects to you rather than going sideways out into the air. No more cupping your hand over the speaker like an…
‘On Web Typography’ by Jason Santa Maria
This morning the folks at A Book Apart released renowned graphic designer Jason Santa Maria's new book, On Web Typography. The title says it all really, but I'll go ahead and include their own foreword so you know what this is all about. “Typography is your design’s voice and the most powerful tool you have to communicate with your readers. Learn how…
The Incomparable T-Shirt
The Incomparable is a favorite podcast of mine, from the nerdy conversations down to the awesome logo. That logo is being printed on a t-shirt via the Cotton Bureau, a Kickstarter-like site for shirt designs. They've already surpassed their support goal, so you're guaranteed a shirt if you get in on the action before 2pm EDT on Friday, Aug 22nd 2014. They're…
TROVE Slim Wallet & Card Case
The TROVE wallet, very near to reaching its Kickstarter funding goal, can best be described as a Supr Slim wallet on steroids. It combines strong, woven elastic with vegetable-tanned full-grain Italian leather accents. The whole thing is reversible too, so you can organize your cards and cash the way you like. Holds up to 10 cards (far more than I need on…
2014 Britax B-Agile Stroller
As a stay-at-home dad who likes taking his son on lots of walks around the neighborhood, having a good stroller is important to me. The 2014-model Britax B-Agile is one of the better options out there, for several reasons: It's surprisingly lightweight for its size. You can fold it one-handed. After the kid is out, just push the safety button on the…
Scosche Retractable Lightning Cable
The Scosche Strikeline is a retractable Lightning cable for iPad and iPhone. Extends to 3ft long, retracts to about the size of a watch face for travel purposes. Simple! The black version is $18, the white one $21.
R2-D2 Thick Lines T-Shirt
Tools & Toys reader Chase McCoy has designed a slick R2-D2 t-shirt you Star Wars fans out there will enjoy. Chase is a good guy and we'd like to see him reach his Teespring goal. There are three versions to choose from: Asphalt gray American Apparel crew ($20) Dark gray heather V-neck ($28) Navy women's fit tee ($20)
Tom Bihn Aeronaut 30 Carry-On Travel Bag
The new Tom Bihn Aeronaut 30 (little brother of the original Aeronaut 45) is a convertible carry-on travel bag that can comfortably be worn over the shoulder duffel-style or as a backpack. Watch this video to see it in action. This thing can carry a surprising amount of stuff for its size. The main body of the bag is divided into three…
Trent iCarrier Battery Pack
After yesterday's post about the NomadPlus external battery, reader Josh Hogan wrote in with another suggestion: the Trent iCarrier. It doesn't come with a wall adapter of its own, but it has other advantages: 12,000mAh power capacity, meaning it can charge your iPhone and iPad a couple times each before needing its own recharge. If you have just an iPhone, you could…
NomadPlus
(Readers, take note of the promo code at the end of this post.) There are a number of ways to deal with device battery life issues while traveling. I personally like using a Mophie Juice Pack Air on my iPhone because I can just flip the power switch when I need a boost. It does have its downsides though: Not everyone wants…