I provide honest ratings and reviews on tech, toys, and consumer home goods that I've purchased and used. Reviews are based on hands-on testing and personal observations. All opinions and comments are my own.
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Takeaway: Easy set up, effortless wireless control, reliable The WiFi outlet comes with a brief instruction manual that shows you how to setup the app for wireless control of the unit and make is work with Amazon's Alexa assistant. The smart plug has a plastic housing with a 2" in diameter. It will stick out 1" from the wall when plugged in. Also, if you plug it into the top outlet of a two outlet panel, the lower portion of the plug might block part of the bottom socket, so I recommend, instead, plugging this unit in the bottom of a dual socket panel. The unit has a single power button on the side for manual on/off and the button has an LED behind it to indicate the different modes. When plugged in for the first time, it will start flashing rapidly, which means it's ready to be added to your home WiFi network. Using the Tuya Smart app, you can add the device and give it your home network's WiFi password. Once connected to the network, you can use the app to switch on and off the outlet and whatever is plugged into it. The app also has the capability to set a coutdown timer trigger or a set daily or weekly schedule for on and off times. Amazon's Alexa can find and control the socket as well using the Tuya Smart skill for powering on and off the outlet. However, the voice commands don't work for setting scedules and delayed triggers.
Setting up the unit only takes a few minutes and it works great for its intended purpose both for remote control via the app from anywhere you have an internet connection and via the voice commands. Just remmeber that the socket has a few load restrictions and can handle devices up to 10A and 1100 Watts.
Takeaway: Easy to use, versatile for hot/cold sheets, great results. The laminator measures 15" x 5.25" x 3.25" and the power cord is 5' long. In front is the slot where you'll insert your sheets to be laminated. Note that the laminator doesn't come with any lamination sleeves, so you'll have to buy those separately. This machine works with both hot and cold lamination for thermal activated adhesive pouches and pressure activated adhesive pouches. On the right side of the unit are the power switch and the toggle switch for hot or cold lamination. For cold lamination, simply turn the unit on. Place the sheet inside the pouch and insert the edge into the opening in the front, which is wide enough to accommodate up to A4 sized sheets. The rollers will automatically grab and move the pouch through the machine. When it comes out the other side it should be laminated.
If choosing hot lamination you have to wait 3-5 minutes for the heating element to warm up and the green "ready" light to come on before you start. Then you just do the same thing and place the edge of the pouch into the opening and the rollers will pull it through. When the sheet comes out the other side, it may still be hot to the touch so give it a few seconds to cool off before handling it. If you need to switch back to cold lamination, you'll have to wait for the unit to cool down first. The laminated sheets come out perfect. They're smooth, glossy, and flat with no wrinkle or bubbles. The thickness of your lamination sheets will determine how rigid or flexible the final product is, but either way your photos, business card, and other stationery will be protected from liquids, oil, stains, and dirt.
On top of the unit you have a three blade rotary cutter that can help you finish the edges of your laminated sheets or even just plain paper. These symbols here indicate what kind of cut you are using: this is the straight cut, then you have a perforated dotted line cut and the third is a wave cut. To use it, position your sheet under the clear plastic ruler. The blade will cut along the edge of it. Then press down on the rotary cutter and slide it across to the other side. This is the straight cut. To change the blade, pull up on this red locking tab, spin to the symbol for the blade you want. Let's try the perforated cut. Again, press down on the cutter and slide it to the other side. The perforated cut is pretty cool and is great if you're creating a sheet of multiple take-aways that you want to tear of individually. Then the last cut is the wave cut which makes a fun wavy edge, like pinking shears might.
The grids on the top also help you measure and create different angles easily. On the bottom of the unit is a slide out corner rounding tool. This is like a hole puncher but instead of holes, it rounds off pointed corners which is great for laminated projects because the sharp plastic corners tends to poke or scratch otherwise. You simply place the corner of your project into the tool and press down and the corner will be rounded. The clipped corners get caught in the clear receptacle underneath which is easily emptied later. Overall, the laminator does a great job with laminating, both hot and cold pouches. It's also got some nifty features to help you finish your projects so that they look neat, clean, and professional.
Takeaway: Fast, durable, and fun! No assembly required, easy to get the hang of the controls. You'll receive the boat, remote control, instruction manual, three-piece stand, USB charging cable, a small wrench, tiny tube of grease paste, a spare propeller nut, and spare propeller. The RC boat is made of a thin, lightweight plastic. It measures 14" from bow to stern (rudder), 4.5" wide and 2.5" tall. The stand is easily assembled and not only nicely displays the boat when not in use, it protects the propeller from getting damaged. The battery can be found inside the boat, but needs to be connected and disconnected between uses.
The remote requires 4 AA batteries and a mini screwdriver to open the battery bay door, neither of which are included. After connecting the battery inside the boat, place the boat in water to turn it on. Then just flip the switch up in the middle of the remote, and it'll beep when paired. On the remote, the left joystick controls the throttle to move the boat forward and put it in reverse while the right joystick controls the rudder for turning. There are also keys for trimming if the boat drifts. The LCD screen shows you the signal strength between the controller and the boat and the remaining battery life of the boat.
Getting a hang of the controls is pretty easy. The boat can go really fast at full throttle (supposedly up to ~13 mph) and was a bit too much speed for a small swimming pool; it'll perform much more impressively on a lake or river. The turning radius is ok, but wide at about 6-7 ft depending on your speed. While I haven't had the boat capsize (in the pool), if it does, you can flip it over easily with the controls. The boat is also pretty durable despite being made of plastic. It bumped and banged around the cement pool quite a bit quite without sustaining any damage that I could see. Overall, it's a fun, easy to learn toy that's definitely suitable for racing if you've got more than one. Great for kids and adults!
Takeaway: Easy to setup, remote control with app or Alexa works well, bright and colorful. You'll receive two 40" RGB light strips, a 6" Jumper cable, a hardware pack with 6 mounting brackets and 12 screws, a power adapter, and a setup instruction sheet. The length of the power cord before and after the brick is 38" and 34" with a 5" long brick for a total reach of about 6.5 feet. The light strips have 28 LED in each of them. On the back is some double sided adhesive sticky tape behind the protective blue film. On each end are either male or female connectors and the two strips can either be connected directly to each other or joined by the jumper cable allowing you to turn a corner or make a gap between the two strips. When plugging in the jumper or the power cable, make sure the small arrow on the connector is pointing to the top of the strip so that you can read the lettering inside the rubber casing.
I used the Tuya App to control the light strip and set it up on my home WiFi network to work with Alexa. The setup process was simple and took only a few minutes. However, you don't have to have an Alexa enabled device to use this light strip, since you can use the Tuya Smart app as the remote to control it, as long as you have a WiFi netowrk at home. You can also control the device from anywhere you have an internet connection. Alexa just makes it convenient to just call out commands, though keep in mind that some features of the lights cannot be accessed by Alexa like scenes, flashing colors, and setting a timer schedule. Overall, the light strip is bright, colorful, and easy to use.
Takeaway: Fast and convenient; makes delicious food but no included recipes, could use better instructions. After owning a stovetop pressure cooker for many years, I have to say there are few occasions now where I would use that over an electric one. The electric ones are more convenient, heat up faster, and don't need constant monitoring. This Blusmart electric pressure cooker has a capacity of 6 qts and measures 15" tall with a 11" diameter. All the accessories are inside when you receive the unit: 4 ft power cord, rice scooper, measuring cup, condensation cup, and instruction manual. The inner bowl and bowl chamber both have non-stick coatings on them for ease of cleaning. On the bottom of the lid is a removable gasket and debris filter, though you have to pull pretty hard on the silicone handle to extract it. The bowl also has measurement lines for the capacity of the unit and water measurement lines for cooking rice.
The manual is readable, but isn't a great English translation. It doesn't explain well what the differences between the modes are or how to use them as there are no recipes included with the unit. You've got presets like rice, cake, chicken, fried foods, and soup. Then the 'manual cook' button allows you to set a delayed start time from 30 mins to 24 hours in 30 min increments. The red key is the power/cancel and keep warm key, and there are up and down keys for time adjustments in 1 minute increments. When you press any of the presets, it'll just input set values for the cooking time under pressure. With any preset, you can increase or decrease the time under pressure and the unit automatically switches to keep warm when the timer runs out.
So far in the pressure cooker I've made rice, chicken stew, beans, steamed veggies, hard boiled eggs, zucchini bread, quick preserves/jam, corn on the cob, and boiled pot stickers (which I later air fried). The unit takes about 5-10 minutes to pre-heat and pressurize, depending on the amount of food you put in, before the timer counts down, so expect a 5 minute setting for 1 cup of rice to actually take about 15 minutes. The one thing that kept throwing me off at first is that the pressure valve isn't marked as to which direction is seal and which direction is release (counter-clockwise is seal). I also recently found out the square tab that sticks out of the stick of the lid is so you can store/stand it upright in the handle on the side of the pit. That's clever, but again, not explained in the manual. There's no recipe book included so I'm kind making up recipes as I go.
The things that really impressed me was the cake function. I didn't actually think it would bake a decent cake, but my zucchini bread came out wonderfully moist, evenly cooked, and fluffy. It also released cleanly from the bowl and wasn't burned at all on the bottom. I liked that I didn't have to fire up the big oven and that it took half the time to finish cooking than in the oven. I was also able to make quick fruit preserves/jam by adding chopped fruit, lemon juice, and sugar with a splash of water and putting it under pressure with the release valve open for 20 minutes. This eliminated the hours of standing in front of the stove stirring and reducing jam and it came out wonderful and slightly caramelized.
Overall, the functionality of the pressure cooker is very well done. The construction is solid and durable. It's easy to use and saves me time versus traditional cooking and baking. It's also cleans up easily. My main complaint is that there weren't any recipes included and the different settings aren't explained well. Like for 'fried' am I supposed to use oil and deep fry under pressure? Should I use the gasket or not and should the valve be open or closed in this setting? It's unclear and the instructions weren't too helpful in that respect. A bit of clarification would help me fully utilize the device's potential, which currently I don't feel like I have enough information to do. Otherwise, I'm quite pleased with it and plan to use it a lot more and experiment with different recipes.
Takeaway: Simple, very lightweight so it falls over easily, no hanger for audio cable. The acrylic headphone stand is a simple piece of curved plastic with a glossy black finish. The stand has the brand name ‘Amovee' printed on the side of one of the feet, which is a little intrusive for the branding. The stand is 10" tall, 4.5" across, and 2.5" wide. It fits most standard headphones without stretching them out too much. It helps to extend the headphone's ear cups to the lowest point so that the earcups sit lower in the curvature of the stand. This prevents the pads from being compressed a lot which is important if you plan on keeping the headphones on the stand for a long period of time. Keeping the ear pads compressed could permanently deform them and wear them out faster. The stand is lightweight and balanced, so it won't fall over on its own, but because it's tall and narrow it can be knocked over or tips when if the table is shaken. I would have preferred if there were rubber feet on the bottom for a bit more stability and perhaps a wider stance. I also wish there were someplace to hang an audio cable. Regardless, it works well for temporary storage of a single pair of headphones and can also be used as a display stand for your headphones.
Takeaway: Complete coverage from top/bottom, fits queen bed, unpacks and folds up quickly The mosquito net tent comes in a fabric carrying case that has a handle on the top and a zipper along the bottom. It measures 25" in diameter when packed and weighs just over 2 lbs. On the front of the carrier, in a clear plastic pocket, you'll find the setup and folding instructions. The tent is made from nylon bug netting with flexible steel wire struts. The steel wires are rigid but flex like a foldable car sunshade. When folded, it is held closed by this thin elastic band. the netting is very much like the material used in aquarium fish nets and butterfly nets. The holes are small enough to keep out mosquitoes and knats, though not fleas, lice, nor perhaps bed bugs.
Setting up the tent takes less than a minute as it literally pops open when you unfold it. Once you located the top and bottom, you can orient the zippered doors on the sides of the bed to get in and out of the tent. The fully opened size will cover an entire queen sized bed and the stated dimension are fairly accurate at 79" long, 71" wide and 59" tall. The door panels have dual-sided zippers that you can open and close from the outside and from the inside. Since you'll be fully encapsulated from top to bottom, make sure you bring your pillows and blankets into the tent for use when sleeping. The tent is tall enough for me to kneel on the bed and still have plenty of room above my head. Along the top of each door is a fancy hem and the zippers glide open and closed smoothly without any skips or jams.
I did check the entire net for holes and flaws where mosquitoes could sneak in, but I found none. You do have to be careful with the netting though and not use sharp or hooked jewelry or object near it as once the netting is compromised, it won't be as effective against bugs and mosquitoes. Closing the tent back up was tricky at first, but once I got the hand of it I could pack it up in lass than 30 seconds. The directions, even with the pictures, were somewhat unclear, but you can watch the video portion of this review to see how I do it (I think it's slightly different than the printed instructions, but it works for me).
Overall, this mosquito tent is really quick to setup and put away. It's got nice construction quality and a spacious size for a double or queen bed. It also packs away compactly and is lightweight for travel. It fits in my large suitcase for when I travel and the accommodations lack efficient bug barriers.
Takeaway: Easy to adjust neckline, cleans up quickly, dishwasher safe, works great. The bibs are about 10" wall and 9" wide. They are a single piece and soft/flexible but rigid enough to keep its shape. On the bottom is a 2" catch pocket for dropped or spilled food and liquid so whatever your baby doesn't eat, doesn't end up on the floor. The neck line of the bib is adjustable and the strap is easily attached and adjusted by pressing it into the grip on the side for a looser or tighter fit. On the opposite side is a hanging hole for hang drying and storing the bib. Our little one just turned 6 months and the bib, might still be a tad big on he but serves its purpose for keeping messing on her clothes to a minimum. She's just getting started with solid foods and is still being spoon fed, but when she starts feeding herself, we think the catch pocket will be better utilized. The bib cleans easily under running water and is also dish washer safe. Overall, it works pretty well.
Takeaway: Works ok as a wireless PA mic, a bit too quiet for recording, mono only. The mic kit comes with a transmitter, lapel mic with 3.5' long wire and 3-pin mini XLR plug (mono), a receiver with 1/4" microphone jack, a pair of AA batteries, a pair of AAA batteries, and an instruction manual. The transmitter unit is pretty basic. It's made of plastic and has a wire belt clip on the back, a mini XLR input for the mic, and power button on the top by the antenna. On front is an LCD screen that shows the transmitting frequency and a door that swings open for loading the two AA batteries. The microphone simply plugs into the port on the top and it has a metal alligator shirt clip. The receiver plugs into your sound system via the 1/4" jack but you can use an adapter to use it with 1/8" Aux-in/mic ports (not included). On the side of the transmitter is the on/off switch and a 2.25" antenna for increasing the reception. On the opposite side is the door for the battery bay for loading the two AAA batteries.
The unit is basically plug and play. Turn on the receiver and transmitter and they will pair automatically. When paired the light on the receiver turns from flashing red to green. The LCD screen on the transmitter displays the frequency as well as remaining battery life. The channel range is 672.5 to 684.5 in 0.5 MHz increments. There are 25 channels on this mic to help you avoid interference with other equipment on mics, and it remembers the last channel you set it to when you switch it off and on again. The LCD dims after 3 minutes to save power and flashes when the unit has low battery.
The lapel mic is directional and should be clipped with the top of the wind screen pointing up towards your mouth. However, even from this short distance of about 6 inches, the pickup from the mic isn't quite strong enough and the audio is fairly quiet. The mic sounds better and is much louder when it's right in front of your mouth, but that's not how it's designed to be used. I was able to use the mic plugged into a portable speaker and it sounded fine, but after I got more than 20 feet away the sound started to audibly fade. I must be one of the lucky ones that got a mic that doesn't pop or crackle as I haven't noticed any static noise when using the mic so far.
Sound-wise the ranges are a bit condensed lending a "boxy" sound quality. Without any post editing, the Fifine mic is much quieter than the Yeti mic that I normally use for recording and doesn't have as good audio quality. Also it only records in mono, and is therefore not suitable for much of my recording needs. However, I would use it as a PA system wireless mic for events and parties or perhaps hook it up to my camera for some B-roll video footage.
Takeaway: Easy to use and setup, responds remotely to app/voice commands, timers accurate. The power strip measures 7.75" x 4" x 1" and has a 4.5' long power cord. On top you have a power button, 4 USB ports which can output 1 A each and four 3-prong grounded outlets which are spaced far enough apart to fit large power bricks/adapters. This unit can be connected to your Wi-Fi network via the TuyaSmart app and used with Amazon Alexa voice control. Note that Alexa won't be able to control individual sockets/USB ports, only whether or not the entire strip is powered on or off. The power strip is rated to 1650W.
Connecting the unit to my home Wi-Fi took less than a minute, but you can also use the plug without Wi-Fi like a normal strip plug. Just press the power button so that all the red LEDs next to the ports are all on. With the Tuya app, you can control the on/off status of each outlet and the group of USB ports (as a set of 4). You can even name them to match what's plugged into them for easy identification. Using Alexa voice commands, I was successfully able to turn on and off the whole power strip, but it would have been more convenient to be able to access each individual outlet this way. Even so, it's easy enough to open up the app to switch on/off each outlet manually if I need to. I also liked that each outlet can be set with its own set of timers on a daily, one of, or particular set of day schedule. Not only does it eliminate the need to use a timer with each socket, it's also simpler to create the timers and toggle them on/off than on the "dumb" outlet times that I've been using.
I haven't had the power strip randomly disconnect from my Wi-Fi network on its own, so it seems to be pretty reliable with a stable connection. It's good that I can control it remotely from anywhere there's an internet connection. I can switch things on and off when I'm not at home or on vacation. Overall, the power strip works well and although the Alexa voice commands would have been more useful if they could control the individual outlets, I find that even without that, this unit is worthwhile since that level of control is present with the timers in the app.
Takeaway: Easy to install, leak-free, gentle but effective spray for washing up. I used to be one of those folks a bit turned off by the idea of a bidet, but after installing one in the guest bathroom last year and using it regularly, I knew I wanted another one for the master bath. My first one was a cold water only one and while that was okay, the addition of hot water with a temperature mixer is multitudes of times better. In this self-install kit, you receive the bidet, 6.5' of hot water tubing, two seat couplers, a 25" flexible metal braided hose, 7/8" T-adapter with rubber gasket, a 3/8" T-adapter with rubber o-ring, and a set of illustrated installation instructions. The instructions are pretty basic and only show installation and not operation. A few quick observations: If you will hooking up the hot water, it's more convenient to have a sink within a few feet of the toilet with an exposed hot water line. If you have a sink over a cabinet, you may need to drill a hole in the cabinet/wall in order for the hot water to reach the inlet of the bidet. Also if you need longer tubing, you may need to reach out to the vendor for it. Like with the sink, it may take a minute for the water to warm up so if you want warm or hot water for immediate use with the sprayer, it helps to run the hot water in the sink first and also run the bidet cleaning mode to clear the cold water from the line so you'll get a warm spray from the get go. The hot water line installation is optional, and you can keep the cap on that inlet line if you'll be using cold water only.
The other tricky thing is that to activate the water stream you have to lift the temperature control handle up, which isn't described in the instructions. Turning it left and right only sets the temperature and pressure. The smaller dial changes the mode from bidet spraying mode to nozzle cleaning. Nozzle cleaning mode basically runs water out of the nozzle tip in case it gets soiled. In bidet spraying mode, make sure you're sitting on the toilet when you turn it on, otherwise water will shoot out of the toilet.
I recommend you turn the dial in the desired direction very slowly until you reach the temperature and pressure that's most comfortable for you. I found that even at the highest pressure the spray felt comfortable and gentle (unlike my other one which feels like you're being blasted with a fire hose at anything over the lowest flow setting), although this will depend on the pressure in the lines in your home. Overall, the installation of the bidet was pretty simple and straightforward and I haven't experience any problem with leaks. The bidet works well for its intended purpose and I think it does a great job of refreshing and cleaning your bottom versus using toilet paper alone.
Takeaway: Simple setup, easy to control w/app or Alexa, outdoor weather water-resistant, works great. The outlet main body measures about 5"L x 2.5"W x 1.5"H. It has a 7" three-prong grounded plug and a 3-prong receptacle on the bottom. This device only has one button on the front for on and off (manual control). This outlet is rated to handle up to 2000W and output 16Amps. It is IP44 water-resistance rated, so it should be able to handle wet outdoor conditions, though cannot be submerged obviously.
To use the WiFi remote control feature, you'll need to connect the device to your home WiFi network. Just plug the device in and a blue LED light in the power button should start flashing quickly. The manual recommends the Oittm app as the controller, but since I'm already using Tuya Smart for most of my IoT devices, I added it there instead and the functionality is identical. To control the device via Alexa voice commands, make sure you have the associated app Skill enabled in Alexa. Whatever you name the outlet will be your "call out" name for triggering commands. In the app you can turn the outlet on and off or set timers/schedules for it and even check the device's current and historical electrical usage. I like this feature a lot because I can monitor and manage my electrical usage for whatever is plugged into the outlet, like an A/C unit. The Alexa voice commands let you turn on and off the power to the outlet, but I didn't find a way to add timers or scheduling for the unit, so I think you have to do that fro the app. It's pretty straightforward though and you can set daily/weekly repeat schedules, quickly toggle individual triggers on or off or a countdown timer in the app. Because the unit can be used outdoors, it's also a good device for controlling outdoor lighting installations like holiday or landscape lights.
Overall, the outlet works exactly as I expected it to and is pretty convenient to control remotely. Even if you don't use Alexa, you can control the outlet from anywhere there's an internet connection with the smartphone app.
Takeaway: Lightweight, sharp, cuts cleanly and smoothly; easy to handle
The utility knife comes in a gold cardboard gift box. The blade length is 5" with a height of 0.75" at the widest section and it has a 4.25" handle. The balance of the knife is weighted towards the handle and the weight of the knife overall is 3 oz. On the sides of the blade are laser etchings in a design called a Damascus pattern. The etching appears on both sides, but isn't super deep onr contrasted so it is only visible from up close. Its wavy grain-like pattern complements the woodgrain rings in the handle nicely. While I like the look of the handle, you can't see whether or not the spine travels through the entire length of the handle (which typically means that is does not). The blade is pre-sharpened and can slice through paper in the straight line smoothly and cleanly using little force. The VG-10 Japanese steel that it is claiming to use has a high hardness rating which means it should hold its edge well, but is also suceptible to chipping if it cuts into hard bone or hits stone or other hard metals if stored in a drawer. However, the steel grade is not printed on the blade itself, so it's difficult to determine what material was actually used. The knife makes food prep easy when cutting, slicing, and mincing. It performed well on veggetables, fruits, and boneless meats fileting with ease and enables you to cut very thin slices. Overall, it's a decent utility knife that is sharp and easy to handle. I recommend this knife be hand washed only to preserve its edge, etched pattern, and wooden handle.
