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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Buy it at Amazon:Ulikit Corner L-Shaped Computer Desk [Affiliate Link] UPDATED: All discount codes are gone and the promotional period mentioned in the video is now finished.
Takeaway: Clean modern look with natural wood grain pattern, easy assembly, lightweight but sturdy and durable under a decent load.
Takeaway: Works indoor/outdoor, tight wrinkle-free screen, durable frame, lightweight, packs compactly. You'll receive the projector screen in a nylon padded duffel bag on which the handles can be Velcro'd together for easier carrying. Inside are the instructions for assembly, PVC screen, rectangular frame, two legs, four ground stakes, two rigging cords, and two hanging rings. Setting up the frame for the screen takes about 5-10 mins for one person to complete on their own. The entire metal steel frame is collapsible which is how it fits into a relatively small bag. It weighs about 25 lbs. Assembly is tool-less and everything snaps or screws together easily. The hardest part the first time I set this up was getting the screen stretched out enough to reach all the button clasps. It may be because I was assembling it in the cold outdoors (~40° F), so I expect that in warmer weather or indoors the screen material might be a tad more flexible. Even so, with lots of pulling I was able to get the screen buttoned down all the way and after leaving it up for a few days, the wrinkles from being folded up relaxed and faded and the screen stretched out a bit so subsequent setups have been much easier. The screen has nylon pull straps at each corner to help you with stretching it out, but it's always going to be a tight fit, which you want to ensure the screen is completely flat. I was impressed that the screen didn't rip or tear from all the tension and pulling. The outside black border around the visible white portion of the screen appears to be synthetic leather for added durability.
For windy outdoor conditions, you can add the retention rings to the top of the frame and utilize the rigging cords and ground spikes to anchor the frame and provide additional stability. However, you best solution is to simply sandbag the feet if you're worried about the wind. The back of the screen is covered in black PVC for an impenetrable light barrier that prevent light bleed from the back. This also means, however, that you won't be able to do rear projection onto this screen. The fully assembled screen measures about 79" or about 6.5' high. The width is 92" and the clearance for the legs is 35". The viewable area screen is 99.5", just under the advertised 100" diagonal. To fill the screen, I need to set my projector about 15 feet away.
The smooth white background of the screen provides an excellent surface to project onto. It doesn't distort or discolor the image like the offwhite paint on my walls/ceiling, and it reproduces the contrast of the images well. The screen performs best in very dark conditions, and the small wrinkles in the screen from creases were not visible in the projected image. There was little if any shadowing as the full-frame prevents the screen from developing waves from uneven tension. It works great indoors and outdoors. The construction is sturdy and lightweight making it easy to move fully assembled or packed away. It works great for family movie night, projecting live TV, and could also be used for work presentations.
Takeaway: A basic pull up screen, easy to setup, clear images, construction is lightweight. This projector screen is large and measures 94" long and consists of a tripod and the self-retracting screen. It weighs 25 lbs and has a handle with which you can carry it. The unit I received may have been a refurbished/returned unit as the cosmetic condition wasn't pristine. There were a couple of spots of black spray paint meant to hide some scratches and a few dents on the metal housing that didn't impact the functionality but perhaps speaks to the overall durability of the construction, which is not super heavy-duty.
The tripod can be removed from the screen for setup and opening the tripod and screen only takes a few minutes. The feet of the tripod do not locked in the closed position, but I didn't find that this was a problem as long as the tripod was locked to the screen during storage. The screen takes a little effort to pull initially to unroll it, but it slides smoothly in and out of the metal housing. The tallest height for the screen is 92" from the floor to the top, although it can be lowered about 1-2 feet if necessary. The screen itself isn't super flat when fully open and mine appeared to have slightly more tension in the lower corners results in some mild waves from the center of the top down to each corner. The very sides of the screen also tend to roll inward a little, but this affects mostly the outer black border which helps eliminate slight over-projection of the viewing area. The screen is a fairly fragile element. The material can pick up stain, scratches, and indentations you you have to be very careful if it gets dirty and that nothing gets on the screen before you roll it up and put it away. You want to keep the white portion of the screen as clean as possible without using any harsh chemicals. The paint used for the screen smells strongly of spray paint when you first open it so you may want to air it out when you first receive the screen.
Fortunately, the cosmetic defects to the outer housing and the wrinkles on the screen didn't show up when projecting an image on the screen. Even the waves in the screen only created a slight darkened band that you wouldn't know was there unless you were looking for it. Once I got the projector image up on the screen in a darkened room, you couldn't really see these issues. To fill the screen I have my 720p projector about 14-15 feet from it at shoulder level. The screen itself provides a nice clean white background for the projection image which doesn't distort the image colors and has no light bleed from the back which is painted black. Functionally, the screen worked pretty well. One thing to consider is that the screen just hangs from a single point on top, and it is easily distorted or sways if it's bumped or moved around. Even though it is advertised for "outdoor use," I would say it performs best indoors where the wind won't blow the screen around. I also don't think the tripod would be able to stand up to a big gust of wind catching the screen like a sail and that it could potentially fall over in windy conditions. Other than that it works for its intended purpose and would be great for a movie night, party slideshow, or office presentation.
Takeaway: Sturdy, straightforward assembly, a few cosmetic defects but don't see them anyway. The bed requires assembly that took me about 40 minutes with relatively little frustration. Be sure to check to contents of the box against the parts list on the instructions to verify that you have everything you need to assemble the frame before getting started. One thing to keep in mind when putting the bed together is that there are specific orientations for the feet, and sides of the frame to make sure you can mount all the slats and bars correctly. The 20 slats were thinner and narrower than I expected, and all the pieces are hollow which keeps the frame fairly lightweight at about 50 lbs. One of things I didn't like about this frame was that some of the bars had scratches/scrapes on them where the pieces were touching in the box. One of the plastic feet was also loose/cracked but still usable. These cosmetic defects haven't affected the frame structurally and in general I don't mind because I never see the flaws as they're hidden under the bed.
During assembly the trickiest part was lining up the holes for the screws to go through when attaching pieces together. I'd say 80% of the screws fit just fine with the other 20% needing a little wiggling and a few turns from the Allen wrench to get through. For the head and foot struts, I found that the bars that go into the foot bracket sometimes fit better when I flipped them over. I think those pieces may have a "top " and "bottom" that lets them fit and have the holes line up properly. The slats for the mattress don't screw into the frame. They simply slide into holder brackets but they're secure and don't move around. This also makes the frame easy to disassemble if you need to move it. While the slats seem durable enough, but I'd be cautious of putting too much weight in the middle of a single bar during assembly because others have reported that these could bend.
When used with a memory foam mattress, like the one I have, there's very little stress, motion, and movement transfer to the frame itself. Even when jumping on the bed, trying to shake it, and moving it around the room, the frame remained silent and structurally sound. With a traditional innerspring mattress things may be a little more dicey especially if you don't use a box spring or plywood over the slats to even out the pressure on individual bars.
My mattress weighs about 150 lbs and I weigh about 125 lbs; I typically sleep on one side of the bed (not in the middle), and I haven't had any issues with the bedframe so far (been using it for a month). Overall it seems pretty solid. I like the construction quality, although it took a little longer to assemble than expected. Cosmetic defects aside, I didn't have any major issues with mine. I expect it to last with my mattress, but I'll update this review if the frame starts to fail or if I have other issues.
Takeaway: Durable metal construction, easy to set/adjust, works well for variety of projects. The angleizer comes in a microfiber drawstring carrying bag. This tool helps with measuring lengths and angles for different shapes including squares, rectangles, and triangles for a variety of projects. The construction is a little nicer than the typical cheap plastic ones since it is made entirely of metal. The tightening knobs at each juncture are made from a lightweight machined aluminum and the ruler portions are made from black painted steel with high contrast white numbers and markers so you can read the measurements easily. The nice part about that is it won't crack, snap, or rust. The two long sides of the rule can measure out to 10", but have an overall length of 12". The two shorter sides measure out 2-3/8" from center in both directions and have an overall length of 7". Centimeters are also marked on the rulers. It's simple to change the angle and positions of the rules to fit corners and different shapes making it useful for templating and cutting. I use it for wood working, masonry, and tiling, and it works exactly as described.
Takeaway: Durable all-metal locks, easy to change the combination, smooth rolling tumblers. You'll receive a pair of identical TSA007 combination padlocks and an instruction sheet. The lock is solidly made from an all-metal housing and shackle and weighs about 2 ounces. The standard tumbler allows the TSA to open it with a special key to inspect your luggage without cutting/breaking non-compliant locks off. I've made the switch to TSA locks as the last time I was using an older suitcase with a built-in zipper lock, and they literally cut the zippers off my bag (even though they didn't have to) rendering it useless for future travel. Not only did I have to get a new suitcase, but I made sure to get these compliant locks to go with it.
The initial combination code for the locks ‘0000.' The numbers each roll smoothly and gently 'click' into place. To change it, pull on the shackle to open it, turn it 90 degrees towards you and press down until it clicks. Then just turn the tumblers until your desired code is lined up on the side with the little arrow and re-lock the shackle. These locks are light duty but enough to keep the zippers on your bag from opening, preventing easy access theft. However, note that these probably won't hold up to a bolt cutter or a hammer if your entire bag gets stolen.
Takeaway: Great sound, average comfort due to weight, a few usage and design quirks. The headphones come in a rigid clamshell carrying case and includes the following accessories: A gold-plated audio cable with right-angled jack, ¼" jack adapter, dual-pin airplane jack adapter, carabiner clip, and microUSB charging cable. The travel case doesn't have an inner pocket for the accessories though and neither cable has any type of cable wrap which seems to be a slight oversight considering all the flashy packaging this came in.
The headphones themselves are quite sturdy, being made mostly of machined metal with thick, steel headband core and a flame-like pattern printed on the exterior of the ear cups and hangers. They are a bit on the heavy side at 12 oz or about 50% heavier than similar sized plastic headphones. The ear cups and headband are lined with plush foam wrapped in synthetic leather. While they don't have the authentic leather smell, they're soft to the touch and look high end. The ear cups fold in nicely for compact storage but don't articulate (rotate or tilt) for a custom fit. I found the tension on the band to be on a strong side, coupled with the weight of the headphones, it feels a bit too bulky. These headphones feature Bluetooth or NFC pairing and the internal battery is charged via a microUSB port on the bottom of the left ear cup. A full charge purportedly lasts up to 25 hours of playback but that would depend on your playback volume. On the right ear cup are the music playback and volume controls which are raised rubber buttons. The center button with the logo is the power button, which also doubles as the play/pause key.
The sound quality from these headphones is really nice. The ranges are balanced with plenty of definition in the bass and even sub-bass frequencies. The midranges are full and well-rounded and the trebles sound crisp and clear. Even at the highest volume I didn't detect any distortion in the sound which is impressive since these can get very loud. The sound stage representation was wide and deep with nice accuracy, and the passive noise isolation was also pretty good while listening at a moderate volume level. When using the playback controls, each button press results in a loud annoying click. At this price range, I would have expected silent capacitive touch controls. The minor annoyance was the piercing tone that sounds when you hit the max or min volume. Connecting to the headphones via Bluetooth/NFC was quick and easy and the connection stayed strong for the duration of my listening sessions. Even the hand-free calling worked well with decent clarity of the microphone.
For me, these aren't headphones that I would want to wear for long periods of time because they cause physical fatigue from all the weight and band tension, which is a shame because they sound quite good. For me, these are my go to travel headphones because they're durable enough to take a beating and the airplane adapter makes using them for in-flight movies convenient.
Takeaway: These ratchet belt buckles are easy to use, solidly constructed, and provide a perfect fit; full-grain/genuine leather is easy to shorten. The belts came packaged in a drawstring bag and includes a sizing card to help you shorten the belt properly. The belt buckles arrive detached from the belt, so you can customize the length to best suit your waist size. The Trakline belts don't have holes in them and that's because the end that goes into the buckle has a 10" plastic ratchet along the inside that allows you to find your exact fit down to the ¼" rather than the traditional 1" spacing for ordinary belt holes.
I got two of the Kore belts, one in brown and one in black with two buckle styles: the Intrepid and the Express. The two belts have slightly different edge styles on the leather. On the black one which comes with the Intrepid buckle, the edge is burnished and finished with double stitches so you'll two neat little rows of stitches on each edge. Then the brown belt that came with the Express has a simple finished flat edge. The Intrepid buckle is a bright shiny brushed stainless steel. It's a medium sized buckle measuring 2.25" across and 1.5" tall. The Express is the same size but looks like a traditional belt buckle complete with a false prong in a gunmetal finish.
The belts are 1.25" wide and are delivered at the factory length of 51.5" which is long enough to accommodate a 44" waist. You'll see sizes indicated long the inside of the belt towards the buckle end. To properly size the belt, start with your pant size then add 3-4" and cut along that line. In my case, I have a 28" waist, but decided to cut the belt closer to 30-31" for a shorter tail past the buckle. That's just my personal preference. If cutting for the first time, err to the long side and remember that you can always make the belt shorter, but not longer. Once cut, take the belt buckle and open the belt receptacle, the part that says 'Trakline' with the teeth on the inside; insert the flat end of the belt until it's flush with the inside of the receptacle and then close the clip. You wear the belt in the regular fashion, feeding from left to right and then insert the end of the belt into the buckle and tighten until it is comfortably snug.
Typically the end of the belt to runs about 3-4" out from the end of the buckle. The ratchet system creates a perfectly fitting belt that's neither too loose, not too tight. Loosening and removing the belt is easy too. Squeeze the release lever towards the bottom right corner of the belt and pull the strap out of the buckle. Trakline also has a special hanger you can use which can hold up to two belts and utilizes the same ratchet system to hang the belts up by the buckle.
The leather in the belts consist of a few layers of blue leather. The black is supposedly dyed full-grain leather while the brown is merely genuine leather with a finished surface. Time will tell whether or not the belts will last or crack and fray with consistent use, so I'll update this review sometime down the road after I've had a chance to use it more frequently. Although KORE isn't the first nor the only company to use this technology in their belts, they have a nice selection of buckle styles and the belts overall appear to be well-made.
Takeaway: Stylish metal exterior, durably constructed for portability, good sound and clarity, though light on bass response. You'll receive the speaker, 48" microUSB cable, 40" male-to-male audio cable, 17" leather carrying strap, two sets of aluminum bolts, and an instruction manual. The unit is small and compact, measuring 7.75" W x 4.75" H x 1.5" D and weighs about 1.5 lbs.
The outer grille is made of aluminum with a brushed finish and comes in gold or silver. The leather strap is optional and can be attached easily by feeding the ends into the slots on the sides, then installing the two small bolts. The speaker has two 5 W drivers, one on either side, and a passive radiator in the center. On top of the speaker are the controls set within a faux wood panel. From right to left you have the power button, track selection and volume keys, play/pause button, and mode key. Then off to the left are indicator LEDs for mode, charging, and battery life. On the right hand side of the speaker you have the microUSB power port, Aux in port, and USB output port for charging a mobile device.
When you plug the unit in, the battery indicators will blink while charging and show you how much battery is remaining in the unit. When full, all three lights will be a solid red. To turn the unit on, press and hold the power key. Then, to connect with your mobile device over Bluetooth, select ‘BX200' in your device's Bluetooth menu. Or you can connect to the unit using the included Aux cable with your phone's headphone jack.
The overall sound quality is clean and clear. The focus for these speakers seem to be in the mid ranges since you lose a little bit of the detail in the trebles. The bass response is fairly shallow though and you won't hear much of any lows or deep lows. That said, at max volumes the sound manages to get fairly loud without distorting at all.
The USB power bank option is useful so you can charge your phone while streaming music to the speaker on the go. The 2200 mAh battery will give most phones about 1 full charge or music playback up to 6 hours depending on your volume level. Overall, this unit has decent sound and is durably constructed. It is a little heavy for frequent travel but small enough to carry in a backpack or purse when you need it.
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Takeaway: Straight forward setup, instructions poor/contain mistake, sturdy/stable for lightweight mattress and occupants.
Takeaway: A good sounding yet affordable wireless Bluetooth speaker, a bit large for travel, durable design. You'll receive the speaker, 21" flat microUSB cable, 41" USB DC cable, and an instruction manual.
The unit is large, measuring 10" W x 4" H x 3.5" D and weighing just over 2.5 lbs. However, it seems constructed of quality materials. The outer shell is a stamped aluminum with a brushed aluminum finish which comes in black or silver. It comes with an attached 17.5" leather carrying strap that is removable if you undo the clasps. The speaker has two 3 W drivers positioned in the front. On the bottom there's the subwoofer port, a built-in 3.5 mm gold plated AUX in audio cable with cable storage if you want to use a media device that doesn't have Bluetooth, and the six rubber feet help keep the unit in place on your desk. On the left hand side are your controls. On the right hand side is a hole for bass extension and the NFC area for touch pairing to a mobile device.Along the bottom you've got the power switch and LED indicators for when it's in play mode and charging, a pinhole mic for handsfree calling when paired to a mobile phone, a TF card slot for playing music loaded to a microSD card, a microUSB input port and 4 battery life indicator LEDs, a DC power port, and the USB output port. Note that both the microUSB port input and DC port can be used for charging. Then, on the top behind the strap, you've got the volume adjust/skip track keys, play/pause/answer calls button and the mode button to switch between input modes.
When you turn the unit on, you'll get prompts in English. To connect with your mobile device, select REMAX RB-H1 in your device's Bluetooth menu. The sound on the unit has good accuracy and a deeper bass than you'd get with speaker Bluetooth speakers. The focus for these speakers seem to be in the mid and high ranges which have good clarity and a clean crisp sound. The overall balance makes these speakers suitable for a wide variety of music genres. The sound can get quite loud and definitely fill a room easily. Note that the volume control is also the skip track control if you use long presses rather than short presses, but skip track only work in Bluetooth and TF card mode. Interestingly, when you have a micro SD card installed, if you connect the speaker to your computer using the microUSB port, you can read and write directly to card.
The USB power bank option is a nice feature so you can stream music from your phone and charge it at the same time. The 8800 mAh battery will give most phones between 3 and 4 full charges. The battery life of the unit when it's not plugged in is impressive and I've gotten over 10 hours of playback on a single charge with mixed use, though not using the powerbank feature a whole lot. This is due to power saving features like the use of the energy efficient Bluetooth 4.1 protocol and auto shutoff after 15 minutes of inactivity. Overall, this unit is feature packed and has great sound for this price point. It's a little large for frequently travel but still small enough to travel when you need it. The only part of the design I didn't like was that the strap covers some of the controls but it can be removed too, so it's not always a problem.
