At first glance, Windcatcher’s Air Pad looks just like your run-of-the-mill inflatable mattress, until you realize it’s missing the typical tiny valve to blow into; instead, it’s got a single wide “valve”, designed from the ground up to inflate nearly instantly and to not require actually coming into contact with your mouth. Blowing into the valve pulls in surrounding air, inflating the mattress with just a couple of breaths, saving you plenty of time to reinvest into lounging around. It also deflates just as easily, is made from ripstop polyester, weighs 1.5 lbs, and can be propped up like a lounge chair using the optional Windcatcher Air Bag.
Hit up Kickstarter for deets – $80 (alone) to $100 (with Air Bag)
Apple’s sterile white iPhone dock lacks a little personality. KarasKustoms’ Projectone, on the other hand, is the polar opposite. Machined from a block of 6061-T6 aluminum, the dock features a perforated aluminum grill, a sleek anodized or rugged tumbled finish that includes black and silver as color options, and an internal passive sound amplifier (think megaphone) that boosts volume and microphone receptivity significantly. It also sports rubber feet, charges your docked phone by using your existing lightning cable, and works with most cases.
Go pledge at Kickstarter – $45+
Sixteen tools rolled into one a little larger than a standard house key? Sign us up. Atom, an injection-molded stainless steel multitool, delivers just that, featuring a bottle opener, three hex bolt wrenches, imperial and metric rulers, two flat head and two Philips screwdrivers, a pry bar, hex bit driver, protractor with 45 degree increments, two files – cross-cut and single-cut – plus a “ripping tool” for cutting cardboard, tape and softer woods that spares your leg when pocketed.
Get it in silver or tactical black at Kickstarter – $10+
The Xbox 360 was a formidable machine, but eight years later it was showing more than a few signs of aging. Enter Xbox One. Not just a gaming rig, Xbox One powers up to the phrase “Xbox on”, listens for voice commands to select channels or movies, lets you “snap” an app to the screen for multitasking, and features a sleek reworked (but familiar) controller and more accurate Kinect with 1080p camera (and we haven’t even gotten to the games yet). Hardware within the box includes an 8-core processor, 8GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, which should hopefully hold us off through the reign of the next-gen consoles.
Learn more at the Xbox site – $TBA
Adding to our lineup of acceptable man-centric candles are Yankee Candle’s Man Candles. Each glass jar contains enough wax to burn for roughly 45 hours (or up to 150 hours for the large versions), and eschews scents of flowers for much more comforting smells like buttered popcorn (Movie Night), bacon (Mmm, Bacon), freshly cut grass (Riding Mower), and a combination of spices, woods and musk (Man Town), amongst others.
Find them at Yankee Candle or Amazon – $18+
Chances are you’d be better to listen to a Special Forces soldier for gear recommendations over your pal who goes camping once a year. Goruck’s GR2 Rucksacks are field tested by just such men and women, living up to their stringent standards thanks to its extreme durability, flexibility and volume – 40 liters, in this case. The pack is made from water-resistant 1000D Cordura nylon that’s doubled-up underneath, features MOLLE webbing, holds hydration bladders plus a laptop of any size, and is TSA carry-on compliant, letting it excel both at your end destination and en route to it.
Innovations when it comes to button downs are few and far between, but VoyVoy may be onto something here. Like the Pocket Square Tee before it, their Summer Oxford features a bold, seam-free pocket with contrast lining that pulls out to form a whimsical pocket square while also adding a microsuede patch, fused right inside the shirt tail, that’s ideal for wiping down sunglasses or smartphones on the go. Otherwise, each shirt is handmade to order from 100% Pima Cotton Oxford cloth, has Mother of Pearl buttons, single button sleeves, and sports a tailored waist that looks good both tucked and not.
Find it at VoyVoy – $100
We’ll take a stock R8 any day, but ABT Sportsline’s decided to up the ante anyway with their motor-tuned R8 V10. Modifications include increasing power to 600hp and 406 lb-ft of torque, a lower, more aggressive suspension profile, ultralight 19-inch forged rims, reduced weight, and a full skirt kit for improved aerodynamics and – lets face it – for turning more than a few heads. The 0-60 time and top speed remain oddly familiar at 3.5 seconds and roughly 200mph, respectively, though we think its owners will survive.
Read more at ABT – $TBA
We’re proponents of carrying around an emergency deck of cards, just in case that party turns out to be a total dud, and Hoyle’s Slice Cards can help – twice. This conveniently package includes two fully functional half-width decks of cards, printed by the United States Playing Card Company on premium stock with a high glide finish. They’re also easier to shuffle than regular width cards, ideal for perfecting your riffle.
Find them at Bicycle – $5
Jotting down quick notes on a smartphone will do in a pinch – especially since it’s always handy – but it’s not nearly as intuitive or as practical as writing on real paper. DODOcase’s new DODOnotes offers a convenient (if slightly unconventional) solution by strapping your iPhone 4 or 5 (and soon Galaxy S3) to a notebook using an elastic plus a secure indented tray that nestles neatly around your phone. The notebook itself holds 30 tear-out sheets of Mohawk Superfine paper, sports an exterior bookcloth fabric, and comes in red, blue, or black.
Find it at DODOcase – $13
Union Wood Wallet
Under Armour Alter Ego Compression Shirts
Ridge Wallet
Leatherman Raptor
AL13 Aluminum iPhone Bumper
Ondu Pinhole Cameras
Bellroy Note Sleeve Wallet
Betabrand Bike to Work Jacket
Uncover for MacBook Pro