The Brooks Review

Year: 2020

  • System Building: Notion, OmniFocus, and the Cult of Tinkering to Feel Something

    What does it take to be your most productive? The right book? That one philosophy? Is it a state of mine, and is that state of focus or is it flow. Perhaps it’s the right headphones, playlist, or morning routine. Yes, the right pen, or notebook. It’s all about software, find the right one and bam you are a millionaire cashing checks while sipping down margaritas on your private yacht.

    If you follow productivity schemes as long as I have, and you try enough of them — you find that every underlying way to do more work, to do that work fast, or to generally be more productive/creative/orwhathaveyou is simply boiled down to system building. The idea that all which is missing in our lives is a system by which we shove everything into and magic shall happen at the other end.

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  • Benchmade Mini Osborne

    Benchmade has been on a roll with the Bugout lineup, and something which has become ever popular the last couple of years is the Benchmade Osborne family of knives. People seem to love them, but I’ve always steered clear as they are higher priced (start at $200) and they have a rather large blade for an everyday carry knife, coming in at 3.4” long. The combination of both, making it a losing proposition for me.

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  • Member Journal — 12/28/2020

    This week: my FaceTime Christmas iPad rig; turning 38, my list strategy you should copy.

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  • Member Journal — 12/21/20

    This week: Office finally has good trackpad support; large widgets are better than small widgets; privacy labels for apps; tips for men; Pepsi; and the Solar Winds hack is a nightmare.

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  • Aer City Sling

    Note: this sling was provided by Aer for review at no cost.

    The City Sling is a more compact sling from Aer, with he goal of being for quick trips around the city — not for collecting, or traveling. Just the essentials.

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  • Aer Day Sling 2 X-Pac

    Note: this bag was provided for review by Aer at no cost.

    The next sling I have to talk about is the Aer Day Sling 2, in the limited edition X-Pac (also available in black nylon, gray, and black multicam). My first impressions of this bag, upon receiving it, were simply: oh man I really like this. The pictures of this sling on Aer’s site and here in this article simply don’t do it justice. In a lot of ways the size and rather not traditional shape of this sling make it something which both stands out as unique, but fades away when you are carrying it.

    It’s awesome.

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  • Tom Bihn Shadow Guide V2 23, a Preview

    Hot on the heels of the Shadow Guide V2 33, is the all new 23 liter variant. It’s smaller, but otherwise the same. And yet, so much better than the 33.

    I’ve only had the bag a short time, so this is more of a preview and quick comparison, than any sort of review.

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  • Bellroy Sling

    Note: this bag was provided by Bellroy for review at no cost.

    Continuing on my search for a great sling, we have the Bellroy Sling — which is an apt name. This is easily the best looking sling of all I have so far, so I really want to focus on more than just how great it looks. But, to be clear, it looks fantastic.

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  • Member Journal — 12/14/2020

    This week: fitness trackers are fitness theater and are not really great for anyone who is their target market; headphones; privacy first web analytics; the best boots; Chrome is having another *thing*.
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  • Mystery Ranch Full Moon

    I started my sling journey by grabbing the Mystery Ranch Full Moon and as the cheeky name implies — it is first and foremost a hip/fanny bag but so are most of these sling bags. Overall, this is a really good option, but has left me wanting something a little different.

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  • Member Journal — 12/6/2020

    This week: watch wearing in 2020; music in 2020; Reeder 5 is better than Pocket; Dress Code and Data Stewardship; 3 apps I tried; Autonomous.ai Support; Ergonomics reminder; Mini Osborne.

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  • New MACV-1s, Brown

    I have been waiting for GORUCK to release forever now, and I did not expect them to look this good. I snagged a pair, and I have high hopes that these can be worn far more stylishly than any other MACV-1s.

  • Why a Sling — Dipping My Toes In

    Following on with my purse post, a sling is likely to be a smart carry accessory as ‘we’ move through the COVID and post-COVID times, and hopefully into a more health aware life. This is also a product of me having younger kids, but mostly me liking to have a lot of crap with me all the time.

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  • Welcome to The Best of 2020

    It’s time for the best items you can buy in 2020.

    For the past ten years I have been reviewing and testing all sorts of different gear. In this post, I am distilling down gear by categories and listing the top three items for each category. What is third for me, might be first for you.

    Instead of maintaining the running list I have been doing, I am now going to post yearly lists. This is not a list of only stuff I reviewed this year, this is an ongoing list of things I feel are the best, broken down into categories for easier sorting.

    See the list here.

    Not member? See what you are missing on the old format/archive: 2019 list.

  • Member Journal — 11/30/2020

    This week: Thanksgiving recap; update on using Reminders; Best of 2020 is coming; Bag Closet; and Amazon is being shady again.

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  • GORUCK Black Friday Deals

    Their deals are live and here are the ones that stand out to me:

    1. Rucker Starter Kit Bundle $233.75, you get a Rucker 3.0 and Ruck Plate. You’ll be looking fitter than anyone you know when you head back to seeing people again. Or something.
      1. GR1 Midnight Navy (both sizes) $169, you can’t even buy used GR1s for that price. And if you are wondering about the color, the GORUCK founder seems to have used this color a lot in the last year (from pictures on the website).
      2. GR2 Black (both sizes) $249, it has been a real struggle for me not to pick up another GR2 because of this price. Amazing bag, insane price.
      3. MACV-1 Black $145, not the biggest wow of a deal, but these are the best boots I’ve ever worn.

  • Member Journal — Turkey Week 2020

    This week: iPhone 12 Mini and MagSafe thoughts; my iPhone Home Screen; Notes app; Reminders instead of Things; My Kids Text Me; Remote Work Gurus; Ring Lights.

    Stay safe.

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  • GORUCK Organizers Back in Stock

    Just recently GORUCK brought back three awesome organizers. First they brought back their fantastic packing cubes, but added a selection of “flat” models which I assume removes my largest complaint about the folding models from before. I ordered one of each size not test.

    Second they brought back Shadow Pockets, which have been missing for years now. These are basically unpadded small Field Pockets that open clamshell style and offer no further organization. They are really handy kit to have, I snagged a couple of those too.

    Last, but no least, GORUCK restocked the ever popular Wire Dopp, while also adding the Mini Wire Dopp which has not been around for a long time. I own both, but added another of the larger ones to my stable. The mini is great, but not as handy as the larger one. These are sized well to fit in the GR1.

  • Dango S1 Wallet

    While I have many wallets, they are all geared towards a life where I might be at work, or out and about for a full day. None of them are well suited to a small few items, some cash, and flexibility. I was frustrated, so I started to look around when I came across this Dango S1 wallet.

    It is fantastic, here’s why…

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  • Member Journal — 11/16/20

    This week: iPhone 12 Mini; what iPhone sizes might tell us about future iPad Pros; sale items; Texas and Lockdowns; and the second coming of QVC.

    ## iPhone 12 Mini

    As I write the first draft of this section, I have had my iPhone 12 Mini for under 24 hours. And yet, I already can tell it’s going to be with me and make me happy for a very long time. I was never an iPhone SE proponent — when they first debuted to satiate the need of those longing for a ‘get off my lawn’ model of the iPhone. When the Plus sizes, and then the Max sizes came out, I tried them and mostly didn’t care about them enough to feel strongly one way or another.

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