This week: lots of new gear (tools).
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Note: this item was provided for review.
You might be surprised to learn that one of the hardest things to get me to review is a backpack. I’ve tried way too many backpacks, own way too many, and I am largely not interested in taking review samples. So, it’s a bit of a surprise (to me at least) that I was game to take a look at the Shift Backpack 27L from KNKG. There’s something quite visually striking about this bag, both online in the product photos and in person.
I have to apologize to KNKG—I slightly forgot to write this sooner. This backpack quickly became my everything bag, and I forgot it was a review sample, and not just a workhorse of a bag for me.
This bag is everything I wanted other waxed canvas bags to be, put together in a way where it simply excels at everything I’ve thrown at it. And I have tossed quite a lot at this backpack—it’s fantastic all around.


Note: this item was provided for review.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by every item I’ve received from Gustin, and this pair of denim is no different. I wasn’t sure what to expect — a herringbone denim is not something you see every day, but it’s quite a treat in person.



You can use Apple’s Reminders on the web, through iCloud.com, but only if you also do not use Advanced Data Protection. So, you turn off that and you have a pretty sub-par way to get at Reminders. Ok, fine, whatever. I didn’t really need reminders on the web, it was just annoying to not see my tasks on my Linux machines. Then I started to use the Framework a lot more, and well the system was falling apart.
I spent weeks trying out different setups (and migrating all my reminders between them) to see what would work. I was done with ecosystem locked tools, I needed something that worked cross-platform. I needed something with really nice apps too.
I ended up on Todoist.
For the first week it felt very much like a “whatever, this is fine” type of thing. And then the little bright spots started to show up, and suddenly I felt like I had been missing out not using Todoist.





Note: this item was sent for review.
I’ve been wanting to grab a pair of these to try for a while now, so when Himali offered to send me this review sample, I was pretty pumped. That, coupled with the unseasonably warm weather, meant I was able to quickly put these pants through the paces.
These are a fantastic lightweight pair of jogger-adjacent pants, which breathe well, move well, and offer some solid protection. They are a strong contender for my warm-weather go-to pants.



I did a pretty good job when I moved to Boulder making fun of how many people wear this Atom Jacket. I mean, it couldn’t be that good such that people wore it that much. Nearly a year ago I bought this jacket for next to nothing when it was being cleared out in this color. I figured worst case I’d use it for rucking or hiking.
Well, I have to say to all those people I mocked: I get it. This is a pretty fantastic jacket.
