The Brooks Review

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Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022
The Hype: Yoshida & Co’s Porter BagsAugust 26, 2025
Grand Seiko SBGX261February 23, 2023

Recent Articles

  • Benchmade Griptilian

    A fantastic backup knife, once you make a few tweaks to it.

    In my quest to find a solid pocket knife to be my backup to my Chris Reeve Small Sebenza 21, I’ve been looking for something larger, and harder use. Something I have a reason to owning, other than wanting a backup. I initially looked at the Spyderco Paramilitary 2, but found that it was far too cumbersome to carry.

    Today, I am looking at Benchmade’s Griptilian, which is the larger of their two Griptilian knives and among one of the most popular knives out there. In this humble knife, I think I might have found my perfect backup knife, and a knife I really enjoy using.

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  • Science confirmed: text replacements do not sync

    Brian Stucki proves that text replacement syncing on iOS is fundamentally a pile of shit (my words), but its made even more odd because: From my own experience, syncing of all other data via iCloud has really improved. Notes, Calendar, address book, reminders, photos, etc all sync almost instantly across all devices. I can echo…

    Brian Stucki proves that text replacement syncing on iOS is fundamentally a pile of shit (my words), but its made even more odd because:

    From my own experience, syncing of all other data via iCloud has really improved. Notes, Calendar, address book, reminders, photos, etc all sync almost instantly across all devices.

    I can echo this. iCloud is flawless everywhere except text replacement syncing. My work email shortcut is three @ signs. When I left my old company in 2014 and came to my new one, I swapped out the replacement there. I have to delete the old email every other week, it just keeps showing back up. For no reason.

  • iPad Productivity Report — 9/25/17

    Taking a look at the annoyances Files.app brings with iOS 11, and no it’s not all bad.

    By now, hopefully, you’ve installed iOS 11 on your iPad. One thing that most were not able to test over the summer beta period (including me) was how powerful Files.app really is. Without a robust offering from third party apps, it’s hard to use Files, as it becomes something you actively must think about using, and even more than that, it’s not the defining feature of iOS 11 some would have you to believe it is.

    You must be a member to read this article.

  • Mystery Ranch Urban Assault Review

    Good review on the Urban Assault (I reviewed it here). One thing which cracked me up is his score, I’ll not comment on the craziness of his scoring system overall, but this bit is amazing: The score is a bit deceptive.  This is a pack that I would easily count as one of the best…

    Good review on the Urban Assault (I reviewed it here). One thing which cracked me up is his score, I’ll not comment on the craziness of his scoring system overall, but this bit is amazing:

    The score is a bit deceptive.  This is a pack that I would easily count as one of the best on the market.  I loved this pack.  But its flaws were flaws that I simply couldn’t NOT deduct a point for and so the score is what it is.  But don’t take that as an 18.  Think of it as an 18!  The 3-Zip is simply and without question, the best pack zipper system ever devised. 

    That’s why scoring anything with hard numbers is deceptive and should be avoided at all costs.

  • Facebook, Elections & the Spin

    This is a really good question from Om Malik

    This is a really good question from Om Malik

  • iPhone 8 Plus Camera Review: India

    If that’s how good the iPhone 8 Plus camera is, then with the iPhone X… Well does anyone want an X100T?

    If that’s how good the iPhone 8 Plus camera is, then with the iPhone X… Well does anyone want an X100T?

  • Triple Aught Design SERE Pouch

    I finally found an EDC organizer worth carrying.

    I had almost given up on trying to find a small pouch to house my extended EDC kit in. The Maxpedition was too large, and cumbersome. The Skinth wasn’t quite right, despite being quite nice. Before giving up I decided to try something entirely different, the SERE Pouch, from Triple Aught Design.

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  • Arcade Belt

    A great belt for active wear.

    When I snagged the Ferrosi pants for hiking, I knew I would need to grab a belt of some sort. The common style for hiking is a simple nylon web belt, but I went for something different in the Arcade Adventure Belt. This is a basically an elastic strap with a buckle. What’s neat about this is that it retains a lot of comfort, while allowing you to tighten the belt if you need to support your pants a little more.

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  • Review: The iPhone 8 is a look into the augmented future of photography

    Good review. I suspect the iPhone 8 will be, in many ways, a better upgrade for most than the iPhone X.

    Good review. I suspect the iPhone 8 will be, in many ways, a better upgrade for most than the iPhone X.

  • Keyboard Maestro 8.0: Work Faster with Macros for Mac OS X

    I miss this app so much (because I don’t use a Mac any more). And I’m so happy to see it still being updated with amazing new features.

    I miss this app so much (because I don’t use a Mac any more). And I’m so happy to see it still being updated with amazing new features.

  • What Is Trump Worth to Twitter? One Analyst Estimates $2 Billion

    Title says it all. So next time you think about when/if Twitter will act on all the user complaints about stuff, well remember the above.

    Title says it all. So next time you think about when/if Twitter will act on all the user complaints about stuff, well remember the above.

  • iPad Productivity Report — 9/18/17

    Let’s talk about document collaboration tools.

    This week: collaborating on ideas, and on editing — the iPad only excels in one of these two areas.

    You must be a member to read this article.

  • Advertisers are Super Mad

    Marty Swant reporting on advertising groups being super sad about coming privacy standards in Safari: In an open letter expected to be published this afternoon, the groups describe the new standards as “opaque and arbitrary,” warning that the changes could affect the “infrastructure of the modern internet,” which largely relies on consistent standards across websites.…

    Marty Swant reporting on advertising groups being super sad about coming privacy standards in Safari:

    In an open letter expected to be published this afternoon, the groups describe the new standards as “opaque and arbitrary,” warning that the changes could affect the “infrastructure of the modern internet,” which largely relies on consistent standards across websites. The groups say the feature also hurts user experience by making advertising more “generic and less timely and useful.”

    This would be funny if it weren’t so sad.

    Update: Nah, it’s funny.

  • Say Hello to Darkroom 3

    This is an awesome update, and I love the new styling. I forgive them for using Medium.

    This is an awesome update, and I love the new styling. I forgive them for using Medium.

  • AmpliFi

    I really want to like this, but persistent connection issues are really troubling me.

    When I switched from the Apple Airport routers, to a Netgear Nighthawk I was damned happy. It had good range and never failed me — I stopped even thinking about my WiFi network. But then Netgear failed to keep me safe, and lost my trust.

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  • Wirecutter, but for Everything

    Jacqui Cheng: What differentiates Wirecutter from other review sites is the rigor of our review process, the transparency we provide to our readers about that process, and our reader-centric, useful approach to recommendations. The most important thing to us is not to only practice those values when it comes to home and tech, but to…

    Jacqui Cheng:

    What differentiates Wirecutter from other review sites is the rigor of our review process, the transparency we provide to our readers about that process, and our reader-centric, useful approach to recommendations. The most important thing to us is not to only practice those values when it comes to home and tech, but to hit those values consistently no matter what topic our crack team of researchers, testers, reporters, and just plain curious staffers put their minds to.

    It’s more than that though. They really care about every topic they work on. They want feedback from the groups in that area. If/When I criticize a pick, they explain it and remind me: this isn’t the same as what you pick, because it’s the pick “for most people”. I see the Wirecutter as a truly vital resource.

  • Steve Jobs’ legacy & The iPhone X

    Om Malik: Every single event leaves me more in awe of Apple’s semiconductor group – and what they seem to achieve with each passing year. He makes a good case (which I agree with) that Apple’s core strength right now is the silicon which powers iOS. I mean the iPhones are now as “fast” as…

    Om Malik:

    Every single event leaves me more in awe of Apple’s semiconductor group – and what they seem to achieve with each passing year.

    He makes a good case (which I agree with) that Apple’s core strength right now is the silicon which powers iOS. I mean the iPhones are now as “fast” as a MacBook Pro. That’s insane. And nobody is near it, read his entire post.

  • iPhone X leaked benchmarks match MacBook speeds and destroy Android

    Napier Lopez: So yeah, Apple’s apparently built a smartphone that’s faster than a 2017 laptop, at least by GeekBench’s metrics. Not just a laptop, a MacBook Pro. Craig Mod, on Twitter: (the thing that will push professionals to iPad is that it will be the fastest machine available) Keep in mind, the iPad Pro typically…

    Napier Lopez:

    So yeah, Apple’s apparently built a smartphone that’s faster than a 2017 laptop, at least by GeekBench’s metrics.

    Not just a laptop, a MacBook Pro.

    Craig Mod, on Twitter:

    (the thing that will push professionals to iPad is that it will be the fastest machine available)

    Keep in mind, the iPad Pro typically will get a faster version of the iPhone chip. Staggering. I can’t wait.

  • A Unique Marketing Problem for Apple

    The iPhone X has one hell of a camera system in it, I suspect, much better than Apple leads on.

    If you read this site, then you know what Apple announced about the iPhone 8 and X models. But did you catch how they described the cameras? With the standard and plus model iPhones, it’s always been a “yeah the Plus has a bigger camera”, which allows us to do something like: optical image stabilization, and then later, dual cameras. Apple always side stepped the which camera is better debate, by not saying one was better than the other, but rather that since one was larger they could add more features. But the truth was always that the Plus had the objectively, and subjectively, better camera. Hands down.

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  • Knife Steel Roundup v2! Best, Worst, Overpriced, Versatile etc

    A really great video round up on knife edge retention between steels. Really like the insight in this video.

    A really great video round up on knife edge retention between steels. Really like the insight in this video.