The Brooks Review

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Leica Sofort 2June 13, 2024
The Hype: Yoshida & Co’s Porter BagsAugust 26, 2025
Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022

Recent Articles

  • GORUCK GR1: Revisiting the Ultimate Backpack

    After roughly 5 years, the GR1 still stands as the best backpack you can buy.

    I’ve been saying for years now that the GORUCK GR1 is the best backpack you can buy. But is it still? After testing a lot of backpacks over the years, and continually buying new ones — both inexpensive and bank breaking — I have yet to find a better backpack than the GR1. This post isn’t another review, but rather a reflection of why the GR1 still holds its ground to this day.

    It has admittedly been a while since the GR1 was an everyday bag for me, but it is still my go to bag when I travel — be it weekend or longer. I emptied my closet the other day and pulled out a dozen or so backpacks, and started giving them away to friends. The GR1 is honestly just too perfect and thus I don’t need these other packs.

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  • Finding a Flashlight Part Two: Everyday Carry

    Is that a flashlight in your pocket?

    Finding a flashlight which my life can depend on is a lot easier than this part: finding something to carry everyday everywhere. A robust, solid flashlight, is easier because size doesn’t matter — all that matters is that it always works and works well.

    With an EDC light, there are a lot more factors:

    1. Size: it needs to fit on your person in a manner you are comfortable with.
    2. Longevity: assuming you use it a lot, you’ll want to be able to use it a lot.
    3. Features: you likely will want to vary the light output, among other things.

    You also have to value appearance here, because it’s something you are going to be using a lot and you want it to not look dorky (for lack of a better word). I mean, it will, because you are the person with a flashlight, but still.

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  • Secure computing for journalists

    Matthew Green: Since I couldn’t find a perfect layperson’s reference anywhere else, I’m going to devote this post to providing the world’s simplest explanation of why, in the threat model of your typical journalist, your desktop machine isn’t very safe. And specifically, why you’re safer using a modern mobile device — and particularly, an iOS…

    Matthew Green:

    Since I couldn’t find a perfect layperson’s reference anywhere else, I’m going to devote this post to providing the world’s simplest explanation of why, in the threat model of your typical journalist, your desktop machine isn’t very safe. And specifically, why you’re safer using a modern mobile device — and particularly, an iOS device — than just about any other platform.

  • iPad Productivity Report — 3/6/17

    We tackle how you really don’t need complicated setups, and reaffirm my love for Ulysses.

    Let’s get back to talking about iPad productivity for a change.

    ## Applicable Producitivty

    [Denny Henke writing](http://beardyguycreative.com/blog/2017/03/02/ipad-journal-a-mess-of-stuff-getting-in-my-way/) about his explorations into some of the more robust productivity options for iPad users:

    > But I spent the better part of two hours with Copied and just came away frustrated. It may be that it’s just not suited to the way I work or maybe I need to spend more time learning it. Or, just as likely, it may be that I don’t write the kind of content or perform the kinds of tasks that benefit from that kind of app.

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  • How Uber Deceives the Authorities Worldwide

    Greyball was approved by Uber’s legal team. The company is shady to the core. This isn’t some bad actors, this is systemic and cultural.

    Greyball was approved by Uber’s legal team.

    The company is shady to the core. This isn’t some bad actors, this is systemic and cultural.

  • New Stuff Day (video)

    Take a quick look at some stuff that arrive in the office, from a knife to Crystal Pepsi. You must be a member to view this content.

    Take a quick look at some stuff that arrive in the office, from a knife to Crystal Pepsi.

    You must be a member to view this content.

  • The CLIF Bar Might Be The Best Energy Food Bar For Survival Kit

    Personally, I like Questbars for energy bars — they are OK tasting but they really fill me up. I travel with them all the time.

    Personally, I like Questbars for energy bars — they are OK tasting but they really fill me up. I travel with them all the time.

  • Internet of Things Teddy Bear Leaked 2 Million Parent and Kids Message Recordings

    The exposed data included more than 800,000 emails and passwords, which are secured with the strong, and thus supposedly harder to crack, hashing function bcrypt. Unfortunately, however, a large number of these passwords were so weak that it’s possible to crack them, according to Troy Hunt, a security researcher who maintains Have I Been Pwned…

    The exposed data included more than 800,000 emails and passwords, which are secured with the strong, and thus supposedly harder to crack, hashing function bcrypt. Unfortunately, however, a large number of these passwords were so weak that it’s possible to crack them, according to Troy Hunt, a security researcher who maintains Have I Been Pwned and has analyzed the CloudPets data.

    shocking

    This is why I cover all internet enabled cameras with tape. You can’t trust any of this crap.

  • The Tablet Computer is Growing Up

    Ben Bajarin: I’m still as bullish as ever on the tablet’s potential. However, my concern is consumers may be extremely stubborn and lean heavily on past behavior and familiarity with PCs instead of going through the process to replicate the workflows and activities they did on their PCs and transition to tablets My concern is…

    Ben Bajarin:

    I’m still as bullish as ever on the tablet’s potential. However, my concern is consumers may be extremely stubborn and lean heavily on past behavior and familiarity with PCs instead of going through the process to replicate the workflows and activities they did on their PCs and transition to tablets

    My concern is not that at all. As Bajarin mentions, the buying cycle for computers is shifting to 6 years — and anecdotally that feels about right. I think this is driven by the smart phone.

    General consumers seem to see and use their smartphone for almost all their computing needs — and that means they want a “real computer” which they feel confident can handle any other task. They don’t have that confidence in a tablet just yet.

    This is what is driving slowing sales of iPads/tablets. It’s not that the PC is better competing with a tablet, it’s that for many people they don’t see the value in a tablet which is essentially a bigger screen phone — they love their phones and want a new one every year. For most people that means they cannot afford a phone + tablet + PC (even if the buying cycle is 6 years) and there is no way they are giving up their phones.

  • Finding a Flashlight Part One: My Life Depends on It

    I have so many good light puns here, I just cannot possibly choose.

    Flashlights, like my previous adventures with backpacks and pocket knives, are a deep rabbit hole. You can get some really good lighting for really cheap, or you can spend hundreds of dollars on one light. It is a nightmare for people, like me, who want to find the best in categories.

    As with pocket knives, size and materials matter, but there are a few more factors with flashlights to consider. So before we move on, some ground work needs to be laid to get everyone on the same page:

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  • Twitter, Live, and Luck

    Ben Thompson: “Evolving” is a word that has never really applied to Twitter. Consider the Oscars: according to Twitter’s statement of strategy the ideal outcome for Twitter apparently would be live-streaming the Oscars, much as the service live-streamed a few NFL games and the Presidential debates, making the service the “first-screen” instead of the second.…

    Ben Thompson:

    “Evolving” is a word that has never really applied to Twitter. Consider the Oscars: according to Twitter’s statement of strategy the ideal outcome for Twitter apparently would be live-streaming the Oscars, much as the service live-streamed a few NFL games and the Presidential debates, making the service the “first-screen” instead of the second. In other words, Twitter wants to make a better banner ad (that, as noted above, will in reality actually be worse). What makes this so frustrating is that Twitter’s goal of owning “live” could mean so much more: how might the product evolve if Twitter had the sort of product mindset found at company’s like Amazon, Netflix, or Airbnb?

    Brutal.

  • 3 Ways to Roll Up Your Sleeves

    I’m a big fan of the third method listed. Super fast and stays put the best.

    I’m a big fan of the third method listed. Super fast and stays put the best.

  • iPad Productivity Report — 2/27/17

    Have you noticed iPad Pro coverage is getting a bit out of hand, and while we are shaking trees, let’s talk about DEVONThink again.

    This update seems to have taken a bit negative stance on the overall reporting on iPad usage, as well as an app everyone loves to tell me they love. However, this is an article I label “real talk” because someone *has* to say it, and that typically means: me.

    ## Let’s Not Get Carried Away

    That was my mantra this past week — as there was no shortage of publishing related to the iPad Pro and productivity. Whether it was going crazy with [clipboard management](https://www.macstories.net/ios/ipad-diaries-clipboard-management-with-copied-and-workflow/), or with [speculation of future hardware](http://www.macworld.com/article/3173253/ios/for-a-bigger-ipad-to-work-ios-needs-some-interface-improvements.html) — let’s just not get carried away. (Though you can’t do [notes with the Pencil on a Mac](https://brooksreview.net/2017/02/using-the-ipad-for-taking-notes-and-planning/).)

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  • GORUCK 10L Bullet Ruck version 2 (video)

    You must be a member to view this content.

    You must be a member to view this content.

  • Outlier S120 No Pocket Pivot

    Lightning review of a merino button down.

    In writing the Traveling Light guide, I wrote about the Wool & Prince merino wool dress shirts — and how much I like them. I still wear that shirt almost all the time, however I recently picked up Outlier’s S120 no pocket Pivot shirt, another all merino button down.

    This shirt is quite a bit more money than the Wool & Prince shirts, but also quite different. The shirt itself has a slimmer, more tailored, cut which depending on your body shape might be a deal breaker. For me it fits my body near perfectly in XL.

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  • For a bigger iPad to work, iOS needs some interface improvements

    Jason Snell for Macworld: One shape I entirely failed to mention in my article about iOS’s future last week is the laptop itself. If Apple remains committed to keeping iOS and macOS apart, it would seem logical that at some point Apple will make an iOS device with a keyboard physically attached to a screen.…

    Jason Snell for Macworld:

    One shape I entirely failed to mention in my article about iOS’s future last week is the laptop itself. If Apple remains committed to keeping iOS and macOS apart, it would seem logical that at some point Apple will make an iOS device with a keyboard physically attached to a screen.

    I keep telling myself to breath, that surely he doesn’t mean this, but I can’t get those words out of my head. Oh my…

  • Using the iPad for: Taking notes and planning

    Matt Gemmell: GoodNotes does a hell of a lot more than the stuff I’ve listed above, but those are the features that grab me most, and make me most grateful for the app. It’s magic notebook tech, and turns the iPad into the big Moleskine that trees couldn’t provide. I personally am not a fan…

    Matt Gemmell:

    GoodNotes does a hell of a lot more than the stuff I’ve listed above, but those are the features that grab me most, and make me most grateful for the app. It’s magic notebook tech, and turns the iPad into the big Moleskine that trees couldn’t provide.

    I personally am not a fan of GoodNotes, but this is one of the better write ups on the app. Also, that zoom feature is in a few other apps including: Notability, and my personal favorite Noteshelf.

    I’ve been testing small EDC pens and thus been using paper of late — all I can say is how much better notes with an Apple Pencil and iPad truly are.

  • Not owning a cellphone gives you time to ruminate and to rest

    A man who doesn’t own a cell phone (and apparently never has): Even though we have two hands, I’m convinced that you can’t hold a cellphone and someone else’s hand at the same time. Some really interesting points — I wonder how we combat this in the future, he says as he stares a two iPads…

    A man who doesn’t own a cell phone (and apparently never has):

    Even though we have two hands, I’m convinced that you can’t hold a cellphone and someone else’s hand at the same time.

    Some really interesting points — I wonder how we combat this in the future, he says as he stares a two iPads and an iPhone.

  • Yohann iPad Stands (video)

    A few people have been asking me about the Yohann iPad stands, I made a quick video to show them off. You must be a member to view this video.

    A few people have been asking me about the Yohann iPad stands, I made a quick video to show them off.

    You must be a member to view this video.

  • Brooks Review: Video

    Hey, look at me.

    One of the things I wanted to start doing when I relaunched the membership system was to mix in some video. It just so happened I didn’t know how I would do that.

    I’ve finally decided on a format, which is post-review looks at products, first looks at products before I review them, and reader Q&A. In this post is one of my first videos, a post-review look at the Filson Original Briefcase. All videos going forward will be exclusive for members.

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