And of course there’s the expected price drop: 8GB for $199, 16GB for $229, 32GB for $299, and the brand new 64GB for $399. Plus, the 64GB is “50% faster” — although we know what that means when Apple says it. It does now support OpenGL|ES, which should improve game performance even further. Now, if only it had a D-pad…

I don’t know if I trust Ubisoft to really make something great out of Assassin’s Creed, since that game relied so much on the rich world you inhabited. But hey, it looks pretty awesome for what it is: a sort of simplified 2-D version of the game. Here are a couple screens:

Then you’ve got Riddim Ribbon, which looks like Audiosurf, and Nova, a first person shooter where, in a shocking twist, you play a space marine! And Madden for iPhone, which I won’t dignify with a screenshot.

Here are a couple hands-on shots of the 64GB.

We’re all pretty surprised at the lack of a camera. It would have been a lot of fun, but maybe they just couldn’t find the space? After all, the iPod touch does have a different circuit layout than the iPhone and it may have been too difficult to incorporate the hardware changes they already were planning as well as a camera.

And now for our part in all this: Lenovo and Intel have been kind enough to provide us with a Star Trek messenger bag to give away. So, here’s our little contest:
Send your best picture of yourself and one or more tribbles to contest at crunchgear dot com.

Creativity is a must, and your picture will be posted when we announce the winner. The contest will close on Sunday, March 8th and I’ll announce the winner during the podcast on Wednesday, March 11th.

Bonus points if you dress like a Klingon, but you have to sell it.

Want to listen to your iPod? Don’t care about your iPod getting wet or sweaty? Then stuff your iPod into this headband and run around like the magical iPod unicorn you are.

Quick Version: If you’re a light to moderate sleeper and you can’t seem to wake up on the right side of the bed, the $179 (MSRP) Sleeptracker Pro might be just what you need.

Overview and Features:

• Digital watch monitors your sleep patterns to help you wake up feeling refreshed
• Monitors physical data and wakes you at an optimal almost-awake moment
• Offers vibrating alarm, ringing alarm, or both
• Back-lit, digital display includes day and date
• Includes software to help you track your sleep patterns
• MSRP of $179

How It Works:

You wear the Sleeptracker Pro before going to sleep, setting an alarm time and a window of time before the actual alarm time that’d you’d be okay with getting woken up. The company recommends a 20-minute window.

During the night, the watch monitors your sleep patterns using a built-in accelerometer to tell when you’re tossing and turning, which it characterizes as lighter sleep. If it catches you in a light sleep state within your wake-up window, the alarm will go off. The idea is that if you’re woken up when you’re already in a light sleep state, you’ll wake up more refreshed than if you were in a deep sleep and got woken up by a blaring alarm clock. If you don’t happen to experience a light sleep state during your wake-up window, the watch’s alarm will go off at the regular alarm time.

Pros and Cons:

If you, like me, get about eight hours of sleep every night but still wake up groggy, this thing will work well for you. I wouldn’t say I have any glaring sleep issues – I’m a moderate sleeper, not too light, not too heavy – and the Sleeptracker’s been great.

I don’t necessarily spring out of bed, but I’m definitely not grumpy or groggy in the morning any more. It’s more of an “Okay, it’s morning time. I guess I’ll get up now” disposition versus a “What the hell is that noise?! Oh, it’s my alarm clock. I hate morning and I’d very much like to punch morning time in the Adam’s apple if it were physically possible to do so.” The alarm can be set to chime, vibrate, or both. I have it set on vibrate and it’s easily enough to wake me up. Deep sleepers, however, would likely sleep right on through it. It’s not a jarring vibration and/or noise by any means.

The watch comes with software that allows you to upload your sleep data and enter factors like whether or not you drank or ate too much before you went to bed, how you felt when you woke up, and stuff like that. It’s pretty cool but the watch only saves one night’s worth of data, so you’ll have to be diligent about connecting the watch to your computer every morning.

The price is a tad on the high side at $179. It’ll absolutely come down to whether or not you think waking up feeling refreshed every morning is worth that kind of money to you. Keep in mind that the Sleeptracker isn’t a replacement for sleep – you still have to get a full night’s rest or you’ll risk sleeping right up to the actual alarm time.

It happened to me once on a Sunday morning after I’d gone to a holiday party where I drank too much, stayed up too late, and tried to wake up too early. I was not refreshed at all but, again, the watch isn’t a replacement for sleep (and it doesn’t cure hangovers, either). Every other “regular” night, though, it’s worked well.

Recommendation:

If you’re not a heavy sleeper but you still wake up groggy and/or agitated after a full night’s sleep, you might find the Sleeptracker Pro to be a good investment for $179.

Product Page [Sleeptracker.com]

Quicksilver isn’t known for their technical wear outside of the water, but the Opus is one bitchin’ jacket with a couple nerdtastic components. It’s made from Schoeller fabric and Quiksilver’s own Quik Repel material; it’s water-resistant and shields the body from low temps and wind. I did a little bit of research into Schoeller and they seem to be pretty big in the performance/technical fabric world. It’s been chilly in NYC this last week, so it was a perfect time to test out the Opus.

I wouldn’t suggest wearing this out in sub-30 degree weather but I only wear t-shirts, so it might suffice with a couple layers. It did keep me warm in temps hovering in the 30s and low 40s with a bit of wind. It streches dependingin your body position and repels water really well. I wasn’t walking about in a torrential downpour, but a steady sprinkle didn’t seep to my core. The water beads up and rolls off. There are two zippers so you can access pant pockets and avoid that embarrassing coat boner when you sit down. You know what I’m talking about.

The interior is soft and fleece-like. The exterior has a tendency to make swishy noise when your arms brush against your body when you walk, but the street traffic or music blasting through my in-ears drowns all of that out.

The nerdtastic features I mentioned earlier exist in the deep, deep pockets that can hold a loaf of bread, a 40 ounce Olde English and pack of condoms and maybe a sandwich. There’s a lot of room in them pockets and there’s no fear of your phone or keys falling out after having a seat. There’s an internal pocket meant for your MP3 player or whatever you feel like putting in there, really. There’s a rubber grommet-like opening (is that what these are called?) for your headphone cable to slither through. The pocket didn’t sag too bad under the weight of my iPhone, so that’s a plus. No one wants a saggy pocket that makes the exterior look funky, right?

The Opus is a great jacket, but the $400 price tag is a huge hurdle to overcome. It looks great and performs well for an everyday, around the city jacket and I’d recommend it to anyone willing to spend $400.

Product Page

Sven at BD is offering a special deal for CG readers: buy two watches, get one free. You can get a couple for your employees, your groundskeepers, or your massage therapy team. Do it! Do it now!

They’re honestly nice watches and you basically get a one-of-a-kind with these with a nice Swiss movement.

Product Page

Casio’s G-Shock recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and for good reason, they’ve been constructing solid time pieces that are technically sound and built like tanks. Types like John won’t be giving up their fancy Omegas or whatever other watch that has a ginormous face, but they’re not meant to. Come along as I take a look at five unique pieces with varying degrees of functionality. My only problem with the G-Shocks is that I don’t know which one I want to wear when I get up in the morning.

Two of my go-to pieces are the DW5025B-7V (white) and DW5025D-8 (grey), which are the same exact watch. These are both Limited edition classics re-released for G-Shock’s 25th anniversary. They’re both very basic with an alarm, countdown timer, stopwatch, backlit electro-luminescent and water resistant up to 200 meters. Oh, and they’re shock resistant, too. Being limited edition pieces, you’re going to want to grab these ASAP assuming they’re still available. Amazon has the white version for $130 and the skeleton one for $95.

Next is the Gulfman (G-9125A), which is geared towards folks who surf, sail, fish, or have interests that are dependent on tides and moon phase. This is the one that I take when I go to surf on Long Island and it’s probably going to be the one I take to El Salvador when I go on vacation next week. It’s rust and corrosion proof with titanium screws and pretty sturdy.

There are 3-multifunction alarms, a countdown timer, stopwatch, calendar (programmed till 2099) and 29 time zones spanning 48 cities. The battery is said to last seven years. It’s not the prettiest thing and I wish the backlight stayed on longer so I could see the tiny moon phase dial. The tide display is easy to view at a glance and jumping into the tide/moon feature reveals the tide height by the hour and moon age/phase by day.

The model I have doesn’t seem to be available anymore, but you can get different colors (blue, black/red) for as low as $63 on Amazon. There’s also a bright orange search and rescue themed version for $130.

The next Gulfman is a special edition G-Shock (GW9101K-7) that supports the Dolphin & Whale Eco-Research Network, which is a project run by I.C.E.R.C. (International Cetacean Education and Research Center). A portion of sales from this $250 piece goes directly to the project. This is the fourteenth model dedicated to the project and features a translucent resin band with markings that denote the Dolphin & Whale Eco-Research Network. Titanium adorns the screws meshing around the bezel and back plate.

Aside from all the other features of the Gulfman sans moon/tide this Gulfman has built-in Multi-Band 5 Atomic Timekeeping that receives standard radio waves from five time transmitters around the world. Locations of the five stations are as follows: Fort Collins (CO, USA), Rugby (UK), Mainflingen (GE), Fukushima (JP) and Kyushu (JP). When the Gulfman picks up the radio signal the 5-pod dial fires up and rests on the pod nearest my location.

It’s also a Tough Solar watch that can last 9 months on a full charge. It charges with the faintest amount of sunlight or fluorescent light. There’s a power saving mode that turns off the display after a certain amount of time.

Definitely one of my favorites. Find it on Amazon for $247.83 (only three left!).

The MT-G (MTG1000G-9A) is a high-end chronograph for the line that also features Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping as well as Tough Solar technology. This is the one I wear when I go out for the night. The band is a combination of stainless steel and resin and continues the look of the watch face. Chronograph watches have always confused me but that’s probably because I never take the time to actually read the manual. The MT-G is a good looking watch with plenty of features that you can wear out on the town or out and about on Mother Nature’s playground.

You can find this one on Amazon for $280, which is a $120 saving over the list price of $400.

And last but not least is the Riseman (GW9200-1). This one has all the bells and whistles you’d ever need or want. On top of the Mutli-Band 6 Atomic Timekeeping (extra station in China and receives signals up to six times a day) and Tough Solar technologies, the Riseman measures altitude, barometric pressure and temperature.

It’s way more watch than I need while living in NYC, but when I venture home to Oregon and California it comes in handy when I go hiking. Of course, it’s not like I’m climbing Mt. Hood or anything, but it’s neat to know vital stats like temperature and altitude. Another neat feature is the ability to record altimeter measurements in conjunction with the stopwatch for cumulative ascent and descent altitudes and such. It’s super technical, so probably not the right choice for the average joe. There’s also a power saving mode that shuts off the display when it’s been in a dark location for a certain amount of time.

Check out the full G-Shock lineup here.

Starting your own watch company is hard. Unlike, say, hiring a factory in Taiwan to make a bunch of MP3 players for you, creating a watch takes patience, an understanding of the history of horology, and a willingness to risk failure. Thankfully, Buscum Ducis’ Svan van Der Zande has all of these attributes.

After promising a finished watch since last March, Sven has finally delivered his first timepiece, a quartz watch with great styling and quite a bit of attention to detail. The watch comes in a handsome display box and includes a tan and a black band along with a screwdriver for swapping them out.

The watch itself is a healthy-sized 45mm with a brush steel case and a 22mm lug width. The watch is water resistant but, as Sven points out, not suited for diving. The dial consists of two parts – a cut face with numerals and pips and a Super-Luminova face that gives the watch excellent night readability.

The movement is a Swiss Ronda 1069, a workhorse quartz three hand movement. The seconds hand is set at above 6 o’clock.

At $295, the watch is on par with other quartz timepieces but I think the build quality is far superior to the standard department store watches you’ll find at this price. Because Sven designed this watch by hand, you’re essentially getting a boutique timepiece at a bargain price.

The watch keeps excellent time and is just large enough to be ostentatious without being overtly huge. The band is signed on the buckle and on the leather and the back is engraved with the BD logo.

Buscim Ducis is a small company with big ambitions. I’m all for giving the little guy a leg up and this is a great opportunity to own a unique and inexpensive watch. These guys are definitely worth another look.

I’m just full of helpful hints this week. This one comes after seeing a comment on my other site, WristWatchReview about the BR02, a 1000M diver with a fairly striking design. I liked it when I saw it but at $4,800 I could probably pass. But did you know you could get it for a mere $168?

The Chinese fake factories usually churn out familiar models and brands. Rolex and Breitling seem to be in the top positions while Panerai and IWC are inching up behind. Essentially, the pirates make popular watches that are easy to build – usually the three-handed models with only an hour, minute, and second hand to worry about. I’ve seen complicated watches like chronographs but usually the chrono mechanism doesn’t work and it’s junk.

Here’s something more insidious, however. If you’ve never seen a BR02 in real life, you probably couldn’t tell the difference between this:

and this:

Which one is real?

It’s almost impossible to tell and, if you were offered this one on eBay or even in a shop, the novice would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. The bottom is the real model. Here’s how to check on a watch before you buy it.

1. Know what you’re buying. Know the face, the case design, and the case markings. All of these are available from reputable dealers as well as the websites of the manufacturers themselves. In this case, we see that the date window is wrong and the hands are painted incorrectly. A quick comparison would let you pick this out immediately.

2. Buy from an authorized dealer until you “know people.” If you’re looking to buy a big boy watch, go to a local jewelry shop. The folks at Tourneau in NY are very patient and helpful and they know they’re only selling $24,000 watches to collectors so they’re ready to work with you on your $3,000 Omega in hopes of getting your business down the line. If you have time and energy, you can frequent watch boards like WatchUSeek to meet other people who share your obsession and who might be buying and selling something you have or want.

3. Buy vintage. If you need a Rolex, get an older one. There’s no real money in faking a vintage Rolex and you get a bit of history with your purchase.

4. Start slow. Build up to the big purchases. Don’t buy a nice watch in Bermuda because it seems cheap. Unless you’re very lucky and in the right place, there is a slim chance you could be buying a fake. Don’t take that chance.

5. If it seems too good to be true, it is. This is the case with almost any purchase. If the price is too low and you meet the seller on a street corner, you’re probably getting conned. I remember a guy who used to run around the Canal Street area calling out “Movado watch. Museum quality watch. Movado watch.” every day of the year. I suspect his Movado wasn’t real.

Helpful Links
WatchPlace
WatchUSeek Sales Forum
WatchProSite Market
Poor Man’s Watch Forum
Chad, an authorized dealer with a heart.

When I was in Europe two weeks ago I fell in love with Moleskin notebooks. I know I am neither a college-age girl or a pretentious artist but these things are great. The paper is soft and thick, there’s a little pouch for your documents at the end, and they survived the abuse of me running around Paris doing research which is more than I can say for most reporters notebooks I’ve used. But yes, they are kind of for weenies but I’m giving some cool, specially engraved notebooks away, so read on.

Anyway, if you’re a weenie like me you’ll enjoy NotebookEngraver.com and JournalEngraver.com. For a little over the price of the notebook you can get almost anything laser cut into your Rhodia notebook or Moleskin Journal.

They sent us some TC and CG notebooks to give away so I’d like to see your best lines of pretentious poetry in comments. One comment is one entry and we’ll close the contest at noon Eastern on Wednesday, December 3. Please also note which type you’d like, TechCrunch or CrunchGear. We have four total to give away, so get cracking.

I wrote this up a few years ago but I thought it might be fun to bring it back for our Gift Guide. These things are massive. A friend of mine was wearing one out in the city with me and someone asked him the time. He checked his watch and bust out laughing because it’s like wearing Flava Flav’s watch on your wrist. Not quite a gag gift but close. There’s a product page at the end of the review and you can find them on EBay as well.

Captain’s Log – 0600 hours – Baltic Sea – My men and I have surfaced near Gdansk where we stopped for McDonald’s Hamburgers (made with imperialist swine) and some Polish beer. We are testing our Zlatoust diving watches (AKA the CCCP diver) made at the Zlatoust factory in our glorious Russian homeland.

Read more…

Do you get computer eyestrain? Do you want to look like a bad imitation of Hunter S Thompson? Do you have $200 to spend? Then try the GUNNAR Optiks digital eyewear. These are supposed to reduce eyestrain by decreasing glare and improving overall image quality, but do they work?

Yes and no. I tried these things for a few days straight and they made text and images on the screen seem bigger mostly because the yellow cast changed the way sharp white backgrounds appeared in relation to the images. They’re also non-reflective but do not reduce the reflections on a glossy screen. In short, they changed things considerably but not enough to say they’ve wholeheartedly improved my computing experience.

Luckily, they’re very light and very attractive and even if you don’t want t wear them for computing you can always wear for fashion’s sake. The rest of the claims are objective at best.

Like a “soft white” lightbulb, these glasses soften the images on the screen, allowing you to relax a bit when staring at bright monitors all day. As I say in the review, these things have been around for years and I even saw one guy wearing them in Wall Street. While I understand that eyestrain is a serious problem – I think computer use has started to give me migraines – I think a $189 pair of glasses might be last in the list of ergonomic solutions I’d try including not using the damn computer so much.

GUNNAR is working on a line for gamers which I’m sure will receive a rousing welcome. Until then, Pop over to GUNNAR and take a look.

A few times, we’ve gone to hour, the mode that displays the hours as numerals and one dot along the top for each 5 minutes past the hour (as shown above, ~2:35). Binary mode is still like a foreign language. I’m learning. I’ll be ready one day. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but someday, soon.

Product Page

Unlike John Biggs or Flavor Flav, I am no timepiece purist. In fact, most watch lovers might consider me a heretic; in an age where every TV, DVD player, camera, and cellphone totes a clock, I’ve come to consider watches less of a tool, and more of an accessory. Hell, I once wore a watch with a dead battery for over a month.

As such, I’ve always been interested in TokyoFlash watches. With their varyingly complex designs of spiraling LEDs, they put the focus on the aesthetics aspect of a watch without sacrificing the time-telling functionality. Sure, it may take you a day or two to get used to each design – but each watch does the job, and looks damned good doing it.

As my first venture into the TokyoFlash collection, I opted for the S-Mode Oberon (¥16,900, or roughly $167 USD). I’ve been wearing it around town for about a week. What do I think? Read on to find out.

Initial impressions:

At 150 grams, the watch is right where I like it, weight-wise. It doesn’t feel light or cheap to the touch, nor does it feel clunky on my wrist.

The band’s default size could fit an ogre, coming it at about twice the size I needed. Though the pin-type links looked almost identical to the Fossil watches they had behind the case, the first store I took it to for a fitting looked at it like it was from the farthest reaches of space. Perhaps I shouldn’t have told them it was from Japan – I think they expected it to turn into a giant robot if they touched it the wrong way. The next store had no problem making the adjustment.

The face is quite susceptible to fingerprints which, seeing it’s glossy black, is pretty much unavoidable.

Reading it:

Because of its unique design, reading this watch requires a bit of practice. Pushing the top button once lights up the time (pushing it twice brings up the date). The outer circle is the hours – one light for each hour, 1 through 12. The inner most ring is minutes by groups of 10 – 1 dot means 10, 2 dots means 20, all the way up to 5 dots for 50. The middle ring is the single minute counter – 1 through 9. 3:26 would be 3 dots on the outside, 2 dots on inner most ring, and 6 dots on the middle ring. In the image on right, the time would be 5:19.

If it sounds complex, it’s only because its somewhat tough to put into words – after about two minutes with the watch, determining the time before the LEDs switched back off was no problem. After 2 days, it was as at-a-glance as the methods I’ve grown up using.

Reactions:

Unsure of the metric usually applied to watch reviews, I decided the best way to rate the watch would be to see what other people thought of it. Here are some of the reactions I’ve got so far:

• Girlfriend, immediately after unboxing the watch: “Oooooh. Shiny.”
• Friend, after seeing it light up the first time: “What the hell?”
• Other friend, seeing the watch for the first time, sans time display: “*knocks on watch* Is it voice activated or something?”
• Guy who adjusted the band: “So… how much weed did you have to smoke before you could read that?” (Yep – he seriously said that. You don’t know how odd it was to hear that in a fairly upscale jewelry shop.)

I showed it to a good number of people, and the reaction was fairly consistent: surprise or curiosity, followed by compliments. I’d take that as a good sign.

What I like:

• It’s a very, very sharp looking watch. I could wear out to a day on the beach, or to a dinner party.
• Comfortable weight, with a secure band
• It’s unique, without being awkward or unwieldy. It definitely gets a reaction out of people.

What I don’t:

• No way to force the time display to stay on.
• There has been at least one occasion where pressing the time display button didn’t seem to do anything. If I pressed it a second time, it worked fine.

The Verdict:

While my watch collection could be dwarfed quite easily by that of some folks around these parts, I’ve got enough of’em to get me through a week or two without repeating. That said, the Oberon now sits amongst my favorites. It’s sharp, it’s unique, and it certainly turns heads. If you’re in the market for a sub-$200 watch and are looking for something that is as much a conversation starter as it is a timepiece, the S-Mode Oberon is a solid bet.

Casio calls it a diving watch, but chances are you’re not going into the water with this one – it’s not like you’re driving a F1 car with your Tag either. The OCWP500 is a Japanese movement watch for the price an entry-level Swiss timepiece with an MSRP of $1,195, but you’re not going to find a Swiss watch with the atomic and solar-powered features. If that’s what you’re looking for in a timepiece, and dig the busy face, this watch is for you. As for me, way too much going on the face for my simple style.

What you do know will hurt you. As a long-time lover of larger than life watches, I was pleased when Steinhart nee Debaufre released a line of watches to rival Bell & Ross’ attempts at recreating old-timey airplane dial. As I’ve mentioned many times before, Bell & Ross watches are obscenely huge and obscenely expensive so to find a watch that mimics – but does not totally copy – the B&R style for not much money excited that bargain-hunting watch-lover in me.

Sadly, however, I think this taste of paradise will make the average watch-lover desire a B&R even more, a sad state of affairs for someone who is trying to avoid spending $5 grand or more on a stinking watch.

First, a pet peeve. Debaufre has a huge section of Rolex Submariner knock-offs that I don’t condone. The Submariner is such a boring style and so commonplace that knocking them off is akin to counterfeiting baby formula – it won’t end well for anyone. There are plenty of diving watches out there that are plenty water resistant and even have GMT hands that don’t have to look like something that would grace the wrist of an overly tanned, gut sprung sailboat captain just coming in to dock at Catalina Island. If your watch collecting bug is calling for a Rolex, buy a Rolex. You’re not fooling anyone.

That said, I’m just to the side of calling Debaufre out on their Aircraft series but this thing is sufficiently different to warrant a fair look. The watch itself has a 44m steel case and an ETA 2824-2 case – two things that make this stand out from the average Chinese-made lump. It is 3ATM water resistant – there is no screw down crown and the band is leather, so don’t test that rating – and it has a sweet seconds hand and date.

I bought the black faced model at $535 and am please by the readability and uniqueness. Unlike other big watches, the face font is quite readable and he hands are big and bold. Unfortunately, however, only the hands are luminous, leaving the pips and numbers dark at night. This is a huge no-no – I want to read a watch accurately in the dark or else I’d avoid the lume entirely. Giving me half a lume sandwich is almost as bad as giving me no lume at all.

The watch comes in a leather presentation box and includes a leather band with signed buckle. The back has a childish helicopter etched into stainless steel. The crown is nice and big and offers a choice of hand and automatic winding.

This is actually can make a fun woman’s watch, as well. My wife wore it all weekend and reported that it fit better than anything else I’ve given her. Like guy’s dress shirt or a ratty old concert tee, big watches look great on women.

Another peeve: the front of the watch has four weird little divots that are supposed to look like bolts. This is an obvious reference to the B&R screws that hold the watch together. I think both these divots and the B&R screws are too busy and should be done away with.

Would I recommend this over a real Instrument Series piece? Watches like these are the gateway to more expensive models, a stepping stone, if you will, to bigger expenditures. B&R do good work with movements and cases and even though this is running an ETA I’d be worried if something went wrong with the watch down the line. Buying one of these, selling it, and buying up. This is the recession special and the first in a long line of fine watches for many collectors but be warned – watch acquisition is a slippery slope.

I’m a big fan of ScotteVest stuff. Maybe that makes me a nerd, but it’s nice to have hundreds and hundreds of pockets – actually about 24 in each part of the “Signature System” – where I can stash all my phones and cameras.

The system consists of the Fleece 5.0 and the Quantum jacket. While you can put them on together, to do so would cause a shift in the Earth’s gravity, creating a huge black hole of nerd core coolness.

Most SeV gear comes in black with red piping. Compared to previous versions of the gear, however, these newer models have considerably more fit and finish with nice zipper pulls and thinner pockets than previous versions.

The “system” costs $340 total. The fleece has 24 pockets and pull-off sleeves and a wire management that you’ll probably never use. You can place iPods, etc. in the front jacket pockets or the arm pockets and internal deep pockets are great for large items like cameras. I’ve worn SeV fleeces during winter runs and they’re warm and comfortable enough for most activities.

The Quantum jacket has a hood and 28 pockets. The pockets have a touch-compatible fabric that works with almost all touchscreen devices. It works as a winter jacket quite ably – I wore the previous version of this all last winter and barely got a sniffle.

What’s the draw? As someone who carries around multiple gadgets, being able to secret them all over my body is great while going through TSA checkpoints. The jacket makes a great hidey hole for travel as well, with plenty of close, closed pockets for passports and tickets. While $340 might be a bit much, the peace of mind you have when you know that your iPhone is hidden deep inside your jacket where you will never be able to find it again is priceless.

Bottom Line: Great gear for travelers and, potentially, outdoors buffs.

In our long tradition of receiving strangely inapplicable pitches that somehow just work we present the Aussie Soles. These are not Crocs, although, ummm, I’d be concerned about patent infringement – after all they’re calling their snuggly boot line SnUggs. That said, I’m wearing the Aussie Soles Marines right now and, as Peter points out, as if there weren’t enough to make fun of me for…


Listen – I’m all for comfy shoes. I wear flip flops around the house. I’d actually wear these, too. They have antibacterial insoles and reel soles for extra support and since I’m a big sweater they might work well in the long run in stench prevention. But friends, these are clogs. They’re big and bulky and weird. I will not leave the house with these on. If you wear Crocs or these sorts of clogs outside, you deserve all the Karmic punishment dished out on you. These are shoes for men who have to clean feces off of examination tables with Clorox or make veal scallops for 500 women at a DAR meeting in Cambridge. These shoes are not for us.

But you won’t listen, will you. You’ll go wandering with the fam in this clunkers, watching your manhood seep out and down the drain at Six Flags. Hell, now that these arrived I’ll probably join you. If you see a broken man with a handsome young son and a beautiful wife wearing tan Aussie Soles, say “Hi!” I might not cry all over the front of your shirt.

The Funky Shoe is carrying these things right now for $39.97 in multiple colors. The back strap is very comfortable and I could see these replacing my camping Tevas in a pinch. As a man I cannot officially recommend these to anyone but as a person who wears shoes, feel free to try them on. You might like them, although all the above caveats apply.

Naneu makes high quality camera bags that double as backpacks. We reviewed the K3 last year and found one minor problem but the K4L has addressed the issue and I believe it’s one of the best camera/laptop bags I’ve used.


To test the bag we loaded it up with a DSLR and some lenses, clothes for two, and two heavy laptops. The bag kept everything well padded and once you hoisted it on your back it was quite comfortable to carry even though we had about forty pounds of stuff in there. The front opens up and features filter pockets while the bottom camera pocket can hold two separate cameras. There is a large central pocket, two side pockets for chargers and smaller devices, and a surprisingly large back laptop slot that fit two laptops.

Best of all, the K4L is well strapped and padded for travel. This is not a “lug around town” backpack. It’s definitely a piece of luggage. Any photographer could easily pack a few day’s clothing, two cameras, and a laptop in this with no problems. Best of all, it has a rain cover for rough situations.

The K4L is launching right now for $199.99 and it comes in black and slate blue.

# Weight: 5.30 lbs
# Exterior Dimensions: 20.5H x 14W x 13D in
# Laptop Compartment Dimensions: 16H x 13W x 1.5D in
# Camera Compartment Dimensions: 11.75W x 7D x 7.5H in

This is a great bag with plenty of room for just about anything.

I’m a mechanical man, but sometimes you need a sports watch to withstand the hard knocks associated with heavy activity like “drinking at a bar” and “sitting on the back porch with a beer.”

I’ve worn Pathfinders for years now – my first one was a large titanium model with that is basically a cousin to this one. Pathfinders are part of Casio’s outdoor line, designed for hiking and skiing. This model has a compass, barometer, thermometer, altimeter, and stopwatch built in along with a tide graph. It is water resistant to 200 meters.

The PAW-1500T is huge – 50mm – but amazingly light. It includes a comfortable titanium band and has a large, readable face. Best of all, this is a Waveceptor watch with atomic timekeeping that lets the watch set itself automatically using radios in US, UK, Germany, and Japan. It also has a front solar panel to charge the watch, ensuring you never need to change the battery. It is, in short, completely self-sufficient.

As a long-time Pathfinder user I was slightly disappointed by the dial layout. In the non-solar models, the compass and some of the functions use the entire screen to splay data. Because the solar panel covers the front inside screen – the part with the numbers – the compass has to use the outer bezel to show the cardinal directions and the internal screen shows the current direction (S, ESE) instead of a big compass rose like the non-solar models. However, I’d be willing to take the trade-off – solar or big compass – in a pinch.

These watches are true monsters. They’re definitely not formal-wear timepieces but they look great and beefy. The light is excellent and in my tests the thermometer actually told the ambient temperature instead of the temperature of my wrist.

The three huge function buttons on the right side of the watch and the recessed mode button are easy to find in the dark. The light button is a bit small on this model and it’s right next to the Adjust button which sets the time and date – not like you’d ever have to.

* Multi-Band Atomic Timekeeping (US, UK, Germany, Japan)
Receives time calibration radio signals which keep the displayed time accurate
Auto receive function (up to 6 times per day)
Manual receive function
Signal: US WWVB, UK MSF, Germany DCF77, Japan JJY40/JJY60
Frequency: US 60kHz, UK 60kHz, Germany 77.5kHz, Japan 40/60kHz
* Tough Solar Power
* 200M Water Resistant
* Tide Graph (based on a combination of preset and user input data)
* Moon Data (moon age based on current date or user input data, moon phase graph)
* Digital Compass
16 points of measurement
Measuring range: 0 to 359 degrees
Measuring unit: 1 degree
* Bearing Memory
Memory Capacity: 1 record (stored direction angle and indicator)
* Altimeter
Measuring range: -700 to 10,000m (-2,300 to 32,800ft)
Measuring unit: 5m (20ft)
Auto memory measurements
* Altimeter Memory
Memory capacity: 20 records
Measurement data: altitude, month, date, time
Max altitude memory
Relative altitude display
Altitude tendency graph
Altitude differential graphic
* Barometer
Display range: 260 to 1,100 hPa (7.65 to 32.45 inHg)
Display unit: 1 hPa (0.05 inHg)
Atmospheric pressure tendency graph
Atmospheric pressure differential grapic
* Thermometer
Display range: -10 to 60 C (14 to 140 F)
Display unit: 0.1 C (0.2 F)
* Low Temperature Resistant (-10 C / 14 F)
* Full Auto EL Backlight with Afterglow
* World Time
29 times zones (33 cities), city code display, daylight saving on/off
* 5 Daily Alarms
* Countdown (Yacht) Timer
Measuring unit: 1 second
Countdown range: 1 minute to 60 minutes
Countdown Alarm, Progress Beeper
* 1/100 second stopwatch
Measuring capacity: 23:59′59.99″
Measuring modes: Elapsed time, split time, 1st-2nd place times
* Hourly Time Signal
* Auto Calendar (pre-programmed until the year 2099)
* 12/24 Hour Formats
* Button operation tone on/off
* Accuracy: +/-20 seconds per month (with no signal calibration)
* Storage Battery CTL1616
* Battery Power Indicator
* Power Saving Function
Approx. battery life: 5 months on full charge with Power Saving Function (without further exposure to light)
* Module 3134

If you need an all-purpose watch that can probably withstand a direct missile hit and still makes you look like a superhero, you can’t go wrong with the Pathfinder PAW-1500T.