Final Thoughts about Klean Kanteen's Wide Mouth 12oz Bottle; It's Not Good Enough for Me

My holy Grail of water bottles would be an all stainless steel bottle and lid, wide mouth, interior threads, made in USA? Is that too much to ask? Apparently so. Let me know if you find one.

I decided to give up on my 12oz WM Klean Kanteen with loop top for the following reasons:

1. To use design vocabulary, I think the lid sucks. It always drips water on me when I unscrew it, perhaps due to the flat stainless steel under the lid. The gasket molds easily, which tells me this is not an all stainless steel environment for your liquids. The gasket cannot be removed to be cleaned or replaced easily. Yes I believe in very low maintenance but I don't think many people wash their bottles every single day.

2. External threads on the bottle. Not fun to drink from. More nooks and crannies for mold to develop.

So I'm a little thirsty right now ( i drank water almost exclusively from that bottle) while I wait for the UPS truck ( I have a Pavlovian response when I hear a UPS truck in the neighborhood ) to bring my new bottle. I already know it's not perfect ( not made in USA, not wide mouth) but it may solve my other complaints.

We shall see.

Footnotes: Teva Zilch Sandal

My new Teva Zilch Sandals. I think it's a good looking and comfortable sandal for being quite light and minimal. Note the unconventional big toe loop. I imagine this sandal may not fit a lot of people (Morton toe) but it works for my foot model-grade feet. I plan on wearing them when flip flops wont do.

Questions to be answered as time goes on...

When will it start smelling (of desperation and foot sweat) and how easy to wash?
When will the velcro wear out and how to resolve?
How will I resole it?
How well does it run?
How does it fare in a water environment?

Stay tuned...

If you want to get some Zilches of your own, try this link if you want. I earn some kind of commission if you end up buying from that link.
Teva Zilch - Male

Shoe Goggles part 2: Soft Star Shoes Moc3 Introduction

I was on my way out the door to jog to the vet's office (I sorta dislike jogging just for the sake of exercise. I would rather have a destination or errand in mind). I glanced at the mailbox and lo and behold! I got a package from Soft Star! The shoes are so minimalist they fit in the mailbox!

Back inside, I shucked off my VFF's and opened the USPS bag. Wrapped in tissue paper with a Soft Star sticker (tried to salvage the sticker for my water bottle but failed. darn.) were my Moc3's.

For all the technical specs go to the Soft Star website (softstarshoes.com). The Moc3's look like ninja slippers and are super light weight! I put them on and immediately felt comfortable! no fit issues. The perforated black leather uppers smell like quality leather. The stretchy "breath-o-prene" lining attached to the leather hug my feet but not in a constrictive way. The reflective stripe on the back of the slipper adds a little sporty flair and the little green tabs at the heel bear the Soft Star logo, refreshingly unobtrusive branding.

On my very short test jog I was able to test the shoe on a variety of surfaces: asphalt, concrete, gravel, and grass. The soles, which are cut in a foot-like pattern are 2mm Vibram rubber and not as sticky as the VFF rubber. My guess is Soft Star is forgoing a little grip to get more durability for the super thin soles. These thin soles basically allow you to feel EVERYTHING, and on gravel was a little painful for a novice like me. I also noticed a little pressure on my achilles when walking (not running) due to the breath-o-prene, which is necessary to keep the shoe on. I will see if this is something that i will just get used to.

I am very happy with how the shoes feel so far. They allow my feet to spread out naturally. My goal is for the Moc3's to be my everyday shoe when I'm not wearing sandals. This will include running, walking, hiking, work, and ninja.

Some things I expect to find out as I use this shoe more:

will the leather at the toes abrade with use?
how long with the soles last?
will I be able to resole them?
how long will it take for them to start stinking?

stay tuned for more updates!

UPDATE. Gear Review: Klean Kanteen 12oz Wide Mouth Bottle

So I've been using my 12oz wide mouth Klean Kanteen daily for about 4-1/2 months now and I am mostly happy with it. The wide mouth makes it very easy to fill, drink, and (theoretically) clean. The size is very convenient. I can put this in a jacket pocket or even in the back pocket of my jeans for quick transport. You really do not need a larger size unless there are no water sources available throughout your day.

My one gripe is the wide mouth cap. It is mostly well designed to ensure your water does not touch plastic. I have a feeling the tight seal can retain water and encourage mold. Also you have to make sure the cap is on very tightly or else some
water will leak out. One last gripe about the cap. No matter how careful you are, water will drip from the cap, often on you, your wood floor, or important papers. I think it is due to the flat stainless steel inside surface of the cap. I am now used to tapping the cap over the bottle to shed excess water before I move the cap away from the bottle. It's annoying.

What's next for this bottle?
I will probably order the Cafe cap so I can drink from the bottle in the Hummer without having to remove the top. This Cafe cap is not leakproof.

I also am very tempted to plaster the bottle with stickers, but they will get burned off when I hopefully am forced to boil water in the bottle.


BONUS PRO TIP FOR MY READERS!

If you have this 12oz wide mouth Klean Kanteen you know it is not insulated. If you drink hot liquids you will burn your hand and hot or cold liquids will cool or warm quickly without the insulation. Well, this bottle is sized like a Coke (call me) can and fits those can Koozies (gives phone hand sign next to head and silently mouths "call me"). Taadaaa! now you have a makeshift insulated bottle! As an additional bonus it protects your bottle from dents if you drop it. Bam. You are welcome.

Gear Review: TAD Gear Shag Master Hoodie. Part One

After three years of deliberation and missed opportunities I finally purchased a TAD Gear Shag Master Hoodie (www.tripleaughtdesign.com) $199. Quite honestly what attracted me to this jacket was the shaggy, animal fur-like appearance of the fleece. Heck, if the fleece was even longer I'd be even happier. And make matching pants!

Also, this jacket is made in USA* and TAD Gear has a reputation for well-designed and quality made products. My personal goal is to invest in a versatile jacket for long term ownership rather than need a variety of clothing for specific uses.

FEATURES
This jacket has a two way full length zipper. On my jacket it is a little stubborn to start, probably due to the fat bartack next to the zipper. This is the only "defect" I've found on my jacket. I just have to angle the left side of the zipper away from the fabric to get it going.

There are two chest pockets which can still be used as hand warmer pockets, albeit a little high. The pockets have a vented panel so can unzip the pocket for extra ventilation. Each chest pocket has a slot for small items like a flashlight or knife. All pockets on this jacket also feature 1) a D-ring to keep items attached to the jacket 2) a media port to thread earphone cords through the jacket.

There are two upper arm pockets with vents and the aforementioned features. Next to these pockets are loop patches to attach patches to personalize your jacket. These patches are a little stiff and I'd either prefer them deleted or would like a pen pouch to attach to this area.

There are three more little loop patches. One on the lower right front with a glow in the dark TAD logo and two on the back of the hood. You can purchase glow in the dark patches to place there so your "team" can follow you in the dark.

The thumb holes in the sleeve cuff help keep the sleeves in place when active and also warm your hands a little. All zippers pulls have 'garages", little folds of fabric to hold the zipper pull in place when zipped up. This is useful in high wind conditions so the pulls don't whip around, possibly in your face. Also the underside of the sleeves to the elbow are reinforced.

One last detail impressed me. On each side of the upper interior of the jacket, just inside of the zipper teeth is a small plastic slit tube to function as a guide for your earphone wires.

WEARING THE SHAG MASTER HOODIE.

So this jacket has tons of features but really how is it? I put the jacket on, zipped it up and flipped the hood...




HOW DO I LOOK?

A rancher promptly walked up to me and shot a tag into my ear. Ouch!

This is a warm snuggly cozy jacket! Um, I mean this jacket is a highly functional piece of equipment that enables me to accomplish all my covert missions.

Seriously though, this jacket is very comfortable and fits me well. Not too snug but no excess fabric bulk to get in the way of activities.

That's it for my initial review. More to come as it gets colder and I'm able to use the jacket more frequently.


*If Made in USA is important to you, pay attention when buying TAD gear products. Some are not made in USA. I tweeted TAD gear to ask why but they did not respond. If I had to guess, I'd say the products in question were clothing with waterproof/ breathable membranes and perhaps the equipment and labor required to assemble this in USA were cost prohibitive. TAD if you read this please let us know!

Gear Review: Wacom Bamboo Stylus

When it comes to sketching a design (ideating), I'm rather Old Testament. I'm most comfortable with a sheet of regular typing paper (wait, I guess they call it printer paper now!) and a Bic pen from a hotel. If I needed to edit the drawing I would use White Out or the ol' Xerox and Post-It note trick (wow that's a lot of brands name dropped. Call me!). This allows quick editing to your design - almost as fast as you can sketch. Another technique is using a lightbox to do overlays over a previous sketch. However effective, it definitely uses a lot of paper.

My girlfriend just gave me a Wacom Bamboo Stylus for use with Apple touchscreen products like the iPad. I've played with drawing apps before, mostly editing photos for amusement. See my Anne Geddes photo! While using your finger is ok for touching up photos, it kind of sucks for drawing or writing on a touchscreen.

For about $30 one can purchase a Wacom Bamboo Stylus. It is about the length of an uncapped Sharpie and about the same diameter of a Bic pen (seriously, brand managers, call me to advertise your products!). Except for the rubber tip, it is an all metal construction. The pocket clip is removable if you want it out of your way while you draw.

How does it draw/write? While I am still getting used to drawing and writing with the Bamboo, it works rather well. The tip is rather blunt so it is a little tough to know exactly where your line will be. If you write fast or are laying down some sweeping lines, there is a little lag time, which is more likely due to the touchscreen sensors than the pen.

Overall I think this is a great drawing and writing tool. To get the best use out of it I need to get used to the lag time and the specific drawing application. Warning, you will see a lot more sketches and modified photos on this blog!

If you would like one, consider purchasing through this link. I do get a commission if you buy through this link.
Wacom Bamboo Stylus - Other Tablet Accessories 

Update: PUR faucet filter

My initial January review can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/433hrzf

8 months later and our faucet filter is leaking. It looks like the o-ring on the screw-down cover is worn out, which is ridiculous since one rarely has to remove the cover unless replacing the filter.

I'm fed up with faucet mounts and ready to switch back to a pitcher or drink city water. However we did buy an exact replacement faucet mount. We will see how long it lasts...

PuR Vertical Faucet Mount System - Water Treatment