This Week in Gear: October 13 – 17

Good morning, welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Gear — your single shot serving of an entire week’s worth of killer new gear — pulled from our weekday editions of Today in Gear. Bookmark it to peruse over Sunday football and start your Monday completely up to speed. Here’s to another fantastic week.

Google’s Nexus 6
Google’s response to the iPhone Plus, the Nexus 6 (at 6 inches) is a half inch larger than its challenger, and houses dual front-facing speakers to provide an immersive media experience, even without headphones. The 13 megapixel back camera with f2.0 lens paired with Google Camera makes the Nexus one of the most usable cameras on the market. And even if you forget to plug it in overnight, a quick 15-minute charge will carry you near six hours. google.com

Haven Lock
Many modern smart locks are ineffective because they serve to strengthen deadbolts, which can be outsmarted. The Haven Lock is different. Using your home’s structure for support, it sits flat at the door’s base. It links with any smartphone or wearable device and, using wi-fi and Bluetooth, can tell if it’s friend or foe knocking. Thieves with siege weapons couldn’t break through this. kickstarter.com

Chadhaus Loftbed
Sleep long and prosper. The Loftbed from the Seattle-based artisan Chad Robertson is built by hand from raw or salvaged wood and naturally finished to highlight the unique variations of the materials. Robertson’s strict belief in functionalism falls into the inclusion of spacious drawers on each side complemented with two storage cubbies. Each bed requires roughly 60 hours of labor to build, but that’s nothing compared to the amount of quality shut-eye upon them. $5,200

Blackfire Clamplight Backpack
The Blackfire Clamplight Backpack isn’t a backpack, but a clamp-on backpack flashlight. A little confusing, but very useful. Equipped with two LED lights (a 125 lumen KONG and a 65 lumen CREE) that switch modes with the push a button (flashlight, lantern and strobe), and a battery lasting from 10 to 28 hours, the water-buoyant Clamplight is IPX4-certified to suit your adventuring needs. blackfire-usa.com

Neat Ice Kit
Studio Neat’s Neat Ice Kit lets you make “fancy ice” (their words): perfectly clear ice cubes like you’d see at a bar. (Not the foggy shit from your freezer.) The kit includes an insulated ice mold that produces a single rectangular ice cube and tools with which you can break it down into a large cube, smaller chunks, and shaved ice — for, respectively, lowballs, highballs, and summertime cocktails. Fancy. $80

HTC RE Camera
It’s not a periscope. HTC’s new hand-held camera is designed to go everywhere you do. Featuring one button, the RE camera easily takes sharp photos and videos and allows for time-lapse and slow motion. It all gets streamed back to your smartphone. And it’s waterproof, so you can take it places that would land your phone in a baggie of dry rice. $199

TaylorMade Debuts RSi Irons
Call’m what you want — hooks, shanks or duds — most iron shots are mishits. Taylormade aims to heal golfing morale with the new RSi iron family. The revolutionary clubs feature two “face slots” at the toes and heels, improved Speed Pocket Technology and Multi-Material Construction. The result: more mishits acting like flush strikes. $799+

The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin is doing everything he can to delay the sixth (and penultimate) book in the A Song of Ice & Fire series. Released October 28, the next book will focus on the events BEFORE the series’ maiden book, A Game of Thrones. It’s not quite The Winds of Winter, but this prologue may give voracious readers insight into Lyanna’s last words — “Promise me, Ned” — and the true origins of John Snow (amongst copious other secrets). $20+

Related Topics