RickShaw Bagworks Standard Commuter 2.0

Today i'm going to be taking a look at the Standard Commuter 2.0 laptop messenger bag from RickShaw Bagworks.  RickShaw is another San Francisco based bag company and is inspired by the creative energy and urban style of their home city.

The standard commuter 2.0 is the largest bag in the commuter line and can fit a surprising amount of gear inside including a 15" laptop.  On the rear side of the bag, there is a flat organizational pocket which can hold your pens, notebooks, and even an iPad.  Moving around to the front, there is a single large flap that securely covers all of the compartments and closes with both magnets and clips (and even velcro if you need it).  There are 2 zippered pockets on the front side of the bag which are ample sized to throw in your laptop charger, iPad charger, phone charger etc.  Each side of the bag has built in mesh pockets for water bottles.  Enough pockets for you yet?  No, there are more!  The main compartment is where this bag shines.  There is a built in laptop sleeve which is attached to the inside with velcro.  The remainder of the main compartment is wide open and is very large.  It is lined with a vinyl type, waterproof, wipe clean material.  

Carrying this bag is going to be a breeze and very comfortable.  The shoulder strap has a very plush pad and a neat quick adjustment mechanism.  I was able to adjust the strap in a mere 2 seconds.  One of my favorite things about the bag is the material and build construction.  The bag I reviewed is built of an extremely tough nylon that should last...forever?  The build construction is outstanding.  I could not locate any flaws which is astonishing for a bag that is custom built.  I can't say enough about how amazed I am with the quality of this bag.  

Overall, like I said before, this bag is a winner in every aspect.  The standard commuter 2.0 that you saw here retails for $160 and is up there with higher end products.  Some of you may think it's too expensive for a simple carrying bag but you have to remember that the greatest things come with a premium price tag, not to mention you can customize your bag through the RickShaw website.  This bag is worth every penny and should last forever.  

Waterfield Designs iPhone 5 Suede Jacket

Today i'm going to take a quick look at the iPhone 5 Suede Jacket by Waterfield Designs.  The Suede jacket is exactly what it sounds like, it is a thin suede sleeve that you slip your iPhone 5 in.

Waterfield Designs offers both the plain sleeve and the sleeve with a built in exterior pocket.  I have the version with the pocket for review and found that the fit is perfect.  It is not overly tight which would make removal difficult but it's not overly loose where it can fall out.  The suede material has a nice smooth feel and the build quality is perfect.  The exterior pocket is "stretchy" enough to store your lightning cable and/or your headphones but will lay flat when nothing is stored in it. 

The Suede Jacket comes in traditional black but also cheetah print and zebra print.  The version I have sells for $14 and is available directly through the Waterfield Designs (SFBags) website. 

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Clear-Coat Full Body Protection for the iPhone 5

Clear coat makes screen protectors and other products, such as their iPhone 5 skins.  Today i'm going to give you guys a brief review of their iPhone 5 wrap.  I am an iPhone user who does not like to use cases so I am always looking for quality products that I can apply to the back and sides of my iPhone to keep it protected while retaining the "naked" iPhone look.  Clear-coat certainly nailed it with this product release.

Clear-coat films are made of urethane and are almost crystal clear (there is a tiny bit of orange peel effect).  I installed the back and side pieces on my device and found that the cutouts and size of the pieces are spot on.  The back piece is sized slightly smaller so that installation is a breeze (even a rookie could do this!).  The material has a rubberized feeling to it which I prefer because it gives the device a grippy feeling while keeping it from sliding around while on a table.  While this is great for the back and sides of the phone, I personally do not like the feel this type of material gives to the touch screen (think zagg, phantomskinz etc).  For users who are rough on devices, this is perfect as the urethane is very resilient to abuse.  Check out the videos on the Clear-coat website to see what i'm talking about!

Installation was easy and i'm confident almost anybody could do it with ease.  Installing the narrow side pieces was a little time consuming as the pieces are very small and they move around a lot when placed on the device.  This comes with the territory as is with all side skins from various companies.  Once dry, the side and back pieces remain solid and have not moved at all.  The cutouts for the back skin are accurate as seen below.

Overall, I really like the product that Clear-coat offers and I highly recommend it.  You can choose from screen only protection for $14.99 or opt for full body protection for $24.99.  Clear-coat offers a lifetime warranty which covers the product regardless of whether you botched the install or if it ever peels, tears etc.  All you have to do is pay $3.95 for shipping and they will send you a replacement. 

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Spigen SGP Steinheil Ultra Crystal Screen Shield for the iPhone 5

 Today i'm going to take a look at the Ultra Crystal screen shield by Spigen SGP.  I recently reviewed the Ultra Oleophobic screen shield by Spigen SGP and I want to do a little comparison between the two; check out the full review below. 

Spigen SGP has been the top dog in the screen shield market and they are certainly proving this again with this product.  I am a big fan of the oleophobic version and I have to say that the Ultra Crystal is an outstanding product as well.  The product is absolutely crystal clear and does not degrade screen quality at all.  I was surprised to find that the feel of the Ultra Crystal is not that much different than the bare glass.  I've used a few different screen shields in the past and none have felt as smooth and glass-like as this one (the Ultra Oleophobic also had the same feel).  The only complain I have about this product is the fact that fingerprints accumulate very quickly (unlike the Ultra Oleophobic version and of course nothing like the bare glass).  I was surprised to find how easy the fingerprints were to wipe away with a microfiber cloth though. 

Installation is typical of static cling style protectors and the cutouts are 100% spot on.  With that being said, your install must be near perfect.  I found that using the "taco-method" install worked perfectly and I was able to get mine installed perfectly in less than 30 seconds. The product is thicker than I expected and I tried to portray that below.

I've been using this product for almost a week now and it is totally scratch free despite my phone being laid screen side down and being taken in/out of my pocket a lot.  Spigen SGP has once again released a winner of a product and is available for only $13.99.  It is more expensive than cheap eBay screen shields of course but I guarantee you that the additional money is worth every penny. 

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Mophie Juice Pack Reserve Micro

Power meets portability.  That's what the new Reserve Micro from Mophie is all about.  This small battery pack is compact enough to hook onto your keychain for those moments when you need a small power boost.  The Reserve Micro packs 1,000mAh and is enough to keep you going in those situations where you need a boost to make the phone call home to let your wife know you're on your way home.

Mophie did a phenomenal job at packing 1,000mAh into such a small battery.  It's remarkable.  This battery pack gets the same soft touch finish as its bigger battery counterparts and is incredibly light.  Another cool thing is that there is a built in cable with USB on one end and micro USB on the other end.  The only down side to this is that it's not really usable with Apple products.

There is one LED near the sole button on the battery which indicates charge volume as it is charging.  It would have been nice to have a series of LED's to indicate charge but in this case, when the button is depressed, the light will illuminate green when there is power remaining and will not light up when it is totally dead.

Overall, Mophie has created another cool product and I can recommend it to you guys.  It sells for $39.95 and is available in black via mophie.com

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