Travel can be adventure but the trick is figuring out how to manage the risk so that you have a great time but avoid disaster. In some locations, severe weather can occur almost without warning - and other places the risk is omnipresent. Unfortunately, some of the most exciting places to visit can also be the most dangerous. That doesn't mean you should avoid them, simply take precautions and make the most of them while staying safe.

Last night I got another chance to work with one of my favorite brands - Honor. They aren't the fastest, most expensive, best you can buy phone brand - but they know who they are... and they understand their customer. Instead of delivery phones that cost nearly $1,000 and lock you into contracts they believe in offering unlocked phones for half (or less than that), while still offering premium features.

As you know, we absolutely love the Travel Backpack from Standard Luggage that we received earlier this month. It's a great addition to our travel gear, but the person behind it is even more interesting. It's not often that we get to talk with the guys who actually create great stuff. After chatting with Ryan a bit through email it became clear that he was more than just a guy who saw a niche in the marketplace. Instead, while he is clearly a business person creating an awesome product he's doing it out of his personal passions, and experience as a seasoned traveler too.

I've tested a LOT of luggage over the years and most of it falls into pretty conventional categories and the result ends up simply being an aestetic choice determining which I use. Then there are those "innovators" that seem cool but simply fall flat. When I was approached by Standard Luggage to do a review of their new Travel Backpack during some upcoming trips I was a bit skeptical but I'm usually willing to give something a chance if it fits a need I genuinely am looking to fill. 

Ok, I'll admit - when I first saw these cat ear headphones I thought it was an early April Fools day pitch. Nope, it's real. After a few moments I thought to myself - these are actually pretty cool... and it's just the type of thing that makes a perfect gift for the right woman. However as I discovered tonight, the appeal is much more broad then that as both guys and girls I met made comments and wanted to check them out. 

Tilt-shift photography refers to various techniques used to create special effects in photographs. Special tilt-shift lenses from makers like Canon and Nikon can be moved (shifted) and pointed at different angles (tilted) to achieve the desired effects.

I recently got a chance to check out an innovative new product that's a cross between a hoverboard and a skateboard but it's equally fun on pavement as it is on trails out in the woods. Sound fun? Let's check it out!

Back in March I was visiting the General George Patton Museum and was able to see some incredible tanks up close. It was really exciting to think of being able to drive a tank, feel the power of controlling one. I will probably never get to do that in real life but I could control many tanks in the video game World of Tanks. World of Tanks is an online free to play game where you pilot a tank along with a team in simulated warfare. The game was over 300 armored vehicles from many countries including the USA, Germany, France, the UK, Japan, China and the Soviet Union.

Pretty much all guys love cars and gadgets, so even though Father's Day is over this year, consider combining the two of those passions by getting the men in your life some awesome car gadgets! We've had a chance to use the Escort Max 360 a lot over the past few months, but there are some other awesome gift ideas from Escort's sister company Cobra as well. Of course, you could always just buy these for yourself too!

June is Employee Wellbeing month and while I have a home office, it's important to remember that there are things we can both do to make our offices a better place to be. Often overlooked is the importance of how we sit, but the folks at BackJoy are on a relentless campaign to help correct that, including their 10-Day Employee Wellbeing Challenge. 

Housework isn't my favorite task but I love technology, gadgets, and mobile phones. So I was super excited to review the new Samsung POWERbot Wi-Fi from Best Buy. It is the 6th generation robotic vacuum from Samsung and it departs from it's competitors (and predecessors) by introducing a design that looks just like a standard upright but without the stick. Additionally, like you would expect from any Samsung product it also packs in tons of features to make it that much more useful.

When you think of phone cases and OtterBox in particular, the first thing that probably comes to mind is "robust" - and that's a great quality to have of course. What I generally don't think of is a case that actually allows you to do other stuff to make your life easier and more productive. That's why I was so excited to hear about the launch of the new OtterBox uniVERSE line at BestBuy!

If you are going to get dad a corkscrew for Father's Day then you had better get him a damn good one. Luckily the Vinturi Vertical Lever Corkscrew falls into that category and I'm thrilled to have it as part of my permanent bar tools collection now!

Dad deserves something custom that you made just for him this year. It's sort of like how you used to make that macaroni artwork in school, except now this is something that he will REALLY want to keep forever. OK, I kid - but serious, gifts that you make special for someone are always the best and now you can create a custom Wilson football for your dad or really any other person in your life. We recently got a chance to check it out and I personally love it!

I've been using the Escort Max 360 for a few months now and I love this thing. In the past, my bias had been against radar detectors because frankly most are confusing, noisy, and at worst inaccurate. The thing I love about the Max 360 though is that it has 360 degrees of protection and it uses GPS + your mobile internet connection to alert you about actual situations on the road ahead of you.

Beds are used for more than just sleep and so when selecting a new mattress it's important that we think of the other things you'll be doing there besides just "sleeping". 

For a while there, TV's were just about higher resolution, bigger screens, more contrast - and those are all great things that we now take for granted. But what's exciting to me is when companies make their products BETTER to use. That means not just slapping "smart" on the the chassis but actually doing something to make them more user friendly and more capable. That's what VIZIO is trying to do with their new P-Series line of SmartCast Ultra HD High Dynamic Range Home Theater Display™ TVs.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gladiator GarageWorks. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been a fan of the Gladiator brand for many years. Sometimes though, it's hard to believe that the same company (Whirlpool) that makes machines designed for the kitchen and laundry room can make some of the toughest, most manly organization products on the market today. Well, actually that's not so surprising when you think about the durability and design that everyone loves from their products in the Kitchenaid, Whirlpool, and Maytag brands. But when it comes to the garage, Gladiator is one of my favorite brands and once you experience it yourself, you'll see why.

How many times have you thought about - or maybe you did - buying a bike for your kids? Those late Christmas Eve nights spent in the cold garage, quietly assembling the bike so they wouldn't hear... only to surprise them on Christmas morning... Now it's your turn! Granted, you won't be able to keep it a surprise but this would make a great opportunity for you to spend some time with the kids and teach them some important mechanical lessons. Heck - as I found out, it's a great opportunity for yourself even, since you'll get a much better appreciation for the different parts of your bike compared to simply buying it from the store.

Camera drones are all the rage right now and they are typically hundreds dollars or more and require a license to fly. For those of you that just want to play around though or for those that want to see if this is something you actually want to invest in, the MOTA JETJAT Nano-C is perfect option.