It’s Mardi Gras season again and that means it’s time to get your party going. While this gear guide is designed for guys headed to New Orleans (or one of the other awesome cities that have Mardi Gras Celebrations!), you can use this guide to help create the ultimate Mardi Gras experience in your own home.

Last fall I lost my wallet. I took it out at Home Depot's self-checkout and didn't notice it till I tried to buy my groceries an hour later. The embarrassment of ringing up more than a $100 worth of food with people waiting in back of you only to realize you have no money is something I'll remember for a long while. It's not that I didn't have money it was simply I had no wallet. Immediately I feared that it had fallen out in the parking lot and was likely long gone. Luckily the folks at Home Depot were amazing and kept it safe. However, since then I've been using Tile to keep tabs on my wallet as well as my camera bag.

A couple years ago the founder of Standard Luggage reached out to me with a great product they had just launched. As a fan of travel backpacks I agreed to give it a review, but now they've come back with an incredible updated version that is honestly my "go to" bag for short 2-3 day trips. Since I started testing it last fall, this bag has been with me to on more than a dozen excursions ranging from overnight road trips to quick flights across country. It is quite frankly the perfect bag for any busy guy that loves to travel.

I get a lot of pitches for earphones and there is quite literally a box under my desk with the discarded samples that I offer to friends with they come over. These new ones from Phiaton though have earned a spot on my desk and especially when I'm on the go. Simply put, they sound great, are comfortable in my ear, light enough that they don't feel awkward on my neck and with the active noise canceling I can quite literally turn off distracting noises around me.

These days, most of us rely on our phones to some extent. It’s just part of modern life. It can be a big expense if you approach it in the wrong way though. Too many people spend far more than they should on things like their phone contract and everything else associated with their smartphone, but it shouldn’t be that way. Just because you need your phone, that doesn’t mean you should accept spending more than you have to on it.

Generally when you shop for a new computer it's just like buying a car... there's the practical side of your brand that say you just need something to get you to work and back... but then there's the fun side that says, "but I want to feel good doing it!" That's what I love about this Legion Y530 laptop that Lenovo sent me to check out as part of our holiday gifts for guys. I'll admit, I'm not a seasoned tech reviewer and despite my previous life being a hardcore gamer - those days were years behind me. Until this week anyhow when I was "forced" to test this laptop out... for research purposes of course. 

We don't endorse drinking and skiing any more than we would drinking and driving. However, sometimes a run is so great, the powder is so amazing, or the view is so incredible that it deserves to be toasted. Unfortunately though, as anyone who skis knows, alcohol prices are ridiculous at ski resorts and even then, you might not have a vendor at the summit. Since a traditional flask is bulky and glass breaks... what's a guy to do? That's where WhiSki Poles comes in and it can hold up to 8 oz of liquid inside an otherwise standard aircraft grade aluminum ski pole! 

When it comes to buying gifts, we often forget about making sure we look and feel good too. The folks over at BabbleBoxx.com sent us some great items to help guys look great while not spending a ton of money doing so. Products included here include selections from: ZENNI Optical, Ties.com, Dr Scholl's, Beau Brummell, and because earbuds and headphones are sooooo last year, a super cool item from the folks at AfterShokz.

Sure, you can connect your Xbox to pretty much any old TV and start playing... but what's the fun in that? There are so many awesome gaming accessories now that the hardcore gamer has so many options to customize their experience. Here's a few of our favorite products for guys who love video games!

For those with trucks, tailgate parties and trail lunches are easy... in fact, the entire act of tailgating sorta implies that you have a tailgate. What if you have an SUV or a car though? Setting stuff up in the trunk just isn't the same and that means you have to bring a big bulky table with you. Luckily, I've found a solution!

Years ago, I bought a new car at the dealership and they suckered me into buying their “protective coating” that would help the car stay clean and help protect from nicks and scratches. That coating cost me hundreds of dollars and frankly … I’m not sure it did anything. Flash forward a few years and the folks at AvalonKing sent me their Armor Shield IX DIY Kit to try out. For under $100, this is a great solution for anyone looking to keep their car looking like new.

It can’t happen to me … that’s something other people need to worry about … I’ve said that before and I’m sure you have too. Unfortunately identity theft and hacking on shared public Wi-Fi networks happens more often than you’d want to believe. It happened to me on a recent cruise and the result was hundreds of dollars were stolen from my bank account. That probably wouldn’t have happened if I was using Hotspot Shield to protect me.

Most people probably don't travel as frequently as I do... they probably also don't take as many photos and videos as I do either. That means that it is even more important to preserve memories when they get back. When I was a kid, the solution was simple - visit the photomat and print out copies of the photos and send them to friends, relatives, and then stick them in a shoebox to be pulled out every so often to bring back memories. Today though, printing out photos is something that most people haven't thought of in a long time. Despite that, it's still a great way to preserve your vacation memories! Here's some other great ways that you can keep those vacation memories alive...

Anyone can go camping... but to do it right, truly is an passion that takes years to hone. Today though, classic style of camping in a pop-up tent that many of us learned in the Boy Scouts has been surpassed by options such as glamping and RVs are more popular than ever. So while I encourage you go gather your buddies and head out into the forest, field, or desert and pitch a tent the old way... here's some ways to make it bigger. Everything in life should be bigger, badder, and more awesome so here's some ideas on how to make your next guys weekend campaign adventure even more awesome!

Sleep is precious and so there's no shortage of products out there that are ready to help. Here's a few of our picks for getting a better sleep and more of it!

There are a LOT of car gadgets out there, but few have earned themselves a spot in my "go bag" to take with me for road trips. This JumpSmart all-in-one Jump Starter, Power Bank, and Flashlight from Limitless Innovations is one of them. It not only combines three essential things to have in your car's emergency kit... but it also comes in a great package to keep everything safe and ready for when you need it.

The race is on for ultra-high capacity power banks with AC plugs on them and we're really impressed with the latest product from Omars Electronics, the Novoo AC Power Bank. Featuring a whopping 20,100 mAh battery and three outlets including: USB-C, USB, and 60w AC it's also packaged in a unique cylindrical design. 

When you first open that shiny new phone, there’s so much excitement. You can flip through screens super fast, apps open instantly, and that money you just spent feels like the best investment ever. Over time though, your Android phone performance will start to slow down. Here’s our advice on how to make Android phones run fast again and improve performance.

I love mentoring small business owners and helping them grow. Unfortunately, some will succeed and some will fail but entrepreneurs manifest the power of unbridled innovation. This only limiting factors preventing success are often marketing and mentorship. The internet has provided all of us a marketplace for connecting with consumers, yet few people are actually good at making, marketing, and selling. That's where IndieDoGood.com comes in. 

I love these headphones! Paww provided me a pair to review earlier this summer and while the sound is good, the comfort and fit is fantastic. I've had many headphones with fancy materials and electronics but at the end of the day, comfort is key for me. While I love technology and superior sound quality there's more than just fidelity. The gold standard for me are headphones that I can wear for 3-5 hours in a plane and still feel comfortable. They've got to feel good, sound good, and be priced so that if I should happen to lose them I won't be out hundreds of dollars. Luckily, these Paww WaveSound 2.1 wireless headphones hit all those points!