These are perfectly ordinary disposable handwarmers. Nothing wrong about them per se.

In and out of the packet (Own work. License: CC-BY-SA.)

Marketing

Except with the marketing, of course. They claim that these last for 12 hours. Maybe with a precise thermometer you might detect some faint memory of heat radiating from these after 12h, but in practice these become useless at around 6 hours, that is the normal time for other brands as well.

So these warmers are no worse than others, but doubling the time claim is just cheating the customer. I recommend supporting a vendor with more realistic claims.

This is a down insulated air sleeping mat for colder times.

The pack is not too massive for a winter sleeping pad, and it comes with a good looking repair kit. (Own work. License: CC-BY-SA.)

With an R-value of 5, this sleeping pad is good well below freezing temps. Tested at around -7C, though not directly on snow. Slept well, so the essentials are in check.

The mat opened but not filled. The stuff sack doubles as a “wind sock” pump. (Own work. License: CC-BY-SA.)

My only complaints are with the stuff sack. It’s possible to roll the mat and get in that way, but in practice this is really hard with your fingers numb. I would recommend just stuffing the mat into the sack.

As is visible above, the sack also works as a pump. It’s nice that you don’t have to buy it separately, but it’s also not as good as a traditionally shaped pump sack. Gets the mat filled though.

All in all this is a decent winter sleeping mat.

This is an excellent waterproof handlebar bag from Ortlieb.

Even the smaller 5L version is pretty roomy. (Credit: Ortlieb. Fair use.)

It has room for any utensils and snacks that you might want access during your ride (and there exists an even bigger 6,5L version too). The topside has large window so that you can put your phone in there in landscape mode, and use it as a navigator for example. Build quality is excellent, and it even comes with a shoulder strap for use off the bike. Just remember that you have to get the mount separately.

Highly recommend this one!

This is a collapsible plastic trowel for digging… umm… holes to the ground for you know what when you’re backpacking.

The trowel in it’s extended form. (Credit: Sea To Summit. Fair use.)

Does it work?

Yes, it digs a hole and packs pretty small. This is also a pretty handy thing for shoveling snow to your pot when you’re melting drinking water in the winter.

Is it good?

I wouldn’t go so far. The collapsible structure is not very tight, aka it clatters cheaply. Same thing with the handle container lid.

The verdict

This will do but I would recommend checking out other options as well. For example, there’s an aluminum version of this as well. Maybe that would feel like a proper trowel? Or something else entirely.

This is a sleeping bag liner. Given that Sea To Summit makes excellent sleeping bags, one would expect their liners to fit in perfectly, but unfortunately this isn’t the case.

The liner and it’s stuff bag. (Own work. License: CC-BY-SA.)

The hood

For a longer person this is just too short. The 2 dimensional hood flap will escape from under your head when twisting and turning in the bag. There really should be a 3D sewn hood for it to stay in place (+ a little longer overall).

The bad hood is really a bummer because it’s precisely the head that usually exerts the most dirt to the sleeping bag.

The rest

The lower parts of the liner are ok. It also packs into a really small pouch. Gets all crumbled up as you can see in the picture, but who cares.

The verdict

This isn’t all terrible, but as it’s also quite pricey, try to find something else.

This is a small camping lantern for lighting your tent (or whatever really). It’s small in size and the light is bright enough for most uses, while also being dimmable. Positioning is really easy, as it has hooks and magnets in the bottom. It’s also water resistant.

There are also other versions than this R+ but I wouldn’t recommend them, as they can’t be charged with a USB. Speaking of which, it’s a bit embarrassing that the USB in use is of the outdated micro variety and not USB-C.

You can set the lantern to any color, which in my opinion is just spurious. Unnecessary complexity that’s introduced just as a marketing “advantage”. Because of this it’s also a bit overpriced.

The big button controls brightness while the small one operates color. (Credit: Black Diamond. Fair use.)

Wrap up

This is a good lantern which has pretty much all the features you’d want, and some useless extra too. It’s not perfect but I would still recommend this product. It’s also widely available around the globe.

These neoprene gloves are a good choice for biking in heavy rain. They won’t stay dry but neither will they get cold. They aren’t made from too thick neoprene, so they offer only medium padding, but I expect that this will be enough for most. At around 50€ they are somewhat expensive for what they are. You could just buy some non biking specific neoprene gloves and not be much worse. Yet these are good for sure.

The gloves have touchscreen pads on thumbs. (Credit: GripGrab. Fair use.)

About

This is a full featured clock application. It has all the usual features such as alarms, stopwatch and timer. The app has a clear UI. Everything is as it should.

Except

Except that the alarm didn’t ring any audible bells. Well at least I got a long nap… This may not be the app’s fault per se. Maybe it’s something related to my particular phone (Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro), but nonetheless this unfortunately makes the application useless, for me anyway.

Still, go ahead and give it a try. Maybe it works better on your device. Just make sure to test it before relying on it…

Tested with version 5.8.1.

Fidlock TWIST is a system for attaching water bottles magnetically to the bike frame. As the name suggests, you have to twist the bottle in order to get it off.

The system works alright, bottles won’t fall. It may also be possible to install these to positions where normal bottle holder can’t, since they typically require some space above the bottle to be able slide it off. These only need the space for a little twisting motion.

That’s it for the positive sides. It’s very inconvenient to place the bottle back to it’s magnetic mount. Basically you have to feel around randomly until it clicks, or look down, which can be dangerous on a road. Traditional bottle holders are way more convenient to use.

Unless you really need to install a bottle to a tight spot in your frame, it’s not worth it vendorlocking yourself to Fidlock. A gimmic product range.

Primer

Panniers are a staple for carrying stuff on your bike, but sometimes you need to lock your bike and continue on foot. Standard panniers tend to have some sort of carrying straps, but they aren’t very convenient off the rack. Ortlieb Vario PS rises to the challenge by doubling as a backpack!

The review

This isn’t the only backpack pannier out there, but based on my experience and research, it’s likely one of the best. Why? First off, the build quality is good, and being Ortlieb, it’s fully waterproof. As a pannier it functions just as one would expect. It’s really the backpack side that makes things interesting. And I say side for a reason. Unlike in many other backpack panniers, the rack mounts and the backpack straps are on different sides of the bag. This gives room for properly implementing both.

The only hiccup this product runs into is in the backpack mode. There’s a plastic bottom plate, which unfortunately has a tendency to burrow into one’s lower back. Unless remedied, this can make the backpack really painful under a heavier load. Luckily the bottom plate is detachable so one can just take it out, or put some padding to it’s edge. Still, this is a rather dumb design flaw in an otherwise great bag.

The bottom plate is shown in lighter grey. Otherwise one can see that the bag is quite roomy. (Credit: Ortlieb. Fair use)

The verdict

Despite the one flaw, Vario PS is still probably the best pannier backpack out there. If you’re ever riding with just one pannier, this is a near perfect choice.