Category Archives: Gadgets

Gadgets, Travel

After Market Cargo Covers

https://youtu.be/qGpJoyBx19I
https://youtu.be/8D0Wniik6DU

I bought a cargo cover for both my 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander and my 2019 Kia Sorrento. Both covers came in generic brown boxes from Amazon without any branding or instructions. By external appearance and function, they were essentially identical despite being sold by to “different” companies on Amazon. They are primarily black sheet metal tubular pillars with spring-loaded ends, allowing them to pop into the square indents inside the front of my SUV’s cargo compartment walls just behind the rear seat.

Once in place, it’s a simple matter to pull on the cover and notch it into the J grooves in the rear pillars of the cargo compartment near the cargo hatch. These cargo covers come in a variety of sizes for various car brands and models, including hatchbacks. Time will tell if these are durable but by all appearances, they are identical to the “factory” model at less than half the price.

Car break-ins and petty crime have exploded in cities around the country since the 2020 Summer of Love. Driven by souring economic prospects, lefty soft-on-crime laws such as California’s Proposition 47, progressive prosecutors not charging criminals, and Defund The Police Movements. San Francisco is notorious for this.

“Don’t leave valuables in the car” is a mantra I live by. When liberal laws also require you to carry reusable shopping bags, at a bare minimum, I store a couple of empty shopping bags in my SUV. These bags, first aid kits, emergency water supplies, etc. could be easily mistaken for tempting store-bought products to petty thieves and addicts.

Both of my cars have been broken into and burglarized, some multiple times. This is why I finally decided to buy a retractable cargo cover for my SUVs to obscure these empty shopping bags and whatever ends up in the back of my vehicle. These cargo covers are similar to retractable window blinds that you can pull back to cover over your entire cargo compartment or be retracted quickly when the full space is required.

The cargo covers often come with luxury or upgraded models of vehicles but alas, I am a miser and bought the basic model of both of my SUVs. As a dealer upgrade part, these covers easily cost over $200. However, when purchased as an aftermarket car accessory, they cost a fraction of that.

BUY

Mitsubishi Outlander
Powerty https://amzn.to/48oKg3i

Kia Sorrento
Motoforti https://amzn.to/48oKg3i

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Nitecore Luminblade EDC29

6500 lumens is a lot of light. Several flashlights now can output that much brightness or more, but typically they are the size of small water bottles. The Nitecore Luminblade is the first pocket-sized EDC that can output 6500 lumens.

I found out the hard way that 6500 lumens isn’t just bright, it’s freak’n hot! When I pressed the button to test out its max output “Lumen Shield” mode, I immediately saw smoke and smelt burnt plastic. At first, I thought the unit was defective and burnt itself out but upon closer inspection, I discovered a hole melted through the outer layer of my puffy vest, right through to the insulation. Damn!

The unit is made of lightweight metal alloy with a few plastic plates which look like heat dissipaters but the fact they are plastic makes me think otherwise. It has two activation buttons at the top, a smaller primary on-off/mode button, and a wider and slightly recessed multi-function button; which can be configured for Lumen Shield, Search, or Strobe modes. The flashlight has mode memory.

There is a small but very informative LED display near the activation buttons. This display shows the brightness mode, lumen output, estimated run time, battery level, and voltage output. Under a silicone cap near the buttons and display is a USB-C charging port. Opposite the charging port is a button lockout switch, which seems like a good safety precaution after accidentally burning a hole in my clothing.

Given its high output and wealth of features, it shouldn’t be surprising that the EDC29 has a decently long runtime. Nightcore claims a 2hrs runtime when started in High (1200 lumens). In my test, my unit exceeded 3 hours (stepping down to low mode after about an hour).

Overall this is an impressive EDC flashlight in most respects. The only disappointing thing is that it is only IPX5 water resistant, which means it is rainproof but won’t survive dropping into a toilet bowl. To be better Nitecore should add the option of a double-bend pocket clip to allow you to clip it onto a cap brim as a headlamp, and a magnetic panel to allow the unit to be affixed to metal and be used as a work light.

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Amazon https://amzn.to/4eY8VeQ

SPECS

Max Output: 6,500 Lumens
Max Beam Distance: 370m
Max Beam Intensity: 35,360 cd
Max Runtime: 61hrs (15 lum)
LED Type: 2 x UHi 20
Battery: Built-in 2,500mAh LiOn
Beam color: White
Length: 133.5mm / 5.26 in
Width: 34.6mm / 1.36 in
Weight: 160g / 5.64 oz
IPX Rating: 5/4

Gadgets, Product Reviews

OLight OClip Pro

The OLight send me a special holiday limited edition OClip Pro, which has snowflake graphics on the front of an anodized candy cane red body. A large spring clip runs the length of the unit on its back allowing it to be clipped onto clothing, gear, and objects. Furthermore, the base of the clip contains an embedded magnet allowing the unit to be attached to metal surfaces.

The unit is about the size of an OLight Arkfeld if you cut off 2/3 of the length. The Pro model has a trio of LED emitters on the front side of the unit which face outward when clipped onto a pocket, lapel, or backpack strap allowing you to illuminate the area in front of you whilst leaving both hands free. The three emitters are controlled by a selector dial on the side with an integrated button.

The unit’s emitters include a long throw beam with a tight hotspot capable of illuminating objects over 100ft away. A wide flood beam which casts a broad defuse light, and a high intensity red LED. The flood and focus beams have a Turbo, High, Medium, and Moonlight mode (and strobe). The red emitter has constant or beacon mode.

The flood beam was able to emit about 455 lumens in Turbo mode, which aligns with the 500 lumens Olight claims when fully recharged. In my endurance testing, I was able to achieve a 120 minute runtime starting in Turbo mode. Unlike many of Olights flashlights, the OClip uses a standard USB-C port for charging which I find to be a welcome option. The USB-C port cover does not allow the unit to be submersible in water.

The only drawback to the right-angle design is that he clip and ergonomics do not lend itself to be used as a clip on headlamp. When clipped to the brim of my baseball cap, the majority of the light hits my chin and some of the spill does also blind the user. Despite this one mode of use, the OClip is a useful secondary light and is bright enough to be used as a primary and is compact and light enough to truly an Every Day Cary flashlight.

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Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FHW31QWP?ref=t_ac_view_request_product_image&campaignId=amzn1.campaign.2SCO6A983ZT38&linkCode=tr1&tag=moondogindu05-20&linkId=amzn1.campaign.2SCO6A983ZT38_1779736175938

SPECS

MATERIALS
Body MaterialAluminum Alloy (6061)
GENERAL DATA
Mode OperationSide Switch
Light SourceWhite: Floodlight(CCT: 5700-6500K); Spotlight(CCT: 5700-7000K); Red: (WL: 620-630nm)
Charging TypeUSB-C Charging
Max Performance500 lumens
Beam Distance393 ft (120 m)
Max Light Intensity3,600 candela
Lighting Levels
TurboFloodlight: 500~300~100 lumens; Spotlight: 380~240~85 lumens
Turbo RuntimeFloodlight: 1 + 50 + 30 minutes; Spotlight: 1 + 50 + 30 minutes
HighFloodlight: 300~180~100 lumens; Spotlight: 240~150~85 lumens
High RuntimeFloodlight: 1 + 100 + 10 minutes; Spotlight: 1 + 100 + 10 minutes
MediumFloodlight: 100 lumens; Spotlight: 85 lumens
Medium RuntimeFloodlight: 3.5 hours; Spotlight: 3.5 hours
LowFloodlight: 10 lumens; Spotlight: 9 lumens
Low RuntimeFloodlight: 27 hours; Spotlight: 27 hours
MoonFloodlight: 1 lumen; Spotlight: 1 lumen
Moon RuntimeFloodlight: 144 hours; Spotlight: 144 hours
SOSYes
StrobeYes, (Floodlight: 13Hz at 500 lumens; Spotlight: 13Hz at 380 lumens)
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Thickness1.10 in (27.83 mm)
WaterproofIPX6
Weight1.87 oz (53 g) (Including Battery)
Length2.24 in (57 mm)
Width1.10 in (28.05 mm)

Gadgets, Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Athlon Argos G2 8×42 Binoculars

Athlon’s Argos line is their value tier product line, a step up from their budget/entry level Talos. But taking a look at the build quality and features of the Argos Gen2 8×42 binoculars, it looks more like a premium optic. The tubes are encased in rubberized armor coating with checkerboard textured panels to add further grip in wet conditions.

The Argos comes with soft plastic retained front lens caps which are one of the few disappointing features. The retaining strops too easily slip off the front of the tubes when flipping open the caps. The rear caps are spectacle style which can be retained to the optic, when used with a neck strap. The rear lenses have built-in retracting eye cups.

Indicative of budget level optics, there was some softness in focus and increased chromatic aberration along the other edge of the image. The Argos does not have ED glass like their more expensive Midas and Cronos optics but was nicely bright and clear. For an 8x scope, the field of view is nice and wide with good depth of field.

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Amazon https://amzn.to/4eHNYou

Optics Planet https://shrsl.com/4rg9q

SPECS

ARGOS G2

Magnification: 8x

Objective: 42mm

Eye Relief: 17.3mm

Close Focus: 4m/13 ft

FOV: 371 ft. @ 1000 yrds

Coating: XPL / USP

Glass: UHD

Prism: BaK-4

Waterproof: IPX7

Argon Purged

Weight: 25.5 oz

Dimensions: 5.7″ x 5.3″

Gadgets, Product Reviews

OLight Arkflex

The Arkflex adds a new angle to the innovative wedge style EDC. The Arkflex rounds out the harder squared edges of the Arkfeld design. It is a little smaller and lighter than the Arkfeld and lacks the rotary control, UV light, and laser. Arkflex adds a new feature: a hinged top which can tilt the dual LED emitter to 90º angle. With the tilting emitter, the Arkflex can transform from a standard wand style flashlight, into a clip-on hands free work light.

In testing, the Arflex meets or exceeds all of its printed specs. The Arkflex outputs a little over a maximum of 1000 lumens in Turbo mode. It has a runtime of 120 minutes in Turbo and can be fully immersed in water.

But nothing is perfect. After my testing, my sample unit wouldn’t turn off until the battery died and wouldn’t recharge. It was defective. But rather than this review ending in a negative conclusion, it became a test of the company’s warranty and customer service.

I went to the Warranty and Repairs page of Olight’s website and entered in a return request. After uploading photos of the unit and describing the issue, they emailed me a PDF return label. I received a replacement unit a few days later. Unfortunately Olight was out of the Halloween limited edition lights, so they sent me a plain orange one. Far from disappointed, I was impressed with how easy Olight’s warranty return process was.

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Amazon https://amzn.to/3CH0c3l

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Blackbeard Plasma Lighter

When you hear the words ‘plasma lighter’ the lightsaber or something out of the Aliens universe comes to mind. But they are real and they are sci-fi (at least to old guys like me). Plasma lighters are battery powered devices that generate a high voltage electrical arc which can ignite kindling. They work in the same way as your car’s spark plug or a mini taser.

Blackbeard Fire sent me a Pirates Plunder survival pack which includes their Plasma Lighter along with Firestarter sticks and a Ferro Rod. The device is about the size of an executive Zippo lighter and is incased in a black silicone skin. The top is latched down to keep it water proof. The device is recharged via USB-C and has LED charge indicator lights.

Pressing on the a button next to the igniter, immediately creates a purple spark of plasma. Unlike a plasma lighter that I already owned, Blackbeard’s uses not just a single pair of electrical contacts but four to create an ‘X’ like electrical arc between them.

Like a mini arc welder, the electricity heats the air into a plasma at hot as the surface of the sun. The Plasma Lighter easily ignited the Fire Plugs and FIrestarter fibers that I had soaked in water for an hour. The only thing a Plasma Lighter doesn’t do better than a traditional lighter is provide illumination but I’m sure somebody makes a version with a built-in CREE light so check-mate Bic.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

Amazon https://amzn.to/3xQqPAE

Pirate Plunder Kit: https://amzn.to/3xHAgm6

Gadgets, Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

5.11 X.VI Pants

5.11 worked with law enforcement SWAT teams to design the X.VI tactical pants. These pants were only available to Law Enforcement and Military until this year when 5.11 made them available to civilians on their website. I had my first look at them at SHOT Show in January, where I learned that X.VI was Roman numerals for 5.11.

These pants are robustly made with gusseted stitching to reinforce stress points, especially around the waist. The pants are loaded with well thought out performance features. All the pockets are oversized and the cargo pockets contain internal mag holders, zippered venting slits, and patented straps to adjust the height and position of the knee pads. The legs have built in knee pads with removable polymer knee covers and padding. The pant legs have boot hooks that anchor the pant ends to the top laces of your boots and keep them from riding up and exposing the top of your boots to debris.

In my week long testing of the pants, I found them comfortable but a bit heavy. The only disappointing feature were the knee pads. Though well built with a variety of adjustment, they never stayed where I wanted them when sitting the car. I found myself constantly repositioning them by hand. Fortunately, the pads can be removed to allow me to use them with my Hatch knee pads.

The other aspect that would make me balk, is their price of over $200. While these pants are now available for civilians, but those civilians probably drive Rivians and not Kia’s.

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L.A. Police Gear https://la-police-gear.pxf.io/OeB3nz

Gadgets, Product Reviews

MIFMIA LED headlamp bulbs

https://youtu.be/wvx2luWeL1Y

At about 80k miles, I replaced the headlight bulbs in my KIA Sorrento 2019 with similar Sylvania H7 halogen bulbs. Most newer cars have switched to LED bulbs so I was interested in upgrading my lights to LEDs but many require cooling fans and “ballast” boxes containing controller electronics which make it difficult to fit into light housings without modification.

I found these H7 replacement bulbs by MIFMIA, a brand I’m not familiar with. Testing them out I found that their design was indeed identical length and form factor to halogen H7 bulbs. They fit in my housing and installed without issue. Their beams were brighter than the halogen bulbs and provided a whiter/bluer light.

Unfortunately my KIA’s computerized diagnostics system registered an error and displayed a warning light that my headlamp bulbs were burned out/disabled. These MIFMIA bulbs were returning an incorrect voltage signal to the car’s diagnostics and setting off a false alarm. Unfortunately they didn’t work for my 2019 KIA but they may work for your car.

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Amazon affiliate: https://amzn.to/4ci8H0K

Gadgets

Sunwayfoto T1A20 Tabletop Tripod

Sunwayfoto makes a wide range of carbon fiber, light weight photography, video, and hunting tripods. This is the opposite. This is a heavy weight all aluminum table top tripod. That isn’t in reference to its weight which is over 3lbs (remember this is a tabletop tripod that at its max is only 18 inches high). This tripod’s strong enough to hold up to 55lbs of equipment.

Sunwayfoto sent me both a tripod and a XB-52 ball head to test out. The tripod legs extend with a classic design where the leg extension is sandwiched between the support legs above it. The extending legs are double-headed with spikes on one end which can be removed and reversed for rubberized feet on the other. On the inside/bottom face of the legs are an additional set of rubber feet to allow the tripod legs to be splayed out a full 90º to allow the tripod to be placed as low as as possible on a table.

I tested the tripod at the range by attaching Maven 18x50mm binoculars. It handled this lightweight optic like it was nothing. Similarly when I mounted an AR with an ARCA/Swiss M-Lok adapter to the tripod, it prooved a beefy rifle rest. Unfortunately my final test was to try a telescope mounted on a Picatinny/ARCA adapter. Unfortunately, the XB-52 ball head offered strength enough to easily hold the rifle scope but there was just enough play that I wasn’t able to get a repeatable lock on a bullseye target at 100yrds when putting the turrets through a rough torture test.

My testing requirements are quite unusual so for 99% of the rest of you out there who have even the heaviest broadcast video rig or a high caliber rifle, this heavyweight tripod and ball head combination should well suit your needs.

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Sunwayfoto affiliate https://sunwayfoto.com/products/sunwayfoto-t1a20-tripod-aluminum-camera-tripod-3-8-screw-maximum-load-25kg?ref=pwwCNnfb

SPECS

Main Material： Aluminum 
Number of Leg Sections： 2
Max Height： 18.1 in./ 46cm
Min Height： 0.16 in./ 5cm
Length with legs folded：12.6 in./32cm
Net Weight： 3.08 lb./1.4kg
Load Capacity： 55 lb./25kg 
Screw Thread： 3/8″ 
Leg Angles： 30°、60°、90° 
Top Plate Diameter： 2.68 in./6.8cm 

Gadgets, Product Reviews

Fenix PD40R v3.0

Tactical lights with their multiple lighting modes have always been hamstrung by their control, usually having to resort to multiple clicks or one or two buttons to cycle modes and brightness. With the PD40R, Fenix developed a duty light whose controls are an intuitive selector ring, allowing the user to precisely dial in their desired brightness or set the flashlight into SOS and strobe.

The PD40R v3.0 steps up in run time and throw distance from the v2.0. Physically the PD40 is just a little bit larger than the PD30 at a little over 6″ long. It runs of a 5000mAh 21700 lithium battery. The PD40R has a USB-C charging port allowing the battery to be charged inside the flashlight (which is fortunate because none of my LiPO chargers is large enough to fit a 21700 battery).

The PD40R has a slightly crenelated crown to assist in breaking glass and as a pressure point when used a self-defense tool. Because of its control ring, the unit lacks a tail click button and thus easily tail stands. Fenix included a removable pocket clip though the unit is a bit oversized.

In my testing, I measured 2600 lumens from a freshly recharged battery, which is close enough to its stated 3000 lumen output that I consider my reading well within a margin of error. In addition, the PD40 lasted well past Fenix’s 2hr and 40min runtime in Turbo brightness; I stopped my test at 3hrs and 40min and it was still not exhausted.

The only disappointing aspect of the flashlight is its control ring. I prefer the PD40’s control ring system which is much more intuitive and precise than pressing button combinations. Fenix claims the ring has a hard stop at TURBO to prevent the user from accidentally activating the SOS or strobe function. But in my testing, I too often accidentally turned the unit past TURBO into SOS. I contacted Fenix about this and they were aware of the feedback.

Suggestions about the SOS mode in the ring control aside, the PD40Rs exceeded expectations for “professional” performance.

BUY

Get 10% off using code AF-MOONDOG
on Fenix LIghting website: https://alnk.to/9bugn8I

SPECS

Max Output: 3000 lumens

Max Throw: 500 m

Max Runtime: 89 hrs (low)

Modes: 6

Strobe Mode: 3000 lumens

Control: Rotary Switch

Length: 5.63” (143mm) 

Head: 1.34” (34mm) 

Body: 1.02” (26mm)

Weight: 6.98 oz. (198g) with battery

Charging Type: USB Type-C

Waterproof Rating: IP68