This Week in Gear: May 4, 2014

Vitamix S30
Are you single? Do you work out and/or enjoy cooking, have money to burn and live in an apartment? Vitamix’s new S30 has you in its laser-cut sights. Measuring 6″ x 9″ x 16″, the latest offering from the Cleveland-based blender masters is sized for the micro counters in your “walk-in” kitchen, and ships with a 20-oz double-insulated travel cup with a flop-top lid as well as a larger 40-oz container for protein shake binges smaller family meals. $400

Samsung Level Over
The Korean tech giant is finally trampling into the premium headphone market. The announced Level Over cable-free active noise canceling headphones are the premier offering in the newly revealed Level Audio line and designed to play particularly well with Galaxy device owners (surprise!) via a special app with detailed EQ controls. Other key features include Bluetooth lossless Apt-X or wired connectivity modes, active noise cancellation, 50mm Neodymium dynamic drivers, NFC, external touchpad controls and even an external mic on the outside to hear your S Voice voice commands — so you too can join the throngs of citizens talking to their phone. samsungtomorrow.com

Sony SLT-A77 II
Sony’s long-standing a77 enthusiast DSLR has been getting a bit long in the tooth — especially compared to their fresh alpha compact line and R-series point-and-shoots. The new a77 II packs an incredible 79-point autofocus system, 12fps shooting and a 24.3MP APS-C sensor in a more traditional DSLR-sized shooter. Videographers on the go, take note. $1,200

Uniqlo Men Cord Lane Slim Fit Jacket
The striped cord lane jacket is slim fit, half lined and priced to be sweat all the way through (or have Bloody Marys spilled on it) without feeling guilty. $50 (★)

Logitech Case + for iPhone System
This clever modular case system ships with a series of magnetic accessories that adds a smart cover/stand, wallet, car mounting capabilities and even 2300 mAh backup battery. Make sure you let your current case down gently. $199+

Postalco Reversible Post Buckle Belt
You matchy types can stop packing multiple belts and pick up Postalco’s reversible solution handmade in Japan from oiled leather. It’s styled to dress or up down and available in either light/dark brown or black/grey combinations, leaving you extra room for that copy of The Brothers Karamazov.$243

Legrand adorne Switch and Plate Collection
We’ve preached on the benefits of upgrading your light switch before. Legrand’s adorne collection includes a large variety of advanced electrical accessories like outlets with integrated USB ports and modern switches like the Wave Switch that can be turned off and on with just a flick of the hand. Get your screwdriver out and embrace your inner Copperfield. $5+

Flight Car
Think of Flight Car as the Airbnb of rental car services. Travelers leaving their vehicles in extended parking at airports gain free parking, a free car wash and the opportunity to earn cash if their vehicle gets rented out by others in their absence at up to $0.20 per mile. All renters are pre-screened and gain access to incredibly low rates as well as a free insurance policy up to $1 million. The service currently has over 15,000 members and is operating around Boston’s Logan Airpot, San Francisco Airport and LAX. Flightcar.com

HopBox Brewing Kits
So you just finished your first home-brew. Now your kitchen is sticky, with tubes, hoses, sponges, funnels and all manner of Walter White paraphernalia littering the floor. Besides the carboy full of homebrew, everything else is getting thrown in the closet for months until your next brew, where it can get moldy, damaged or lost. To solve this, founder Mike Langone designed each HopBox sleek brewing kit, made from locally source pine or cedar, to keep your brew equipment organized inside built-in drawers while your beer and bottles remain out in the open for friends to ogle. The kit comes with the all the equipment, ingredients and instructions you need to brew a batch of beer, from ales to IPAs to stouts. As of now, online sales have been suspended due to an upcoming Kickstarter campaign, but we’re guessing a donation there will still score you a new kit. hopbox.co

HiFiMan HE-560 Headphones
Reference-grade quality for less than a thousand bucks may sound like audio fantasy, but hobbyist favorite HiFiMan has done it with the HE-560s, a pair of high-performing cans designed around a unique proposition: outsize performance from dynamic planar magnetic components at an accessible price and load (a huge headphone amplifier isn’t necessary to enjoy these). The forums and enthusiasts are already chomping at the bit so get your pre-order in now. Then again, if you tend to lose yours all the time there are always these. $899

Rancourt & Co. Shell Cordovan Pinch Penny Loafers
Take a great shoe like a Rancourt & Co Penny Loafer, add better ingredients like Horween leather and lighten the profile by making it unlined and giving it a leather sole. Pretty much perfect in our book. Long live the penny loafer. Made to order (3-4 weeks for delivery). $595 (★)

The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’
When Kubrick made 2001: A Space Odyssey, he aimed to make the “the proverbial good science-fiction movie”. It has been loved, hated and discussed since its release, becoming arguably one of the most influential films of all time. This 1,386-page tome — of which only 1,500 will be released — includes four volumes inside a metal slipcase: film stills, unreleased behind-the-scene photographs and interviews, a copy of the script and a copy of the original 1965 production notes. Casual fans need not apply. $750

Gillette Fusion Proglide Flexball Manual Razor
Hear that? That’s the sound of 25,000 hairs on your face screaming in horror. Gillette’s newly launched FlexBall handle system, designed to work with existing Fusion blades, allows blades to maintain contact with the skin throughout a variety of positions, resulting in fewer “missed” hairs. Not a result of the flexball handle: cheaper razor blades. $10

Trident Iceni Sports Car
The ability to run for 2,000 miles on a single tank of gas is what you might expect from a nebbish hybrid with solar panels that hits a top speed of 1 mph. Nope. British automotive company Trident just unveiled the Iceni, which looks part Ferrari FF and part E-Type Jag and will hit 190 mph, looking classically Brit all the way. That’s some Earth-loving motoring we can get behind. tridentsportscars.com

Apple Macbook Air 2014
The best ultra light laptop on the market is now slightly faster and cheaper. The entry level editions of the 11- and 13-inch versions now come with an Intel Haswell 1.4GHz Core i5 chip (versus the old 1.3Ghz processor) and sell for a starting price that’s $100 less. Here’s to another year of crushed retina dreams. $899+

Bkon Craft Brewer
Can’t spare the six minutes to let your tea properly infuse? The Bkon Craft Brewer leverages the magical infusion capabilities of vacuum sealing to create the perfect cup of tea in roughly a minute. It’s also capable of creating craft cocktails and coffee. With an estimated price of $13,000, it won’t be on the kitchen counters of normal folks anytime soon — but it is already being used in select locations like Starbucks’s Teavana pilot store in NYC. bkonbrew.com(★)

HTC One M8 Harman Kardon Edition
Sprint has announced an exclusive new version of the HTC One M8 equipped with a few audio enhancements from Harmon Kardon, including Clari-Fi, which restores the dynamic range and quality of compressed music files, and LiveStage, which promises to bring a more lifelike listening experience to headphones. In addition to the tweaks, the device will boast a unique champagne and black exterior and ship with a pair of Harman/Kardon’s AE-S Premium in-ear headphones. Harmankardon.com

Topo Designs Trail Pack
Topo Design’s new minimalist pack proves less is more, replacing the army of straps and clips found on most technical bags with a simple adjustable aluminum hook and a cinch-top closure. It also includes a padded laptop sleeve and, yes, paracord accessory loops should you still feel compelled to tie more junk on. $98

Izola Catchalls
Every man needs a place for the debris in his pockets. Izola’s ceramic catchalls include words of wisdom from notable literary greats, including one of our favorites, Twain, helping you keep an eye on what’s important in more ways than one. $45 (★)

Rally Navigator Roadbooks
Roadbooks have guided racers on cross-country events like the Darkar Rally since long before the iPhone was born. Making them traditionally involves hiring professionals or buying expensive software. Rally Navigator is turning the model upside down, leveraging Google Maps to let drivers manually add waypoints and notes. Free and professional plans are available depending on your ambitions.rallynavigator (★)

Supreme x Brooks Brothers Seersucker Suit
Old school meets new summer cool in this special edition of Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald seersucker suit. The classic two tone includes a bolder star print lining courtesy of the team at Supreme as well as co-branding on the tag and arm. The collaboration is officially scheduled to hit New York, London and the internet on May 1st (and 3rd in Japan). Expect it on eBay three minutes later. $549+

Cocktail Kingdom Copper Collection Barware
Copper is the metal of choice for distilling many spirits, so why not continue the trend in the mixing process? Cocktail Kingdom’s Copper collection includes the usual suspects like the Moscow Mule mug as well as other barware staples. $15+ (★)

Brewseful
The cute chick with the naughty librarian look who pours hearts in your latte proves there’s an art to coffee; but there’s also science. Brewseful is a free app that times the brewing processes and can calculate the perfect ratio of grounds to water, helping you replicate the perfect cup again and again. Free

Gibson Memory Cable
You’ve mastered Don Felder’s Hotel California solo, but your buds at the bar don’t believe you. The Gibson memory cable features a built-in TASCAM audio recorder capable of recording up to 13 hours of “practice” via an SD card (without the need of being plugged into an amp), so you’ll never be called a liar again. Available May 15th. gibson.com (★)

Icon Airframe Statistic
Gaining the protection of a full-face bucket should be the first decision any motorcycle rider makes, and yet a good chunk of cyclists cling to “beanies” and half-shells. The new Icon Airframe Statistic was built to protect exactly where most major head traumas occur, in terms of percentage, in all motorcycle accidents combined. See that area around the jaw line there? Good luck with that beanie. $390

Carbonlite Tools
Don’t let your tools weigh you down. For a price, CarbonLite’s made-in-the-USA carbon fiber wrench set can provide all of the strength with less weight — while still including stainless steel teeth for grip for leverage. $150

Paperboy Wines
We don’t know much about this company other than the fact that they source their wine from Truett-hurst and VML Winery and that their bottles are 100% fully recyclable and 80 percent lighter than glass. Search it out and stop feeling guilty about your bottle-a-day habit. paperboywines.com (★)

Leica T System
Leica decided to celebrate its hundredth birthday by launching a brand spanking new 16MP APS-C-sensored camera system designed in collaboration with Audi. The unibody aluminum brick is hand polished for 45 minutes and is meant to sit in between the iconic camera maker’s M series and Lux offerings. Notable features include a new lens mount (which will accept M glass with an adaptor), built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and an app that gives smartphone users remote-control over the camera, including the ability to live view everything. Look for a silver version to hit shelves on May 26th and a black version to come in late July. $1,850+

James Perse Bath Towels
$165 (★)

Sony STR-DN1050 Receiver
The new king of Sony’s mid-range receiver line improves on the connectivity of last year’s generation, adding aptX and NFC support on top of Wi-Fi, AirPLay compatibility and Bluetooth. There’s also a new cleaned-up remote, a revamped UI for easier tweaking and enhanced second-zone support. $600

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