PYF Products and requests for Products!

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Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I need a backpack with two zippered areas, one of which has a padded slot for a laptop. The zippers need to not break after 1-2 years of use and ideally it'll have clips to secure across the torso. Any favorite backpacks along these lines?

# ¿ Jan 2, 2015 04:06

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 05:47

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

ddiddles posted:

I bought this for school, working out pretty well so far.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006HFJA12/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just had a Swiss Gear backpack but that's the one with the lovely zippers so I'm not gonna buy from them again. I went with the North Face Recon after the rec here and reddit's Buy It For Life forum.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2015 19:47

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Pron on VHS posted:

Any opinions or recommendations on the range of memory foam mattresses available from Amazon? Don't want to pay for the Tempurpedic brand and I've heard the ones on Amazon are great.

I bought this one earlier this year and it's been great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JJZ18PS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

# ¿ Apr 10, 2015 18:39

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Any recommendations for services for getting panoramic photos printed up nice a big (like, 4-6 feet wide)?

# ¿ Jul 4, 2015 03:50

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

visuvius posted:

Not really sure where else to ask this but might as well ask here.

Years ago I saw a small novelty item that I haven't seen again for years. If I remember correctly, it was a small box with some kind of mirror setup. You'd put a small item inside the box and that item would appear to be levitating on top of the box. To the eye, it looked like the item was hovering there.

Now, I either dreamed this thing up and it doesn't exist, or it does and I just can't find it. The only thing I can find is those magnetic levitating globe things that you put on your desk. What I'm remembering was different and I don't think it used magnets.

Does anyone have any idea what the hell I'm talking about?

Sounds like a mirascope kinda thing. No magnets, just curved mirrors to create a hologram.

# ¿ Aug 30, 2015 19:48

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Drogadon posted:

I have a Zojirushi Mr Bento that I use to take my lunch to work, it's awesome but I wish it had a couple more containers for morning and afternoon snacks. Does such a thing exist? Basically I want the same thing, but taller with at least two more containers.

Approximately how pinku/kawaii does it have to be.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2015 08:17

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Re: computer mice, I'll add that the Logitech M510 has a terrible scroll wheel that barely registers when you're scrolling at all. I've literally spun the wheel over and over to no effect, then when it finally "catches" the window will scroll maybe a few lines.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2015 04:53

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I simply braid my chest hair and wrap it around my torso, like normal

# ¿ May 25, 2016 23:18

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

PRADA SLUT posted:

Looking for books for children (preschoolish to grade schoolish) about women in STEM? Or, failing the women part, just story books for children about science or engineering or the like.

I've seen Ada Lovelace and the Thinking Machine and am looking for something along those lines, though could be for younger children as well: https://www.amazon.com/Ada-Byron-Lovelace-Thinking-Machine/dp/1939547202

Age-specific reading comprehension isn't that important, as they can be read by an adult like a storybook.

Rocket GIrl is the book version of a play that is a dramatized version of Mary Sherman Morgan's life and work on the chemistry behind manned space flight. Most of the chapters are written with lots of dialogue, as in a play, so it ends up being pretty breezy apart from the chemistry talk. It's probably more appropriate for tweens, to be honest, but give it a look.

# ¿ Aug 22, 2016 18:41

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I'm looking for headphones that have some degree of noise cancellation and are under $100. If they're wireless even better. These are for use at an office that can get a little noisy.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2016 22:35

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I'm... not sure.

Van Dis has a new favorite as of 23:02 on Mar 8, 2024

# ¿ Sep 13, 2016 23:10

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Taking suggestions for a soldering iron suitable for a beginner who wants to learn the basics of circuitry and do little LED projects like this:

# ¿ Nov 14, 2016 05:51

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

signalnoise posted:

Budget?

Inexpensive, but not dangerously so.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2016 07:04

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Lawen posted:

Weller or Hakko soldering irons are both really good. I limped along with a piece of poo poo $20 iron for a while but bought a Weller WES51 about a year ago and it was a huge improvement so if you can afford ~$90 for a iron you should go that route.

Edit: actually, I have the WESD51 but the WES51 is still a great choice. If that's too expensive though the Weller WLC100 is <$40 and will still be a big step up from the $20 irons that plug straight into the wall and don't have variable temp control.

Phthisis posted:

I have done a lot of soldering over the years, and the iron I own for personal use is a cheap $20 one. They're definitely fine if you know what you're doing but may not be so great for learning.

But in my opinion, far more important than the soldering iron itself is the solder you get. The lead-free solder is a million times harder to use than the leaded stuff. I've felt really bad for the people I've seen struggling to learn with lead-free solder.

Thanks for the tips. Is the thing to clean the soldering iron tip a necessity/good idea? This thing https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-599B-0...6FBS4NRJWW2SSCS

# ¿ Nov 16, 2016 05:57

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I'm looking for an indoor bike trainer, the kind where you use your own bike and just suspect the back wheel off the ground so you can train indoors. My criteria are:

1. Something that folds up compactly when I'm not using it
2. Easy to set up and take down
3. Under $100

# ¿ Jan 2, 2017 06:27

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

vxk5004 posted:

I'm looking for a new work bag, something along the lines of:

https://m.llbean.com/product.html?bc=50-516672-848&skCatId=86912&csp=f#86912

I like this one, but before I make a final decision are there any others out there in this price range? I like the roominess and pocket arrangement of this model.

I have a Tom Bihn that's great, but check out Moshi's bags too.

# ¿ Jun 13, 2017 19:27

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

queserasera posted:

Just in case this is a problem for anyone else, if you're trying to sleeve the card deck from your brand new Betrayal at House on the Hill board game, the magic words are French tarot-sized card sleeves.

Also, this is a really great game and if you're on the fence about it, you should get it.

That game rules for several reasons: 1) it's basically baby's first rpg so it's really easy to get into 2) a huge replayability factor 3) the game has two distinct halves which mean it has a built in break for a second round of drinks 4) it makes game board purists very mad. I love it, thanks for the tip about the card sleeves!

# ¿ Jan 3, 2018 19:25

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I need a pair of powered bookshelf speakers under $150. They're for a small living room.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2018 20:12

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Luggage! I've been using two leather duffels as carry-ons for a decade. I wanna upgrade to something with wheels. I don't want it to be hardshell and I travel light so I don't need it to burst at the limits of what airlines will allow you to put into the overhead bins.

# ¿ Aug 26, 2018 06:27

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

LUBE UP YOUR BUTT posted:

Hard shells are usually lighter but if it doesn�t matter then a Travelpro or a Briggs and Riley

Hmm. What hardshells do you recommend?

# ¿ Aug 27, 2018 23:28

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Alright you winter veterans, I'm about to experience my first snowy winter, of many to come. What are your best cold-weather gear and wintertime purchase recommendations (other than clothing)? I've got good coats and jackets, long underwear, beanies, scarves, and light gloves, but I need heavier gloves for dealing with snow, good pants, etc.

For reference, I'm coming from sunny, coastal California.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2019 01:49

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

experienceBeej posted:

Dewgy posted:

Humerus posted:

fralbjabar posted:

umalt posted:

Thank you, cold-weather friends. This is all valuable advice and I appreciate it.

Van Dis has a new favorite as of 19:57 on Dec 29, 2019

# ¿ Dec 29, 2019 19:51

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I would like your best recommendations for books about chess. Not books about how to improve one's chess game, which seem to be 99.99% of all books written on the subject, but books about the history, cultural impact, and legacy of the game. The biennial world championship of chess is coming up in late 2020, and 2018's tournament was fascinating, so I'd like to learn more about it.

# ¿ Dec 29, 2019 20:03

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I need an iPhone charging cable that's longer than the standard ones and that won't immediately start to fray.

I swear Apple makes these things weak on purpose.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2020 02:11

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Android Apocalypse posted:

I've been happy with the Belkin DuraTek cables.

Snowy posted:

I got the long version of this very hipsterish iPhone cord and it�s the most durable I�ve ever had. Free shipping now too

https://www.nativeunion.com/collections/charging-cables

E- This one specifically. I love it.

https://www.nativeunion.com/products/belt-cable-xl

Thanks yall.

# ¿ Apr 23, 2020 03:36

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I need a digital microscope with the following options:

-under $50
-720p resolution minimum
-50x mag minimum
-can plug into my mac so I can take pictures with it

Anyone got experience with these?

# ¿ May 10, 2020 00:00

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

Captain Invictus posted:

Well we're going to be doing some landscaping, and some of my tools are no longer functional or are old and rusty. I'm looking to get:

hand scythe
bushwhacker
maybe some sort of multitool if there's one of those for pruning/gardening

Anyone have good recommendations for those? there's roughly a billion options on amazon.

For pruning you want Felco tools. I use their hand shears and loppers for branch trimming. Best I've ever owned and consistently a favorite of professional gardeners.

# ¿ May 23, 2021 02:48

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I. M. Gei posted:

Yo does anyone know where I can get a good green laser pointer? I need something bright as gently caress that can point at stuff outdoors from a long distance.

I need this thing for work. My boss has one and told me nothing about where he got it from except that it was a "tactical store".

Get an astronomy laser and make sure you never point it at aircraft.

https://www.laserglow.com/product/lyra-green-laser-pointer
https://www.telescope.com/Orion/Orion-SkyLine-Deluxe-Green-Laser-Pointer/rc/2160/p/5673.uts
https://biglasers.com/product/core-5mw-green-laser-pointer/

# ¿ Oct 9, 2022 04:07

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# ¿ May 2, 2024 05:47

Van Dis: Jun 19, 2004

I. M. Gei posted:

These might work, although the one my boss had was more rugged-looking; it looked a little bit like a mini flashlight. Something like this:

My job is in landscaping and I need to use this thing to point at tree branches. I need the laser to be visible from at least 50 to 100 feet away, and if at all possible I also need it to be non-burning.

EDIT: This looks a lot closer to what my boss has.

That one will definitely suffice for your needs, plus it's rechargeable which is nice

# ¿ Oct 10, 2022 02:18

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