Product review: Link Laces No Tie Shoelaces - Elastic Shoe Laces

This my second set if shoelaces of this type. Turns out I like these better for two reasons.

(1) The opening through which one needs to thread the shoe laces opens wider on Link Laces and it took me no time to thread them through. In addition the tips of the shoelaces are stuff, so it easy to make them go through the hole. Because the threading mechanism is easy to work with you can reposition the round lock easily - how tight it is or which direction it faces (this is not the case with my old shoe laces).

(2) The second locking mechanism that holds the tips is small and it looks better and less noticeable. Note the tips lock is permanent, once you close it you cannot open it again. I wanted to make the tips shorter but turns out it was not possible. So to shorten the tips I just tied a knot to prevent the tips from hanging down (see video).

This shoe laces work well for anyone who has trouble bending or does not want to spend time lacing the shoes/sneakers/hiking boots. Before my bike accident that resulted in a back surgery that made less flexible my favorite footwear was hiking boots even when I was not hiking. Since my back surgeries I rarely wear my hiking boots because tying the shoe laces puts my back in a position that is not comfortable. With elastic shoe lace system I am back to wearing my hiking boots and other shoes that lace up. Elastic shoe laces stretch and allow me to just slip into the boots/shoes.

The laces do not hold my foot in the shoe as tightly as regular laces because they stretch. They are perfectly fine for walking around on flat surface. If I was hiking the boots would be too loose for me on uneven rocky surface. However, the target audience for this shoe laces is unlikely to need the type of lacing you would want while climbing a mountain so I don't think this is a problem.

To lace up the shoes for the first time:
♦ First you lace the boot with the elastic shoe laces like you would normally do
♦ Then you need to thread both ends through the round lock
♦ Next step is to tighten the laces to your liking and cut the laces 3" from the lock
♦ Finally, put the ends into the tips lock and close it. This lock cannot be opened, so be sure that the ends are not too long.

These shoe laces let me wear lace-up shoes again without hurting my back, so I am very pleased.

You can find them on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Electric Heated Booties for cold feet

I get cold feet in the winter. The kind of cold feet that are not just cold but hurt. If you get this condition you know what I mean. The pain is not possible to ignore, you need to do something to warm up the feet. I have been using rice socks (the kind you microwave for a couple of minutes), but was looking for another option that does not require me to repeatedly warm the socks up. I looked at a large number of options and all of them had fairly bad reviews, these booties were the best of the bunch and I decided to try them.

I have been using them for a month. They have pluses and minuses that I describe below. But they work!
 

 
I am attaching a collage of three photos. The first photo shows the booties out the box as they arrived (before I shaped them to my feet). The second two photos show them on my feet from a couple of different angles.

✔ The most important thing - they work. They stopped the pain and I don't keep to keep running somewhere to keep the booties warm.

✔ The booties have two cords: one cord plugs one of the booties into the electric outlet, the second cord connect the first bootie to the second. The first cord is 94 inches, the second cord is 22 inches. This is a fairly short leash. I had to re-arrange my power strips to be able to use the booties while I work at my desk.

✔ The booties are not meant for walking (according to instructions and the presence of a short cord), so even if I need to reach for something that is only 4-5 steps away I need to take them off.

✔ It takes about 10 minutes for the warmth to becomes strong enough to help the painful feet. I usually turn them on at first sign that my feet are going into that painful state. With my rice socks I get relief in 2 minutes (i.e. time to microwave). With these booties I need a bit more planning ahead.

✔ The controller has three settings off, high power, and medium power. I start out on high power for probably 30 minutes. Then it becomes too hot and uncomfortably warm at the high setting and I switch it to medium heat. Then I typically turn them off in another 30 minutes, while keeping them on until they totally cool off.

✔ The booties are made out of plastic. They arrive as two flat pieces of plastic, and initially are fairly stiff. However, after wearing them for a few days the plastic shapes itself to your feet and they become more comfortable.

✔ One size fits all means they are pretty big on my size 7.5 feet. Since I can't walk in them anyway, this is not a big deal.

✔ I wear them with regular socks on. The top of the booty can be closed with a tie, but I don't bother. This allows me to put them on and take them off quickly, and they keep the heat well enough without being closed.

✔ Unfortunately, according to instructions they cannot be worn at night in bed. If my feet feel bad at night I wear the booties for half an hour while I read before going to bed and then take them off.

The bottom line is that they booties work a lot better than they look. Once you shape them to your feet they not uncomfortable. If you suffer from painful cold feet and need something to keep your feet warm while you sit at the desk these booties are a good solution.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review

Product review: Luna Premium Hypoallergenic 100% Waterproof Mattress Protector

I always read reviews before my purchases and was a little concerned that a waterproof cover will make me hot when I sleep by reflecting the heat of the bodies back up rather than absorbing them into the mattress itself like the old cover. I am happy to report, however, that I don't feel any warmer using this mattress cover than when I used the old cover.

I am attaching a collage of five photos number 1 through 5 that I will be referencing in this review.

Photo #1 is a picture of the mattress off the mattress (loose on my table for the photo session) to shows the texture of the top side of the mattress cover. The top side of the mattress cover is made out of terry-cloth material.

Photo #2 is a picture of the mattress off the mattress to show the texture of the bottom side of the mattress cover. It has a shiny vinyl membrane. I tested it by pouring some water on it before putting on my bed and it held the water for several hours without leaking. The recommendation on cleaning is to use low or medium heat in the dryer to protect this membrane. After the initial washing and drying on medium heat I tested for leaks again and it remained waterproof. The mattress cover comes with a 10 year warranty for being leak proof.

Photo #3 is a picture of the mattress off the mattress to show the sheer sides of the mattress cover. You can see my hand through the sheer portion of the mattress cover, this part goes over the sides and under the mattress.

Photo #4 shows the cover on my 10" thick Queen size mattress a corner of the mattress lifted, so you can see how it fits. The cover is designed to fit mattresses from 7 inches to 18 inches high, the downside for a 10" Queen mattress that there is a lot of that gets fold under the mattress. The problem with this fit is that the cover does not fit on my mattress as tightly as I like.

Photo #5 this is how the mattress with the cover looks after I worked on tightening it as much as I can. The terry cloth cover is aligned with the sides of my mattress, the sheer sides of the cover go over the sides of the mattress (you can see the seam of the mattress through the sheer cover). You see that the sides of the mattress cover pucker due to lack of tightness.

The loose fit is the only thing I don't like about this mattress cover. With a tight sheet over it the puckers are minimized and I can live with it.

Update: I normally don't comment on the seller, but in this case I think it relevant to point out an outstanding attention to possible manufacturing defects shown by the seller. The manufacture of the Luna mattress pads contacted me about the loose fit and we spent about 40 minutes on the phone to make sure there was no manufacturing defect in the cover. We determined that the size of the mattress and the cover are within spec, and that the looseness is caused by the elastic band not contracting enough on my mattress to create a tighter fit. The representative suggested a possible solution: lifting one entire side of the mattress rather than each corner one at a time. The mattress is too heavy for me to lift the entire side, but perhaps this suggestion will help someone else.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: DBEST London PS4001BT Solo Bluetooth Rechargeable Mini-Speaker

This speaker was purchased to use with the Nexus 7 Tablet and Samsung Galaxy Nexus cell phone when the tablet or the phone are used for navigation. The built-in speakers in both devices produce very weak sound even at the maximum setting and cannot be heard well over the music when we are driving. This little speaker totally solved the problem.  The sound is excellent, we have the volume set at about 1/3 level and it is clear, crisp and loud.  It produces no distortions and the sound quality is good not only for voice but for music as well.

I am attaching a collage of three photos under customer photos number 1 through 3 that I will be referencing in this review.

1. Despite the large sound the speaker is quite small. Photo #2 shows it my hand.

2. The speaker has a small loop at the top, which can be used in many ways to hang the speaker in the car: from the mirror, from the GPS mount, or as shown in picture #1 from the hook on the side of the car.  This puts the speaker next to the driver's head and making the sound a bit louder to the person who is driving.
Photo #1 shows the loop clearly, photo #2 shows the speaker attached to the hook with two wire ties.

3. To pair the speaker with the device you need to turn the speaker on, then scan for blue-tooth devices on the your tablet/phone, when the speaker is found, all you have to do is select it. That's it.
Photo #3 shows Nexus 7 navigating while giving us instructions over the DBEST London mini speaker.

4. Works about 20 hours wireless (40 hours when plugged in)

5. Comes with a USB cable for recharging, no AC recharging cable. We purchased a USB plug so the speaker can be recharged at home from an AC outlet.

Small gotcha:

After a stop in driving, even when the speaker is left on, when we resume driving the blue-tooth pairing does not happen automatically. Turning the speaker on and off does not fix the problem.  We need to use to re-scan blue-tooth devices on the Android device to get the speaker connected again. It feels like a problem with the Android OS (running JellyBean OS in our case) rather the speaker.  However, compared to the great sound, no wires, and convenient options for hanging this is a relatively small annoyance.

This is the third speaker we auditioned for this job and we finally have a winner!
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Portable Travelchair Slacker Chair

 Perfect after a simple fix!

After several surgeries on my back I have trouble walking for a long time without sitting down to release the stress on my back by sitting down for a few minutes. I purchased this chair so I would be able to walk without having to worry that I would have no place to sit down.

This chair is almost perfect. It has only one major flaw. Both the flaw and the solution to the problem are detailed in the second half of the review.

My review will be referencing several photo collages. Each photo is numbered 1 through 7.

The chair turned out to be more comfortable and more stable than I imagined from the photos. I sit on it as I would sit on a bicycle seat (see photo #6). Imagine that the top part of the photo is the pointy end of the bicycle seat, so my butt is on the wide part and it feels pretty comfortable. Not armchair comfortable but not unpleasant.

The slacker chair is pretty light. Photo #4 shows it on the postal scale, and you can see that it comes in at 1 pound 14.1 oz. Photos #5 shows the construction of the seat. Photos #7 show the feet. The feet generate pretty good friction and don't slide.

The chair is 24" long when folded. and when I wrap my measuring tape around its width the  circumference is 7". When it is open, the seat is 17" from the ground. I am short and I find that height very comfortable. My husband thinks it is a little too short but not bad (he said it was like sitting on a toilet).

So now, the big flaw. What makes this chair valuable to me is the ability to carry it around. I need it to be very comfortable to carry around. However the strap is so short to comfortably carry it over my shoulder even for small person like myself. And what I really wanted is carry it like a sling across my back. I want it rests on my back and be totally out of the way. 

Photo 1 through 4 show my solutions to this problem.

The strap before alternations is 21.5 inches long. The distance before anchors for the strap is 19". So you get only a couple of inches of slack. This lack of slack is the problem. To fix this problem, I cut the strap (see photo #1) and extended it with a regular black strap you can buy any craft store.

The key to working with these straps is to singe the edges of them so they don't unravel. The strapping material does not burn, it melts. This forms a protective coating on the edges so you don't need to worry about them coming apart. Also it allows you to connected the two straps with minimum bulk, you don't need to fold them under. You see a close-up of the treated edge in photo #2.

After singing all 4 ends I connected the two straps with my sewing machine. I made the strap long enough to be comfortable for both myself and my husband, which required doubling its original size. I can make the strap shorter by feeding the access strapping material into the buckle. I also attached an extra Velcro strip in case I wanted to tuck away the dangling strap while I am sitting in a chair and not bother with the buckle.

With this simple fix the slacker chair is absolutely perfect! I can now take long walks like I did before my back problems.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Duro-Med Adjustable Multi-Color Small Base Quad Cane

Stability : Wide side away from the body

I purchased a small base quad cane after back surgery to help me walk up the stairs. If you need a cane for walking up the stairs it is very important to get the cane with a small base so all four legs will fit onto a step.

I was taught how to use this cane in a rehabilitation facility. The cane is unstable if you use it the wrong way. The four leg base is not symmetrical. On one side two legs are spaced a little close together, on the other side a little more wide apart. It is very important to have the wide part AWAY from the body. The base can be switched based on whether you want to use right handed or left handed. This positioning makes a huge difference.

When the cane came from the factory it was set for the wrong hand, and if I did not have my lesson on stability I probably would have used it as is and would have been unhappy with stability of the cane. I hope this helps someone else!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★