Product review: PINGORA 2016 Men's Winter Ultralight Packable Down Jacket Coat

This is super light and thin down jacket. It is best for the shoulder season. In New Englad I suspect it will not be warm enough for mid winter freeze - but just right for late fall and early winter. 

The sizing is tricky. The drop down sizes are Chinese sizes, not American sizes.  Chinese sizes are significantly smaller than American.  The help with measurements the seller provides a table under stock photos which show the sizes with measurements in inches so one can figure which size to order.  The jacket I got matches the measurements in the table within 1/2".

For its lightness and thinnest it is very warm. The jacket has two side pockets and one chest pocket.  I am quite pleased with it.  It is made out of 90% down, and 10% feathers.

This jacket is provided by Pingora no cost for testing the size and fit in American marketplace.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: LABEN Classic Key Chain - Simple, Elegant, Durable Multi-ring Keychain (Chrome Silver)

This key chain looks good, feels solid but is not too heavy. This key chain is made out of zinc alloy and has three rings.  The key ring feels like a high quality key ring.  The key chain is 3" long and it weighs 1.2 oz.  The carabiner opening is large enough that I can hang it on my purse, in the car, on my backpack and so forth.

These key chains are provided by Laben for evaluation with a request for a review as part of a new product introduction. This is a nice high quality key ring.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: DoSmart Women's Wool Blend Colorful Winter

I would describe these socks as thin wool socks.  They will work well in early spring, late fall and winter (on days when it is not super cold). Their tops are about 3" above my ankle and this is the height of the socks I prefer unless it is really freezing outside. But since these are thin wool socks I am unlikely to wear them when I am freezing.  The socks are made out of a blend of yarns - 30% Merino Wool, 25% Terylene,28% Polyester, 9% Cotton, 8% Spandex. The socks reach 3" above the ankle.  I would describe as them as think wool stock.

I have small feet (shoe size 7.5) and these socks fit me very well - the heel is in the right place.

In my photos I show the socks inside out so you can see the construction. These socks look very neat, they have low flat seams and no bulges at the toes. I hand washed them to see if they are colorfast and they are.

I was happy to see that the socks were not stapled together for shipping.  They are kept together just by a paper label. Perfect!

These socks are provided by DoSmart for evaluation with a request for a review as part of a new product introduction. I like how the socks look and they are true to size. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: EBMORE Women's Bowknot Screen touch Outdoor Thick Cold Weather Winter Gloves

These gloves come in several colors and selected the black ones.  These are simple and casual gloves.  Something I wear every day during a commute to work.   They provide some warmth but not super warm to be outside in very cold  weather. They are made out of cotton and PU Leather.  PU leather is man-made leather which commonly used in bags and gloves.  This material feels similar to real leather but is cheaper.

I have small hands (normally wear small size gloves).  These gloves fit me snugly.  The palm circumference is 6.5", total length is 9", and the length of the middle finger is 3.25".  Note that my measurements are slightly different from Amazon description.  I measured several times to be sure my measurements are accurate.

These gloves are provided by Ebmore for evaluation with a request for a review as part of a new product introduction.  This is casual gloves for every day use.  They fit small hands.  If you wear medium you are likely to think they are too tight.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Car Vacuum Cleaner by Hikeren

This vacuum is 14.5" long. Despite being small and light tt works better than my cordless vac (although not as well as a large corded vacuum).  It has a very long cord (170") so I can clean the trunk without moving the plug.  The bac picked up sand, small twigs, and small stones.  It does not do well picking up dry leaves because they are too big to be sucked into it. 

This vac comes with several attachments: the crevice nozzle, a brush brush and a hose. All three attachments as well as the vac itself fit into the carrying case that came in the package.

I found the filter a little difficult to remove. I had to pull the edge and I thought I was going to break it as it resist me. The clip that holds the dust compartment feels a bit fragile, but so far no problems.

I received this vacuum for testing and review. I included pluses and minuses of my experience, and I hope the video gives you a good idea of what to expect.  Despite being light and small it does a reasonable job.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: aurAscend Company Foldable Collapsible Fabric Storage Bin Cube with Lid

This listing is for a set of two storage boxes of the same size. These storage boxes are made out of light weight non-woven fabric with cardboard inserts that make the sides and the bottom stiff.  These material makes the box light weight but it cannot hold anything heavy.  I am using the boxes to organize knitting supplies. The boxes work very well, the only thing I wish they had was a place to hold a label where I can identify what is inside of the box.  I am using sticky labels, but if it had a built-in label holder it would have been better.

Each box is 10.5"L x 11"W x 11.5"H.

The box collapsed as an accordion when not in use, and when it is used a hard carton border keeps the sides upright. Each box has a removable cover.

I received these storage boxes for evaluation and review.  Bottom line: these boxes are not meant to be heavy duty storage boxes, but they work very well for light items such as socks or crafts.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: TSS Men's T8030PC2 Automatic Skeleton Moonphase Watch with Leather Band

This is a beautiful mechanical watch. It has one thing I do not like. In order to advance the date of the months and the day of the week you need to use a pointy tool (like jeweler's pointy screw driver or a ball point pen). Since this is a mechanical watch you need to advance the day of the month every other month to skip 31. It would be so much better if these were buttons and did not require a tool!

The TSS mechanical watch look very neat because you can see the mechanical movement both from the front and hte back. In addition to the main dial it has three small dials:
' Top: 24 hour clock and the moon phase
The Lunar month s 29.5 days so the year goes on the lunar phase on the watch will get a little less accurate. As of July it is still pretty good, the new moon for my area is Aug 2 and as I write this review I see a tiny sliver as we within a few days on new moon.
' Left: Day of the week
' Right: Day of the month

The band is made out of real leather and fit wrists from 6.75" (first hole) to 8.5" (last hole).

The watch runs on a combination of manual winding and self winding from the arm swinging. On one full manual rewind (plus whatever little help the watch gets from self-winding) the watch ran for three days before it stopped. This experiment was repeated several times and was pretty consistent. My husband has a desk job, so he does not move his arm too much. Someone who does a lot of activity during the day will get more benefit from self-winding.

Some watches with black faces are hard to read due to low contrast between the arms and the background, however this watch has white arms and the constrast is excellent.

The watch comes in attractive box with a pillow and the package also included a gift bag, so this watch works well for gift giving.

I received this watch for evaluation and review. Getting a sample does effect what I say. I have a history of leaving critical reviews when the product deserves it. Overall, this is a very attractive mechanical watch.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆