Product review: Melophy 50ft Expandable Garden Hose

I have been using flexible hoses for several summers: I use one to wash the car, another for watering the garden. They are great to work with - they are light and when empty become very short.  However they are more fragile than regular hoses, so you cannot treat them the same as a regular garden hose.

Here are a few things I learned: you cannot leave them in the sun when not in use, you can not drag and pull them like you would a regular hose, you cannot step on them when they are full with water. It is best not to hang them to store (this puts pressure on the internal hose).  I store them curled up in a bucket and bring it into the cool basement when they are not in use.  When I use a hose I lay it out in the direction of where I want to use it, fill the water and then stretch it out as needed. I have strong water pressure, so when I use the flex hose I do not put the water pressure all the way up.  I use it at a half force setting.

This hose has brass connectors which give me good no leak connections. Also included in the package is a sprayer.  The sprayer has all plastic construction. You can see all settings in the attached video.

Yes, this hose requires extra care but I really like that it is so light which makes it easier on my bad back.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Beinhome Solar Garden Lights

These lights are very pretty during the night.  They change in rainbow of colors and the prisms in the ball make the colors look very attractive.  During the day they do not look as attractive as some of the other solar lights I had because they are made out of plastic not glass, and the plastic is one color - it is transparent.


The lights glow as lovely lawn ornament at night, but don't count on them to provide any light. They are not bright enough to light a path, they are decorative lights.  I hope the video gives you a better idea what to expect.

Installing the light took about 10 seconds.  All I had to do is attach the ball to the stake and assemble the two parts of the pole.  Be careful inserting the poles into the ground, they look metal but really are made out of plastic and one of them broke at the seam where two parts of the stake are inserted into each other when I pushed into the ground.

The battery came per-charged, so it was nice to be able to see how the lights look with the lights on right away. These garden lights are photo sensitive, they only come on when it is dark outside. Under the solar light there is a switch, which you need to flick on when you want the lights to start working.  The switch moves left to right and is marked "on/off". The light runs on AA 600 NI-MH and recharged by a solar recharger.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

Product review: ZAKOO Bone Conduction Sunglasses Wireless Bluetooth Glasses Headset Headphone Sport Earphone

This is my first set of bone conducting headphones. If you are the type of person that does not like earphones in your ears like my husband this is a good solution.  You can hear the sound in a similar way as if you had the ear buds in your ears.  However, you also hear all the other sounds.  Which is great if you are using the headphone and want to hear the other sounds for safety reasons (say, running or exercising outdoors). However, if you are listening to the music in the office to suppress noise and chatter they don't work because your ears are not blocked.  The package includes ear plugs for that reason but I suspect people who are interested this type of headphones do not want to use ear plugs.

This earphones work by conducting sound through the bones in your skull.  This means the sunglasses has to be pretty tight in your face so the silicone circles  press against your face. The sunglasses are a pretty good fit on me, and I did not need any adjustments. They fit tightly but not uncomfortably.  The sound quality is not as good as really good earphones, but I found them acceptable for background music and audio books.

The sunglasses have one light indicator.  When it is green the earphone is fully charged, when it is red it is not fully charged.  Pressing the on/off button for give seconds seconds puts the unit into pairing mode, and the light starts flickering in alternating red and green color.  Searching for Bluetooth devices I was able to see Vision 5B and connect with the earphones.  If you can't seem to switch to these earphones check if the battery is low, once I fully charged the sunglasses I could easily pair and switch to the headphone by pressing the on/off button for 2 seconds.

The sunglasses come with three removable lenses including plain no color lenses. I was able to use the earphones as background music while I work for 7 hours.

The sound quality is not as good as high quality earphones, and it also depends on how well the sunglasses fit your face.  Both the volume and the sound quality are effected.  

For people who listen to music while jog or bike these headphones offer greater safety and convenience that traditional earphones.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product Review: iHuniu IHN10157 Precision Screwdriver Set

This tool kit really shines especially in comparison to my old tool kit. I hoped to find a tool kit that is better in two areas where the old tool kit falls shot and iHuniu does:

1) iHuniu case holds all tool tips well. Even if I turn the case upside down or shake it every tip stays in its slot. My old took kit case does not hold the tips well, sometimes when the case is tipped during storage the tips fall out so I have to put tips back into their slots. Not with iHuniu!

2) Every tip in iHuniu kit is labeled with an engraved size so you know exactly what each tip is. Common sense, right? But not all tool kits label tips. My old tool tips have no labels so by now I am not sure what each tip is, I just have to eye ball their size.

The tools are machined well - every tip has nice clean edges.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: CORKAS Can Opener, the Smooth Edge Can Opener

There is a trick to using the smooth can openers,  They need to latch on the edge of the can.  To achieve this trick one has to first turn the handle counter clockwise to open a space between the rotating head and the body of the can opening,  and then once it is attached to the can rotate the can opener clockwise to cut the lid.

However, even knowing the trick and having used a smooth can opener before I was not able to open using this can opener. I was able to latch on to the can (for example, I was able to lift it by just holding the edge in the can opener), yet I was not able to make a cut that went through the lid.  This can opener is made in China and it is possible that Chinese cans have slightly more shallow edges, but it appeared to me that the blade just did not drop low enough even though I spent a good amount of time trying to make it work.

I was able to open the can with a regular non-smooth can opener, so there is nothing odd about the can. 

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review

Product review: Haber Turkish Bath Towel, 100% cotton

I am very fond to Turkish towels in the kitchen and had owned them for years.  This is the first time I purchased a Turkish bath towel and I am very pleased with it.  It is made out of high quality cotton (100% cotton, made in India), it is very absorbent, and works great especially on my hair.  It is very soft to touch but does not have loops like a regular bath towel, so it is much lighter and thinner.  By now I washed it three times and it seems it becomes even softer with each wash.

I got the red color, I tested it for color fastness and it is slightly not color fast, the water became slightly pink. After tree washes I no longer see any color change in the water. I use cold water in my washing machine.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: NAKZEN Golden Women Watch

Nakzen lady's watch is really attractive: good size, nice looking band, easy to read time and it shows the day of the month.

The band is made out stainless steel, the finished is brushed, and it is gold in color.  It is water resistant for rain, but not for being immersed in water.  The band is 8 3/8", and has removable links to adjust the size.  The face is 1 1/8" wide, it is a nice size making the watch easy to read without looking large on my hand.

A nice bonus was that it came with correct time and date already set.  If you need to adjust time or date, the knob has to setting: the first clicks allows you to adjust the date, the second click (i.e. all the way out) allows you to adjust the time.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★