Flipping through The Manual: Epic hammocks, road trips and surf tips

By Digital Trends Staff August 15, 2015

Burned out on apps, keys and screens? Improve your analog life this weekend! Digital Trends’ brother site The Manual exists to give men straight-up advice, from unspoken suit rules you need to know, to the latest in fashion, food, drink, travel, grooming and culture. Here are a few of our favorite stories to appear on The Manual lately.

Hammocks to help you and Mother Nature take a load off

Hammocks to help you and Mother Nature take a load off — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Eagles Nest Outfitters (ENO) has released special edition hammocks that aren’t just comfortable, but also helpful to the environment.

Read the full story on The Manual

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep

Wild Turkey Master's Keep — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Master Distillers Jimmy and Eddie Russell bring you Wild Turkey Master’s Keep. It’s a 17 year old bottle of bourbon that is full of surprises.

Read the full story on The Manual

Harry’s and Thom Browne are a match made in fancy shaving heaven

Harry’s and Thom Browne are a match made in fancy shaving heaven — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Your face deserves this.

Read the full story on The Manual

Askov Finlayson opens flagship location

Askov Finlayson opens flagship location — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Additionally, the store will feature Warby Parker at Askov Finlayson.

Read the full story on The Manual

Road trip America: 3 of the best scenic drives in the U.S.

Road trip America: 3 of the best scenic drives in the U.S. — Tom Reichner/Shutterstock Image used with permission by copyright holder

From Hawaii to the Florida Keys, the United States is home to many stunning, though lesser-known, scenic drives. Here are just three of our favorites.

Read the full story on The Manual

Six surf tips from champion surfer Rusty Miller

Six surf tips from champion surfer Rusty Miller — Rusty Miller Surf/Facebook Image used with permission by copyright holder

The champion surfer and Byron Bay, Australia-based surf instructor discusses the basics of the sport.

Read the full story on The Manual

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Digital Trends Staff

Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…

Smart Home

The 4 best smart thermostats in 2024

A person operating the Google Nest thermostat.

A lot of folks may feel that a smart thermostat device is just a gimmick for the lazy that lets you control it remotely, but there are actually quite a lot of good things when it comes to smart thermostats. Depending on which model you buy and how much money you spend, there can be some significant savings, especially if you spring for the kind that learns your patterns and adjusts the temperature to eat up less electricity. Some thermostats even know what time of day electricity is expensive and adjust to use less of it to help bring your costs down.

As such, if you rely heavily on your HVAC, then having a smart thermostat can save you money and add a ton of convenience, even if you don't go for one of the smarter ones. Just knowing your energy usage over time can help you adjust and spend less money while also being a bit more eco-friendly. While there are a ton of options, we've collected four of our favorites below across various budgets and features, so be sure to check things out thoroughly and be sure a smart thermostat supports your HVAC system before taking the plunge.
The Best Smart Thermostats in 2024

Gaming

The best open-world games

The Witcher 3-Wild Hunt

Just like you probably enjoy getting to choose your own path in real life, you want to have the same freedom in your favorite video game. Open-world games like The Division 2 have only continued to grow in popularity since their release.

While this genre of gaming can be a little intimidating for anyone without tons of experience in gaming, there are plenty of great open-world games to chose from. Ranging from first-person shooter games to RPGs and action-adventure titles, our list will have something for everyone.

Audio / Video

What is HDR TV? High dynamic range and why you need it

A Sony Bravia A80K 4K TV sits on a table in front of a large window.

HDR, or High Dynamic Range, is a TV spec you've undoubtedly seen in your TV's settings or while shopping for a new TV, and we're willing to bet that if you're here, you're wondering what the heck HDR is. HDR can be found in pretty much all of today's best TVs, from 8K to 4K to HDTVs, and in TVs across a wide range of price points -- HDR has become standard in most new mid-range and high-end televisions.

But what is it? When viewing TV, movies, video games, sports, or other content displayed in HDR, an HDR-capable TV will deliver extra-brilliant brightness levels, ultra-rich colors, an expanded color palette, and higher contrast.