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Flipping through The Manual: Custom knives, cozy jackets, a collapsible helmet

Burned out on apps, keyboards, 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.

Fall style: Discount shirt jackets to help you stay warm yet cool

Wool 2
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Most shirts are unsuited for brisk weather, yet so are heavy jackets. To help you find some of the best shirt jackets out there, we thought we’d share several on-sale items from Huckberry’s Fall Shirt Shop. Coupon code included.

Read the full story on The Manual

Bespoke catering with Riviera Caterers CEO Andrew Cavitolo

Riviera
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When Andrew Cavitolo, CEO of Riviera Caterers, joined his family’s fourth generation New York City company, he knew he was going to change the game. Thanks to his lead, Riviera now works closely with customers to develop an events blend bespoke design aesthetics with high-quality cuisine.

Read the full story on The Manual

Feasting: Fall’s best pumpkin recipes from chef Joel Gamoran

Pumpkin 2
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Fall’s in full swing, and nothing knows it better than our kitchens. Chef Joel Gamoran of Sur La Table shares his best pumpkin recipes of the season.

Read the full story on The Manual

The Closca Fuga can save your life… and fit in your bag

Closca 4
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Foldable helmets rarely meet the standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Thankfully, the Closca Fuga does so within a collapsible frame that measures a mere 2.36 inches in height when pressed down for storage.

Read the full story on The Manual

Custom knives by Middleton Made Knives

Middleton 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you know how important it is to have a well made chef knife. Explore hand-crafted, custom knives by Middleton Made Knives made in Charleston, South Carolina by master bladesmith Quintin Middleton.

Read the full story on The Manual

Six candles that smell like autumn

Ursa 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Falll is glorious, especially considering the smell of the season. Whether you want to enhance nature’s olfactive bounty or like to infuse your home with a reminder of the changing colors outside, light a match and light these suckers up.

Read the full story on The Manual

Dan Gaul
Dan Gaul is the co-founder and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) for Digital Trends Media Group, a Portland, Oregon-based…
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

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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.

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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.

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