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Flipping through The Manual: Homemade cider, hangover prevention, a fly wallet

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.

How to make homemade cider

How to make homemade cider
Deyan Georgiev/Shutterstock

Looking to make your own booze, but don’t want to spend a boatload of cash on brewing equipment? Make some cider. It’s drastically easier to make than beer, yet the brewing process still allows for just as much creativity and expression.

Read the full story on The Manual

How to prevent an unholy hangover this St. Patrick’s Day

How to prevent an unholy hangover this St. Patrick’s Day
Brandon Bourdages/Shutterstock

A pot of gold is infinitely better than a pot of porcelain. Read this guide to learn how to prevent a hangover this St. Patrick’s Day.

Read the full story on The Manual

Trekking: The Fly Wallet lets you stash your flies with style

Trekking: The Fly Wallet lets you stash your flies with style
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Few recreational sports offer the kind of natural serenity fly fishing affords. Crafted of high-grade leather and wool, the Fly Wallet allows you to store up to 16 flies of your choice, whether you opt for your own or a curated package.

Read the full story on The Manual

On Your Feet: Todd Snyder drops classic shoes with Cole Haan

On Your Feet: Todd Snyder drops classic shoes with Cole Haan
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Cole Haan is known for producing shoes with unique flair and great color blocking, but even we weren’t prepared for the might of their new collection with legendary designer Todd Snyder.

Read the full story on The Manual

Feel Good Friday: Greenlight Planet

Feel Good Friday: Greenlight Planet
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Greenlight Planet’s solar-powered Sun King lanterns have provided sustainable light to more than 7.5 million users in rural India and Africa.

Read the full story on The Manual

The Manual Wind: Parmigiani Ovale Pantographe

The Manual Wind: Parmigiani Ovale Pantographe
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Sandoz Collection is one of the most famous and historic antique watch collections of all time. Parmigiani has taken one of its most iconic pieces as inspiration to engineer its latest masterpiece; The Parmigiani Ovale Pantographe.

Read the full story on The Manual

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