Skip to main content

Flipping through The Manual: Bluegrass belts, castles, alpine fly fishing gear

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.

Get your royal warrior fantasy on at Dromoland Castle

Get your royal warrior fantasy on at Dromoland Castle
Dromoland Castle Image used with permission by copyright holder

Every man dreams of his own castle, so if Ireland is your destination, Dromoland Castle is the place to stay.

Read the full story on The Manual

Blow your dinner guests away with homemade tortellini

Blow your dinner guests away with homemade tortellini
FPWing/Shutterstock Image used with permission by copyright holder

Are you looking to get into the cooking game? Check out this brief guide on how to make tortellini, courtesy of Bluehour’s Chef Kyo Koo.

Read the full story on The Manual

On your feet: Greats keeps the hits rolling with The Royale 2.0

On Your Feet: Greats keeps the hits rolling with The Royale 2.0
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Greats brand swapped out some lighter, more breathable materials for summer, and dressed their flagship shoe in smooth Italian leather. It’s an easy choice for summer kicks.

Read the full story on The Manual

Bluegrass Belts: Must have accessory

Bluegrass Belts: Must have accessory
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Bring a little bit of Kentucky’s equine culture into your wardrobe. You’ll wear this belt all the time!

Read the full story on The Manual

Pack it in: Alpine fly fishing

Pack it in: Alpine fly fishing
Kevin Cass/Shutterstock Image used with permission by copyright holder

We took some advice from some alpine fly fishing experts at a local fly shop in Salt Lake and headed for some high mountain lakes in the Uinta Range’s Naturalist Basin in search of monster rainbow and cutthroat trout recently, and found a paradise of glacier fed lakes and twelve-thousand foot peaks.

Read the full story on The Manual

Booze Tripper, St. Augustine: Where you should drink when on vacation

Booze Tripper, St. Augustine: Where you should drink when on vacation
Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re going to vacation in Florida, you should know where you’re going to drink before you leave. The St. Augustine Distillery has got you covered.

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

Read more
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.

Read more
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.

Read more