Flipping through the Manual: Fresh flasks, cold-brew coffee, tools you can wear

By Brandon Widder September 5, 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.

Kole: A fresh new take on flask design

Kole Flask — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Kole flask is a complete departure from the tired old hip flask design. Instead of the curved but not-quite-pocket-friendly form that you’re used to seeing, Kole is boldly and unapologetically cylindrical.

Read the full story on The Manual

Upgrade your breakfast: Make sausage at home

Daniel Peter Ronneberg/Shutterstock — Daniel Peter Ronneberg/Shutterstock Image used with permission by copyright holder

Sausages are always good, and knowing how to make sausage yourself is a glorious power. Wield it responsibly.

Read the full story on The Manual

Cold Brew Kitchen: A one-stop coffee shop

Cold Brew 2 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Oregon-based Cold Brew Kitchen offers everything you need for cold brewed coffee.

Read the full story on The Manual

Micro Guide: Tel Aviv

Dance60/Shutterstock — Dance60/Shutterstock Image used with permission by copyright holder

Lose yourself in this Middle Eastern city with its vibrant, beachside setting.

Read the full story on The Manual

Alpha Industries teams up with Ben Sherman on bomber jacket collaboration

Sherman 2 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Heritage outerwear brand Alpha Industries has teamed up with Ben Sherman to re-create the MA-1 Bomber Flight Jacket.

Read the full story on The Manual

Meet the Leatherman Tread, the wearable toolbox for your wrist

Leatherman Tread — Image used with permission by copyright holder

High-tech smartwatches and connected wearables might currently be all the rage, but the Leatherman Tread affords your wrist some physical functionality you simply can’t find elsewhere. It offers a total of 29 tools, ranging from bottle openers to hexes.

Read the full story on The Manual

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Brandon Widder is a multimedia journalist and a staff writer for Digital Trends where he covers technology news, how-to…

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.