Skip to main content

Flipping through The Manual: Pumpkin beer, heritage jeans, an Ikea-style kayak

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.

The ambitious More Than Just Parks film project

The-ambitious-'More-Than-Just-Parks'-film-project_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

To capture the majesty of our national parks, filmmaking brothers Will and Jim Pattiz of Sea Raven Media have embarked on the ambitious More Than Just Parks film project. Their goal is to make 59 short films — one for each American national park.

Read the full story on The Manual

Marc Nelson Denim is your new must-have jean

Marc-Nelson-Denim-is-your-new-must-have-jean_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“For us, being authentic American makers celebrates the eclectic heritage of denim and the craftsmen who came before us.”

Read the full story on The Manual

Man School 101: Hiking to an overnight camp

Man-School-101--Hiking-to-an-overnight-camp_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Today we’re going to have a little primer for the first time (or amateur, at any rate) backwoods camper.

Read the full story on The Manual

The best pumpkin beers of 2015

The-best-pumpkin-beers-of-2015_
MaxyM/Shutterstock

It’s that time of year again. Pumpkin-flavored beers are everywhere right now, so we’ve taken the liberty of rounding them up and giving them all a taste test, and now we’re here to let you know which ones to sip and which ones to skip.

(p: MaxyM/Shutterstock)

Read the full story on The Manual

Beard Balm, proudly made in Detroit

Beard-Balm,-proudly-made-in-Detroit_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

This mix of grape seed oil, coconut oil, lanolin, beeswax, lemon oil, eucalyptus oil, and geranium oil prevents split ends, conditions, and makes your beard shine.

Read the full story on The Manual

Trekking: The O Six Hundred kayak takes a cue from IKEA

Trekking--The-O-Six-Hundred-kayak-takes-a-cue-from-IKEA_
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Kayaks can be unwieldy. Composed of Kevlar and 42 individual ribs, the O Six Hundred weighs a little more than 22 pounds and capitalizes on an Inuit design more than 4,000 years in the making. You can even assemble it without tools.

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…
How to use external storage with an iPhone or iPad
External Devices with iOS

While cloud storage has made things a bit less troublesome, most people will eventually max out the available space on their iPad or iPhone. From games and apps to music and more, there are thousands of files vying for your SSD — and even if you pick up a model with a 1TB SSD, there's a good chance that years of use will consume every last byte of space you had available.

Read more
PS4 vs. PS5: which console should you buy in 2024?
PlayStation 5 controller and PS5.

PlayStation 5 has been available for several years now, and it's easier than ever to find it in stock at retailers. The new-gen hardware makes big upgrades over its predecessor, letting gamers enjoy better graphics, shorter loading times, and support for the fancy DualSense controller. It's also much more expensive than PS4, so while PS5 is better than PS4 in most regards, it might not be ideal for frugal shoppers.

But is PS4 or PS5 the better choice in 2024? Does the aging PS4 really make sense to purchase right now, or should you opt for the PS5? From pricing and available games to storage and resolution, here's a closer look at these two popular consoles.
PS5 vs. PS4 vs. PS4 Pro specs
Even a cursory glance at the specs of the PS5 shows that it’s in a different league than the PS4 (and even the PS4 Pro). Sony has improved the capabilities of its platform in every way, adding more efficient storage, faster compute parts, support for larger capacity disks, and support for higher resolutions. We know there are two versions of the PS5 -- the Standard Edition and Digital Edition -- both of which will offer the same specs (with the exception of the omission of a disc drive with the Digital Edition).

Read more
The best PC fans
Corsair ML120 Fans

Although often overlooked, cooling is one of the most important aspects of building a computer. You want a beefy CPU cooler — or an all-in-one liquid cooler — but you should pay attention to the general airflow in your case, too. To make sure everything moves along as smoothly as possible, we've rounded up the best PC fans for your build. 

Here are our favorite PC fans for 2024.

Read more