Cool Pixel 2 pixels: Three Years Later

The pic is definitely not great but hey - I couldn't take it with my Pixel 2! To see some of my Pixel 2 photos, see this link

Tons of photos and three years later - my initial review from 2018 here - my Pixel 2 is still doing really well and I do intend to keep using the '2', even though there are now some issues that do worry me a bit.

During these three years, the Pixel 2 has been in steady daily use and I have also carried it in the front pocket of my kayaking PFD vest on many paddling tours. Close contact with water spray and waves has been frequent and, so far, I haven't had any problems. There is one thing to be aware of, however: when the (USB-C) charging port gets wet, you can't charge the phone - any phone! - until the port is completely dry. These days I always use a tiny piece of Gorilla tape to keep the charging port out of the harm's way and it works just fine.

One of the main advantages with Pixel phones is that you get software updates immediately when Google releases them; this applies both to security patches and Android updates. Unfortunately, after these three years, the Pixel 2 will not get any additional updates in the future and that's a bummer for sure, considering that my phone is still in (close to) top shape. The software updates have been really great; one of my main gripes early on, the auto screen brightness trouble, got fixed quickly and after that it's been perfect.

Pixel 2 was the first showcase phone for amazing computational photography - especially in low light situations. There was also a great bonus: I have been able to automagically upload all my photos and videos to GooglePhotos in full original quality. Soon, this will come to an end but unlimited 'high quality' - which will be the deal for me, as a Pixel 2 owner, later on - is pretty good as well. 

Perhaps the only thing that really worries me now is the battery. Today, I still get decent battery life during summer months but when the temperature drops way below freezing - which is normal for the Nordic winter - the battery just quits when I take the phone out of my down jacket pocket. Replacing the battery can be done, by pro service providers, but it's pricey and I doubt that the water resistance afterwards will be anywhere as good as it's been from the beginning.

I sure like my Pixel 2 and one of the big(!) gripes I have with most new phones - including Pixel phones - is the (huge) size. I do not want a bigger phone! Actually, I don't want a new one at all; my Pixel 2 still does everything I need perfectly well. If only I could fix that battery... 

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Tons of tonic!

Sure, this might be pushing it a bit but.. Hey, I do like a good gin tonic! A lot. The fact that all the tonic goodness pictured above - from SwedishTonic - ended up on our kitchen table is interesting and there's definitely a back story to it..

The tonic produced by the folks at Swedish Tonic in Stockholm is different; those guys are dead serious about their tonic and the (yup, pricy) liquid is apparently hand made from scratch - no artificial flavors whatsoever. Their tonic also has this really neat amber glow since that's what you get if you use 'real Chinchona Bark'. Anyway, that's what they say and I choose to believe them.

I'm not sure where I heard about SwedishTonic the first time but I have bought their tonic syrup several times now; I prefer mixing the tonic with sparkling water - from our Soda Stream, works great - myself, instead of buying their bottled tonic (which is also good).

So, earlier this winter I noticed that Systembolaget - the state liquor store in Sweden - would soon get the special Christmas glögg from SwedishTonic, spiced with gin of course. I made my move quickly and reserved two bottles right away. They were not cheap, by the way.

Then came Christmas time, and also time to sample some very special glögg! Me and my wife opened the beautiful bottle, took a little sip, looked at each other slightly puzzled, took another one - and we were done. Not tasty; somehow bitter and almost perfumelike aftertaste. I wasn't happy, partly because there was one more bottle in the cellar.

I had been in touch with the SweTnc folks before so I decided to shoot them an email with some feedback. Not long after I sent the mail I got a reply stating they were sorry I didn't like the glögg and they would be happy to mail some tonic my way. Okay, no objections to that.

A couple of days later I got a notification on my phone: there was a package from SweTnc waiting at the local grocery store, a ten minutes' walk from our house. Cool, I figured I'll take a walk and bring that bottle of tonic back in the pocket of my down jacket. At the store I went to the cashier, showed the delivery info and then got my package - all 10 kg of it (yup, that's more than 20 lbs US)! I was pretty sure the folks at the store had made a mistake but nope, it was my package alright.

It was a short walk from the store but it had been snowing quite a bit and when I was back home I was drenched with sweat.

I wonder if the SweTnc guys somehow knew that I would collect my package on foot. Could they also have checked the weather in advance so they knew about the heavy snowfall in my area?! Shoot, I'd guess I'll never know - and, actually, I don't care that much. I think I'm going to make myself and my wife a really good gin tonic.

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Sony in-ear WF-1000XM3: A Different Take

Some background 

I have been using the (old and wired) in-ear Bose QC20 ANC headphones for many years during my commute & travel and the active noise cancelling in that old design still works amazingly well - especially for low frequencies; see my full review). However, the QC20 has some other very serious flaws so it was definitely time to move on. Big cans are a no-no so there was basically just one way to go: wireless BT in-ear with ANC. After some research it was obvious that these things do not come cheap so I got my priorities set:

• Good in-ear ANC is expensive and I'm fine with that - if it really works well. Top priority!
• A bit of a breeze should not mess up the ANC completely
• The earbuds should be discreet and comfortable to use, even when wearing a warm beanie or a ski hat (we still have real winters on my home turf)
• BT connection must be solid
• Goes without saying - almost - but the audio quality should be good
• Phone calls is not top priority for me; functional would do
• Decent battery life is nice

Reviews, reviews 

After reading a bunch of reviews I zoomed in on Sony WF-1000XM3, even though they seemed anything but very discreet. The ANC function got super high marks almost everywhere so I was curious and decided to check out the Sony earbuds - after making sure that I would be able to return the buds in case they wouldn't cut it for me.

January 2021 

At the time of this writing, I've been using the Sony XM3 buds for roughly a month and here's my take:

Sony ANC is a disappointment to me. I know that the passive seal in the ear must be good in order for the Sony ANC to work well but the 'default' tips were comfy and the others just didn't fit well. Anyway, my old QC20 - that doesn't go deep into the ear canal at all - still beats the XM3! Really surprising and also a bit depressing. Sure, the electronics of the QC20 are not within the earbuds themselves but heavens: it's been five years..!

Using the XM3 outdoors is not much fun when the wind picks up a bit (or if it's rainy; no protection against the elements at all). Wind messes up the ANC function big time, just the way it does for the QC20 by the way. No improvement here during the years that have passed, apparently.

The Sony XM3 sticks out of the ear 'like a sore thumb' - a quote from one of the reviews I read and that really nails it. With other words: pretty much the opposite of discreet. The buds are reasonably comfortable though, providing you are not wearing a warm beanie or a ski hat! Taking that ski hat off, you need to be very careful not to send the earbuds flying and then (in case you'll ever find them) you've probably got a pair of very expensive ear plugs.

BT connection is solid - independent connection for each bud - and so is the audio quality which is top notch. The buds have touch controls that enable you to pause the audio, skip tracks, adjust the ANC mode and deal with phone calls. The controls work okay for the most part but taking out one of the earbuds did not reliably pause the audio; it was hit and miss. Battery life is average in this category and the charger case - USB C, yay! - is fine even though it sure is pretty big.

Summing things up: the Sony XM3 have good build quality and audio but they are not for me. Wearing them makes me look (even more) weird, they are almost useless outdoors on a breezy day, I can't wear them comfortably under a warm beanie, they don't cope with rain and the ANC should be better considering the price tag. Thumbs mainly down.

Now, then? 

Pixel Buds 2 might be ideal for me, the way they seem to fit almost flush in the ear, but unfortunately there's no ANC - and you do apparently still get connection issues. So, the hunt goes on; guess I'll try the Jabra Elite 75T next. Stay tuned!

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Gerber Multi-Plier 600 Bluntnose

The Gerber Multi-Plier 600 series has been around a long, long time and mine is still going as strong as ever. I'm not sure exactly when I got the tool but I do remember that my brother-in-law in the US took good care of my purchase order many moons ago - thanks again Mike! I don't think the present 600 series is exactly the same as my old one but the basic design has hardly been changed at all - probably because it's a well proven one.

Some multi tools can handle almost anything kind of okay but perhaps nothing really well; the MP 600 is mainly a compact, reliable and tough as nails (actually even tougher) pair of pliers that can be used with one hand only. The jaws are hidden completely within the main tool body and 'snap' out - and lock into work position - with a quick and powerful downward shake of the wrist. You really need to grab the tool hard when doing this, mind you, otherwise you could send the precious thing flying and never see it again!

Of course, there are also additional tools within the 600; a knife (that does not lock into position in my old Gerber!), a serrated knife, a file, can opener and a couple of screwdrivers. You do need to get the plier jaws out in order to use any of the other tools, by the way.

I have even taken my Gerber apart completely once - and managed to put it together just fine, amazingly enough - after submerging it in water and not being able to dry it properly afterwards. Yup, it got rusty for sure but the 'old fashioned' design made the cleaning possible even for a non-DIY guy like me.

Very good rating to these compact pliers - but beware the knife that easily folds by accident!

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HX870E: A handheld marine VHF radio

When you get used to it, being able to contact your kayaking buddy even when there's quite a stretch of water between you two, there's no going back to sea kayaking without a radio. A cell phone just doesn't cut it - even though it's a great backup device, you can never be sure there's network coverage available when you need it the most. Cell phones are also quite simply not built to cope with the punishment of marine use, regardless of their IP-rating - not to mention the problems when trying to swipe or tap a wet touch screen..

It took me a long time to even consider adding a radio to the kayaking equipment list but some years ago, inspired by a kayaking incident in Norway, I bought two cheap 'toy' radios that me and my wife used for a while. Then, of course, those radios got enough of the close encounters with water - just when we had got used to them! So, there was a decision to make: should we go all in or just forget about this radio thing? Well, we went all in: now we both have a marine VHF radio certificate and a Standard Radio HX870E marine VHF handheld that floats (it really does, we tried it).

I have put together a comprehensive Google doc about the pros and cons of our radios - you'll find it here - but, generally, the very topmost plus points  are these:

• A VHF radio enables you to communicate directly with any vessel at sea (basically line of sight communication), both small and the really big ones!
• HX870E is built for marine use and it's fine even if it gets completely submerged
• HX870E has one-button digital distress signal capacity; again, that means being able to reach the VHF stations within roughly line of sight

On the minus side, I'd say that the very fast battery drain - when using 6W high output - is one of my my main gripes. However, normally we never use the high output setting when only communicating between our two kayaks.

A VHF radio is extremely cool and the HX870E gets a good rating from me. More battery capacity would be great but I'd guess a larger battery would also mean saying bye-bye to a radio that floats. Two related issues that bug me quite a bit are that there is no way to charge the unit without the cradle - and no way to charge the battery if it's not inserted in the radio. It sure would be nice to leave the cradle at home when packing for a kayaking trip.

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NRS Co-Pilot Knife

Way too many years passed before I - at long last - managed to take action and get a 'rescue' knife that's always within reach, attached to my PFD vest, when paddling my (old!) sea kayak. I chose the NRS Co-Pilot knife; a very small but surprisingly capable tool that also serves just fine in everyday outdoors life. So, you can definitely stay firmly on the ground or play in the waves and most probably you'll find great use for this knife that seems to be quite different from most of the other offerings in this category.

The knife is tiny - total length only 5.75" (14,6 cm) - and that is great to me since I try to avoid having bulky gear attached to my vest; my VHF radio actually is more than enough! The blunt tip of the short Co-Pilot blade is tough and can also serve as an emergency screwdriver; the blade has both a sharp and a serrated part. I find it easy to get a good hold of the rubberised handle that does have a couple of additional tricks up its sleeve!

A very smart part of the Co-pilot knife package is the sheath that holds the knife firmly in place, until you squeeze both sides simultaneously for a quick release. Super important feature - especially in a kayak or, actually, in any emergency - so that you both know the knife won't fall off on its own and you can instantaneously grab and use it with one hand only.

The Co-pilot knife is very cool and serves exactly the way it's supposed to. The sheath of my knife has taken some beating during the years but it still functions okay; the blade itself is just fine even though you need to clean off some rust stains from time to time (well, there is also a titanium version available!). This tiny and extremely useful piece of kit comes with a warm recommendation from me.

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Falcon Sails: Shooting The (very light) Breeze

This was my very first test sail - and the very light breeze was just fine! [Update: see Part 2 of my FalconSail experiences, from 2020, here!]

My 30-year-old North Shore Calypso is still kinda cool but it's the brand new FalconSails kayak rig that makes it super cool! The kit is complete with the sail, a carbon fibre mast and boom, all the stays and hardware needed and very thorough installation instructions. Huge kudos also to the great and very patient support from Patrick at Falcon!

The rig is very well crafted and the the whole concept apparently carefully proven to match the construction; this is not just some DIY stuff hastily thrown together in a garage. The complete rig takes just a couple of minutes to get ready and fold down before launching the kayak and it's even quicker to raise - and lower - the mast and the sail when out on the water and sitting in the cockpit. 

The test sail is now done and boy, was it fun! I was expecting a slightly hairy experience but my Calypso sailed amazingly smoothly and I had no problems compensating the pull of the sail with my body weight (guess that might suggest something about my own personal stats but, actually, I'm far from being an extreme heavy weight). When the wind picked up, I was easily cruising roughly my normal kayaking pace - even when taking a quick break from paddling altogether! The really über-cool part is that you can definitely also sail upwind, almost like in a normal (very) small sailing boat. The adjustable skeg is great also when using the sail.

Summing up I can say that Falcon has one happy customer here in the very northern Sweden. It will take some time to learn all the tricks of the paddle sailing trade but I'm already looking forward to that. Most of the time the boom and the sail is out of the way for my paddle strokes so, with favorable winds, I sure can increase my (slow) paddling speed quite a bit - or save some strength for those tough future headwinds!

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