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Logitech MX Keys Top View

Look and Feel

The Logitech MX Keys wireless keyboard is a high-end keyboard for sure, the look and feel of it is great, it’s very low profile and the grey one I have here looks metallic. It surprised me with the weight of it when I first took it out of the box, it is quite heavy – I suspect this is because of the non-removable battery it’s got within.

Close Up of Keyboard

It’s got rubber feet as to stop the keyboard from moving especially needed when I thump the keyboard when I type. One thing to not is that it does not have legs to set different levels of incline so basically you have to live with this one setting, consider carefully before buying if this will be an issue for you.

Back of Keyboard

After a few hours of use, I can say the keys on the keyboard feel great – they are soft touch ones so they don’t make a lot of noise, they feel sturdy i.e. not cheap. They have this concave shape for you fingers so it provides a bit more tactile feel when you press into the key.

Connectivity

This is the main reason why I bought this – I needed something to connect to both my PC and a work Macbook Pro I was supplied with. I use both my home PC and work laptop at the same time and I didn’t want to have 2 keyboards laid out on my desk. The Macbook Pro doesn’t have USB ports either (unless you use a dock) so I needed something with Bluetooth connectivity. I already have a Logitech MX Anywhere 2 mouse so it made sense to use the one ecosystem.

I’ve configured the keyboard and mouse on my home PC using the USB unifying receiver, I already had a receiver plugged into my home PC for the mouse, so I used the software to link up the keyboard to it. One unifying receiver can support up to 6 devices apparently. The linking process from installing the software to successfully pairing only took a matter of minutes. Once the devices are pair with the receiver, you can just take the USB receiver and plug into another machine and you can use the paired devices without needing to do anything else.

The keyboard supports up to three device pairings, I’m only using two as mentioned previously. To change between the devices, there are 3 dedicated keys on the keyboard that you can press to “switch” between. Here is a video demonstrating switching between my desktop and the Macbook Pro.

Demo of switching keyboard to multiple devices

As mentioned before, the battery is sealed. It is rechargeable via USB cable which is provided in the box. The box states you’ll get 5 months of use with the backlight off and only 10 days use if you have the backlight on. I will see long mines last on the first full charge and update this post with the outcome.

View showing charging port and power switch

Summary

Thus far I got to say it’s definitely one of the best keyboards I have used – but then I haven’t used any keyboard this expensive before! The support for Windows and Mac is great on the one keyboard, it means I can still use the shortcuts from both operating systems without having to go through a mapping exercise. I think it’s definitely worth it if you can pick it up on a deal rather than paying the full RRP, I got this from Amazon UK for just over £77 so price is it’s biggest weakness so far. If you’re into gadgets then I suspect this is another one you’ll be very much excited about with at the start while you learn and use all the cool key functions like the F11 mute button!

KithenAid Artisan 5KSM125 Mixer Tilt-Head 4.8L

My wife recently got the KithenAid Artisan 5KSM125 mixer. She’s been doing a lot more baking ever since the Covid outbreak, she’s done a few bread doughs and that is a killer for kneading. It arrived today so I got the opportunity to do an unboxing video and give my first impressions.

Here’s some photos I took to let you see what you get.

First Impressions

HEAVY! The box weighed 10.8Kg, that’s gross weight packaging an all. The mixer still accounts for most of this. I’ll try and get it on the scale and update you with the weight soon. I guess that’s what you are paying for, quality. I heard some mixers are made of light flimsy materials, that they start wobbling toward the edge of the kitchen counter when it’s spinning around!

The tilt seems easy to operate, slide the switch to release the lock that will allow you to tilt. It pretty much tilts itself after a certain angle due to the motor’s weight at the end. The electrical cable is about a metre long, a big stainless steel bowl. The accessories include a whisk, flat beater and dough hook, all of which are metal.

Unboxing Video

Watch me unboxing the KithenAid Artisan 5KSM125 Mixer Tilt-Head 4.8L

Unboxing video of KithenAid Artisan 5KSM125 Mixer

Gourmia GAF685 Digital Free Fry Air Fryer Review

December 13, 2020 | Review | No Comments

Gormia GAF685 Air Fryer

We didn’t get into the whole air fryer hype when it all began all those years ago. It wasn’t until very recently we decided to get one, when one of our friends started to send photos of their food cooked by their air fryer. We ended up getting the Gourmia GAF685 air fryer in which I review here.

What’s the size?

We knew right at the start, something we definitely wanted to do with the air fryer – roast a whole chicken. So size mattered for us, it needed to be big enough to take a medium whole chicken comfortable. It was quite difficult to find size information as they reported in all sorts of way – litres, fluid ounces etc.

So I’m going to try and help clarify for all of you. It’s advertised capacity is 6 US liquid quart or 5.7L. So what does that mean really? In terms of dimensions of the food try it’s – 13.75D x 11W x 12.75D.

Here’s a couple of photos to indicate the basket size.

What do you get?

The Gourmia GAF685 is a sizable unit, you also get a few accessories which is fantastic. You get a crisper tray, basically a tray with holes that sits almost the bottom of the basket. The food sits on top of the tray so it creates an airflow below and also prevents your food sitting in any oil or juices. You also get a multipurpose rack and 4 metal skewers

What’s it like?

The unit is stainless steel on the outside and on the top. There is a touch capacitive control area in glossy black. Personally I think it looks stunning, nice curves for a large unit in the kitchen.

What’s it like to use?

The food basket you just pull out and push into the main unit with the handle, there is no unlocking needed. If you’re in the middle of cooking, the device pauses the cooing process when you pull the basket out, and it resumes when you push it back in.

The control panel is pretty intuitive to use, a few presses and it starts the cooking process. When the air fryer has no power to it, the control panel is all black. As soon as there is power to the unit, you see a red sensitive button to press for turning the actual air fryer on. Once you press the on button, the options light up choosing cooking options, preheat and temperature/timer settings.

What controls look like when it’s on cooking

I’ve not heard what other air fryers sound like so I couldn’t comment on if this is louder than most or not. When the air fryer is on, I thought it was quite noisy, certainly nosier than the hobs extraction fan anyway.

The good thing about this air fryer is it’s very easy to clean, on the outside the stainless steel make’s it a doddle to wipe. The basket has a good non-stick coating, nothing that a quick soak in water can’t get out. Sometimes you get some flour in the bay where the basket sits and again, very easy to wipe clean.

What’s the verdict?

It’s easy to use, easy to clean and not a glitch experienced over the 6 months I’ve had this. The only thing I could wish for is for it too be a little quieter when it is cooking. I’d definitely recommend this air fryer, the shape of the food basket is perfect to get all sorts of food in it.

Hornit Wayfair Helmet

Does your kid have a round head or looking for a helmet to fit an Asian head?

You won’t believe how many helmets I’ve tried on for our little 3 year old Jacob. He doesn’t fit any of this big brother’s hand-me-down helmets, nor any of the ones in Halfords. He does fit my adult helmet but obviously that isn’t suitable nor safe.

Why?

You might have heard of the the term Asian or Chinese head, and yes, we are Asian. Nearly all the helmets on sale are designed to fit the Western head shape – oval, longer at the front and back. His big brother doesn’t seem to have this trait lol. Jacob’s head is not I would call big for his age in fact, it’s pretty standard size – 49cm in circumference. The oval helmet shapes don’t even go on his head, it’s far too narrow.

I found a helmet that fits a round head

The brand is called Hornit, and the one that fit’s Jacob is called the Wayfarer helmet.

This is what it looks like and I must admit, I want one too! It’s so cool.

The measurements, we had purchased the small size from the Hornit site directly. It measures roughly:

  • 15cm diameter ear to ear
  • minimum of 13cm diameter with a maximum of 17cm, front to back which is adjustable using the dial

Just to give you an idea of a round versus oval fit helmet, I’ve got a photo of them side by side. I had bought a Giro Scamp helmet to try after reading some reviews. Sadly those reviews were not accurate as the helmet shape was oval which did not fit Jacob.

Left is the Hornit Wayfarer and the right is the Giro Scamp. You can immediately see the shape difference. So I hope this review will help people find at least one helmet for their kids who have an round head shape.

Wenger Link 16″ Laptop Backpack Review

August 28, 2019 | Review | No Comments

bag front

The Wenger 601072 Link 16″ backpack is a great business style bag. It’s designed for traveling in mind, having one of those pass through sleeve on the back of the bag, for sliding over the tow handle of your towed luggage.

The material is a nice thick polyester that looks really durable, and it looks like it could withstand a good amount of rain. The bag also has some really nice leather touches on the shoulder straps and the grab handle of the bag.

Compartment wise, there are 4 main compartments. Firstly, a padded laptop compartment which within it, there is a pocket to hold a tablet such as an ipad. I should mention that backing of the tablet pocket has a nice velvety feel to it (for scratch protection I assume). Second compartment – the main storage one. It has a padded base that you can fold up or down depending if you want to keep shape of the width of not. It’s a really good size, can definitely get a pair of jeans and a couple of tops in there easily. On the top of this compartment, there is a small zipped netted pocket which you can use for electronic device cables. The front zipped compartment – this has a smartphone sized pocket, again backed in a velvet material, several card type pockets and a pen pocket. There is also zipped compartment here for you to store you’re important things like your passport. Lastly, there is a zipped pocket on the top of the bag. I thought this was solely for a pair of sunglasses but it’s actually quite deep. It would probably take 3 pairs of sunglasses in there. For me it’s s quite handy for storing items you need quick access to.

  • bag front

Overall, I’m really impressed with the build quality, it looks amazing. It certainly looks like it was built to last, my previous backpack – Samsonite Guard 2.0 only lasted 5 months and it started to tear at the seams – definitely not going to buy a Samsonite backpack again.

Here is a link out the Amazon product where I purchased the bag.

Please check out my video on YouTube which shows you the backpack and the various compartments – https://youtu.be/r1aH2i1jaU4.

Brabantia 30L newIcon Pedal Bin

November 5, 2017 | Review | No Comments

I was due a new bin since my current one has become a faded red, almost pink on he outside. I eventually decided on the Brabantia 30L pedal bin in fingerproof matt silver. The bin even features a soft closing lid which really sold it to me. Here are some photos of the bin and a link to a video showing it off at the end of this post.

Open box
Inner plastic bin
Top view

Here is a link to the product on Amazon UK.

Here is my video of me showing the soft closing lid in action.

Ronseal Ultimate Protection Decking Oil

August 16, 2017 | Review | No Comments

Ronseal Colours

For those that are looking to see the colour of the Ronseal’s Ultimate Protection decking oil applied to new decking, here are a few of photos.

The colour samples on real decking in B&Q.

Natural Cedar being tested on my new decking. As you can see, it’s quite warm and dark although it does dry lighter.

Having tried the Natural Cedar, I thought it was too dark for my liking. I then started to paint using Natural only, here is the photo showing the difference.

Essentially the darker bits of the deck have been oiled with the natural coloured oil and the lighter bits have not been treated with oil at all. You can also see the testing of the Natural Cedar I done. I’ll have to leave that to fade as you cannot get rid if it with a lighter colour.

*** UPDATE

Three weeks after and I wanted to to show you how the protection is standing out, it is still looking great!

Quick post about my new coffee machine we bought, the Nespresso Lattissima Plus. We already own an espresso machine but it’s not ideal to use in the morning before you go to work, there is just too much cleaning involved. Hence why we bought a pod type one. It’s quick to make the coffee – makes one within 2 minutes from pressing the on button. This model EN521.R has four coffee modes –  espresso, lungo (basically a long coffee) , latte and cappuccino. The milk unit can be removed and stowed in the fridge, so your milk is not wasted. It’s recommended that you run the 10 second clean cycle before you stow the milk unit into the fridge.

I’ve taken a measurement here if you want to buy your own latte glasses,  14.3 cm max height without having to tilt the glass. It does not fit the traditional ones we had,  we ended up having to buy some shorter ones. You can customise the amount of milk the latte and cappuccino options dispenses, the default latte setting will fill a 250ml glass to the brim.