POLY and BARK EVA TASK CHAIR in VEGAN LEATHER, GREY by Poly and Bark

When assembled, this entry level office chair is really much nicer than the typical entry level office chair. The "vegan leather" is very soft and smooth. The padding in the chair is very comfortable and the chair travels up and down very smoothly and easily. However, the chair does not tilt back at all - it is at a 90 degree angle and not going anywhere. So, if you like a tilt to the back of your chair you will not want this chair. 

On the whole, this chair was very easy to put together until I got to the last step. After I spread out the parts I timed how long it would take to actually build the chair. After 20 minutes I was all done except for attaching the back of the chair. 

Same bolt - different view

The cross threaded bolt

But, finishing the job took another 25 minutes because of the size of the base plate that attaches the seat to the post. The plate is simply too large because it looks like it was designed to fit on more than one chair. It doesn't really fit this chair because it partially blocks the arm that holds the chair back so that 2 of the screws don't align properly. 

All secured

I have included two pictures of the problem.
To fix the problem, I took off the base plate and slid it as far from the where the arm that holds the chair back attaches and reattached it. Both chair back screws did fit - but both are certainly cross-threaded because I couldn't get them into the holes at the correct perpendicular angle. I had a very hard time getting the last screw in. It is most certainly not coming back out again. Having to re-attach the base plate and then fighting with the screws added an extra 20 minutes to what should have been a 25 minute build time.

I rate this chair 4 stars out of 5. I am taking off a star because of the unnecessarily difficult build. 

This chair can be found on Amazon.com here: POLY and BARK EVA TASK CHAIR in VEGAN LEATHER, GREY.

Note: I received a sample chair through the Amazon Vine program so that I could write an honest review.

ECR4Kids GelWriter Premium Multicolor Gel Pens in Coloring Box (36-Count)

Unlike many people who buy gel pens, I did not get these gel pens to color in one of those adult coloring books.

I got them to grade papers. Everyone thinks you have to use a red pen to grade but what you really need is a pen that is not black or blue. Gel pens are wonderful to grade with because they glide like a marker but write much more precisely. Plus, I like grading in non-traditional grading colors like orange and pink and with glitter.

So, how do they work? They are excellent. They flow smoothly and practically glide across the page.

Note: these are not fine tip pens so if you are getting them to color very tiny areas, these may not be your best choice.

The pens come in a cardboard box with an attached lid that you flip open. The box is about 50% bigger than a boutique tissue cube. Inside, the pens are all arranged by color so that you can see the lids and pick out your color. The lids match the actual color of the gel ink very well.

I rate this collection of gel pens 4 stars out of 5.

As of the time of this review this set of gel pens cost $14.95. It is available on Amazon.com here: ECR4Kids GelWriter Premium Multicolor Gel Pens in Coloring Box (36-Count).

Note: I received a free sample of these gel pens as a part of the Amazon Vine program.

Hippih 10" Silent Quartz Decorative Wall Clock with Glass Cover

I have had the pleasure of having multiple Hippih clocks offered to me for review and they have all been great. So when a vendor came to me and offered this clock for free in exchange for an honest review I knew it would be a great clock. And I was right.

This clock has a very simple, easy-to-read face - white with black numbers. The simple design would be great for an office. It is a 10 inch clock, which means it is smaller than some office clocks.

The clock comes with a battery and a special hook to hang the clock with. The clock keeps great time, which is, of course, the most important thing.

I rate this clock 5 stars out of 5.

As of the date of the writing of this review, this clock cost $12.99 on Amazon.com. Click here to check current pricing: Hippih 10" Silent Quartz Decorative Wall Clock with Glass Cover.

Handheld Portable Battery Powered Fan (Black) by Yesorno

So, this product is absolutely brilliant in its simplicity. 

This is a little fan, the type that are plugged into the USB port of a computer so that you can keep cool while are in your cubicle plugging away at your TPS reports.

But, wouldn't it be cool to take that fan anywhere? Sure it would. So, replace the USB plug on the computer with the a hardwired portable charger battery and you've got it. I literally have this same-sized lightweight battery in my little collection. The beauty of it is that the battery becomes the handle to hold the fan.

The fan has a dial to set the fan speed. It will work 2 hours at full speed and 6 hours at the slowest speed. It charges in about 4 or 5 hours. The fan can run while it is charging.

The device comes with a USB cord and a wire clip that I sort of can figure out how to use.  

The fan comes in four different colors: black, blue, green and pink.

I rate this fan 5 stars out of 5.

Note: I was sent a free fan in exchange for an honest review.

As of the time of this review this fan cost $13.99 on Amazon.com. Click here for current pricing: Handheld portable fan by Yesorno.
******EDIT********* July 7, 2016


After about a week of using this fan the on/off dial quit working so the device was left on all of the time. No problem, I thought. I will plug it in when I need it and let it die. Great. But now I notice that the battery dies minutes after I unplug it, which means even if the on/off dial worked correctly, this fan would only work when it was plugged in, making this "portable" fan definitely not portable.

I now rate this fan 2 stars out of 5. It is still usable as a fan but not nearly as useful as it was promised to be.

18 LED Desk Lamp by BlueFire

One Issue Prevents this Otherwise Excellent Lamp from Getting 5 Stars

You might question the need for a little desk lamp like this one. After all, you probably already have lighting at your desk and you can see just fine. I know I did, but I don't any more.

This lamp would be completely inadequate for a home desk. It is too small, it isn't tall enough, it would have to sit in the middle of your work space to be of any use.

But, I have found this kind of lamp to be a must for my desk anyway. There are times when you just need a whole lot of light in a little area and that's when I grab this light to show me what I have been missing, especially now that I am getting a little older and I have to use reading glasses to look at the tiny print that come with those little "How to..." guides that come with so many products nowadays.

If you live in a dorm room (or something like that) this lamp would be fantastic. You can light a small space and not bother your roommate when he or she is trying to sleep.

Pros:

-This lamp is not wired. It is rechargeable and each charge lasts up to 10 hours. You can leave it plugged in and use it like a regular lamp or you can take it right where you need the light.

-The strength of the light is adjustable - just slide your finger along the slider to make it brighter or darker. Or, just tap where you think you might want it.

-The base is heavy enough to keep the lamp upright no matter how far you stretch out the gooseneck lamp.

Cons:

The only con is the charging cord. It is a fairly long USB cord (which is cool - it makes it much easier to charge when you can just plug it into your computer) with a non-standard end. A lot of electronics use the Android micro-USB to re-charge their batteries and that is great because then you don't have to keep track of a special cord. You can re-charge your phone, your Kindle, your Bluetooth headset, your wireless speaker and your desk lamp with the exact same cord. But this lamp requires you to keep this extra cord around just for this lamp.

Because of the cord issue, I rate this otherwise excellent lamp 4 stars out of 5.

When this review was written this desk lamp cost $18.99 on Amazon.com. Check here for current pricing: 18 LED Desk Lamp by BlueFire.

Note: I received a complimentary lamp in exchange for an honest review.

12 Inch Silent Non-ticking Wall Clock- Metal Frame Glass Cover by Hippih

I love this clock. We have a number of different styles of clocks in our houses, most non-digital. I guess it's become sort of a thing for us. I picked up this one for my classroom but it did hand in my dining room for a couple of months after we had a clock quit on us and we were looking for a permanent replacement.

It did not match the style of our dining room at all but I did love the clock for two simple reasons:

1) It kept perfect time;

2) It was extremely easy to read (we have two clocks that are truly beautiful but not terribly easy to read at a glance).

It will be a great addition to my classroom and would be wonderful for an office.

The thermometer is accurate, within a degree or two of the other thermometer in the house, anyway. I have no idea if the hygrometer that measures the moisture is accurate but I can tell you that it dropped when I turned my air conditioning unit on for the summer, which is something that it should do.

The thermometer has measurements in Celsius and Fahrenheit. The Celsius numbers are much bigger than the Fahrenheit numbers. That is understandable, considering how much of the world uses Celsius, but it is still a bit annoying for this American. 

The clock comes with a hanger that looks very simple to use. I did not use it because I used a picture hanger that was already hanging on the wall from the clock we had before this one.

It uses 1 AA battery and it comes with a battery.

I rate this clock 5 stars out of 5.

At the time of this review, this clock cost $24.99 on Amazon.com. Click here for current pricing: 12 Inch Silent Non-ticking Wall Clock- Metal Frame Glass Cover.

Note: I received a clock at a a substantial discount so that I could write an honest review. This one's a keeper and will be heading off to my new classroom once I set it up this summer.

Floating Pencil Cup Desk Organizer (black) by TLTrading

Normally, I review consumer tech on this blog. I also state that I review gadgets and gizmos. This pencil cup is none of that. It is just a cute and clever pencil cup. A novelty item but I like it and since a lot of the stuff that I review ends up on a desk I decided to include this doodad.

It comes in two pieces in a box. Assembly takes about 1 second. If it is not immediately obvious to you how to assemble it, there are picture directions on the side of the box.

It will hold about 20 pencils but I don't think that this pencil holder will last long if you jam it full. It is a novelty item. Put 3 or 4 pencils in it. If you go to recruitment fairs or the like it would be a great place to put giveaway pencils. 

Note: I was given a free pencil cup in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this pencil cup 4 stars out of 5. It could be sturdier, but that is not it's main purpose. It's designed to be a cute gag that is sort of useful and it fulfills that brilliantly.

At the time of this review this pencil cup cost $6.99. Click here for current pricing: Floating Pencil Cup Desk Organizer.

Micro USB 2.0 Cable (Android Cell Phone) Cable - 6Ft Yellow by Deego

An extra micro-USB cord is almost a necessity if you use Android devices (this cord is useless if you are wanting to charge Apple-based devices). A lot of devices come with a cord, but those cords can get damaged, wear out or simply get lost. Plus, a lot of cords that come with devices like Bluetooth headsets are very, very short and flimsy.

The length of this cord is its primary strength. It is 6 feet long. This means you can plug it in to a wall charger and not be stuck right next to that charger. In a car, this cord means that you can plug it in to a charger in the front of the car and anyone can use their device while it is charging.

Some USB cords do not allow for data transfer. This cord does.

This company sells not only this single cord, but multi-pack cords in lengths from 3-10 feet.

At the time of this review, this cord costs $1.69 plus a $4.50 shipping and handling charge. Check here for current pricing: Micro USB cable by Deego.

MPOW 40W/5A 5-Port Ultra Portable Multiple USB Wall Charger Travel Power Adapter with Xsmart Technology

                      I LOVE IT!

The multiple USB wall charger is billed as being great for travelers (which I am sure it is because it is certainly hard to find enough outlets to plug in chargers for GPS systems, phones, kindles, travel batteries and Bluetooth headsets in a hotel room if you are sharing your room).

But, if you are like me than you are quickly discovering that your house was not built to charge up all of the rechargeable devices that you have accumulated over the last couple of years. There just are not enough outlets in convenient places to charge up everything. This "travel" wall charger has quickly become an indispensable part of my daily tech life.

The MPOW charger with my Bic pen for size comparison.
Photo by DWD

Weighing in at about half of a pound, roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes and coming with an almost 4 foot long detachable cord, this device is very simple to operate and would not be difficult to pack along on a trip.  Just plug it in to the wall, plug in up to 5 USB chargers and voila, you are charging. You do not have to make any adjustments or use certain plugs for certain devices. The device comes with something that it calls "Xsmart" technology that determines what level of charge to put into your device. It can be Android or Apple.

The wording in the product description says that it can charge up to 2.4 amps per port or up to 8 amps overall. That means that overall charging speed can be slowed down if you plug in more devices (depending on how many amps they pull). This is unlikely to be an issue if you are charging overnight, like me. If you are plugging into an airport plug and trying to quickly charge 5 devices simultaneously, you will notice the performance loss. Of course, if you do the math, you should be able to charge 3 devices at full speed (2.4 amps x 3 = 7.2 amps which is less than the 8 amp max).

As of the time of this review, this device cost $26.99. Please follow this link to obtain current pricing information:Mpow® 40W/8A 5-Port Ultra Portable Multiple USB Wall Charger Family-Sized Desktop Power Adapter with Xsmart™ Technology

I rate this device 5 stars out of 5.

Note: I received a free sample of this device so that I could try it out and write an honest review.

Magnetic Storage Pocket, Neoprene, Black/Blue by Five Star

I got this for my daughter who is going to her first year in high school and will have her first real locker. This is quality construction, strong stitching and, most importantly, super strong magnets so that this pocket can hold lots pens, pencils, and a calculator or a cell phone and not fly off of the locker door if (let's face it, when) it gets slammed shut.

The only drawback is the price - it just seems about $4 too expensive. The product description says that it will last an entire school year. My guess is that yo

The Magnetic Storage pocket with a Bic pen
for comparison. Photo by DWD

u could get two years out of it if care was taken and that might make it worth the price.

Of course, this is not just a pocket that can be used for school lockers. It will stick to anything that a magnet will stick to so this would be good for refrigerators, tool boxes, work lockers, work trucks, magnetic dry erase boards, etc.

Note: I was sent this product by the manufacturer through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.

I rate this product 4 stars out of 5.