SIGG Traveller Alu .6L — Minimal Water Bottle

No surprise that I dig SIGG water bottles. They are minimalist, aluminum, simply, and durable. 

Made in Sweden, the bottles are BPA-free bottle is extruded from a single piece of pure aluminium, no seams, highest stability with lowest weight, 100% recyclable, guaranteed to be taste-neutral and resistant to fruit acids and isotonic drinks according to an independent testing institute (Nehring, Germany), fulfills FDA requirements (Food & Drug Administration USA), elastic and unbreakable, and a coating that will not peel off, even if dented on the outside. That’s a lot to write but the moral of the story is that they are great bottles.

This particular one is a favorite. While many come in fancy patterns, various stamps, and decorative items attached, this is raw aluminum. Almost as if it were something from the military, the only printing on it is the SIGG logo and the Made in Sweden stamp.

The raw aluminum look, however, is deceiving. There is a high gloss coating to protect the bottle—it is almost glass on the exterior giving it a pleasing touch but also a good grip.

The cap is designed to be used with a carabiner but also is perfect for a single finger. At .6L, it is perfect size for just about any backpack or bag. And the lip on the bottle opening is smooth an comfortable on against one’s lips.

While this is definitely an Adrian’s Gear post, it is also about design. Some water bottles might have more frills and such but as I will admit to every time, design is of utmost importance. SIGG brings something to the table that most water bottles don’t—looks. A lot are just too technical looking, over designed, trying-too-hard details and it turns me off. Sigg, like Apple, keeps it simple and that’s what I really love about it.

As the oceans fill up with trash from humans, I had a personal goal this year—a resolution to us less disposable materials. My EDC spork (Light My Fire), goes with me everywhere to reduce how many plastic forks and such I use. I try to avoid straws and plastic bags, and I keep some reusable produce bags on hand for when I head to the grocery story.

On the other hand, plastic bottles are one of the most common trash items found in the ocean and I try my best to reduce my usage of such items. Carrying a water bottle is great and SIGG bottles last for a very long time. After they have lived out their usefulness, one can easily recycle.

Saving the planet and looking good doing it, if one wants a great water bottle, this is one I’d highly recommend. And if you do want something little more bold than raw aluminum, they come in dozens of colors: white, black, smokey pearl, turquoise, green, royal blue, etc. Check them out and pick one up.

Price: $18

Ray-Ban Aviator Flash Lenses — Gold, Green Flash

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The problem is… I only have sunglasses I love so these too are a favorite pair. The green lenses remind me of the Emerald Coast, white sand beaches, and a cool breeze off the Gulf of Mexico while the hot sun beaming down on a summer day in July. Greens and Blues tend to be my favorite colors as is. I’ve actually had these for years and they are so cool.

I had never spent nearly $200 on a pair of sunglasses before but I had to have them and my favorite pair of Fossil sunglasses had gotten both scratched and the nose piece had fallen off never to be found. Time to upgrade.

The clerk at the Sunglass Hut was insistent. “You’ll take good care of these. You’ll have them forever because you invested extra money in them.” And he was right. Not only were they more expensive than their Fossil counterparts, they were better made. Glass lenses, more durable frames, a better warranty, and infinitely cooler. So I handed over my Amex and said, “let’s do it.”

Well, that ended well. Now I only spend a bunch of money on sunglasses. It’s a trap! But a good one. My motto is to spend good money on good things because they will likely last longer and, generally, are better. As a favorite TV judge always says, “lo barato sale caro.” The cheap comes out expensive.

My Fossil sunglasses did look cool but they were plastic lenses and cheaper frames. Not knocking them either. Until these Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses came along, they were my favorite pair. To be clear, if you’re looking to NOT spend a couple hundred dollars on sunglasses, I’d whole heartedly recommend Fossil.

But here I am with my Green Flash lenses and no regrets about spending the money.

The lenses are not only cool AF, they reproduce color well and have limited flare/glare in direct sunlight. Light weight, no pinching of the nose or squeezing at the temples, and easy to keep clean. They look good, feel good, and work well. Aces.

At $178, it is a bunch to spend but as the Sunglass Hut clerk said to me, I think once you have a pair like this (or more expensive), you’ll find you’ll take great care of them. These are now four years old and look as good as the day I bought them. Durability is key for something that is in you bag, in a pocket, cold weather, warm weather, sand, wind, water, etc. They’ve held up superbly.

Ray-Ban Aviator Flash Lenses comes a eleven colors so if the green isn’t for you, check out the Yellow Flash, another fave, red, blue, lilac, mirror (these are on my acquisition list too), and more.

Price: $178

Messages in iCloud

With the release iOS 11.4, a new feature that was promised for iOS 11 is now available. Many times we have messages on multiple devices: iPad, iPhone, Mac, etc. When we read them on one everything is fine but deleting messages between those devices was a bit of a challenge. This new feature will sync messages across all iOS devices logged into the same iCloud account. The good news, too, is as one gets new devices, messages will appear as you left them on the previous device.

If you have not an install iOS 11.4, I highly recommend it. If anything for this feature but also for the many minor fine-tunings that come along with any iOS update.