u/drakontas_

So I’ve been comparing the Px8 S2 with the Px7 S3 for the last week or so trying to decide which to keep and I couldn’t get over why I vastly preferred the sound from the Px7 S3. I had my friend compare them with me and he vastly preferred the Px8 S2. It was no contest for him. So I did more blind testing after he left and I agreed. What initially felt like sharp highs now felt smoothed out while now the Px7 S3 started to sound fatiguing to me and I couldn’t get over that switch.

I continued listening to them for the next couple hours blind testing and landed on the Px8 S2 consistently and I had no idea why that sudden shift happened. Sure they have less low end but an EQ fixed that. Then I took out my contacts, put on my glasses, then continued listening and my opinions reverted.

I then realized the cups didn’t have a perfect seal. Turning on ANC seemed to fix the sound errors back to what it felt like before putting on my glasses. Something that I haven’t used much if at all and an issue I have not had with the materials from the Px7 S3. Turns out, the loose seal made the treble vastly sharper and the low end more anemic while not having ANC on. Just figured I’d share that experience for anyone else that might have encountered something similar. And, for what it’s worth, I have thick glasses frames. So that could vastly impact the experience.

That being said, the Px7 S3 are still incredible. I’m just leaning towards the Px8 S2 now after realizing this.

The Px8 in Onyx is on sale on Amazon for $369 and super worth it for that price point as I find them to be slightly worse in sound than the Px7 S3 to my ears but the build quality is insane. Definitely worth checking out if you don't have a pair

Are you more of a dark mode reader? Light and warm light reader? Dark and warm light? Or just using a lamp? I know everyone has their preferences and I know e-ink doesn’t have the same dark mode benefits over light mode that backlit panels have so I’m curious on what people like

So I’ve been using my 2015 Paperwhite again to work through the Mistborn saga that I started on my iPad Pro. I do vastly prefer Apple Books as an app over the Kindle app but figured I’d give my Kindle a go again. I do really love the portability and e-ink still so I thought I’d stop by Best Buy to see the new options available to upgrade to a model with type C and warming leds as well as more even front lights.

Surely 11 years would mark a substantial difference in quality, right? Well they felt so iterative to me. The color devices to me felt like too much of a trade off, the Kindle Basic felt like a sidegrade, and the new Paperwhite just felt… different? Yeah it’s cool that the screen is bigger and it’s faster and slightly sharper but the glare seems so much worse and I kinda miss the recessed screen. The bezels gave me room to grab and the screen felt a bit separate. I know that’s nitpicky though. I really like the warming LEDs and the type C but $170 just seems steep for just that. Kobo’s Clara BW seemed great but the ease of uploading an ebook from my phone to the Kindle app or emailing it to my Kindle and having it be accessible is a game changer.

Are there other ereaders even worth considering if you have a 10 year old model or is it just that stagnant of a market? I genuinely haven’t been following this area of tech so I’m curious what enthusiasts in this realm think.

TLDR; both slings are super solid but I prefer the Toshi. It feels more well thought out and it makes better use of its size.

I’ve had both the Aer Day Sling 4 2.5L and the Rework Toshi 5L V2 for a short time now and wanted to share my first impressions with anyone who might also be considering them. I’ve already purchased the Toshi online but it was getting pretty delayed and I was in SoHo anyway so figured I could just compare slings across Peak Design, Aer, and REI. The Aer was the best of what I saw from the options available. I tried on both the 2.5L and 6L variants and the 6L just felt way too large to me. I figured if I need something that large, I can just bring a backpack. For reference, I am a 5’8” male at 160lbs with a more muscular physique. A larger person might enjoy the 6L more.

Both of these bags are super well built and both shoot for the urban aesthetic. I like them aesthetically equally and both match my style. But the functionality of the DS4 had me scratching my head a bit. I’ve grown used to wearing slings on my left side due to my last sling being oriented for such wearing. But, the nonremoveable strap on the DS4 to allow wearing the sling on my left side with the buckle in the front to prevent someone from unclipping the bag was a bummer. I know this is a nitpick, but it is a premium priced product. I just figured it was worth mentioning. So I wore it on my right side and, overtime, grew to prefer it as a right handed individual. The build quality is great and premium. The strap is a bit more intentional to adjust than I expected, but the material let me swing the bag between my front to back with ease. I did notice that the front quick access pocket has a divider in the middle to split the capacity, which wasn’t something I loved but figured I could get used to. I moved my key leash to the right divider in that section and had my foldable sunglasses pouch on the left. Made great sense to me to prevent scratching items in the bag on either side of that pocket. The main compartment was great to hold a packable rain shell and maybe a small battery pack along with other small electronics like AirPods but that’s really it. None of my compact umbrellas fit and my small Sony RX100 didn’t fit with a jacket packed. Kinda sucks that I gotta pick between my hobby and a layer but it is only 2.5L. I want to say that apparently the DS3’s layout does seem to be a bit better for my tastes, but that wasn’t available at the Aer store.

The Toshi, however, did sit much nicer across my body. The bag is more malleable which allowed it to wrap partially around my waist. It compacts down pretty flat when empty and the quick access pockets, yes there’s two, are free of dividers and also allow a key leash in the front. This allowed me to put my keys and sunglasses in the large pocket and my hand sanitizer and tea tree oil (damn mosquitoes) in the small pocket. Both pockets felt great and fast to access. It’s nice to have more options of places to quickly toss my phone into when on the train, something I had a l title more issues with on the Aer. I tested out fitting my Switch 2, which did fit in the main compartment while in a small case and had room to spare. My iPad Pro 11 also fit in the main compartment alongside my Switch 2, which was a surprise. That makes this an awesome option to take with me to load in tech when boarding a flight if I need to have my backpack in the overhead. The DS4 also fits my Switch 2, but you have to remove the joycon and you can put the tablet in the tech sleeve and the joycon in one of the mesh pockets. The main compartment stays open when doing this and this is an option for the Toshi as well. My jacket and umbrellas fit perfectly, in the Toshi, all of my water bottles fit, and there was room for my camera and even a packable tote for if I go shopping. I know this is a byproduct of the larger capacity, but the layout feels a bit more well thought out for how I use a bag. The straps are removable, so I set them to the offset configuration and noticed the footprint of the sling was only slightly larger than the DS4. The offset position on this bag does have it sitting a little away from your body in a forward tilt, but it’s not a major issue. The compression straps on the bottom seemed to be a bit clunky to attach quickly so it makes more sense to engage them before you head out and fasten them tight when not in use to save the effort. This seems great for a small jacket or wet umbrella, but I doubt I will use this much. It is a nice option the have though.

One thing I liked about lot about both slings is the pull tab on the DS4 hung my sunglasses for quick periods when running into a store and the Toshi’s strap attachment point did the same. They point have ways to hang the bags on hooks; the DS4 has a dedicated loop and the Toshi has the carry handle. Both use similar fabrics, look great, feel premium, and have their times and places. But if I had to pick one, I’m gonna be using the Toshi as my main sling. It fills the void that I needed when shopping for an EDC bag and fits my frame equally as well as the Aer Day Sling 4. The zippers, while both YKK, feel premium on both slings but work with less effort on the Toshi. Also, the pockets on the Toshi being more suspended allows for the volume to be more usable for me and the clip for removing the sling feels great. The DS4 clip does too, but the Toshi’s feels more seamless and better. I do think making the DS4 a 3L bag could make it more usable overall and I do intend to keep it for situations when I want less overall volume. You can’t really go wrong with either bag. At this stage, it just boils down to how you like to organize your things, what you carry, and what your frame it. I did also buy the Travel Kit 2 as well from the Aer store. That thing slaps.

I’m happy to also answer any questions for anyone looking to compare the two. Hope this helps!

What do you all do?

Do you transport everything to a clear bag at the airport then back into your Dopp kits? Do you just take the risk and leave everything in your Dopp kit? I feel like the idea of packing and unpacking liquids seems it could be a bit redundant and can eat up some space. My Nebula 32 has a mesh front pocket so it’s possible to leave my clear toiletry bag there and transfer it to a Dopp kits after security. Just curious on everyone’s process!

Are there any solid options for foldable sunglasses at a good price point? I initially had Oakley Holbrooks but the lenses got scratched easily and were pricey to replace, then got Sunclouds but they either broke or got lost after a couple of uses. Lenses seemed as good as the Oakleys though or at least 80% of the way there at like a quarter of the cost.

Any good foldable options that can fit in a small pocket or sling with decent lens quality? I know Roav is popular but ideally I wouldn’t be spending nearly $200 USD on something like that. I miss having sunglasses on my travels haha