Welton Chang, Author at Buys with Friends

Anker Premium Stereo Bluetooth Speaker Review: Big Sound for a Small Price

June 5, 2016June 5, 2016 Welton Chang 2 Comments

Sound Envy

About a year ago I was on an overseas beach vacation with the other BuysWithFriends guys. One of the guys brought a bluetooth speaker system. It just so happened that it led me to the opportunity to listen to sweet, melodious tunes pumped out of a Bose SoundLink mini bluetooth speaker. I was instantly impressed but knew that along with Bose’s impressive reputation for quality was also an impressive reputation for priciness. When I came home, I thought about beefing up our in-home sound capability. I was already benefiting from better sound on the road with an Anker portable speaker. This led me to do some more research and I ultimately settled on an Anker Premium Stereo Bluetooth Speaker for our living room. How did it go?

Anker Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker: The Best Sound Bang for the Buck

May 8, 2016 Welton Chang 6 Comments

The Sound Revolution

I never used to care about sound. Despite my musical upbringing and pop music obsession, for the last five years I’ve endured the tinny sound of my Macbook Air (and now Macbook Pro).For anyone that lives in a city and has to have Netflix compete with sirens, you know that good solid sound is prized. About eight months ago I decided that I’d give one of these fancy Bluetooth speakers a try. I didn’t want to lug something around that was too big and didn’t want to spend close to $200 for a system like Beats. So my criteria was set: something portable, with decent durability for travel circumstances, good battery life, and decent sound. After doing a ton of review of the reviews (there seem to be more bluetooth speakers out there than grains of sand on earth) I decided to get an Anker Portable Wireless Speaker for about $35. So what I do think of it after using it for the last half year plus? Read on to find out!

Leatherman Tread Review: 29 tools but will you actually use any of them?

April 24, 2016 Welton Chang Leave a comment

29-tools on your wrist

When I first heard about the Leatherman Tread, I was super excited. TSA-compliant multi-tool that I can wear on my wrist? Say no more. I’m a gear nut and this seemed right up my alley. Even after reading some not-so-flattering Leatherman Tread Reviews I was still convinced that buying one would be the right move.

My reaction to the Leatherman Tread announcement

So it has been three months since I got the Tread. Was it worth it?

An epic review of the BauBax Jacket, one of the most backed (and delayed) Kickstarter projects ever

April 21, 2016April 22, 2016 Welton Chang 13 Comments

Well, I finally received my BauBax Jacket. I purchased two BauBax Sweatshirts in July 2015 for $229 total and received them about three weeks ago. I waited an extra six months beyond the advertised estimated delivery date which is likely better than many other backers who have yet to receive their jacket or only just now received it. The delays started generating news stories in late December and backers have grown increasingly frustrated, likely caused by hearing news about two other highly backed projects that ran into problems, the Zano Drone and the Coolest Cooler.

I wore my BauBax jacket for three weeks straight to get a good idea of how it would hold up to the intensity of travel and also to test the usefulness of the fifteen much touted features. During the test period, the temperature ranged from 45-80 degrees F. On the 80 degree day, the sweatshirt was very uncomfortable (great for outdoor wear in 45-65 degree weather). So how did the rest of my experience go? Read on to find out!

MoMA Colorplay Hourglass: Great looking desktop sand timer that will help you be more efficient

April 20, 2016 Welton Chang Leave a comment

I recently received this beautiful MoMA Colorplay Hourglass as a gift from a good friend who lives in NYC and could not be happier with it. While you can’t buy the exact one on Amazon, you can get similar hourglasses. Read on to find out what I really like about it.

Renewable light for camping and emergencies

April 10, 2016April 10, 2016 Welton Chang Leave a comment

Suaoki LED camping lantern

I recently purchased a Suaoki LED camping lantern, a neat collapsible solar rechargeable white LED lantern that I’m hoping to test out for a while before a major hiking and camping trip this summer. After getting it in the mail, we took it out on a hike to Calvert Cliffs State Park in Maryland to check out its utility. Here are my first impressions!

How to save time by… brushing your teeth?

February 7, 2016February 7, 2016 Welton Chang Leave a comment

I have seen the future and it is… a high tech subscription service for toothbrushes and toothpaste? Quip has been called a variety of names by different tech reviewers including: the Tesla of toothbrushes, sleek and elegant, the best toothbrush ever, best new brush, and even the Uber of toothbrushes. With these reviews and a price point of $25 for a plastic handle and $40 for the brushed metal version, regular and travel toothpaste, I decided to give it a try since the price point is on the lower end of electric toothbrushes which apparently work as well as the higher end $150 versions. I was due for a new toothbrush anyways (I keep breaking the fancy Philips Sonicare versions, two so far). So how did it go?

I tried a Soylent only diet. Here’s how it went.

January 31, 2016 Welton Chang 1 Comment

Last year, one of our good friends, Saad, visited us in Philadelphia. Saad is an engineer at Palantir and told me about Soylent. I had seen ads for it Soylent on the Internet but hadn’t gotten up the courage to try. After all, I’m a huge fan of food, a la my affinity for Blue Apron. He said I had to try it as it would save me time. He further emphasized that if I was throwing away calories in the afternoon I might as well save some time and get a “balanced” meal while I was at it. This last point rang true, I’ll sometimes eat just a Probar or perhaps a sandwich from a local food cart. I was skeptical at first. But I decided to take the plunge. I asked Saad to order me a box and a mixing pitcher (at that time, Soylent was 5-6 weeks backordered for new customers and it was easier to get it through someone who is already a subscriber). So how did it go?

Never run out of power again with a ChargeTech portable battery pack

January 25, 2016 Welton Chang Leave a comment

How often do you find yourself looking for an outlet in a crowded airport? Or in an older classroom that has few accessible outlets? The latter situation is what I’ve routinely found myself in, while teaching and taking classes. I decided to fix the problem by carrying around my own power source. I went out and grabbed a ChargeTech portable battery pack (24000 mAh size) for $150 on Amazon. After a month with the battery pack, I’ve found myself asking, was it worth it?

2015 Top Buys: Daily Necessities

January 1, 2016 Welton Chang Leave a comment

Top Buys of 2015

Spending more time reflecting is one of Tim Ferriss’ 25 things I learned from guests in 2015. After all, action without reflection diminishes the learning value of acting. So with that in mind, here are my 2015 top buys, the items that I got in 2015 that made my life more convenient or solved a problem (and three of these items I never leave home without): the Anker slim iPhone 6 battery case, the Mpow Cheetah Bluetooth headphones, the BRYK RFID credit card wallet, and the KeySmart key holder.