Best Way To Check Trichomes (2024 Updated)

Not sure where my antifreeze is going. No smoke in exhaust, no wet floor mats, no dampness on engine or spots on the floor, no water in the oil or bubbling in the radiator. Where to start, I need to eliminate parts and this tester DID IT for the head or head gasket.

It would have been a real problem pulling the head not to mention cost to discover Im still loosing antifreeze. Not even a question about cost compared to cost for parts to pull a head. Shipping was really fast and like I said the cost compared to just the head gasket, no brainer.

Thanks.

I LOVE THIS TESTER! It is almost worth it just to use it as a science experiment. The tool is so easy to use, basic instructions are all you need. As instructed you can take it apart into 3 parts (the suction part at top, the middle tube, and the bottom tube).

You then fill each of the tubes to a fill line easily visible with the fluid. You put it back together and then use either with your radiator (following directions) with the cap off or in my case I used on my overflow for my coolant since my radiator does not have a cap area.

You squeeze the bulb at the top around 3-4 times and it brings up air through the bottom tube up into the top tube. If any CO2 is present it will discolor the top tube from blue to a yellow color. My car did not discolor it which is a good thing as it means CO2 from the combustion system was not mixing into the coolant from a blown head gasket or cracked engine block etc.

Just to test it I also exhaled my own air into my hand (containing CO2) and sucked that at the same time with the bulb head into the tool and it did start to discolor the liquid to yellow from blue so it works.

Very easy to use tool to check if you have a cracked engine block or blown head gasket with CO2 from the engine exhaust going into your coolant. I highly recommend for peace of mind or to tell you what the true issue is to rule out one of these situations if you are worried about it.

Plus it is a teachable moment for kids to instruct them on what it does as it is like a science experiment!.

I own a high-mileage Cadillac with a Northstar V8 engine, so blown head gaskets are a constant source of concern. In under a half-hour in your own driveway, you can have test results. There is plenty of test fluid for multiple tests, assuming there’s no exhaust residue in your coolant, and you can save fluid to re-use another time.

I keep the used-but-good fluid separate from the original bottle in a small Tupperware-style container. Have a dedicated turkey Baster and a clean, quart-size container on hand for holding the coolant you must remove to create an air space at the top of the vehicle’s coolant reservoir.

My car has a tiny coolant leak someplace, so this kit is perfect for discerning whether it’s a cooling system leak or a blown head gasket. 30,000 miles down the road, it has given me peace of mind at a fraction of the cost of taking my car to the shop for testing.

yes this is a great kit for what it tests for, but it DOES NOT test for 2 other key water conditions, KH (Carbonate Hardness) and GH (General Hardness), like the strips do. KH measures the amount of carbonates and bicarbonates in water, which affects the buffering capacity of the water.

This means that KH helps neutralize acids and prevents your pH from changing too rapidly, which is useful because sudden pH crashes can cause health issues in your fish. Low KH means your water has less buffering capacity and the pH swings easily.

High KH means your water has more buffering capacity and the pH level is hard to change. GH measures the amount of calcium and magnesium ions in the water – in other words, how hard or soft your water is.

It’s one of the easiest ways to measure if your aquarium water has enough salts and minerals that are essential for healthy biological functions, such as fish muscle and bone development, shrimp molting, snail shell development, and plant growth.

I have been in the aquarium hobby for more than a decade. If you are going to keep fish then you have to know the nitrogen cycle. It is the single most important thing. This test kit is a must have. It is the best thirtyish dollars you will ever spend.

This test kit allows you to monitor your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH levels. When setting up a tank you will need to test daily. Once the tank has been running for a while and the nitrogen cycle has happened in full you can test less frequently.

Yes you can but the test strips to tell you everything this kit will do but the strips are much more expensive in the long run.

I was torn over whether to buy this, and remain torn over whether to recommend it. The pros: – Cost effective (esp from Chewy), compared to both strips and individual bottles. – Specific, accurate, consistent – Fairly complete kit The cons: – The booklet answers every “and if it’s outside the right range” with “buy this chemical we sell and dump it into the tank”, rather than teaching about the necessity of frequent water changes.

Newbie fish keepers are going to acquire bad habits and kill a lot of fish, while API profits away. – The specificity is only “in theory”, because two adjacent colors are so similar, you end up knowing the range not a specific number (so it’s not that different from strips) – The high range and low range pH cross about 7.

2-7. 4, so one often must do both tests to confirm pH in that area (IE being the lightest color in the high range means “7. 4 or below”, so you have to test again to find out how far below it might be) – No GH and KH – It’s genuinely a PITA to test this way – Leads to the bad habit of chasing a very specific pH, which could subject fish to rapid pH swings and osmotic stress – Shows total ammonia not free ammonia.

This is good, sort of, for people who don’t understand the difference but could subject fish to more change than they need by suggesting there’s a problem when there is not. I’m a veteran fishkeeper, and used this test kit to cycle and establish my first “real” aquarium ages ago.

But I had to buy a GH and KH test separately, and change to a wide range pH test kit my local fish store recommended (which comes from the gardening industry). Once the tank was established I switched to strips, and Seachem stick-on “alerts”.

Now, I am establishing 2 new tanks and felt that using these tests to get through the fishless cycle was the right thing to do, but now I’m really not sure it was necessary. It’s a widely held belief the strips aren’t accurate but I’ve never found this to be the case (I use Tetra).

Testing the two tanks with this kit is a 30 minute production, and it’s not providing more useful information than just using the strips. If you’re a noob, use your judgement on this kit vs strips. But do not follow the advice to correct problems by adding chemicals.

Educate yourself on the nitrogen cycle, and fish less cycling. Read about why not to chase pH too avidly or freak out over small changes (I recommend the eBook by Boruchowitz on fishkeeping).

I was always sceptic about this kind of gadget but this made me change my mind. I thought of giving it a try and lo and behold, it does its job quite well. The front of my apartment faces the sun in the first part of the day, till noon or more really, and the temperature in the front rooms tends to get really high.

Setting this gadget, through the Switchbot app, to close the Curtains when the temperature reaches a certain level did the trick of reducing the time the Air Conditioner is on and thus I am saving on electricity.

Furthermore, I managed to keep a constant humidity in the rooms. I think I shall get another one for the other rooms now. By the way, it integrates quite well with Google Assistant but had some trouble with Alexa.

The latter refuses to acknowledge its presence and reports the wrong temperature. I did not have any trouble with Google Assistant.

Have brought 6 in total for my house. Each work a treat. Have them in each of the bedrooms to helps keep track of them temps and humidity which really helps in winter time and also in summer if it’s to humid.

But I also have one in my 3D printer area so I can keep track of my filament temps which is really important. Otherwise they can go bad and not be used it not kept the right temp. Which helps so much.

Also because it can be monitored remotely I can check when away from the house and I can switch a room heating on as well if I needed.

I have owned a couple of these meters for a few years now, and just purchased a third. They are an inexpensive, reliable, and effective device. I use them with the active alerting, to enable automations that run dehumidifiers, fans, or heaters, depending on the situation.

I have happily recommended these to friends and family, and will deffinetly purchase more when required. I do hope that SwitchBot would build on the success of this meter to build one for outside use.

I’m a professional, and this is an excellent test. You expose activated charcoal for a few days, then seal it up and send it to the lab. They will analyze the air absorbed by the charcoal and send back a very clear and what appears to be trustworthy radon assessment.

They advise sending it to them UPS, which is more pricey than regular first class mail, but that’s not really an issue. There is evidently a lot of care expended in making sure the test is done responsibly, and they make a big effort to document what needs to be documented.

In fact, filling out the forms is a more effort than actually exposing the charcoal!.

We bought this kit, since we suspected radon in our home. The instructions are easy to follow, and the lab fee is included in the price. We left ours out for the full 96 hours for maximum benefit, then sent it out as instructed in the provided envelope.

Postage is not included, but that is a small price to pay for everything that IS included, in my opinion. Within a week, they got back to me via email, with further instructions on what to do if the radon levels were higher than recommended.

I cannot recommend this product highly enough, and for the price, it is WELL worth it!.

I bought this and stamped it with 5 stamps and filled out the form and sent it in, and I never received the results. They did send me an e-mail saying they never did the test because they didn’t receive the kit in time (I sent it about 3 days after I did the test) I come back and look today and it is more expensive now, too.

It’s just some charcoal in a pouch, can’t imagine it would hold up in court. That’s why they will never give you a positive test, and it even says if they give you a positive, you need to RETEST! If first alert wants this down, they can pay me 500,000$ Thanks!.

First target market. Basic FM/Aircraft scanner. Does not handle trunking or digital radios. The receiver has okay sensitivity, but isn’t nearly as sensitive as my old Radio Shack scanner or hand-held radios.

So far, front end overload hasn’t been a problem. The good: 10 banks of 50 channels plus 10 search banks. Close Call to find nearby transmitters. Each channel allows you to set the scan delay, name, frequency, CTCSS/DCS code.

The display shows a lot of information to help you understand what you’re listening to. The free software works reasonably well, but does not allow importing channels. The bad: The charger has a timer which can be set for how long you want the charger to run.

This means that it doesn’t charge your radio, then stop when full. This is a very bad design, but it is reasonable for the price. The sensitivity isn’t as good as other radios, but it’s good enough to listen to an airport 5 miles away, local ham repeaters and police.

The included mini-USB cable can be used to either charge (radio off) the batteries or run the radio. The included antenna appears to work fairly well. There is a better software package, but ARC125 costs $24.

75 for a download.

First off, the Bearcat line has been around a long time and they build a good product. I’ve know a lot of people that would agree with me on that point. I like this model for a number of reasons. First off, the 500 channel capability is more than I would ever need.

I wouldn’t even come close to using a quarter of those in my opinion. The frequency range is another. It can pick up a lot, air, military, police, etc. It’s a multi-use item as far as that goes. The small size is also nice as I like to keep my gear to a minimum.

But, it also can be bad. I have big hands and sometimes that proves cumbersome when pushing the buttons on the front side. Nothing major though, just something that takes a little getting used to. I also like that you can use either the USB plug to power/and or charge it up if using rechargeable batteries.

Another nice feature is that you can plug it into a laptop or computer and using the software from Uniden, pre-program your channels and download to the scanner. A whole lot easier than messing with it manually.

Overall, I think it is a great value, new units from Bearcat cost around 125. 00 or so which I think isnt a bad price. I bought mine as an almost new condition and it was a steal at less than 80. 00.

I don’t think you could go wrong with getting this unit. Hope this can help out!.

The BC125AT is a great basic alphanumeric analog scanner that includes full VHF and UHF coverage, including Air and Military Air channels, as well as full alpha tagging for all channels. PC programming software makes it very simple and easy to program for daily use, or for specific events (car races, air shows.

etc. ). Close Call RF Capture technology including Do-Not-Disturb makes capturing those unknown frequencies a snap. The BC125AT includes all the feature enhancements you’d expect from Uniden, including Temporary Lockout, CTCSS/DCS decoding, per-channel dropout delay, and complete search features, all in a compact, easy-to-carry chassis.

This is a great little scanner. I’ve used scanners since 1975, and this is one of the best basic analog scanners I have ever owned. There are many BC125AT Features. Too many to list here. If you are looking for a basic, simple scanner, then consider the BC125AT.

This scanner does not include capability to monitor APCO P25 digital or trunking signals or higher bands in the 700 and 800 MHz range. Do your research before buying a scanner of this type. While it is sophisticated and well built, it just does the basics in monitoring the VHF and UHF bands.

The price is affordable too.

This thermostat looks nice, better than any other thermostat. The installation and general setup is OK, it takes about about 30 minutes if all wiring is there. It also easily integrates with Samsung SmartThings v2.

But the functionality is not as advanced as for instance Ecobee’s. The occupancy sensor in Nest thermostat is pretty much useless. I was home moving around, and the Nest thermostat would switch to Away state thinking that there is noone home.

The remote sensor that came with it does not have an occupancy detection, so all you can count on for occupancy detection is really the smartphones of the people that live in the house, which is not a really nice way of detecting home occupancy.

If you have multiple sensors in the house you only can pick one at the time to regulate on its measure temperature, there is no possibility of averaging in this thermostat. Also, the history view is really poor for Nest, Ecobee did a much better job on this.

And if you download the history data from the website, the status data is in JSON format and it is impossible to interpret. Also, the deadbands are not adjustable for Nest, at least I could not find it.

I did not try its learning feature myself since it already had a lot of negative comments. So, I think if one wants to buy a nice stylish looking thermostat for a very basic use, Nest Learning Thermostat is a very good choice.

But if one wants a highly customizable thermostat which one can also regularly monitor and adjust, then there are better choices , like Ecobee.

I have a remote multiplus installation that I wanted to monitor, so I was stuck going with this device or cobbling together other brands with difficulties in configuration and limited data collection.

I like how this works, but it’s pricey and the cables to connect to the other devices are also very pricey. The problem overall with the Victron products is that you need to buy a bunch of different gadgets and cables to monitor and control everything.

Everything except the Multiplus comes with bluetooth, but you need to be on location to use that. It would be very smart if the Color Control GX connected to all the other Victron devices devices by bluetooth, but no, you can only connect to them individually from the app.

You don’t HAVE to use this device in a MultiPlus installation – you can just connect directly to the MultiPlus with your phone or computer via USB. This GX combines the battery monitor, charger, inverter and probably other victron products to one network and sends the info to Victron’s remote monitoring servers.

I’d prefer not to need the 3rd party cloud, but it does make things easy. The remote console is pretty laggy, but it works. It seems like this thing could simply allow direct access, and maybe it does, which I’ll dig into later.

At a minimum, you will need plain RJ45 ethernet cable to MultiPlus (other inverters may need different cables) and power (cable provided). Internet connection requires a USB wifi dongle (I didn’t try that) or connect by ethernet to your LAN (either connection obviously needs to go through your LAN’s Internet connection).

You’ll need a VE. Direct cable for any other Victron devices that you want to connect, up to 2. If you want to connect more than two VE. Direct devices, you’ll need a plain old USB hub and the VE. Direct USB cable.

If you have a big boat, then you’ll recognize the sales strategy from marine electronics: Suck the customer into your brand with good core components, and then overcharge on the accessories. So, if you are putting this on a boat, as many people do, you’ll be familiar with the program.

Overall, I like the Victron stuff – it just works and looks like very high quality products. I’ve used other, cheaper brands for some solar projects, and they worked OK, but didn’t look as good or as durable.

The inverter itself was a decent price, but I have to deduct -1/2 star for value of the GX and -1/2 for needing so many addons to assemble your network.

I just wanted to say I am a huge fan of all victron equipment , But I see some people giving poor reviews because they simply do not understand how the equipment functions or even how to configure the equipment to begin with.

And its sad because ultimately a lot of people reading reviews go without this high quality equipment , all because of someone who doesn’t understand how to utilize this equipment into their system. So for people reading reviews , Please take this into consideration for your benefit.

I renovated my RV’s solar system and added Renogy lithiums and a host of Victron equipment. The price of the CCGX is high, but worth it. I can see everything that is going on with my AC/DC and solar components.

I just wish it were Bluetooth integrated like the BMV712 and SmartSolar MMPT controller to eliminate the ve. bus wires.

First, I love the interconnecting feature of this alarm system. When properly installed and programmed, when one alarm detects carbon monoxide or smoke, EVERY interconnected alarm sounds off LOUD AND CLEAR! This model can be programmed to identify with one of 11 different pre-programmed names, such as kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc.

When an alarm is sounded in your bedroom at 2am, the interconnected alarms all might say “CARBON MONOXIDE IN THE LIVING ROOM”, (or wherever the detector is located at). Oddly, there are two places where I worry about carbon monoxide coming from inside my house.

One is in my attached garage, where somebody might park the car, close the garage door, and neglect to turn off the engine. The second possible source of carbon monoxide is in the laundry room where I have a natural gas clothes dryer.

Sadly the words “Garage” and “Laundry Room” are not included in any of the 11 names you can program for your alarm. Maybe future First Alert Smoke alarm models will add these standard names in their vocabulary.

In my case, if the the garage and/or laundry rooms sense smoke or carbon monoxide, they will still trigger the alarms on ALL of the detector units, but the only thing that will be missing is the LOCATION of which detector tripped the alarm.

Another feature that I found annoying, was that the alarm test button (and temporary hush button) is inconveniently located at the very TOP of the detector. If it was located at the BOTTOM edge of the detector it could be more easily reached without standing on tp of a chair, or it could be activated with a push of something like a broom handle.

Overall, these interconnected First Alert battery operated smoke and carbon monoxide alarms work GREAT. I am a heavy sleeper (and more than a little deaf), and I really appreciate being able to instantly know if ANY of the smoke alarms in my house sense a fire.

I have replaced ALL of the smoke alarms in my house with First Alert interconnected smoke alarms of different models, and I have experienced no false alarms in the past 30 days.

Absolutely amazing. We use it compliment all our Thermal Infrared Inspections and verify the prevalence and existence of moisture. It’s an incredible tool when coupled with an MR-06m MR-04, MR-08 Wall Cavity Probe as well.

Amazing customer support, knowledge and service. Dan Martin is the best. !!! Thank you again. Highly recommended.

After spending over $1000, it came with expired calibration. It was shipped off to another company to be calibrated where it was determined unable to be repaired and advised a warranty replacement. Huge waste of time and money.

Excellent IGM moisture meter. With thermo hygrometer and all the attachments make it very versatile. List price is excessive – shop around. The IR camera is good enough for moisture ID but I also use a Flir One IR camera – much more useful for IR reporting.

Don’t buy these, just go donate blood to find out your blood type. Bought 3 to ensure accuracy while using these. Opened the first one and the needle barely pierced through my skin. I thought maybe it was an unlucky pack.

Tried again with the second and same thing. The needles DON’T WORK and neither Walmart nor the distributor will refund me because it’s mEdiCaL eQuiPmeNt. Going to have to go through my credit card company now.

Anyway. Wasted $36. They’re useless.

Very easy to follow instructions, easy to read results, took approximately 10 minutes (including reading instructions. ) I don’t understand the reviews saying it was not easy to use. Everything was clearly laid out step-by-step, and the test card and tools were very easy to use.

I purchased two because of reviews that said results were unclear – both my results were clear and indentical. I recommend.

We purchased these blood type test kits because my son was very curious about blood types. They were very easy to use. The instructions that came with them are very clear. The additional video available from Home Science Tools made it absolutely clear what we were to do.

Overall five star rating …. however the Nest do not work with existing old schools smoke detectors…. so technically and not super important at first…. but you’ll have to replace all of your smoke detectors with Nest in order to get the all floors/all rooms home alert in where the emergency is originating from….

…. Or …. at the very least have one Nest on each floor of your dwelling in conjunction with old one then replace old ones in bedrooms with new Nest ever year, this … way if your way upstairs your Nest will alert the one your closest to because you not and won’t likely be able to hear the basement one….

…… this was fine for me to do because ALL my smoke detectors were expired and way expired at that, So they absolutely needed to be replaced…. so you can either do one at a time as your smoke detectors go bad … And you probably didn’t know smoke detectors had an expiration date, did you?? but they do just like your milk or your Cola… so keep that in mind- Nest is a great product and has many awesome features and should last 10 years or until till you have to replace it because of the fore mentioned expiration date….

or in my case…. I’ll forget and problem be dead 20 years after the expire because that’s how long it was before I got around to replacing the old one with Nest product…. I have Nest cameras and Nest thermostats and it’s back by Google … so it should be supported for way long into the future…… thanks and enjoy.

and stay safe…. Life’s tough…. but Nest makes life easier….

The Nest Protect 2nd generation Smoke and CO2 is better than most smoke detectors. It is a good product and works as advertised with one exception which is why I didn’t give 5 stars. The Wifi is a bit buggy still with these detectors.

I have 9 of them installed in my home and frequently 1, 2 or 3 of them will go offline on their 30 min checkin with the router. They often come back online on their own and it can be any one of the 9 at any time.

Google Tech Support was not useful at all. I tried various solutions on my own such as assigning static IPs, or binding to a particularly close node or extender with no satisfaction. I eventually added a 3rd node to my ASUS router Mesh network and this seems to have solved the problem but had to discover this on my own.

It appears the detectors are sensitive to how many other devices are active at the time of checkin and if they don’t get an immediate response go offline until the next checkin. The good news though is the detector going offline does not affect its functioning at all for smoke or CO2 detection or it’s communication with other detectors, only communication with the NEST app and there is a solution by balancing out the traffic with an additional node or extender if you have a lot of these.

I recommend them but beware this annoying issue.

The Nest smoke detector was an easy replacement for my existing wired smoke detectors and look great as well. Before installing turn off the power at the breaker panel and use and make sure you have a meter or other device to verify no voltage before starting the installation.

I followed the directions step-by-step and the installation went exactly as it was supposed to. I already hade a Nest thermostat and doorbell cam so I was familiar with the app and the smoke detector show up right away in the process.

The testing gives you a voice warning as well as both the alarms for smoke and carbon monoxide snd were plenty loud enough. I really like that the app has a battery indicator so you know when the batteries need to be replaced, also love the built in motion detector that turns on a light when movement is detected.

This is in a small hallway outside two bedrooms and a guest bathroom and makes it nice if someone gets up in the middle of the night. With it being outside the bathroom there is also a test to make sue steam doesn’t set the smoke detector off.

Ours did not.

In the past two weeks I have purchased two of the “Monopods” (for myself and a friend). Neither of these new items will hold a set position. A slight tap on the ground and the stick begins to collapse without using the trigger.

They are useless for hunting or walking. I will be returning them and will not risk purchasing another. It seems that as more and more products are coming from China the quality continues to degenerate.

Obviously quality control of seriously deficient.

Bought mine back in Feb 2022 to use on the kayak but couldn’t use till nearly 6 months later due to a problem getting the waterproof thru-hull cable plugs I initially wanted/ordered. (For fellow kayakers out there – the Hobie ones are almost impossible to get atm so I went for the Wilderness Systems ones – less than a week shipping from Amazon Australia.

Just use plenty of Sika marine sealant to get an even better seal). These units are great out-of-the-box to just plug in & start using but it pays to do your homework to get the most out of them if you’ve never used a fishfinder before, Now I’ve done that, watched many tutorials & tested it out on the water a bunch of times I’m pretty stoked with it.

Compared to other brands there’s a lot of bang for buck here. Not really using sidescan as much as I thought but that may come into its own later. By all accounts after you tweak the settings to your liking the downscan is comparable to more expensive models & using the fish reveal feature with it certainly highlights fish & structure very well.

Being able to add the clock/time to the display is one simple feature I personally love. Added tips for kayakers – get a 12v regulator between the battery & fishfinder as the unit can shut off when battery power goes below 11-11.

5v – well before your battery is out of juice. Also use the Standby feature as much as possible when not scanning to prolong battery life.

I was unsure about purchasing an entry-model Lowrance unit, as I’ve been very happy with my high-quality Garmin and Humminbird products. After a Garmin unit died due to old age, rather than repairing it I spent a similar amount on the 9 inch version of this sounder.

I’m happy I did, as the base model of this unit in a 9 inch screen, shows me far more detail than my previous premium Garmin 7 inch unit. Technology has dramatically improved and with the 9 inch screen, I’d struggle to justify spending more on a sounder for my yak.

The larger screen makes split screen views truly useful, whereas on the smaller screen you never really got a good view of anything when the screen was divided. My first expedition was in horrible weather, so the yak was smashing through heavy chop.

Despite that, the sidescan view was amazing, showing every little bump in the sand. I have to say I’m impressed, despite my initial reservations.

I’ve only been out with the Hook Reveal 7 twice now, first time the sounder wasn’t working – the GPS/ maps part was OK but transducer wasn’t working – advice in BCF shop suggested to default the unit.

I did this, and all was OK next time out. I’ve only had one sounder before this one coincidentally a Lowrance (Elite 4), which was already fitted to previous boat. When I was looking at sounders for new boat, the display BCF had in store was excellent.

I didn’t find anywhere else that had such a good display of sounders. When I was in store there was a staff member there who knew sounders very well. My reason for buying this sounder was first my new boat was already fitted with Lowrance transducer, plus I was happy with the other Lowrance I had, but that one didn’t have maps.

Originally the boat dealer was going to provide a 5″ Lowrance head unit, but when I mentioned I was interested to have maps, they suggested the bigger screen of 7″ unit would be much better visually.

This made perfect sense, so I was happy to go with the bigger unit. The dealer didn’t have a 7″ unit readily available and suggested I look at BCF to see the differences in screen sizes. I bought the 7″ Combo unit from BCF, which the boat dealer fitted.

Not being a fishing guy I can’t advise on how good this unit is for fish finding, I can say the maps looks good, the 7″ screen is good and fine in direct sun light. One thing I recall my Elite 4 did was allow bigger character size on screen for depth etc, where as this one with bigger screen surprisingly the character size choice I think is small and medium only, whereas the Elite had large font size as well.

On price I did compare elsewhere but didn’t find cheaper elsewhere. I’m happy to recommend this this unit, and also buying it from BCF, and also suggest checking out BCF for the excellent Sounder display they have (I bought from Caloundra store).

This version of a “fit bit” has been one of the biggest hits with my 8 year old grandson. He absolutely loves it and because it is aimed at his age group it does not have anything on it to distract him from using it simply as a way of working out his daily progress.

It tells him about the world around him and keeps him informed and entertained without the worry of extras such as inappropriate video games or access to Youtube. He absolutely loves it and the price was something that drew me to this particular fitbit, plus the reviews and articles were excellent.

I totally recommend this to anyone thinking about getting one for their child/grandchild without paying out for an unnecessary expensive market brand. This fitbit is well made and well designed. Everyone was very impressed and It was such a hit with all the family that my son also bought a replaceable strap so my grandson could ring the changes.

The order was dispatched and arrived quickly and the two year guarantee that John Lewis gives was an added bonus. Good value for money, excellent.

I just bought two of these for my kids and I’m sure they’ll be great but I had some major setup issues for my daughter because she’s 14 and apparently you can only setup an account for these for children 13 and under.

You can’t make a child account for a child over 13 and you can’t connect this device to a regular account. I had to call the help line to figure it out. Even though my daughter had already made her own account, we couldn’t use it and had to make her a child account and say she was 13.

The birthday date I used rolls over in two days and the device is supposed to prompt her to make an adult account at that point and supposedly the Ace 3 will still work for her with the new account. Also, the guy on the phone says we should be able to use the existing account but we’ll see.

I have a feeling he misunderstood my question about that.

Kids Fitbit. Concept is good but applications are very limited. Good for tracking steps and activity minutes. Wish they would allow more access to features for the kids version. Regular Fitbits can’t be linked under the family account so this is the only option for kids.

As others have stated the band isn’t great quality either but a new band can be purchased for decent prices. Same bands used for the Fitbit inspire 2 model.

I ordered the food sensitivity test to see if tomatoes or other foods were causing the horrible bloating I’ve been experiencing. Everything pretty much was low to very low, except for all dairy, eggs, almonds, and lima beans.

I was not thrilled about the eggs scoring High. I eat a hard boiled egg daily as my lunch, a wee brie wedge with vegggies, and a few tablespoons of half and half with ny coffee. So I guess the small items I do eat after intermittent fasting are causing the bloating.

I swore it was tomatoes!! The test was easy to do. I don’t agree that it was painless. I don’t mind needles at all, but this one hurt. But it did the trick and the blood was flowing to get it done quickly.

The results came pretty quickly after the lab received it. Overall, I’m very happy with the purchase and have some thinking to do to see if I can give up my daily egg and truely see if it makes a difference or not.

I have been suffering from stomach and gastrointestinal upset for a number of years, but I have never been able to understand why! Even though I am a Type II Diabetic and take Metformin for this, my doctors have been very hesitant to assign blame on the drug for my problem.

They even put me on the Low FODMAP diet, which is a regimen where you take a whole host of foods out of your diet and then add them back in one at a time until you figure out which one is making you sick.

Well, it didn’t work for me, and I am still sick. So, I sent for the myLAB Box Food Sensitivity Test, which tests your sensitivity test to 96 different foods (dairy, meats & fish, fruits, vegetables, grains & nuts, herbs, spices, yeast – you name it!) And, guess what: I was only moderately sensitive to four different items on the list (almonds, bananas, baker’s/brewer’s yeast and Candida albicans).

So, armed with this test now, I can go back to my doctor and show that it is NOT my diet that is making me ill. Thank you, myLAB Box!!!.

I’ve been training by heart rate for years and have been through numerous Polar and Garmin chest straps, all of which were uncomfortable and eventually gave dodgy readings. I’ve been using the Scosche Rhythm+ for more than a year now, it pretty much daily, and find it to be vastly superior.

The optical sensor is not one of the cheaper models used on so many of the fitness trackers; it is every bit as accurate as the EKG-type chest straps, and I find it to be more reliable at picking up pulse, especially early in a workout.

In terms of comfort it can’t be beat. As a woman, I found that chest straps were always at war with my sports bra bands for position and skin contact. I primarily use the Rhythm+ on my upper arm, though occasionally on my wrist where it also works well.

Scosche now has a free utility app that allow you to check battery level. This is helpful because this is one of my minor beefs with the product: the short battery life. I need to charge mine after every ~6 hours of use (and because it’s so comfortable I often forget I’m wearing and accidentally leave it powered on after a run, wasting the battery).

Also, my velcro strap is becoming less grippy. Someday soon I will either have to pick up a replacement strap or upgrade to the upcoming Rhythm24 which offers a non-velcro strap and far better battery life, thus addressing my two slight gripes.

Bought this for my wife, who has been having troubles getting a consistent reading from her Garmin Vivoactive 3. Regardless of the workout type (treadmill, weights etc), it was not detecting what we felt to be an accurate heart rate.

Enter the Scosche Rythym+. We paired it using ANT+. We tried it on upper and lower arm, on the outer and inner side of her in both spots, and still getting similar results to the Garmin’s optical sensor.

So I put it on my arm, while it was connected to her Garmin, put on my Garmin chest strap which was connected to MY Garmin VA3, and jumped on a stationary bike. My chest strap was reporting 140 HR, while the Scosche reported 73 bpm.

Moved it around and it jumped up to closely match the chest strap, and after a couple mins, it dropped back down to 70/80 range again and stayed there. 2 stars, for comfort and ease of ANT+ setup. Quite disappointed, after having read some good reviews on it.

Thankfully MEC has a rock-solid return policy, which is what I am doing today :(.

I decided to buy the Scosche to use with my Polar M400 instead of buying a new watch, like the M200, that measures heart beats on the wrist. I was hoping that the Scosche would be more accurate than wrist based monitors and at the same time allow me to use the watch I already have.

Actually, I’m happy with the M400 as it lets me separate my different work outs by sport — I use outdoor walking and cycling, and indoor elliptical, treadmill, stairs, rowing machine, cycling, and circuit training.

All in all, I’d say that the Scosche has been accurate. The readings seem reasonable compared to those I use to get with the chest strap and I don’t get crazy readings any more often that I did with the chest strap.

I use it in the range of 80 to 110 bpm. I can’t vouch for higher rates. The instruction manual says to put it on the inside of your upper forearm, but I have been putting it on the outside top part of my forearm, similar to the placement that they use in their videos.

It certainly is much easier to use than a chest strap, as you don’t have to lift up your shirt and wet it each time. It is also more comfortable. I usually clean it and recharge it after each use. Hope my experience with it will be helpful to those considering buying it.

I don’t have much knowledge on testing strips since I only began using them within the last year or so after being diagnosed as prediabetic. These are quite pricer than other brands I have been seeing around, but can say that with my meter they work really well and very detailed as far as record keeping.

The Accu-Guide meter I use along with the mySugr app keeps me super updated and helps me learn more about readings and ways to keep my blood sugars low along with some other coachings. As stated these are a little more spendy than other brands out there, but I think they are worth the money if you want to make sure you are getting the best bang for you buck.

The price of test strips is outrageous! So, I naturally wanted to find some low cost strips. Doing simple ‘cost per strip’ math, this was a super deal! However, in reading the feedback on strips from that seller, the ‘close to expiration date’ was a common comment.

I figured ‘hey’, like a gallon of milk doesn’t instantly turn sour on the ‘sell by date’, strips wouldn’t go ‘sour’ instantly either. My strips arrived 3 days after ordering on 9/22/2019. The expiration date is 11/30/2019, a bit more than 2 months in the future.

So, while I still have another weeks’ supply of strips, I decided to my current strips (11/30/2020 expiration) with the new ones (11/30/2019). I made my test with one poke with the lancet, to eliminate different finger, different time, issues.

They were done 1 hour after dinner including a couple of my favorite chocolate non-sugar-free cookies. Apparently, the strips DO go bad as they age. With my existing strips, the reading was 163. Walmart strip: 178! So I tried the test again.

163 again with another ‘baseline’ strip, 192 from the Walmart strip! All from a single poke! Needless to say, I’m out $35. 66 as those strips are in the trash. I should state that although the cardboard box the two bottles of strips were in was undamaged, the lid of the 50 strip bottle I used was open when I opened the package.

Perhaps exposure to air is the cause of the higher and inconsistent readings. So, I will now check every sellers’ feedback to ensure I get only strips with at least a one year future expiration!.

The little ‘pouch’ that holds the device, lancer and test strips is horrible. I think they came up with a functional design and then decided to dress it up with shiny nylon that is so slippery it is almost tough to just hold onto and use skimpy elastic bands to position things, not hold them in place.

The ‘single stack’ of test strips is a neat idea but it is still difficult to just get one. The lancing device is a cool concept, it has a cartridge that has six lancets that you can advance through and they are contained so you do not have to worry about the ‘sharps’ disposal issue.

Overall, If I were not forced to use this as a paired device to my insulin pump, I would not have used it past the 10 strips that came in the original box.

I live in Central Idaho and often cycle, ski and paddle solo off the cell phone grid. Accordingly, I sought a cycling specific computer with off-grid live tracking and map navigation. After researching various Garmin products, and calling Garmin Customer Support, I purchased an In-Reach Mini2 and an Edge 1040.

The Mini2 provides the off-grid live tracking as well as off-grid texting to family and friends, and SOS to emergency services. After initial setup, I did call Garmin Customer Support to complete the integration and syncing of both devices with each other, with the Garmin apps (2), and with my laptop.

In addition, I use Strava, so I had to get both devices set up to report activities to Strava, create routes, and then upload routes to the Edge 1040. The Garmin Customer Support rep was absolutely awesome; he helped me through the process, and then we tested all the integration across devices and platforms.

Once I understood the difference between Glances and Widgets on the Edge, I added a Widget screen for the In-Reach Mini2 so now I can operate the Mini2 through the Edge provided the Mini2 is turned on.

This works seamlessly! Although I wish there was a single cycling specific computer with In-Reach capability, the combination of both units works well. The Edge 1040 is very capable, although I don’t use all the power and training functions.

The screen is sharp, and it’s easy to swipe pages from stats to map to profile to etc. All these pages (glances?) are customizable (data fields/screen). I’m quite pleased. Suggestion for Garmin: please include 2 inserts and 2 mounts in the Bundle package so that the unit can be installed on at least 2 bikes.

Also, the rubber protector should also come with the bundle, and not require a separate cost and order. Cool stuff, and it’s now much safer to ride off grid.

I purchased the Edge 1040 Solar and it’s got loads of problems. The Navigation looks better post track, but it’s off on the road. It’s not even close to pre-populated routes, misses turn queues all the time, etc.

So you’ve got to stare at the map the whole time or you’re gonna miss turns. There’s also a serious problem around % Grade. The Edge 1040 averages the grade over at least 1000-2000 feet of distance. So you’ll be halfway up a hill before it reflects a change in grade.

Or you’ll be 1000-2000 feet up a long shallow grade before it registers on the Edge 1040. Likewise you’ll be on the top of a hill and the Edge 1040 will say that you’re still on an 8% grade. I contacted support about this and the feedback I got says that this isn’t a priority and may not be fixed ‘until a future version of Edge’.

So if you’ve used previous generations like the Edge 1000, don’t upgrade. Using the 1040 for training won’t help you. It’ll actually hurt your performance on hills and climbs if you ever relied on knowing the grade to trim your power output to the terrain.

I’ll add that the Climb screen is interesting but without an accurate real time grade being displayed it is literally a useless graphic that tells you what the grade WAS 2000 feet ago as you struggle up a 14% climb.

If support has you replace it, beware that all the rides you’ve done, all the custom screens, all the routes, everything you’ve done on your Edge 1040, will be lost. There’s no transfer of any of that.

If you don’t need the battery life from this thing, skip it. None of the reviewers or youtube influencers who reviewed this device cover these issues. Also they don’t publish the MAC address of the device anywhere in the setup section so you can’t secure your WiFi network without an air sniffer to sus that out on your own.

This product is a fail.

I have cycle computers since first started off with the concept. Biking metrics and data (long ago) surpassed my own usefulness. However, time arrived when I needed just a little bit more than just speed, cadence, and distance.

There might be other viable options, but the 830 is very flexible and has a very wider range of options to give you as little or as much data as you want Note: I’ve only had the device for a few weeks, and I’m still learning how best to use it.

Pros: – highly customizable – data screens, sensors, connections, everything – color screen was clearly visible in both shade and bright sun – touch screen is very nice – emergency sos contact works.

on gravel ride over the weekend, I got stuck in a water/mud filled 4×4 rut and fell to the right. I guess I stopped fast enough that I triggered some incident alert. My BT paired phone started to chirp with something I’ve not heard before.

Is was the 830 working with my phone to alert my contacts about a potential accident. Wrong in this case, but very nice to have – reasonable priced for the features – turn by turn is quite nice Cons: – trying to use the bottom buttons while riding can be tricky (touchscreen is great) – text can be hard to read while riding.

I changed up some of the data screen to show me LESS data, thus increasing the size of what I wanted to see. – getting back to the base/home screen I struggle with – menu text might not be completely intuitive.

Example. I’m riding, want to stop for a rest (or a beer) and then want to continue on with the data recording, one time the device stayed paused, another time, its just saved off the activity and I had to start a new one for the return trip.

– default settings, it beeps alot (telling me to drink or eat or a turn is coming up) Bottom line, would I buy again, and would I recommend to others. Yes and Yes. No question.

Great test kit! Was so easy as advertised. No worries, no stress. A trip to the hospital isn’t always easy so this proved a accurate, healthy, affordable, and discreet alternative. I will definitely continue to use MyLab for my tests! Thank you very much for your ssrvices!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

I don’t know about anyone else, but getting an STD has always been my biggest fear. I decided to get a test for peace of mind, but also didn’t want to go to the doctors. This test was extremely easy to do and discreet.

Like a few other reviews, I did have a hard time filling all the circles with blood. I had to run to the drug store to get more devices to draw more blood. I sent the test in on a Tuesday and the lab received it by Friday and by the following Thursday, I had results.

I would highly recommend this test and I will use it again to check regularly. Thank you for an easy, discreet way to check our sexual health!.

i will be on blood thinner the rest of my life. i have to check my thickness regularly, and i am a hard stick. there were times i would have to get stuck up to eight times to get enough blood to check pt/inr.

that sucks when you know it takes just a little to actually get your level. this device is great for anyone having to monitor their pt/inr. you do it at home. simple finger stick, put drop of blood on test strip, and within about 20-30 seconds you have your results.

i bought mine out right, @ $500. 00, and the strips are around $115 for a container(had over year, and still some left) most companies want you to rent them from them for a rediculous amount of money, and you are bound to their rules, and policy.

this gives me the freedom to be responsible for myself, and notify my dr with the results as i test.

CuaguChek XS has served its purpose well. I test weekly or as needed at home with CoaguChek XS and monthly using a professional lab. I have been using the CoaguChek XS within an hour of all professional tests.

The CoaguChek has always indicated results. 3 higher than the professional lab. Therefore, I have subtracted. 3 from the results on the CoaguChek for a result which matches the professional lab. The test strips have been more expensive than the medical insurance customary and reasonable cost for the profesional lab test.

However, the immediate results are worth the cost.

This new Roche CoaguChek XS PT/INR unit works very well and is very easy to use. I have been doing my own protime at home for 10 years with a inratio unit, but thought it might be time to upgrade. No regrets here excellent unit.