UK Eliquids I have tried

A list of vaping eliquids I have tried in the UK.
Currently I am trying TOBACCO flavors.

eliquid	flavor (nicotine)	cost/shop	comment	score
88vape Butlers	tobacco 16mg	£1 B&M stores	decent. my current default. My nearest to tobacco. organic flavorings	8/10
Ezi-cig tobacco	tobacco 16mg	£1 PoundWORLD	weak, thin. glycerine taste.	1/10
KIK	tobacco 16mg	£2 Poundstretcher	Had high hopes, but much like Ezi. Glycerin taste. organic(?).	4/10
VIP	KENTUCKY tobacco 0mg	£4 a vape shop	distinct taste but not that nice. Light on the throat. Maybe nicotine causes the throat effect.	4/10
88vape	rolling leaf 11mg	£1  B&M stores	had high hopes but tasteless apart from lemonade. Disappointed	3/10
Zing	tobacco medium (16mg?)	£1 Home Bargains	not used yet

Zealot B5 Wireless Headphones : consumer review

Zealot B5 Headphones : a quick review.
Version/Model : doesn't say, but think it may be 2015 model.

Quick verdict :
Seems a good standard. Clear but bass bias. Thin earpads. Nice try by Zealot  but could be improved.


Note :
Quite hard to find spec on this headphone knowing which version it refers to. One major gripe in reviews is that it has a proprietry port for charging, but in this newer model it uses a micro-usb port (an improvement).  

IKEA Nilserik Stool review

IKEA Nilserik Stool review

Marketed as a 'standing/sitting stool'

First impressions : Definitely worth considering as a 'working' stool or even as a 'leisure' stool such as a bar stool, or for musical keyboard or desk. Marketed as a 'standing stool', but I use it mostly as a 'sitting' stool. I think of it as a 'posture' stool.   

Overall score : 9/10

Price at time :
UK : £35
USA : $49.99

My score per price : 8/10
Could be slightly cheaper, but fair enough price. Good quality.

Review : Philips Airfryer (model HD9220/20) : A quick look

Review : Philips Airfryer model HD9220/20
Bought : Autumn 2013
Price (for me) : £80
My cooking skills : Almost zero
My use : cooking fatty foods, usually from frozen

Quick verdict :
Good idea and cooks well but needs improvement and is way overpriced. I can't recommend at that price unless you really want it. I keep having fat smoke incidents but I am reducing these with strategies.

Amazon USA  search 'Philips Airfryer'
Amazon UK  search 'Philips Airfryer'

Good points :
Seems a sound idea. It looks better at intense convection cooking than other fat-free alternatives I have seen
Very simple to understand and use
Very intense heat
Not too noisy
Certainly cooks things thorough if you can get the settings right
Should be especially decent for making things crispy outside but well cooked inside, such as breaded meats or 'oven' chips. I would say moreso for things with 'bulk' inside.
Fat-free cooking. Quite a lot of fat drips down to the bottom of the tray.

Naive review : Braun Oral-B Vitality Electric Toothbrush

A basic naive review by a consumer of : Braun Oral-B Vitality Electric Toothbrush
Bought : In UK
Model information : no package, so all I have to go on is on bottom of brush body : Type 3709 (other info : N2820)

Verdict : Seems a decent quality 'starter'/'bottom of the range' electric toothbrush. No frills but does the job. Look our for when it's seasonally on sale or on Amazon where it seems to be usually cheaper.

This review is on a Oral B Vitality toothbrush I bought in 2012. I presume there is not much change in the latest model, though I cannot be sure.

Amazon USA search : Oral-B Electric Toothbrush
Amazon UK search :  Oral-B Electric Toothbrush

Opening comments :
No frills. No LEDs when charging or using to let me know the state of the battery etc. Has a basic timer that pulses at 2 minutes to imply that this is enough time for cleaning. The newer model may also give the 30 second pulses to tell you to switch to another quadrant of the mouth (I ignore the timer myself). Seems to be a good solid electric toothbrush that is bottom of the range but still decent quality.

Philips SHC1300 Wireless Headphones review

Review : Philips SHC1300 Wireless (infrared) Headphones

Good :
Work well in line of sight of transmitter (says up to 7m)
The neighbours can't 'tune in'
Can use more than one headphone set with the same transmitter
Light and comfy enough
Decent enough sound.
Very decent power length (maybe 20-30 hours with rechargeable ?)
On/off and volume control on phones 
Uses AA batteries meaning no 'downtime' while recharging
Works fine with my rechargeable AA batteries

Bad :
Sound is tinny/thin (but still decent for non-quality listening)

Review : Logitech LS21 2.1 Stereo Speaker System

Review : Logitech LS21 2.1 Stereo Speaker System
Review based on connecting them to my computer for about 5 minutes (I returned them)
Price : £20/$33
Verdict : Not enough power to judge them for sound quality (which on first impression didn't sound too good). Don't buy.

Logitech LS21 2.1 Stereo Speaker System specifications :
Subwoofer and 2 satellite speakers
Wired control device (volume, headphone input, on/off)
Suibwoofer has bass control knob.
Mains powered
3.5mm input plug to connect to your chosen device
Subwoofer power : 4 RMS
Satellite speakers power : 1 RMS
Total peak power : 14W 

Review based on using for computer for 5 minutes :

Main dislikes :
There's hardly any power/volume. The maximum volume on my computer was about 1/3 of the computer master volume. Headphone was the same. I have read that someone said if you connect the headphone direct to the PC rather than via the speaker control device you might get more volume (I never tried that)

Sound didn't seem too good. The subwoofer too bassy, and the tweeters too tinny.  

Wires everywhere :
As well as all the wires for the speakers, you have more wires for the 'remote wired device'. It says the tweeters have cable management but it's basically a plastic loop at the back of each tweeter to wind your cable around. Don't forget you have the mains plug too. The 2 tweeters connect to the subwoofer with a 3.5mm connector. Then you have the 3.5mm device connector too. What a mess.

Other negative comments I have read :
A lot of people seem to be happy with the speakers (Amazon reviews etc). Of the negative reviews that are to do with sound quality or non-faulty comments, some have said you can hear humming as if the speakers aren't shielded. I didn't use them long enough to notice.

Likes :
I can't think of any. Perhaps they are a cheap option for something like a mobile phone to give you a bit of oomph. But even at a cheap price I took them back.

Verdict :
Very cheap but still not worth it. Avoid. I'm surprised because I thought Logitech would always be good products.

Kind of speakers I would like :
A 2.1 speaker set that used bluetooth. Preferably not mains powered (or optional).

Amazon USA search : Computer Speakers
Amazon UK search : Computer Speakers

Review : Selle Italia Qbik bicycle saddle

Novice Review (commuter cyclist)
Selle Italia Qbik bicycle saddle 
Price : Around £25/ $40 ?
Verdict : I found it good quality but uncomfy
Marks out of 10 : 7 ? (for reason above)
Marks out of 10 for price : 8 ?

Specs :
Synthetic leather microfibre cover (Ryslan and N6 nylon)
Waterproof
FeC Alloy rails
Weight : 270g
Length 27cm, Width 14cm at maximum width
Some differentiated padding

Opinion :
I found this to be good quality but after about 4 miles of commuting cycling I found it to be uncomfy (i.e. a sore bum) as the 'padding' is pretty hard. I was wearing jeans, so perhaps it is comfier for keen cyclists who wear padded cycling shorts.

Battle of the mini eco-torches : wind-up versus solar

'green' torches seem to be getting more popular (happily), and many are very cheap and meant for a small amount of light (no idea of the amount of lumens. They never usually say, but not much).

In this case I tested an inexpensive Rolson 3 led wind-up torch against a cheap solar 'keyring' 3 led torch available on Amazon or Ebay.

Update Feb 2014
The solar torch bought on ebay/amazon seems to be unable to recharge decently, to the point of being useless now. Either the battery and/or solar panel is not good enough.

I have since bought a solar torch out of Poundworld (UK) which seems to retain power ok. Perhaps they have better Quality Control.  

Conclusion : For me the Solar is the easy winner for brightness and size and practicality and it's cheap.

Update after 2 months : The Solar torch doesn't seem to recharge well. The light is pretty dim. I hope I can sort this out by putting it in strong light for a while    

The details of the 2 torches :

Rolson wind-up torch (comes with wrist strap which I removed):
cost £2/$3.20 (from a shop)

HP x3000 Wireless Mouse : quick review

This is the UK version
Bought for around £10 from Asda
Quick summary : Good receptive basic mouse for the price
Value : 9/10


Contents :
Mouse
2.4 ghz micro transmitter
One AA battery

Basic facts  (According to HP) :
2 button mouse and scroll button (manual says 3 buttons. Including the scroll wheel)

Review/demo : Philips Hair Clipper Pro (model QC5345)

Quick impression : Very good cutter and only 2 attachments needed. No oil either. Charges up in 1 hour. Light. Cutting edge is washable.
Downside : Only real gripe is ... a bit noisy
Score : 9/10
Score per value : depends how much you paid but they are good quality.

Review :