DJI Avata Flying Around Property Taking a Few Branches to the Face

It's been awhile since I flew my DJI Avata FPV Drone around the house. DJI sometimes makes it difficult to fly in certain areas and my place is close enough to an Airport that my DJI Avata complains and restricts my ability to fly. I am not sure what changed but all of a sudden I am now again able to fly in my area as long as I accept responsibility for flying in a semi restricted area. I really do not go very high or even close to where an airplane may fly over, but I understand making sure I am aware of any hazards to my DJI Avata Drone or an airplane.

After a few laps around the yard it all started to come back to me, and now that I can fly again, I will for sure be stretching my FPV wings or or should I say blades. I hope to really start to get good at flying this super fun mini Jet Fighter and share even riskier flying with everyone! Enjoy some close calls while I blast through some small branches and almost get hit by a truck (My Bad). I can say without a doubt that the DJI Avata FPV Drone is really built strong as I have nailed some branches hard and taken a few tumbles, and after that, this little guy doesn't even have a scratch on it, just had to clean off some dirt.

• By the DJI Avata FPV Drone

Fun Trail Ride on EUC While Getting Bloodwork

Sometimes I take my EUC when I head out to get my bloodwork done for my INR or in this case for my INR and Testosterone. Why not, it's fun and if it's a nice day and I have time for a quick distraction I might just have to take a detour and hit some trails on the way back home.

I am really enjoying my RayBan Meta AI Camera Glasses since anytime I want, I can simply Meta to record video or take a picture. I have been really impressed with the overall video quality and stabilization they offer. I can also make and receive both calls and texts hands free which is super convenient and I can control my music just by asking Meta to play it for me!

Life is good! Life is fun! Get out and play!

Trulap 8592 versus BowFlex SelectTech 1090 Adjustable Dumbbell Comparison Review

I did pay for both of these sets of Adjustable Dumbbells on my own. I purchased the BowFlex 1090 SelectTech second hand and I purchased the Trulap 8592 direct from Trulap. Trulap was kind enough to offer me a bit of a discount as I offered in return to make this review for them. I paid the majority of the costs for each unit out of pocket so this review is going to be 100% based on my own personal opinion without outside influence.

I while back I ordered a set of Trulap 8592 Adjustable Dumbbells to replace a full set of standard dumbbells I was using in my home gym that where taking up a lot of space, I had a significant monetary investment in my standard dumbbell set. The idea behind adjustable Dumbbells is that they can replace a substantial amount of free weight dumbbells, for example the Trulap Adjustable Dumbbells replace 52 individual dumbbells with only 2 adjustable dumbbells. The Trulap Dumbbells offer weight ranges from 8.5 pounds right up to 92 pounds in about 2-3 pound weight increments so you have a ton of weight options. I’ll get more into this later on.

Unfortunately my Trulap 8592 Adjustable Dumbbell order went missing while being shipped, this was not Trulap’s fault directly but by the time it was realized that my order was not going to make it, Trulap was already out of product as it was on backorder. So I had to wait if I wanted to reorder another set. Trulap did refund me my original order but I had sold my full set of standard dumbbells already, so in the meantime I purchased some BowFlex 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells on the used market so I would have something for at home I could use. The good news is now I have both sets of Adjustable Dumbbells and I can now make a Comparison Review and offer my take on which set I like best, or at least what I like best about each set.

So let’s get into my comparison of both of the Trulap 8592 versus BowFlex 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells…

Price: (Trulap 0 - BowFlex 1)
In terms price, both sets of Adjustable Dumbbells are not too far apart, but the BowFlex 1090s are the less expensive option. Without stands the Trulap 1090’s are $799 US but currently Trulap is offering a $70 discount, so they are now $729 US which is around $950 Canadian. The BowFlex 1090s are regularly $999 Canadian but right now are selling with a $200 discount so they are going for $799 Canadian. Both sets of adjustable dumbbells include free shipping at least right now. if you want stands for either version you are looking at an additional $150-$200 Canadian so keep that in mind. Based on price alone the BowFlex 1090s win this section.

Looks: (Trulap 1 - BowFlex 1)
I think it is rather obvious that the Trulap 8592 Adjustable Dumbbells are by far the best looking set of Adjustable Dumbbells, they simply look more like a standard set of dumbbells and that stainless steel finish look really stands out. they are almost a work of art in my opinion and I can just stare at them for a while in admiration. The BowFlex 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells are not ugly by any means and have a unique look to them which do make them stand out. I can’t say I dislike the way the Bowflex 1090’s look, but the Trulap 8592 Adjustable Dumbbells for sure win this category.

Durability: (Trulap 2 - BowFlex 1)
This category will be probably the hardest for me to weigh in on as to really understand a products durability, you need to own and use it for an extended period of time. So I will have to go more on what I can see in terms of how each adjustable dumbbell is made. Starting with the BowFlex 1090s, they do have more plastic as each weight is plastic coated and there are plastic parts even in the handle mechanics. The Trulap 8592s are mostly metal but with some plastic within each handle, I also feel like the 8592s maybe are less complicated in design which means there may be less to go wrong over time? Neither system suggests dropping the weights but this is kind of standard with most adjustable dumbbells on the market. You do get a 3 year warranty on both systems and Trulap does allow for one accidental drop repair if that were to happen. BowFlex does offer a 5 year warranty for an additional $79. In this category I am going to give the slight edge to Trulap.

Ease of Use: (Trulap 3 - BowFlex 1)
Both Adjustable Dumbbells have completely different adjustment systems. The Trulap 8592s have a center handle adjustment system where all you need to do is twist them left or right to adjust the weight up and down, you can easily see the weight on either side of the handles so you know exactly what weight you are using. With the BowFlex 1090’s there are round dials on either end of each dumbbell and both dials need to be twisted separately, you also need to make sure the weight listed on either end is matched up to get the correct weight listed. The Trulap 8592 Adjustable Dumbbells win another category as they are much easier and quicker to adjust weights with.

Weight Ranges: (Trulap 4 - BowFlex 2)
Both the Trulap 8592s and the BowFlex 1090s go from around 10-90 pounds, the Trulap 8592s can technically go a bit lower and higher, down to 8.5 pounds and up to 92 pounds respectively. This is not a deal breaker at all and should not really be factored in. Where the Trulap 8592s have the biggest advantage is when it comes to the weight increments, you get 26 different weight settings for each dumbbell, which is a ton! Here are the weight jumps for the Trulap 8592s (8.5 - 12 - 15-  19 - 21 - 25 - 28-  32 - 35 - 39 - 42 - 45 - 48 - 52 - 55 -  59 - 62 - 65 - 68 - 72 - 75 - 78 - 82 - 85 - 89 - 92). The BowFlex has very usable weight jumps, but BowFlex sticks with standard 5 pound across the board weight jumps, so you get (10 - 15 - 20 - 25 - 30 - 35 - 40 - 45 - 50 - 55 - 60 - 65 - 70 - 75 - 80 - 85 - 90). People in general are kind of programmed into a 5 pound weight jump like what the Bowflex uses, but I do like the smaller weight jumps the Trulap 8592s offer. It really comes down to what you are use to and if you want smaller incremental weight jumps or more standard weight settings. So for this portion of the battle I am going to call it a draw.

Overall Function and Balance: (Trulap 5 - BowFlex 2)
This may be a bit more of a subjective category but I will give my two cents. The Trulap 8592 Adjustable Dumbbell in my opinion are more conventionally shaped and are also more compact in design, their balance feels really good, similar to a conventional dumbbell and they are close in size to what you would expect using a conventional dumbbell. They do have fairly thick handles which for people with smaller hands may be a bit large and the handle texture is aggressive but I like that. The Bowflex 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells are much larger in both length and width, they remain the same length all the time as the handle is full length no matter what weight you are using, the BowFlex 1090’s can be thin in diameter when using lower weights as the large wide width plates are left in the base plate. In terms of handles the BowFlex 1090s are less aggressive in texture but have a weird oval shape which for me made them want to twist a bit in the hand when using them. Both sets of Adjustable Dumbbells work just fine but the BowFlex 1090s will take a bit more getting use to than the Trulap 8592s compared to what most people have become accustomed to. So another win here for Trulap!

And the Winner is:
According to my records the Trulap 8592 Adjustable Dumbbells are the clear winner (5 to 2) for me compared to the BowFlex SelectTech 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells, but you may feel differently? Either way no matter which set you decide to pickup, Adjustable Dumbbells offer great value and are space savers in any home gym setup. There is also little to no compromise when compared to a standard set of non-adjustable dumbbells so unless you like throwing your dumbbells around like an animal, then I don’t see any reason not to grab a set of one or the other.

Gym Update - Adjustable Dumbbells - Spin Bike - Treadmill

I did a bit of a gym revamp and changed some equipment that I had for what I feel are better options for what I like to do and how I like to train. I spend a fair amount of time in my home gym these days, more so than in the past and so I don't mind investing a bit of cash in my home gym.

I had a set of Dumbbells that ranged from around 5 up to 80 pounds with 5 pound increments up to 40 pounds and then 10 pound increments up to 80 pounds which work well enough but did take up a lot of space and was a bit of a financial investment at the end of the day. I decided to change out my dedicated dumbbells for adjustable dumbbells as they a real real space saver and are less expensive than investing in an entire set of metal dumbbells. I was actually able to come out several hundred dollars ahead after I sold my standard dumbbells and replaced them with some BowFlex 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells I bought used which now take me from 10 pounds right up to 90 pounds.

I also swapped out my Elliptical with a treadmill and magnetic spin bike as I was just not a big fan of using my elliptical for cardio. I much prefer a spin bike or even a treadmill for my cardio needs. I ended up again buying used an Echelon Connect Sport Spin Bike for $300 and a NordicTrack T5.7 Treadmill for $200. Unfortunately ellipticals sell used for next to nothing these days so I may just have to give that one away...

I'm looking forward to these Gym upgrades and getting some good use out of them and may just have to do a review or two on some of the newer more current items like the Echelon Connect Sport Spin Bike and the BowFlex 1090 Adjustable Dumbbells.

Ray Ban Meta Glasses Riding an EUC

I got my Ray Ban Meta AI Camera Glasses not just because they look cool and shade me from the sun. One of the main reasons was to create video content that perhaps I can not make as easily or form a similar point of view as wearing the glasses right on your face so you get to see pretty much exactly what I see.

This is all fine and dandy as long as the video looks and sounds good, and I can actually use the video taken while out and about in a variety of situations. So I figured what better way then to test my Ray Ban Meta AI Smart Glasses while riding my Kingsong KS22 EUC and record a bunch of video with me rambling on in the background.

I have to say I am impressed with not only the video quality including the stabilization and the field of view that was recorded but even when riding fast at speeds up to 60kmh, there was virtually zero wind noise and I can tell you what I was hearing a lot of noise while actually riding so I expected to hear this in the recording which I did not. Very impressive!

The Ray Ban Meta Glasses do only record in portrait mode (at least at this time? which is not ideal for landscape YouTube videos so I took the liberty to show various zoom and pan setting for those that may want to show a wider aspect ratio more suitable for YouTube. Another kind of silly limitation with the Ray Ban Meta Glasses is that you can only record 1 minute videos so I did have to splice together the video which worked just fine as Meta let's me know when the camera is recording and when it's not with an indicator light I can see while wearing them and an audible sound when recording stops.

I can honestly say I was surprised at how well the Ray Ban Meta Glasses worked in this situation and plan to make similar riding videos with them in the future.