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Reviews, Sleep, Technology

The BedJet v2 Review – Reviewing The BedJet v2

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My BedJet Review for v2 of the BedJet

BedJet on Kickstarter

​​The BedJet v2 was another project I backed on Kickstarter.

Their version 1 had great reviews on Amazon and their Kickstarter campaign piqued my interest. As someone who experiments with sleep gadgets and habits a lot and emphasizes the importance of a quality night of sleep, the BedJet v2 seemed like an interesting product.

​BedJet Features

The feature that most interested me was the custom tailored temperature settings that would adjust the temperature throughout the night to keep you at the ideal body temperature for the entire sleep duration.

bedjet review
BedJet body temperature schedule settings

I sleep hot so the cooling feature was also very attractive to me. I even made a BedJet video to win a second BedJet. (Hint: I didn’t win)

They also market the benefits of the dual zone, but I can’t comment on that as you need two BedJets for it to work – one for each side of the bed.

First Impressions for the BedJet

Installation is pretty easy and the BedJet is mostly unnoticeable except for the nozzle at the foot of the bed, which sticks out a bit and can get in the way sometimes.

The app is clunky and difficult to figure out at first, but after a few minutes playing around with it you’ll get the hang of it.

To take full advantage of the BedJet v2 you also need to purchase their air comforter, which is a big bummer. The air comforter is fairly comfortable and has an opening at the foot of the comforter that you insert the nozzle head into. The air comforter works well by allowing the BedJet’s airflow to make it all the way towards your head.

The warm function is UNBELIEVABLE, especially in the winter months or on those cold nights. BedJet also included some aroma therapy strips you can use by adding a couple drops of an aroma therapy oil such as lavender to the strips and then clipping them to the mouth of the nozzle. The aroma therapy stuff seemed to be an afterthought as it is kinda cheap-looking the way they designed it, but combining it with the warm function truly is a wonderful experience. It’s the best part of the BedJet, in my opinion.

Is the BedJet v2 worth it?

The BedJet v2 let’s you set a schedule depending on your temperature throughout the night. The problem is the BedJet isn’t able to measure your temperature so it’s a lot of trial and error. The defaults they gave me for my age and sex and all of that kept waking me up in the middle of the night all sweaty. That’s the biggest issue with the Bedjet. It never gets cool enough, and gets further exasperated by their air comforter. The problem is the air comforter is far too thick. I end up sweating a lot more with air comforter and the BedJet’s cooling function set to the maximum then I do without using either and going with my trust Sheex bedsheets. Unfortunately the BedJet is not compatible with Sheex. And honestly, between Bedjet and Sheex, I choose Sheex all day.

BedJet Review Thoughts & Conclusion

Sadly I’ve stopped using BedJet completely. The air comforter is just far too uncomfortable for me, especially during the hot summer nights. And the fact that the BedJet won’t work with a breathable sheet like the Sheex is a deal-breaker for me. As much as I loveee the warm function during the winter, I can’t justify recommending the BedJet v2 just for that due to the costs, setup, extra accessories like the air comforter, and so forth. So in my opinion unless you sleep really cold throughout the night all year round I think the BedJet v2 is worth skipping.

BedJet Pros

  • Warm function works great
  • Create temperature schedules with the app
  • Aroma therapy strips enhance the experience
  • Easy setup

BedJet Cons

  • Expensive
  • Air comforter needed for maximum airflow
  • Air comforter not included
  • Air comforter too thick
  • BedJet v2 not compatible with breathable sheets like Sheex
  • Nozzle slightly noticeable, can kick it with feet sometimes
  • App is ugly and has a learning curve

Overall, I like the idea of the BedJet. I think where it falls short is on the air comforter and the fact that it can’t get any cooler than simply not using the BedJet and air comforter altogether. I give the BedJet v2 a 2.5 out of 5. We’ll round up to 3 just for kicks. I hope you enjoyed my BedJet review. And I hope it helped you in your decision on whether to purchase a BedJet for your own needs. You can get BedJet here.

Gear, Reviews, Travel

The Y Athletics SilverAir Sock Review

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The Y Athletics SilverAir Sock on Kickstarter

The Y Athletics SilverAir sock is the third project I backed on Kickstarter. This was another great project I backed. The next two projects I backed I still haven’t gotten the products yet, and likely never will. Here’s the Y Athletics SilverAir sock Kickstarter video.

 

 

What is the SilverAir sock?

The SilverAir sock claims to be an athletic sock that’s breathable, durable, comfortable, anti-bacterial and anti-odour. What a mouthful. It’s made by Y Athletics, an online retailer of travel and sports gear. Does the SilverAir sock live up to the hype? Let’s find out.

SilverAir socks
Feet up and relaxing with my comfy SilverAir socks.

 

Y Athletics Ready to Deliver… on Customer Service

When the SilverAir sock was ready to deliver the goods I was about to go on a trip to Asia and really wanted my stuff in time, but the timeline was squeaky bumb tight. I reached out to the Y Athletics team to see if they could help and they tried to rush send me the stuff. It didn’t make it in time. I ended up getting them on my return from Asia. A shame, really, because going to the hot and humid parts of Asia I was at would have really put the SilverAir sock claims to the test.

 

Then a few months later I got another package of the exact same contents. They sent me two packages of the same thing. That means instead of getting 3 pairs of SilverAir socks, 3 SilverAir T-shirts, a travel bag and a gym bag, I got double that amount. I asked Y Athletics if this was a mistake and if they were aware they sent me two of the same package and they said no they weren’t. But they also told me to keep the second package because it was their mistake. Talk about awesome! While most crowdfunding campaigns I’ve backed have really crappy customer support, the team at Y Athletics is not one of them.

Y Athletics Crowdfunding Success

I’ve backed 3 of their projects (the SilverAir sock, the SilverAir crew sock, and the SilverAir merino underwear), and I think they have launched 5 or 6 at this point. This seems to be a model that has brought them great success as every single one of their Kickstarter campaigns have smashed their funding goal and collectively generated over $1 million bucks.

 

The second campaign I backed, the SilverAir crew sock, isn’t something I likely would have backed had they not been so cool about letting me keep the second package they sent me by accident. The other reason is they make awesome gear. I’m really impressed with everything that I’ve purchased from them. That includes the SilverAir sock, the SilverAir crew sock, the Y Athletics T-shirt, and the Y Athletics travel underwear. I’ll stick to talking about the socks and T-shirt in this review and leave the travel underwear for another day (hint: they are amazeballs).

 

First, let’s talk quality. There were some hiccups here. The crew sock, for example, had a hole in one of the socks after I wore it once. They quickly sent me a replacement, though. Again, awesome customer service. Next, one of the T-shirts looks like it snared on something the very first time I wore it, even though as far as I could tell I didn’t do anything outlandish or eventful that day.

SilverAir T-shirt loose thread
Loose thread on my SilverAir T-shirt

 

The fix was simple. I used a nail clipper and clipped away the loose thread, as per the instructions from Y Athletics. For the crew sock, they also sent me two left versions.

SilverAir crew socks two left feet
Two left feet on the SilverAir crew socks

But they were able to replace this for me, as well. The lesson here is never underestimate the power of good customer support. It’s the difference between a dissatisfied customer and a customer advocate who recommends your product.

After many washes, I have also noticed there is some pilling in the stomach area of the T-shirts. I’m not sure why that area specifically starts to pill, but it is slightly noticeable on all the shirts. Maybe it’s the way I sit and how my gut folds onto them, I’m not sure.

The socks also have their silver threads start to show and appear to fray after a couple of washes. I don’t think it’s that noticeable or that big of a deal, but I can see how that may put some people off from the product. But if you are willing to look past that you are in for a treat.

Do the SilverAir socks work?

The big question of whether the SilverAir socks actually work remains. And for me, the answer is absolutely yes. To be sure, I wore the socks and T-shirts daily for weeks to put their anti-odour claims to the test (the things I do for science). By the end of it, the socks were as odourless as when I first put them on. That isn’t to say they were fresh smelling. The absence of odour doesn’t mean fabric softener fresh. It simply means the SilverAir socks and T-shirts, after weeks of wear (including through workouts) and without washes, didn’t smell funky. At all. That in itself is pretty remarkable and mind blowing.

Conclusion

I am so happy with the SilverAir socks and T-shirts that they are a staple in my travel repertoire. They are the first things I pack when I travel. It also doesn’t hurt that they look pretty stylish and fashionable rather than look like sports or travel wear, making them versatile items in any wardrobe.

I’m a big fan of the SilverAir socks and T-shirts. I give them two thumbs up. If you are interested in purchasing them then check them out on their website at Yathletics.com.

 

Reviews

BetterBack Review: Effortless Perfect Posture or Scam?

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BetterBack Review. Does it work as promised?

 

What is the BetterBack?

The BetterBack is a portable harness used to secure your lower back while you sit. It claims to help improve posture, ease back pain and improve your health with just 15 minutes of daily use. Does it live up to the claims? Read on and find out.

The Kickstarter connection

The BetterBack was a product I discovered on Kickstarter, back when I used to visit the site daily to look at all the new products that were being crowdfunded on the platform. It was the second product I backed after first supporting my buddies project, the awesome compression socks by Top & Derby. I ended up getting an early bird 2 pack so that I could give one to my dad, who also spends a lot of the time sitting in front of a computer like me.

BetterBack on Shark Tank

The crowdfunding campaign was a huge success and raised over $1 million buckaroos. They were also on Shark Tank. This was over 2 years ago so my memory is a little hazy on all the details, but I do remember getting screwed over by BetterBack (at least that’s how I felt at the time). When they were ready to ship the products I was traveling in Asia and asked if they could hold off on shipping it. They said no and instead shipped it to a non-early bird backer. Then they put me on a huge waiting list. So I ended up having to wait another 4 months and lots of back and forth emails before I finally got them. At the time I remember being frustrated, but over time I’ve come to realize that this is par for the course when it comes to crowdfunding campaigns. There are always delays and customer support generally stinks to high heavens.

In the end the most important question for me was, “Did I get what I paid for?”.

At the time I ordered the BetterBack, I was having frequent bouts of low back pain. Off and on pain that plagued me for years. Stress, sitting, deadlifts, and jiu-jitsu could trigger back pain seemingly at any moment. So if there was a low-cost, easy to use solution like the BetterBack that promised to reduce the back pain, I was willing to give it a shot.

And so the question is, does it work? For me, the answer is a resounding yes. And it works quite well. As soon as you strap yourself in you realize how good it feels on your lower back. It instantly makes it easier to sit up straight and harder to slouch. Now I don’t know about their 15 minutes a day claim, because I use it pretty much all the time when I am sitting, but I do know that after some time my low back pain has improved dramatically. I still get low back pain here and there, usually from pushing too hard in the weight room, especially after a long day sitting in front of the computer, but the BetterBack has most definitely helped.

A colleague was also complaining of low back pain and when I got her a BetterBack it all went away.

They had a second successful Kickstarter a little while back, but I didn’t support that one. It seems like a slightly improved version that also has hot/cold therapy.

There are knockoffs you can get now, as well. I can’t speak to how good they are but it might be worth checking out if you are bargain hunting.

betterback review
my betterbacks!

BetterBack Review Conclusion

As far as crowdfunding campaigns that I’ve backed, the BetterBack is one of the best I’ve backed and I’m quite happy with the product.

I would definitely recommend the BetterBack if you have low back pain and are looking for a low-cost solution. The BetterBack really does help keep your low back secure while sitting. It may be able to help if you suffer from low back pain and sit a lot. I recommend it.

I hope you enjoyed this BetterBack review. If you think you’d like to find out more about the BetterBack, you can get it here.