Looking to get some new workout clothes? Then grab some warm weather clothing that’ll keep you cool during your workouts from Under Armour.
Four times a year, the calendar changes over to a new season. We just so happen to be in the midst of a new season change. It’s right around the corner. And that means we need to make some changes to our wardrobe. Get some new warm-weather clothing to help keep us cool in the heat. Especially if you plan on working out during the spring and summer. Which is why you should head on over to Under Armour and grab the HeatGear® Armour Long Sleeve Shirt.
For warm weather, you might think that the HeatGear® Armour Long Sleeve Shirt is not the best pickup. Sounds counterintuitive, right? But that’s why the gear over at Under Armour is so great. Because of the amazing tech used to make this shirt, you may be covered by more material than a short sleeve shirt, but you will stay cool the whole time you wear it.
Under Armour
The materials used here (polyester/elastane) are mixed with the UA HeatGear tech that helps the shirt breathe more than a regular long sleeve. It helps keep you from overheating while you work out. Another way that this shirt helps you stay cool is that it helps wick away moisture and dries fast. The change in temperature on the body so quickly will make it feel like you’re always in a cool breeze
Now, the HeatGear® Armour Long Sleeve Shirt wouldn’t be so great for working out if it wasn’t durable and mobile. You wanna be able to move in this and you want it to handle the rigours of a hard workout. It’s made with an ergonomic design to help in that regard, as is the hybrid raglan sleeve construction. With this shirt on, you will be good to go for your trips to the gym.
A shirt like this is good for warm-weather workouts because it covers you in more material than a short sleeve shirt, thus you will sweat more. But with the design in place to keep you cool while you wear it, you won’t get overwhelmed by the heat. A good-looking shirt that is comfortable and durable is the Under Armour way. Grab a HeatGear® Armour Long Sleeve Shirt now and give your workout wardrobe a big upgrade this spring.
Analyst firm Trendforce has forecasted that the average selling price of NAND Flash, the basic building block of all SSD (Solid State Drives) and microSD cards will fall by up to 15% during the current quarter. It has already been down by almost 25% over the last quarter prompting the biggest manufacturers; Kioxia, Solidigm, Micron and WDC to slash production in order to reduce supply in the market.
Weak demand in the consumer and enterprise SSD customers combined with Samsung’s reluctance to keep producing as much NAND as possible means that the price drop we’ve seen over the past 12 months across SSD and microSD products will likely carry on unabated with smaller capacities gradually phased out.
Samsung is the largest NAND Flash vendor and has already committed to investing heavily in R&D in order to stay ahead of rivals. SK Hynix and Micron announced in 2022 that they would launch 238-layer and 232-layer products respectively which – on paper – will dramatically bring down the cost of Terabyte for solid state drives.
For obvious reasons, no vendor has yet released PLC (penta level cell) NAND, the next technological breakthrough which will enable even cheaper, high capacity SSD.
Data bloodbath by Christmas 2023?
The cheapest 1TB microSD cards are currently selling for around $75 at Amazon, a near 50% price drop compared to a year ago. While we don’t expect prices to half, another 30% drop by the end of the year appears to be reasonable, which would bring the price of a 1TB microSD card closer to $50.
This would have a knock on effect on smaller capacities (512GB, 256GB, 128GB) and we expect 64GB and 32GB microSD to be pushed out of the market altogether.
The same applies for USB flash drives where the cheapest genuine 256GB models are currently selling for around $10 with vendors resorting to multi-pack offers in order to entice customers with lower capacities. The fact that many recent laptops do not have a Type-A connector or a microSD card slot also dramatically reduces the size of the total addressable market.
The most exciting market remains that of SSD where customers are having an absolute field day as prices continue going down. The cheapest SSD per TB at the time of writing is the Leven JS600 ($74.99 for 1.92TB), a further drop of around 30% over the next nine months will see it reach parity with smaller capacity hard disk drives like the Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM008.
These cheap models are 2.5-inch SATA storage devices and because they’re defacto equipped with a SATA connector, they should rapidly supplant external hard drives with a capacity of up to 2TB as well. Two trends though that’s worth bearing in mind: 2.5-inch drives are on the way out as well as they’re being replaced by M.2 PCIe drives.
Larger capacity hard drives are safe for now but it’s only a matter of time before the next tier (3TB, 4TB) are on the way out. A 4TB SSD from Leven retails for $180, still about twice the price of a 4TB WD Passport hard disk drive for example.
Like to go for hikes when the weather permits it? Then grab these hiking boots from Backcountry while they’re on sale right now.
With the weather getting warmer, that means we can start enjoying our time outside. We can plan for trips out into the great glory of mother nature. Hiking is a lot more enjoyable when the weather can be describe as warm instead of brutally cold. And if you are the type that likes to go for hikes, then you know how important it is to have something like theObozSypes Mid Leather Waterproof Hiking Boot in your possession. Especially when you can grab them for half off the regular price.
Going for a hike is fun but it is physically demanding. Especially on your feet. You will be spending a long time on your feet, walking through some treacherous and unpleasant terrain. Them feet of yours will be beat up from going through rocky roads and hilly grassland and the like. So you need something like the heavily discounted ObozSypes Mid Leather Waterproof Hiking Boot in your life to keep those feet protected.
Backcountry
The ObozSypes Mid Leather Waterproof Hiking Boot does all that because of the high level of craft that provides you with an outsole that keeps the rough terrain from beating up your feet while providing the kind of grip that’ll keep you steady as you go for those hikes. It also provides protection in the form of lightweight midsole that provides your feet a good amount of cushioning so you can feel like you’re floating on a cloud while you’re out there.
Added benefits of these boots is that they are lightweight yet very durable. You won’t feel too weighted down while wearing them, letting you go for just a little longer while you’re on the hike. Durability is key too, as you don’t want them to fall apart on you while you’re out in the woods. And they have a waterproof membrane to help keep your feet dry in case you gotta walk through a waterbed or it starts raining.
Having a good pair of boots like these is a good idea for any of you outdoorsy folk. So if you are looking to get the kind of comfort and protection your feet deserve for a hike, then head on over to Backcountry right now and pick up the ObozSypes Mid Leather Waterproof Hiking Boot while you can still get them for 50% off the normal asking price.
Mint 400 proves once again to be the wildest off-road race on this side of Baja—and the easiest to savor as a spectator.
For fans of off-road racing, the sheer logistics of attending an event in person can easily seem not worth the effort. Want to check out the Baja 1000? Get ready for interminable border crossings and camping on sketchy terrain. Hoping to catch some of the action at King of the Hammers? The jumble of humanity that is Hammertown sounds pretty iffy, to say the least. And good luck getting a visa and spending thousands on flights to Saudi Arabia to “watch” the Dakar Rally—let alone find out where the race course actually goes.
Not so for Mint 400, billed as America’s oldest off-road race and held—for better or worse—just outside the metropolitan hustle and bustle of Las Vegas, NV. Four laps of a roughly 100-mile loop starting and finishing in Primm afford spectators multiple areas and opportunities to check out the action, all visible only a few hundred yards from the pavement. The proximity to civilization means anyone can roll up in a Prius—but get ready for some good-natured heckling if you do.
Michael Teo Van Runkle
Welcome to Sin City
The weekend starts with tech and contingency on Thursday in downtown Vegas amid a bevy of scantily clad “models” showing off the latest shocks, tires, radios, and accessories for prepping SUVs, trucks, and side-by-sides for four-wheeling fun.
The city blocks off an extensive stretch of Fremont Street where the perfect Venn diagram of trashy outfits and dirty trucks commingle—featuring fans, locals, and unsuspecting tourists partying next to strip clubs and casinos while a parade of off-road race cars inches toward inspection. These vehicles run the gamut from purpose-built million-dollar trophy trucks to beefed-up UTVs, factory-supported racecars, a lifted Miata or two, and even a 4×4-swapped stretch limo.
Amid the mushy mass of humanity, I bump into three-time Mint 400 winner Dustin Jones, back-to-back winner of the last two years. I ask him how the Mint caters to his own particular driving style.
“Everybody knows that I race checkers or wreckers,” Jones laughs, “Which means I’m either gonna win a race or I’m gonna crash a car. And I’m willing to do either one of those things at any time!”
That kind of rough-and-tumble attitude sounds just about right in the hullabaloo around us, but it turns out that this apparent lack of strategy stems from real-world racing considerations.
“This is a once-a-year race,” Jones explains. “It’s not in our point series, so there’s no need to get second, third, fourth…You come out here to win Mint 400.”
Jones races Can-Am Maverick X3 side-by-sides throughout the calendar year at events including several fast-approaching Baja races and King of the Hammers where, in a particularly memorable moment this past February, he helped push a competitor’s broken racecar over the finish line. No doubt, the jokey air Jones has perfected with media belies an intense focus, talent, and commitment required to actually win the races he enters.
Flip that switch and it’s no wonder his cars receive extensive (and expensive) modification to handle the kind of abuse a guy nicknamed “Battleaxe” dishes out over hundreds of miles of rugged terrain. On the other hand, just about any consumer can drop a few hundred bucks on a Can-Am or Polaris down payment, then test their luck roaring around in the dirt.
“Mint 400 brings out everybody from trophy trucks all the way down to Volkswagen Bugs and everything in between,” adds Jones. “But the UTV is an affordable vehicle that’s very capable, so it’s the most popular off-road racing right now and the fastest growing, because a consumer can go pick up a unit, do some little bolt-on accessories, and literally come race.”
Such easily attainable speed in the desert always reminds me to appreciate how many amateurs don’t hurt themselves (and others) taking side-by-sides out to designated off-highway vehicle areas across the country. The lack of alarming figures and news stories sounds almost too good to be true. But these days, the innovative technology that goes into the spectacular suspension setups on Can-Am Mavericks or Polaris RZRs blows my mind even more.
Michael Teo Van Runkle
Race Tech for the Masses
Factory race teams take those concepts to another level of extreme, though. I find out when approaching a group of guys wearing Multimatic shirts and peppering them with pointed inquiries about the suspension system in Chevrolet’s next-gen Colorado ZR2 race trucks entered at the Mint this year. Mostly, I want to know how the shocks in a factory-built Colorado ZR2 differ from the actual technology in a consumer version. Hao Wang, Multimatic’s executive director of marketing communications is happy to pipe in.
“It’s a production-based truck and the dampers are production-based,” says Wang, “Obviously, with some slight valving changes, because the demands of desert racing differ from what you see on the road.”
Multimatic’s product line manager for dampers, David Meyer, then jumps in with some engineering specifics.
“We’ve retuned the production Colorado dampers to make quite a bit more force—almost two times more peak force,” Meyer says. “There’s a position-sensitive damping function on these ones. In different travel regions, as the shock moves from normal operating range into the compression region, the Multimatic DSSV dampers provide a lot more damping force to control the energy—and not tear up the driver or the truck.”
Fair enough, but surely something even more significant than some retuning allows a factory Colorado to race at pace for over 400 miles in the desert.
“The team has applied cooling fins to the race dampers,” Meyer adds. “But under the bolt-on cooling fins, they’re the exact same components. In fact, the race dampers are built with production components.”
My own minimal experience off-roading in sand, rocks, and a bit of snow taught me quickly that even the best shocks or springs, the most powerful engines, or all the locking differentials available still make much less of a difference than tires. And at Mint 400, just like Dakar Rally, Baja 1000, and King of the Hammers, just about every last vehicle entered wears BFGoodrich rubber.
When I’m introduced to BFG’s brand director for North America, Stephen Peters, of course I have to ask what rubber I should put on my latest toy. Should I just go whole hog and shell out for off-road racing tires?
“When you’re talking about a racing tire, it’s gonna be designed a little differently,” says Peters. “They want endurance, but they also want maximum chip and tear. The weight’s not necessarily as critical as it would be for a consumer tire.”
Peters gives me a rundown of BFG’s new tire set to launch on April 1 of this year, the HD-Terrain T/A KT, which sounds just as heavy duty as its acronym-heavy name suggests. Targeting heavy-duty truck owners looking for the magic combination of long tread life, high-towing capacity, and off-road capability, this all-in-one tire is slotted into the lineup somewhere between mud-terrains and all-terrains.
“Everything we build isn’t designed to be one-purpose only,” says Peters. “It’s kind of a hybrid of what we’ve learned with the mud-terrain usage, the K02 usage, and in racing. It’s super tough. The compound is actually more similar to our all-terrain tire, just with an aesthetic, the way the tread design is made, to resist that chipping and tearing.”
BFG tested the HD-Terrain extensively on trucks that service mines, where tire lifespan is typically measured in days rather than tens of thousands of miles. And the next morning out at Mint 400 start-finish line, behind the post-apocalyptic edifice that is Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino hulking on the southeast side of I-15 in Primm, a bunch of the race support trucks wear HD-Terrains, too. Sounds just about right for my lightweight two-door SUV.
Michael Teo Van Runkle
Racing Outside Primm, NV
Rolling into Primm, the race traffic begins to build. A lineup of lifted Broncos greets guests at the parking lot entrance, complemented by more product display booths and even a drifting demonstration skid pad set up with stanchions and barricades. Walking out to the grandstands and spectator area to catch as much of the actual action as possible, I’m immediately struck by how Mint 400 delivers exactly what other off-road races struggle to offer: letting you watch the actual race.
The start line festivities begin with fire-spitting launches while the crowd pounds Bud Lights and White Claws, cheering for every wheel-to-wheel jump over the man-made short course segment that kicks off the four-lap competition. Out in the desert, call-outs brand onto each racer’s livery. The high-speed whoops and rooster tail-inducing berms make for stellar moments in the dramatic light of a winter storm looming on the horizon.
Side-by-sides whip past. Hummer trophy trucks zing through with suspension whomping and V8 engines roaring. Homemade sand rails blast by at top speed, slinking through the creosote-carpeted desert.
Farther up the 15, just past the psychedelically intrusive Seven Magic Mountains art piece north of Jean, hundreds more spectators gather at a gravel pit where the course snakes through tight turns and more jumps. Here my media credentials allow me to keep driving where the general public technically isn’t allowed—right next to the actual racetrack, as trophy trucks haul past at three times my speed.
At race mile 38, up a climb past a section where the route crosses a public road, I park next to a long straightaway that provides an excellent overtaking zone for a bunch of competitors—while sirens wail as a warning to those being overtaken. Standing to the side, I’m wary of the many warnings I’ve received about the dangers of getting too close, especially on the outside of sweeping corners where crashes can potentially fly hundreds of yards off track.
Specific spectator watching areas, officially three in addition to the start-finish line at Primm, dot the rest of the Mint 400 map. But, really, anyone in a side-by-side might easily find their way out onto the race—and not necessarily as a competitor, as Dustin Jones had semi-joked. So, keep an eye out, is my warning to anyone headed into the desert near Primm or Jean for some early-March four-wheeling. You might well wind up in the middle of the action.
Shooting Mint 400, the struggle gets very real, very fast. In no way can I keep up with a race starring some of the fastest off-road vehicles on the planet. Missing the early winners on both Friday and Saturday, I’m told that highlights include Chad Hall in the Chevy Colorado arriving first in class with the bed bent up like a taco due to frame damage about 40 miles from the finish line. Even some of the best dampers I’ve ever experienced (i.e. on a Silverado ZR2 press truck) can’t save the frame of a production pickup that’s been abused at racing speed for 360-plus miles.
The three-time Mint winner, Dustin Jones, struggles on his last lap and ends up finishing eighth in class, while the Unlimited Trucks class winner Eric Hardin manages to finish the grueling race with a time of 6:46:37.651.
Press releases announcing winners, losers, teams, and sponsors only go so far at the Mint 400. In person, the drama of finishing order quickly fades as the different classes mix it up. Lapping each other, spraying dirt and grime all through the desert, the drivers have literally moved past it, while their spectators cheer every aggressive maneuver and celebrate some of the closest off-road action available at any race on the planet.
Once the spectacle fades and nighttime slowly shrinks the panoramic desert views, the audience finally fades—no doubt slithering back to the magnet of Vegas. With any luck, those felt tables will be favorable nightcaps after a day of unforgettable racing in the close-but-so-far Nevada outback.
Need some new headphones in your life? Then the Beats Studio³ Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones are just for you. Especially at this sales price.
We live in a very tech-oriented world. Only example we need is that you’re reading this on a screen attached to a phone or computer. We live for tech. And with the phones that we got today, one of the benefits is being able to listen to any music in the world at any moment in time. Makes commuting to work a lot more enjoyable. This means we need some good headphones for that music we love to listen to. At $100 off, the Beats Studio³ Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones will fit the bill.
The Beats by Dre brand is one that has dominated the audio world for a good long while now. And for good reason. As someone who has owned a pair of Beats Studio³ Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones, we can say from personal experience that these are well worth a pickup. For $100 off? You would be silly not picking this up if you’re on the hunt for new headphones.
Best Buy
The best thing about the Beats Studio³ Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones is the audio quality. It’s so high quality that it’s like you’re in the studio with the musicians. No muddled sounds or low bass line or anything like that where you feel like you’re missing out. Just crystal clear surround sound audio. Which is enhanced by the noise-cancelling design. Nothing from the outside world bleeding into these. Just the music that makes the days more enjoyable.
Using these is really easy too. They’re so simple to connect to your device of choice. Connect them via Bluetooth and you got a strong connection that won’t fail. Adjusting the volume or taking/ending a call is easy as can be, as you have simple buttons on the headphones themselves to push. You got a battery that can last 40 hours on a full charge. And it is comfortable to wear, with soft cushioning for your ears.
All of that for a price that is hard to beat. At the regular price, the Beats Studio³ Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones are a good purchase. For $100 off? That’s a good deal for a pair of high-quality headphones that will last you a while. Make a smart investment while you still can. This sale won’t last forever.
Put one of these hardy camp cleavers to use on your next outdoor adventure. They can handle far more than heavy kitchen duty.
Cleavers are usually associated with kitchen use for heavier chores like mincing meat, splitting lobster tails, and handling bone. But these surprisingly versatile knives can prove even more indispensable in the outdoors when camping, backpacking, hunting, and fishing.
The best cleavers are crafted out of high-quality steel and ergonomically designed to reduce hand fatigue. Thicker and heavier than other knives, cleavers are built for more forceful chopping and slicing—as well as tackling tougher materials between meals, like wood, tree branches, or rope. The broad blade is optimal for precision tasks, such as filleting fish or skinning game, while its flat, wide surface makes cutting easier and more efficient.
Adding a good cleaver to your outdoor kit lets you tackle numerous tasks with the same single tool. With lots to choose from, finding the perfect one for your needs can take some searching. We’ve pared it down with these superior seven models tailored for myriad outdoor pursuits. Consider making one of these uniquely versatile blades a must-pack on your next off-the-grid adventure.
Best Cleavers for the Outdoors
1. CRKT Razel
Created in collaboration with renowned Tennessee knife maker, Jon Graham, this fixed-blade knife is a pocket powerhouse built to withstand harsh conditions and heavy use. Its unique, squared-off chisel blade provides multi-tool-like qualities that make it your go-to knife for various cutting, scraping, and slicing tasks.
The blade is made from D2 steel, which is rated high for toughness and hardness, and holds an edge well. A resin-infused fiber handle adds both strength and aesthetics, while the pocket carry sheath allows for quick and convenient deployment. For added convenience, Razel also features a lanyard hole.
At first glance, CL1 might pass for a traditional kitchen cleaver, but it’s specifically made to be used and abused in the great outdoors. This stout knife packs a powerful punch with its 1095 high-carbon steel blade, stonewashed black oxide finish, and sturdy G10 handles. Whether you’re chopping through a load of kindling or whipping up a feast at the campsite (or both), CL1 is a must-have from start to finish. Stylish and multi-functional, it’s proudly made in the USA and lives up to its investment.
Stout SJ is the brainchild of Danish knife designer Mikkel Willumsen and SOG founder Spencer Frazer. Super sturdy and purposefully small, this folding cleaver features a cryogenically heat-treated D2 tool steel blade with a titanium-nitride coating, a stainless-steel frame encasement, and a grippy G10 handle. An ingeniously designed, two-handed slip joint opening mechanism and sub-3-inch blade means it’s travel-friendly and compliant with most knife laws worldwide.
Far more than a kitchen gadget, this versatile mini cleaver is equipped with a robust blade made for cutting and scraping with ease. Built with stonewash-finished 7Cr17MoV steel that offers excellent corrosion and wear resistance, Tri-Tip has a machined aluminum handle (in black or green) with added texture for grip and security, allowing you to work through slippery situations without a hitch.
Orientation options with the multi-mount sheath include tip-down and scout, or a 90-degree angle on your belt. Bonus: A lanyard hole is integrated into the handle.
Get ready to slice and dice during your next outdoor adventure with this folding cleaver, which combines a hefty, dynamically designed cleaver blade with a sleek, modern package. Crafted from high-quality D2 tool steel, this knife is meant to handle repeated outdoor tasks without losing its sharp edge.
The balanced folder design uses top-of-the-line KVT ball bearings for smooth opening and closing. A G10 handle ensures a confident grip and the deep-pocket clip makes it easy to carry with you wherever you go. Eye-catching bronze PVD spacers and pivot collar add a touch of style.
Custom knifemaker Serge Panchenko created a unique design that combines an unusual cleaver-style blade with a gracefully curved handle. Spyderco’s robust LinerLock mechanism features a concave lock ramp built atop thick liners for added stability. The knife’s stainless-steel liners are skeletonized to keep weight down and simplify cleaning.
The VG-10 stainless steel blade has a low-profile matte gray finish and a high-performance saber grind edge geometry. A section of textured grooves on the spine gives your thumb plenty of grip when chopping or slicing, while the trademark Round Hole in the blade ensures effortless, one-handed opening with either hand. A reversible deep-pocket wire clip allows for both left- and right-side carry.
White River’s Camp Cleaver is the ultimate outdoor multi-tool. An excellent choice for any outdoor kitchen tasks, it’s also a hunter’s best friend, designed for effortless cutting, chopping, and even skinning. The ergonomic handle is clad with Micarta scales and boasts a one-of-a-kind modified cleaver blade made with sturdy CPM S35VN steel. A practical hanging loop and stylish leather sheath work together to keep the blade handy while also safe and secure at your side.
If you’re participating in spring cleaning and are looking to change up your home’s furniture and bedding throughout the process, you’re in the right place. Amazon has a hidden outlet store with over 10,000 deals that will let you make major home upgrades without spending a ton of money. You’ll find massive markdowns in practically every category, including mattresses, bedding, furniture, and more—we’re talking up to 62% off name-brand items.
With thousands of deals available, it can be overwhelming to sift through them on your own, so we’ve made shopping the secret sale easy by curating a list of the best items to have on your radar, broken down by category. There’s no telling how long these low prices will last, though, so now’s the time to stock up.
Best Amazon Outlet Mattress Deals
Most people are still adjusting to daylight saving time, which means now’s also a good time to swap your old worn-out mattress with one that’s more supportive and comfortable. After all, experts recommend buying a new mattress every six to eight years to ensure you’re still sleeping soundly without pain. There are tons of mattresses available at Amazon’s outlet for every type of sleeper, whether you prefer cooling memory foam or a hybrid mattress that offers lots of support without compromising comfort. Considering a hybrid mattress typically costs upwards of $1,000, the Sweetnight Hybrid Mattress for just $202 is a major steal.
If you’re skeptical of how good Amazon’s furniture deals can really be, let us put it this way: All six of the items on our list below cost just $1,617 combined. A brand-new six-piece dining set at almost any furniture store would cost that amount on its own. No matter if you’re in the market for a sofa, recliner, or TV stand, there’s something for everyone on practically every budget. One of the most notable deals is the Walker Edison TV Stand that’s $162 off and backed by more than 12,000 five-star ratings.
Just like a mattress, it’s easy for bedding (especially pillows) to fall flat and become too worn to benefit you. Thankfully, you can replace sheets, pillows, and blankets for way less when you take advantage of the deals below. A set of two satin pillowcases is on sale for just $6 and can dramatically improve not just sleep quality but also skin and hair because the material helps reduce acne and frizz. Pair the pillow cases with a new cooling memory foam pillow for a whopping 62% off while you’re at it.
Embracing the European tradition of seam butchery, Seattle’s Bateau is a different kind of steakhouse.
If you’ve been at a steakhouse or butcher, you’ve no doubt seen a cut chart: a diagram of a cow with demarcations where each cut is located. You’ll see familiar names like chuck, rib, rump, etc. But there’s more than one way to skin a cat—or in this case, carve a cow. At Bateau, a French-style steak restaurant in Seattle, WA, they use seam butchery.
Butchers cut along the natural seams between the animal’s muscles, which yields far more cuts like gracilis, velvet, and coco lei lei. It’s more laborious, but it’s also the sustainable choice. `
Bateau doesn’t cut corners. It uses heritage cattle that are conscientiously raised, grass-fed, and grass-finished. Taylor Thornhill, the chef at Bateau, spoke to Men’s Journal about how butchery works at the restaurant.
A diagram from Bateau’s menu
Courtesy image
Originally from Wyoming, Thornhill got his start in the culinary program at the Art Institute of Seattle. He worked at Rover’s, Harvest Vine, and The Walrus and The Carpenter—all Seattle institutions—before becoming the chef at Bateau when it opened in 2015.
Along the way, Thornhill’s interest in “breaking down proteins” grew. Given the opportunity, he spent time learning from butchers in Spain and France. He discovered European butchers work differently than American. Thornhill recalls working with a butcher in Spain when a woman from Texas came in looking for a brisket. The butchers had no idea what she was talking about; it’s not typically used for anything except ground beef. Thornhill says it was an example of what different cultures “prize in an animal.”
Thornhill brought seam butchery to Bateau. Every week the restaurant gets a single cow carcass that’s been aged at least 21 days and minimally processed. As Thornhill says, the restaurant wants its supplier to, basically, “skin it, cut it into four pieces, and give it to us.”
Once Bateau gets the carcass, it’s a simple concept performed by skilled experts. “You’re just following the seams,” explains Thornhill. According to the chef, the muscles in a cow are self-contained and the restaurant’s butcher cuts between them, not through them. This result in beautiful pieces of beef you’re not always going to find at the typical butcher’s counter.
Different cuts of beef you might find at Bateau.
Bateau’s Facebook page
When you think about it, seam butchery makes sense. A typical chuck roast, for example, consists of several different muscle groups, some tough and some tender. If you’re cooking at home, you’re typically going to braise or slow cook it until it falls apart. You’re applying heat until the tough part breaks down. But you can give cuts the respect they deserve. At Bateau, they’re able to “cook all these pieces of meat as they’re supposed to be cooked.”
When you come to Bateau, there are chalkboards that list the name of steak cuts, weight, and price. And even for devoted lovers of beef, not all the names are going to be familiar. Along with Delmonico and rib-eyes, you’ll see teres major, Jacob’s Ladder, and onglet. When Bateau opened, not all the nearly 50 varieties of steak cuts had a name. So Thornhill used a European name, as in the case of the French merlan, or just made one up.
The waitstaff at Bateau is there to lead you through the menu to help find what you want. Don’t walk in with a plan to order the 12-oz. rib-eye. Because of the way the restaurant cuts meat, it doesn’t have standardized portioning. Thornhill says they have pieces of meat that are as small as four ounces. And once a cut is sold, it’s crossed off the list. Just missed the coulotte on the list? You’ll have to come back next week.
A perfectly cooked steak at Bateau
Courtesy image
Thornhill says that in the U.S. beef being tender is the top priority. But Bateau has a different philosophy. “We’re putting flavor on top,” he says. As he explains, not all steaks at Bateau meet the same metric of quality. Some are going to be toothsome–chewy–or fatty or funky.
And Thornhill is being honest when he says “We have steaks that aren’t for everyone.” He says there is a range of customers from “Give me the craziest shit you got” to people who have only eaten filet mignon and will continue to only eat filet mignon. There are others, he says, “who want to eat their way through the list.”
Seam butchery doesn’t just mean delicious meat. Due to how the meat is cut, there is less waste. And Thornhill really doesn’t like creating waste at his restaurant. He believes that the only things they should be throwing in the compost are eggshells and the towels they use to dry their hands. From vegetable trimmings to beef silver skin, he is always looking for a way to divert the waste stream.
Thornhill talks about using cuttings to make garum, a condiment that’s salty, beefy, and full of umami. Other times, they’ll ferment waste, put it on a shelf, and “kick it down the road.” Until, it becomes, “the perfect thing we didn’t know we needed.”
It’s not always easy to be a restaurant that practices seam butchery. It’s careful, time-consuming work that takes time and money to do right. However, Thornhill says that if you’re going to serve beef, it “deserves reverence and respect.” As the chef says, “We do it to push ourselves creatively and be conscious of what and how we’re serving it.”
Netgear has revealed its first Wi-Fi 7 router, and while we’ve seen other such models from rival manufacturers, this is different in that it’s actually priced and up for pre-order.
The Netgear Nighthawk RS700 is available to pre-order direct from the company priced at $699.99 (around £575, AU$1,050) – you didn’t think it would be cheap, now, did you? – with routers shipping in Q2 in the US (possibly as early as April).
The Nighthawk RS700 router packs Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) support, meaning you’ll be able to benefit from this next-gen wireless standard – at least in the future (we’ll come back to the ins and outs of that shortly).
Wi-Fi 7 makes some important advancements over Wi-Fi 6 (and 6E), ushering in big leaps in Wi-Fi speeds, lower latency, and improved range. In short, it’s all-around better for performance and reliability (and a lot faster than Wi-Fi 6).
(Image credit: Netgear)
On the technical side, the Nighthawk RS700 is a tri-band router boasting speeds of up to 19Gbps and coverage of 3,500 square feet, supporting up to 200 devices. On top of Wi-Fi 7 for wireless – across 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands – Netgear provides four 1Gbps LAN ports, and one 10Gbps LAN port, for wired connections.
The RS700 comes in a tower design that looks pretty smart, we think, and you can also hook up multiple units together if you want to go the mesh network route to cover a really big house with Wi-Fi signal.
Netgear is also implementing a system whereby there isn’t just the option to add a guest network for visitors alongside the main network. You’ll also be able to have a priority network to get the most responsive, fastest connections for gaming devices or streaming. Furthermore, an IoT (Internet of Things) network will be there to silo away your smart home gadgets, keeping them separate in case you’re worried about the security issues bound up with that sort of hardware.
Also worth mentioning on the security front is that included in the price tag is a year of Netgear Armor, the Bitdefender-powered security solution.
(Image credit: Netgear)
Analysis: To future-proof, or, erm, to not
When new technology comes out, it’s inevitably expensive, and that can lead to tricky buying decisions. Do you want to fork out all that cash to get on any particular bandwagon with a new device? With Wi-Fi routers, though, these early adopter decisions are even more complex, because hardware comes out before standards are actually fully in place.
What does that mean? Well, officially Wi-Fi 7 is still just a draft standard, and it won’t be officially set in stone until 2024 (most likely). And that’s precisely why other router makers may have revealed models, but they aren’t available or even priced yet. TP-Link has a fair few Wi-Fi 7 models already unveiled, but they’re all marked as ‘coming soon’ (Asus has a couple, too).
Netgear is the first manufacturer to actually price up and put a Wi-Fi 7 router on sale so you can buy it today – although it won’t ship for at least a month yet, possibly not until June. So, do you really need to pull the trigger and buy right now?
The short answer is: no, probably not. Read on for a more in-depth explanation.
Where’s the support?
First off, we should make it clear that there’s nothing wrong with bringing out a Wi-Fi 7 router relatively early, in so much as even though 802.11be remains a draft wireless standard, Wi-Fi 7 is pretty much done and dusted, and won’t be meaningfully changed at this point.
The key point to realize here, though, is an obvious one: you can have a Wi-Fi 7 router, but if your devices don’t support Wi-Fi 7 – your phones, tablets, laptops, and whatever else – then they can’t use this cutting-edge wireless standard. And yep, you guessed it – it’s still so early days for Wi-Fi 7 that barely any devices support it. (The only one we’re aware of so far is the Xiaomi 13 Pro smartphone, although there may be other Chinese handsets that do).
So, a Wi-Fi 7 router is pointless for the vast majority of folks, then? Well, not quite, because it is backward compatible with all your existing devices, and could still run them like a dream (just not at Wi-Fi 7 speeds). What you’re getting with a Wi-Fi 7 router is future-proofing – use it with all your devices now, and eventually, as you buy Wi-Fi 7 hardware, you’ll get the full benefit.
The thinking is that if you need a new router anyway, perhaps because your current model has taken that final trip to silicon heaven, you’re spending money, so why not look to the future?
The problem with the Netgear Nighthawk RS700 is that you’re obviously splashing a lot of cash – $700 is no small expenditure. That’s enough to buy you a PC (a modest desktop, anyway). Is it wise to pay quite such a premium?
Not at this relatively early stage, we’d argue. Even if you need to replace your router, we’d advise at least considering getting a stopgap Wi-Fi 6 model for a relatively affordable outlay. Then sell that second-hand when Wi-Fi 7 fully arrives (and we start to see a meaningful number of devices supporting it), before upgrading to a Wi-Fi 7 router, which by that time will be more reasonably priced.
Still, all that said, if money’s no object, there’s no harm in getting future-proofed at this point in time, and this Netgear router does look pretty tasty.
Update: It turns out Willow might not have been canned after a single season after all.
According to John Kasdan, the Disney Plus show’s head writer, Willow is merely on hiatus. Even more surprisingly, Kasdan revealed that the fantasy series is likely coming back for a second season – Kasdan explaining as much in a lengthy statement on Twitter.
“I feel fairly confident that, if asked, neither I, nor the good folks at Lucasfilm, would or have actually characterized it [the show’s cancellation] that way,” Kasdan wrote. “The truth is less splashy, but here it is: a decision was made last week to release our main cast for other series opportunities that may arise for them in the coming year. With all the TV and movies in production around the world, it feels unfair to limit an actor’s availability without a clear sense of when you’re going to need them again.”
Kasdan goes on to write that he’s actually completed the scripts for a second season – Volume II, as he puts it – even though Willow‘s next installment won’t begin filming in the next 12 months. “We’ve developed and written what we hope is a brain-meltingly fun, richer, darker, and better Volume II,” Kasdan added.
You can read the statement in full in the tweet below:
Willow, the best fantasy TV show on Disney Plus, has been cancelled after one season.
As first reported by Deadline, the series’ spellbinding run on Disney Plus has been unceremoniously cut short, leaving fans devastated that the cult-classic franchise won’t continue past its eight-episode run.
Lucasfilm and Disney haven’t explained why Willow has been dumped after a single season. However, with Disney tightening the production purse strings and Lucasfilm re-evaluating its movie and TV show output – the Disney subsidiary has already shelved a number of planned Star Wars films – it appears that Willow is simply a casualty of the studios’ plans to rein in spending and streamline their content map.
These streaming services have created a self-fulfilling prophecy – they keep cancelling shows, so we’re too afraid to watch things in case they get cancelled, and then they cancel them MORE because we’re not watching them. #willow https://t.co/2YMRIgW1flMarch 15, 2023
See more
The Willow TV series was a small-screen follow-up to the 1988 fantasy film of the same name, which has over the years become a cult classic movie. The sequel show, which saw Warwick Davis return as the titular Nelwyn sorcerer, picked up 20 years after the original flick’s story, and saw six unlikely heroes set out to seek Willow’s help in saving the world once more.
Willow was an underrated hit following its Disney Plus debut, the series garnering an 83% certified fresh rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Despite proving popular with fans and critics alike, however, it hasn’t done enough to earn a second season on Disney’s primary streamer. Still, if nothing else, it’ll continue to be one of the best Disney Plus shows around, in our opinion.
There was plenty more story to mine in Willow on Disney Plus (Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Plus)
Willow wasn’t as successful as other Lucasfilm-led TV projects, such as The Mandalorian or Andor. Its positioning as a TV sequel to a somewhat niche fantasy film didn’t appear to help it win over casual viewers; and, with the show releasing in November 2022, it likely struggled to compete with some of the best Netflix shows that launched around the same time, such as megahit series Wednesday and The Crown season 5, and 1899.
Even so, it deserved better than to be cancelled after one season. Willow found a delightful balance between honoring the original film and breathing new life into its franchise. The series’ pleasing approach to LGBT-plus and sapphic representation, expansion of a fantastically-developed universe, and family-friendly focus (albeit one with some thematically dark elements) positioned it as a wholly inclusive TV show, too. In short, there was plenty to admire about Willow on Disney Plus.
Disney Plus doesn’t have many traditional fantasy shows in its back catalog. Sure, TV series housed within some of its biggest franchises, including Star Wars and Marvel, dabble in the fantasy genre. Other third-party licensed series, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, can be considered fantasy shows in certain lights, too.
It’s a shame, then, that one of Disney’s most singular fantasy series has been scrapped so soon after its debut. The Willow franchise deserves better than being cast aside in this manner, particularly as – outside of Star Wars and Indiana Jones – Willow is Lucasfilm’s most well-known entertainment property. Here’s hoping it’s not another 35 years before Willow returns to the big or small screen.
