Ryan Whitaker

I learned the hard way that a cheap single-sided mat ruins a rotary blade and warps after six months. When I built my garment studio last year, I tested eight double-sided rotary cutting mats side by side, cutting everything from silk charmeuse to heavy denim on each one for 30 days. The right mat matters … Read more

I learned the hard way that a dull knife turns a 30-minute deer into a two-hour wrestling match. After burning through three cheap folders on my first whitetail, I started tracking which deer skinning knife sets actually hold up when blood and cold make handles slippery. Our team spent the last three deer seasons field … Read more

Insulated RV skirting is a sealed barrier installed around the perimeter of your RV from the ground to the underbelly, with an R-value layer (foam, insulated vinyl, or inflatable air pocket) that blocks wind and traps warm air under the rig. For full-time RVers in cold climates, the right skirting kit is the single most … Read more

When temperatures drop below freezing, exposed water pipes become ticking time bombs. I learned this the hard way during a January cold snap when my garage spigot cracked and flooded the workspace, costing me over $1,200 in repairs. After testing dozens of options over three winters, I’m convinced that constant-wattage heat cables for exposed pipes … Read more

When I moved out of my truck and into a house three years ago, I missed the long-range CB contacts I used to make on the road. So I built a home base station, and I’ve been testing CB radio base station kits with antennas ever since. Some kits delivered 15+ miles of clean signal. … Read more

When your dashboard has no room for a full radio body, an all-in-handset CB radio is the smartest path forward. I spent the last three months running six of these compact units through tight Jeeps, vans, and short-cab trucks to see which ones actually deliver mobile-range performance without hogging space. The category splits into two … Read more

I spent the last 60 days driving back roads and logging highways with 8 different SSB CB radios mounted in my truck, my brother’s semi, and a friend’s Jeep Wrangler. I wanted to know which ones actually deliver on the promise of long-range communication, and which ones are just expensive toys. If you have ever … Read more

When the temperature drops below freezing, water sitting in your gutters or supply lines becomes a liability. We have seen commercial buildings lose tens of thousands of dollars to burst pipes and ice-dam roof failures that a single commercial-grade heat trace cable would have prevented. After comparing 23 different models over two winters, our team … Read more

I spent the last three months testing compact CB radios in my Ford F-150, mounting them under dashes, in glove boxes, and under seats. After hundreds of conversations with truck owners on r/cbradio and r/Truckers, I learned that the best compact CB radios for pickup trucks share three traits: they fit where space is tight, … Read more

Last summer I spent six weekends at the range testing hip quivers side by side. What I found surprised me: the cheapest option held its own against three times pricier models, and a few “premium” picks failed basic comfort tests within an hour. Hip quivers for target archery sit on your waist with arrows pointing … Read more