theclymb.com review

I've had a lot of good fortune shopping online.  The wife always asks me how I can trust buying from someone I've never met on ebay or a site I've never used before.  Honestly it's not like I have a secret or anything, I'm usually just looking for very specific items and know what I find is likely to be the real deal.  There have been a few exceptions (trying to find "My So-called Life" on real dvd's before the official re-release a few years ago is the best example), but for the most part I've been happy with the experience.

Chalk my experience with theclymb.com into the positive column as well.  I've been looking for a deal on a Levi's commuter parka for a while, and I found one on ebay for $65 the other day.  Before I got into a bidding war I thought I'd do one last google search, and what did you know theclymb had them for $50 in all sizes.  I had randomly signed up for an account there a while ago but hadn't bought anything yet, so once I got a password reminder I was set to check out.  Shipping was a flat $7 but since it was good for multiple items I browsed for a minute to see if there were any other good deals out there.

Usually when I find a new site like that I'll google for customer reviews before I check out, but I was so excited about the great deal on the parka (and extra shirt) that I forgot and just bought the stuff.  Oops.  But reviews are pretty split; people either love it or hate it.  Put me down for love it.

That's a little weird.

I got a great deal, and only had to wait two days for processing and one more for shipping.  Everything was there three days before the initial estimate.  My one issue: the zipper on the parka is reversed.  But everything had tags on, it was all new, and I've got a new site to keep an eye on at work b/c their sales are constantly updating.  If you're looking for gear and find a deal on theclymb.com, you probably won't do better anywhere else. 

Current beer-scale: 8.1 & kind of enjoyed kona's IPA last night.

Drink ALL the coconut beers

A few days ago, a big motivating factor in getting through the week was stopping at Half Acre and picking up some of their Hot Tropic.  Purely by coincidence, my eyes fell upon a Kona Beer display at the grocer's over the weekend, leading to a purchase of their Big Wave golden ale and Koko Brown with toasted coconut.  Talk about similar beers worlds apart.

First, the tropic.  Not terrible, even if going to Half Acre is increasingly becoming an exercise in patience.  At the end of a long day and commute, if I walk into your store I don't have any objectives other than purchasing beer and leaving, which is impossible in their tasting room.  My favorite part of the experience was the look another customer gave me when the guy at the taps served someone else who came in after both of us.  What can you do?

Tropic was an IPA with toasted coconut, but for all the talk of tons of coconut all it really did was take the edge off some of the hops.  The wife doesn't drink IPA's, but this one was mellow enough for her to try at least.  I love a hoppy IPA, but I want to be able to taste whatever else might be in there, and there wasn't any coconut to be found.  I didn't regret picking it up, and drinking from a half-growler always makes me feel like I'm in a science lab, but HT was ultimately disappointing.

Kona's Koko Brown was the complete opposite.  A brown ale would be pretty far down on my list of options for beers I'd usually drink, but the coconut in this one takes several swings at your taste buds.  There's an initial burst when you first take it in, then a secondary swell that surges back as you swallow.  It actually made me stop and say "whoa," which made the wife laugh.  And even though that kept up through the entire beer, it never got to the point of overpowering the rest of the beer.  A great balance between the sweet and the brown ale.  Can't wait to have the rest of it.

I can't say no to finding new beers to try from a brewer I like, so the Golden Ale came home too.  That one's not terrible either, just not as interesting as the brown.  It's fruity as hell, with a hops backbone that keeps it light.  They were both a fun discovery on a random grocery trip, one of those things that I'll probably spend the rest of the summer looking to replicate.

Current beer-scale: 7.1

My wife is the best

I took yesterday off to spend the morning waiting for a delivery and the afternoon at the vet and running errands. Joking, I mentioned two of my stops bookended my favorite liquor store in the old neighborhood.

"Sounds like a great idea," she said. "Just don't go crazy."

Is she great or what? Talk about the perfect excuse to try something new. I've wanted to try some crown royal maple for a while, or cabin fever if I could find it. What ended up catching my attention though was some Tap 357, a mix of 3, 5, and 7 year old Canadian ryes with some Quebequois light maple syrup. Cheaper than crown, enough so I could get a six pack and not feel like I went crazy. Alright.

And now, sitting in my new armchair working through my second glass of the stuff, I feel like I made the right choice. I LOVE maple syrup, but was a little dubious about trying some with whiskey. I should have known better. Yes the maple dominates the first impression of the rye, but there's a warmth underneath the sweet that holds on through the finish even as the maple takes a second pass. Whew! Very good. Those Quebequois may be snobby separatists but they do get some things right.

Straight up with a little ice is just fine for tonite, but I'd bet there are some fun cocktails to make with a maple rye too. Next time I'm feeling creative, maybe. For tonite, ice and rye is going to be fine for #3.

Current beer-scale: 4.6

New twist on old reliable

It never hurts to try new things.  If they don't work out, you can always go back to what works for you.  And if what works for you comes up with something new, sometimes that can be great right off the bat.

Microwavable frozen pizza dipping sticks for lunch?  Sounds dubious.  They're DiGorno?  A little less dubious.

Actually, out of the oven these aren't that great but I'll try anything for lunch once.  And turns out these are pretty good.

Again, not much color change, but the taste was palatable.  Sauce got heating with Keurig water.

They took an extra minute to cook up so the middle wasn't frozen, but once they did I think I even liked them better out of the microwave vs the oven.  They stayed soft, the sauce they came with was sweet but not overpoweringly so, and all in all a nice way to break up the day for half an hour.  All in all a big thumbs up.  Now if I can only manage to not get anything on my tie this time.

When did this turn into Leonard's potato chip reviews?

Current beer-scale: 5.1

Desk dining

I don't have many rules for life, but when you see a frozen pizza offered by a local hockey legend, you damn well better pick it up.  When I saw a Savy's sausage pizza in the freezer section I did just that.  Unfortunately there were mixed results.

Denny Savard is a Blackhawks legend from the 80's and 90's.  Hall of Famer, former coach, Blackhawks ambassador, all-around great guy.  So this is kind of a Newman's Own deal, and the pizza on the box looked great.

At this point I should mention that most of these pizzas microwave up terribly, which is why some of the digornos are so fantastic b/c they're actually halfway decent.  That's all I'm looking for at the office when I don't have time/money/ambition to go get something.  Anyway, trying this in the oven would probably go much better.  Because even out of the box this pizza looked pretty good:

Out of the microwave was another story.  The middle would not get hot no matter how much extra time I gave it.  After 3 30-second reheats I gave up.  Nothing really changed color between frozen and cooked, which is never really appetizing. 

Taste-wise things weren't horrible, not again nothing stood out.  The bread had the tiniest crunch from being so overcooked, which was actually nice.  The sauce is bland, but the sausage had a little kick to it to balance it out.  It was actually very close to a crappy no-name pizza you'd get at a minor-league ballpark, which why anyone would want to shoot for that is beyond me.  But I'd definitely give it a second chance, only at home with the oven. 

Days like this make me miss working at the zoo with a decent foodcourt and an employee discount.  Not that I went every day, but there's not much that beats being able to grab a hotdog and eat it outside while you're at work.

Current beer-scale: 6.6

Zenni part II

Obviously, my satisfaction with Zenni's overall experience outweighed my disappointment with one of my selections. So it was easy enough to find a third pair cheap enough and try again.

For the past 6-7 years I've been sticking with the same kind of aviators at about $230 a pop. The dog got ahold of at least one pair, one pair got sacrficed to the Aztecs on a beach during our honeymoon, and I'd swear there's one more replacement in there but I don't remember. If Zenni can help me get that down to around $30 then I'm okay buying a few different pairs.

They actually have very similar frames to my old stuff for $45. Not bad but I'm looking to go a little cheaper. I settled on something in the $7 range, and with tinting, anti-glare, and shipping things came to just under $22. Fucking A right.

Again, nothing bad to say about their selection, prices, or communication. The main drawback for Zenni is always going to be the long shipping time. Based on the first order, I guessed a 2/20 order would get in on 3/6. I was pleasantly surprised when the shipping email estimated delivery on 3/4, then annoyed when they didn't show up and USPS said it would be 3/8, and ultimately satisfied when they showed up on you guessed it, 3/6.

The vision clarity seems dead on, and they feel much more solid than the flimsy plastic pair that I didn't like the first time. Completely worth the price and wait, I am shocked at how much I've liked shopping through Zenni. I wouldn't be surprised if I spring for the pricier frames when I find myself needing another pair in the future.

Current beer-scale: 8.1

More glasses: Zenni Optical review

Years of riding a bike has put my glasses through some serious shit.  My aviators managed to stay on my head through repeated close calls, and my backup normal glasses stayed on my face even through the rest of me flying ass over head during a dooring.  So keeping all that in mind, when it was time to find a new pair I was a little dubious about finding something that would meet my high expectations at a reasonable price.

"Reasonable price" being the key phrase there.  Warby Paker was going to cost me around $95 for an everyday pair.  Not terrible, but with my current glasses rapidly deteriorating I knew I'd have to get multiple pairs to work for all the different conditions I wear them in.  That put some budgetary constraints on what I was looking at.

I was initially interested in a pair of oakleys so I could switch between clear and tinted lenses depending on conditions without resorting to transition lenses.  Interestingly enough, shopping for prescription oakleys landed me a price quote of nearly $1000--$200 for the frames, $410 for tinted lenses, and another $385 for clear lenses, both in my prescription.  OUCH!  And not being able to use insurance?  No thanks.

So it was time to research some cheaper options.  Thankfully, after much searching I came across the sports section of Zenni Optical.  I guess this site used to be $19glasses or something like that, until they started offering even cheaper (!) frames.  They have frames starting at $8, and even though the two I ended up liking were $28 I wasn't going to complain.  Even having had some luck ordering glasses online before, I was a little dubious of another site I'd never heard of.  But the majority of reviews on the site are overwhelmingly positive, which makes sense for something saving you so much cash.  You're either going to love them if everything works out, or hate them if anything at all goes wrong.

If I can't get interchangable lenses, transitions make for a good compromise, and the first pair came to just over $50.  And that's with UV and anti-reflective coating.  So cheap in fact, that I decided to add a second pair to my order, straight up sunglasses.  With 80% tinting for $4.94, the second pair came to around $35.  Insanely cheap.

I mentioned in the WP review that virtually trying glasses on can seem like a roll of the dice, but at that price for two pairs of glasses I was willing to take a chance.  You pay to wait as well, since even though it's a California company the glasses ship from Hong Kong.  So for a 2/4 order I waited until 2/19  for them to arrive.  I completed the order the day before I submitted one to WP, and they didn't actually ship until the day the WP order arrived, 2/14.  Not the best packaging for two pairs of glasses but they were fine.

Only two weeks but christ that felt like a long time.  It didn't help that the order went from "processing" to "manufactured" fairly quickly, but took forever to go from that to "shipped."  But again, you're not paying for expediency.  What really made it stretch was the fact I didn't want to be bouncing between two different prescriptions, so until the zenni order showed I didn't want to wear the new WP pair either, even though they looked great and I felt like I had superhero-level vision clarity in them.

Turns out I'm split on how much I like each pair.  The transitions pair is perfect--they feel sturdy as hell and are exactly what I was looking for to ride with.  I haven't had them in the sun yet to see how much they darken but the fit is great.

transitions pair: A+

The straight up sunglasses not so much.  The lenses and prescription are fine, but the frames themselves feel awfully flimsy.  If I had gotten the same frames as the first pair I'd have nothing to complain about at this point.  Still, $35 for a pair of prescription sunglasses is a steal, and they're a fine back-up pair.  I'll probably just go to zenni to get a different pair anyway. 

sunglasses: C-

And that really says it all.  Overall I'm very happy with the experience and will definitely be trying them again since their prices are unbeatable.  Who knows, I might end up loving the sunglasses after wearing them a few times.  I'm just happy to have spent less than $200 on three pairs of glasses that have me seeing really well.

Current beer-scale: 5.6

Warby Parker: the review

Let's not waste more time bitching about how much it can suck to buy glasses.  Contacts aren't ever going to be an option for me and as tempting as it might be to have someone shave parts of my eyeball away with a laser, corrective lenses are my only option right now.

So, Warby Parker.  Ultimately a godsend for someone who, even with decent insurance, doesn't want to drop $500 on a pair of good looking glasses that will last a while.  Also a positive is my personal preference is for chunkier frames, right up WP's alley.

I don't remember what originally brought WP to my attention, I think it was just a random side-ad on a cycling website.  Hipster frames for hipster bikers.  But I was impressed with both the look of several frames, as well as the option to try on five pairs at a time at home for free.  Sign me up.  I've gotten lucky buying glasses online before that looked good virtually and were okay in-person, but if I can see it and handle it beforehand I'm in.

One thing; not every frame is always immediately available for at home.  The frames that first caught my eye seemed to always be out, so I spent a week checking every day to see if I could get them at home.  Once I could, I picked my five pairs (actually four, with that first frame in two colors) and checked out.  Two business days later I had the box at home.

What a great service.  Everything is clearly labeled and the included return label makes the entire process a cinch.  Even the wife was curious to see what the options were in such nice packaging.  Just fantastic.

The one I wanted to see the most, and the one that was out for a while, was the clement in silver.  I thought a brushed silver frame would be different enough to look good without being to garish.  But I also got the cast iron option to compare the frames in different colors.  To round out the five I picked out three more chunky options, the wiloughby, the reynold, and the pierce, all in black.  I could have picked five more options easily, and might end up doing just that when I look for some non-biking sunglasses.

The silver frame did not work on me, and the wife agreed.  The cast iron looked much better, but ultimately it came down to the wiloughby and the pierce.  Funny enough, the pierce almost didn't make the box initially but I ended up liking those the most and made them my choice.  Wearing them felt good--they were heavy and looked alright, and it seemed like they could handle a grabbing or two from a certain mischievous baby.

demo pair

I made the order the evening of 2/5 and they arrived on 2/14.  Not too shabby, and again the packaging was impressive.  They came in a firm case, always a plus if I'm tossing these into a bag.  There was a thank you card too, which is kind of insane b/c I feel like I should be thanking them.  Add to it the fact that WP will donate a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair purchased, and this is my go-to eyewear site from now on.

I don't think I'll be wearing these all the time until I get my other order so I'm not bouncing between different prescriptions on and off the bike, but I couldn't be happier with my Warby Parker experience.  If you're wondering about buying glasses online, give WP a shot.  You won't be disappointed.

Current beer-scale: 3.5

prescription pain in the ass

I need new glasses.

Do NOT click on this image, for your own good.

Actually, I've needed new glasses for a while.  The tinting on my aviators has started bubbling up on both sides of the lens for quite some time, and breaking my back-up pair of glasses last spring meant one pair getting all the work which is never good.  The final straw however, was the kid knocking my clear glasses off my face in the garage over the holidays (now his favorite game is grabbing them off my face and laughing maniacally.  Hysterical).  At the time I didn't want to look but the "crunch" sound they made when they hit the concrete was not a good sign.  Unbelievably, the only damage was a chunk of the bottom left frame breaking away.  A little sharpie on the gap and it actually looked good enough for me to keep wearing them until I could make myself get an eye exam. 

It's been over 4 years since I last had an exam, so this was a long time coming.  Last time, I was so aggravated by where I got the exam I didn't buy any actual glasses and started looking online.  Very similar story this year.  Let's just say I wasn't impressed with the Specs on Chicago Ave.  But that's why we have the internet.

Warber Parker's been on my radar for a while, so as soon as I finished the exam I had my try on at home box ordered.  More on them after I make a choice.  But I also need something to ride in and not worry about if they get a little beat up.  Thankfully there are even cheaper options out there.

After a LOT of searching I went with Zenni optical and we'll have to see how it goes.  Two different pairs from their "Sport" section, one plain sunglasses and one transitions.  Hopefully I'm not waiting a month for them to get here but at $94 for two pairs of glasses plus shipping I guess I can afford to wait a while.  It would have been even cheaper if I hadn't gotten the transition lenses.  The wife says I look like a pervert when they aren't fully clear or fully shaded but she's not riding a bike with me so who cares.

This is why I've gone far too long between exams and glasses.  Getting the exam and finding a pair that looks decent is such a pain that once I find something, it's going to have to last a long time.  And if they cost $100 versus close to a grand (stupid Specs) even better.  More on each choice when they get here.  Until then I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Current beer-scale: 6.7