WOWSTICKMINIELECTRIC
SCREWDRIVER/£23.97incVAT
SUPPLIERamazon.co.uk
Custom kit
PhilHartupchecksoutthelatestgadgets,gizmos and geek toys
REVIEWS / CUSTOM KIT
SLOLSOUTDOORPOWERBANK/£31.99incVAT
SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk
Boltingasmanylightsontoa peripheralashumanlypossibleis a noble
goal,andtheHavitRGBcoolingpadmakesanhonestrunatbeing
moreofa lightshowthana coolingpad.Thecoolingpadpartofthe
equationis lightweightbutwell,constructed,withthreefairlyquiet
120mmfansinsidedoingthecooling.
Thefansaren’tcompletelysilent,especiallyif youcrankupthe
speed,butinthatkindofsituationyou’represumablydoingsomething
sufficientlyepicwithyourlaptopthatyouwon’tnotice.Thefanssport
blueLEDswiththeirbrightnesstiedtothespeedsetting,whichis neat
initsownway,butdoesn’tnecessarilyfitwiththeRGBpatterns.
TheRGBlightingitselfis limitedto 15 differentpatterns,whichyou
selectbytappinga buttononthefront,andalthoughtheyaren’t
mind-blowing,theystilllookgoodatthis
price.TheHavit’slightingfallsshortof
thekindofeffectyoucangetwith
a full-oncoordinateddesktop
RGBlightingarrangement,
butit costsa lotlesstoo.Gloomination IlluminationHAVIT RGB COOLING
PA D/ £30.99inc VAT
SUPPLIER amazon.co.ukThe Wowstick is a very genteel take on the electric screwdriver. It’s a
smooth metal tube with a screw at the back to change the batteries,
and a socket on the front to attach whichever of the 20 supplied driver
heads you want to use. The alternate driver heads are kept in a second
tube, with both tubes stored in a cloth drawstring bag, which is a neat
departure from the usual way power tools are presented.
So far so good, but it all starts to go sideways when using the
Wowstick for its intended purpose. The shape is off for a screwdriver in
use – it’s bulky all the way down to the head, so it won’t reach far down.
Also, the amount of power it outputs is very low, so while it will
happily buzz away screws that are already loose, you can’t start or
finish a job where force is needed. That neat tube basically
isn’t a great shape for a screwdriver when you
need a bit of oomph.
For the most delicate of
tasks, the Wowstick is
neat, clean and fine, but
it struggles elsewhere.
Futile Tactile
Theracetoseejusthowmanyfeaturescanbecrammedonto
achunky power bank continues with this effort from
Slols. This rugged power bank has 20,000mAh
capacity, two regular USB outputs, a
Type-C USB connector and, unusually
for an outdoors model, a Qi wireless
panel on the back.
The Slols boasts solar charging too, but
despite leaving it out for a day in the sun,
there was no evidence of it providing any power.
That could mean that the amount of power generated
wasn’t enough to fill a 25 per cent block on the power
indicator, or it more likely means that its few square inches of solar
panel material doesn’t go very far.
The introduction of wireless charging is interesting, though, as
it basically allows the charger to work without having to unseal
any ports. There’s also an LED torch on the front that would
be useful if it wasn’t trying to switch between flash
modes and signal modes from the same single
button. All in all, the Slols power bank feels like
it’s had a lot of features thrown at a device to
see what sticks, and most of them don’t.Lo ls Slols