Tag Archives: going reviews

Kore Essentials Trakline Express Belt: Upgrade Your Style

01/29/2016 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

I shared my review of the Kore Essentials Trakline Belt several months ago, and now they’ve introduced a new model; the Express Buckle!

Since my initial review, the Trakline is the only belt I’ve worn. From date night to family occasions, I never had to “waist” time with what belt to wear, the Kore Essentials Trakline was a no-brainer. And it’s wife approved!

*cough* Valentine’s Day is coming. *cough*

As a guy who despises having to wear anything that requires a belt, I find that this belt makes it easier for me to accept. And for good reason, it looks damn good and will last forever!

For Kore’s new Express line, they are running a Kickstarter campaign to help get this belt out to the men that want/need a good belt. Even my good dad blogger buddy, Gary (aka Mr. Skipah) is raving about Kore. He better make sure his style is upgraded now that he’s upgraded his living arrangements! 😉

Joking aside, do Karl from Kore (that flows well, huh?) a huge favor and head on over to support their new Trakline Express making it to production. As a small business turning out high quality products, every little bit helps. Plus, you even get a reward when you give your support!

To help with further persuasion (if you even need it), I have my original review below. You can thank Gary for giving me the idea.

No belt holes, but it’s still a belt?

This was my initial thought when I first heard of Kore Essentials and their Trakline belts. They have zero holes, are made of 100% full grain leather, and can be adorned with several unique, fashionable buckles that are solid stainless steel or high-grade alloy.

I love being limited to how my belt fits based on the one-inched spaced holes it has and how ragged it looks after wearing it a while. Said no one, ever.

But this is the case for those primitive belts with holes. Thanks to Kore Essentials, that’s all changed. Their Trakline belts are not only appealing to the eye, they’re high quality pieces of wearable waist art that will last virtually forever!

There’s a reason they are the #1 rated men’s belt on according to customers on Amazon.com, and it’s not because they smell pretty. Actually, the leather is quite pleasant. 🙂

Here’s the 411 on why the Trakline Belt is better than those other belts, direct from the Kore Essentials site:

FUNCTION
NO more belt holes to stretch out, wear out, or punch out yourself. Instead a hidden track sewn into the back of the belt and unique,
patent-pending buckle create a precise fit every time you put it on. The track features 40+ sizing positions (1/4″ increments), making
Trakline belts 8X’s more adjustable than a tradional men’s belt (5 one-inch holes). A discreet tab under the buckle allows you to easily
adjust, or remove the belt fast. Honestly guys, it feels like the belt of the future.

FASHION
We’ve designed a limited collection of classically cool men’s belt buckles for work, play and dress. At last, a mens belt that’s smart, stylish,
and simple to use. Makes a desirable gift for fathers, dads, grads, groommen and any guy looking to upgrade.

FORM
Our men’s belts are constructed of premium Full-Grain Leather (the best grade of leather). Full-grain leather improves with age, conforming
to your actual waist shape. The stainless steel buckles are handformed, 16 gauge, solid stainless steel and the alloy buckles are a high-grade
zinc. We built our belts – to last.

SIZING
Trakline belts fit any waist size from 24” up to 44” (XL sizes to 54″). Try on the belt, then trim off the excess leather (using household scissors)
to attain your optimal size range. Then the 10″ track creates a precise fit as your waist fluctuates in and out every day.

GUARANTEE
If you don’t completely love yourTrakline belt, just send it back within thirty days for a full refund. And of course all our products come with a
one-year, warranty against defects and breakage, to keep you happy.

MISSION
We set out to redefine those basic, essentials items you use each day. Our approach is pure >> blend innovation with superior materials to create
unique, more exciting products that exceed expectations

Annndd, if that weren’t enough, it doubles as a bottle opener! Sold. Where were they when I had a date night with my wife and spent forever trying to open our beer with my crappy, worn out belt with holes?

No funny thoughts..... — No funny thoughts…..

Yes, we were in the car, no, nothing like that. We ate and drank before in the parking lot before going inside to see the Imagine Dragons in concert. It was a great time, but could’ve been better if I had a better belt like the Trakline.

Thanks to the wonderful Karl and all of the Kore Essentials team, I am now the proud owner of their black genuine leather belt with stainless steel Evolve Buckle they sent me to review.

It comes with a handy belt hanger (that plastic thing that looks like a giant two-prong fuse), that allows you to easily hang your prized pants-holder-upper right next to your pants!

The included instructions on how to measure and trim the belt to your appropriate size confused me at first, but then I realized it was just the user….me! Essential-y (see what I did there?), if you have a good idea of your pant waist size, you can go with that number and trim off the excess leather that’s conveniently marked.

Then just clamp the buckle receptacle in place and you’re good to go. Being the goof that I am, I failed to take a picture of the full process, but lucky for you (and me), Kore Essentials has a handy dandy video to watch if needed.

After trimming off your excess leather, do NOT throw it away! It’s a little known fact that things not intended to be toddler toys, are in fact, perfect toddler toys!

Avery loved running around with this quality leather strap and completely ignored her actual toys for a full day! Even Going Mom was impressed.

I made use of my fancy new belt for a date night with Kelley last weekend and simply loved how perfect if fit around my waist. No in between holes where it’s too tight or too lose, it was just right. Hence the boyish smile I had when posting my attire on Instagram.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

The shirt was tucked in to give a good view of the belt, but I quickly had to un-tuck after the picture was taken. We never had to open a beer bottle that day, but it was nice knowing I could if I needed to!

One of the great things about the belt is how easy and fast it is to adjust. After gulping a liter of water, I needed to loosen up a little, and with the Trakline, I could even do it on the “fly”. Bam, I’m on fire!

I love having a belt I can count on and quickly get on and off, and this belt allows just that. Plus it looks good, will last me a long time, and it looks good. Wait, did I already say that?

This would make a perfect gift for the upcoming Father’s Day holiday, or as a “just cuz” gift to the man in your life. Head over to the Kore Essentials site and pick one or a few belts and use code SAVE15 to save 15% off your order.

Parenting

biPro 100% Natural Whey Protein Isolate

01/26/2016 R.C. Liley Leave a comment

I recently introduced whey protein back into my diet by being very cautious of the quality of the ingredients. When biPro offered to send me a few samples to try, I did a quick search for ingredients on their site and saw enough to spark my interest.

A short list of ingredients is usually a great starting point. Whey protein isolate and sunflower lecithin in their unflavored protein is as short as they’ll come. Which makes a very clean supplement facts list….

whey protein isolate

For their flavored products (just chocolate and vanilla), natural flavors, cocoa (for chocolate), monk fruit, and stevia are all that’s added. Stevia is my preferred natural, no calorie, and tasty sweetener of choice, so when I see it in products, I assume some level of quality care is used in the creation.

biPro 100% whey protein isolate

This holds true for biPro, but I would prefer to see the whey come from grass-fed cows and the rest of the ingredients to be non-gmo to truly stand apart. This isn’t a deal breaker, but would make me feel better about implementing biPro as a daily supplement.

biPro 100% whey protein isolate

Nevertheless, I found that their powder mixes easily in any liquid and tastes surprisingly good with such a short list of ingredients. Actually, I love vanilla, and their French Vanilla mixed just in water satisfied my sweet tooth. At first it was a little too much, but I just needed to add a little more water to dilute and it made a perfectly healthy and tasty pre/post workout drink.

I used the chocolate to mix into overnight oats which turned out amazing and was a real treat mixed with Greek yogurt and strawberries for a healthy, muscle-building “dessert”. I didn’t have enough to try, but can only imagine biPro Whey Protein Isolate would make a wonderful Protein Microwave Cake or even Whole Grain Protein Beer Bread if you use their Unflavored Protein.

If you’re looking for a high quality, naturally sweetened whey protein isolate that has no sugar, carbs, fat, or lactose, biPro is a good choice. While I wish it were non-gmo and the source of the whey was from grass-fed cows, I would still have it on occasion and offer it to others looking for a healthy whey protein supplement.

One thing that stands out about biPro is how they support giving back to our most precious assets; kids. They have fundraising options that anyone can take part of to raise funds for schools. To learn more on how you can discover a new whey to raise money and give nutritious protein to your kids’ school, click here or on the picture below.

Disclaimer: biPro provided samples free of charge in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

Going Reviews

Melissa & Doug K’s Kids Bowling Friends Review

01/21/2016 R.C. Liley 5 Comments

The Melissa & Doug line has to be one of the largest eco-friendly kid toy manufacturers around, at least that I’m aware of. My wife and I have brought several Melissa & Doug toys into the home since Avery was born, and the latest is this K’s Kids Bowling Friends Playset.

We went a little overboard (by our standards) with buying things for our increasingly active 2 year old this past Christmas. Mainly, as I assume many parents with kids this age know, the books/toys/gadgets your kids have, means you’ll be spending a lot of time with those things too! With that in mind, Going Mom and I made our gift selections something us parents will enjoy while playing with our kid.

As a “surprise” to each other, we both bought things for Avery that the other didn’t know about. Kelley bought this Melissa & Doug Bowling Set and, as expected, we have all spent plenty of time playing with it. Maybe even more than Avery since we keep trying to teach her how bowling really works.

At least she understands to knock the pins down. We’ve tried explaining that bowling requires standing back and rolling the ball, but somehow she inches her way to hover right above them and count each animal pin as she knocks it over.

Melissa & Doug K's Kids Bowling Friends

If only we can get her to actually let go of the ball! But then again, the picture on the front of the case does show a kid with ball in hand hovering right over the pins before they meet their doom.

Maybe we’re the ones in the wrong? I know I’d do a lot better with this style when at the lanes.

Either way you play, this is a fun playset to have around the house. I love that the set comes in a bag that makes it easy to clean up once done, and perfect when traveling.

The set comes with 6 brightly colored animal pins made of soft but sturdy plastic that allows them to easily stand up, even on carpet. The surface is very easy to clean which makes playing outside a non-issue. Avery even enjoys just playing with each of the animals and will carry them around the house making their associated animal noises.

When the ball becomes boring, it’s fun to find different ways to knock the pins over. My favorite is having a “snowball fight” with the animals by using 6 soft “snowballs” to throw at the pins. Avery isn’t quite ready to let go of the ball, so right now, this makes for a great game of Spider-man bowling…

We shall call it. … Spiderman Bowling! #sahd #toddler #playtime #play #parenting

A video posted by RC Liley (@going_dad) on Jan 5, 2016 at 8:40am PST

I wish the bowling ball had deeper dents for the fingers (because adults play too!), but it still works okay. Besides, most adults rarely use the finger holes anyway.

Also, like so many toys, it’s made in China, and I have not seen anything saying the plastic is bpa-free. But I still trust the Melissa & Doug brand for their quality and think this bowling set is well worth it for the fun it provides.

Avery has had a blast with this bowling set and will ask us to “play bowling”almost daily.

This makes a perfect gift for any baby/toddler. And for only $22.49 on Amazon, it’s well worth the fun you and your kid will have. Maybe they’ll even be a bowling pro one day. Or maybe not….