Dyson DC41 Animal Ball Vacuum

The following is a guest post by Ashley:

A few days ago we purchase a Dyson DC41 Animal Ball vacuum. Living in an apartment complex with old carpeting and a dog who is shedding like crazy with it being Spring, we decided to run some tests just to see how much of a difference the vacuum actually makes. We sectioned off the living room and in the first section we used our old cheapo vacuum, the next section we used the Dyson, and in the third section we used no vacuum at all. Looking at the comparisons, you could see the difference the Dyson made. It actually pulls the carpet fibers back upright so the carpet is not matted down, not too mention the color difference. The feel of the carpet the Dyson was used on was different, too. It felt clean on bare feet, unlike the other two sections that still felt dirty. We emptied the Dyson bin and then ran the Dyson back over the carpeting that we used the cheapo on to see how much was missed. After doing so, the Dyson bin was filled 1/3 the way full of dirt and debris the cheapo had not picked up.

This vacuum is amazing! We cleaned the cealings, all the corners and edges of the rooms and hallways, and it even picks stuff up off the linoleum floors. The vacuum glides across the floor with ease, is SUPER light, and the lip is so flat it fits under all the furniture including the couches! We have used the vacuum every day since we purchased it and it's worth EVERY penny it cost us. I have not a bad thing to say about the Dyson other than it's so powerful we have lost a retraction cord from the blinds cleaning the windows (but even with that it was so easy to remove). They really did think of everything!

Dyson DC41 Animal Ball Vacuum passes The Trav Test with A+.

•Category: Products
•Location: Stores
•Cost: $599
•Ease of use:
 Easy
•The Trav Test grade: A+

Money – The Fragrance of Success

If you watch The Shark Tank on ABC, you probably saw Money – The Fragrance of Success on the episode that aired Friday, February 3rd. Well, I do and I did and I had to have it! I won't lie, I LOVE money! Whoever said "money doesn't buy happiness" was 99% wrong. Does it directly buy happiness? No - but it buys security which leads to happiness - but I digress. I also love (and have a mild addiction to) cologne. My all-time hands down favorite is Essential by Lacoste. It's delicious. When I saw this product, I had to have it. I don't know if I'd want to actually smell like money. Does money smell good? I'd say that it doesn't really smell good per se, but it does have a distinct smell that most people enjoy. So I immediately purchased Money.

My bottle of Money arrived on Wednesday. My first impression was the packaging. The plastic wrap used to protect the box is very odd. When I tried it unwrap it, the plastic wrap broke off in pieces rather than unwrapping. Think of an old tortilla shell rather than Saran wrap. Not a great first impression. Upon opening the box, I found the shredded real US currency. I love that bit! Once I removed the shredded money, my impression went negative again. Talk about a roller coaster: Shitty plastic, then "Oh! Cool!", then "Really?". The box makes the cologne look like a similar size to my Lacoste Essential bottle (big enough to last a while, but small enough to throw in a messenger bag or car storage counsel), but it's pretty damn tiny. At 1.7oz (does anyone really bother to read that before ordering?), it's less than 1/2 the size of my Lacoste and almost the same price. I wasn't impressed.

Even though it was almost 7pm by the time I opened the box, I had to put the cologne on. It doesn't smell anything like money. At all. With that said, however, it does smell good. It's a familiar fragrance, but I haven't taken the time (and won't be doing so) to figure out what other cologne it reminds me of. I like it. I'm used to having strangers stop me to say how good I smell and ask what I'm wearing, which probably means I'm wearing way too much cologne, but I like to smell it! Strangely, no one at the office has ever mentioned my cologne so they either dislike it or just don't notice/care. I wear Essential pretty much every single work day so I thought that wearing Money on Thursday would make people notice. They didn't. So overall, I like Money, but I'm not blown away. They'll need to improve upon the packaging and double the bottle size to make me a repeat customer.

Money - The Fragrance of Success passes The Trav Test with a B-/C+. 


• Category: Products
• Location: Online
• Cost: $42.50
• Ease of use:
 Easy
• The Trav Test grade: B-/C+. I couldn't decide. It's not an F and it's not an A.

LinkedIn DirectAds

I was recently looking for a new day job and, being a technophile, I used the internet to my advantage. At first, I solely used SEO (search engine optimization) so when you Googled my name, my LinkedIn profile would be in the search results and also appear as an ad.  I then received $100 in free LinkedIn DirectAds advertising through a promotional mailing, so I figured that was even better than the Google AdWords platform since folks are only on LinkedIn for professional things whereas they are on Google for many things. My experience with LinkedIn Ads was largely negative. The only good thing about it was that it was easy to set up. Since I had the free Ads to use, I set the maximum budget for my ad at $100, but it quickly used it somehow. When I noticed this, I immediately turned the ad off. The DirectAds platform reported that I caught it before any clicks sent me over budget, but soon after I was charged $79.56 because the system failed to turn my ad off. I spent approximately 2 months dealing with customer service trying to get a refund. The Ads Specialist I dealt with at first, Troy, was extremely rude and unhelpful. I told him I wanted to escalate to a supervisor and he said he was the person who made decisions about refunds. I went over his head and got my refund anyway.


This past Friday I received an email from a LinkedIn Product Manager asking me about my experience with LinkedIn DirectAds. I told him exactly what I wrote above. In fact, I copied most of the above from the email I sent back to him. Now last night I got an email from LinkedIn's "social media guy" asking if I'd like to participate in a social media ad campaign for LinkedIn DirectAds. Really? I mean, you obviously got my information from the Product Manager - the one that knows my experience was bad. You want to share that? Apparently he doesn't want to share it, so I'm doing it for him.


Don't get me wrong, I find LinkedIn to be a fantastic product, but LinkedIn DirectAds is like LinkedIn's step-child that the parents lock in a dog cage so they can go bar hopping every night. The Ads Specialist (read: customer service) was rude and unhelpful. Now, months later, they ask for my experience? Check your records and you'll have an answer. Then I sent the answer that they should already have had and they obviously didn't even bother to read it or else why would they pass it along so I could potentially participate in an ad campaign for them? Come on, LinkedIn DirectAds, and therefore LinkedIn, get your shit together! I'm so glad you chose not to hire me for the position I applied for! I guess they only want incompetent illiterate folks - that's not me!


PS - Google's AdWords ROCKS. If you want to do an SEO campaign, go with Google.

LinkedIn DirectAds fails The Trav Test with an F.


• Category: Products
• Location: Online
• Cost: Expensive since their shit doesn't work properly
• Ease of use:
 Easy
• The Trav Test grade: F

Bissell Little Green ProHeat Pet

As you can tell, I've been too busy to post lately. I do have reviews queued in my head, but they haven't been "exported" yet. So, here's a super fast review of a product I tried today.


 The Bissell Little Green ProHeat Pet. It's a piece of shit. Don't buy it. The end. :)

Bissell Little Green ProHeat Pet fails The Trav Test with an F. 


• Category: Products
• Location: Stores
• Cost: About $100
• Ease of use:
 Medium
 • The Trav Test grade: F

Neato XV-11

Just about one month ago, I got the Neato XV-11 robotic vacuum for testing. I was interested in testing a robotic vacuum because the concept is awesome and, frankly, it is 2011 yet there is nothing Jetsons-like in my home. Also, with a Jack Russell Terrier who sheds more than you could imagine, daily vacuuming is a good way to keep the house clean between full weekly cleanings. Although I'm a "neat freak", I'm not lugging a full upright vacuum out every single day. Plus, my aforementioned dog is deathly afraid of the vacuum and daily anxiety for him would be even worse for me. So I went on the hunt for a robotic vacuum to test.

My search started with the product everyone is familiar with: Roomba. It's expensive, round, and the reviews aren't great. Plus, with 6 different models ranging in price from $300 to $600 and many different features, I didn't know which one to get. Roomba Pet Series sounds like it would make sense, but it doesn't have other necessary features. As I was reading other reviews, I kept reading comments saying to get Neato instead. I checked Neato out and understand why people were saying so. It's U-shaped, so it fits in corners, has "RPS" or room positioning system, and supposedly has the best suction for a small robotic vacuum. At $399, it's right in the middle of Roomba's prices, but many people say it's much better. Sold!

Having my Neato XV-11 for about a month now, I can tell you that it is awesome. It doesn't have the suction that a good upright has, but it has more than a cheap upright. For most of us, the atmospheric pressure suction rating means absolutely nothing so instead, here's a practical description: it picks up dust, dog hair, popcorn, crumbs, nail clippings, and even the occasional bug that sneaks into the house. Translation: it works very well. Instead of dragging a fairly heavy upright vacuum up and down the stairs, I can very easily pick up this small, 15 pound machine and take it anywhere. On the main floor where I have the base, all I need to do is push the main button twice and the entire level will be vacuumed while I do other things. When it's finished, it goes back to the base and charges. On the other 2 levels, I can set it down, push the button, and again that's all. When it's finished, it returns to where it started and shuts off. It's fantastic.

Ok, so how does it compare to a good upright, other than suction? One of the great things is the path it uses to clean if you have carpet that leaves those awesome vacuum marks. I really do love those! Other robotic vacuums (i.e. Roomba) take a completely random path. Neato first goes around the perimeter of the room, then cleans the rest of the room systematically so it leaves nice vacuum lines, THEN it leaves the room and starts the next one. It can detect doorways and stairs so it goes room-by-room and doesn't fall over any edges. As for noise, it's not exactly quiet, but it's not exactly loud either. You can hardly hear it if you're on a different level, but it's too loud to watch TV if you're in the same room. What's really great, however, is that it does not have that really loud, high pitched sound upright vacuums make. It is that sound that makes my dog go crazy. Without that sound, my dog isn't bothered by Neato at all. Now, Neato doesn't completely replace your upright. You'll still need to manually vacuum once per week if you're a neat freak like me. Why? Well, the extra suction of an upright gets any dirt that is deeper in the carpet and Neato obviously can't move things to vacuum under them. If you don't have a dog or kids, you probably could go 2 or more weeks easily.

All in all, I'd recommend Neato for everyone. If you're lazy, it does the work. If you're a slob, it picks up after you. If you're busy, you can set up a schedule and never think about it again. If you're a clean freak, you can be sure that the house is cleaned daily without any work on your part. It works on all floor types, too. I honestly can't think of a single situation where Neato wouldn't be a great purchase. And yes, I paid for my Neato myself, so you can be sure that the company isn't paying me to say these things! I wouldn't hesitate to purchase Neato again!

Neato XV-11 passes The Trav Test with an A+. 


• Category: Products
• Location: Online, Some stores
• Cost: $399
• Ease of use: Super easy
 
• The Trav Test grade: A+
• UPDATE: Click Here

Increasing Shoes

As a male, being only 5'6" can be quite difficult.  With the average male in the US at about 5'10 1/2" (according to Wikipedia), measuring up is a challenge.  Height (and weight) are probably 2 characteristics that potential employers can use against you without facing impending litigation.  Now, I am not suggesting that companies have a secret policy to only hire tall people, but studies show that there may be some implicit negative attitudes towards shorter people.  In China, some have gone to the extreme by undergoing leg lengthening surgery.  While I am certainly not willing to endure that pain (or the associated costs), I am interested in ways to increase my height.


Females have it easy as they can get away with 7" stilettos!  One solution for us guys is called Increasing Shoes.  These shoes come in a variety of styles and can increase your height from 2" to 5.5" depending on the style.  The shoes work by using a thick sole (similar to those found on Doc Martins) and a "hidden" insole inside the shoe itself.  For the test, I tried 2 styles: one at 5" and one at 5.5".  Both styles were represented accurately on the website and actually looked better in person.  The shoes also definitely did what they claim.  While wearing them, I did appear taller.  After adding a longer pair of Gap jeans, it was impossible to tell that I was wearing anything out of the ordinary.


My positive experience, however, ended there.  The shoes are extremely uncomfortable.  I expected the shoes to be slightly uncomfortable due to the "hidden" insole, but I did not expect the insole to cause a lack of ankle support.  Since the insole placed my heel at the top of the shoe, I felt like I was wearing backless slip-on hiking boots: a bad combination!  The lack of a back and ankle support made walking even harder.  With these points in mind, I would have given the shoes a C+ since they look good, do what they say, but are more uncomfortable than expected. The company itself, however, caused a huge loss of points.  First, the company doesn't seem to have a formal location.  The shoes shipped from Hong Kong, the return department is in Michigan, and the sales address is in Brooklyn.  Shipping takes quite a while and the customer must pay for return shipping costs.  I had no problem exchanging my 1st style and received  my exchange quickly because they shipped my new order once I provided a tracking number for my return.  Returning my exchange, however, has been a hassle at best.  In order to complete a return, the customer must email customer service and get a return number.  When I emailed customer service, this was their response:


"Please be informed that replacement items cannot be returned for a refund as exchange transactions cannot be converted to refunds.

We can only let you exchange the shoes for a second time. However, there will be a $19.99 shipping and handling fee for the second and other succeeding exchanges."

I responded indicating that this was unacceptable and to escalate the matter to a supervisor if needed.  Since the website does not say that exchanges cannot be returned, I will not accept that as the final answer.  After 2 weeks, I still had no reply.  Sick of waiting, I called the number listed on the website.  The lady I spoke with rudely informed me that she only takes new orders, is not customer service, and that customer service is only reachable by email.  I emailed customer service again and am waiting for their reply.  Even if the product itself would have earned an A+ from TheTravTest, bad customer service overrides everything.  The matter is still unresolved.

Increasing Shoes fails The Trav Test with an F.

• Category: Products, Shoes

• Location: Online

• Cost: $49.99 to $179.99

• Ease of use: Difficult

• The Trav Test grade: F