Well, eco-loving ladies and gents! It is with a mix pride and sorrow that I’m today announcing that Green Gear will be going on an indefinite hiatus.

Over the past six months, regular readers of the blog (all two of them) would have noticed that my pace of reviews has slowed down to a trickle. This is not without reason. God only gives us 24 hours in a day and over the past months my desire to provide you with (sometimes-stupid / sometimes-dirty) quality reviews of green products has been dominated by my desire to become an Officer of Marines. So the time that I would have been spending evaluating showerheads, writing reviews, and shooting videos has largely been spent doing pullups, running, and reading books on Marine Corps history. After about a year of very hard work I received word that I was accepted into Officer Candidate School and am scheduled to report to Quantico, VA in early June.

I started Green Gear as a wordpress.com blog after seeing An Inconvenient Truth in late 2007. Seeing it made me want to do what I could to help myself and others waste less so we can pass on a better world to our children. Shortly after starting greengear.wordpress.com I moved to greengear.info and started Green Gear as an LLC. This gave me my first hands on experience at starting and running a business, albeit a small money losing one. Green Gear was a heck of a lot of fun and I’m so thankful to my wife for helping me with everything it involved and all the people who stumbled upon it and made it better. I will be leaving the site up as is so that people can still view the reviews I’ve done. Please take the time to click on one of our ads/sponsors to help us pay for the hosting.

The desire to make a better world that compelled me to create Green Gear is the same desire that now leads me to the Marine Corps. I love my nation and care so much for my countrymen. I’m hopeful for the future but fear that without an earnest and concerted effort by its people we might lose ground in a dynamic, changing, and dangerous world. I want to do my part.

Thank you all for your support of Green Gear!

God Bless You. Semper Fidelis.

Here at green gear, we love Bricor. I am unashamed to say that while I have tested numerous showerheads over the past two years in duty to this site, the one I always keep going back to is my Bricor! Well, bricors actually. They are high-grade showerheads with great technology that produces a wonderful shower experience. They also have flow rates among the lowest I’ve encountered. So, what’s not to love?

Well, up until about a month ago the answer to that question would have been price. Bricors were expensive. VERY expensive, no matter where you fell on their product line. Sure, if you’re used to paying $50 to $100 it wouldn’t seem like much. But, to jo/jane schmo out there, who has never even changed a showerhead but wanted to be green, the price tag along would have kept them away.

Well, enter the Bricor. A wonderful 1.25GPM beauty that works like any other bricor I’ve used, but comes at the bargain price of $19.99. That’s fantastic. The main difference is that the body of the showerhead is made of PVC plastic instead of steel. When I first heard this I thought, “Well, there goes bricor making a low budget crap product to satisfy the masses.” But, when I screwed this puppy on the shower and got under it, it delivered the familiar bricor shower. Good job bricor!

The head is much lighter compared to the 1lb B100 I own. I was originally worried that they would not include all of the normal technology in the head, and just put in a flow restrictor, but the air intake is on the side and the vacuum technology is in effect.

I’ve been using this for about two months. It’s going to be our go to showerhead! Good job Bricor! Great product.

RATING: 4 out of 5 Gears for Quality, Price, Variable Eco-Benefit, and Being badass!

Well, Green Gear is a little late to this party, but a few days ago we set up our very own facebook account.  Facebook is a great way for me to communicate, discuss with, and keep track of people out there who love to see the latest skinny on green products.  If you use facebook (my dad does, so you probably do too), go on over to our facebook page and sign up.  We’re going to use this tool to talk about big and little things as well as use it for product giveaways!

Also, we’ve added a facebook widget to the bottom of our sidebar, so even if you don’t use facebook, you can get a glimpse of what you’re missing!

I saw an ad for Scotch-Brite Greener Clean products last night.  They are made from natural fibers and / or easily renewable or biodegradable materials.  They seem pretty nice, but I’m not convinced.  Has anyone used these products yet and have a verdict?

They claim that you can use them over and over again instead of paper towels.  I’ve had poor luck with other products that claim the same thing, so I’m skeptical.

You know we bring you the best, right?  Well ladies and gents I’m happy to say that the fine folks over at Bricor have given us the chance to see their new, budget friendly, EcoFIT showerhead a chance to review.  It is in my shower as we speak.  The main difference is that this head is made with ABS plastic.  It has a flow rate of 1.25GPM and features the same vacuum system of other Bricors.

I know you’re all excited for this product so I’ll work hard to get you the review on this product as soon as I can.  Stay tuned!

On the whole, i thought the superbowl ads this year were pretty lame… Good thing I watch football FOR THE FOOTBALL.. WHo dat? Anyway, there seems to be a minor uproar over Audi’s “Green Police” Diesel TDI Ad where everyday citizens are being subjected to arrest by eco-policemen for using plastic water bottles and not composing.

Check out the ad above, what do you guys think? Funny or an early warning of the upcoming eco-police state?

Well, Hey if it isn’t nearing St. Valentine’s day.  A day filled with heart shaped boxes being delivered to lovers from coast to coast.  You know what puts a damper on an otherwise wonderful valentine’s day?  Death.  Specifically speaking, heart disease!

As your self appointed tester of green products, I feel it is my duty to keep you protected in any way possible!  So i was going back through all the products I’ve reviewed trying to find something (ANYTHING!) that might be timely and heart related.  Low and behold was a review we rendered on POM pomegranate juice in April of last year.

POM is a quality product that comes from a company that cares for our natural resources… their product also looks after your most precious resource, your sanity heart!  When it comes to antioxidants, POM even beats out red wine… It tastes great, mixes well with other juices (or red wines if you want to really stay healthy) and will make sure the only attack your heart comes under this valentine, is from a love crazed admirer!

Happy Valentine’s day from POM and Green Gear

Let’s face it, generally speaking printing stuff isn’t green.  I mean, c’mon!  You’re using a moderately large electronics device that was shipped across the globe to print tiny pieces of chopped down trees in your home office.  A lot of green bloggers out there could take aim at all printing companies for keeping us from moving to a paperless world (sorry Michael Scott).  I’m sure one day we’ll get close but here at Green Gear we understand the importance of incremental movement toward eco-responsibility.  That being said, it doesn’t take an un-ethical climatologist to conclude that there is some SERIOUS room for improvement when it comes to making home printing a little greener.

With that in mind Green Gear was pleased as punch to find the new HP LaserJet P2055d small business printer arrive a month ago!  We wasted no time moving our Canon all-in-one to make way for this bad boy.  Since that time we have started to use this nearly on a daily basis.  The P2055D is a 35 page per minute laserjet printer designed for small businesses or home offices.  It has a 300-page feeder and various trays for all types of paper and is capable of doing 2-sided duplex printing.  The printer takes the HP 05A or 05X toner cartridges.

First, lets discuss our experience with the product.  Mrs. Green Gear and I have probably put roughly 500 pages through the machine.  Our biggest job was a 140 page cookbook.  In terms of printing, the product has a high quality 1200×1200 resolution that prints wonderful black and white photos and crisp text.  Our real world testing (using .doc files with text and graphics mixed) exhibited speed less than the 35 pages per minute, at roughly 12-15ppm.  As i say in the video, I always take PPM figures with a grain of salt, kind of like EPA mileage figures.  The different feeder trays worked fine with envelopes and printing paper.

The printer itself is quite small taking up about the same footprint as my canon inkjet printer.  The noise coming from the laserjet was in line with what I’ve experienced with similar printers.  If was given the ability to change the printer, I would have boosted the #2 high capacity tray to fit a full package of paper.  Other than that I would keep it pretty much as-is.

Now, lets get to the green stuff.  First off, HP wants you to KNOW they’re green.  The box it comes in is adorned with bright green highlights, the model name on the printer is done in tasteful green font, and there is even a green sticker on the top promoting the printer’s eco features, which are:

• Instant On Technology: Which keep the printer in eco mode and quickly prints out your first page in less than 6 seconds!
• 2-sided printing: duplex printing on both sides to save paper (and cost, and trees)
• Energy Star Rating: Just like your washer and dryer!
• HP Recycling Program: HP’s effort to recycle products and print cartridges.

So, what you really want to know is… is this all a bunch of bull or are they really moving to a greener product.  Well, I’m happy to report it’s not a bunch of bull, but it could be better.  First, the instant on technology cuts the power usage of the product to 8w during power save mode yet still spits out your first page fast.  In all fairness though, we got our first page in 8 seconds, not six.  The energy star rating is always something you should look for, some of the products we compared this with didn’t even have the rating.  The rating is widely respected and well known, so it’s not like those gimmicky proprietary awards.

HP’s recycling program is one of those things that I’m immediately skeptical of.  I discuss this in the video but after reading up on it i was VERY pleased that this seemed like a program where they were moving in the right direction and not just going through the green motions.  If you have a printer of any type, or a print cartridge they will provide you with postage, a drop off location, or even a pick up and make certain it is reused.  If you’re looking to be green, drop it off and keep it from traveling all by itself.  This is wonderful to see and probably makes good business sense for HP anyway.  Kudos!

Now, it’s not all glowing, right?  I mean, I wouldn’t be doing my job if i didn’t find SOMETHING to complain about.  Well, first, I was never able to get the duplex printing to work.  I put about an hour longer into the process of figuring it out than I would have normally but even after following the instructions a couple of times it still wasn’t available as an option.  I’m sure it does work, it just was not as easy to figure out as it should have been.   My other issues are more pie-in-the-sky.  The cardboard box and Styrofoam packaging were both recyclable, but not recycled.  In the same vein, considering all of the plastic that HP receives in its recycling program, I would have expected a portion of the plastic used in this product to be non-virgin.  But alas, it is not.  They did do this with one of their models in the past.

So what do we have here?  What we have is a quality product, going at a market price, that makes important strides in the movement to green printing.  In addition, HP has been working to green itself and its internal operations and we appreciate that.  Overall, it would be a good fit for an eco-minded business owner looking to handle some serious print jobs.

RATING: 3 out of 5 Gears for a variable eco-benefit, quality, and value.

Check out the full video review (ignore the edits, i had to cut it to under 10 minutes!) and photo gallery.

When it comes to green products, I’m a simple man.  I can do without all of the hyper-marketed hocus pocus mumbo jumbo.  It’s cute and all, but nine times out of ten its main goal is to inflate the eco-bonafides of an otherwise marginal (or horrid) product.  Deep down in my green as grass heart, what I really want is a product that 1.) works and 2.) lasts forever.  The best green products are the ones that are green by just being what they are,  great products that stay that way. 

With that in mind, I introduce you to probably the greenest part of my kitchen: Lodge Cast Iron Cookware.  At first glance, Cast Iron doesn’t jump out at you as a “green” product.  I mean there are no artistic angles to the design and zero bamboo of any sort!  Cast Iron Cookware is big, heavy, and made of metal.  But, Cast Iron Cookware is as green as any product I’ve ever used reviewed because it LASTS FOREVER! 

That point really can’t be overstated, you probably have cast iron somewhere in your family that has been in use since Lincoln gave the gettysburg address.  For little more than the cost of standard cookware (in some cases less) you can have a product that will last forever and not only save on the cost of future cookware, but also reduce the demand on our natural resources that that cookware would have created.  Heck, you might save your kids future cookware.  I have a small skillet in my family that makes the PERFECT cornbread and i’m waiting to get my grubby mits on it. 

Most of that can be said for all cookware.  But if you’re going out and going to make the decision to buy cast iron, Lodge is the best place to start.  Each of their non enamel items are made and shipped from the great state of Tennessee.  In addition to that, Lodge has made a serious commitment to the environment. 

Each of Lodge’s items are pre-seasoned, meaning that they’re ready to go when you bring them home.  Mrs. Green Gear and I cooked all sorts of food that you’ll see in the video.  The photos above are from some 100% sustainable pheasant Mr. Green Gear brought home from a weekend hunt! 

Not only that, cooking with cast iron is a pleasure.  Once it is heated, it cooks through meat, sauces, bread, and veggies with ease.  Our favorite is the griddle, it allows me to cook chicken for the week’s lunches without drying them out.  One important note is that cast iron should be cleaned with water only, and once patted down should be lubricated/protected with a light spray of pam or oil (not unlike a gun).  As you use the cast iron throughout the years it will develop its own character and outlast every other item in the kitchen. 

4 out of 5 Gears for Fixed Eco Benefit, Value, Quality, and General Awesomeness

Below are photos and the video review.  Ask questions and post comments!

Well, every other electronics review site has unboxings, so why not mine? right? We got a new printer in the other day to test and I figured I’d throw up the unboxing video! Enjoy the Laserjet P2055d Unboxing Video!