MetroMile : The per mile insurance company launches Metronome : Free car tracking device

If you have not heard of MetroMile, you can be forgiven. Its a new age insurance company with all the glamour of being a silicon valley startup that has started a pay per mile insurance company. You basically pay more if you drive more. Makes sense, doesnt it ?

Before I move onto the gadget itself, a word of caution there. We cannot endorse the insurance company. For some reason, I could not find any review of MetroMile’s insurance products or their claims process. I even scoured their Facebook page, but unlike traditional insurance companies wherein customers are either complaining or praising staff, there was again no mention of peoples’ experiences with this company.

Metronome-device-palm

Now onto the device itself. MetroMile has developed a device which would be used to track vehicle usage. They call it the Metronome. The device fits into the OBD II port of any modern car and is ready for business. Among the things it tracks are the speed of the vehicle at all times, its GPS location and if there are any problems with the engine or not. The device also displays tripwise and average gas consumption. Any other analytics being extracted by MetroMile are not shown to end users.

The device is mandatory to be placed by all their insurance customers. But worry not, even if you are not a customer you can signup to test out their device. They will send a free unit to you and you can have access to a large variety of reports. I received my device within a week of ordering, it took me 10 minutes to install it into my 2014 Toyota Corolla. After collecting data for a few days, here is what we think of the device.

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Schick Hydro 5 reviewed for the Schick Hydro 5 challenge

Schick Hydro 5 package Ok folks, we have another review for you. we review the Schick Hydro 5. The Hydro 5 razors were provided to us by Crowdtap to review. We undertook the #SchickHydroChallenge and here is our report. I have tried some of the older Schicks but never really switched to them. My staple is the Mach 3 Turbo disposable razor, its easy to use, doesn’t cut or nick my skin and when purchased in sufficiently large quantities at Costco doesn’t cost a lot (or atleast I can afford it 🙂 )

So I received the package from Crowdtap, it had 2 razors, I kept one for myself and gave one to my partner in crime brother to test out. Both of us are Mach 3 users since forever so it would have been interesting to see how this matched up against what I think might be the most popular razor in the world.

Schick Hydro 5 vs Mach 3

First a little note about my habits, I generally shave around once a week or so and prefer to keep a stubble (hence shaving at night many times so that I don’t look like a recently licked baby when I go out).

So I incorporated the Schick Hydro 5 into my shaving routine and here are my observations :

1. Lubrication : I use Giovanni shaving cream as the primary lubricant, after the blade has run over, I usually have a very soft feeling and the shave with the Schick was no different. The blades just kept gliding and it was a smooth shave.

2. Closeness of shave : Not an expert at this, but 5 blades did seem more efficient than 3. The shave seemed to be closer than the Mach 3 Turbo.

3. Nicks and Cuts : Although the shave was smoother and closer with the Schick, I was left with visibly more nicks and cuts. I dont know if its me or if the face doesnt pivot as much as the Mach 3s, however I am willing to give these babies a few more tries, maybe I need to redo my shaving strategy.

The verdict : We liked the Schick Hydro, and at the price point they do make a pretty compelling case to replace my razor, you may want to go ahead and give these a try and take the #challenge.

[rating:4]

Testing out the Viva Vantage paper napkins

Viva Vantage Paper Towels

A couple of weeks ago, Crowdtap sent me a few Viva Vantage paper napkins to test out. As always the units were free to test, but the opinions below are genuine.

I have forever been using Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand’s paper towels, the large quantity means I run out very few times and bi-weekly visits ensure I get more paper towels as soon as I am about to run out.

The Viva Vantage paper towels made a good first impression, the packaging certainly seems to suggest that they are a premium product, but do I care about the packaging on my paper towels, the proof of the pudding is in the eating or cleaning in this case.

I replaced the use of my normal paper towels for a week in the kitchen and also kept the Viva Vantage side by side with the Kirkland signature for a 1:1 comparison and to see if my brother too would use the Viva Vantage over the other brand.

Well here is the comparison :

1. Stretchiness – I found the claim of stretchiness a bit exaggerated. I found almost no difference in the Kirkland Signature model and Viva Vantage

2. Absorbing Power – Viva Vantage kicked some serious butt here, while the Kirkland Signature towels start dripping as soon as they encounter any non-trivial wetness, the Viva Vantages are much absorbier 🙂

3. Brittleness – Again the Viva Vantage here hold their own much more than the Kirkland Signatures.

4. Cleaning ability – This is again a place where the Viva Vantage wins hands down, the towels actually feel like they are scrubbing something, the other towel feels like its just wiping.

Viva Vantage

The verdict – No doubts Viva Vantage is a premium brand of paper towels and holds its own against the cheapo Kirkland Signature towels (I must confess, I dont have a price comparison ready here). Whether or not you want to go for Viva Vantage depends a lot whether you are really a frugal person or don’t mind a little extra payment for better products. Its the difference between a Dove and a Dial soap 🙂

I have given a few rolls out to friends and waiting for their feedback on the same.

So go ahead, give it a try and let us know if you are dumping your current brand for Viva Vantage.

[rating:4]