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Canada Trip Report (Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Portland ME) 2023

In the weeks before this trip for the annual King Family reunion, there were news reports of the big fires in Canada, and we were hopeful that the smoke effects would not be too bad. This would be a first -- travelling to be in smoke, not the expected scenario of trying to escape California wildfire smoke. Anyway, we flew on a Thursday late afternoon to get to Toronto. The plane was slightly delayed and we arrived in Toronto early on Friday, and weren't settled in bed at the airport hotel until 3am local time (but not too late for our California time bodies, i.e. midnight). We slept somewhat late the next morning, and caught a hotel shuttle back to the airport to pick up the rental car. Here, we got upgraded to an Audi Q5 and as it turns out, there are a lot of Q5's in the Toronto area. We first drove to eat lunch. P had booked our first meal at a French bistro called Le Select, in downtown Toronto. We were lucky to get a close parking spot on the street, and the restaurant ...

DAM 35 Cooler Review and Testing

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DAM 35 Cooler Review and Testing How long does it keep things cold? Real-world testing This a review and some tests of the DAM 35 Cooler, which uses vacuum insulated panels (VIP) instead of foam or other insulation, like from manufacturers like Yeti. I bought the DAM 35 cooler direct, using one of their 20% off promotions. MSRP is $219 but it's usually discounted. I got a blue one. It also comes in light grey, tan, and white. Yeti has a 35 that is $275. DAM was originally a Kickstarter project. The DAM 35 cooler, per the manufacturer, has 0.85in thick VIPs. DAM claims an R-value of 50/in, but other resources point to different, generally lower numbers.For instance, one source indicates an R-value of 38 per inch for a VIP. That would put 0.85in as an R-value of 32, still substantial. Polyurethane foam used by other manufacturers has an R-value of up to 6.5 per inch, so the "up to 3in" of foam that Yeti uses in their 35 cooler would thus be 19.5. Regardless, the proof is in...