The Gear We Couldn't Live Without This January

At CES this year our bosses thought it would be fun for us to only use smartphones to cover the entire event. I didn't win. In fact, I was nearly disqualified for hacking the game. Whoops. But I also never ran out of juice thanks to the Powerstation XL ($130). The 12,000mAh (that's right, 12,000mAh) charger recharged my Lumia 1020 at least four times a day and never once ran out of juice. It was like having my own personal generator in my backpack. --Roberto Baldwin

Photos by Jim Merithew/WIRED

At first glance the SoundJaw ($10) looks like an unremarkable piece of curved plastic. And yeah, it kind of is that. But clip one or more over your iPad speaker(s) and you're in for a sonic treat. Suddenly, Daft Punk is more danceable; Those pea/zombie collisions in Plants vs Zombies are thwackier; and the kittens mewling on YouTube sound like they're practically in your lap. All this is accomplished by simply reflecting sound from the iPad's tiny, downward-facing speaker -- a speaker that's nearly impossible to hear unless you're in a relatively quiet room -- directly at you and your ears. Go on, drop $10 on one. Heck, if you have an new iPad Air or mini, get two. Your ears will thank you. --Pranav Dixit

Photos by Jim Merithew/WIRED

I've gone wool nuts. Wool crazy even. I am an actual literal woolgatherer. Well, maybe 'wool garment gatherer' is more apt, seeing how I've been stockpiling the stuff in every form I can find, from socks to hats. It's the perfect fabric: wicks sweat, doesn't get cold when it's wet, and you can wear it a gang of times without needing to wash the stink out. And that really comes into play with the Carve Longsleeve Zip ($220), a midlayer snow-sport top from Icebreaker. The company specializes in merino wool from New Zealand sheep. The Carve is made of their densest stuff, which makes it perfect under a shell on the mountaintop (it held up to a squall while snowboarding in Tahoe last month) while still being light enough to throw on for a hike or touch football game. It's cut long, in keeping with its primary focus, but that just means there's more wool to love. WOOL! --Peter Rubin

Photos by Jim Merithew/WIRED

At CES this year our bosses thought it would be fun for us to only use smartphones to cover the entire event. I didn't win. In fact, I was nearly disqualified for hacking the game. Whoops. But I also never ran out of juice thanks to the Powerstation XL ($130). The 12,000mAh (that's right, 12,000mAh) charger recharged my Lumia 1020 at least four times a day and never once ran out of juice. It was like having my own personal generator in my backpack. --Roberto Baldwin

Photos by Jim Merithew/WIRED

At first glance the SoundJaw ($10) looks like an unremarkable piece of curved plastic. And yeah, it kind of is that. But clip one or more over your iPad speaker(s) and you're in for a sonic treat. Suddenly, Daft Punk is more danceable; Those pea/zombie collisions in Plants vs Zombies are thwackier; and the kittens mewling on YouTube sound like they're practically in your lap. All this is accomplished by simply reflecting sound from the iPad's tiny, downward-facing speaker -- a speaker that's nearly impossible to hear unless you're in a relatively quiet room -- directly at you and your ears. Go on, drop $10 on one. Heck, if you have an new iPad Air or mini, get two. Your ears will thank you. --Pranav Dixit

Photos by Jim Merithew/WIRED

I've gone wool nuts. Wool crazy even. I am an actual literal woolgatherer. Well, maybe 'wool garment gatherer' is more apt, seeing how I've been stockpiling the stuff in every form I can find, from socks to hats. It's the perfect fabric: wicks sweat, doesn't get cold when it's wet, and you can wear it a gang of times without needing to wash the stink out. And that really comes into play with the Carve Longsleeve Zip ($220), a midlayer snow-sport top from Icebreaker. The company specializes in merino wool from New Zealand sheep. The Carve is made of their densest stuff, which makes it perfect under a shell on the mountaintop (it held up to a squall while snowboarding in Tahoe last month) while still being light enough to throw on for a hike or touch football game. It's cut long, in keeping with its primary focus, but that just means there's more wool to love. WOOL! --Peter Rubin

Photos by Jim Merithew/WIRED

View the gallery in full screen to read more about the things we loved in January.

One of the best parts of our jobs here at WIRED is that we get to test all the new things as soon as they come out. But we often only get a few days to play with something before having to write about it. That can be difficult - getting a clear assessment of an object's worth when you have to crank out a written review in less than a week. Some products only show their true colors after several weeks, months, or years to experience them, live with them, play with them, and wear them. That's what we've rounded up here - things we've been testing and love, or the stuff from our lives that we own and never want to let go. This is the gear we want to take everywhere. This is the stuff we want to cook breakfast for. These are the things we love.