Accessories
If you’re going to have an e-reader, you’ll need a case for sure, unless you rarely read and then only at home. I had quite an education doing the research on cases. The same holds true with having a light to read at night.
M-edge Latitude cases
What a find these were! I searched high and low for the right cover for us, since I know we need something really durable that will protect the Kindle from dirt, grit, dust, and shocks from living on the road.
The M-Edge Latitude fills the need.
It’s a got a two-way zipper with very nice pull-tabs, which makes it easy to charge the Kindle without having to remove it from the case. The Kindle fits inside easily, held in place by four corner straps; none of the functioning is compromised. The inside cover is a nice, smooth, soft, flannel-felt-fleece type of fabric – very easy on the Kindle.
The outside cover is made of easy-clean ballistic nylon, is very stiff and very sturdy, and comes in a variety of bright colors. For us the bright colors are a big advantage, as we want to find the Kindles quickly in our packs, and we want to easily differentiate Chelsea’s from mine.
We have the cases on our Kindles all the time – we never take them off. It’s very easy to read with them on, and we never have worries about fingerprints, dirt and so on getting on the device. We just fold the cover back on itself and read. It’s quite comfortable and we can get several positions to hold our hands.
The front has a zipper compartment for the charger. I’ve always had my charger plugged into a power strip, but in the interests of giving you decent information I just went and tucked the charger into the compartment. It does hold the charger easily, but it also bulges out both against the Kindle inside and on the top, outside. I’d be concerned about damage to the Kindle if the case itself wasn’t so stiff.
I plan on using it this way for awhile now to see how I like it. I’ll keep you updated on what I think. For us it might be an advantage, as I don’t want to have to go looking through our packs to find my charger when I need it, but on the other hand, the battery only needs charging every week or two (every month for the new Nook). It’s a tradeoff with having the easy immediate access to the charger and USB cord versus having to deal with an awkward bulge in the case all the time.
(Update: I used the Kindle with the charger in the outer pocket for several weeks, but found it annoying. For now I leave it plugged in to a power strip as I prefer the M-edge without it. I will, however, keep the charger in it for our travels.)
The back of the case has a compartment-type space that is very tight, especially with the charger tucked in the front. I can’t see much use for it – the only thing that would fit would be something like a business card.
The back has another space that is designed for the M-Edge e-Luminator Booklight if you want a light that goes with it.
We chose not to use that light, as some of the issues with it are the same issues we’ve had with other book lights over the years. We chose Huglights instead (see below), as they are multi-functional (to repeat a common theme for us). I also wonder if the e-Luminator light would still fit in that tight space if the charger is tucked in the front.
One case I found the other day is the M-Edge Latitude w/ integrated Theater-Stand, meaning you can set it to stand upright to read while eating or the like. I’d want to look at it more, but it looks pretty compelling. I’d still want all the features of our current Latitude.
And finally, since we may very well switch to the Nook Simple Touch, I looked to see if M-Edge has an updated case specifically for the new Nook. I found it, but I had to go right to the M-Edge website – no one else carries it yet, though I read rumors that Best Buy will start carrying more Simple Touch accessories soon. So far it’s only in three colors – it’s got my color, but Chelsea is disappointed that her gorgeous hot-pink color isn’t out yet.
Whatever you do, make sure to get a case that is specifically designed to fit your e-reader. Some of the advertising says that the cases fit specific models, but when you read the reviews, you realize that’s not true.
Huglights
We’ve tried a number of book lights over the years, and have been unhappy with most of them for a number of reasons. The light is too bright or too dim (mostly too dim); the light doesn’t adequately cover the page, requiring constant adjustments; they keep falling off the book; the batteries run out astonishingly fast; they are extremely awkward to use; they have difficulties with the on/off switch; they are flimsy.
Having a fair amount of experience with book lights, therefore, I was cautious about spending money on something we’d be frustrated with soon. I found the Huglights on Amazon, made the jump and bought them, and we love them.
I noticed that the Huglights are from a variety of sources; the following link is where we got them (it’s worth reading the reviews on this one, too). http://www.amazon.com/Twist-Hands-Flexible-Light-Green/dp/B003QSIIAC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
These lights are very clever. They are a longish strand of rubbery-foam covering a twisty strand of something (probably a thick wire). At the mid-point of the twisty wire is a piece of plastic housing that acts like a grip for holding the wire and doubles as the battery housing. It takes two AAA batteries.
At each end is an LED light (two bulbs) with three settings, low, high, and spotlight; the on-off switch is at each end. They’ve also got a small plastic clip that hooks each side together to get a wider range of focused light.
We find these lights to be great. They slip over your neck, with the gripper part going against the back of your neck. Each end can be twisted any direction you like, so if glare is a problem, slightly angle it away, and presto, no more glare. I find that when I’m reading at night in the pitch black I only need the first setting on one of the ends – that’s plenty of light for reading.
Reading with them while lying down requires adjusting the pillows a bit so the battery case doesn’t crick your neck.
If I have them around my neck and I’m working on something, I need to have the ends clipped together or the light moves around too much, creating annoying shadows. The clip stabilizes the movement and focuses the light more effectively.
You can put the strand against the back of your neck and wrap the lights over your ears for hands-free work on something. We can also wrap the Huglights through our helmets with the LED ends sticking out front to act as riding lights. (It looks hilarious – I told Chelsea we look like space aliens– I’ll be the Green Hornet and she can be Snake Eyes.) We’ve also thought of wrapping them around our handlebars for more front light, but haven’t done that yet.
In short, these lights are great for reading, but they are also extremely useful around the house (or campsite) for hands-free work. I use them to shine in dark spaces to find things, at night when I’m hunting down palmetto bugs in my room, and to light my way into the other rooms when I’m up at night. They will be equally useful on our trip for a wide variety of things, acting like our headlamps do, without the annoyances of the headlamps. They are lightweight, by the way, and can slip into odd spaces in our packs.
We’re very pleased with them and consider them a great addition to our trip gear.