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Kinja Deals

Tuesday's Best Deals: Bluetooth Speaker, Yost Vises, Mother's Day Watches, and More

By
Erica Offutt

Anker’s newest bluetooth speaker, a whole bunch of Yost vises, a Mother’s Day watch sale, and more launch today’s best deals.

Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal.

BEST TECH DEALS

Anker’s latest Bluetooth speaker is only about half the size of a soda can, but it’s totally submersible, runs for 15 hours on a charge, and can even form a wireless stereo pair if you buy two of them. Not bad for $30 (with promo code SDCORE66).

I own the original Soundcore Mini, and it’s surprisingly loud for its size. I’ve also found its battery life really is as good as advertised. With its added water resistance though, the Soundcore Mini 2 would make for an ideal shower speaker, or I could see bringing it out to the pool.

Want to stream the NBA playoffs, or the reboot of Trading Spaces? They’re both included in the $35 base package of DIRECTV Now, and so is a free Roku Streaming Stick when you prepay for a month.

This is similar to the Apple TV promotion (which is still active), except instead of paying for three months in advance, you’ll only have to pay for one. That’s like getting a $15 discount on the normally-$50 Roku Streaming Stick, plus a month of over-the-top cable access.

There are a lot of Bluetooth speakers out there, and with few exceptions, they all...look like speakers. If you want a gadget that will complement your decor and look great on a shelf, the Owlee Scroll stands apart with its unique, leather-wrapped design.

It has a terrific review average on Amazon, where it sells for $100, but you can get it from Daily Steals for $70 today with promo code KINJASCROLL.

A Bluetooth-controlled dimmable light bulb for $12...pretty good, yeah?

Yeah, it is, but it’s also a freakin’ Bluetooth speaker.

Just hide it inside a lamp, pair your phone, and hit play. I wouldn’t want to build a whole smart lighting system out of these things, since they don’t connect over Wi-Fi (and thus don’t work with Alexa), but it could definitely be useful in a one-off situation. Use promo code 50B00PNU at checkout to save 50%.

If you’re still listening to your computer through its built-in speakers, stop torturing yourself and buy Logitech’s MX Sound 2.0 audio system for $80, or $20 less than usual.

In addition to connecting to your PC with a 3.5mm cable, the MX Sound also includes Bluetooth to pair to your phones and tablets, with one-touch switching between devices. And not for nothing, they happen to look way better than most computer speakers, which matters for something that sits out on your desk all day.

Even at full price, Shure’s SE112 earbuds are a great option for replacing the headphones that came with your phone. But this is Kinja Deals, so of course, they aren’t full price.

Get the wired version for $40 with promo code KINJA4UP, or the Bluetooth model for $85 with code KINJATCQ. Just make sure you’re buying from the Roberts LP listing on Amazon, or else the code won’t work.

These normally sell for $49 and $100, respectively, and they hardly ever go on sale.

If you’re still using a computer that doesn’t run off an SSD, fix that today with an all-time low price on this 500GB drive from Crucial. It carries a stellar 4.6 star rating, and you could even turn it into a DIY portable SSD, if you felt so inclined.

If you don’t have cable, but don’t want to miss out on your local channels, you can watch them in HD with this $14 amplified antenna.

If you’ve tried an unamplified HDTV antenna (like the standard Mohu Leaf), but can’t quite pull in every channel you want, this leaf-style model includes a USB-powered amp that should add a few miles of range. Promo code LMMOGANA brings it down to just $14, which is one of the best prices we’ve ever seen on an amplified antenna.

Love Alexa, and wish you could take her with you on your commute? Anker’s running a $12 discount on their hands-free, Alexa-enabled car charger today with promo code AKAMVIVA.

You can check out my full impressions here, bu the Roav VIVA from Anker does an admirable job of providing hands-free Alexa access while you’re driving, including turn-by-turn directions, your daily briefing, and even third party Alexa apps like Jeopardy. As befitting an Anker product, it’s also a dual port car charger, albeit an awkwardly designed one.

These Anker PowerLine+ Lightning cables are wrapped in nylon, include a pouch to keep them from tangling, and come with an 18 month warranty, all of which are improvements over Apple’s own Lightning cable, and that’s not even accounting for how much nicer they feel to use.

Oh yeah, and at $10 each, they cost half as much as what you’d pay at the Apple Store for an inferior product. Get them for $10 each with promo code ANKERA82, in the color of your choice.

There are no bad places to put down Qi wireless charging pads, but your car might just be the best place. Two of iOttie’s popular wireless charging car mounts are on sale for $34 today, down from their usual $50.

Unfortunately, the dashboard version I own isn’t included in the sale, but you do get to choose between an air vent mount and a CD slot mount.

If you already have a Philips Hue Hub (or an Echo Plus, which works as a Hue Hub), it’s time to stock up on bulbs. The full-color, 60W equivalents are down to $41 today, which is about as cheap as they ever get outside of Black Friday. Hue works best when all of the bulbs in your home, or at least in a given room, are compatible, so buy a bunch!

Our readers voted Anker’s SoundBuds Slims as their favorite affordable Bluetooth headphones, but we may need a recount, as Anker recently released the upgraded SoundBuds Slim+, on sale for just $22 today with promo code ANKER411.

The biggest change from the original model is the inclusion of AptX encoding, which should improve sound quality with compatible devices. Anker also claims that waterproofing has been improved, though they’re both still rated as IPX5, so any change on that front is likely modest. One thing that hasn’t changed: the seven hour battery, which is excellent for earbuds of this size.

DirecTV Now is one of the better over-the-top cable replacements out there, and with this deal, there’s very little reason not to give it a try.

For a limited time, if you prepay for three months of the service at $35 per month, you’ll get a 4K Apple TV included for free. That Apple TV costs $179 normally, so you’re basically getting a $74 discount on the box, plus three months of live TV. No brainer.

VPNs have been in the news, and whether you want to get around video geoblocks, circumvent proxy filters, or just keep prying eyes out of your browsing data while using sketchy public Wi-Fi, reader-favorite Private Internet Access has a deal to fit your needs.

Last month, they offered our readers $10 off two year memberships, but this time around, you get a few more choices, ranging from a quick taste of the service to an extended commitment with additional savings:

These deals are only for our readers, but we aren’t sure how long they’ll be available, so go ahead and sign up while you can.

BEST HOME DEALS

Amazon’s squeezing prices today with their Yost vise Gold Box deals. Inside, you’ll find both bench vises and smaller, portable clamps marked down to great low prices. Even if you don’t think you need any of the heavy duty stuff, it’s worth picking up a few small spring and bar clamps to add to your toolbox; they really come in handy when gluing wood.

Update: Back in stock for $255, if you missed it last week.

If you want a Big Green Egg charcoal grill, but don’t want to cash in your 401(k) to buy one, this Char-Griller alternative is down to $255 on Amazon today, the best price in months.

The Char-Griller Akorn Kamado Kooker features a 306 square inch cast iron cooking surface (which is most similar to the $829 large Big Green Egg), and traps heat inside a heavily-insulated stainless steel body. For those of you that follow Drew Magary’s culinary adventures, this is the grill he used to become a big bad smokeboy.

Obviously, this isn’t the “real thing,” but the consensus among Amazon reviewers is that it’s at least nearly as good, which sounds like a decent compromise considering it’s less than 1/4 of the price, and comes with a stable cart and folding shelves, both of which you’d need to buy separately with the Egg.

Grabbing breakfast or lunch with coworkers can be a great way to break up the day, but more often than not you’ll just wallow in your own indecision before ordering a bad $12 sandwich.

Break the cycle with Soylent, a nutritionally complete meal replacement shake that now comes in a variety of flavors (no, green is not one of them). The 20% discount will apply to your first Subscribe & Save shipment, which you can always cancel after you get your first box.

Prices vary by flavor, but you can get 12 bottles of Vanilla for $26 with this deal, or a 2.3 pound tub of powdered Soylent for the same price.

Clicking the button on a mechanical pencil was a fidget toy before fidget toys were even a thing, but it was just made obsolete by the power of magnets.

The Magno Ti mechanical pencil uses an intuitive magnetic ring to raise and lower the 2mm lead. It’s also constructed from polished or brushed aluminum, and the simplicity of its magnetic mechanism means that it should enjoy a much longer lifespan than the cheap pencils you’d buy at the store.

The Magno Ti already wrapped up an incredibly popular crowdfunding campaign, but you can still order yours from Indiegogo On Demand for $35, compared to £30 (roughly $41) on the company’s website.

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Update: Sold out

Look, kitchen unitasker police, I hear you. I really do. But sometimes, you just want to make risotto without tearing your rotator cuff by stirring it for an hour. The Breville Risotto Plus can make creamy risotto without the manual labor, and it’s down to $89 on Amazon today, a rare sub-$100 sale.

Unless you have absolutely perfect knife skills and a lot of time, mandolines put precise, uniform cuts in the realm of possibility. This mandoline slicer is just $49 today, which is shaved down about $11 from it’s usual price.

It features a dial to set your desired thickness and three different cut options; straight, crinkle, and waffle. But the options go way beyond french fries, this machine will cut stir-fry prep down to just minutes.

Although it has a protective cover to keep your fingers away from the blade, if you want to be extra careful, pick up a pair of these cut-resistant gloves, which are $1 off today.

If you’re still using the bargain basement nonstick pans you bought in college, it’s time for an upgrade. This 7-piece set has everything you need fo 90+% of food preparation, and with today’s $66 deal, it’s only $16 per piece, not including lids.

All of the pans have an aluminum core in their base to ensure fast and even heating, and though that core doesn’t extend up the sidewalls like you’d see on more expensive pans, you’ll still see a big difference here if you’re used to non-ply pans.

Chemical Guys make some of the most popular car detailing products on the market, and Amazon’s currently taking 20% off several soaps, waxes, tire and glass cleaners, and more today. They’ve been running coupons on their cleaning products pretty often recently, but today’s sale also includes some of their popular brushes, towels, and sponges.

Just note that the prices listed on this page don’t include the discount, so you won’t see the deal until checkout.

If you’re still living like some kind of wild animal and keeping all your toiletries in a Ziploc bag when you travel, upgrade to this hanging toiletry bag for just $8 today. The best part is you won’t up use any (often very limited) bathroom counter space, since you can simply hang up all your stuff on the back of the door when not in use. Plus, it’s made with a leak-proof lining, so it won’t cause a disaster if anything explodes.

Bask in the nice spring weather with one of these discounted waterproof blankets. You can take your pick between the pineapple (with code FRLHLDL4), navy plaid (with code J4692ZE4), or green leaves (with code NADVT266), all for $19 or less.

Like a Fitbit for your dog, this FitBark activity monitor syncs to your phone so you can keep track of your doggo’s activity levels. It’ll cost you just 45 bones today (which is less than half the Amazon price) when you enter KINJABARK at checkout.

This may sound like ridiculous product to some, so let me describe some instances where I think a FitBark could make a lot of sense: your dog is on weight loss plan, you’re taking your dog to a new doggy day care camp and want to make sure they’re allowing your dog to get out the cage, you want to athletically challenge your dog, you want to monitor recovery from surgery or illness, you are passionate about fitness and want your dog to join in, or you believe it’s impossible to have too much data.

Whatever your reason, the waterproof FitBark clips onto your dog’s collar and monitors your pup for 14 days on a single charge, will track their daily routine including sleep patterns, and allows you to compare your data with other FitBark owners. It’s available on Daily Steals in pink and blue.

The Dyson V6 cordless vacuum is ideal for cleaning rugs, hardwood floors, car seats, ceilings, shelves...pretty much anything really, and you can get a refurb of the Animal version on Amazon today for $200, which is $10 more than we saw it on Woot recently, but still a good deal.

Compared to the standard V6, this model has 75% more brush head power to lift pet hair and other debris out of carpets and furniture. It also includes a motorized turbine tool for handheld use, which works miracles on fur-covered upholstery.

In case you missed it yesterday, the V7 Motorhead is also on sale for $249 brand new. Compared to the V6 Animal, it should be roughly as powerful, but its battery lasts longer. It does not, however, include the handheld turbine tool.

It’s almost barbecue season, and you can be ready with a set of Char-Broil potato screws, now marked down $9 for six, within $1 of an all-time low. As you might have guessed from the name, you screw these stainless steel corkscrews into potatoes, and throw them on the grill. The screws make them easier to grab with tongs or gloves, and help transfer grill heat to the inside of the potato, which makes them cook faster.

These $8 gloves (with promo code DR5MYTKE) let you grab a hot pan out of the oven, pull meat right off a grill, or even turn logs in an active campfire without getting burned, like some kind of kitchen superhero. We’ve seen silicone barbecue gloves for less than this in the past, but these are rated for much higher temperatures, and should be more flexible as well.

Mother’s Day is less than two weeks away, and if you haven’t already ordered flowers, you can save 25% on any $39+ order from ProFlowers today by using our exclusive link.

This deal should work sitewide, but you can find the most popular Mother’s Day bouquets here. Any bouquets that starts at over $39 shows the discounted price by default, but you can also pick a cheaper option and add a premium vase to get over the $39 threshold, but you won’t see the discounted price until you get to checkout.

Of all the things you can run out of in your bathroom, contact solution might be the most annoying. You can always squeeze a little more toothpaste out of the tube, but once you find an empty bottle of contact solution, you’re either making a late night run to the pharmacy, or sacrificing a pair of perfectly good contacts.

Today on Amazon, you can save $5 on a 2-pack of ReNu lens solution, bringing the pack down to $10, or $9 if you use Subscribe & Save. If you prefer Biotrue, that also has a $5 coupon that brings it down to $11, but you’ll have to use Subscribe & Save in that case.

With this set of five OXO Good Grips Pop Containers, the days of snacks going stale are no more. $35 is the best price this set has ever been, and it’ll pay for itself by keeping your food from going stale. Fill it with anything and store it much more easily than that half-open bag of chips you’re using a binder clip to hold closed.

For a limited time, Amazon will sell you three pouches of Tide HE-compatible Free & Gentle laundry detergent (totaling 144 ounces or 93 loads) for just $14. These pouches are designed basically as refills for plastic Tide bottles, but as long as that doesn’t bother you, this is a fantastic price-per-ounce for any detergent, let alone name brand. Just be sure to clip the $3 coupon on the page and use Amazon Subscribe & Save.

It’s 2018, and your lighter doesn’t need fuel anymore; it just has to charge over USB. This discounted arc lighter isn’t really pocket-friendly, but its long, flexible neck makes it ideal for lighting candles, camp fires and other awkwardly-placed flammable things. Just charge the built-in battery, and you’ll be good to go for up to 1,000 uses before you have to plug it in again.

Get it for $12 today with promo code DDL9LEJG, matching the best price we’ve ever seen.

BEST LIFESTYLE DEALS

In my opinion, a classic wristwatch still looks better than any smartwatch, any day. Today only, and just in time to have a greta heads start on Mother’s Day gits, pick up the a new timepiece from brands like Kate Sapde, Daniel Wellington, Timex, and more for men and women. But time’s a-tickin’ on this deal and these prices only last until the end of the day.

If you want to take better care of your teeth, buying a Philips Sonicare 2 Series toothbrush for $30 would be a great start.

We sometimes see the Sonicare Essence available for $20 (in fact, it is right now), but for $10 more, the 2 Series includes a slimmer design, compatibility with multiple brush head styles, and a smaller charger that’s easier to pack in a suitcase.

It’s not the most wide-ranging supplement sale Amazon’s ever run, but today’s Amazon Gold Box does include big savings on a handful of Vintage supplements from Old School Labs, some of which are actually Amazon’s top sellers in their respective categories. I can’t say I know much about these, but the reviews are great, and the label designs are even better.

Note: Vintage Burn was originally included in this sale, but has since sold out.

Beach season is upon us. If you’re looking to watch your weight, step right up to this Innotech bathroom scale. It’ll cost you just $15 today when you enter code DEAL1538.

It doesn’t have any fancy app or bluetooth connectivity, but it does have a large LCD display and an extraordinary 4.7 stars from over 2,000 reviewers.

May the Fourth isn’t actually here for another couple of days, but ThinkGeek is cashing in on the impending Star Wars frenzy. They’re taking up to 80% off four pages worth of merchandise. Everything from t-shirts and socks to animatronic Porgs. There’s even a freakin’ R2-D2 french press.

BEST MEDIA DEALS

Try not to panic, but Amazon is raising the price of Prime for the first time in four years, from $99 per year to $119. The change goes into effect on May 11 for new members, and June 16 for renewing members. This is obviously disappointing, if not surprising given all the benefits Amazon’s added since 2014. But if your renewal date is after June 16, there is (probably) a way to get another year at the old price.

The trick is to buy an Amazon Prime gift subscription now, and then redeem it on your account once it comes time to renew. The fine print on gift memberships says that redeeming them with an existing Prime account will net a gift card for the amount you paid, rather than an additional year of Prime, so you’ll need to remember to cancel your membership before you redeem the gift. Luckily, if you go into your account settings, there’s an option to receive a reminder three days before your account is set to auto-renew.

Let me be clear, while this trick worked the last time Amazon raised the price of Prime, it’s entirely possible it won’t this time. Amazon would be in its rights to not allow people to redeem $99 Prime gift memberships after the price goes up. But I feel pretty confident that, in the worst case scenario, they’d at least give you a gift card for whatever you paid, so you wouldn’t really be out any money. It’s a small risk, but could be worth it to save $20.

With exclusive shows like Westworld and access tons of movies, including several recent hits, $15 per month is honestly not a lot to ask for HBO, which is what you normally pay when subscribing to HBO Now. But for a limited time, you can add the same library of HBO content to your Hulu membership for just $5 per month for the first six months.

Note: To find the deal, just click the Add-Ons button on the top of the page once you sign into your account.

To get the deal, you’ll need to be a paid Hulu subscriber (plans start at just $8 per month), and it’s not valid for anyone that added HBO to their membership in the past. It’ll also automatically renew at the standard $15 rate after six months, so keep that in mind. But otherwise, there really aren’t a ton of strings attached here: six months of HBO for $30 is a crazy-good deal.

BEST GAMING DEALS

Whether you prefer to buy your Xbox games digitally, or just occasionally need to buy DLC, it’s worth adding $100 to your Xbox Live wallet for just $85. Just be sure to log in to Rakuten account and use promo code SAVE15 at checkout to get the deal.

May the 4th is upon us, and Humble’s celebrating with a galaxy-sized sale on Star Wars PC games. Save big on the likes of KOTOR, LEGO Star Wars, and The Force Unleashed, with an extra 10% off at checkout for Humble Monthly subscribers.

Have any favorites included in (or missing from) the sale? Drop them in the comments.

The brutal and beautiful Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze is out on Switch this Friday, which means Prime members only have a few days left to preorder and save 20%. That’s still too costly for a port of a four year old game, but hey, it’s Nintendo, we’ll take the discounts when we can get them.

Humble’s run bundles in the past with tools for game developers, but the new CRYENGINE bundle is worth checking out, even if you’ve never seen a line of code in your life.

In addition to training videos and CRYENGINE assets, the bundle includes a bunch of games that were made with the engine, including a couple of games from the Sniper series, and Homefront: The Revolution. As always, you can name your own price, but you’ll need to pledge $15 to get access to everything.

ThinkGeek’s celebrating International Tabletop Day with a huge sale on board games and tabletop gaming accessories, for a limited time. Inside, you’ll find light-up D20 dice, levitating construction sets, a bunch of puzzles, and a whole slew of board games. If you have any particular recommendations, be sure to drop them in the comments.

The vast majority of Humble’s game bundles focus on PC games, but their latest collaboration with Capcom and SEGA is just for PlayStation owners.

The bundle includes a dozen titles (seven for PS4, three for PS3, and two for the Vita), including hits like Alien Isolation, Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, and Mega Man Legacy Collection. As always, you can name your own price, but you’ll need to pay at least $15 to get all of the games.

As an added bonus, Humble Monthly members (you are a Humble Monthly member, right?) who unlock the highest tier will also get $2 added to their Humble Wallets.

If you have Amazon Prime, congrats, you also have Twitch Prime. And if you have Twitch Prime, you get some free PC games every month, no strings attached.

Starting on May 1, you’ll get access to six new games, including Gone Home and Psychonauts, just for starters. All you have to do is connect your Prime and Twitch accounts here, then check back on May 1 to download your games. There’s also still time to download April’s games, which include Steamworld Dig 2 and Tales From the Borderlands. Just click the loot icon on the top of your Twitch homepage to find all of the freebies. Once you add them to your library, they’re yours to keep, even if you cancel your Prime membership further down the road.

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