Q Branch

QBranch

Medical Devices

Blood Pressure Cuff

Withings Connect - $93.58 on Amazon as of [[September 1st, 2021]]

Very cool, compact, easy to travel with, bluetooth, syncs with apple health, has a 3 BP mode where it checks three in a row and gives you an average. Charges with a mini-usb port. I have this one, it’s my favorite of the three.

Evolv Omron Bluetooth Wireless Cuff - $78 as of [[September 1st, 2021]].

It works well and syncs with Omron’s mobile app for easy tracking. It takes 4 AA batteries and fits and wide variety of arm sizes.

Omron Basic Cuff - Amazon $28.49 as of [[September 1st, 2021]]

Reliable, accurate, no bluetooth or fancy features.

Pulse Oximeter

Innovo Deluxe iP900AP Finger Pulse Oximeter with Plethysmograph - $34.99 as of [[September 1st, 2021]] on Amazon

Reliable finger pulse oximeter with wave form plethysmography. That blue wave form at the bottom of the screen is an important feature that allows you to see the wave form of your pulse. In order to ensure a good reading, you need to verify a consistent wave form as depicted below. Many other slightly cheaper oximeters don’t have this feature.

Wellue Bluetooth FS20F Pulse Oximeter - $25.99 on Amazon as of [[September 1st, 2021]]

I’ve never used it but it looks solid. Has a bluetooth app for viewing data.

Masimo MightySat Finger Pulse Oximeter

Very expensive medical grade bluetooth oximeter that syncs to an app. It’s $300. If money is no object, this is the one to get.

Oral Thermometer

Vicks SpeedRead V912US Digital Thermometer

Inexpensive and reliable oral thermometer. I recommend against tympanic, temporal, and infrared thermometer guns. They’re all very unreliable. Also, don’t take axillary temperatures, they’re inaccurate. Take oral and rectal temperatures only.

Fingerstick Devices, Lancets, Accessories

Devices

Contour Next ONE Glucometer

inexpensive, reliable, compact, and accurate glucometer.

Ketomojo Glucose and Ketone Meter - bluetooth

I have the previous generation of this device. It’s pretty accurate, reasonably priced, and measures both ketone and glucose levels using two different strips. The strips are pretty inexpensive compared to some competitors.

Precision Xtra Ketone Meter (β-hydroxybutyrate)

Very accurate and reliable meter. Strips are a bit more expensive compared to Ketomojo.

Lactate Plus Meter

$300 meter which measures blood lactate levels. It’s intended for sports use, not medical use. Strips are expensive (somewhere around $2.50/strip)

Lancets

Unistik 3 Comfort Lancets

The best lancet. There are cheaper lancets that come with most fingerstick devices. You can keep them as backups, but spend a few extra bucks for these. They don’t hurt when you use them, and they draw the perfect amount of blood. I’ve had some pretty bad experiences with the refillable lancets that come with some of the fingerstick devices.

Accessories

Covidien Webcol Alcohol Prep 2-Ply Pack of 200

Curity Medium Cotton Balls - 500 count

Supplements

Muscle Feast Creatine

Jarrow TMG

Jocko Joint Warfare

Slow-Mag Magnesium

Jarrow B-Right Methylated B Complex

Exercise Equipment

My favorite place to get fitness equipment is Rogue Fitness

Rogue Olympic Bar 45 kg

Ohio Power Bar

Rogue US-MIL Spec Bumper Plates

Bumper Plates

For a beginner who wants to do deadlift, squat, and military press, a pair of 10s, 15s, 25s, 35s, and 45s is a good start. Your strongest lift will probably be the deadlift, so if you know how much weight you can deadlift, you can start there and buy more weight later. For instance, if you can only deadlift 95 pounds, then you only need 10s, 15s, and 25s. The bar weighs 45 pounds, and a pair of 25 pound plates will get you to 95 pounds - plus you could still add more with the 10s and 15s if needed.

Weight Vest

Rogue Plate Carrier

5.11 TACTEC PLATE CARRIER

I have this one with 20 lbs plates. It’s bomb proof and comfortable.

Gymnastic Rings

Rogue Wood Gymnastic Rings

I have these hanging from one of the Rogue pull-up bars. The wood is better for grip compared to the plastic rings. You can do pull-ups, ring-rows, pushups, dips, and many varieties of these movements with rings. They’re extremely versatile.

Kettlebells

Rogue Kettlebells

I like the 35lb and 53lb bells. I recommend two of each for farmer’s carry.

Clothing

Socks

Darn Tough Socks

Wool socks that are guaranteed for life – they’ll literally send you a free replacement if you wear them out. Don’t smell, absorbent and wicking, super durable, soft and comfortable. Can be worn more than once without washing in a pinch. #[[Made in USA]]

I like the tactical line

I have these:

Quarter Lightweight Tactical

Boot Midweight

Jeans

Origin

As of [[January 30th, 2021]] they make two different jeans - a Factory Jean and the Delta 68 Jean. The Delta 68 is cotton with a stretch. Fit well without extra material but loose in the waist so that they’re super comfortable. I’ve had them for 2 months. The company is partially owned and operated by retired Navy Seal Jocko Willink. Customer service is awesome - first pair I received was stitched asymmetrically down the right leg - they sent me a replacement and let me keep the defective pair, which is still quite wearable. 100% #[[Made in USA]][Delta 68](https://originmaine.com/durable-goods/bottom-game/delta-denim-jeans/)

T-Shirts

Wool and Prince

They make wool shirts that can be worn over and over without washing. They don’t wrinkle and it takes a while to make them smelly. Very good customer service. I bought two polos from them which pilled very quickly even though I hand washed. After I sent a few pictures, they replaced the shirts and let me keep the old ones.

I have:

V-neck navy

Short Sleeve Henley

Shoes

All Purpose

Altama OTB Maritime Assault Mid Cut Operators Boots

I work, workout (running and lifting), clean, hike, and swim in these. They are fairly bomb proof except for the little mesh cutout at the ball of the foot. It’s designed to let water in and out for maritime operations. However, this spot is covered only with thin mesh, so if you happened to slip and a sharp object such as a rock or stick penetrated this exact location, you’d possibly be in a bit of trouble. Additionally, if you were trying to keep water out of the shoe, this is not the shoe for you.

Travel

Astral Barefoot Shoes

I wore these exclusively while traveling in Southeast Asia. They’re very small, lightweight, and crushable for easy packing and carrying. They can be worn barefoot in boats, while swimming, and they’re grippy and protective enough for hiking. They also look like reasonable sneakers so you don’t look like a total clown if you wear them casually.