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ASICS Gel-Cumulus 16 | Image: Scott Purcell/Man of Many
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The weekend is here, and while most of us are off spending time getting ready to bring you all some goodness next week, we’ve also prepped a few of our favourite things to share with you all today: this week’s Staff Favourites. Each week, we try to show off some things that have brought us some joy in the hopes it’ll help you find your own.
Nike Metcon 10 Training Shoes
Nick Hall – Editor-in-Chief
For the past six months or so, I’ve been dabbling in the world of CrossFit. It’s definitely not something that I look forward to, and every morning, it’s an absolute mission to drag myself out of bed and go, but the effects are real. My fitness has definitely improved and if I could only figure out my diet, I’m sure I’d be shredded. The one downside of CrossFit is that I am criminally under-prepared. All my years of strength training have left me with an affinity for lifting straps and Converse All-Stars; neither of which are particularly helpful in a CrossFit environment.
Thankfully, the good people at Nike helped me out, fixing me up with a new pair of Metcon 10 lifting shoes. These shoes are the ultimate in cross-functional fitness footwear, designed for multi-purpose activity. The ultra-strong Hyperlift plate provides a solid foundation for compound lifts like squats and deadlifts, while the responsive ReactX foam gives me enough support to tackle short-distance runs. I definitely wouldn’t recommend these for anyone attempting to run a marathon, but for CrossFit and functional fitness activities, the Metcon 10s are a step above.
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ASICS Gel-Cumulus 16
Scott Purcell – Co-Founder
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m probably a little daggy. My wardrobe has always prioritised comfort over pretty much everything else. So, when the “dad shoe” trend started picking up steam, I was hesitant and probably way too late to the scene. There’s a very fine line between looking effortlessly cool and just looking like, well, a dad. But then, I was offered the opportunity to try out the ASICS Gel-Cumulus 16, and I think I’ve finally found a shoe that walks that line perfectly.
These are, without a doubt, my first official pair of ‘dad shoes’, and I’m a convert. The comfort is exactly what you’d expect from a pair of high-performance runners. Asics has packed these with their GEL technology, FLUIDRIDE, and FLYTEFOAM, which basically means they’re incredibly comfortable for all-day wear. Think sports performance without the need to be on the track and they’re proof that you don’t have to sacrifice comfort for style.
The design really sold me, though. It has this great 2010s technical running shoe aesthetic, with a mix of matte synthetic leather and open mesh, and gives the shoes a bit of a retro vibe without feeling dated. The “White Ironclad” colourway, with its subtle grey and green accents, is clean and versatile enough to pair with pretty much anything in my wardrobe. It’s the kind of shoe that looks just as good on a casual weekend outing as it does for a quick run to the shops.
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Is This Seat Taken?
Dean Blake – Entertainment and Tech Writer
As someone who loves both indie games and puzzle games, I was pretty excited when a little title called Is This Seat Taken? appeared on the most recent Nintendo Indie World stream. I hadn’t heard of the game at all before then, but as soon as I saw it, I knew it was something I’d want to try out. Thankfully there’s a free demo available on Steam, which will run on Windows, Mac, or Linux, meaning you can try it too.
Effectively, the game is all about organisation. Your job is to put the geometrically-shaped people where they want to be, with each stage acting as some kind of everyday communal activity. For example, the first stage is a taxi, and you have to balance passengers’ desire to sit by the window; while a stage further along in the demo is set at a concert (see the pic above), and you’ll need to place the musicians down, as well as fill up the dance floor with people who want to dance, place people who don’t want to dance on the outskirts, and make sure the smelly people aren’t bothering anyone around them.
It starts to get a bit more complicated in the demo’s final stage (which can only be unlocked if you nail every stage before it), wherein you’re overseeing a wedding’s seating plan, and guests start having multiple objectives: I want to eat fish, but don’t want to sit next to someone fancy. Or, I want to sit near the bride and groom, but don’t want to eat cheese. You’ll need to fill up almost every seat in the room to get through with everyone happy, and it took me a few minutes of rearranging to get it all perfect.
Now, the puzzles on display in the demo aren’t hard, per se, but they’ll definitely itch your brain in a good way. If you’re at all interested in checking out a fun little game about assigning people seats, this is a pretty good place to start.
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Samsung OLED S95F
Rob Edwards – Branded Content Editor
The Man of Many office recently received a massive upgrade with the very welcome introduction of the Samsung OLED S95F, and our productivity has plummeted as a result. Well, not really, but there has been an outbreak of midday Mario Kart sessions, and it’s quite astonishing what a visual feast the Samsung panel serves up, particularly when paired with the Nintendo Switch 2.
This 83-inch behemoth boasts an NQ4 AI Gen3 Processor to upscale content to crispy 4K, a handy glare-free coating that maximises watchability even with our massive windows letting all the light in, and OLED HDR Pro functionality for richer contrast, brighter brights, and deeper blacks. Plus, it’s also the option Nintendo has hand-picked as the official TV that complements its Switch 2 experience — no wonder the competition has been getting so fierce around here.
Seriously, this is an absolute banger of a telly. For my money, a Samsung OLED is impossible to beat (I have a 65-inch one at home), and when it’s paired with a Q-series HW-Q990F soundbar with a subwoofer and rear speakers, well, you’re in for an absolute treat.
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DISCLAIMER: Scott Purcell, Nick Hall, and Rob Edwards received the product on behalf of the participating brand for the purpose of an editorial review.
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