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Black Friday Deals 2023: Offers on Products I’ve Reviewed
Well, it’s Black Friday once again. And while I’ve had some harsh words about this “holiday” in the past, I’ve learned to embrace the online component of if as I tend to be able to score a discount on items I was planning to buy anyway. On that note, I’ve noticed that several of the companies and products I’ve reviewed this year and in years past are offering some deals today (along with many that extend through Cyber Monday). So, I took it upon myself to create this round-up of some Black Friday deals that have come to my attention and could be worth yours.
Black Friday Deals on Travel Products, Subscriptions, and More
Travel gadgets, tools, and apparel
Solis
- The Black Friday Offer: 30% off all hotspots and up to 50% off data
- The Regular Price: Solis Lite is normally $159.99
- My Thoughts: I’ve been using a Solis portable Wi-Fi device for years and have taken it on numerous trips as a backup. This year happens to be one of their better Black Friday offers as the Solis Lite can be picked up for $112 while their Solis 5G hotspot is on sale for $280. Even better, as I learned while writing this, Solis hotspots now include 1GB of global data per month for the life of your device! That’s a pretty sweet deal itself, so this might be a good time to get a device if you don’t already have one. As for the data deals, sadly, they mostly seemed to be focused on North American data plans. However, if you want to purchase 20 GB of Global Data, you can do so for $90 instead of the regular $180. Alternatively, you can purchase 20 Global Daypasses for 40% off, bringing the cost to $72. P.S. – you can also use the code MONEY30 at checkout to save an extra 10% on top of the Black Friday deals.
InCharge cables
- The Black Friday Offer: “Up to 70% off” sitewide (but the cables I’ve reviewed are 30% off)
- The Regular Price: The InCharge XL 10′ cable is $39.
- My Thoughts: InCharge‘s clever six-in-one cables have been great for travel as they can basically connect any of my items to power or to my computer. Each cable includes connections for USB-A, USB-C, Micro-USB, and Lightning, making them very convenient. In particular, I always pack an InCharge XL ($24.50 to $27.50 with this deal) and InCharge X ($20.30 with this deal) keyring cable with me whenever I travel. Disappointingly, both of these items are only 30% off with this sale — but that’s not nothing. Incidentally, I did take advantage of this deal to buy an inCharge All-in-One keychain connector for less than $5.
Allbirds
- The Black Friday Offer: 30% off Wool Runners (and “up to 70% off” elsewhere)
- The Regular Price: Wool Runners are normally $98 while other models vary
- My Thoughts: Allbirds had a pretty awesome Secret Sale a few weeks ago, which included select styles. Now, for Black Friday, they’re discounting their original model Wool Runners by 30%, taking the price from $98 to $68. However, I actually don’t own any regular Wool Runners as I’ve always been partial to the water-repellent Mizzles collection — including the regulars and the high-top Runner-Ups. Those options appear to both be 20% off at the moment. You can find some other models discounted on their sale page. Speaking of that page, I just purchased a pair of Wool Dasher Mizzles for a steal, so prepare yourself for a review of those in the future. As for this deal, unless you specifically want Wool Runners, you might want to hold off and check that Secret Sale page in the future to see if something better comes along.
Suavs
- The Black Friday Offer: 20% off sitewide with code BFCM20
- The Regular Price: $98 for Zilkers
- My Thoughts: While we’re talking travel shoes, I have to give a shoutout to Suavs Zilkers. These ultra-packable shoes are the only shoes I’ve ever felt comfortable wearing sans socks. I also love how they can slip on so easily yet manage to stay on my foot. As for this deal, well, I actually purchased my pair of Zilkers at the $76 price earlier this year — although that deal was limited to certain colorways at the time. In any case, I’ve been happy with them so far and have also considered buying their high-tops as well.
QuikFlip
- The Black Friday Offer: “Up to 40% off” (discount on most hoodies is 25%)
- The Regular Price: Hero Hoodie Classic is normally $59.95 and Hero Hoodie Lite is regularly $44.95.
- My Thoughts: The ability to turn a hoodie into a backpack is a gamechanger in my book, so I loved the QuikFlip when I initially bought it. In fact, last Black Friday, I purchased a second one — this time opting for the “Lite” version. My wife and I continue to use both regularly and I still have my eye on the rain jacket DryFlips as well. I’d actually consider finally adding those to our collection now… if we didn’t just buy a house, which demands more of our money. But, honestly, I really can’t recommend QuikFlip Hero Hoodies enough.
Sleeper Hold
- The Black Friday Offer: “Up to 50% off” (discount on single pillow is 35% off)
- The Regular Price: Apparently retails for $75
- My Thoughts: Seeing as I love my QuikFlips, I was excited to see that the creator of that product had a new travel pillow coming out — which is why I opted to Kickstart it. Now, the Sleeper Hold is here and I had a chance to take it on a recent 15.5-hour flight. The results were impressive as the device did indeed manage to help me avoid “bobblehead syndrome” and get some sleep on the plane. The only real questionable thing about the tool is the price, but the Black Friday sale helps with that. A travel pillow at nearly $50 is still a lot (and is much more than I paid as an early bird Kickstarter), but it could be worth it if you have issues sleeping on planes or know someone who does. By the way, I do need to note how funny the “up to 50% off” billing is here as, in order to see that cut, you’ll need to buy a baker’s dozen. Yes, 13 pillows! I guess that should cover your entire shopping list but damn.
Halfday
- The Black Friday Offer: 20% off the Garment Duffle
- The Regular Price: $98
- My Thoughts: The Halfday Garment Duffle is a clever bag that allows you to pack dress clothes (and shoes) in addition to whatever else you need. Since writing my review, the bag has been super helpful during travels to both a funeral and a wedding. And, for their part, Halfday has added a number of color options. What’s more, they’ve also introduced a more compact option. While this smaller bag still comes in at the same price, considering that one of my concerns was that the original was a bit too big for me, I might actually be inclined to give this new one a try if you plan on using it as a carry-on. Incidentally, the 20% off being offered today is what I was able to get when I first bought the bag. Regardless, at a cost of $78.40, I think this is a solid bag if you have a use for it.
Other products
Blinkist
- The Black Friday Offer: 75% Off a Blinkist yearly subscription
- The Regular Price: Blinkist annual subscriptions are normally $99.99
- My Thoughts: Blinkist is a platform that features highlights from numerous e-books and audiobooks, essentially allowing you to preview titles or just get the best takeaways from them. With their Black Friday deal, the price for the year comes down to about $2 a month (plus another buck). For that amount, I think it could be worth a shot if you’re the type of person who enjoys non-fiction books, wants to preview titles you’re considering buying, or just want to get to the core of several popular books.
Jack Archer
- The Black Friday Offer: Jetsetter pants on sale for $79 each, Anytime Tees for $29
- The Regular Price: Pants retail for $149 and tees are normally $52
- My Thoughts: If you missed it, Jack Archer was the “Best Value” winner in my great pants comparison (although Lululemon won for my personal favorite if cost isn’t considered). That value endorsement was based on a deal I got for two pairs of pants and a shirt. Well, the current Black Friday sale could be used to recreate that offer, but could also be used to purchase a pair of their pants for $79 each. To me, that sounds like a good opportunity to try a pair. Then, if you want more, you can wait for the deal I got to come around again. By the way, while $30 is still pretty pricey for a shirt, I do really love my Anytime Tee and might recommend it.
Fellow
- The Black Friday Offer: 20% off sitewide
- The Regular Price: The Ode Grinder Gen 2 is normally $345 (so $276 today).
- My Thoughts: My kitchen has enjoyed a number of upgrades from Fellow over the course of this year (thanks partially to Cometeer), including the Ode Grinder Gen 2. As I shared in my review, while definitely pricey, the grinder has been a lifestyle upgrade as it’s quieter and less messy than what I had previously. I’m not sure that justified the price tag even with 20% off, but that’s really up to you. If you are going to go for it, though, you might also want to consider the Next Level Kit, which includes the grinder, a vacuum canister, and a bag of coffee. With the discount, this bundle currently comes out to $322.
Cometeer
- The Black Friday Offer: An extra $20 off an electric kettle holiday bundle (with subscription)
- The Regular Price: $179 for the bundle – regular subscription boxes are $64 each + shipping
- My Thoughts: Speaking of Fellow, Cometeer is offering a deal on an electric kettle bundle that includes a Fellow Corvo EKG Electric Kettle (with Cometeer branding) and a special holiday set of coffee that includes 32 pods for a total of $160. Consider that you could buy the same kettle on Fellow’s site for $132 on sale today, that still means a pretty significant discount on the Cometeer coffee. The downside is that this model is not the gooseneck kettle that you’d probably want if you were making pour-overs in addition to Cometeer. But, I ran into this same predicament and was able to find a replacement Stagg kettle on Fellow’s site. In any case, if you don’t need a kettle, there’s not a special deal on the coffee — but you can always use my referral link to save $20 on your first Cometeer subscription box and enjoy coffee that I think is a good happy medium between making a regular K-Cup and going to a cafe.
Athletic
- The Black Friday Offer: Up to 3 free gifts with new subscriptions or $20 off your first order of $50 or more with code BFCM20.
- The Regular Price: The bundle with the 3 gifts and a six-pack is $37.99. Six-packs of Athletic are $13.99 to $14.99 each, but discounted with subscription
- My Thoughts: As a non-drinker, I’ve loved exploring Athletic’s NA brews, including several limited-edition ones. While having a subscription is great because of the discounts and lowered free shipping threshold, in this case, I think I’d go with the $20 off an order of $50 or more deal. FYI, my personal favorite is Upside Dawn (which is one of their core items) but also be sure to try some of the limited edition brews while they’re around.
Goldbelly
- The Black Friday Offer: 20% off orders of $50 or more sitewide with code GOLDFRIDAY20 through November 27th (Excludes shipping)
- The Regular Price: Prices on Goldbelly vary by item and other discounts may be available throughout the year — but 20% is pretty good.
- My Thoughts: Even with the 20% off, the items you’ll find on Goldbelly will likely still be pretty pricey. However, if there’s something you’re craving or you want to get a thoughtful gift for someone, this could be a good opportunity. My go-to both for myself and for gifting is the crumb cake from B&W Bakery (although a single one falls below this deal’s $50 requirement) but I still have dreams about the cheesesteaks from John’s Roast Pork.
Hopefully one or more of these deals will be of use to you — but, if not, that’s great too! Either way, I hope you have a great Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and holiday season overall.