Ethan Caldwell

Choosing the right marine winches for cruising sailboats changed how I sail. I used to dread reefing in 25 knots of wind because my old single-speed, non-self-tailing winches turned every maneuver into an upper-body workout. The day I upgraded to a properly sized self-tailing, two-speed setup, shorthanded cruising became something I looked forward to instead … Read more

I have spent more weekends than I can count chasing sailfish and mahi off the Florida coast, and I can tell you that the difference between a good day and a great day on a center console often comes down to one piece of gear: the outriggers. The best outriggers for center consoles in do … Read more

If you’ve ever tried to load a pontoon boat onto a trailer at a busy ramp, you know the moment of pure panic: wind pushing you sideways, the motor drifting, the boat refusing to center. I’ve been there. I have spent weekends on lakes wrestling with my own pontoon and watching other owners struggle with … Read more

Saltwater destroys a standard boat lift in three to five seasons. I learned that the hard way watching a galvanized steel hoist rust through its crossbeams after a single Florida hurricane season. If you dock your boat in coastal water, the Gulf, the Intracoastal, or any tidal canal, you need equipment that survives constant salt … Read more

Pontoon boats are not like regular fishing boats or runabouts, and the best boat lifts for pontoon boats are not like ordinary boat lifts either. I learned this the hard way when my first aluminum pontoon scraped a standard bunk and bent the toon. After that, I started paying attention to pontoon-specific gear, and the … Read more

Crop spraying has changed a lot in the last few years, and agricultural drones for crop spraying are now a real option for farms of nearly every size. I have spent the past two seasons testing and researching spray drones on a mix of row-crop, orchard, and small-acreage operations, and the gap between the big … Read more

When I started flying commercial mapping jobs three years ago, I learned the hard way that your drone is only as good as the battery powering it. The best drone batteries for commercial pilots deliver longer flight time, stable voltage under load, and enough cycle life to survive a full season of paid work without … Read more

When our team set out to find the best walk in cooler units for restaurants, we knew the stakes were high. A single equipment failure can cost a restaurant thousands in spoiled inventory, and one temperature swing above 40F can shut down a kitchen. We spent weeks evaluating eight commercial-grade units from Elite Kitchen Supply, … Read more

If you run a commercial kitchen and your exhaust hood pulls more than 400 CFM, you need a makeup air unit. I learned this the hard way watching a chef friend fight a hood that wouldn’t capture smoke because his kitchen sat under negative pressure. A makeup air unit (MUA) replaces the air your exhaust … Read more

Picking the best refrigeration compressors for cold storage is one of those decisions that quietly determines whether your operation runs smoothly or spends years bleeding money into emergency repairs. I have spent the last decade specifying compressors for walk-in freezers, pharmaceutical cold rooms, and food processing plants, and I have watched the same brands earn … Read more