Kevin Rose Quarterly Subscription Box Review #KEV02
Kevin Rose is one of the newest Quarterly curators, and this review is of his first box. Here’s his quick bio on Quarterly:
Kevin Rose is an entrepreneur, General Partner at Google Ventures, and board member at the Tony Hawk Foundation. Previously Kevin founded Digg, Revision3, Milk, and hosted the TechTV television show, “The Screen Savers”.
Quarterly sent us this box for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Kevin Rose Quarterly Box
The Cost: $100 quarter.
The Products: Tech gear, accessories and other finds.
Ships to: US and Worldwide. (Additional shipping costs for International subscribers).
Check out all of my Kevin Rose Quarterly Box reviews!
Each Quarterly box comes with a letter from the curator detailing the items included. For his letter, Kevin made a video.
Adam Lister Godfather Print – Value $40
This print measures 6 X 6 inches, and it is printed on cardstock. Adam Lister is new to me, and I enjoyed looking at his other work – I recommend checking out the Bob Ross print!
Turbo X Quadcopter – Value $60
My husband and I decided to go outside and try out this mini drone – not the best idea on a very windy day. The good news – this little drone has a lot of power, and was up 30 feet in the air almost instantly. The bad news – I don’t think we’ll ever see it again!
So – I recommend using it indoors, or in a big field on a windless day!
Breakaway Matcha Coldbrew Original – 30 grams Value $28
I’m excited to try this! Here are the instructions for making it:
Making Coldbrew is EASY. There are two main methods:
Method 1: Take a mason jar, water bottle, or any clean 16oz. jar/bottle with a cap, and fill it halfway with really icy water (we like to put a bunch of ice in a pitcher, fill it with filtered water, and let it get REALLY cold). Add 1 level teaspoon matcha, shake vigorously, and pour into glasses. Or just drink right from the jar.
Method 2: The “Blender Bottle.” Simply fill it halfway with ice (with the blender ball/sieve thingy on the bottom), add a level teaspoon of matcha, fill with filtered water, and shake vigorously. That’s it!
Richer Poorer CoolMax Crew Sock – Value $12
I’m a little weird – I don’t currently subscription to any sock subscription boxes, but I love getting socks in non-sock subscription boxes! Richer Poorer is a great brand too. These Cool Max Crew socks are pretty thick for summer, but I’ll use them!
Redbeard Kevin Rose Citrus Hefeweizen Beer Soap – 2 oz Value $4
This soap smells so good. (I love pretty much every natural soap I’ve ever smelled). It doesn’t smell like beer to me though.
Ursa Major Face Wipes (5) Value $4.80
I love all things Ursa Major (it is a great men’s natural grooming line, and pretty much all of the products are unisex).
This box also included coupons for a free month of FitStar (no credit card info needed), and 40% off a BuyPeel iPhone case.
Verdict: This box has a value of about $150. I’m not sure exactly what to make of it, and I think that’s probably because I may not be the target demographic for this box. I was also assuming that most of the items in this box would be tech-related like his first box, so that is throwing me off a little too.
That being said, we’ll use almost everything in the box, and I’m hoping the Coldbrew Matcha becomes my new summer drink – I’ve heard good things about its health benefits!
What do you think of the Kevin Rose Quarterly Box?
Written by Liz Cadman
I was set to receive this box after the first. I loved the first box! I canceled #2 because I had too many subscription boxes..and glad I did. Disappointed with the men things. I get that most men work in the tech industry, that’s a given. Not everyone though, including myself.
Only two things in this box could be considered more for men than women (the face wipes by a male grooming company and the socks, which can still be worn by women depending on size), beer isn’t exclusive to men. It’s not like they included items ONLY men could use. Is this pink and frilly and smells like summer flowers? No, but not every box needs to be that way, there’s already plenty of those boxes out there.
Liz never said the box was geared towards men and not women. She said that she personally wasn’t the demographic. She wanted more tech related items, and has a different taste. Not all men would like this box either if the products weren’t geared towards their demographic.
Nevermind. You were replying to the other commenters! 🙂
I don’t believe that any subscription box owes anyone anything beyond what they promise to subscribers. A Kevin Rose box doesn’t have to meet some kind of equal opportunity quota. But it does describe itself as a box of “technology.” Socks, soap, and facial wipes – all created for or generally marketed toward men – are not “technology” nor are they anything related to that label. It is men’s lifestyle. Nothing more, nothing less. And therein lies the difference.
This was my first Quarterly box, and I was pretty disappointed. I thought that print was pretty lame, and I actually ended up throwing it in the trash. LOL. OOOPS. Who knew it was worth $40. Oh well. I didn’t know this was a masculine type of box……..I guess I’ll give the little drone to my husband for Father’s Day, but I’m probably going to cancel this box.
I was disappointed in this box, I was not expecting a box for men. I watched the video for the first box and was hoping for something along that line. So I will cancel Kevin’s sub.
Is it just me or did anyone else notice he was not excited about the box in the video? Seemed like he kept explaining himself on why things were in the box.
“The good news – this little drone has a lot of power, and was up 30 feet in the air almost instantly. The bad news – I don’t think we’ll ever see it again!”
I just had to say, it’s a day later and I’m still laughing about this! XD
Me too.
I was thinking about getting this box as a gift for my husband…glad I didn’t. I wanted to see more tech items and less random soap, socks, etc.
I’m glad to see someone pointing this out to Quarterly. Too many of their STEM-themed boxes seem to be gendered.
This is an issue that is not easily understood or resolved by many people involved in marketing to STEM types. Even with lifestyle subs such as Birchbox, the “mens” version offers little bits of technology, enough so that I get both a women’s and a men’s box each month. It’s disheartening. The women’s box “Plus” add-ons are always a beauty product – a piece of jewelry, a notebook printed with flowers and birds, a pink water bottle, cute gym socks. Men get their choice of high tech chargers, leather cord wraps, etc.
Even the “geek” type boxes tend to skew male, although overall they fare better as they are mostly centered on fans of various comic, sci-fi and fantasy franchises. I also sub to a board game box, and the last two months have included card games with highly sexualized female characters in skimpy outfits.
I would subscribe to a high tech box that didn’t skew male in a red hot second.
I think I will write an article about this entire subject now that I’m thinking about it.
I agree completely. I wish regular lifestyle subs would send more tech items now and then. I don’t know what there is about chargers and cord wraps that are inherently masculine.
I get upset every time I see the Bill Nye box advertised on best of quarterly – yes, a bow tie is very Bill Nye but are they just assuming that all the subscribers are male? Some of his earlier boxes were marked as being good for kids – I’d hate to have someone subscribing for a daughter interested in science and then to get something that is so boys-only in a box (I know very few women who can successfully rock a bow tie – some, but not many).
Of course, there are also boxes that don’t seem specifically for women that skew that way – the lacy mask in the first Arianna box.
I received a tie and a bowtie in different Loot Crates. I use the bowtie as a hair accessory and have worn the tie just as a tie.
I actually subscribe to Sprezza for myself, not my husband. I really like the “menswear” look and wear both ties and bow ties frequently. I see nothing wrong with including a bow tie in a Bill Nye box. It has been his signature for so long that as long as it is one I could picture him wearing, I am totally OK with it. My daughter keeps asking to wear my bow ties, but her neck is too small as yet for me to tie one on her, and even I have to size it all the way down.
I am also completely OK with my daughter getting “boy” toys/accessories. Thankfully, being female (of any age) it is more socially acceptable to wear/play with male oriented items than vice versa. A boy getting Hello Kitty (other than Batz Maru) is frowned upon more than a girl playing Pokemon.
If you do write this article, please share!
It’s fun to read the review, but the box is not for me.
I was thrown off by this box, too, and ended up writing a fairly direct (ha ha) email to Quarterly who responded in a wonderful manner and promised to address my concerns:
This is supposed to be a technology box, but it felt like a men’s lifestyle box. Men’s socks (I have very small feet as I am 5′ 2″ on my tallest days!), facial wipes that are generally targeted toward men, beer scented soap. I did like the nano quadcopter and the print, and tea is always great. But as a woman who writes about technology for a living, it was a bit of an eye-rolling moment. The box isn’t billed as a men’s box. It’s billed as a tech box. And as a woman in technology, it was just another moment when you realize you are in a man’s world and yet another man is boxing up what they think is the identity of those interested in new technology.
Well, let’s hope that the next one is all-on-tech! They can keep the men’s supplies and throw more tech at me! I’d be thrilled.
I want to add that the folks at Quarterly did promise to pass along my concerns to Kevin Rose’s team, and the email was genuine. They also went above and beyond by making this right by me, even though I did not ask for them to do so. The world is still changing and growing in new and exciting ways, and women in technology are going to be those helping to push us into the future.
You just pinpointed exactly what is wrong with this box. Thank you! Not all techies are men!!
The first box was pretty dang cool. All I like here is the mini-drone.
I loved the first box, too. It was my Christmas present to myself. I ended up buying duplicates of some of the items to give as gifts.
^^ this, exactly what Bird said.
I am a female working in the technology field. I’d be interested in the quadcopter, the matcha, and the beer scented soap, but the clearly men’s socks and face wipes would be of no use to me. Luckily, they are both low-end items in this box. I like socks – I just need women’s socks in order for them to fit me properly.
I’m also not sure how the Godfather print (both its subject matter and how the art was produced) fits into the rest of this box. I looked on the artist’s site, but I still don’t see a connection. I also tried to view the curator’s video, but it took too long to load on my phone.
Shout out from a fellow tech girl!
“I am 5′ 2″ on my tallest days!” = Hilarious 🙂
WOW. What an awesome comment. You tell it like it is, girl! The box is not for me so I didn’t really think about it (I just thought, “this must be what techie people like”) so thank you for opening my eyes!!!!
You also just pinpointed my issue with this box. I wasn’t happy with it but loved the first box. I also like the Quad copter, but had just received one in the Lewis Hilsenteger so I wasn’t that excited with that but it made sense for a techie and I certainly loved in a month ago in the LEW box, though I have to compare the too so I may end up loving this version better. However the face wipes and socks were clearly male oriented. He made sure to take into account not everyone was an iPhone user but not that they might be female? Sigh. Annoying but not exactly unexpected sadly.
I hate typos.
…loved *it*
…compare the *two*
I’m a woman in tech too, and also 5’2″ (okay 5’1.5″) so men’s socks was a little perplexing. I’d expect that in the GQ box, but I agree that this box seems too much like a men’s box. He indicates in his video that it’s targeted toward men… might have been nice to know that in advance. I don’t fault him for selecting the box items from things he likes and uses, but a little more unisex foresight would have been great here. I loved the first box and was hoping for a similar level of neutrality… and more gadgets.
Except for the print–which is cool, but I’d have no use for it–I’d love and use everything in that box! But see, now that I like it, if I subscribed, the next box would suck. I don’t take $100 gambles, so I’ll just enjoy the reviews. 🙂