Three reasons to have Fox shocks on your next off-road adventures

When it comes to choosing a pickup truck, buyers usually look at versatility, utility, and capability as the top factors in making their purchase decisions.

The Ford Ranger, for instance, is a pickup designed to handle the toughest jobs for its owners – whether carrying and moving load at work or tackling a mountain trail. For those who are looking to push beyond the everyday, Ford has invested heavily in boosting the off-road capabilities of the Ranger via Fox shock absorbers, which are the heart of suspension systems of the Ranger Raptor and the all-new Ranger FX4 MAX.

 

By using performance-oriented Fox shock absorbers, Ford has given the Ranger Raptor and FX4 MAX the ability to drive across rough terrain at high speeds with control, stability and comfort. This same off-road performance translates perfectly on the road, where the Ranger Raptor and FX4 MAX are just as comfortable and controlled as they are off road. The Ford Ranger is a 4×4 truck engineered to take the ups with the downs, and the Fox shock absorbers and clever tuning by Ford give the Ranger Raptor and FX4 MAX the next-level driving experience.

Here are three things that make the Fox shock absorbers a great off-road driving partner:

It’s built to conquer rough terrain

Fox performance-ready suspension on the Ranger Raptor delivers up to 30% more wheel travel than regular shock absorbers. Wheel travel is the distance designed in for a wheel to travel at either the bottom or top of the movement. The Fox shock absorbers on Ranger Raptor and FX4 MAX have been designed to deal with a combination of high- and slow-speed driving and load carrying.

It offers comfort on and off road

Fox shock absorbers have been designed with on- and off-road comfort in mind, allowing owners to transition from rough to smooth roads easily.

The FX4 MAX’s suspension brings an off-road stance and capability through its 2.0-inch monotube Fox shock absorbers front and rear. The rear shocks feature a remote reservoir enabling rapid recovery from extensive, prolonged off-road use. They’re teamed with tuned coil-springs at the front, and a staggered shock arrangement at the rear to manage loads.

The Ranger Raptor’s race-bred suspension has been specifically crafted to tackle undulating terrain at high-speed while remaining in complete control and comfort. The Position Sensitive Damping (PSD) shock absorbers (dampers) provide higher damping forces at full jounce and rebound to enable better off-road capabilities, and lower damping forces in the mid-travel zone for a class leading plush ride during on-road trips.

Fox Racing Shox are among the best in off-road driving

For more than three decades, Fox has been an industry leader in the design and development of high-performance shock absorbers and racing suspension products for snowmobiles, mountain bikes, motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, 4X4 off-road cars, trucks, and SUVs. Ford uses Fox shocks across a range of performance pick-up vehicles with Ford engineers tuning these vehicles to perform at their best.

The Ranger FX4 MAX is available in all Ford dealerships nationwide at a launch pricing of PhP 1,698,000. Meanwhile, customers purchasing the Ranger Raptor can still avail of the Ranger Raptor Premium Care Package, inclusive of a free 5-Year Scheduled Service Plan, 5-Year Warranty, and free 5-Year Roadside Assistance.

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Mosonth 2K QHD webcam review: Bang for your buck performance

By now, a lot of us have better adapted to our new living situations — aka doing most things from home. We’ve shown you gadgets to help stay fit, devices to help live alone easier, and even a new monitor that should boost productivity.

When it comes to working from home, video conferences are now the next best thing to seeing and discussing with your colleagues. This is why a good webcam is now an essential peripheral for your computer as it helps make you look more professional and presentable during online meetings rather than using your laptop’s built-in, low-res webcam.

What we have here is a 2K QHD webcam from Mosonth with a built-in microphone and comes with its own tripod. The company specializes in various consumer electronic devices with an array of products available online. Is the device good for everyday use? Let’s find out.

Design

It comes with a pretty standard design and that’s not totally a bad thing. Although what I personally like about it is its horizontal orientation that’s not as obvious and visually obtrusive as webcams with rounded form factors.

Material is mostly made of plastic with a silver color giving accents to its otherwise all-black body. Its face comes with a glossy finish which could be prone to scratches in the long run. Looking closely, there are pinholes for its microphone system flanking the 2K sensor.

One helpful thing about its design is this focus ring as it’s not only for show and it actually lets you focus the sensor manually so you have better control.

The camera comes with two points of hinges — one to tilt its lens up and down and adjust your framing, while the other makes it possible to clamp on top of your computer’s monitor or display.

If you don’t want a high angle, you may also opt to just attach the included small tripod to the base of the webcam to find a good spot to position it on your table. I had no problems with either — the tripod rotates 360° and clamping it to a monitor is sturdy enough and doesn’t fall off.

Features

Desktop monitor as source of light on face

As established earlier, it features a 2K camera with 2560 x 1440 (QHD) resolution at 30fps. To produce a decent field of view, it captures a wide viewing angle of 67° and promises to eliminate the fish-eye effect. Although in my personal experience, there’s still a noticeable warp but it’s something easily forgivable.

With its plug-and-play approach, it’s very easy to use and there are no dedicated software to tweak its settings on. For that, you’d have to use other webcam software like YouCam or Zoom to be able to apply skin enhancements or add effects.

Mosnth 2K Webcam - The Modern Creatures

It’s got Auto White Balance that should be able to perceive what light temperature to use, but there are times that it misreads color information so colors could come a bit off. Again, manual control over its settings would come in handy in this situation. Additionally, it’s got a manual focus that’s able to get a bit of natural blur for your background.

It might also be helpful to know that this webcam is compatible with different platforms and apps like Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom so it can be easily used for game streaming, online classes, and more.

Performance

Low light sample 1

With its QHD resolution, details are impressive and picture quality is more than enough for a Zoom call with your peers and bosses. Its contrast also gives more depth to the face and avoids a flat look so that’s another plus. Even in low light scenarios (which is usually my setup), the webcam is still able to produce acceptable quality.

I’ve also been able to use this webcam in some live streams in partnership with brands and while it’s obviously not in the same league as mirrorless cameras used as webcams, it’s definitely passable for online usage.

My biggest complaint would have to be its Auto White Balance that sometimes is a hit-and-miss on its own, but since it could be fixed by downloading a separate software, I could look past it. Plus, with its asking price, you really couldn’t ask for much.

Low light sample 2

There’s also that slight issue of warping especially for the edges that might not be a big deal for some, but I believe is worth pointing out.

Mosonth 2K Webcam - The Modern Creatures

Audio performance is clear but nothing out of the ordinary. It gives you a generous distance to pick up voice so you don’t necessarily have to be close to the device. Noise reduction is also present and helps isolate your voice.

Creature Feature

As always, in our reviews, The Modern Creatures aims to find special features in devices that make them worth having — a Creature Feature if you will. For the Mosonth 2K webcam, it would have to be its QHD resolution that captures sharp images with good color.

It easily steps up the quality of your video during calls and at its price, it’s a great feature to have.

Pricing and final thoughts

Available online for US$ 29.99 (approx. PhP 1.5K), the Mosonth 2K QHD webcam is a great buy for its price. You get detailed picture quality that does well even in low light, a flexible mounting system, and a decent microphone.

It’s a webcam that offers exactly what you’re looking for if you’re on the market for an affordable but reliable device to improve your video quality during today’s online meetings.

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