A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
Jackery power station, JBL Charge 6, Yeti Tundra 35 cooler, and Yeti Rambler travel mug with pink background
The best early Black Friday outdoor deals at a glance:

Best portable power station deal
Jackery Explorer 2000 v2
$699 (save $800)
Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 power station

Best outdoor speaker deal
JBL Charge 6
$129.95 (save $70)
JBL Charge 6

Best cooler deal
Yeti Tundra 35
$220 (save $55)
Yeti Tundra 35 in firefly yellow

Best hydration deal
Yeti Rambler travel mug in red

Best Black Friday essential deal
LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

Best camping deal
Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket
$74.96 (save $24.99)
Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket

Best tent deal
Coleman Skydome Tent
$91.99 (save $58)
Coleman Skydome Tent

Best electric cooler deal
Anker Solix EverFrost 2 (40 liter)
$598.49 (save $301.50)
Anker Solix EverFrost 2 (40 liter)

Black Friday starts in less than 24 hours. But as in years past, plenty of deals started rolling in, starting in early November. You may not think of the Black Friday season as a time to grab outdoor gear, but you'd be surprised how many big price drops we're already seeing on everything from portable power stations and outdoor speakers to coolers and hydration essentials.

Whether you want to gear up for cold weather adventures, stock up for next spring, or grab some holiday gifts for great prices, 'tis the season to score outdoor deals. We'll be tracking all of the best outdoor deals below as we get closer to Black Friday and update the list with any new price drops.

Plus, we're seeing some popular favorites get the real deal treatment — like LifeStraw personal water filters, Coleman tents and camping gear, and action cameras from DJI and GoPro. Be sure to check back as we get deeper into the holiday season and follow along with Mashable's coverage of every category in our Black Friday hub.

Best Black Friday outdoor deal

Credit: Jackery
$699 at Amazon
$1,499 Save $800
 

Why we like it

A solid mid-range power station, the small and mighty Explorer 2000 v2 is lightweight enough (under 40 pounds) to carry with you on camping trips, boating, tailgating, and other outdoor adventures. It's also equipped with 2,042Wh capacity, which makes it powerful enough to serve as a home battery backup in emergencies as well. That's enough power to keep your fridge running for over a day, heat up a meal in the microwave, and brew plenty of cups of coffee. It packs three AC outlets, one USB-A port, and two USB-C ports, as well as a built-in light and super-charge emergency mode on board for a variety of needs. With $800 off, it's down to its best price on record during Black Friday.

Best outdoor speaker deal

$129.95 at Amazon
$199.95 Save $70
 

Why we like it

A quality Bluetooth speaker makes a great companion in the great outdoors and the JBL Charge 6 is our favorite. It's powerful enough to be used for an outdoor party, but still lightweight enough at just 2 pounds to tote around. It even comes with a handy removable strap for ultra portability. Plus, as its name suggests, it can charge other devices via USB-C. We don't love that it's $20 more than its predecessor at $199.95, but this Black Friday deal drops it to a more palatable $129.95 at both Amazon and Best Buy.

Best electric cooler deal

$598.49 at Amazon
$899.99 Save $301.50
 

Why we like it

Read Mashable's full review of the Anker Solix EverFrost 2 electric cooler.

Instead of dealing with the hassle of melting ice, upgrading your outdoor adventures with an electric cooler is one of the most convenient luxuries. The powerful Anker Solix EverFrost 2 electric cooler is easy use and transport, and you can set the temperature as a freezer or refrigerator. Not only will the cooler keep your foods perfectly chilled for days, the battery that powers up the electric cooler can also recharge your phone at the campground.

Black Friday portable power station deals

Black Friday cooler deals

Black Friday electric cooler deals

Black Friday hydration deals

Black Friday outdoor speaker deals

Black Friday outdoor tech deals

More early Black Friday outdoor deals



from Mashable https://ift.tt/ajmfClk
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
The technician installing the RAM on the computer's motherboard

Being a consumer has been challenging over the past few years. Between a global pandemic and sweeping tariffs, wallets have taken repeated hits — but for PC hobbyists right now, it might actually be the worst moment to start building a rig.

New reporting from Ars Technica lays out just how dire the situation has become, showing that prices for essential PC components, such as RAM and SSDs, have skyrocketed. The culprit is the ongoing AI boom, with data centers reportedly consuming the world’s supply of memory and storage hardware, driving prices straight into the stratosphere.

Take the Patriot Viper Venom 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR5-6000 kit, which increased from $49 to $110 — a 124.5 percent rise — between August and November 2025. Or the Team Delta RGB 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5-6400, which skyrocketed from $190 to $700, a staggering 268.4 percent spike. At the time of this writing, the Team Delta RAM kit priced has "dropped" with its highest recent retail price topping out at a jaw-dropping $1,049 just a week ago.

SSD prices have crept upward, too, though they haven’t entered panic territory yet. RAM, however, is a different story. If you’re eyeing an upgrade, you may want to sit tight for a bit.

As Ars Technica points out, memory and storage shortages are notoriously difficult to manage because chip manufacturing depends on years of advance planning. The supply we’re dealing with today is the result of production decisions made long before the current AI-driven surge in demand. That inherent lag makes the memory market especially prone to violent price swings.

The pandemic offered a perfect example. Manufacturers were blindsided by the sudden, massive spike in demand for PCs and consumer tech in 2020 and 2021, only to watch that demand crater once buying habits normalized. PC sales soared, plummeted, then stabilized — all within a few years. Volatility like that makes long-term planning almost impossible for memory suppliers.

Until the supply of RAM catches up to the appetite of data centers and AI developers, anyone looking to boost their RAM is probably best off waiting for the market to cool down rather than paying the current premium.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/ZL7pOaI
A blog about Technology, new invention and ways of looking.
shoppers at a best buy store on black friday

Best Buy has been treating the entire month of November like one drawn-out holiday deal dump, but now that its official Black Friday sale is live, there are hundreds of markdowns on name-brand tech across all departments. Its main attractions include record-low prices on big-ticket items like QLED 4K TVs and Windows laptops, plus revolving rounds of doorbusters that feature bonus rewards for paid My Best Buy members.

Best Buy's Black Friday deals are available online and in stores, so if you want to visit a nearby location to check out a gadget before you buy it, the option is there. (Camping out on Thanksgiving night won't be necessary.) Here's everything you need to know about Best Buy's Black Friday sale before you shop, including its opening hours, doorbuster lineup, holiday return policy, price-match guarantee, and the best deals to shop now.

When is Best Buy's Black Friday sale?

Best Buy's Black Friday sale began on Thursday, Nov. 20 and continues through Saturday, Nov. 29. All of its feature deals are available in stores, online, and on the Best Buy mobile app, according to a company press release.

Is Best Buy open on Thanksgiving?

Best Buy stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day 2025, as they have been since 2020.

What time does Best Buy open on Black Friday?

Best Buy stores will open at 6 a.m. local time on Black Friday. Camping out is only mandatory if a deal you're eyeing is sold out online but still available in stores, IMO.

Does Best Buy do doorbusters?

Yes, Best Buy is supplementing its Black Friday deals with some limited-time doorbusters, which it's billing as "some of the best deals on the hottest tech of the season." These offers drop in batches every Friday through Christmas, and paid My Best Buy members earn $5 in bonus rewards for every $50 they spend on them (up to $25). That includes the Plus and Total membership tiers.

I've listed all of Best Buy's current doorbusters below. All of them are decent deals except for the EA video games and the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which are mostly cheaper to buy from Walmart or Amazon. Best Buy will release more doorbusters on Friday, Nov. 28, aka Black Friday proper.

Best Black Friday deals at Best Buy

I've spent hours upon hours combing through Best Buy's Black Friday deals, and I've identified just over 150 of them that are worth shopping. (By that I mean they aren't one-upped by better offers at other retailers.) Here's a quick look at the highlights:

Credit: Hisense
$649.99 at Best Buy
$999.99 Save $350
 
$449.99 at Best Buy
$899.99 Save $450
 
$159.99 at Best Buy
$349.99 Save $190
 
$219.99 at Best Buy
$249 Save $29.01
 
$69.96 at Best Buy
$99.95 Save $29.99
 
$599 at Best Buy
$799 Save $200
 
Credit: Deep SIlver
$39.99 at Best Buy
$59.99 Save $20
 
$54.99 at Best Buy
$74.99 Save $20.00
 
$249 at Best Buy
$299 Save $50
Includes free $50 Best Buy gift card
$129.95 at Best Buy
$199.95 Save $70
 
Credit: De'Longhi
$149.95 at Best Buy
$229.94 Save $79.99
 
$148 at Best Buy
$299.99 Save $151.99
 
$529.99 at Best Buy
$1,099.99 Save $570
 
$189.99 at Best Buy
$279.99 Save $90
 
Credit: Therabody
$299.99 at Best Buy
$419.99 Save $120
 

Does Best Buy price match?

Best Buy doesn't price-match competitors' deals during Black Friday, but it will price-match itself. If something you've bought there from Oct. 31 to Dec. 31 gets cheaper during that period, you can request to have your purchase adjusted to the better price through Jan. 15, 2026. The only items that aren't covered by this price-match guarantee are holiday decorations and products that come with a third-party contract (like smartphones).

What is Best Buy's return policy?

Under its extended holiday return policy, Best Buy will accept returns for most items purchased from Oct. 31 to Dec. 31 through Jan. 15, 2026. That deadline stretches to Jan. 31 for paid My Best Buy members.

Similar exclusions apply here. Holiday decorations have a 15-day return window, for one. "Activatable" devices (meaning those that come with data plans) can only be returned within 14 days, and they have a $45 restocking fee if opened. Scooters, drones, digital cameras, action cameras, lenses, projectors, fitness recovery devices, cold tubs, saunas, and special-order products have a 15% restocking fee if they're unboxed.

When is Best Buy's Cyber Monday sale?

Best Buy will kick off its Cyber Monday savings event on Sunday, Nov. 30, and it will run for 48 hours through Dec. 1 (aka actual Cyber Monday). The company's press release notes that "there will be limited-time deals available throughout the event," so expect a slightly different assortmen than its Black Friday sale.



from Mashable https://ift.tt/7dqpYAx