Category: Equipment

Made in America: TwentyTwo Designs Telemark Ski Bindings

Named after Wyoming Highway 22, which travels over the 8,431-foot Teton Pass a favorite spot for backcountry skiers, TwentyTwo Designs is dedicated to producing some of the best telemark ski bindings in the world. Started in 2004 by two mechanical engineers, Chris Valiante and Collins Pringle, TwentyTwo Designs inherited the HammerHead binding design from Rainey Designs and continued to improve upon it along with creating their own bindings.

Continue reading Made in America: TwentyTwo Designs Telemark Ski Bindings

University of Virginia Adds Bike Fixit Station

In an effort to encourage travel by bicycle on campus, the University of Virginia has installed Dero Bike Fix-It stations, which are equipped with basic tools and a hand-pump. These tools, which include various wrenches and screwdrivers, are tethered to the Fix-It stations, ensuring that these will be there for when the next user needs them.

Andrew Greene, sustainability planner in the Office of the Architect at UVA, has said he hopes that students and faculty will have easy access to specialized tools and that this will increase use of bikes on the UVA campus. So far Stanford University and University of Utah have similar Fix-It Stations, while Fresno State also has experimented with its own Bike Repair Station. The concept of remote bike repair is also taking off, as we noted earlier this year with the Bike Fixtation in Minneapolis.

[Via PSFK: Bike Repair Station At University Encourages Students To Go Green]

Superline Drive to Hook the Big Fish

There are probably old time fishermen that will tell you that a long stick, a length of string and a bent pin are all you need to catch the big fish. For the rest of us technology has come a long ways, and Rapala proves that innovation has changed the odds to make sure the big one doesn’t get away.

First up, it all starts with the Sufix 832 Advanced Superline, the new go-to line for freshwater and saltwater anglers, as it offers strength and smoothness that can defy rocks, stumps, tress and thick weeds. Sufix 832 earned the sport fishing industry’s Best Line Award at the 2010 ICAST trade show, and won the Field & Stream Best of the Best Award in the Lure and Accessory category for 2011. Continue reading Superline Drive to Hook the Big Fish

Kinetic(Mis)Shift: Free Flexor

httpv://youtu.be/H6uNTpYtacw

We’ve seen many devices that make us do a double take. Some convince us our first impressions were wrong, but then there is Free Flexor and we just can’t shake those first impressions. AS CBSNews reported this week several personal trainers questioned the device’s effectiveness. Actually we think it is effective, just not for fitness. It is very effective in making us laugh at the infomercial. This one could sit nicely on the shelf with the Shake Weight.

[Via CBSNews.com: New silly (and sexual) fitness device Free Flexor: Does it work?]

Kinetic(Mis)Shift are products that we think deserve to be called out for their utter lack of fitness benefits

iPod Nano Get Fitness Facelift

While much of the news spreading across the blogosphere is about the newly announced iPhone 4S, there is much to buzz about with the iPod Nano, which gets a facelift of sorts with 16 new clock faces and more importantly to us, new fitness features. The iPod Nano will reportedly feature a more accurate pedometer that won’t require a dongle to connect to Nike+ hardware.

“Right out of the box, you can go on a walk or a run as well, without adding sensors or devices,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.

There will also be watchband cases so these can be worn on the wrist. Otherwise the devices are essentially the same, with prices ranging from $129 for the 8GB version to $149 for the 16GB version.

Getting Fit a Little Bit at a Time

One obstacle that keeps many people from even trying to be more fit is that there is no real motivation. Many of us think we’re active, as we walk to the store or work, or are on our feet all day. By the end we’re ready to say, “mission accomplished, I’m tired so I must have been active.” The sad truth is that if we kept track of all that movement it would likely be less than expected.

This is where Fitbit comes in, as the wearable device can keep track – to paraphrase the song by The Police – “every step you take.” The new Fitbit Ultra is like a monitor, but not the type that actually sends that information to the real police, but instead lets you know how you’re doing and more importantly what you’ve done. Continue reading Getting Fit a Little Bit at a Time

Happy Trailers to You

While gasoline prices have stabilized in the last month as the peak summer travel is now past us, bicycle cargo trailers are still increasing as riders look to bring along more stuff with them. And while bicycle commuting has also reportedly fallen this year, there is no denying that bike cargo trailer use is increasing.

“In today’s economic climate, people have started to realize that it just makes economic sense to ride a bike when possible, instead of spending money on gas and car maintenance,” say the experts at Bicycletrailers.com. “People want to save money – while also doing something that is good for the environment.” Continue reading Happy Trailers to You

The Third Dimension of Training with Traq3D

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Fitness is now heading to a new dimension as Traq3D has announced the launch of the next generation TRAZER system, which utilizes the Panasonic Electric Works’ 3D Image Sensing Camera, D-IMager, as the preferred 3D motion detection device for this new product. TRAZER is an innovative interactive exercise technology that was featured on according to the company measures the previously immeasurable fundamental components of movement. It provides the power to detect movement asymmetries and weaknesses to guide rehabilitation, performance enhancement and injury prevention programs.

While this has the appearance of the technology used in current video games, such as the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox360 or the PlayStation Move, it is really a lot more says the technology’s innovator.

Continue reading The Third Dimension of Training with Traq3D

Galaxy on the Go

File this under strange tablet accessory – a holder for the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which allows the tablet computer to be tucked under the top tube. But look again, that isn’t a holder that attaches to the bike, because it is actually the bike itself.

Samsung is rolling out a branded bike that puts the tablet between your legs so you can take it on the go, making it the perfect accessory for the urban hipster. Continue reading Galaxy on the Go

G-Form Goes Stealth with Padding

Some sports require protective gear. Said protective gear is often awkward due to its bulkiness, stiffness and other restraints from the movement of the sport at hand. Rhode Island-based G-Form has impact absorbing protection gear that goes on soft but turns stiff like armor when the pressure of an impact is experienced. Continue reading G-Form Goes Stealth with Padding

Get GPS to Get Wet and More

Global Positioning Satellites, or more commonly GPS, have really changed our lives. Developed for the military, these evolved in use to provide driving directions. But in recent years these devices found a role in fitness and health, providing a way to track distance of sport watches and other workout equipment.

But even as Timex noted last year, GPS doesn’t work in all conditions, notably in space (not much of a health issue), indoors or worst of all underwater. This is why training watches aren’t quite ready for triathlons. But an assistant professor of engineering at the University of California, Riverside has received a three-year, $447,000 grant to develop techniques to navigate those areas where GPS doesn’t work. Continue reading Get GPS to Get Wet and More

Nike Drives Out With New Clubs

Nike has introduced a new clubs, including a new driver and putter that could be a game changers on the greens. First up, the Nike VR Pro Limited Edition Forged driver is the latest addition to the premium VR franchise. This club is already in a very exclusive “club” of players, and is in the bag of Nike Golf athletes Paul Casey and Anthony Kim. And beginning November 1 the Nike VR Pro Limited Edition Forged driver will be available at retail for $419.99.

The Tour-driven pear shaped head design is 430cc and made of a forged construction that addresses the tour athlete’s need for great feel, ultimate control and maximum workability. The Nike VR Pro Limited Edition Forged driver utilizes a new Nike innovation, NexCOR face technology, which promises to maximizes distance for the widest range of players through a new speed-expanding multi face thickness design. The NexCOR infinity design creates a bridge for an ultra-thin, ultra-hot face and unmatched ball speed. Continue reading Nike Drives Out With New Clubs

Are Football Helmets and Other Protective Gear Still Short of Goal Line?

Football season – including Professional, College and High School – is well underway, and beyond upsets and surprising victories, much of the talk this year continues to be about the helmets. NBC Sports noted last week that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was looking to have his helmet re-fitted by Riddell, shifting from a Schutt helmet, possibly the version he wore when he suffered a concussion against the Atlanta Falcons.

Vick reported looked to have his helmet re-fitted by Unequal Technology, which would use Kevlar to “disburse the effects of a blow to the helmet.” It was also reported that while this technology is new to the gridiron it has been used in hockey helmet and of course in the military.

This reporter, who has experience as the author of books and articles on actual military helmets, can attest that there is a difference in what Kevlar is designed to do. Kevlar is typically used in ballistic helmets, namely those meant to stop a bullet on a battlefield to save a wearer’s life (where a concussion would be preferable to death), and not for the brunt force trauma that one might experience on the playing field. Continue reading Are Football Helmets and Other Protective Gear Still Short of Goal Line?