Category: Equipment

Sproing Into a Lower Impact Workout

If you love running on the beach, but don’t have a beach right out of the door you don’t have to settle for running on a regular treadmill to get that same style of soft on the feet running. Occupying just a little more space than a commercial grade treadmill, Sproing is a new soft platform training machine that promises a lower impact ‘run’ while burning more calories and providing a more intense workout. It is thus ideal for anyone who suffers from consent knee pain that might otherwise also keep you from running.

Though the Sproing appears to be a treadmill at first glance, this new machine has no moving parts. Instead, Sproing has a soft pad ‘running’ surface and uses bungee resistance instead of a moving platform to hold the user in place. The resistance of running against the bungee forces you to run on the balls of your feet instead of landing on your heels; and with no moving platform, the risk of falling off of the platform is virtually eliminated.

(Video after the jump) Continue reading Sproing Into a Lower Impact Workout

Burn Calories, Make Electricity

SportsArt Fitness, a designer and manufacturer of cardiovascular and strength equipment for home and commercial use, has a machine that will let you burn calories while making electricity in the process.

The SportsArt Fitness S770 Pinnacle Trainer continues the “greening-up” of exercise equipment, by producing its own power to run the machine for exercising at a gym or at home.

The S770 features include a self-generating design that requires no outside power to operate. The machine features forward/backward and medial/lateral motion, which can improve core stability and balance and engages multiple muscle groups, also produces electricity to power it, including a heart rate monitor.

Here is a device that is good for the heart and good on the wallet as it won’t cost anything to run it.

SportsArt Fitness Official Website

Made in America: Paragon Machine Works

Paragon Machine Works is a name that may not be familiar to you, but one of their products might be right in your garage. Machined from aluminum, steel, stainless steel and titanium, Paragon Machine Works manufactures and stocks precision made components for bicycle frame builders. They stock the largest variety of titanium bicycle frame building components in the world, plus they offer design development and high volume manufacturing capabilities allowing them to offer competitive pricing.

Founded in 1983 by Mark Norstad, Paragon Machine Works had its humble beginnings in the Marin County basement of his parent’s house with just a lathe and mill. From that basement, Paragon Machine Works has grown into a 6,000 square foot operation in Richmond, California, employing ten full and part-time employees. Continue reading Made in America: Paragon Machine Works

PVC-’free’dom While Kayaking

Most outdoor enthusiasts are knowledgeable and sensitive to the impact that plastics can have on the environment. There are a growing number of consumers and retailers that want to see products that are kinder or at least more benign to Mother Mature. This comes down to a reduction of key plastics and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) is one of those materials on the hit list.

While PVC is still used in many applications, Innova Kayak of Burlington, Washington is starting to release PVC-free inflatable products.

These include the Swing I and Swing II, which are designed to meet the PVC-free standards that progressive dealers and consumers demand, while still offering the performance benefits of a decked boat.

The result is one that weighs less than half that of many comparable hard shell boats; where the 10-foot, 6-inch Swing I tips the scales at 22 pounds and the 13-foot Swing II, a double, is 26 pounds. Continue reading PVC-’free’dom While Kayaking

GoPro HERO HD Covers Up

Super heroes tend to put on a “disguise” if you will, a cap, a mask or some other sort of cover to hide their identity, and in some cases even provide a little protection. Now another HERO is getting the covered up treatment, and this time it’s in HD. The GoPro HERO HD, which is that camera that can mount to a helmet or handle bar and capture those moments of triumphs (and hoping no one’s final moments trying something truly dare devil worthy), now has the new Hooded Silicone Cover that protects the housing from scratches and impacts, but also helps with battery life in cold conditions.

The cover, which is available in a variety of bright colors, can stretch over HERO HD, while leaving the lens and LCD screen unobstructed. It is available now for $29.99 with opening for LCD screen; or $19.99 for those without the LCD option. Continue reading GoPro HERO HD Covers Up

Keeping the Creepy Crawlies at Bay

After a long hike or day on the bike making it to your campsite, the last thing you want to do is fight off the bugs while relaxing. Dousing yourself in ‘deet’ is a solution, but there is a family owned company in Tucson, Arizona who has come up with a different solution. The Hammock Bliss company has recently announced a new product to keep the bugs at bay while relaxing in your hammock – the Sky Tent.

The new Sky Tent, is as the name implies, a tent that is elevated off of the ground, and turns a properly sized hammock into a cocoon protecting you from bugs while providing room for your gear and sheltering you from the rain. The netting used in the Sky Tent has 2,100 holes per square inch which keeps the smallest of bugs out along, while reducing “the chilling effect of the wind.” The coated rain fly is constructed of oversized 75 denier polyurethane providing complete protection from the rain for your hammock and your gear.

Along with the bug screen and rain fly, the Sky Tent, which is available for $119.95 in blue or black, includes and attached waterproof stuff sack for storage and easy access to your “sky space” with YKK double pull zippers. 80-inches of 6mm climbing rope per side to is included to hang the Sky Tent and 100-inches of cord at four corners secures rain fly to the ground.

The Sky Tent is measures in inches 138x73x43 and weighs only 45 ounces. You will need to supply your own hammock which Hammock Bliss, as you probably guessed, also sells and can be ordered online at the same time the Sky Tent is ordered directly from them. If you love the freedom of hanging on a hammock, let the Sky Tent keep you from bugging out of your next hiking trip!

Hammock Bliss Official Website

On the Green With Robotic Putter Helper

In the future there could be robotic caddies that help golfers choose the right clubs, keep track of important data and eventually take over the world – if not at least the golf course (yes, I worry a lot about robots taking over the world). Now however, there is a new robotic device that will potentially aid golfers on the greens. Katherine Kuchenbecker at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is leading the way with a new project that could help players improve their putt.

To achieve this goal, the team devised a 1.5-meter long training frame with a practice hole. Players take aim and practice with a wired putter that measures the swing and actually corrects deviation to the swing, encouraging better form. The wires actually pull the club, and the golfer can feel the forces, which in turn force him/her to swing correctly. It certainly has promised to get golfers not only in the swing of things, but to get into a better swing in the process.

[Via NewScientist.com: Wire robot yanks your golf game into shape]

Safety First! Product Recalls by the CPSC

Occasionally we highlight product recalls from manufacturers due to defects in design or incorrect material specifications that can lead to injury or death. Often these recalls circulate around the internet for a while and the end user of the defective item might never find out about the deficiency in the product until it is too late. A manufacturer does not have to wait to be notified by the government agency in charge of overseeing consumer safety with regards to a defective products and can imitated a recall on their own; but they always partner with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) during the recall.

The CPSC has one purpose – for over 30 years they have been “protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction.” This is a fairly simple mission, but it can be difficult to get the word out about a defective product especially if the number of items that were manufactured is small. For example, one recall that was just announced was from C.O. Lynch was only for 5,200 units sold as Itasca Fusion Hiker boots  by Big 5 Sports from March 2011 and June 2011. This is a small window of time and a small number of units – this certainly will not make the evening news.

As with a lot of things in life, you have to seek out the information it will not magically appear for you. The CPSC does make searching and reporting of defective products easier for consumers. For about five months now, the website SaferProducts.gov has been up and running providing consumers with a searchable database of all products under the jurisdiction of the CPSC. Continue reading Safety First! Product Recalls by the CPSC

Golf is Rad? Really!

‘Golf’ and ‘rad’ are two words that I would never imagine being used in the same statement. Though there are plenty of young players on the course, golf still conjures up images of Ted Knight and the pompous golfer he played in Caddy Shack. The golf ball manufacturer, PunkRockz, has made it their mission to change the way golf is viewed.

Even the company notes that “golf is rad,” and asks, “so why does it have to be so serious and stiff.” We agree, that golf should be about relaxing and having fun, which is why we like what PunkRockz has to offer in the way of innovative and yet entertaining golf products.

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, PunkRockz is a company comprised of skaters, surfers and snowboarders who also love to play golf. Their products are inspired by music, art, fashion and action sports; and this ‘attitude’ is reflected in their marketing and current golf ball, ‘The Skull‘. Continue reading Golf is Rad? Really!

Boingo Brings Wi-Fi To NIC

Visitors to the Pettit National Ice Center, which features an indoor speed skating oval, and is also homet o the National Speed Skating Museum and Hall of Fame, will now have access to Wi-Fi from Boingo Wiless. This will be helpful to the 500,000 annual visitors who attend the speed skating and figure skating events, as well as those attending the training schools and other activities at the Milwaukee center.

“We’ve increasingly received requests for Wi-Fi Internet from our athletes and visitors alike,” said Randy Dean, executive director for The Pettit Center. “This goes beyond family, friends and spectators watching and waiting for athletes practicing and competing. All here have an expectation to access the Internet to stay productive, informed and entertained.”

The Wi-Fi network will cover all indoor spaces, including the 400-meter indoor speed skating oval and two international-sized ice hockey rinks, as well as rental facilities and the Hall of Fame Room. Internet access at the arena is included for monthly subscribers to Boingo’s unlimited plan for the Americas, or visitors can purchase access for $1.99 per hour.

Boingo Wireless Official Website
Pettit National Ice Center Official Website

Fitness Journal: Fix it, Don’t Trash it

When did we become such a throwaway society? For most people, once a cell phone, computer, appliance or even a bicycle frame breaks, they are just chuck it into the trash instead of taking the time to fix the item. For many products it remains cheaper to buy a new one than it is to try to repair the broken one. This fact is especially true with electronics, but bike frames are a bit different. Depending on the type of break and material, a frame can be repaired and often for a fraction of the cost of a new frame – even carbon fiber.

Over the years, we’ve come across a number of companies that either offer the service of frame repair as their only business, while some frame builders offer the service on the side.

We’ve combined a list of a few companies that will let you fix it instead of trashing it:

Continue reading Fitness Journal: Fix it, Don’t Trash it

DeLorme to Introduce Award-Winning inReach Two-Way Satellite Communicator

If a product wins a Best of Show honor for a product that isn’t even out yet you know it is probably something special. DeLorme, maker of GPS and satellite communication technologies has been honored with an Outside Magazine Gear of the Show award and GearJunkie.com Best of Show award for the new inReach two-way satellite communicator.

From the early reports this device is the next best thing to Captain Kirk’s communicator and it utilizes a number of unique advantages compared to other satellite communicators. This device relies on the market-leading Iridium satellite network, so inReach can deliver two-way text messaging with full-pole-to-pole global coverage and message delivery confirmation. It also provides remote tracking.

When paired with either an Android smartphone or a DeLorme Earthmate PN-60w handheld GPS, the inReach lets users send and receive 160-character messages to and from family and friends. Messages can also be posted to Facebook and Twitter. In case of emergency, inReach users can send messages describing their situation so that responders can come prepared. Continue reading DeLorme to Introduce Award-Winning inReach Two-Way Satellite Communicator

GORE RideOn Cable System Goes on a Diet

W.L. Gore & Associates, the makers of GORE-TEX, have recently announced a lighter version of their RideOn cable system. With the upcoming release of the Gore RideOn Ultralight Sealed Shift Cable System, cyclists will enjoy  a 42 percent reduction in housing weight and shifting friction reduced by 20 percent. Along with the diet, the new RideOn cable system will feature 100 percent non-ferrous housing (no rusty housing); improved flexibity to aid in cable routing; full length, lubricated housing; and a new GRUB seal which is designed to be more compatible with new derailleurs.

The original RideOn Cable System was introduced back in 1993, and even though it was expensive, became a favorite for mountain bikers. I personally used RideOn cables in the mid-90’s when racing in the mud and muck of the East Coast, but to squeeze our meager racing budget, we only used it with the rear derailleur. We saved the cable and casing that was intended for the front derailleur for use later in the season with the rear derailleur. Gore stopped producing the RideOn Cable System  in 2003, but resumed after relentless requests from cyclists.

Continue reading GORE RideOn Cable System Goes on a Diet