If you’re planning to go camping this spring you could still find the ground a bit cold and damp, but the Klymit Insulated Static V camping pad will keep you high and dry and have you almost feeling like you’re back home in your bed. It uses body mapping technology to provide all season warmth and comfort, while the v-chamber design limits air movement and heat loss.
It also inflates in just 10-15 breaths so you don’t get out of breath getting ready for bed.
We’ve seen – and will continue – to see plenty of utility knives for the trail and campsite. There are knives that could survive the end of the world and be ready for more. Knives that can cut tree limbs, ropes and tin cans; but would you want those to slice or dice the food you’re going to eat?
The Freescape Camp Kitchen Knife from Gerber is a rugged outdoor knife that is meant for cooking. Its razor sharp blade can mimic a chef’s knife and it can handle most food prep, but it features a rugged design that can handle the campsite. Back home it is even dishwasher safe – which is something most of those survival style knives likely are not!
Charge Bikes is charging ahead with a new brand dubbed Fabric. This includes a new collaboration with aerospace giant Airbus to produce bike saddles with 3D-printed titanium rails and carbon shells. The seats look to be aerodynamic, sleek and lightweight. They almost look like these could take flight right off the bike.
Charge Bikes Official Website
[Via BikeRadar: Fabric saddles – sonic bonds and hyper pins]
Smith Opitcs’ had received the prestigious Red Dot Award in the Outdoor/Leisure/Sports/Fun category for its new mountain bike helmet, the Forefront. Germany’s Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen last month said the helmet, “set itself apart from all comparable projects thanks to excellent design.”
The Forefront also won the 2014 iF Design Award for innovative design; the GOLD Award in the category of Design & Innovation 2014 by Enduro Mountainbike Magazine; and the Best of Interbike Show Awards last year from Outside magazine and Gear Junkie.
This helmet is designed to provide all-mountain protection with road-race weigh. Instead of EPS, it features an Aerocore liner that provides better ventilation and impact properties and lower weight.
While yelling will get someone’s attention, bells on bikes are a less aggressive way to let someone know you’re approaching. The problem is that many bells aren’t exactly placed where they can be easily accessed – meaning that riders have to take their hands off the handlebars to use the bell.
The Trigger Bell, which was designed by London cyclists Stefan Buxton, allows it to be quickly accessed with a single finger! Buxton is now wrapping up a Kickstarter campaign and has already surpassed his goals. That might be something to ring about! Video after the jump
Lightweight lives up to its name again, and is offering a new version of its road wheels, the Schwarzed Edition, which feature a new black-on-black color scheme and full ceramic bearings from CeramicSpeed.
Lightweight also offers its wheels in standard graphics, the “Weiss” Edition with white spokes and hubs, and now the Schwarzed Edition. The new edition will be offered on the company’s original Meilenstein wheel, the Meilenstein C clincher, the Meilenstein Obermayer, the Fernweg, Fernweg C clincher, the Gipfelstrum and the Autobahn disc wheel. May the Schwarz be with you.
Fat tire bikes are designed to better dig through loose terrain including snow and sand, but California-based Rungu is looking to make new tracks with its new line of fat-tire trikes, which include names such as Juggernaut and Kilimanjaro
These bikes – make that trikes – feature two front wheels to provide greater stability while spreading the weight out over a greater surface area. This helps keep the rider upright and allows for quicker movement in loose terrain. These bikes look like they can tackle sand, snow and gravel with ease. Continue reading Rungu for the Hills
There may be many apps for the iPhone but when it comes to fixing things the handset might not be enough for most cyclists. This is where the MyTask comes in. Instead of calling for help this iPhone case holds just the tools you might need for a quick fix that will have you on your way.
The MyTask Bike features an interchangeable case with easy slide out mechanism, soft touch coating, polycarbonate protection. Within are a pedal/axel wrench, six Allen wrench, three tire patches, Phillips screwdriver, flat head screwdriver, four metric box wrenches, two tire levers, bottle opener and two bicycle spoke wrenches.
If you take mass transit to work there is also the MyTask Urban, which features a USB drive, comb, nail file and pen as well as 2-inch scissors, tweezers, stylus pen, regular pen, usb stick, bottle opener, Phillips screwdriver, flathead screwdriver, nail file, ruler, personal mirror, LED light (three modes) for FaceTime and mirror.
Both MyTask kits are now being developed through a Kickstarter campaign, which will conclude later this month. Video after the jump
There is no reason to have to read by the campfire or rely just on the light from the burning wood. The Blackfire Clamplight Lantern, which just one a 2014 Red Dot Award in the Product Design category, will provide plenty of illumination.
It can be clamped to tents, tree branches and tackle boxes, while its pivoting head shines light in all direction. It can also double as a flashlight, and users can easily switch between low, hi, and strobe lantern mode, as well as go into flashlight mode at the touch of a button. The Clamplight Lantern is equipped with Cree LEDs, which offer 260 lumens, and yet is powered by just three AA batteries. This one will endure a trip in the wild and is even rated IPX4 storm proof.
Brompton has taken the concept of a cycling bag to the upscale market with the Game Bag, offering a briefcase that can go from the rider’s back in the bike lane to the boardroom without missing a bike. It features a conservative design, and was developed in collaboration with British luggage maker John Chapman.
It is made of cotton canvas and natural rubber so it will endure the cool damp springtime weather. Inside there is a padded laptop pocket and it is compatible with Brompton’s bike front luggage holder. It is a bag that perhaps both Posh Spice and Sporty Spice would embrace – were it still the late 1990s.
Brompton Official Website
[Via GearJunkie: Bike Lane To Boardroom: The $400 Bike Pack Briefcase]
A new saddlebag could help those in the developing world. Profits from the sale of Scicon’s new Qhubeka Scicon saddlebags wills support Qhubeka, a non-profit that provides bicycles to people in exchange for work done to improve communities, the environment or academic results. The group works to provide bicycles to those in South Africa’s rural population, where there is typically no access to transport and people have to walk long distances to access opportunity, education, healthcare, shops and community services. Bicycles are the most effective and economical method of quickly addressing this problem.
“We feel honored to be able to take part in a meaningful program that helps changing people’s life’s,” said Christian Pearce, sales and marketing manager of Scicon Technical Bags. “We have started sponsoring Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung in the 2013 season and it feels natural to go beyond our commitment with the team and to support the Qhubeka foundation directly with this project. We count on our global network of contacts to help us to raise funds and invite everyone to participate in this program.”
The Scicon Elan 210 bags feature the logo and trademark colors of South Africa’s first pro cycling team, Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung. The company said for every 50 bags sold, one bike will be donated to the cause.
Last month Adidas announced that its Smart Run won the product design category at the Red Dot Award 2014 and the wearable device stood out from 4,815 entries and received the Red Dot: Best of the Best for highest quality and ground-breaking design.
“Our ambition was to bring all the features and technology that runners value into an elegant, wearable package, with comfort and usability driving our decision making. Simple forms were executed in high quality materials such as magnesium, stainless steel, glass and silicone, to bring the look and feel that is appropriate to this level of innovation,” said Scott Tomlinson, design lead of the SMART RUN. “We consciously ignored the running watch template and looked more into the world of consumer electronics for reference. The touch screen display is the hero of the product and allows a clean look for all day wear, but also brings a rich and intuitive experience that comes to life as the runner requires it. We believe that the key to successful wearable technology goes beyond the features and functions, and is really driven by how well the product integrates into the daily life of the user, how well it simplifies and reduces, rather that what it adds.”
As winter finally is turning to spring that means summer isn’t far off. Anyone who puts in the long miles on a bike knows that the sun can beat down on the helmet and just heat things up. The KoldRush is a new bike helmet accessory that is being developed via a Kickstarter campaign. This takes the approach that a little cool water dripping on the head can cool you down. The still in concept device, which was designed by Scott Powers, is built around a 24-ounce reservoir that is mounted to the seat post, while an internal pump drives the water through a tube to the back of the helmet.
This does seem to be a rather complicated way to get some cool water to the head, but on a hot day it might be worth it. It could also be a good kind of “cold rush” to the head – as opposed to say eating ice cream too fast on a hot day! Video after the jump