Equipment | Evolving Consumer

Force of Power

PowerBilt debuted its latest rendition to its popular Air Force One driver line this month. The Air Force One DFX (Deep Face Extreme) offers a clubface that is 5mm than the previous model, which allows the club to catch the ball at impact slightly longer and combines with the nitrogen inside the clubhead to create reduced spin and more distance.

“We reduced the nitrogen pressure to 80 pounds, for better impact feel,” says Ross Kvinge, President of PowerBilt. “This new amount of nitrogen generates a tremendous trampoline effect for increased ball speed. In fact, now the trampoline effect is up to the USGA maximum limit. Shot dispersion is also the tightest ever in our drivers. And by adding 6 grams low and forward in the clubhead, we moved the CG lower and more forward than in any other Air Force One driver. We did this to appease our clubfitters who requested a better smash factor. I can confidently say that this is the most solid driver we have ever produced.”

The new club utilizes PowerBilt’s patented Nitrogen N7 “Nitrogen Charged,” technology makes its debut in the Air Force One DFX driver. This newly patented method reinforces the clubface without adding any weight. The club also features a forged titanium body with titanium cup face technology, as well as aerodynamic clubhead shaping.

The Air Force One DFX is one serious club.

PowerBilt Golf Official Website

Brownells Takes Aim With Archery

Brownells has been a firearms and shooting industry supplier for 75 years but this month it announced it extending its brand to bowhunters and target archers. The company looks to become one of the largest Internet retailers for all things archery with more than 10,000 products from the major brands in the archery industry.

“I think it’s great Brownells is serving the archery customer now,” said Pete Brownell, CEO of Brownells. “Many of us are bowhunters and competitors at Brownells, and when existing customers told us they wanted archery products from us, it made the decision to jump in with both feet an easy one. We’ve been serving outdoorsmen and women for 75 years; this is just another way for us to continue fulfilling their shooting-related needs.”

Brownells Archery Official Website

Big Sticks

Winter should be on its way out, but for skiers this just means it is time for spring skiing and if you’re going to go – go big or go home. The Big Stix 122, which feature a wood core combined with ABS sidewalls to provide balanced flex, are designed to provide big fun in what has been an epic winter.

Fischer Sports Big Stix 122 Official Website

Better Caliber of Hobo

This economy certainly has left some to do more with less. Case Knives even introduced a liner of so-called “Hobo” knives including the Camo Caliber Hobo. While it isn’t designed for an upscale hobo, it does offer a blade, fork and spoon in a single package. So perhaps it is for the upscale hobo – one who also desires a bit of camouflage.

Case Official Website

The Shark is Ready to Ride

We’ve seen a lot of interesting bike saddle designs, and lately it has been about changing the profile of the seat. This has included making seats with slots and even holes. The Shark saddle from Essax goes the opposite direction and adds a fin that riders will sit on.

The fin (as seen above) will apparently find a place. The company says this fin will help evenly spread a cyclist’s weight onto the sit bone. We’re not sure we want to be the ones to test it out – and we think we’ll wait to see what people have to say!

Essax Shark Official Website

Infinity Plus One

We are in a minimalist world and it is evident by the Infinity Pedal from MöBIUS CYCLING. We’ve seen other clip-in cycling pedals that are just an axle but most require a bit of training and practice to get used to – however, the Infinity Pedal is much like any other step down clip-in pedal. It just happens to be round.

For this reason it appears that you don’t need to align the pedal to clip-in. Just step in or step on and clip. For those looking to cut down on weight the Infinity is about as light as they come. The titanium version of the Infinity Pedal, which is being developed via a Kickstarter project, weights just 190 grams.

This design features just one moving part and is designed to be easily maintained and rebuilt. That could allow it to be a pedal that could last until infinity and beyond. Video after the jump

WTB Launches New Saddles

At the Taipei International Cycling Show earlier this month WTB launched a new mountain bike saddle, the High Tail, which the company said is designed to give increased rear tire clearance on full suspension 650b bikes. It features a distinctive cut out at the rear to allow the extra tire clearance, making it ideal for downhill and other large wheel off-road bikes.

WTB Official Website

Skate for the Gold

We can only wonder what Pierre de Coubertin would think? He was the founder of the International Olympic Committee and it was his vision that resulted in the modern Olympics, but he was also very much a product of the late 19th century. So perhaps the news that skateboarding might be added to further Olympic Games might not have sat well with de Coubertin – yet he also knew that the games had to evolve with the times.

At any rate, Tony Hawk told Larry King – as reported by ESPN – that he’d like to see skateboarding in the games and that it was likely that the IOC would add the sport to the 2020 Games. Given that the Hawkman will be 52 if and when this happens we’re not sure he’ll get to go for the Gold, but it would be interesting to see how the Summer Olympics might evolve.

[Via ESPN: Tony Hawk Discusses Olympic Possibilities]

Fix It Again

Last year Fix It Sticks caught our eye when it successfully launched its first radically designed, all-new bicycle tool on Kickstarter. For 2014, Fix It Sticks is returning to the crowd funding site to help launch two new products, the “Fix It Sticks Replaceable Edition” and the all-new “T-Way Wrench.”

“Each of these tools essentially combines a 3-way wrench, T-wrench, multi-tool and screwdriver all in one small, tough, portable package,” said Brian Davis, founder of Fix It Sticks. “Our new tools easily replace a few hundred dollars worth of shop tools and will free up shop storage space. Besides the bits we provide, the design accepts driver bits found at any hardware store. Virtually any bit can be used; sockets, Torx, hex, and Pozidriv.” Video after the jump

Adidas is on the Roll

When we think of Adidas shoes are the first thing to come to mind, followed by apparel – but the company looks to hit the road on wheels this year. For 2014 Adidas has collaborated with Bombtrack Bikes to create a limited edition track bike. It is a minimalist looking ride, but apparently you’ll have to head to Asia or Europe to get one. It will only be available in Adidas stores but sadly not in the United States.

[Via BikeRumor: LIMITED EDITION ADIDAS BOMBTRACK BICYCLE]

Elite Guard

There are a lot of simple mudguards on the market that can quickly attach/detach from a bike, but the Musguard is a true elite. Developed via a Kickstarter project the Musguard is truly minimalistic – and it can be rolled up when not needed and coiled on the top tube, but when the street is wet it can be attached to the seatube and protect your back from the spray. Video after the jump

Zippo Lighter

There never can be too much light around the camp site, and while an old Zippo can start a fire the Zippo Outdoors LED Rugged Lantern can bring a whole lot of illumination where it is needed. It features a metal support cage and rubberized corners, which help cushion it from everyday use. This lantern can even survive drops up to five feet, plus it is water-resistant — and will float if knocked into the drink.

It offers three brightness settings as well as a flashing SOS feature for use in emergencies, and it runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery – with runtime as long as 40 hours on low.

Zippo Outdoor Official Website

Custom Fit

There are plenty of products for gearing your gear on a bike, but recently Tom Puzak, contributing editor at GearJunkie, noted that he went with tailor-made gear instead. The concept of “tailor-made” is that it is truly customized for your exact needs. In this case he called upon the talents of Kedan Griffin, also known as the Bike Bag Dude, who makes custom bags to fit specific bikes. Griffin uses old school tailoring techniques in his studio in Mount Hutton, Australia, and while not cheap these reportedly fit like a glove.

Bike Bag Dude Official Website
[Via GearJunkie: Tailor-Made Packs Fit Exact Dimensions Of Your Bike Frame]