There are plenty of cameras out on the market to catch you or your friends in the action, but there is now a camera to try help you from becoming the action courtesy of a car. For years there have been helmet, handle bar and eyewear mounted mirrors that allows cyclists to see the approaching traffic from behind. Another option, soon to be available and debuting at Interbike, is a new rear view camera for cyclists. Continue reading Interbike 2011: The Owl 360 Rear View Camera
Since winter is just a few months away – we already are thinking about the studded tires from the new brand 45North – it is time to think about cold hands, so you don’t get cold feet about wanting to go for ride. HESTRA, the leading international glove brand in skiing, outdoor recreation and leisure, is launching a new line of cycling gloves is especially designed to keep your digits warm while riding in the cold.
This road and mountain bike glove line for fall/winter features flexibility, durability, safety and protection from the outdoor elements; along with grip control and reflectivity; plus GORE Windstopper Breeze technology for warmth during even the chilliest temperatures. HESTRA’s cold fall/winter bike collection presents riders with five options of gloves to choose from for those who spin their wheels in the fall and well into the winter when rain, snow, wind and other elements can chill fingers and hands. Continue reading Fits Like a Glove (Obviously)
Keeping a cool head while riding is a good idea to play it safe, and Headsweats is introducing a line of headwear that is ideal for those hot summer days when the temperatures climb higher than most riders. This new headwear is designed to help manage excessive sweating on hot days.
The new line of Super Duty under helmet headware (MSRP $22), which will be available in black and white in February of next year, will feature moisture management and “Perspiration Technology,” along with a COOLMAX fabric terry sweatband. The COOLMAX fabric shell will keep you dry as well, while the Eventure elastic will make for a perfect fit. It should allow you to truly keep a cool head.
When one thinks of table computing, Apple’s iPad or one of the many Android-based varieties come to mind. Heck, maybe even a BlackBerry PlayBook or a now-defunct HP TouchPad. But try to think of a rugged tablet, and you may be hard-pressed to come up with any. In truth, rugged portable computers have been around for a long time, but they aren’t exactly the chic portables that you currently see billboard ads for. Take Glacier Computer’s new T507K, for example.
Smaller is better, at least when it is something you have to bring along while hiking or biking. Smaller is not better when it comes to having someplace to rest your weary head however. But Easton Mountain Products has come up with a solution in its new Kilo 1P ultra-light one-person tent. It basically 1 uPs the Kilo tent that was introduced last summer, and which turned heads at the 2011 Utah Innovation Awards.
The Kilo 1P is a three-season, minimalist shelter that is designed to be an alternative to traditional bivvy shelters, and includes shorter pole segments that make it easily packable into a daypack, kayak or bike pannier. It features one person capacity, is there-season usable, weighs 1 pound 14 oz, and is made of waterproof nylon ripstop material. Continue reading Easton Packs In a Lot in Portable One-Person Tent
When you’re out in the woods it never hurts to have an extra length of high-strength cord, but with all the gadgets, gizmos and gear that you might carry it might seem that bringing one more thing is the cord that broke the hiker’s back. However, the folks at Survival Straps had another idea.
Maybe they watched that old Wonder Women series on TV and saw that magic bracelets are the way to go. While the Survival Straps won’t stop a bullet, there is a lot these things will do. Essentially the straps are made of a paracord – 550 test military spec paracord to be precise – that can be untied and unfurled when the need arises. The Regular Survival Bracelet is about $25 and is an inch wide, resembling a watch band, and it unfurls to about 16 feet. This can be used in anyway where paracord might come in handy – to replace a boot lace, sling an arm, replace a broken strap on a pack or just about anything else. Continue reading Strap It On For When You Might Need It
The Emerald Isles are known for many things, including their green beauty. This makes for scenic golf courses, but it can be a little… wet too. There is a joke that there are two kinds of weather in Ireland, which are raining and going to rain. The U.S. Solheim Cup Team will be able to beat the weather and stay warm and dry as it suits up with Sunice Outerwear for this month’s event at Killeen Castle in County Meath, Ireland.
Rosie Jones, the U.S. team captain, selected Sunice for its attention to styling and exceptional performance in a difficult wet climate and the players will wear as part of their exclusive uniform multiple Sunice garments manufactured using only Gore-Tex fabrics to ensure they are provided ultimate performance and protection from the elements.
“As we get closer to the Solheim Cup, the anticipation is mounting as we anxiously await the appearance of Team USA in their custom-designed Sunice outerwear suits,” said Mark Fletcher, President of Sunice. “The design and development process that involved our top product people working in conjunction with Rosie Jones and her assistants was a fun experience and we worked well together as a team.” Continue reading U.S. Suits Up With Sunice
Sometimes to stay ahead you need to change your game, and in the game of golf that can mean changing your clubs. British Columbia-Japanese golf-club manufacturer Miura Golf, which has made a name making high-quality forged irons for 44 years, is changing up. The company has officially introduced its MG Hybrids, which should be exciting news for golfers
Miura Golf has never had a fixed time frame for new-product introductions, and typically only debuts new models when the quality of new technological advances demands it. Apparently that time has come, and the MG Hybrids will be available in HB3 (20 degrees of loft) and HB4 (23 degrees of loft) models made from SUS455 steel in an I.P. Black finish. Continue reading Hybrid Clubs Look to Be Game Changer for Miura Golf
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
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
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!
‘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!
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