Water Activities | Evolving Consumer

ENDEVR Enters the Iron Age

This month ENDEVR has announced that it has been named the official athletic gear sponsors for the most prestigious event series in the sport of triathlon, the IRONMAN Triathlon Series. At next month’s IRONMAN World Championship in Kona the company will make available its MyID, the customizable medical wristband that stores vital information with an optimized QR code that is easily accessible for the fastest and most complete medical profile in a time of emergency.

In additional the ENDEVAR StrengthTape will be the official athletic tape of the big event. The unique feature of StrengthTape is its ability to be worn for up to seven days and withstand any extreme condition including water training, which makes it a popular one for the IRONMAN.

ENDEVR Official Website

Interbike 2013: Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut

You don’t have to be nutty to want to look good and stand out while protecting your head. The Nutcase helmets, which are being demonstrated at this week’s Interbike are multi-purpose helmets for recreational use in snowboarding, skiing, cycling, inline skating, skateboarding and watersports.

As the company likes to proclaim these fit your head, and suits your soul. We think these are just the thing that could make helmets cool for all sports.

Nutcase Helmets Official Website

Swell Idea Indeed

Most surfboard designers tend to be old surfers, but two Delaware teens are looking to launch their own surfboard business. Delmarvanow reported: “Clay Reynolds, a 15-year-old sophomore at Indian River High School from Ocean View, and Amber Starr Davis, a 19-year-old sophomore at Delaware Technical & Community College from Dagsboro, are joining forces to create a series of custom boards for surfers and surfing fans, alike.”

Reynolds might be just 15 but he has reportedly been surfing most of his life, and has been building boards for more than a year. Davis has been painting custom skateboard decks and now it has blossomed into a custom surfboard project.

To build a board takes about a month, which for these young builders might seem like ages.

[Via Delmarvanow: A swell idea: Local teens create custom surfboards]

Body Glove Goes Tech for 60th

This year Body Glove celebrates its sixtieth anniversary. To celebrate, it released the 60 Year Anniversary Prime Slant Zip wetsuit. The celebrated suit uses a number of innovations to advance the wetsuit used by many surfers over the years.

The newly-created suit features advanced pyrostretch insulation, and is made with a high-performance super stretch EVOflex composite material that is 25 percent lighter than comparable materials currently on the market. The Prime Slant Zip suit also offers Nano Tritec kneepads, and vaporlock seams that create a 100 percent fluid seal. Of course the suit features the EZ-Entry slant zip that makes it possible for the wearer to zip up the wetsuit.

Find out more about the sixtieth anniversary of Blody Glove.

Body Glove Official Website

Made in America: Wet Bag

While any plastic bag can be used to haul your wetsuit there are better ways of transporting it post dive. The American made Baggu Wetsuit Bag is designed to carry the soggy gear and keep it apart from things you’d rather stay dry.

Originally designed for surfers it is made from water resistant 18 ounce vinyl and offers an exterior pocket for plenty of extra storage. Unlike canvas or other bags this one can be hosed down and hung out to dry.

Baggu Wetsuit Bag Official Website

BA Boards

When we think we of BA, we think of Mr. T’s character from The A-Team. But BA Surfboards is something completely different – and they are launching an Indiegogo project to launch a line of eco-friendly surfboards.They want to create boards that are free of toxic resins and will instead use a UV curing resin that will ensure boards can be recycled when they’re not fit to surf anymore.

We wish them luck at catching some investors and waves. And we pity the fool that thinks toxic resins are OK. Continue reading BA Boards

Radiator Active

Sharks can really spoil a day at beach and while there are various wetsuits designed for surfers, but Radiator’s line of underwater appearl is designed so that divers aren’t the catch of the day either. While sharks smell and can track blood from miles away they actually rely on sight to hunt. The Radiator Elude helps divers blend into the background while the Diverter makes divers appear as more dangerous objects. These suits make it safe to go back into the water.

Radiator Official Website

Dive Fins

Ted Ciamillo knows a thing or two about cycling, but he also has a passion for the water. He has designed a special water propulsion system that basically puts flippers on the feet! The 2014 Lunocet is the next best thing to turning into a mermaid, and can help humans swim better underwater.

The unique part of the Lunocet flipper is that it attaches to the human foot via cycling shoes – which are already pretty aerodynamic. Now the idea of wearing expensive shoes might seem odd, but then again the Lunocet will set you back nearly $600. But can you really put a price on being able to swim more like a fish?

Ciamillo 2014 Lunocet Official Website

Board to Tent

We’re seeing a trend in fitness and outdoor equipment that can transform from item A into item B. Sometimes this doesn’t always make sense, but the Coreban BG Ultimate Adventure Tent might be a serious space saver for those who want to do some paddle boarding and not sleep on the cold hard ground.

Paddleboard maker Coreban has partnered with British adventurer Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls to create a board that can be used on the water all day and double as an air mattress at night. This is still very much in development and thus issues likely remain. We’d worry this would be a soggy bed, and is questionable whether sleeping on an air mattress might be an easier option. However, this dual purpose idea could be one worth exploring.

Coreban Official Website
[Via GizMag: Bear Grylls’ stand-up paddleboard tent turns board into air mattress]

Weekend Reading List (08.17.2013): Wall to Water, Electric Charged Up, miWay

Wall to Water

From Gear Junkie: Climbing Comp: A 50-ft Wall, Only Water Below to Catch Your Fall…
Last weekend in Park City, Utah, some of the best climbers in the world competed in an event unlike anything else in the sport.

The Psicobloc Masters Series was the first major deep-water soloing competition held in the U.S. Climbers competed head-to-head on identical routes up a 50-foot wall, no ropes or harnesses, just a massive swimming pool below to catch their fall. Continue reading Weekend Reading List (08.17.2013): Wall to Water, Electric Charged Up, miWay

Run Me a River

If you enjoy whitewater chances are you know your feet are going to get wet. KEEN has addressed that issue with its new Class 6 sandal that features a PU upper that is designed to a 360dgree cage for the foot. Introduced earlier this month at the Outdoor Retailer Show this shoe is designed to allow water out, while the EVA footbed and bungee lace system ensure a solid fit and stability on wet surfaces.

KEEN Official Website

Same Old SAEM Old

Taking a smartphone on the go can be a good idea given the apps that can track distance, heart rate and even GPS information. Protecting the smartphone in the right case is an smarter idea, and the Veho SAEM waterproof case seems clever indeed. It offers a patented “pinnagrip” technology to security house the handset, while the water resistant body still allows for full operation through the x-touch screen.

There is even a karabiner for outdoor and marine use while a handlebar mount is available for use with a bicycle. The case will be ready to protect your handset this fall.

Veho Official Website

Pocket Protected

Need to stash some cash while out on a run or a hike? The Adventure Underwear aren’t exactly what we think James Bond might wear, but these travel briefs feature a waterproof pocket, which can be used to hold some money, a small electronic device, the plans to a secret base or who knows what!

This special underwear is being developed via a Kickstarter project and could feature 100 percent superfine Australian merino wool. The cool factor is that there are two hidden pockets that are waterproof. One is a quick access pocket that is ideal for money and credit cards, while the second is large enough for a small phone or passport and is certified to be waterproof up to 200 feet deep by Scuba Schools International.

The pockets are reportedly even “food safe” as these are made from new age polyethylene, but we’re not sure if you’d want to actually put food down there.

Of course we do wonder if wearer’s might hear, “is that a mobile phone you have in your underwear…” Video after the jump