Camping | Evolving Consumer

CampFire Pack for iPad

There is nothing like sitting around the campfire, having the stars overhead and the iPad on your lap. That doesn’t sound right, but as more and more people take the iPad to the great outdoors some companies have stepped up to make it a little easier to use.

X-Doria has provided such an accessory, aptly named the CampFire, a padded stand of sorts that helps prop up the tablet. This custom sleeping bag case also doubles as a protector to ensure that the iPad can handle a bit of roughing it as well. And when the time comes to call it a night, the iPad will have its own sleeping bag to bunk down for the night. Additional images after the jump

Wood Burning USB Charger

Heat is often the side effect of powered device. Engines give off heat, even light bulbs give off heat – most of the time this is a side effect that results in what is wasted energy. On the other hand heat from fire is another form of lost energy because besides providing warmth the heat does little else.

But we recently heard about the BioLite Camp Stove that can actually use the heat from the stove, which can be used to cook or just warm up those sitting next to it, as a power source. Essentially the heat is converted into electricity and can be used to power gadgets such as a mobile phone from a USB port. In this way the stove is both heater and generator. And as the name suggests it doesn’t run on fuel, but can burn wood and generate power for phones, lights and other electronics. Not bad for a $129 when the wood burning stove with a USB port arrives this spring.

BioLite Official Website
[Via GearJunkie: Stove Burns Wood, Charges USB-Powered Gadgets on Side]

Glamping Takes the Roughing It Out of Camping

There seems to be two kinds of people when the words “roughing it” come up. There are those who find everything great about the great outdoors, and there are those who consider anything but a suite in a boutique hotel to be downright Bohemian. And yet a growing industry is “eco-tourism,” where travelers want to experience the outdoors with all the hassles that come with it.

For those who like the idea of camping but don’t want to sleep on the ground in sleeping bags, and who prefer some level of comfort yet don’t want to check into a hotel, there is a middle ground. Welcome to the world of Glamping, which is basically “glamour” meets “camping.” This new trend makes use of eco-friendly domes that can be up to 24 feet in diameter, are fully wind and water resistant and feature a fan system that circulates the warm air at night so no one has to sleep on the cold ground. Continue reading Glamping Takes the Roughing It Out of Camping

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

SIA: Like Sleeping on Air

One thing that isn’t so great about the great outdoors is sleeping on the ground, especially in the winter when said ground can be frozen. If you’re looking to be a little less extreme in your extreme travels, or just seek a little comfort while roughing it, Kymit has you covered. Or rather they have you undered, as in the company has a product that means no more sleeping on the ground.

At least weeks Snowsports Industries America trade Show Klymit showed off the Interia X-Frame, a sleeping pad for campers that can fold down to the size of a nine-ounce, soda can-sized pack – yet blows up in no time. It inflates via a simple push-pull valve that is entirely lung powered with 10 or so puffs. In other words a bit of huffing and puffing means no more sleeping on the dirt.

Klymit Official Website

Tweet from the Mountain Tops with DeLorme GPS

There’s nothing like a “Climbed a category 4, now on the summit” post to Twitter or Facebook. “Just got back to base camp after a category 4 climb to the summit” is a pale substitute. But when you’re out of cell range, those location posts are difficult if not impossible. Many serious hikes and climbs take you out of range. Not only are you unable to text your family, post messages to social networks for your friends, you can’t easily call for help if your hike should come to that.

The DeLorme PN-60w with SPOT Sattelite Communicator is a rugged GPS handheld with the ability to send outgoing messages to email, cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, Fire Eagle, SpotAdventures.com and Geocaching.com. Posts are geotagged and tracked by Google Maps. You might not be able to post a photo with your message, but you can give your precise location. The PN-60w, which runs about $549.95, also has GPX file support to better manage and save waypoint, geocache, and other files. The unit has an elevation profile tool that pinpoints user location; new poer management and display options extend battery life. The PN-60w has 3.5 GB of onboard memory to store maps and aerial imagery. Continue reading Tweet from the Mountain Tops with DeLorme GPS

An Old Axe Can Learn New Tricks

Ontario Knife Company SP16-SPAX — This SP16-SPAX tool from the Ontario Knife Company has many uses.

An axe is one of the oldest tools in humankind’s toolbox. However it has evolved over the years to be less unwieldy and more practical. The Ontario Knife Company based its newest axe tool, the SP16-SPAX, on a WWII emergency crash axe model, and continued to improve the design. The new SP16-SPAX is useful for emergency first responders and firefighters, but also for outdoor activities such as camping and hunting.

The blade is made of razor-sharp 1095 epoxy powder-coated carbon steel, and has a special hole used for opening and closing fire hydrants and gas valves. The handle is ribbed with Kraton polymer, and features tang construction meaning the blade and handle are all one piece. Sturdy. The hole mentioned above serves a second purpose. The Axe can be gripped higher up to handle tasks that are more precise.