Recently in Having Fun Category

I go on frequent "Day Hikes", whereby I take essentially nothing save for water and maybe a snack. In doing so, I've cursed myself on more than one occasion after I realize I've stayed out past sunset, and now I have to trudge back through the trail on my hands and knees or by the dim light of a cell phone held over my head (that was less than a fun trip, I assure you).

Enter the Oval. Not just an ordinary flashlight, it features a forward facing high intensity Luxeon star capable of a claimed 10 times the power output of a standard LED cluster, in addition to a dual LED lamp facing down at the trail just ahead. Superior to a dimly lit trail via cell phone back light any day.

Runs on 3 "AAA" batteries for 10 hours of full illumination, and up to 30 hours of diminishing light. Also features a multi-function switch to activate both lights, just the forward or just the downward firing. At 6oz, it shouldn't be hard to justify as a "just in case" item on your next day hike.

Available direct from OvalLight for $29.99.

Preserve the planet, use no fuel and cook anywhere the sun shines; all while baking a batch of cookies with the Global Sun Oven. The oven can reach temperatures of 360 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit using nothing but the power of the sun. The unit is about as large as a small suit case; unfolding the solar mirrors into place makes it about as large as a heftier camping grill.

Used in over 126 countries around the world in all four seasons, the Solar Oven is a work horse in clean renewable energy for cooking on the move.

From the Sunoven.com FAQ page:

Can I use a GLOBAL SUN OVEN in the winter?
Yes. The most important factor in using a GLOBAL SUN OVEN is the brightness of the day, NOT the outside air temperature. Often, a 40-degree, clear, low-humidity day will allow food to cook faster than a 100-degree day with high humidity. The GLOBAL SUN OVEN has been used very successfully at the base camp of a Mt. Everest expedition where the temperatures are often well below zero. There are, however, more cooking hours available in the summer than in the winter. In the early summer, it is not unusual to cook from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, whereas during the early winter, effective cooking is limited to 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Available at SunOven.com for $189.00 with a 30-day money back guarantee.

We've mentioned titanium camping gear for cooking here a few times. While the benefits of titanium will never go unnoticed, I've recently discovered a new product that's both fun to use, and exceptionally light and compact. It's made by Orikaso, and it's a line of fold flat dishes. They offer a simple and efficient line-up of bowls, dishes and cups; all able to fold completely flat, down to mere millimeters in size when not in use.

Simply unpack the Orikaso dish from your bag, click the appropriate snaps together and serve. All the dishes assemble in seconds, and breakdown back to their flat shape even faster. Clean-up is a snap; unfold the dishes and rinse them off with clean water. Manufactured from polypropylene makes the fold flat dishes a naturally non-stick material, and thus easy to clean-up.

Orikaso are completely water proof when folded into their proper shape; they will hold any liquid. All of the dishes are capable of holding liquids sustaining temperatures of over 120 C (248 F). The heaviest of the three products, the Orikaso Dish, weighs only 1.5 ounces; lighter than any similar titanium product. Overall an innovative product that deserves a place in any packers' line-up.

Check out Orikaso.com for more information.

Available individually at REI for $3-$6.
A "picnic set" of 2 cups, 2 bowls and 2 dishes for $24.99 is available at Amazon.com.

This past summer I was looking for something to wear while kayaking, swimming, quick hikes and daily walks around town. Unfortunately I hate thongs, traditional sandals, and basically anything sandal like or with an open toe. Considering the aforementioned issues, it's easy to surmount that I've personally never worn anything in the summer but a standard tennis shoe, even in the river or lake setting. That is, until I purchased the Keen Newport H2 Sandal.

The shoe is simply amazing. I know it's a sandal; however, it's a sandal that wears like a shoe but still allows the open air, quick drying freedom of a sandal. The straps are an ultra comfortable nylon material with a healthy dose of neoprene for good measure. It has what most people refer to as "Shock Cords" for laces. These things rock. It's a one step process for comfort; just give them a tug on the shock cord to tighten them down as much or little as you want. The soles are made of a very sticky, soft rubber that seems to grip anything they touch like glue. It's also one of the most comfortable soles I've ever had the pleasure of walking in, regardless of the type of shoe. And the best part: A wide front end "toe box" that encompasses your toes like a shoe to prevent cuts and scrapes, as well as aiding in mobility through the use of your protected forefoot for maneuvering.

The sole has a unique feature, partly responsible for the amazing comfort, in that it actually cradles all of your toes. To explain further, basically there is an indent and ridge that separates your toes from your foot, and each toe from the others. Additionally, the shoe sole "melts" to encompass the shape of your foot within about a week of wearing them. It's like nothing I've experienced in a shoe before. Soon after breaking in the shoe, it was like they were hand crafted to fit my foot, and my foot alone. The bonus of this is that once they craft themselves to your foot, you don't even need to tighten down the laces, you can just sort of flop around on them with-out experiencing any chaffing or blister causing movement.

As far as in the water, they perform superbly. The soles are sticky wet, dry or underwater. Walking on rocks or wet docks made no difference in the confidence level I had in these shoes to keep me upright. Transferring from wet to dry and dry to wet environments is seamless, as the shoes do not get heavy like Aqua Sox or similar water shoes. I would also go as far as to say that if anything they helped, rather than hampered, my ability to swim.

Verdict:
One of the truly great wet/dry shoes. Keen crafted such a great shoe, it forced me to go out and buy a pair of their tennis shoes, which I continue to wear any time the Newport H2's are not on my feet. Do yourself a favor and put them on at least once. You'll walk out of the store with them.

Available at REI for $90.00 and Amazon.com for $89.95, with additional reviews.

Keen has more information available on their site.

Hiking, adventuring and traveling are excellent escapes from the daily 9 to 5 life most of us live; until you find yourself on hour 7 of a marathon porcelain throne expedition because you drank the diseased local water. Katadyn keeps you from being that guy with the creation of Katadyn MicroPur MP1 Water Purification Tablets. These amazing little pills are the only tablet proven effective against viruses, bacteria, Giardia and Cryptosporidium as well as being the only EPA registered tablet as a microbiological water purifier.

Each individually wrapped tablet is pre-measured to filter 1 liter of water in about 30 minutes. The tablets are made of Chlorine Dioxide; which is safer than Iodine, and doesn't taste like something previously died in the water after purification. As always we recommend bringing along some sort of kool-aid style mix to mask any residual taste or smell that could be present, no matter what filtration method you use. A must have travel resource, even if you are currently equipped with some other filtration method.

Amazon.com has the Katadyn MicroPur MP1 Tablets for $13.99.
Alternatively, check out Katadyn's site for more detailed information.

Looking for a new Kayak, but want to go for something a little different or adventurous? Look no further than the Molokini Clear 2-person Kayak. It's an all-transparent two-passenger kayak made from an ultra-strong polycarbonate hull, aka bulletproof glass. Standard features include a 3-quart water bailer, outrigger system, ABS retractable skeg and a cargo rating of 475 lbs.

It really has to be seen to be believed. Great for cruising around the lake, but it really shows it's brilliance on the cleaner tropical waters. Great for families; it will keep the kids entertained for hours, and safely providing great stability with the included dual polyurethane floatation bladders balanced on either side. I wouldn't recommend this Kayak for white water obviously, but it's great for a mid-afternoon cruise.

Cheapest price I could find was from Costco.com for $1,299.99, shipping & handling included.

I've been using the Gmaps Pedometer for quite some time. It was designed as an after-the-fact pedometer using the Google Maps API. Operation is simple--just select your starting point on the map and choose waypoints along your desired path. The site will compute the exact distance between each leg of your route as well as the total length in Metric or US units. The display even includes mile markers along the route. I've used it to setup running routes around my house, cycling routes and one or many-day hiking routes. Now you can even export to the GPX format once you've created a route so that you can use it again later without having to set it up each time. GPX export also gives you the ability to plan routes with the site and export them to your GPS unit. I suggest you stop hauling a GPS around with you on your hikes or runs to record distance and use the Gmaps Pedometer instead.

Many of us have dreamed of some day racing in the Dakar Rally, but few of us can afford the price of a vehicle plus the hefty entrance fee (€11,700). The Plymouth-Banjul Challenge is aimed at those of us who might not be able to afford the Dakar but still want to do something similar, with every bit as much adventure. The Challenge lays down few rules, and two of them are there to limit the amount of money spent on the race. Vehicles must not be worth more than £100, and racers must not spend more than £15 in preperation. All of the vehicles are auctioned off in Gambia at the end of the race to raise money for Gambian charities. If you have the time and are lacking in the adventure department then you may want to look into the Plymouth-Banjul Challenge.

In Dakar news, a broad overview of the route has been released and you can now view the 2006 Dakar route map online. 2006 will be the first year a Mauritanian motorcyclist will participate in the Dakar and the rally will cross a new country by starting in Portugal in the capitol city of Lisbon. The motorcycle category has been filled, with 320 total entrants outnumbering the 230 possible spots. This year also marks the adoption of a 150km/h (93mph) speed limit for motorcycles and trucks, with organizers currently researching a speed limit for cars. Interested parties can view Dakar registration information but are warned that it may lead to excessive dreaming.

Google Sightseeing--whose motto is "Why bother seeing the world for real?"--allows those of us without the wherewithal or ability to take time off work to see the world. It's a frequently updated blog that highlights interesting satellite imagery using Google Maps satellite data. The site is very well designed and browsable by location, category, and through a map interface.

I believe most of the Google Maps satellite data comes from Google's acquisition of Keyhole last year. Now Google is almost ready to unveil the updated version of Keyhole, called Google Earth. The screenshot makes me very excited, as it looks capable of overlaying driving directions and has many other enhancements over the original Keyhole software. No word yet on whether it will be free or join the stable of Google's few pay offerings.

[Sergey] Brin demonstrated how in the new release, he could "fly"--in a virtual sense--through the Grand Canyon, a landmark he's never visited in person, and view the canyon's peaks and valleys.

"Now I don't have to go," he said.

There's currently a beta version of Google Earth available that you can play around with as well as the official Google Earth website.

If you'd like a completely free alternative there's NASA's World Wind software, the opensource equivalent to Keyhole and Google Earth. World Wind is setup to access some of NASA's scientific data, and users have been udpating it to show data of interest to many. World Wind is also useful for checking out global news in a novel new way--it allows the user to view alerts on the globe. Forest fires, flooding, and earthquakes can all be seen soon after they happen. The connected traveler could use this data to make updates to their route in realtime, avoiding delays or rushing in to document or help out in a disaster.

Finally, for a pictorial travelogue from a place that few travelers will ever go, see Elena's Kid of Speed website. She takes her Kawasaki Ninja through the ghost town of Chernobyl in the irradiated zone, Geiger counter and camera in hand. It is an amazing and sobering look at the aftereffects of a nuclear disaster:

I have ridden all my life and over the years I have owned several different motorbikes. I ended my search for a perfect bike with a big kawasaki ninja, that boasts a mature 147 horse power, some serious bark, is fast as a bullet and comfortable for a long trips.

I travel a lot and one of my favorite destinations leads North from Kiev, towards so called Chernobyl "dead zone", which is 130km from my home. Why my favorite? Because one can take long rides there on empty roads.

The people there all left and nature is blooming. There are beautiful woods and lakes.

In places where roads have not been travelled by trucks or army vehicles, they are in the same condition they were 20 years ago--except for an occasional blade of grass that discovered a crack to spring through. Time does not ruin roads, so they may stay this way until they can be opened to normal traffic again... a few centuries from now.

How could I forget the ukulele in my travel guitar roundup? It's already small enough to take with you wherever you're going, it has two less strings to break and to tune, and some say it's easier to learn.

Pictured at right is a Fluke ukulele in the cowboy style. You're a loner traveling the world on your trusty metal steed, right? Make sure your instrument shows it.

Documenting your high speed tour of the Autobahn but don't have a Hollywood budget for vehicle-mounted cameras?

Make a couple yourself for ~$20 in parts and keep the expensive camera at home. ErinCH has videos and a simple howto:

I was bored after my finals and decided to do something fun. I had a Logitech Quickcam Express webcam for 3 years which sucked all the time. It had a very poor video quality and didn't work well in my dimmed room. So I decided to mount it in front of my car.

Five or six of these placed on the right vehicle or motorcycle could yield some very spectacular driving scenes.

A guitar can ease your mind when you're waiting on the side of the road and out of gas. It can also serve as a source of income on the road if you partake in busking and always serves as a great conversation starter.

Martin makes a series of Backpacker guitars that come in Steel String, Classical, and Mandolin styles. There are many reviews available for the Steel String version here and here and for the Classical version here.

You can also check out this thread on Horizons Unlimited about carrying a guitar while traveling by motorcycle.

If the Martin guitar doesn't look like your thing check out these other travel and smaller-sized guitars:

• Takamine's Takamini guitars (3 varieties, acoustic & acoustic/electric)
• Ovation's Trekker guitars (2 varieties, both acoustic/electric as far as I can tell; these look nice)
• Ibanez' Daytripper guitars (2 varieties, acoustic & acoustic/electric)
• Go Guitars' Parlour, Grande Mahogany, Grande Walnut, Walnut, and Mahogany (5 varieties, acoustic in steel string and nylon)
• Washburn's Rover RO10 and RO20 (2 varieties, acoustic in steel string and nylon, respectively)
• Fender's TG4 Travel Guitar (1 variety, acoustic)
• Traveler Guitars' Pro-Series, Speedster, Escape Steel, Escape Nylon, and Escape Bass (!) (3 varieties, electric in steel string, nylon, and bass)
• Vagabond Travel Guitar's Vagabond Standard Steel String (1 variety, acoustic steel string with option for acoustic/electric; left-handed version available)
• Taylor Guitar's Baby, Baby Mahogany, and Big Baby (3 varieties, all acoustic, 3/4 dreadnought and 15/16 dreadnought)

For even more options try looking up SoloEtte, Brunner (with removable neck!), Gibson, Larivee, Ozark, AXL, Vintage, and Crafter guitars.

There's also a nice list of travel guitars over at Guitar Notes.

Just purchased a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R and need a little more power to tear across Uzbekistan or outrun gunfire in Iraq? I-Hacked gets it done quick and easy:

The 05 has an exhaust valve to control the flow of exhaust to get the most power possible. However, on US/CDN models they have a thing in there to adjust the valve at high RPMs to decrease the noise, due to US noise regulations. By adjusting this valve we will hopefully give the bike 10-13hp gains on the top end.

Ever wanted to play Tron in the real world against other human opponents? Ever wanted to do it without using a joystick? How about globally, using cars, planes and your own feet?

If so, GPS::Tron is for you.

In GPS::Tron, using your cell phone and a GPS, you can play anywhere in the world in an simulation of the classic "light cycle" race. The object of the game is the same as in the movie: As you move around in the real world, an electric wall is left in your wake. The goal is to wall your opponent in so that he has nowhere left to go. He crashes, you win.

Here's the word from the site:

If a player runs 200 meters straight forward in the real world, the mobile phone's display shows about a 1cm long line. If he moves right, also the track on the phone is drawn in the right direction. Because the players of GPS::Tron have to be mobile to be able to play it, the game itself has to work on a device that is small and habile enough to be carried around. For this reason, GPS::Tron has been written for mobile phones--it currently works on all Nokia 7650/3650/6600 and Siemens SX1 phones. For the calculation of the actual position, the player also needs a GPS receiver, which sends the current position via bluetooth to the the mobile phone.

[I can't wait to see a game of this played by people on opposite sides of the globe, or a game where distance traveled has to be incredibly long, spanning entire countries before the game is finished. Will GPS games never cease to amuse? -ed.]

[Via wmmna]