|
|
April 28, 2007GPS Innovation Roundup
There are quite a few GPS solutions out there but lately there has been some innovation in two categories: Unit size and units that use solar power. Size: Spectec SDG-810 and SDG-811. These are SD and miniSD units that also contain a microSD slot for map data. GlobalSat BC-337 WAAS enabled SiRFIII CF GPS Receiver. This is a CompactFlash receiver. The lack of onboard memory may be a hindrance, but in devices that support CompactFlash it may not be a problem. GlobalSat SD-502 WAAS enabled SDIO GPS with Built-in Memory. This is virtually the same product as the Spectec SD line, though GlobalSat differentiates theirs by including 512MB of internal memory instead of a microSD slot and by including a snap-on cap to protect the SD base. Visiontac VGPS-700. From my research this may be the current title-holder for smallest Bluetooth GPS. It boasts an impressive (for its size) 17-20 hour battery life. I'd like to know from our readers if its title has been usurped in the months since its release. All products support NMEA and use the SiRFstar III chipset. Solar Power: Keomo Nemerix 32-Channel Solar Data Logger. This unit looks much like the i-Blue757 Pro and in fact one unit may be a re-branded version of the other (or both units may in fact be rebranded versions of some third unit). Both units use solar power to achieve an impressive battery life (100+ hours while using the solar panel!), support 32 channels and Bluetooth communication, and are quite small. Solarius V5-MR, V5-SR, and V3. These units all support Bluetooth and have solar cells (though with less impressive battery life than the Keomo and i-Blue units). I haven't been able to track down the manufacturer site. Bonus: I've long been a fan of the Delorme Blue Logger and can't resist mentioning it in a roundup of innovative GPS units. I have a question for our readers, however: Is there a newer contender for the niche this unit fills? Posted by Beau Gunderson at 2:44 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack November 21, 2005Motorcycle head-mounted cameras
From weekend speed runs through the twisties to preparing for a documentary of an around-the-world motorcycle voyage, camera mounts for motorcycles are a versatile and entertaining tool. Most typical camera mount systems mount directly to the tank of the motorcycle via a bag with connecting hooks, magnets or an adhesive. While others still have a sort of "Road Rash" camera that skates near the undercarriage of the bike to capture the speed of the road passing by. Head mounted camera systems are one of the more entertaining, though expensive, options for the sheer freedom that they offer the rider. Besides documenting a trip or taping a speed run, you can also use the video to help show the significant others exactly why it is you ride. The Jones Cam The Jones Cam, though pricey, is a pretty good quality head mounted camera. It uses a 1/3" Sony CCD recording at 480 lines of resolution and comes with a lapel microphone. Receiving power through a pretty good sized remote power box containing 8 AA batteries. It's fed the juice via an included power cable to the camera. It mounts with the included clear two sided tape or velcro. Did we mention it's also waterproof, up to 10 inches? The quality of the video is high and looks great on replay. A big concern of on-board photography is vibration, especially at high-revs. CCD cameras like this are more susceptible to vibration, and unfortunately this camera is no exception. For most street users, it would probably be a non-issue. Still, if you're looking at a bike camera for mountain biking or motocross, you may want to skip the Jones Cam. Check out the website to view the sample media. The Twenty20 Helmet Cam Similar to the Jones Cam, the Twenty20 Cam is a very comparable offering. Depending on the user, some would say it's all about image quality, while others want the longest battery life with a bomb proof sensor. The Twenty20 is more of the former. It still has great image quality and features a full 30 FPS recording capability as well as being waterproof like the Jones Cam. Both systems come with a noise cancelling high-gain microphone for capturing the commentary of the rider, or the screaming schrill of 16,000 RPM's. The Twenty20 is designed using a CMOS sensor rather than the CCD of the Jones Cam. The CMOS sensor is much more vibration resistant, as well as providing a huge decrease in power consumption. This unit doesn't suffer from the draw back of a large 8 AA battery pack; it runs off of a single 9-volt battery for over 20 hours! This is by far the lightest battery pack of the models researched here. Throw in the lowest price of all cameras, and then Twenty20 is very hard to beat. The Viosport Adventure Cam 3 This is by far the most "professional" version of the bunch. It has the highest quality video, and the most versatility. It has the ability to swap through 5 optional lenses as well has 5 optional nuetral, or sun, filters. This is perfect for extremely bright situations such as snow mobiling or skiing. At 520 TV lines of resolution, you'll never worry about the people at home not being able to clearly see your adventures. The Viosport is the same display used in professional production work for programs such as Real World / Road Rules Challange and the X-Games. If you've seen either of these programs you know the quality of video is amazing, and they take a significant beating as well. One of the only main drawbacks for riders where higher speeds are attained is that the included 5-ft coiled cable is heavy. Not only is it heavy, but as wind speeds increase many people report that the cable can move around enough to start slapping the back of the helmet. A few of our more handy readers would probably choose to ditch the heavy coiled cable and go with a thinner custom straight cable. Verdict: Most riders will appreciate the low price and long battery life of the Twenty20. However if image quality is king, the Viosport Adventure Cam is almost the same price as the Jones Cam, and offers superior quality. Posted by Beau Gunderson at 9:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack November 1, 2005Portable ignition source roundup
Whether you're camping, hiking, adventuring, trekking, or just plain lost in the woods you're going to need a fire at some point. Fire is a wonderful, life-saving tool with many uses--cooking, sterilization--and, if you're in a Hollywood movie, scaring off man-eating wolves and bears late at night. That's why I've taken the time to highlight some of the better tools on the market. I'll emphasize small, lightweight, and durable (or indestructable) options. Solid Magnesium Survival Striker A magnesium striker is a great survival tool to have with you. I use one in my survival pack because it's simple, doesn't break, is reliable, and is small and light. You use it by shaving pieces of magnesium off of the solid bar with your knife onto the materials to burn and then striking your knife on the opposite side to ignite the magnesium shavings. It burns very hot, and as most of you know from chemistry water doesn't put out magnesium fires. Wind/Waterproof Strike Anywhere Matches Survival matches appear in dozens of forms. I recommend avoiding any paper matches and sticking only with those that come in their own waterproof sealed container (and their own striking surface). These are great for an economical backup, though I just don't feel safe carrying these. Additionally if the striking surface gets wet, or worse, you don't have a surface to strike on and must use a wet rock or other material, they are very unreliable. If you've had better luck with these we'd like to hear about it. GSI Survival Blast Match Fire Starter Great matchless ignition system. Uses a spring-loaded, high performance flint with a tungsten carbide striker and a flint bar that rotates 360 degrees to prevent uneven wear. It comes with a manufacturer's lifetime warranty and they'll replace it if you ever wear it out. The shower of sparks is three times hotter than a typical match; however the thing to remember is that it is after all, just a shower of sparks. While it's hot and easy to use, it won't be as troublefree to use in wet, cold environments compared to something like magnesium shavings. Butane Torch / Lighter system There are some decent butane ignition systems out there, though most of them suffer from all of above problems. It's best to have a backup if you carry one of these as your primary source of ignition. The hot flame a butane lighter/torch puts out is a good tool to have in general. Many are capable of reaching a temperature high enough to do welding or other small repairs in the field. A good tool to have with you but carry a backup ignition source to be safe. Fire Paste Fire Paste isn't an ignition source itself but using any ignition methods in conjunction with the paste will start a fire on wet ground/material, snow or ice. It burns for a couple of minutes and burns very hot. If you can spare the room in your pack or survival bag it may be worth it to throw a tube in. It's cheap and makes starting fires with frozen fingers much less painful. Conclusion Posted by Beau Gunderson at 4:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack July 4, 2005Human-powered electronics roundup
While solar-powered electronics are great for trekking, camping, or adventuring outdoors, oftentimes during an emergency or in areas without much sunlight they're just not practical. Therefore I've compiled a list of hand-crank alternatives, and dual purpose (both solar and hand-crank) for those that wish to remain versatile while running a lean inventory. Flashlights: The Kaito 3 LED Dynamo Recommended for: Emergencies, power outages, day hikes, camping backup Princess International makes a more unique offering, the 4-in-1 Dynamo. They call it 4-in-1 which is misleading because it's more of a 2-in-1. It features a spotlight or direct light beam, as well as a mosquito repeller (hi/low selection), which adds up to four total features. It's hand-crank powered as well as having a DC jack. On a full charge the light will last up to 3.5 hours, and the mosquito repellent will last for 48 hours. For the curious, the mosquito repellent isn't chemical, it's actually an artifical reproduction of the sound of dragon fly wings flapping (a natural enemy of the mosquito). Its range is reported at about 13 feet. Recommended for: Camping, trekking, multi-day hikes, bicycling, evening walks (chemical-free mosquito prevention) The Kaito Forever It works quite well on a walk or hike; the swinging of your arms with your stride is enough to keep power going. It's also shockproof, waterproof, and it floats. If this isn't a great boat light, nothing is. Recommend for: Boats, day hikes, walking Radios: For Radios, there's the Stansport Hand-Crank/Solar Battery Radio/Flashlight Recommended for: Emergencies, camping, hiking, day at the beach Cell Phone Charger: The SOS Charger hand-crank cell phone charger is very cool. It's compatible with Nokia, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson and Samsung phones, and will give you an emergency charge for 3 minutes of cranking time. I know I could have used this many times. Far superior to keeping an assortment of extra batteries with you or waiting until daybreak to use your solar charger. Recommended for: Everyone Cookware: While not an essential resource this could bring quite a bit of enjoyment or a nice reward for reaching that next peak. The Vortex Hand-Crank Blender Recommended for: Camping, day at the beach Posted by Beau Gunderson at 12:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack June 22, 2005Under Armour roundup & review
Anyone who has any interest in professional sports, rock climbing, running or any other outdoor activity has almost surely heard of Under Armour. It's been around for a couple of years now and continues to innovate with newer products and continued advancements in the technology surrounding their patented fabric. My goal is to test a variety of their products and offer my recommendations for their use. The focus of this review will be to evaluate a few of the more general items to meet our readers' trekking and adventuring needs. I will focus less on numbers and more on my perception of performance. How I feel and what I feel like while wearing and using the various products is what is being evaluated. I intend to evaluate the following Under Armour products in some varied environments: Heat Gear: Tight compression fabric designed for high performance heat removal Read on after the jump for my detailed impressions. Styles: (Sleeveless, T-Shirt, Long Sleeve, Turf (reinforced forearm construction) The first thing I noticed when I put it on was how much compression was actually applied to my body through the shirt. It's not a tight, restrictive feeling; it's just a solid compression in specific body areas. Wearing it I feel freer in range of movement than any other shirt I've worn. The strength of compression is stronger in my abs, arms, shoulders and mid-upper chest. It feels almost like you have a spotter walking around with you, making sure you're supported properly. I tested the shirt hiking, kayaking, running and lifting weights. I must say, I have to recommend it over cotton hands down. It never shifted positions; it never bound up or felt tight. It stayed exactly how I first put it on from start to finish. While hiking and running I was able to feel the air cool me as if I was naked. The moisture was quickly pulled from my body and stayed consistently drier (and exceptionally lighter) than my cotton t-shirts, regardless of how hard my output was. Kayaking and lifting weights was a slightly different experience. When I was kayaking I was wet pretty the majority of the time. However, what I did notice was that my range of motion was not constricted and I didn't feel slowed down, nor was I getting a rash where I normally would from wearing wet cotton for several hours. It also stayed very light throughout the entire day and dried very fast when not being consistently splashed. Lifting weights was a similar experience. I also noted that I felt more "together" in that the fabric seemed to support my movements and give my muscles support and lift. Overall I was very impressed with the performance. Recommended for: Base layer, hiking (extreme), running/sprinting, athletic sports, bouldering / rock climbing (turf gear due to forearm protection) Styles: (Sleeveless, T-Shirt, Long Sleeve) Loose Gear is similar in function and design to Heat Gear, the main difference being that it comes designed with no compression. This is excellent for people who are not fit enough to wear the compression gear as their only layer of clothing due to its form fitting nature. I've had a few chances to use the loose gear in many of the same situations as the standard Heat Gear, and in each circumstance the same couple of thoughts came to mind. Using Loose Gear in the gym, on the track, or hiking is definitely better than cotton could ever be. The performance was not as great as the Heat Gear and it also seemed to hold slightly more water. It was also heavier (both wet and dry) than the Heat Gear product. While not quite at the level of Heat Gear the performance of Loose Gear is still far above that of standard cotton t-shirts. My perception of the performance difference between Loose Gear and Heat Gear would probably be 30%. It's still good, just not great. I was spoiled by the performance of Heat Gear early on. Recommended for: Daily wear, hiking (moderate), jogging (moderate) Styles: (Crew, Mock Turtleneck, Action Legging) Cold Gear takes the best of what's found in Heat Gear and adds the ability to trap in warm dry air. I purchased the Mock Turtleneck and used it throughout the Pacific Northwest winter in a variety of capacities. To say I was thoroughly impressed is an understatement. It slips on very easily, looks sharp under almost any windbreaker or coat, and locks in heat like you wouldn't believe. On even the coldest nights--while trudging through snow--only Cold Gear and a windbreaker were all that was needed to stay warm. I was able to put Cold Gear through some rapid temperature changes in my work as an EMT/Fire Fighter. Wearing it under my uniform I took it from a 70 degree fire station to the 30 degree outdoors and back to an 80 degree aid car after working hard to haul patients back and forth. Cold Gear stood the test every step of the way. Indoor temperatures are handled perfectly; the breathable fabric held up great. Outdoors, after a second of adjustment, I was again very comfortable. My only complaint was that due to the breathability of the fabric when the wind picks up the temperature of the clothing drops a few degrees. A cheap windbreaker would prevent this. The temperature drop I did experience was not enough for me to worry about moving to a warmer environment, which is pretty spectacular for 30 degree weather with no coat! The side of Cold Gear I haven't talked about is its moisture wicking. I sweat a lot, especially in temperature fluctuations from cold to hot. I was consistently dry, and thus more confident while performing my duties. Was I hot at times? Sure, but unlike when I wear my normal cotton t-shirt, I was not dripping with sweat--only to have it freeze into a sheet of ice when I get back out into the cold. I have to recommend this piece as either a standalone with just a windbreaker for normal winter temps, or as a base layer for more dangerous temperature extremes. Recommended for: Snow camping, skiing, mountain climbing, cold weather work, base layer Styles: (Various) Underwear also comes in two styles, though the Loose Gear equivalent is called "Relaxed". Underwear wicks away moisture to cool and dry the wearer. I've been using it on and off for a couple months now, and I must say I really like it. It does take some getting used to, as the fabric is more "slick" than any boxer you've worn before. For me, this meant having pants ride a little lower and slide around on my seat until I got the hang of them. It sounds funny, but it's true. I really like these for doing a serious cardio workout where you know you're going to be shedding water like crazy. Having damp boxers chafing on you isn't any fun, and with these on I didn't experience that. One downside I did notice is that during a full sprint they do tend to ride up a little. It's nowhere near what boxers can do to you, however. The socks are a must-have item for any adventurer or trekker. I use the Heat Gear Lo-Cuts, and these things vent moisture like nothing else I've used. They also have a reinforced and padded footbed which you feel the second you slip these things on. They cost quite a bit more than regular socks ($12) but having a few sets on hand will repay you with much more comfort than regular socks could bring. Even casual hikers know the pain of walking down the trail with blisters all over their feet from cotton socks--this is what inspired me to buy these in the first place. I'm happy to report that hiking, bouldering, and running were all completed on consecutive days with no foot discomfort at all. With cotton socks doing any of those events used to require me to perform minor foot surgery. If you try nothing else, try the socks. Recommended for: All day wear, hiking, running, climbing, sports You can also check out Under Armour products at Amazon.com Posted by Beau Gunderson at 4:40 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack June 17, 2005Solar charger roundup
You know the feeling: You've made the final ascent of K2 only to find your camera's batteries are dead, leaving you with no way to prove to the guys back home that you were actually there. We want to make sure this doesn't happen to you, so we've detailed our favorite picks for mobile power. Soldius has the smallest solution I've seen, which also happens to be the most powerful gram for gram. The Solidus1 is a compact cell phone charger designed to provide enough power to completely charge a phone in 2-3 hours of direct sunlight. Amazingly it weighs only 85 grams and will fit in your pocket! This is also the only model I've seen which does not require an attached battery pack. It's compatible with Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, and Sony phones. A model to charge PDAs and other accessories is in the works now. Here's more information on the Soldius1. The Solio is another solution, it weighs quite a bit more due to its integrated 1600mAh rechargeable batteries. It uses by far the most unique looking panel setup, called Solar Blade. It has sleek lines and folds up to about a third of its size when not in use. Capable of charging PDAs, cell phones, the Gameboy SP & Gameboy Advance, and iPods--at the same power and rate as if they were using their own power blocks--this is my pick for portable power. $99.99 from Solio. I run my equipment quite hard, and if you're like me then ICP's PowerFlex is the only solution that you should consider. It is constructed of lightweight, ultra-flexible CIGS solar cells and designed to take a beating. ICP produces 5, 10, 20 and 40 watt versions of the PowerFlex, all of which are capable of being daisy-chained together via plug & play side connectors. These would be great for draping over the rear of your backpack, providing you on-the-go charging of all your electronics or batteries. View the specifications and choose the model that's right for you. Trekking on a budget? Check out all-battery.com. They're selling the Solar E-Power on sale for $49.99 right now. Compatible with a whole host of cell phones and smaller electronics, this panel is capable of 1.38 watts in direct sunlight and comes with a series of adapters to meet your needs. Here's more information on the Solar E-Power. Posted by Beau Gunderson at 2:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack June 4, 2005Travel guitar roundup
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:
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. Posted by Beau Gunderson at 5:34 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack |
SearchCategoriesArchives
Recent Entries
|
