January 24th, 2010 by admin

The annual Winter Outdoor Retailer gear show is currently underway in Salt Lake City. As usual, the show is hosts all the major gear manufacturers, as well as plenty of minor ones too, as they show off all their new products that will be available later this year.

For gear hounds, the week of the show, and it’s summer counterpart, are generally a lot of fun, as there are always new and interesting pieces of gear to get excited about. You’ll find new tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, and a whole lot more. And of course, I can almost hear my bank account weeping in anticipation.

As always, there are some good websites covering the event, and showing off the new stuff. I always appreciate the coverage over at Trail Space, as they do a good job of showing off the latest trends. True to his name, the Gear Junkie does a good job of hitting the big stories too, and his coverage can be found in the Daily Dose. Also, The Goat blog from Backcountry.com is showing off all kinds of goodies too.

So far, I haven’t seen a lot of stuff that has blown me away. It seems like most of the gear is more evolutionary than revolutionary. There is a continued focus on being more eco-sensitive and making products that respect the environment. There are updated fabrics and materials being applied to clothes, bags, and so on, making the gear lighter, stronger, and more resistant to the elements. All good things of course.

Stay tuned. If I see something is particularly interesting, I’ll be sure to spotlight it.

June 25th, 2009 by admin

Here’s an interesting concept design for a tent that might get tech nerds out into the backcountry as well. It comes to us courtesy of Telecommunications giant Orange, and uses solar energy to light itself up and provide WiFi access to the Internet.

The design concept uses photovoltaic fabrics to collect energy from the sun all day long, then uses that power to recharge our gadgets, which are conveniently stored in a “magnetic induction pouch”. The tent also comes equipped with a flexible LCD screen that can connect to the Internet so you’ll always have the latest weather reports and access to YouTube.

The high tech wizardry doesn’t end there however, as you’ll also be able to send an SMS message to your tent to have it light up remotely. This handy feature would allow you to find your campsite in the dark or possibly signal for help from a distance as well.

Of course, all of this sounds great, except for the fact that a lot of places where we like to camp there is no cell service. Still the idea of a tent acting as a solar charger for gadgets and for providing power is a good one. We’re probably a ways off from this actually becoming a production unit, but who know, perhaps in a few years time you can have neighbors leeching WiFi off you even while you’re in the wilderness.

Thanks GizModo!

June 11th, 2009 by admin

Outside Magazine has posted a sampling of their 2009 Gear of the Year (Summer Edition) online for all of us to drool over and covet in some not-so-healthy ways. They promise that by mid-month, the entire buyer’s guide will be online, but for now, we’ll have to settle for this sample to whet our appetite.

As usual, the selection of gear items is quite impressive, offering up the best in outdoor toys for the year so far. Broken down into categories, such as Road Bike, Mountain Bike, Backpacks, and so on, it’s pretty simple to find the items that you are most interested in.

A couple of the items that caught my eye include the Adrenaline 20 sleeping bag from GoLite, the Aegis Jacket from Marmot, and Sony Ericson’s new 8.1 mega-pixel camera phone, the C905 Cyber-shot Mobile, which looks really nice, but won’t replace the iPhone for me anytime soon.

Be sure to check back on the site in the next few days to see all of the gear that was tested. It should be added soon, and give us even more insights into what’s new in gear shops at the moment.

April 29th, 2009 by admin

Each spring, just like clockwork, a young man’s (and woman’s!) heart turns to thoughts of sunshine, blooming flowers, and of course new gear! We’re all heading outside to take in the great weather, many of us for the first time in months, and nothing gets you excited about playing outside more than new outdoor equipment. Thankfully, National Geographic Adventure is here to help us spend some of that hard earned cash on the best new products for spring. (Economic crisis? What economic crisis?!?)

As usual, you’ll find an interesting mix of gadgets and outdoor equipment to keep us busy in the months ahead. Adventure starts the list off with a pair of speakers from iHome Audio, that when paired with an mp3 player, will have base camp rockin’. From there, they move into the serious stuff, including four great packs, like the ACT Trail 32 from Deuter, which is a great daypack with easy access and the ability to carry a solid load. There are plenty of other great items on the list as well, including some suggestions for a new bike, road or mountain, a waterproof camera phone from Casio, and a cool new tent that includes a garage for your bike from Mountain Hardwear.

Obviously Adventure has a few suggestions for all of us, no matter what our outdoor passion is. Whether camping, hiking, paddling, cycling, or just relaxing, they have new items that you’ll want to add to your gear closet. Be warned before clicking on over, “Gear Lust” is a vary real phenomenon, and I’m not responsible for increased credit card bills or angry spouses.

April 23rd, 2009 by admin

It’s like Christmas came in April! The 2009 Backpacker Magazine Gear Guide is now available online. As usual, the guide has some great reviews and insights into the best gear available for outdoor pursuits.

The best of the best is compiled into the Backpacker Editor’s Choice Awards, which in addition to their category winners, include two special awards as well, the “Editor’s Choice Green Award”, which went to the Big Agnes Salt Creek recycled tent. The other separate award is the “Editor’s Choice Gold Award”, which was given to the MSR MugMate Coffee Maker and the North Face Base Camp duffel bag.

Other great gear that won Editor’s Choice honors include the Garmin Oregon 400t gps unit, the New Balance 1500 Rainier Boot, and the Osprey Sprint Series of packs.

And if that wasn’t already enough gear to get you salivating, and your wallet crying, checkout the Backpacker Gear Guides for Backpacks, Tents, Boots, Sleeping Bags, and other Essentials. Be warned though, reading through this may cause an unexplained urge to head out to your nearest gear shop.