Outdoor Gear

Scosche boomBOTTLE Weatherproof Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

“Another Bluetooth speaker?” Elana asked when the package arrived? (Okay she actually didn’t say that but she COULD have said it, considering just how many Bluetooth speakers we have reviewed in recent months.) Yes, the Scosche boomBOTTLE is yet another Bluetooth speaker that has made its way into the marketplace. This one, however, is an award winner, having been recognized at CES 2013 this past January. Why does this Bluetooth speaker stand out? Does it deserve the recognition? Let’s take a look so you can decide for yourself.

Reviews

New John Deere EZtrak Z235 Zero Turn Mower Takes the ‘Work’ out of Yardwork

In 1837, in a rural Illinois farming community, a humble displaced Vermont blacksmith fashioned a new type of plow from discarded materials, and John Deere Plow Works was born. The rest, as they say, is history – bathed in colorful “John Deere Green.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of the company’s residential product line. The company recently invited me to “test drive” one of its newest zero-turn mowers. Of course, I jumped at the chance, as I already am a John Deere customer. John Deere brings its legacy of plowshares and farm implements to your yard, thanks to a…

News

Oregon Scientific Launches ATC Chameleon Dual Lens Action Camera

Remember that awesome review I wrote about the ATC Chameleon dual lens action camera? 🙂 Well, the ATC Chameleon dual lens action camera finally being launched at several major national retailers, including Target, Best Buy, and Costco. Now is your chance to grab this adaptable action camera that can capture two videos at one time. Whether you’re hitting the slopes (like I did), kayaking, mountain biking, or just fooling around with the family in the backyard, the ATC Chameleon is a great way to capture the action in your life. The two wide-angle lenses each capture video in a resolution of 1280…

News

ContourROAM2 Action Camera Is Built for Life in Motion

Perry recently wrote up an awesome action camera that allows you to shoot video in two different directions at once. The Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon is a neat idea that lets, for example, not only see where you are going but also shows you the slow-pokes behind you on the ski slope or in the bike race. (Check out the review here.) The camera Perry wrote about is only one of a growing number of action cameras that offer quality, durability and great features. We received word of another one yesterday and it looks quite interesting. The ContourROAM2 action camera gives you…

Outdoors

FRODO Brings Home Automation to Camper Trailers and Other Mobile Homes

You probably have a certain level of automation that you enjoy in your home already; perhaps you use a smart thermostat, or maybe you have a home alarm. The cool thing about home monitoring and automation is that it doesn’t matter how old your home is, there are products that can be added at any time which will modernize it, making it as self-regulating and automatic as you want it to be. People who own travel trailers and campers don’t necessarily have the same options. Sure, you could drop $500K on a new top of the line travel bus with…

News

Sony’s DEV-50V Digital Recording Binoculars Let You See (and Record) Clearly Now

Remember when binoculars were just simply devices you placed to your eyes to get a closer look at something that was a bit too far for your eyes alone? Well those days are long past and Sony’s new DEV-50V Digital Binoculars are packed with features to let you not only get a better look but to also record what you see in the process.

Editorials, How to Do It Yourself!, Outdoors

DIY Ice Chest Air Conditioner Project

Spring time in Texas is hot; we do not really have seasons, just hot and not so hot. We are deep into the spring turkey hunting season, and some days it is just unbearable. I hunt with a bow, so that is done in a pop up tent blind. Turkeys can see extremely well, so I wear a long sleeve black shirt and black ninja mask. Of course I always wear my snake boots and long pants. The blind is basically an oven. I recently heard about people turning ice chests into an air conditioner on the go and decided…

How to Do It Yourself!, Outdoors

How To Start a Simple Heirloom Vegetable Garden from Scratch

How many of us have been at a grocery store and been disappointed with the variety and quality of produce? How many sandwiches or other dishes have been befouled with limp lettuce or a feeble yellow-green-pink tomato? It’s no wonder kids (and some adults) aren’t too keen on vegetables. What to do? One solution is to start your own garden, especially an heirloom garden. The term “heirloom” is still often debated, but for the purposes of this post I’m going to loosely define the term to mean an openly pollinated plant that breeds true to its parents and is not…

News

The Lifesaver Bottle Is the Filtered Water Bottle That the World Needs

The problem with most consumer filtered water bottles is the fact that they are really only good for everyday uses; like removing Chlorine, Lead, Mercury, etc, and making the already mostly safe water taste a little better. You would not want to trust those bottles to keep yourself safe while out for a hike without access to clean, trustworthy water. I use a filtered water bottle every day at work in order to improve the taste of the tap water and to cut down on the amount of plastic water bottles I use. The Lifesaver Bottle takes a whole new,…

Outdoors

Is It Time to Go Solar?

My World Geography class was discussing Africa last week, and the subject of electricity seemed to interest them. There are parts of Africa that are not connected to an electrical grid, so alternate forms of power are a must. A student found an article explaining that 80% of Kenyans do not have electrical service and that they primarily light their homes with kerosene lamps. Long story short, a start up company is now offering solar setups that can run a small house with a pay-as-you-go model to be affordable to the rural residents. Read the article here. My students were impressed…

News

LifeProof Launches Total Water Protection Program for iPhone and iPad

I got my hands on a LifeProof case for the iPhone shortly after the line launched. I was impressed by how great the LifeProof case was at keeping my smartphone safe. In fact, shortly after I got the LifeProof case I was in a T-Mobile store buying a hotspot sim card. Someone asked me if it was one of those new LifeProof cases. I threw my iPhone across the store and while it was in mid air I said, “I certainly hope so.” I was THAT confident the phone would be fine. It was. At the time, however, I was…

Reviews

Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses Review

A number of months ago I reviewed the PivotHead Video Sunglasses. (Read the review.) I used them in Aruba (watch the video) and then again in Cuba (watch the video). I really enjoyed using the glasses and was bummed when the time came to return the sample I was using. I sent them back and planned to shoot future video “the old-fashioned way”… with my iPhone. That’s when I was offered a pair of Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses to review. “Another pair of video sunglasses to review?” I thought, “Why not.” The Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses came a few…

News

Gomadic SunVolt Portable Solar Power Station Review

Last year my congregation became the first Reform synagogue in the country to attain certification in environmental leadership from GreenFaith, a nationally recognized interfaith environmental coalition. This winter our Pre-School completed a nationally certified outdoor classroom. The goal is to help kids, and parents, better balance “screen time” and “green time”. It should be no surprise then, that I love the idea of using the sun to charge and run my many mobile devices. After all, if the sun can fuel plants, then why not have it fuel my iPhone, iPod touch and various accessories? That’s where the Gomadic SunVolt…

Reviews

Discovery Trekking’s Ultra-Fast Drying Towels

“Gear” comes in all different shapes and sizes and we do our best to cover as wide a range as possible here on Gear Diary. That’s why, in this review, we will be looking at… towels. Yes, this is a review of towels but, as you might expect, these aren’t just any towels. No, these are special Ultra-Fast Drying Towels from Discovery Trekking Outfitters. These Ultra-Fast Drying Towels come in different sizes and colors and their ability to all but vacuum water from wet skin surprised me- in a good way. (The claim in the previous sentence- mine not the…

Reviews

Braven 570 Charges Your Smartphone and Ears On the Go

We met with Braven at CES 2013 (check out the post) and had a chance to see their new speakers. We watched as the Braven BRV-1 went for a swim and checked out the budget-priced Braven 570. Now we’ve got out hands on the Braven 570 for a hands-on review. Before we jump in though take a look at the BRV-1. If you’ve used one of Braven’s speakers or checked out our head-to-head match between the Braven 600 and the JawBone JamBox (read the post) you are already familiar with the design of the Braven 570. It is a rectangular…

News, Outdoors

Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon Dual Lense Action Camera Gives You Eyes in the Back of Your Head

We’ve all seen those first-person action videos of guys and gals flying down the slopes, jumping out of planes, or slashing through the whitewater on their kayaks. These videos are entertaining and provide the viewer a peek at exactly how it would look if you were risking your own neck out there, without all the danger and adrenaline. The problem with these videos, however, is that you can only capture one angle on the action, unless the camera is behind held in hand. Oregon Scientific is looking to change this with their new Oregon Scientific ATC Chameleon camera, the world’s…

News, Outdoors

TrackingPoint Releases Precision Guided Firearm iOS Simulator App

We first broke news of TrackingPoint and their Precision Guided Firearm system during this year’s CES. The system is a custom-built rifle and scope combination that makes long-range shooting much more accurate. Using the XactSystem, shooters tag, track and hit their target with pinpoint accuracy. TrackingPoint has just released Precision Hunter Lite which allows iOS users to experience their revolutionary technology. The free application is basically a first person shooter that replicates the Precision Guided Firearm experience. Using the head’s up display, users practice utilizing the XactSystem to successfully make ethical shots at extreme distances. Users choose their quarry then…

Outdoors, Reviews

Dorcy LED Headlamp Review

I’ll admit that the first time Kev slipped his headlamp on to go do something outside in the dark, I smirked. Why not just carry a flashlight? Why go out of your way to look like a coal miner or a caver? I’m being facetious, of course. I totally understood why he would want to be able to do things outside handsfree, but there’s no getting around the fact that wearing a headlamp makes you look a little silly. Only, you are the one getting the last laugh. If you have a headlamp on, it’s like you’ve grown an extra…

Reviews

Tom Bihn Brain Bag with Camera I-O and Accessories Review

If you are looking for a small, light backpack you can stop reading now. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a backpack that is large, flexible, comfortable to carry and tough enough to last and last keep reading. Tom Bihn’s Brain Bag is a pricey backpack that is large and flexible enough to serve as a weekender, as a camera backpack or as a laptop backpack. On second thought, the Tom Bihn backpack is large and flexible enough to serve all of those functions at the very same time. The company was kind enough to send over…

Gear Bits, Health and Fitness, Outdoors

Minimal-ish Shoes Trickle Down to Target

One of the big knocks on minimal running shoes is that the prices are anything but minimal. Most of the big brand name shoes cost around $100 a pair, which can feel steep for a slab of rubber and some cloth for the upper. But like all trends in fashion, designs do eventually trickle down to cheaper names. Target’s C9 by Champion offers all sorts of great athletic wear at low prices, and they’ve expanded that to shoes that look suspiciously like the Reebok Realflex, a popular transitional/minimal shoe! Target is calling it the “Champion Premier” line, but the shoes…

Gear Bits

Foldboat is a “Seamless Folding, Leisure Boat”

Remember taking a sheet of paper, folding it into the shape of a boat and seeing if it would float in the bathtub? Yeah, me either. I do, however, recall seeing origami masters create all kinds of three-dimensional items from flat sheets of paper. And yes, that did include boats. And yes, they did float… for a time. Now take the idea of a small origami boat, multiply it by a few thousand and make it out of a sheet of plastic rather than paper. The result? This flat-boat that folds up to create a real, three-dimensional vessel. Here’s what…

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