The Gear Junkie: Camp Stove Power Station With my camp stove, I am boiling a pot of water. I am charging a cell phone on the side. Meet the BioLite CampStove, a wood-burning wonder machine that generates electricity from heat, allowing you to power up a device wherever a bit of wood is found. You Continue Reading »
Nike, New Balance, Saucony, Asics. . . the big boys used to be the only option when you stepped into a store in search of running shoes. No longer. These days, a mega-trend of footwear that is more minimal and “barefoot style” has pushed dozens of new brands into the spotlight. This month, I tested Continue Reading »
With a simple twist of the wrist, the promotional materials read, you can shift this bike in a way that’s “as easy as adjusting the volume on a radio.” As bike-industry marketing speak goes, the “radio” analogy was about as weird as I’d seen. But this month, while riding a new bike from Jamis called Continue Reading »
It was a frozen day in 2006 when I first swung a leg over the frame of a fat bike. Back then these large-tire bikes were made only by custom frame-builders who liked to pedal in snow and a single Minnesota brand, Surly Bikes, which mass-produced the first notable bike in the “fat” genre with Continue Reading »
If my dog had a mantra it might be “Run free and pull!” He’s a brute, a 100-pound Weimaraner with a big chest and a propensity to get ahead on the leash and tug. A new kit from dog-gear company Ruff Wear was made for energetic dogs like mine. The Omnijore Joring System, $149.95, comes Continue Reading »
Cotton underwear. Seriously, that is the topic of this week’s column. But these boxer shorts, made by Longworth Industries Inc. of North Carolina, are not knitted with your run-of-the-mill white fluff. Marketed as “performance underwear,” the company’s Polarmax AYG line of men’s and women’s boxers and briefs feature a special cotton type branded as TransDRY. Continue Reading »
My dog is a bit of a brute. At 100 pounds and more athletic than most humans could ever dream to be, Rodney the Weimaraner has a ripped physique and an impressive bark to match. He runs on heel or pulls on command, a hook-up for power on skis in the wintertime and a running Continue Reading »
A blade, a light, and a whistle — that’s the formula for the Core Lite, a hybrid “survival tool” made by Adventure Medical Kits of Oakland, Calif. The company, known for its first-aid kits, also has a line of survival products, and the Core Lite is a new and unique addition for outdoors types looking Continue Reading »
As a thin barrier between your sleeping body and the cold, hard ground, a camp pad has an important job. It must insulate first and foremost, keeping you warm above the earth’s chill. Comfort comes in at a close second place for pads — the thin mattresses should shield from sticks and rocks and provide Continue Reading »
The quest for camping food that is simple to make just moved a notch. With its new Chicken Salad product, Mountain House offers campers and backpackers a freeze-dried meal that requires nothing more than cold water and a short wait. Until now, most all freeze-dried food companies recommended hot or boiling water for the reconstitution Continue Reading »