Feb 04
The Mola Headlamp by Snow Peak compensates for the difference between your head movements and eye movements, providing a beam of light that follows your line of sight, not just the direction your forehead is pointed.
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Jan 28
From Mexico and all the way up to Canada with something called the United States of America in between. One man, Tyler Fox, decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail and make his way completely through the US. That would be a 2,600 mile hike through California, Oregon and Washington. Here’s what he saw.
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Dec 13
When shopping for that special someone who loves the great outdoors, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. There are so many companies and so many items with so many different features that it’s hard to know where to start. That’s why we thought we’d kickstart this party with some of our favorite camping gear. We hope H.D. Thoreau would be down.
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Dec 10
Technology and nature seem in constant conflict, but they can be better together. And being a tech enthusiast isn’t necessarily mutually exclusive with loving the outdoors, which is why we’ve put together a whole gift guide featuring stuff that scratches that techie itch but also should help you conquer (or live in peaceful harmony with, if that’s what you’re into) nature.
AR Drone 2.0 ($299)
Soon, drones will be everywhere, and we’ll need to retreat to the forests just to escape their interminable whirring. But until then, nature is the perfect harbor for them. The AR Drone 2.0 by Parrot is a smartphone-controlled quadcopter that you’ve probably seen on TV, the web or at a trade show, and it’s a great device for winging around the forest for some easy outdoor aerial photography. Bonus points if you can buzz a deer.
Nike+ Fuelband SE ($149.95)
The woods doesn’t count if you can’t quantify what you did there, and that’s where Nike’s new Fuelband device comes into play. Upgrading with much-improved activity tracking that can distinguish between biking, running, and even tennis and more. The Fuelband SE can also track sleep for you while you’re toughing it out on the cold, hard ground, but it’s only an on/off state, so if you’re more concerned about that, look to something like the Jawbone UP24.
Oru Kayak ($1,095)
An entire kayak that folds up into a convenient suitcase sized carrying package. That’s the only pitch you should need to hear with the Oru Kayak. Made of durable corrugated plastic, it comes with a number of options, including a two-pack for the outdoor-loving couple. It’s well-reviewed by many kayakers, packs up smaller and is in many ways easier to assemble than most other so-called folding kayaks. Plus, as far as kayaks go, it’s not even actually all that expensive.
Olympus TG-2 iHS ($379.99)
If you want a camera ready for the wilderness, the Olympus TG-2 iHS is the best one that will still fit in your pocket. Dust, shock, water and freeze proof, it also offers a very wide maximum aperture and good image quality all around. This is the prevailing leader when it comes to the pocket toughcam market, and you can usually pick it up at a discounted price if you look around a little.
Boombot Rex ($119.99)
You go to nature to enjoy the silence, not rock out to sick beats, but sometimes it’s okay to combine those two. And the Boombot Rex can hold up to adverse weather conditions, including mud and dust, and it doubles as a very capable Bluetooth speakerphone with a long-lasting battery.
Nov 02
One of the most important things to keep track of when you’re mountain climbing is the time. More specifically, the time when the sun’s going to set, because visibility gets increasingly limited as the sun goes down. It might seem like a simple thing, but it could be a matter of life and death in harsh outdoor conditions.
With this in mind, designers Baek Min Gyeoung, Jang Mi, Kim Seon Il, and Park Hyun Ju came up with the Closed Watch.
It’s a watch that aims to alert recreational hikers and professional climbers on the time the Sun is going to set in an intuitive fashion. At the set time, portions of the watch’s face darken as the sunset time is approached.
In a way, it also depicts a window of the time remaining before the sun completely sets.
The time of the sunset changes with the season, so Closed Watch allows the wearer to select the season by pressing one of two buttons on the sides of the watch. When sunset approaches, the face of the watch turns black behind the hour hand. The climber needs to descend before the watch face becomes fully covered.
The Closed Watch is a 2013 Red Dot Concept Design Award winner.
May 31
Spring Camp Day 3–A Bridge Too Far
Posted in: Today's Chili
Today we went on a hike. A few of us barely made it home in one piece. The Gadget Lab crew reports from Wired Spring Camp.
May 30
We’re up in the Northern California hills to test a fresh crop of 2013’s outdoor gear. Today’s task: assemble all of our hard goods for review, eat a huge meal, and rest for a long hike tomorrow.
Feb 11
Like having a set of snow chains on your feet, nothing makes traversing winter’s icy conditions easier than metal spikes on the bottom of your boots. But indoors, they can really tear up the floors and carpeting. So Germany’s Meindl has created the perfect compromise: spiked boots with a geared mechanism to retract the metal studs when not needed. More »
Jan 21
There’s nothing quite like a nice hike through a snowy wonderland in the dead of winter. There’s also nothing quite like busting your ass on the ice when you do it. Boot chains can help keep you upright, but there’s no need to shell out for a pair when you can just whip up your own for a lot less. More »
Oct 24
Google Trekker goes to the Grand Canyon, takes Street View souvenirs back home
Posted in: Today's Chili 
You might remember Google’s unveiling this spring of the Street View Trekker, a seeming cross between a backpack and Van de Graaff generator that lets the mapping team produce 360-degree imagery where even trikes dare not tread. The portable camera ball is just going on its first trip, and Google has chosen the most natural destination for a novice tourist — the Grand Canyon, of course. Staffers with Trekkers are currently walking trails along the South Rim of the canyon to provide both eye-level points of reference for wayward hikers as well as some breathtaking, controllable panoramas for those who can’t (or won’t) make it to Arizona. Once the photos make it to Street View sometime in the undefined near future, it’ll be that much easier to turn down Aunt Matilda’s 3-hour vacation slideshow.
Filed under: GPS, Internet, Google
Google Trekker goes to the Grand Canyon, takes Street View souvenirs back home originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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