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6/11/2008
Camping 101 - What did I forget?
2/27/2008
A Beacon Saves the Day (and a life)
2/8/2008
How to get excited for summer!
1/26/2008
More new Products
1/7/2008
New Products for the New Year!
12/4/2007
Unique Holiday Gifts for 2007
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Date: 6/11/2008
Title: Camping 101 - What did I forget?
Even though I've been camping my whole life, every camping season brings the same story. The first time out, I pack up everything I think I'll need only to realize when I get out there that I forgot this or that. Yes, I've got a nice little list going on my computer of the things I need. But part of me says, "you don't need that list...you've been camping your whole life and you know exactly what you need to bring." Or perhaps I'm just a little lazy, both in not checking the list, or, after having determined that I should bring a new item, I don't add it to the list.
The first time out was last weekend. The setting: the beautiful northern Oregon coast. Fort Stevens to be exact. The things I forgot? Some pretty basic things. My hatchet, paper towels, my multi-tool! By the way, all three things are on my list, living safely on the digital confines of my hard drive.
Things I need: a grill scraper, a good cutting board, a better mat for outside the tent.
You would think that since I just wrote these here in cyberspace, it wouldn't be too hard to add them to my list on the same computer I'm working on. We'll see if it happens!
Happy Camping!
Date: 2/27/2008
Title: A Beacon Saves the Day (and a life)
This week we heard the story about a Ian Wilson, the young man from Portland who was skiing in Alaska and was buried in a massive avalanche. He was covered with 4 feet of snow, but smartly was wearing an avalanche beacon which alerted the other skiers in his party to exactly where he was. Within 40 minutes he was located, and although he was blue and unconscious, he was revived and has survived.
This incident again shows how incredibly valuable having an avalanche beacon is in making sure you can be found fast. Yeah, sure they're expensive. But no more than some of the other equipment you buy every couple of years. Consider it an investment in your future.
Date: 2/8/2008
Title: How to get excited for summer!
Here in Portland, the annual Sportsmen's show is going on right now and I had an opportunity to go. There's nothing like going to one of these shows to get you pumped up for doing your favorite outdoor activity. For me, it was great to see all the hunting gear, the new boats, the RVs, and all the different fishing and hunting guide booths. I was there for a couple of hours and must have walked several miles by the time I was done. But it definitely got me thinking about some of the trips I want to take and some new gadgets to buy. If there is one of these shows near you, I suggest you make it there. You'll have a great time!
Date: 1/26/2008
Title: More new Products
I keep adding products to the site! And they are all at prices that are better than you can find anywhere else online! New products include Eureka and Black Diamond tents, Petzl and Black Diamond headlamps, and a lot more climbing products from Trango! As always, if there is anything you wished we carried that we don't, please let me know!
Date: 1/7/2008
Title: New Products for the New Year!
Hi Everyone! Hope you had a great holiday season. I know mine was filled with too much food, too much chaos, and not enough sleep. But now that it's all over, I'm back to grindstone adding new products to our selection. We've expanded our product lines to include hunting & fishing products, hobbyist products such as metal detectors, and even golf accessories! The one product I think is really cool is the BallFinder Scout. This amazing device uses a proprietary digital imaging system to locate lost golf balls from as far as 35 feet away! As any of you golfers can attest, losing $5 ball after $5 ball adds up in a hurry.
Garrett Treasure Ace 150
This is not your mother's metal detector! Well, I don't think your mother even had a metal detector, but if she did it would probably be a cheap one, not this super cool, state-of-the-art one. It can tell you whether you've found coins, jewelry, or other metals. It's got 3 depth levels, 4 sensitivity levels, and a low battery indicator among its great features. We've sold a lot of these already and have heard some great things about them. Get yours today!
Shimano Stradic ST3000FI
This is no ordinary fishing reel. It's this year's winner of American Sportfishing Association's, ICAST New Product Showcase Award for Best in Category Freshwater Reels. It's equipped with the Paladin Gear Durability Enhancement, Propulsion Line Management System and Aero Wrap® II, the Stradic® FI brings a new standard to the word durability. Featuring a waterproof drag system, and shielded A-RB® Bearings. There aren't many fish the Stradic® FI can't handle.
Check out these and many more great products. Plus more to come soon!
Happy New Year. Get out there and enjoy yourself.
Date: 12/4/2007
Title: Unique Holiday Gifts for 2007
Every year I look around for really cool products that stand apart from the rest. I've found a few this year that I think are pretty nice. The first is Guyot Designs Firefly. The Firefly, Invented by Eric Goldfarb is a unique design which turns a standard Nalgene-type water bottle into a lantern. The Firefly's can be hung right side up, upside down, or hanging from a tree branch. The lid has a built-in LED light which uses the refractive properties of liquid to spread light throughout the bottle. It has a variable light level so you can adjust it for different uses. The electronics are in water-tight, so you won't have to worry about ruining it by getting it wet. And it's generally compatible with all standard wide mouth water bottles. Really cool!
The Brunton L3 3-Watt Headlamp is fantastic from the point of view that it's super powerful. It can throw a beam of light 207 feet! I'm not quite sure how they measure that, but I'll take their word for it. So 207 feet is like 2/3 of a football field. This makes it a great tool for a lot of applications, especially shining a light into your neighbor's kitchen and freaking them out. The other nice thing about this headlamp is that is that it can run for 200 hours on 4 AA batteries. That's over 8 days. So if you end up lost in the wilderness, this will really come in handy. Or if you're like me and you forget to turn your headlamp off, it may still be working when you pull it out of your pack again.
The Katadyn Hiker Pro Microfilter was voted "World's toughest pump filter" by Backpacker Magazine in February 2006. It can fill up to one quart per minute with 48 stokes. So if you're out in the woods and you come upon a murky pond or stream and you've got no other source of drinking water, this baby will save your life. It has a 0.3 micron glassfiber filter with an activated carbon core and AntiClog technology. It comes with a QuickFill hydration connector fitting for all hydration packs, as well as a field maintenance kit, bottle adapter and carry bag. For the price this thing is a must have for anyone spending time in the backcountry.
The Primus ETA Power Stove was the Editor's Choice 2007 in Backpacker Magazine. Primus calls it "The most fuel-efficient stove in the world." The stove can boil water in 3 minutes. 3 minutes? My own gas stove can't even come close to that! Maybe I should ditch that and use the ETA for all my cooking needs! It also comes with its own pot, frying pan, handle and bag. In side-by-side comparisons with other backpacking stoves, the ETA Power Stove was more stable, and with it's windscreen it's able to withstand wind better than other brands. Check out the video comparison on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34EMehx1XHQ.
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