SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - You can keep your MacBook Air! Spotted on the Adventure Blog during the week, the Roper Mobile Duros 8.4in Rugged PC is unreal. I really do want one for Christmas, although I expect the price tag is just as unreal.

Equipped with an 8.4-inch brilliant sunlight viewable, SVGA resistive touch screen and an AMD Geodeâ„¢ LX 800 Processor or Intel Celeron M 1.0 GHz, the Duros packs up to 1 GB memory and up to 120GB storage (up to 64GB solid state drive). Its hot swappable battery feature diminishes downtime and provides continuous battery life.

Hot-swappable batteries is a fantastic idea (that means you can switch without powering-down). The box runs Windows XP (which is suprising for a hardcore unit like this, but I guess compatible for software) and you can also add on communication modules for:

* Wi-Fi
* Bluetooth
* GSM
* GPRS
* EDGE
* UMTS
* GPS

Specs for the geeks among us.

-Robin.

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - The Water-Buoy, a flotation device for your keys has appeared on Springwise, one of my favourite sites for ideas.

As featured on BBC’s Dragons’ Den last night, young entrepreneur James Halliburton is bringing an innovative solution to market for boaters who are worried about losing valuable items overboard

It works very much like a hydrostatic release on a lifejacket. At a certain water pressure it pops open a valve releasing gas. The impressive thing here is, this tiny keyring can lift 1kg.

Once the Waterbuoy hits the water, the gas inflates the balloon and the submerged item is pulled up to the water’s surface. Aiding retrieval at night, an integrated LED light switches on and keeps flashing for 24 hours.

Much like Alex’s dark thoughts about his Life Bag being used on long flights, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if this went off in your pocket on a dance floor.

-Robin-

(Image Credit: Images from Water-Buoy, montage made by Springwise)

Decent (enough) wide angle, sturdy and most importantly…….image stabilized for getting those sport shots :)

Review of Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens
Rated as 4/5 on Nov 18 2007 by Neal McQuaid

continuing on from last week’s review of the Canon EOS Rebel Xti (400D), here’s the continuation of the review to cover the lens.
I’d decided straight away (especially after reviews that the lens is so critical to the camera, I didn’t trust the stock lens Canon must supply) to just purchase the body and purchase a separate lens that would suit my needs more.
Firstly, I’m sure a lot of you will be aware, but this does cost more money. Lenses are NOT cheap! Still though, I thought it was a worthwhile investment.

I purchased two lenses:
1. the stock Canon EF 50mm f1.8 fixed lens
if you own a Canon SLR, buy this lens for portrait shots, etc. It’s tiny so makes the camera nice and small and not intimidating like the usual bulky SLR (who likes having a camera stuck in their face!?). It’s also brilliant in low light without flash (aperature). A must buy.
Note #1: try to purchase in the States as it’s sooo much cheaper over there - $77/€52.50 instead of $142/€97 - I know I did ;).
Note #2: When used on the 400D/Xti, it’s actually about a 80mm lens due to 1.6 magnification on the smaller camera sensor of the consumer level SLR’s Canon and Nikon sell. I’m not going into details: the short answer is if you’re purchasing a lens and it has ‘EF’, it means it’s going to be magnified, if it has EF-S it’s what it says on the tin, errr, lens.

2. the Canon 17-85mm Image Stabilized that this review is based on.
I’ll keep it pretty short. Once again, this camera has visited 4 continents this year and taken a respectable battering along the way. I can’t fault it for any manufacturing quality issues.
I’ll be honest also - I wasn’t overly sure on whether I liked this lens when I first purchased it. Considering it costs almost the price of the camera (about $150/€110 less) this obviously wasn’t a good thing! Still though, as I’ve used it more and more, I’ve really come to appreciate it’s versatility.
Having taken some photos with and without the image stabilization, I can confirm that there’s definitely some improvements due to it. To the ordinary user, you’ll basically notice it if you’re using the lens in poor light as there’s less need for the flash. As an example, this photo below was taken in a really steep crag in Australia on maximum zoom. Zero modifications were made to the photo to improve the quality of the photo.

In between all that, one big compliment is that the lens is so quiet. It’s definitely a compliment, and you really notice how loud the mirror on the SLR is when taking a photo after using this lens.

Good Points: it’s a rock solid lens and giving great versatility. It’s a pretty decent wide-angle (although only a mm more than the stock canon lens) and a pretty decent zoom (much more than the stock Canon lens!) giving great opportunities for using while taking portrait or long distance shots. In my ideal world, it’d have a wider zoom (but I think we’d all like that :) but I’m just being picky.
Bad Points: it’s pretty heavy and having it on the 400D/Xti which is a ridiculously light camera, means it’s noticeable. Having said that, I did have a 200mm EF professional lens on the camera a few months ago and now THAT was heavy so I suppose I can’t really complain :)

LouderVoice Review Tags: photography, canon, lens, image stabilized, stabilised, EF-S

Rate this review at LouderVoice

Image Credit: Chris Tracey on ‘Chasing the Shadow’ 27/7c/5.12d in The Gallery, Grampians, Australia.

- Neal :) -

Above we have the Exped Wallcreeper Sleeping Bag ($229) which is basically the drunken love child between a down jacket and a sleeping bag. At first glance you have a standard toasty down filled sleeping bag with a funny looking hood but then thanks to a bunch of zipper openings your sleeping bag then lets you to free your arms from the sides and put them in front side pockets and let your legs out allowing you move around or get out of your tent without you having to freeze your nads off.

If you are anything like me then you have watched to many movies like The Edge and Castaway and have now become completely paranoid that the next plane you get on will have you ending up stranded in the middle of Alaska or on an a uninhabited island and fending for survival. Ok maybe thats just me but anyway, (even though this kit isn’t as complete as mine) for $33 the Adventure Medical Kits Pocket Survival Pak is small and cheap enough to have in your backpack, car, boat, plane or just about anywhere you might need it to give you that extra edge in surviving if the worst case were ever to happen. It contains the tools you need to help yourself out of a bind – a signal mirror; fire starters; a whistle; duct tape; a sterile scalpel with disposable blade; a compass; heavy-duty aluminum foil; waterproof paper; a magnifying lens; stainless-steel safety wire; 10 ft. of 150-pound-test braided nylon cord; nylon sewing thread; a sewing needle; fish hook; sinker; swivel; a pencil; safety pins; waterproof survival instructions; and a Pocket Survival Pak contents list. You may think you’ll never need it but when the unexpected happens and you are caught stranded awaiting rescue without even a match stick, what are you going to be thinking then?

I love simplicity and multi use gear, so whenever I find one thing that can replace two or three things to make my pack lighter and more spacious I’m definitely going to choose that over a more cumbersome alternative. Now this won’t make a huge difference but the heat resistant, teflon coated and funky colored Light My Fire Spork Original utensil which is a fork/knife/spoon hybrid is the first step in lightening the load.

If you have ever hiked/camped in very wet or humid places like the Amazon or the snowy Alps, you know how much of a nightmare it can be to get a fire going. The Light My Fire Maya Dust is an awesome fire starter that will make your life a ton easier when trying to light a fire in soggy conditions. This fire starter contains 80 per cent resin and the result is an extremely hot flame. It comes in a 1oz waterproof snuff box that fits in your pocket and sells for $4.50 a pop.

Lighting is essential for outdoor adventure and camping, that is if you ever want to get anything done in darker conditions. So its obvious that one of the most important members to anyone’s kit is a flashlight of some kind. But in the end technology will ultimately fail us. Why? Energy. Eventually (unless you have one of those hippy solar powered/wind up/shake-to-power lights) your batteries are going to run out. When that happens, you need some kind of fail safe. “Another flashlight or batteries!” you say, sure in most cases this is the solution but on longer trips where your resources are limited to what you can carry and there is no where to recharge but you need just enough lighting to cook at night or hang out in a tent there’s this: The Nuwick 120 Hour Candle. Yes 120 hours! The Eco-Friendly, FDA approved, paraffin based candle will ensure light, heat and is even safe to cook with when you find yourself needing to go back to basics. You can safely store the 120 Hour Candle indoors, in your vehicle or in your backpack without the worry of harmful emissions or a potential fire hazard, because it’s non-toxic, and contains no dangerous chemicals or flammable fluids. The candle comes with six movable wicks, a can of wax, tweezers and matches, and retails for approximately $9.99.

When camping, a shower is usually a luxury. “Nay!” says the people of Sea to Summit, “The days of subjecting your fellow outdoorsmen to your stink are over!”. Check out the Sea To Summit Pocket Shower. When fully unfolded it has a capacity of 10 liters and a 20 foot cord that can be hung up on just about anything. Its super easy to use with a convenient little shower head that also functions as the on/off knob. When fully open you get about eight and a half minutes of shower time. Not bad for an incredibly small and light shower bag that zips into a three-by-six-inch pouch and weighs only 4.25 oz. $24.95

I’ve seen ponchos and rucksack rain covers but the clever guys at Sea to Summit have decided it makes more sense to combine the two for maximum protection from the wet. And I tend to agree. The Sea To Summit Siliconized Cordura Tarp-Poncho is basically an over sized raincoat that covers you and your bag and its versatile tarp like Ultra-Sil material makes it light and completely waterproof. It can also double and triple as a ground sheet and with its cleverly added built-in guy attachment points it can become a make shift shelter. For $79.95 its a little on the expensive side but good luck finding a poncho with this many features. So whether you are hiking in Ireland (zing!) or a hunchback caught in a hurricane, this is an essential piece of kit for you.

Outdoor multi-function sport watches are great for you are outdoors and using all of its crazy features but they can often look a little too military or high tech for general use so when you get back to the office you either look like you still got a piece of your RoboCop costume still on or just got back from Marine training. Meet the Suunto Lumi Sportif watch, the most elegant looking sports watch you’ll find. Don’t worry though just because its high fashion, doesn’t mean its low function. On the contrary this watch has a slew of features to whet your techie appetite. The Lumi Sportif has a day counter which lets you know exactly when the sun is rising or setting in over 400 locations world-wide. On treks, it also logs the duration of the trip and your altitudes. Its barometer forecasts the weather and provides storm warnings; and the digital compass always points you in the right direction. And if you ever wanted to know what different weather conditions were in French or English or Spanish or German, for that matter, not to worry because the Lumi Sportif boasts all four of these languages.

Last on my list, and this one was just for fun, is the Coleman 5-IN-1 Quickbed Convertible Air Bed. This is just because I’ve never seen a multi purpose air mattress or what equates to an inflatable futon basically. Here’s what Campist Blog has to say:

The 5-IN-1 Quickbed Convertible Air Bed offers various mattress configurations, so customize it to suit your camp configuration. Need to accommodate a couple of campers? Use the 5-IN-1 separately as two twin mattresses. Camping couples may prefer to zip the twin mattresses together for a king-sized bed to share. If you’re sleeping solo, stack and snap the two twin mattresses for a comfortable raised twin. If the sleeping situations are all taken care of, and you need a place to lounge, convert the mattress to a sofa, which includes two smartly designed cup-holders. The Airtight System is guaranteed not to leak, and made of exclusive PVC, the 5-IN-1 Quickbed Convertible Bed will offer durability for years of use. Retails for $44.99.

Well thats about it. Check back in for future round ups as I scour the internets for some of the best outdoor gear around.

-Alx-

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Geared Up Blog) - I bought myself a yellow/black Suunto Vector yesterday. Some of the features on the watch are great. Not that i know how to use it fully yet. It took me a while to figure out just how to set the correct time, but once i looked at the manual it was easily done…. ;-) I know the main complaint people will have about the watch is that it is quite big on your arm but i don’t it at all. I’ve never really owned a watch before, always just had to rely on my phone as a way of keeping the time.

Suunto Vector is truly an instrument that you cannot leave home when planning any kind of outdoor activity. Hiking, climbing, off piste skiing all share one common feature in order to practice them safely, you need accurate, real-time information about the surroundings. And this is where Suunto Vector, a versatile device that it is, delivers.

Regardless whether you are climbing mountains, riding a muddy bike track, or skiing off piste, Suunto Vector will not let you down even in the toughest of the tough situations. It combines an altimeter, barometer, and an electronic compass with all the features of a sophisticated sports watch.

-Eoinod-