High Tech Camping

So if you've really read this blog at all you'll know that I'm big into survival, camping, and the outdoors in general. The other day I was reading a tech article on PCMag.com and noticed an article in the sidebar called Equipment for High Tech Camping. So, considering my love for both the techy and the primitive, I obviously had to check it out. I was expecting the usual solar chargers, GPS units, etc. and those were indeed included. However, there were some really neat, useful products that I hadn't seen before.


TentLEDs

The TentLEDs are such a no-brainer that I am really shocked that someone hasn't mass-marketed them before. I know I personally trip over the tie ropes on my tent at least once a trip. When you're stumbling around in the dark half asleep, you're going to eventually catch your foot on one of them if you're not careful. The TentLEDs would definitely make it less likely to happen.



Brunton's Flip-n-Drip Coffee Maker

I'm a big fan of what we call "Cowboy Coffee". I have a campfire coffee pot and we normally drink boiled coffee when we're camping or hunting. That may change now that I've found this little guy. It just looks so damn convenient. You just pour water it in the lower chamber and throw that in the fire. While it is heating up you put coffee in the middle chamber and screw it all back together. Once the water is hot just put the whole thing together, flip it over and let it drip. Pretty flippin' sweet.



The Cave by Heimplanet

There is no way to describe this other than awesome. Ok, maybe convenient works too. It is a tent that uses "air beams" instead of tent poles. You just unroll the whole thing, hook up a hand pump, and in no time you have your tent aired up and ready to go. I can see where there would be times when it wouldn't be "enough" of a tent. Long trips, high winds, etc. But for your day to day trips, this seems like it would be pretty cool. Easy to pack as well. You just pop the air valves and roll the whole thing up and stuff it in the bag. Pretty damn nifty.


Have you guys come across any cool high tech camping gear lately?


I have a confession to make... I am addicted to Pinterest.

So a few weeks ago I noticed that my girlfriend was obsessively perusing some website that I'd never seen before. My first thought was "Ooooh... Pretty colors..." Yeah, I have ADHD. Anyway, I ask what she is looking at and she tells me about this awesome site she's been checking out called Pinterest.

Of course, I had heard the word but I didn't really have any idea what the site was all about.

Kind of like Google+. All my friends were using it but I had resisted the demons and never checked it out. Once I did, I was extremely disappointed. Google+ sucks. Period. No debate.

But Pinterest... Oh, Pinterest... You crafty vixen. You... You had me the first time I saw a DIY pin about re-purposing wine bottles. Or it may have been the homemade Kimchi recipe...

Either way, I'm hooked. I'm an addict. I admit it and I am not ashamed (much) of it!

Dave Canturbury's Pathfinder Concepts Video

One of my readers, Sadistic, commented on the last post about wanting to make a 3 day trek through the Canadian Rockies with very little equipment. I wanted to post this video in response to that comment. I am a firm believer that a person should be as prepared as possible whenever venturing into the wilderness. Dave Canterbury, of Discovery Channel's Dual Survival, is a great resource for anyone looking for survival information. He has some great video on YouTube. Here is one of my favorites. It is basically a "primer" of the concepts he teaches at his Pathfinder School. I hope you enjoy it.

The Pathfinder School

Ok, so this isn't what you would normally find on a "geek/tech/whatever" blog, but survival and preparedness is something that I have been passionate about for a long time. As a geek I tend to obsess about things and survival is one of those things I rabidly obsess over.

Some of you may have seen a television show called Dual Survival on the Discovery Channel recently that stars a man named Dave Canterbury. Dave owns and operates a survival school called The Pathfinder School. His school is based out of Ohio but he does survival classes all over the country. I would highly recommend checking out his website. There is a lot of great information there.

http://www.wildernessoutfittersarchery.com/

Kayak App for iPhone

For those of you who do a lot of traveling, surely you have heard of the Kayak website. It is one of the most comprehensive travel booking sites I have found. Not only does it compare prices from many travel sites, it pulls all of that information together in a very clean way. Kayak has the most user-friendly interface I have found for a travel site.

I recently came across the Kayak App for the iPhone. It does everything the website does and does it well. Officially the best travel booking App I have found. Best part? It is FREE! Check it out at the link below:

http://www.kayak.com/iphone