Image courtesy Tim Evans cubenmaker.com
Today, let us praise those who are not content to passively take only what the outdoor retail market offers. All hail those explorers who tinker, tweak or make things from scratch. Sometimes economic necessity is the mother of invention: good gear ain’t cheap. Other times, it’s because what’s available doesn’t meet your purposes off-the-shelf. Or because there’s no product at all for your particular niche. Continue reading
I love me both of my Ultimate Survival Technologies LED lanterns. (The 10 DAY 6 AA battery model is so bright that it’s replaced my 4 D battery lantern even for car camping.)
What I don’t love so much are their super-sensitive press switches. I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve opened my pack or drybag to find the lantern had squeezed against other cargo and turned itself on, wasting hours of battery life. I needed a fix. Continue reading
Ever had a friend tension a piece of cloth with their hands while you sliced it with scissors? Then you know that stretching fabric over sharp edges is an excellent way to cause running cuts (or “progressive failure” if you’re a materials geek). Run your finger along the outside of your sea kayak’s cockpit rim, paying particular attention to the top and bottom corners of the lip. Unless it’s been factory equipped with trim, there are your sharp edges. And your stretchy neoprene sprayskirt deck? There’s your tensioned fabric, sawing itself against those edges every time you pull the skirt on or off.
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