Posts Tagged camping
The Screwpop Tool – Now Black and Customizable
Close to two years ago I reviewed a cool little $5 item that I’ve used plenty of times since: the Screwpop. It’s a handy tool that opens beer bottles (that always gets my attention), has a Phillips screwdriver, and a regular flat-head screwdriver. With those out, it’s also a hex nut wrench (should your nut be the right size). See the details here.
These days, unless you encounter an especially dickish TSA agent, you should be able to carry this with you on a flight. But if they do confiscate it, you’re not out a fortune at least.
The original version, still available, is chrome, which is hard to print on. So now there’s a black version. This looks cool on its own, but the one key advantage is that you can customize it for your company, your band, your store, your website, whatever. So instead of giving people some useless schwag they’ll toss in the garbage or a ballpoint pen that will die in a few months, you can hand out something they could still be using a decade from now.
To show me how this works, the Screwpop people did a sample run of their tool with the Practical Travel Gear logo and website address—see the photo at the top. Pretty darn cool.
Want one? (Contest now closed)
I’m handing out some of them at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in January, but I’m going to send three of them to our readers. First you have to do one of these three things:
1) OR
Then send an e-mail with which one(s) you did to tim [ at] practicaltravelgear.com. Include your name and physical shipping address. That’s it!
I’ll pick three winners at random from the submissions, which must arrive by midnight, December 23, 2011. The Screwpops will ship out the first week of January. (No sorry, while these make great stocking stuffers, you’ll have to buy one if you want it in time for Christmas.)
If you don’t win, you can get the newer black Screwpop for $6 at ScrewpopTool.com.
* UPDATE – WE HAVE WINNERS! Congratulations to readers Janice Z, Sam G, and Brian C. Sorry, you’ll have to lay out six bucks for one of your own if that’s not you.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on December 14th, 2011
Timex E-tide Compass Expedition Watch Review
It’s tough being a watch company these days. The expensive ones still get bought as jewelry and for showing off, but for inexpensive ones many people have reverted back to a pocket watch: their mobile phone.
Quite a few travelers don’t use their phone overseas though. The roaming and data charges can bankrupt you if you’re not at a hotspot and the batteries drain so fast on the iPhone and some competitors that your vacation becomes a long series of outlet quests—assuming you have the right adapter.
So Timex keeps on ticking by cranking out great Expedition watches for travelers and outdoor adventurers. It doesn’t cut it to just tell you the time anymore though, even if it does light up at night with the Indiglo feature. (I especially love that on a dark airplane or in a movie theater.)
This E-tide Compass Temp watch is a great example. I reviewed another compass watch of theirs a couple years ago, but this one takes it up a notch with more features. The temperature part is more of a marketing ploy than something of real use, unfortunately. I’ve yet to find a watch that has a good thermometer and this one is no exception. On your wrist it’s hopeless because of body heat, but even sitting on a shelf it ran 10F degrees hot, which is typical.
The compass is a different story though. I found it quite accurate when testing in multiple locations. Not precision perfect if you’re trying to hike the Long Traverse in Newfoundland maybe, but close enough to keep you from getting lost in the woods or to figure out which direction you’re facing on a street in Bangkok.
The tides time part is what makes this watch special, taking it beyond double-duty gear status to something really multi-functional. Figuring out when high tide and low tide are doesn’t matter a lot for a whole lot of people, just like a depth meter on a diving watch doesn’t matter to a whole lot of people. But for those in a sailboat, kayak, or river boat on an ocean tributary, this info matters a lot. I once road a boat into a village in the Darian Gap in Panama. If the guides timed it wrong on arrival and departure, we were sleeping in a hut that night instead of being back on our catamaran in a comfy bed. Other times I’ve been on kayaking trips where there was a two-hour window to get to an island. After that you would be slogging through mud. Plus there are some eroded beaches in resort areas that are lovely at low tide, but disappear to the seawall at another time of day.
There’s nothing particularly hi-tech about the tides readout on this watch. When the extra hand points to 12, it’s high tide. When it points to 6, it’s low tide. In between you can tell which direction the tide is heading. Naturally it will need to be adjusted as you change locations: high tide in even the same body of water will vary from one coast to another. Periodic adjustment is necessary if you’re on the move. I’ve been checking it against the water lapping against my desk though on a creek that leads to Tampa Bay and so far so good after four weeks.
I strongly prefer analog face watches over digital ones and I like how Timex has gotten a lot of features into a watch that looks very attractive. Unlike the Casio PAW2000 watch I reviewed before though, none of the buttons are marked. This makes it look sleeker, sure, but it also means digging out the instruction manual to remind yourself how to do the simplest tasks—-like changing that tide clock or using the compass.
This is a common problem with almost any one you use though, no matter the manufacturer. I actually choose which watch to use in my travels sometimes based on how much hassle it’s going to be when crossing multiple time zones. In that department anyway, this one is easy to adjust with the main crown button.
The Timex E-tide Compass Expedition Watch lists comes in a variety of face and strap styles. A variety of names too: sometimes it’s a mouthful like “Intelligent Quartz Compass Tide Temperature Watch.” It feels hefty and expensive and is water resistant to 100 meters. It lists for $170, but you can find it discounted at these links:
Timex Men’s IQ Tide Temp Compass Watch at Overstock.com or get this watch at Amazon.
See the Timex Sports Facebook page or follow Practical Travel Gear there.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Travel Light on October 6th, 2011
Tough as Titanium Spork for the Road
If I’m not mistaken, it’s been four years since a spork appeared on Practical Travel Gear and that was on the old version of this blog. Titled In Praise of the Lowly Spork, it was about one that had been thrown in with another gear item I was getting to review, as an afterthought.
Snow Peak wants to elevate the spork to a higher plane, thus this Titanium Spork with baked-in coloring. This Japanese company doesn’t believe in doing anything halfway. If you’ve been to Japan or Korea you’ll understand: if you’re going to go camping (or hiking, or skiing), you must be fully outfitted with the very best gear, even if you only do this once every two years. Projecting the right image is very important.
Thankfully Snow Peak realized there’s a limit when it comes to which products can command a premium price and a spork isn’t one of them. So unlike their $69 souped-up coffee mug, this spork retails for around $9 or $10 depending on if it’s plain or a color. Sure, you can get a plastic one for 1/3 that amount, but it won’t look this cool or feel as bulletproof.
First of all, it’s made from titanium—really! It’s not just a name to make it sound stronger, it truly is stronger than steel. For the colored versions you see pictured here, that pigment is actually bonded in the metal in the manufacturing process so it won’t wear off ever. The color on mine has gotten a little duller over time, which Snow Peak says to expect, but I kind of like the new weathered hue.
As far as “features” go, it’s a spork: it can be a spoon or be a fork—what else do you want from it? There’s a little hole on the top of the handle for hooking it to other things, but that’s about it. It’s something you take with you on a camping trip to have two utensils as one or you take it backpacking around the world so you’ll always have something to eat with. In countries where people eat everything with their fingers, this can be especially useful for self-catering: if you ask, “Can I have a fork?” at the take-out counter, they’ll look at you like you’re from Mars.
Thinking ahead, this would be an inexpensive but unique gift for that about-to-depart traveler heading out for a long jaunt. And as a dad I can say these things are always a hit with the kids. My daughter uses one of these in her daily school lunchbox, just for fun.
Get the Snow Peak Titanium Spork at Backcountry, at REI, at RockCreek, or at Amazon.
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Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on October 5th, 2011
Grand Trunk Travel Towels
My method for travel towels is usually to rely on the hotel. Or, to take the ones from home that really need to be replaced, tossing them at the end of the trip. Sometimes, I pick up a cheap beach towel from a general store. I’d not given much thought to pack towels before my recent travels to Tanzania. There was to be a lot of camping, limited space, and a need for things to dry quickly. I got two towels from Grand Trunk, their bamboo travel towel and their pack towel. After some fussing, I opted to take the pack towel.
This was, I think, a mistake.
At first use, the pack towel seemed like a thing I’d like. It’s well designed enough, it’s got button holes so you can wear it as a sarong, a drying loop, a little stuff bag, and it’s made from a quick dry fiber. It packs down to very small; there’s no problem finding space for in in the luggage. Thing is, I didn’t like the way it feels. It seems nice enough to the touch at first, but it gets a weird plastic-y surface when it’s in use. And it didn’t really work — I felt like I was just dabbing water off the surface of my skin rather than getting dry. I was always slightly damp. It’s a towel and I felt like I was using it wrong. Did I mention that it’s a towel? How can you use a towel wrong?
I wish I’d packed the bamboo travel towel instead. While it takes up, oh, six times the space, it has all the features of the pack towel — the buttons, the hanging loop, the stuff bag — it’s made from a much friendlier material. It does take a bit longer to dry, but given that my pack towel felt perpetually damp after the first use, it wouldn’t have made a difference to me. On the whole, the bamboo towel just feels nicer and it completes the very basic task of getting you dry.
In short, the pack towel, no, thanks. The bamboo travel towel, yes, please.
Just for cross reference, here’s a pack towel that fellow reviewer Tim rather liked.
Grand Trunk products are available on Amazon. The pack towel starts around 21.99 , the travel towel for 39.99
Posted by Pam in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on September 30th, 2011
Travel Gear Under $20 for Fall
Polarized sunglasses for 10 dollars?
We don’t highlight travel gear sales too often on this blog since they can come and go so rapidly. As I’ve said before though, if you can wait until the hot new items is last year’s model, you can often get it for 25 to 50 percent off. Occasionally a fair bit more than that.
I just got the fall 2011 catalog from Campmor in the mail earlier this week and since it’s a print version, these deals should be around for a while. They’re all “while supplies last” and you may have to compromise on the color now and then, but these are sweet values for the cheapskates like me always trying to avoid paying the list price. If you order $100 worth of stuff, you get free shipping. (See the link at the end.)
A woman at Sunglass Hut once told me in a huffy voice that I could not expect to find polarized sunglasses for less than $100. She was off by 90% because there are five models of Scin polarized sunglasses on sale now for 10 bucks.
Getting geared up for ski season? You can get a pair of Bolle Mojo ski goggles for just $15.
This Princeton Tec Quad Headlamp pictured above is usually $35. Right now it’s $19. Four bright LED bulbs that will last for ages on one charge.
Like REI, Campmor has its own line of travel quick-dry basics clothing that’s significantly cheaper than the brands everyone knows. They have a long-sleeve shirt for men that’s a tad over $20, but three items for women that are less: a shirt-sleeve adventure shirt, a skort, and capri pants. There are also a whole lot of under-$20 items for kids, including convertible pants. Here’s a link to the adventure shirt for women. Do a search for “Campmor Adventure” after landing for the others. 
Speaking of kids, here’s an array of screaming bargains: how about a Marmot Girl’s Lumina Fleece or a Columbia Benton fleece for your little girl? Or get girls and boys some quality Terramar wicking long underwear sets for $15.
This isn’t the half of it (I didn’t even touch on all the socks) and if you go up a few notches in price you’ll find Timex watches, camping lanterns, and other great goodies for half price. Happy hunting! Free Shipping on Orders of $100 or More
Looking for reviews? See our adventure travel gear reviews or items that will help you travel light.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on September 21st, 2011
