Frankly,  I enjoy cross country skiing (XC) more than snowshoeing.  It takes a little more skill, but getting through the countryside is much faster and requires significantly less energy per mile than snowshoes.  I began enjoying cross country skiing as a kid when my grandparents gave me a set of wooden skis with bamboo poles.  My […]

Snowshoeing is a great winter activity for families or anyone that wants to extend the hiking season through the winter.  It takes very little skill to use modern snowshoes.  They are designed to fit your feet and not interfere with your normal walking gait.  Further,  the cost of getting into snowshoeing is much lower than getting […]

Your best bet with an avalanche is to not be there when it happens.  If you are too adventurous to avoid the possibility, there are some pieces of equipment that can save your life if you get caught.  Typically these include: a transceiver (beacon) so that rescuers can find you under the snow a probe […]

The other day, I came across a custom made hiking staff from www.custommade.com.  This particular staff incorporates a survival kit into it. Survival on a Pole The people at Custom Made took a normal trekking pole, added a wooden handle, wrapped the handle in 20 feet of paracord, attached a carabiner with another 7 feet of paracord, attached a […]

Award Winning Design . . . Polarmond of  St Gallen, Switzerland, was recently announced as a  Gold Winner at the Outdoor 2015 European trade show.  The jury said: “The All-in-One Sleeping System by Polarmond embraces research and development from the last 20 years” and added that it is “innovative and extremely functional.” The system is reported to have […]

I recently spent some time at our local REI store getting some new boots for the Chief Scout. The people there were very helpful in narrowing down our selection then helping us choose the correct boot.  With this post,  I’ll share what we learned. Types of Hiking Footwear First,  there are four general categories of boots: […]

If you go boating, car camping, to the beach, to your kids’ athletic events or even flying an airplane,  you’ll probably be bringing at least one big cooler with you to keep your food and drinks cold.  The IcyBreeze is a new idea that lets you take one cooler that also provides cool dry air – […]

When I was a kid,  my family traveled from Wisconsin through the Badlands,  Yellowstone, Yosemite and more in an old Willy’s Jeep station wagon and a tent that attached to the rear of it.  With the tailgate down,  we kids would sleep in the Jeep while our parents would sleep in the tent.  Well, tents […]

If you are a cyclist that knows a disabled person that would like to share the joy of cycling,  you should look into the Duet Wheelchair Bicycle Tandem.  When ready to cycle,  it’s basically an adult tricycle with a wheelchair set in front of the handle bars.  As shown in the inset above,  the wheelchair […]

The designers at Nice Architects in Slovakia have been working on a new concept for sustainable living since 2008.  The tiny Ecocapsule was recently unveiled at Pioneers Festival in Vienna.  According to the designers: “Ecocapsule is a low-energy house packed into a compact form. It merges an energy efficient shape, compact volume and off-grid capabilities with […]