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Around Madagascar on My Kayak Book Review
I just finished Riaan Manser’s Around Madagascar on my Kayak and I have mixed feelings about it. It sort of pains me to write this review, but if you have limited reading time for adventure stories, then I want to make sure you know what you’re getting into before you read this book. The short version is, skip this book and read something by Jon Turk instead. The Good First, the good stuff: Manser’s writing style is frank and open. He’s not guarded in what he writes, which allows the reader to at points get into his head. The beginning part about gaining sponsorship and putting together the trip is…
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Dorcy LED Headlamp Review
Over the last few months, I’ve been using a couple of Dorcy LED headlamps that they sent to me to review. I’m a bit of a headlamp geek, so I’m always excited when I get a chance to use a new headlamp. But, I’ve settled into using two high-end headlamps that I really like (see The Petzl Zipka Plus vs. the Princeton Tec EOS Headlamp shootout), so I haven’t played around with any new lights lately. High-end headlamps aren’t for everyone and not everyone wants to dish out $40 for a headlamp. Some people would rather spend around $20. The problem with lights at that price is that they’re usually dim and…
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Swag: Boombotix Boombot Review
Boombotix, an outdoor speaker company, recently sent me a Boombotix Boombot speaker for review. Now and then, I think it might be fun to sit around a fire under a dark sky while listening to some Trampled by Turtles, Bon Iver or maybe a little Neil Young. Or during a training paddling, listen to music via speaker instead of via headphones. This speaker offers a semi-waterproof way to make that happen. Here’s what Boombotix says about the speaker: The Boombot1 is an ultraportable speaker that offers incredible BOOM for the buck. The Boombot1 fuses Japanese urban design with acoustic technology in a palm-sized portable package. It works with ANY audio source…
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North Water Hydration Holster Review
When I’m out on a long distance trip, I like to hydrate by using a hydration pack, but for day trips and calm water, I prefer a water bottle. Keeping that water bottle handy without having to pop a sprayskirt is a challenge. While the deck bungees works well for some things, they don’t have enough holding power to keep a water bottle on deck. And I tend to stay away from storing anything more than spare paddles and a map on the deck, because it annoys me to have anything large up there. That’s why I like to use the North Water Hydration Holster. The North Water Deck Mounted…
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The Moose Rack Review: The Ultimate Kayak Rack?
Earlier this year The Moose Rack (Headland Industries) sent me a rack to try out and review. While I usually like to use a product for 30 days before I review it, I found that with this rack, I got the basic of it in a few minutes, so this is my The Moose Rack review. The Moose Rack makes the following claims about the Hull-PRO Kayak Storage rack: Fits Many Unique Hull Shapes, Stores Your Boat On Edge Where It Is Strongest, 304 Stainless Steel J-Hook Cradles, Anodized Billet T6 Aluminum Brackets, Durable Nitrile Foam Protection Pads, 300 lb Capacity, 180 Degree Swivel Design, Locks Into Place When In Use, Fast Installation With Only Hand Tools, Made right…
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Quick Review: How to get to THE NORTH POLE …and other iconic adventures
Tim Moss, an adventurer who has traveled around the world using 80 different types of transportation and who has supported over 100 expedition worldwide, has come out with a new book, How to Get to the North Pole: . . . and Other Iconic Adventures (Kindle Edition). The book centers around seven adventures: crossing a desert, getting to the north pole, rowing an ocean, cycling around the world, sailing the seven seas, getting to the south pole and climbing an unclimbed mountain. To help him write the book, he consulted over 50 explorers. After a brief introduction covering gear and funding, Tim details the seven adventures using a common format…
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The Petzl Zipka Plus vs. the Princeton Tec EOS Headlamps
When I first got into adventure sports, my headlamp was a flashlight combined with a Velcro strap, and the Petzl Zoom headlamp was the headlamp that I lusted over. When I could afford a headlamp, I went out and bought a Zoom and it served me well until Princeton Tec started to introduce lighter and smaller headlights. I was working retail at the time and got a box of samples to try out. That trial box turned me into the corporation’s headlamp geek. I was hooked until a few years later when Petzl introduced its first LED headlamp, which got something like 40 hours of battery life. I got one at the…
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The Best Shoes for Kayaking: Two Great Wetshoes You Should Own
Over the 15 years that I’ve kayaked, I’ve used a bunch of different shoes and I’ve had my favorites, but I haven’t found a shoe that I loved enough to buy it twice until now. And, now I have two shoes that I consider the best shoes for kayaking. I’ve purchased one twice and the other one, after it wears out, I’ll purchase again. NRS Comm-3 Kayaking Wetshoe NRS’s Comm-3 Wetshoe is designed for outfitters and guided kayaking trips. It’s made from 3-mm neoprene with titanium, which means that it’s durable. I bought my first one out of a used commercial shoe fleet, guided in it for a year and wore…
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Goal Zero Solar Panels: Expedition Solar Power Made Easy
About 10 years ago when I first started to switch from film photography to digital photography, I started looking at solar power options to keep my batteries charged on long trips. At the time, I found that the Brunton SolarRoll did the trick, because it was light, it could charge my batteries and it was easy to pack away. Since that time, I’ve found myself carrying more electronics into the woods. I sometimes carry a GPS, a laptop, hard drives (gasp, even with some movies on them), my Kindle Fire, two cameras with different batteries, a VHF radio, a mp3 player, headlamp and a cell phone (p.s. on trips less than two…
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Polarmax Comp 4 Tech Fleece Review: the Perfect Layers?
Base layers have been something I’ve battled both in central Canada and now out here in Newfoundland. Balancing bulk to not look like that kid on A Christmas story and still feel comfortable rolling or bobbing around after a incident in a surf zone is a delicate balance. While there are many articles on the importance of dressing for immersion, not many are out there discussing clothing options in cold climates. (You beautiful paddlers in the warm south feel free to enjoy the pic’s and ignore remainder of the article!) My normal paddling base layers kept me warm while moving; yet restricted movement due to its bulk. Many combinations of…
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Review: True and Deep – Songs for the Heart of the Paddler
Nashville songwriter, author and educator Jerry Vandiver recently released True And Deep – Songs for the Heart of the Paddler, an album of canoe country inspired songs. After getting a copy of the album, I was instantly hooked. The songs capture the spirit of a canoe trip in the northwoods and the arrangement takes you on a journey that includes the excitement of canoeing a whitewater river on More Than A River to connecting with the ancient history in The Spirit Of Fishdance Lake. Catchy and humorous songs like Rock And Roots, Too Tired To Start A Fire and Camp Coffee will have you humming the day away while dreaming about your next trip.…
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Kate’s Bars Review
Years ago, I decided that the best food in the world would be a bar named “Food Bar.” You’d eat it in the morning, and it would sustain you throughout the day. While that still isn’t available, many energy bars do the trick for me. Years ago I settled on Clif Bar’s Crunchy Peanut Butter, and that’s what I stuck with. While I’ve tired other bars, I always go back to Clif bars. I was excited when I heard about Kate’s Real Food, which makes beefy energy bars with peanut butter as one of the core ingredients. Peanut butter energy bars with extra ingredients, such as rice, oats, honey, bananas, apricots, raisins and…
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5 Canoe and Kayak Books to Read in 2012
It’s winter in the northern hemisphere and for those of us in the frozen tundras, that means that we have a few choices on what to do this time of year. To get a paddling fix, we can either winter kayak, head to the pool like in the above image or read a book. Included here are five books released in 2011 that deserve your attention. A Book For the Canoe and Kayak Builders Fuselage Frame Boats: A guide to building skin kayaks and canoes by Jeff Horton was the only book that I caught during 2011 for canoe and kayak builders. It’s somewhat flawed (see my review), but offers enough information to…
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Dynaflex Gyro Exerciser Review: a Tool No Paddler Should Be Without
Years ago when I was a climber, I ended up getting tendinitis in my elbows. It went away quickly with rehab, but showed up again later during a 560-mile kayaking trip. After the trip, the tendinitis went away with minor rehab, but I started noticing it again now and then. Then a couple of years ago on a 350-mile kayaking trip I had a major flare-up as a result of adjusting my paddling style to account for another injury. This time, the tendinitis didn’t go away easily. I took a full year of rehab exercises before I had any temporary relief from the pain. It took one more year of…
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Snow Peak Titanium Bowl Review
The Snow Peak Titanium Bowl measures 5.5 by 3 inches and holds 20 fl. oz. It weighs a claimed 1.6 oz. It’s made out of titanium which means that it doesn’t rust and you can cook in it. It fits perfectly inside Snow Peak’s Titanium Multi Compact Cookset. By combining the lightweight camping bowl with the cookset, you get a sub-14 oz. cookset with enough gear to cook elaborate meals for two. But, is it too good to be true? This is my Snow Peak Titanium Bowl review. Snow Peak Titanium Bowl Review I purchased the Snow Peak Titanium Bowl earlier in the year and didn’t use it until I took…
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