Category: Camping

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Camping

The Sunda tent offers four ways to soak in the wild

For Kammok, a team of eight based in Austin , Texas, its mission is two-fold. First, it believes people should experience the big wide world as much as possible. Secondly, it believes in creating the most versatile camping equipment to better introduce the wilds to outdoor newbies and facilitate better exploration for enthusiasts. A company born out of Kickstarter, it has successfully brought to life three of its creations all focused on this mission. Now, the Sunda two person tent/all-in-one hammock is a culmination of all this experience.

The Sunda is a distinctive product in the camping world. While most tents prioritize cutting weight at the cost of durability, Kammok went the opposite route and made sure to design the Sunda to be as versatile as possible with four separate configurations. In tent mode, two or more people can sleep comfortably because of the Sunda’s 8’4″ long x 4’2″ wide construction that boasts 35 square feet of space within. Large crawl through doors, four corner pockets and nine gear loops for lights add plenty of options for everyone inside.

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Camping

Always be cool with the Zero Breeze portable air conditioner

In certain places and situations, it’s usually not possible to enjoy the luxury of cooled air. And while portable air conditioners do exist, they’re usually very bulky and need to use ice or water when being operated.

The Zero Breeze remedies this problem by reducing the size of a portable air conditioner down to just 14 pounds and having it operated using either an outlet or a 40 mAH battery that can be charged in just three to five hours. It has a rotary compression system within that uses an environmentally-friendly coolant that can cool a 50 square foot space down to 44°, perfect for a small home, office, tent, RV, college dorm, or even the beach. (If indoors, a hose can be extended from the device outdoors to expel warm air.)

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Camping

The Nomad Shadow Leaf leaves you made in the shade

The importance of proper protection from the sun at the beach cannot be understated. While it’s easy to have a good time and lose sight of protecting the body, most people usually apply some sun tan lotion once or twice, and call it a day. Others keep themselves under large, unstable umbrellas that are too small for the entire family and prone to being knocked over or blown away by strong winds.

Thanks to the magic of crowdfunding, even the beachside umbrella is due for a complete overhaul. Leaf for Life’s Nomad Shadow Leaf is that overhaul — a lightweight, portable sun shade with a wide variety of clever features for more beachside comfort. One of the parasol’s defining features is its anti-fungal, water-repellent canopy that uses a tensioning system to instantly open by simply unravelling it. When fully opened, the canopy seems small but is designed to sit at an angle that produces a larger area of shade.

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Camping Furniture

The Lepaq air bag realizes inflated claims of relaxation

When spring and summer finally hits and the parks, rivers, and beaches call, there’s nothing better than spending the day hanging around with friends and family to best take it all in. What doesn’t help is the idea of lugging around different types of foldable, sometimes heavy chairs for comfort. People could sit on blankets and towels, but that’s never as comfortable.

Inspired to create a better alternative, the team behind the Lepaq set out to create a solution — and they have. To the untrained eye, the Lepaq almost looks like a laundry bag but after a simple wave in the air, it immediately fills out to. Close it up, and it becomes a large airbag that three adults can comfortably rest on for six hours at a time — no inflation necessary.

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Camping Connected Objects Cycling Running

TrekAce points you in the right direction, keeps your hands free

Handheld navigation devices, which include smartphones these days, have been around for a long time. But one of their disadvantages is that they have to be held in the hand, or at least mounted to something. That can be a hassle when one wants to use their hands to hold walking poles, binoculars, bike handles and other staples of outdoor activity.

TrekAce takes another approach to navigating. The water-resistant starfish-like object wraps itself around one’s forearm. A touch screen provides the usual bits of GPS-related info. But what really sets TrekAce apart is how it can use its appendages to indicate which direction one should turn. Vibrations in its different extensions can communicate going straight ahead, 90-degree and 45-degree turns and reversing. A combination can indicate moving between multiple angles. For example, if the “straight ahead” and 45-degree signals buzz, that means to take a 22-degree turn.

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Camping Cooking

GoBQ Grill uses fireproof fabric to tote grill around

Summertime is coming, which means grilling time is coming. There’s nothing like a dinner prepared on a grill. Not only is it delicious, but it also carries the added bonus of cooking outside. Most grills, however, are hefty and can’t easily be moved around.

patent-claimedThe GoBQ Grill is a different kind of grill. Not only does it burn charcoal and produce delicious food (according to its campaign), but it’s also completely portable. The grill itself can easily fold up into a duffel-like bag. Notably, the metal is flexible and the fabric of the bag is completely fireproof. The grill comes complete with a foldable stand so that you’re not stuck cooking on the ground.

The GoBQ Grill takes portable camping grills like Campfire in a Can and ups the ante. With the ultra convenience of portability and foldability, the GoBQ Grill makes camping all the more delicious, easy, and enticing. One will cost backers $120 for delivery in August. This product is looking to raise $30,000 in funding on Indiegogo by May 2.

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Camping Cooking

Tegstove helps to keep bellies, cell phones full while camping

While some people like to go camping in the great outdoors to get away from it all, and away from electronic devices in particular, the idea of “roughing it” certainly isn’t appealing to everyone. For many, completely doing away with modern conveniences is too much of a hassle.

The Tegstove presents a nice solution to that dilemma. The Tegstove is a multifaceted camping stove designed for folks who like to camp but still want to keep the ease of modern day living within reach. The stove lets users cook meals via butane gas, store energy via a thermoelectric generator, and perhaps most importantly, charge their electronic devices.

Overall, the Tegstove seems like an interesting product worth checking out. Camping lovers might also want to check out Campfire in a Can, Charby, Mini-E Camping Stove and Propane Porter. This campaign seeks to raise $50,000 by May 6, 2015.  Early backers can get one stove for $99 with an expected delivery of September 2015.

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Camping Cell Phone Accessories Chargers/Batteries Sensors/IoT Tools

The FOGO Adventure Gadget is a digital Swiss Army knife for outdoorsy types

Exploring the wilds of nature can be a truly rewarding experience. Trails leading to new discoveries alongside the pleasant musk of nature helps foster memorable experiences. Until, of course, someone needs to pull out a flashlight or some other tool from deep within a backpack for some reason — nothing ruins a quaint ambience like the sound of a befuddled hiker looking for their GPS device.

While many would prefer using a smartphone as an aid during such excursions, most smartphones, on account of their poor battery life and dainty construction, can’t ably survive the rigors of outdoor exploration. The FOGO Adventure Gadget solves this problem by incorporating a GPS, walkie talkie, and a 1000 lumen LED flashlight into one rugged device. The FOGO Adventure Gadget includes an embedded digital compass which can help guide users to points of interest and other FOGO users. Further, the device’s walkie talkie feature combines voice and text messaging functionality, thereby allowing users to effectively communicate with others.  Additionally, the device’s LED flashlight sports dynamic light control which adjusts the level of brightness based on the object being illuminated and, in some cases, how fast the object (presumably an animal) is moving).

The FOGO employs some neat tricks with SmartCaps, interchangeable pieces of hardware that add different capabilities. For now, the only SmartCap available is the Digital Walkie-Talkie. Notably, a satellite modem and laser range finder  are both in the works.  With an app based OS, an open SDK, 128MB of flash memory, and a Bluetooth LE connection, FOGO can also act as a fitness monitor along with anything else the developer community can come up with. And its 6800mAh backup battery will ensure it will stay useful and operational for much longer than a smartphone. The $200 FOGO is expected to ship in November 2015 if the $125,000 campaign is successful by March 24, 2015.

New concepts for outdoor gear are always welcome, especially when the product in question does so much to lessen the burden for outdoor explorers. The FOGO Adventure Gadget, along with the All Terrain Cover and WakaWaka, is therefore an ideal product for nature enthusiasts everywhere.

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Camping

Back to the Backers: Campfire in a Can comes roaring back to life

For those who thought that Campfire in a Can was a great idea the first time around and were disappointed when that campaign goal wasn’t met, the heat is on this time. The results are looking good.

Campfire in a Can allows the user to be able to start a cooking fire outdoors without having to rely on finding wood. While wood is an option, the product also works with charcoal and propane. The really nice thing here is that it’s all contained in one canister so that it transports easily to one’s favorite campsite or picnic area. Even in times of burning bans outside, Campfire in a Can can still be used because the design is classified as a contained fire.

Great product? Or potential lawsuit? Campfire in a Can is designed with safety in mind and the perfect addition to any campsite. This campaign seeks to raise $48,000 by March 6. For $144, backers get one product (including propane-burning capability) with an expected delivery in June of this year.

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Camping

CaraClaw keeps campers, hikers sharp when it matters most

Hiking and camping excursions always seem to go better when one knows that the right tools are available. Whether it’s to make setting up camp easier, or make hiking safer and more enjoyable, there are certain tools that one should always have on hand.

A quality knife is one such item. CaraClaw is a knife option that shows some potential. The blade is made of stainless steel, locks out, and has a side release button. The handle is textured rubber for easy griping.

While this product has a very sleek look, nice design, and seems very ideal for camping and hiking enthusiasts, it will find some pretty heavy competition among the many Carabiner knives that are already out there. Interested backers might also like to check out Loopy, Redtail Slackline Set, and WakaWaka. This campaign seeks to raise $5,000 in funding. For $26, backers get one product with an expected delivery of March of this year.