Ice Box - Igloo maker

All the technology and innovations can't keep a good kid down. Building Igloos is one of the best winter time activities that one can do, and it last (as long as it is cold) for a long time, weeks. Well Grand Shelters has come up with a sure fire, long lasting helping solution to building a snow shelter.
Here is what Grand Shelters is saying:
The ICEBOX® igloo construction tool is used for igloo building by creating sequential blocks in place. You set the clamps on the form then fill it while packing. after you have filled it you unclamp it and slide it to the next position. A pole with 8 adjustments, 1 for each layer is used to build igloos with the correct catenary shape and to help support the weight of the snow and form while packing the snow. After finishing 6 rows of the igloo you remove the outside of the form as the wall is now leaning in far enough so the snow can be packed from the outside. The snow only needs to hold its form well enough to stay in place until you start the next block. 8 total rows are built including the final cap.




It seems great, the only draw back is the price, yes it is reusable but $179.95 is a bit steep for those of us just wanting to play, hey maybe they will send me one to try out, you never know.
Ice Box

Odin Collection, let it snow, Helly Hansen

With products like this coming out, it makes you want to go out and find some snow. Here is what Helly says:
"Three years in the making, Helly Hansen introduces the Odin Project, a technically advanced apparel system designed to provide the absolute best weather protection, comfort and durability from base layers to outerwear for professional mountain guides, patrollers, climbers and expeditioners who spend months at a time in rugged back country conditions. The collection combines Helly Hansen’s 130 years of experience in the work wear industry with the most advanced performance fabric technologies and latest sport-inspired designs. No details were overlooked or left untested – from pocket placements to welded seams – in the development of the series available at an exclusive number of leading outdoor and mountaineering specialty stores in 2008."
The collections consists of a Mountain Jacket, Mountain Pant, PCM Soft Shell, Isolator Jacket and the vest.
What a great collection for those who can afford or work for a company that has this as there wardrobe.
Check them out. Helly Hansen

Garmin, Apple, Polar, CES - Showing you the way

It's all changing and going fast, iPhone, Garmin 404, Polar have come a long way in the past couple years, incorporating where you've been to where you want to go seems to be the biggest push to small screens. You have the Personnel Fitness Records (you read it here first), which slowly is making a faster acceptance than the EHR or PHR (personal/electronic health record) and with Nike+ working with Apple /iPhone or related device could be the next frontier in having doctors seeing this as an acceptable format in looking at your records. It would be interesting to see companies like Life Record EMR to work with companies like Health Currency, Polar or Google Health to get a complete EHR picture of a patient. The Best of all it would be stored in one device and permission could be dolled out to whom ever you wish.
Check out CES and get ready for an explosion of cool products in the next week.

Lightest Mountain Hardwear Jacket Yet! STIMULUS JACKET

video from Best of what's new
It looks like Mountain Hardwear is off to it's lightest start to the new year yet. They have released a jacket that is rain-repelling and weighing in at 6 oz., yes 6 OUNCES, the closest one is 11 oz. How have they done it, buy applying a thin polyurethane coating to a new strong material that resembles pantyhose. It has a four way stretch, fully welded, waterproof and breathable.
Check it out, Stimulus

The New Year is coming, see you then!

Taking a break till the new year, see you then!
Cheers

Myway Mapholder, get behind them!

If there is one idea that skiers should get behind this would be the first on the list, Mymap winner of ispo BrandNew Award.
"In today's complex ski resorts where the number of descents are increasing and the skier's need of finding the right path to explore the whole system is growing quickly, instant access to the ski map becomes a prerequisite. With myway map holder the skier has immediate access to the map, which can be viewed without any unfolding movements or hassle to avoid wind or rain. Myway map holder gives the skier a durable and waterproof map that is covered in a shell when not in use. The shell does not need to be opened in order to reveal the map; the skier merely pulls the map holder to the part of the map he wishes to view at the moment. When he is done studying the map, the map automatically returns into the waterproof shell. "
I can't see what the hold up is, big gloved fingers pawing at a folded map, impossible to open and once they get wet forget about it, shreds right away.

The best thing that I see with Mymap and you can say you read it here first, is once Electronic Paper takes off and you can power this little baby then it gets limitless. A GPS, speed, tracking, runs, altitude, decent, and even heart rate, you have to love technology, built in so that you can see where you are and not have to look for a sign on the trail head. Daylightagain, feel free to contact me anytime to use this idea.
Cheers and happy holidays!

Stick to it! Sucky Bag

Things like this seem like a no brainier, simple yet unbelievably useful. From sailing to kayaking to surfing to snowboarding, any water sports, the list keeps going. The Sucky Bag has a QuickSilver logo but it's not on their site.
Here are some of the features:

• Lever-operated suction cups - attach and detach in seconds.
• 100% water tight inner compartment.
• Floats if dropped in water.
• Works on all flat airtight surfaces, makes it possible to carry your belongings in ways you’ve never done before.
• Silicone based rubber cups for all weather conditions.
• Inside compartment is lined with foam fabric for added protection.
• Neoprene bottom protects your board from being scratched.

Use it to for your money, mobile phone, snacks or anything you can shove in it. You can even use it on travel since the suction will stick to any flat surface. Hang it on your bathroom mirror as a functional toiletry bag or inside your school locker.
Check it out! Sucky Bag

Head Protection, Simple and Warm

Haven't taken the leap to wear a bulky helmet, to macho to think that you can get hurt. Well breath a sign of relief, Head Protect is for you.

"ONCE UPON A TIME

It was in Haute-Nendaz, back in 1999.
During a further training course for skiing instructors we were informed of the increasing importance of head-gear protection in winter sport.

Over the following years I began with the development of a new kind of head protection. It was to be a warm, head-protecting woolen cap, a snazzy accessory, light and pleasant to wear.

Together with a motivated and competent team, we sere able to put our ideas into practice and present our first collection at the ISPO 2005."

Just remember this is not a helmet but will keep your melon warm and cozy. Hey something is better than nothing. Pick one up for the kids, just to go sledding.
Happy Holidays

Triathlon Shopping, tiss the season! OneTri.com

What a great place to shop for some of the most updated gear, to bring out the best in you. OneTri.com has all the new 2XU Compression gear. What makes OneTri.com so great is that it can be found on searches with just putting in a product code (example for 2XU WA1122a). There are many sites that come up if you type in Triathlon gear, but to put in a product code and find the new gear that is impressive. Try it!
2XU Compression
"Utilizing our exclusive 50D/CK fabric we have combined a 50 denier Lycra together with a revolutionary circular knit high gauge construction, which provides the most compressive fabric on the market.

Whether this garment is used on the slopes, or participating in active sports, the graduated compression of the top is fundamental to remove all the waste by products the body produces during high active sport, which causes fatigue. The extra push of blood from the lower arms and back towards the heart allow this top to give you another level of performance and will allow you to perform longer with less fatigue.

It will support the muscles and graduates the compression from the lower back and at the lower arms loosening in fit as it approaches the heart."

OneTri.com makes shopping and finding gear easy and fast. Check out was great and well done. and if you sign up for their newsletter, you will get 5% off your next 5 orders, it covers the shipping. If you spend over $150 you get a free One Tri Transition Mat. Cool!

Now go Shopping! OneTri.com

Time for Fun, shock-absorbs the bumps

Starting to get cold and in some parts snow is falling, so it is time to get ready to be a kid again.Get some friends find the smoothest, hardest packed, bump filled ice field and get crazy. If you are in Arosa, Switzerland, then you can go down the whole mountain and even at night on lighted slopes. Wow how nice would that be in the states. Well I guess you have the Poconos where they have a seperate slope for sleding, but not the same as using the whole mountain. Any way the Alu Sled, built from aluminum, the shock-absorbent silver slider has plastic runners, a handbrake, and packs up into a sexy little carry case. What more can you ask for, just get ready to pay a premium, but hey you could pass it on to your children, or not. Price $636
Have Fun!

Wheeled into Fitness, The Power Wheel!

Less Technology and more core fitness is next years fitness trends. This means using natural surroundings to accomplish your goals. Pus-ups, chin-ups, remember being a kid, gym class. This was used to build character and also core muscle strength.
You have people like Jon Hinds who is building workable bodies and has a certification (can't wait to get signed up), Certified Natural Training (CNT).
Course Description
The Monkey Bar Gymnasium Certified Natural Training course will teach you how to properly align, stabilize, and then strengthen the entire body through the basic movements patterns and 4 levels of progressions.


All CNT courses are led by Jon Hinds - Owner/Founder of the Monkey Bar Gymnasium, NBA Strength Coach, NFL & MLB Strength Training Advisor, Eischens Yoga Therapist, Senior Instructor for the NASM for 7 years, Inventor of over 40 functional training pieces of equipment for Lifeline USA and author of all the workout manuals for this equipment.

With techniques and equipment like The Power Wheel you have want it. Work like you were in College and use your body and the muscle for good not just show.
Cheers

Real World Muscles - Natural Exercises

Remember being a kid, you played and played outside until your were called in for dinner. It was the best, your were building your core muscle group and you didn't even know it. You watch these reality shows and say to yourself I could do that. Well now is the time to put up or shut up. Get into shape the real way, use the muscle the way that you would in the real world. Climb ropes, pushups, monkey bars, rings, kettleBells, jump rope, Indo Boards (balance), no weight machines, no treadmills real world exercises with personal trainers that run you ragged.
Problem with machines and gyms as they are set up today is that you push and pull in a straight line. Well life does not come at you in a straight line. You want a body that can handle the abuse and when you need to cut it won't let you down.
Check out the wave that is coming on strong. Monkey Bar Gym, P.S. I am looking for investors so that I can open one up as well, please contact me email in the blog (spam).

Whippet Self-Arrest Pole - Black Diamond

For those who like to ski off trail, Snow shoe, heli ski, or even the back country, this Self-Arrest pole will come in handy. The redesigned, sleeker Whippet now permanently integrates the pick right into the grip top and the upper shaft for increased comfort and greater collapsibility. Comes stock with our BD Pick Protector. The Price on the it is relative to most poles that won't help save your life. $99.95 USD, Mountain Gear has it for $89.95, so what are you waiting for go get one.

RFID, Bluetooth tags for Gyms

Let's start by saying that having a key fab or or swipe card to get into the gym is useless. Get real, trainers have limited resources at there finger tips when really tying to evaluate a client. If each machine was encrypted with a USB, smart card, login, then real information could be stored about each client and interpreted by a smart trainer, not one that just read a couple books, one that is really interested in changing a client and making things better. The idea of a skin patch one that you can apply before you work out and then trainer could keep track of you and what you have done even if you don't have and appointment. Recommendations then could be done off clients time and delivered to them via email or to a gym login on each member. The on going model of part of a membership or trainer could be reduced from sessions to a general improvement fee and consultant meeting once a month with weekly progress reports. So instead of having drop off because they would have value contiguously over a longer period of time. Gym's lets get this right before Obesity gets much worse.
Cheers

Whitewater Research and Saftey Institute, Hail Mary

Things seem to change on a weekly basis for some things and others it takes years. Take the traditional rescue ropes, they have been the same for 40 years give or take. The WRSI, Hail Mary has taken the ole college try and applied a football shape to through the rescue buoy.
The Hail Mary can be thrown over hand like a football. The bag is complete with raised threads just like a real football. Many of us grew up throwing footballs and are much more accurate throwing overhand. Much too often people without practice, throw their rescue rope underhand and are wildly inaccurate. With the Hail Mary everyone can choose to throw the bag in the method they are most comfortable with and that best suits the rescue situation at hand.
Check it out, Available in January 2008! The Hail Mary