A few years back, before Outdoorzy had launched, before the ridiculous series of crappy SAW type movies began to dominate the horror genre, there was a little movie called The Blair Witch Project. It was amazing how much hype this film produced. We all remember the night vision/snot dripping fear that it brought to us. It was a loved-it or hated-it movie for sure. But love or hate, it gave me and my roomates a great idea back then. An idea that I’d like to share since it was so much fun. But first a trailer…
Now, you don’t have to use The Blair Witch Project in your camping trip, any horror movie with an outdoor theme will do. But The Blair Witch Project provided some great fall scenery, and you could also mix in the sub-plot of “losing the map” if you want.
Here is what you do:
Get a group of friends together that likes movies and camping.
Tell them you have an idea for a great night, they just need to pack their camping gear and trust you.
When everyone arrives at your house, have snacks (could be themed) and the movie ready to go.
After the movie, get everyone moving. No dilly-dallying. The fear needs to be fresh.
Lead the caravan all out to an area state or local park/forest, etc. that allows backcountry camping.
Hike in a few miles and set up camp at a spot that can accommodate the entire group.
Once darkness falls, you could pull out any props you might have, or even have a “guest” stop by.
Just make sure nobody has a weapon or heart condition for Gods sake. You wouldn’t want someone going postal on your guest or some poor passer by because they’re scared.
It doesn’t have to be Halloween weekend, but Autumn is a really good time of year to do this. I know we had a blast doing it. And hell, its just a great excuse to get some people together and have fun.
Shoot me a message if you want any more detail or if you want ideas on those props.
Buster kicked off an awesome gear review theme yesterday of GREAT WATCHES. We’ll be reviewing several other watches that go way beyond just telling time over the next week or so. Watches that help you get out and enjoy your outdoor experience.
So let’s get on to todays GREAT WATCH. High Gear makes some great watches, altimeters, and compasses. What they’ve done with the Alterra is combine all three into an affordable wrist watch.
When it comes to technical watches these days you have many choices. There used to be a handful of brands making watches for outdoor enthusiasts, but now the market has exploded. And lets face it, the first generation were giant wrist computers that looked more like you had a small saucer on your arm. The Alterra solves this problem with a sleek design that hugs your wrist, and even resembles a metal style watch. This watch doubles well as an outdoor workhorse, as well as a watch you can wear out to dinner without looking like you just came off the trail.
In my test I took this watch out and played with the barometer, altimeter, and compass. One theme you are going to notice with all the digital altimeter watches is that they are only accurate if you adjust them often. You need to re-calibrate the altimeter 3 or more times a day at known altitudes. This can be a problem if you are out on a bushwhacking trip. But keep in mind that the watch is only one ingredient in a recipe for land navigation. A GPS, magnetic compass, and map are all important ingredients as well. I found that all the instruments were within acceptable variances for the Alterra.
I would say the features are “too long to list.” But we review gear for you here at Outdoorzy to help you make an informed decision when buying an expensive piece of gear. So here’s that long list…
Altimeter
·Digital Altimeter
·Working Range from -2,303ft to 30,058ft
(-702m to 9,164m)
·Current, Accumulated and Maximum Altitude in Feet or Meters
·Altitude Resolution 3ft (1m)
·Graphic Altitude Trend Display
·Altitude/Temperature Display
·Rate of Ascent and Descent
·Altitude Alarm
·15 Altitude Log Book Memories with Log Date, Average-Ascent and Descent, Total-Ascent and Descent, Number of Hills and Total Time.
·3 Altitude Presets for Quick Calibration
Barometer
·Digital Barometer
·Sea Level Pressure and Absolute Pressure Displays in Both mbar/hPa and inHg
·Resolution 1mbar (0.05inHg) Working Range 300mbar to 1100mbar
(8.16inHg to 32.48inHg)
·Graphic Barometer Display
·Weather Forecast
·Barometer/Temp Display
Compass
·Digital Compass
·Graphic Compass Display with 360° Compass Bearing
·1° Resolution
·Adjustable Declination
Thermometer
·Digital Thermometer
·Resolution 0.1° in °F and °C
·Working Range +14°F to +122°F
(-10°C to +50°C)
Ski Chrono
·Input Current Altitude and Base Altitude, Start Chrono/Chrono Auto Stops When Base Altitude is Reached
·Calculates Speed of Descent
Chronograph
·Resolution 1/100 Second with Maximum Time Range 24hr 00min 00sec
·Maximum 50 laps/20 Runs
·Times for Each Lap and Split, with Best and Average Laps’ Time
Outdoorzy was recently at the Outdoor Retailer Show and was looking to field test compass / altimeter watches for the website. I had the opportunity to field test the Wenger Co. Compass Watch for Outdoorzy. For all of those who are unaware of Wenger Co., they are the fine makers of Swiss Army Knives and other products. After arrival of the watch, the first looks were that I was sent the wrong product, but after re-examining the shipping slip, I was wrong.
The Wenger Co. Compass Watch is a very nice professional standard looking watch with a silver body, large glass face, and nylon / leather band with a silver buckle. The neat part about the compass watch is that the compass is hidden within the body of the watch. When the compass is needed, the compass swings out from
the right side. The compass is about one half to three quarters of an inch in diameter, so if exact degrees or orienteering is needed, then this compass is not for you. However, if you need quick direction of North, South, East, or West, then yes, this watch can help you out.
The watch looks like something I would wear to the office rather than a multiday day backcountry trip to your favorite new destination. I was a little skeptical at first, but I have learned to love this watch. Yes, I took it out and about, but I think this watch most useful while I was working. I am in a business that requires field inspections in hospitals and other buildings. This watch was great and saved me a couple of times while performing work and looking at drawings of a building. I would get turned around and need to know which way I was facing. This is where the watch proved its worthiness. If I had one bad thing to say about this watch, it would be that I wish Wenger had put another hand on the watch for multiple time zones.
I don’t see many backpackers, fisherman, or other outdoor enthusiast utilizing this watch for any excursions. But if someone was in a professionals setting such as an engineer, architect, or consultant, then this would be a great watch for them. It is sleek, comfortable, professional, and inside the watch is a little surprise.
Protraveller has released its list of the 7 most extreme cliff diving locations on Earth. A pretty compelling list to say the least. I have done a bit of cliff diving in my day. And I emphasize “a bit.” Most of that “bit” was in high school when I didn’t have a great grasp on the value of my own life. I won’t be doing much cliff diving anytime soon. But nevertheless I can see the appeal to adrenaline junkies.
Locales like Mexico, Austria, Switzerland, and even Cali and Vermont are on the list. The article includes pictures of each cliff along with videos of some jumps. Check the full list out here.
This looks like a great event that could prove to be a valuable resource for women trying to learn more about how they can turn their passion for the outdoors into a profession.
The Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition (OIWC) is hosting an event Thursday, October 30th at Cubespace’s Forum Room in Portland, Oregon from 4-6:30 p.m. to provide an opportunity for networking, education and discussion surrounding the group’s recently launched online guide entitled, TheOIWC Guide to Turning Your Passion into Your Profession, sponsored by Keen Footwear and Plum. This valuable resource is quickly becoming the benchmark ‘how-to’ guide for OIWC members and industry newcomers for navigating the outdoor industries.
“In such an outdoor-focused community, we hope this event encourages, educates and facilitates those women interested in turning a love for the outdoors into a prosperous and successful career,” said Sally Grimes, executive director of the OIWC.
The OIWC event will open and close with networking sessions and offer leadership, as well as insight from local, influential women on how to succeed in the workplace and hone new business skills. An open question and answer period with industry leaders from Keen Footwear, Columbia Sportswear, Nau, Lacrosse, Yakima and plum will wrap-up the evening’s events.
The event is free for OIWC members and $20 for non-members. To register for the event, access the OIWC Guide, and to become an OIWC member, visit www.oiwc.org.
Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to field test a pair of Costa Del Mar sunglasses. The sunglasses are the Brine Model. How do you review sunglasses, but there are some things to think about starting with the fit to your face, the tint, are the polarized or not, weight, and clarity. I am sure there are others, but this is where I focused my attention.
The lenses are large and slightly wrap around the eye which helped prevent sun coming in from the top or sides of the glass. I consider this a bonus, not being blinded by light is always a good thing. The lenses are polarized with an amber tint with silver mirror finish. Of all the different tints available, the amber tint is my favorite of all tints, whether it is yellow, smoky, rose, etc. I am usually fishing in and out of shadows all day long and the amber tint is dark enough to block light but light enough for me to see in the shadows. When I am fishing, I typically use a strike indicator and the amber lenses allow me to keep an eye out on the strike indicator between the sun and the shade.
I think one of the most, if not the most characteristic of sunglasses for fishing is if they are polarized and in this case, the polarized lenses were phenonimal. There is nothing worse than the glare of the sun on the water when trying to stalk trout. In this case, I could see the bottom of the river with no problem at all; I really couldn’t believe how clear everything was. I mean clear, clear, clear. It didn’t matter if the water was still or moving, I could make out objects in the water; rocks, branches, plants, and most importantly, trout. Most of my sunglasses in the past have been cheap pairs from sporting goods store and I thought they were great. I was wrong after this field testing. My old sunglasses are now stored in a gear bag to probably disappear; my gear bag is like the dryer with my socks, never to be seen again.
The frames were nice too, a light weight plastic which kept the weight down while I was wearing them in the car or while wading the river. I think weight is important too, who wants something heavy weighing down there their nose while out and about. The sunglasses come with nice hard protective case and an adjustable pair of sunglass straps to prevent them from falling off in the water.
My local fly shop sells these sunglasses and lets people test them outside before buying them. I suggest everyone try this. Do you buy a car without taking it for a test drive? Tell your local retailer you want to see them in real sunlight and not the florescent lights of a retail store. If all of your recent sunglasses have been cheap pairs like mine, consider giving these guys a shot, you shouldn’t be disappointed.
This little lantern is bright. A bright spot in a sea of battery suckers. It never requires batteries or bulbs. That’s right, you heard me, never.
Actually the LED only lasts a mere 100,000 hours… that’s 11 years burning continuously for 24 hours a day. I’m not sure I’ll be using it that much.
When you get your lantern you’ll notice you can use it right away without cranking. The batteries are pre-charged. Then once they run out you will need to give it some cranks to get light. The button glows green when you have the brightness turned down to show you that you’re being “green”. And it glows red when you have it turned up to maximum brightness. It helps you stay conscious if you don’t feel like winding it again soon. When on high power it lights up a large tent perfectly.
The ML-1 also can be used as a flashlight. There is a button under the adjustment knob that, when pushed, turns a focused beam of light on.
What if you don’t like to crank it to charge it up though. No sweat, just plug it in to an AC/DC adaptor and let it charge for 3 hours before your trip. That gives you a full charge. I really can’t see any drawbacks with this little lantern. You can save batteries, thus reducing waste and saving your wallet. And, if your batteries do happen to run out on a long trip, you always have the crank.
It goes for $55, which we think is pretty steep. Considering you can get a non-crank/non-recharable/lasts-a-few-years model for $15-$20. But if you consider the cost of batteries, and your the type of person that will actually use this thing often, it probably pays for itself over the decades you could potentially use this thing.
I knew the basic plot of the film since it is a documentary on the 1972 crash of a plane carrying a Uruguayan football team who survived for 72 days deep in the Andes. The incident was mostly famous because the survivors were forced to resort to cannibalism due to the lack of food at the high elevation and remote location where they crashed.
The documentary follows the survivors back to the site of the crash where they recount their memories of the 2 1/2 months they spent surviving. The film does an amazing job of letting the survivors narrate and describe their days in that cold place.
I found each of them very well spoken, and very well adjusted to the incredible ordeal they had to experience. In the end, each of them somehow seemed richer for having lived through it. They relived the day they had to make the decision to use the victims who did not survive for food. As you can imagine it is heart wrenching to hear the debates that went on within the group and within each survivor.
Ultimately the film weaves together a tale of survival that the viewer prays they will never have to live through themselves. It portrays the difficult decisions with the honesty and matter-of-factness they deserve. Anyone would make the choice these men made when faced with these challenges. But many could not have done it with the dignity they did.
Bottom Line: Great movie of physical and emotional survival in the face of the worst mother nature can throw at a person. I would recommend checking this out in the theater if it comes near you. But if not it’s definitely worth renting/buying when it shows up in your local video store.
Outside has released their list of the top ski resorts in America. What do YOU think?
Tied for #1 is Alta, Utah and Snowbird, Utah - I hiked in the area this summer and saw some of the bowls. It looks like they have some amazing drops, and the scenery aint to shabby either.
I had a really cool opportunity this week to pre-screen a film before it’s out in theaters. I 
