Outdoor Gear - The Gadgeteer

Traeger wants to make you a ‘smarter’ griller this summer with their new Timberline grills

By Michael Strange / April 3, 2017 / News / Cooking, Grilling, Home and Kitchen, Outdoor Gear / Leave a Comment

The weather is warming up and that means sun, fun and grilling season. This year Traeger wants to make your grilling and smoking even easier. With their new Timberline 850 and 1300 model grills they’re introducing WiFIRE control. With WiFIRE you can control your Timberline grill from your phone. So you can adjust your grill […]

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ThruNite TH20 Headlamp review

By Andy Jacobs / March 31, 2017 / Reviews / Flashlight, headlamp, Outdoor Gear / 4 Comments

Since I began participating in (and actually completing) GORUCK Challenges back in 2014, I’ve thought a lot more about headlamps than I ever thought I’d think about headlamps. I have one that I have worn for thirteen GORUCK events and for tasks around the house, and it has performed fairly well for me, but it’s starting to

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Pelican Bottle Drinkware review

By Dave Rees / March 29, 2017 / Reviews / Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear, Water Bottle / 2 Comments

I have been a sportster/athlete most of my life, enjoying tennis, running, karate, basketball, etc. When I was younger, I did a poor job of drinking enough water to stay hydrated. Horribly so, but youth allowed me to power thru 99% of the time. As I have gotten older, I do a much better job

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Wind chimes that can play the notes of your favorite tune

By Julie Strietelmeier / February 18, 2017 / News / Music Gear, Outdoor Gear / 7 Comments

We have several wind chimes hanging from our front porch including the one shown in the image above. I love the relaxing sound of a wind chime as the breeze blows against it. But my wind chimes don’t play a recognizable tune. They make more of a tinkling, pinging, dinging, and donging type of sound.

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Solar powered, anti-theft Lifepack offers plenty of juice on the go

By Jacob Haas / February 14, 2017 / News / Backpack, Bags, Outdoor Gear, Solar / Leave a Comment

We get it. You don’t like to be tethered to some workstation just to get through your daily workload. What if you could throw your office on your back, take your work with you and keep your mobile devices charged by harnessing the energy of that glowing ball of exploding gas in the sky? Enter

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The Renogy Phoenix is a solar powered generator in a briefcase

By Julie Strietelmeier / February 12, 2017 / News / Outdoor Gear, Solar / Leave a Comment

The next time you go off the grid, consider taking a Renogy Phoenix solar powered generator. Housed in a briefcase sized package, the Phoenix converts the sun’s rays into easy-to-use backup power for mobile devices, small appliances, laptops, lamps, and more. This lightweight battery backup system features two 10 watt monocrystalline solar panels and can

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ThruNite Archer 2A V3 LED flashlight review

By Smythe Richbourg / January 24, 2017 / Reviews / Flashlight, Gear, Outdoor Gear / 3 Comments

LED Flashlights continue to multiply like Tribbles. The bright, clean light of an LED is so much better for working, wayfinding, or just searching under the bed between the dust bunnies for something dropped. Recently, we were offered a light from a new company for us, ThruNite. They have many different models to choose from and

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Wicked Lasers FlashTorch Mini flashlight review

By Dave Rees / December 13, 2016 / Reviews / Flashlight, Outdoor Gear / 8 Comments

Back in 2012 I reviewed Wicked Lasers’ first generation Torch and in 2014 their second generation more polished FlashTorch. Both touted at the time as “the most powerful handheld flashlight in the World” and at a whopping 4100 lumens, they were wickedly bright, extremely hot, but rather large. The designers at Wicked Lasers have recently introduced a

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Mujjo Double Layered Touchscreen Gloves review

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 6, 2016 / Reviews / gloves, Outdoor Gear / 4 Comments

It’s December, so that means that it’s starting to get cold here in Southern Indiana. When the temperature dips to the low 40’s and 30’s (F), it means that it’s time for me to pull out my gloves. But my gloves are not ordinary gloves. They are Mujjo Double Layered Touchscreen Gloves, which have super

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Jetson JetKart universal hoverboard accessory review

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 4, 2016 / Reviews / hoverboard, Outdoor Gear, scooter / 13 Comments

I’ve always wanted to try a self-balancing scooter or hoverboard but I decided I valued unbroken bones and a bruise free body even more. But turning a hoverboard into a go-cart was just too fun to pass up. So when Jetson offered me their JetKart universal hoverboard accessory, I said let’s do it!

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The Pocket Shot Arrow Shooting Kit review

By Larry Geisz / December 3, 2016 / Reviews / Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear, slingshot, Sports / Leave a Comment

Back in September of 2015, I reviewed a pretty interesting take on the slingshot, The Pocket Shot. I thought The Pocket Shot was a good product not only for everyday adventure but also as a survival tool. I was aware of another add-on for The Pocket Shot that would allow you to shoot arrows using The

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Trucker’s Friend is a tool that will help you survive the zombie apocalypse

By Julie Strietelmeier / December 2, 2016 / News / Outdoor Gear, Survival, Tools / 6 Comments

The Trucker’s Friend is a tough, all-purpose tool that was designed for truckers, but it looks perfect for walker (zombie) head splitting, nail pulling, tree chopping, ice scraping, etc. This tool is made of heat treated steel with a shock absorbing fiberglass handle. It combines the essential functions of an axe, claw hammer, nail puller, crow bar,

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It’s a snowboard. It’s a scooter. It’s a Ski Skooter!

By Kathleen Chapman / November 29, 2016 / News / Outdoor Gear, scooter / Leave a Comment

Looking for a fun gift for the kids in your family? The Geospace Ski Skooter might be something they’ll enjoy. The Ski Skooter looks like a snowboard but with a foldable handle. The handle allows kids to balance and steer the snowboard down slopes of snow, grass or sand. It also works like a scooter

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EGO Power+ 530 CFM Blower review

By Bill Henderson / November 4, 2016 / Reviews / Outdoor Gear, Tools / 5 Comments

Let’s talk blowers. I know what you might be thinking—why would anyone bother reviewing a blower? They either work or not. That’s what I initially thought. EGO, a cordless outdoor power equipment maker, offered one of their products for review and I left it up to them to choose. Imagine my surprise—and disappointment—when I opened

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FlipBelt’s Million Mile light is powered by motion

By Julie Strietelmeier / October 25, 2016 / News / Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear, Running / 5 Comments

Runners and others (walkers, cyclists, hikers and more) who like to to do their workouts in the wee hours of the morning or the late hours of the night will want to check out the Million Mile light from FlipBelt. This small clip-on wearable light will help keep runners visible to drivers without using batteries.

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Roast a perfect marshmallow with this fishing pole

By Janet Cloninger / October 21, 2016 / News / Food, Outdoor Gear, Outdoors / Leave a Comment

You’d never know it with this heat wave we’re having in the south this week, but it’s autumn now and time for sitting around a campfire or the fire pit in the backyard. You’ll be able to roast hot dogs or marshmallows without having to hunt for the perfect stick, and without worrying about splinters

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RinseKit is a pressurized portable shower, without pumps or batteries

By Andy Jacobs / October 20, 2016 / News / Outdoor Gear / 1 Comment

Ever found yourself in need of a quick hose-down but you’re nowhere near a garden hose? I have. After obstacle course races, GORUCK Challenges and other outdoorsy, get-muddy style events or activities, it would be great to have a quick rinse, but I typically don’t have the luxury of being near a water source. The RinseKit

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AVEX FreeFlow and ReCharge thermal bottle review

By Smythe Richbourg / October 19, 2016 / Reviews / Beverage, Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear, Travel Gear, Travel Mug, Water Bottle / Leave a Comment

I’ve got a water bottle I’ve carried for about 5 years. I don’t think I’ve biked anywhere without it since I bought my current bike. It’s steel, has one of those pull-up spouts, and sweats worse than I do in our Southern humidity. So when the opportunity to test the AVEX thermal water bottle with

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Never lose an umbrella again with the Kisha Bluetooth and GPS-enabled umbrella

By Janet Cloninger / October 18, 2016 / News / Bluetooth, GPS, Outdoor Gear, Umbrella / 3 Comments

The only thing worse than not taking your umbrella on a day when rain is expected is losing it. You won’t have to worry about either event with the Bluetooth Never Lost Umbrella by Kisha. The umbrella is 100% windproof and corrosion-proof. It has 16 ribs and a “perfect opening and closing mechanism”. Pair it

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DreamWave Tremor Bluetooth speaker review

By Andy Chen / October 15, 2016 / Reviews / Bluetooth, Bluetooth speaker, Outdoor Gear / 8 Comments

I was not prepared for this. I thought I was going to review a rugged Bluetooth speaker. I didn’t expect to unpack something that looked AND felt this rugged. This is the DreamWave Tremor- probably the only Bluetooth speaker I’ve tried that could double as a battering ram.

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