Outdoor Gear - The Gadgeteer

LOFTEK 10 Watts Rechargeable LED Floodlight review

By Dave Rees / October 6, 2014 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, Lighting, Outdoor Gear, Tools / 8 Comments

I am the quintessential handyman…always building, repairing, and/or tearing out something. I started my first home improvement project nearly 25 years ago. Back in the day, there were limited battery operated tools and work typically involved dragging electrical cords everywhere you went. As battery technology improves and becomes much more cost effective, we find it powering devices/tools […]

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TacLace makes lacing easy, and could save time when seconds count

By Andy Jacobs / October 1, 2014 / News / Outdoor Gear, Shoes / 4 Comments

For those who wear boots regularly, lacing and unlacing them can be a drag. Properly laced boots can have a big impact your performance while wearing them, but sometimes you may need to lace them quickly. I stumbled upon TacLace (see what I did there?) when I was researching boots to wear during a GORUCK

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Rachio Iro smart sprinkler system keeps your lawn green while saving water

By Julie Strietelmeier / September 28, 2014 / News / gardening, Home and Kitchen, Outdoor Gear / 2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the Skydrop sprinkler system which uses your soil conditions and local weather to better schedule when it waters your lawn. That system was priced at $299. If you want a slightly less expensive solution, consider the Rachio Iro smart sprinkler system. Priced at $249, this system also mounts on

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ZeroHour XD Tactical Flashlight and Battery Backup review

By Bill Kuch / September 28, 2014 / Reviews / Batteries and Chargers, Flashlight, Outdoor Gear / 6 Comments

I’m starting to see the benefit in the multi-purposing of devices. ZeroHour takes a flashlight and uses the batteries to also serve as battery backup for devices powered by a USB cable. As I usually carry two separate items in my car or pack to accomplish the same goal, I’m now able to cut back to just

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Safely enjoy a campfire anywhere

By Janet Cloninger / September 25, 2014 / News / Camping, Emergency preparedness, Outdoor Gear / Leave a Comment

With the Camco “Big Red Campfire” Propane Camp Fire, you can have a fire without having to gather firewood first. It uses standard LP gas and has a built-in gas regulator with a 10-ft hose. Camco says the “realistic log pieces and full ring burner help create the natural look and ambiance of wood log

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Carry a chainsaw in your pocket

By Janet Cloninger / September 17, 2014 / News / Emergency preparedness, Outdoor Gear, Pocket Gear, Tools / 1 Comment

You’ll be ready to take down a tree at a moment’s notice with the Pocket Chainsaw in your gear kit. The chain has 124 bi-directional teeth, and it’s made of high strength, heat-treated steel – specially coated for rust resistance. It’s 28″ long, and it comes with hooks and handles; it all stores in a flat tin

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Never trip over your tent’s guy lines at night again

By Janet Cloninger / September 16, 2014 / News / Camping, Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear / 2 Comments

These tent stakes are made of 6000 series aluminum, so they are built to last. The UCO StakeLights also have an LED light that marks the perimeter of your tent with light and makes the location of the guy lines clearly visible. The LED is encased in a highly water-resistant TPE housing (IPX 6), and it uses

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The Cardiff Skate Company S1 skate review

By Larry Geisz / September 15, 2014 / Reviews / Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear, Sports / 15 Comments

Skate technology has come a long way since the first patented version of roller skates from the 1760’s. Things like polyurethane wheels over steel wheels, strap on skates over lace up boot skates and four wheel inline over the quad version skate. So, where’s the next big improvement? The Cardiff Skate Company thinks they have

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The Nokero bulb is the “world’s only solar light bulb”

By Janet Cloninger / September 15, 2014 / News / Camping, Emergency lighting, Emergency preparedness, Gear, Outdoor Gear / Leave a Comment

I don’t know if this is the world’s only solar light bulb, but the Nokero Solar Light Bulb certainly looks useful for off-grid situations. It charges its AA-sized NiMH batteries with a high-efficiency solar panel, and it can provide 6+ hours of 13.5 lumens of light from its four LEDs. The bulb has a shatter-resistant polycarbonate globe,

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The Seven Year Flashlight will be ready whenever you need it

By Janet Cloninger / September 12, 2014 / News / Car Gear, Emergency preparedness, Flashlight, Gear, Outdoor Gear / 2 Comments

The Seven Year Flashlight from Hammacher Schlemmer is a rechargeable flashlight that can hold a charge for seven years. It has “specially-designed nickel metal hydride batteries that minimize power loss, ensuring reliable, full-power light for seven years on a single charge.” It produces 200 lumens of light for 6 hours on a full charge,

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If you own a pickup truck, you’ll have a dry, covered place to sleep in case of emergency with this Rightline Gear tent

By Janet Cloninger / September 10, 2014 / News / Camping, Car Gear, Emergency preparedness, Outdoor Gear / Leave a Comment

Well, the title says it all. This Rightline Gear tent is bottomless, so you can set it up without emptying the bed of the truck. It’s made of gray and orange water-resistant polyester fabric with tape-sealed seams (PU 2000mm), and it has fiberglass poles. It has two gear pockets, a lantern hanging hook, glow-in-the-dark zipper pulls,

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Survival Pucks Compact Emergency Kits

By Janet Cloninger / September 4, 2014 / News / Emergency preparedness, Gear, Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear, Personal Safety / Leave a Comment

Each of these little 3.25″ diameter X 1.1″ thick canisters contain emergency supplies. The containers are made of 5000-series aluminum and have knurled screw-on lids; they are waterproof and have waterproof labels. When you pull the label off, the the lid is a serviceable signal mirror. What’s inside these little canisters are the kits that can

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SunJack Phone portable solar charger review

By Larry Geisz / August 31, 2014 / Uncategorized / Batteries and Chargers, Outdoor Gear, solar charger, Travel Gear / 1 Comment

These days, it is impossible to conceive of life without our phones, tablets gaming and other mobile devices. And I would guess for most of us having a backup power source is a must. But what happens when you decide to go off the grid to go camping or worse yet, you end up in an area

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Be ready for zombies or the hunger games with this folding bow

By Julie Strietelmeier / August 30, 2014 / News / Camping, Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear / Leave a Comment

Whether you’re preparing for the apocalypse, want to become the next Katniss Everdeen, rob from the rich like Robin Hood or just enjoy shooting arrows with a bow, the Compact Folding Survival Bow is a bow that takes up very little space when it’s not in use. Folded down it’s only 23″ long x 1.5

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Buck Knives 941 Travelmate Kit review

By Julie Strietelmeier / August 28, 2014 / Reviews / Camping, Cooking, Cutlery, Home and Kitchen, Outdoor Gear / 3 Comments

The next time I go camping will be never, but if you love that activity, the Buck Knives 941 Travelmate kit is a nifty addition you should consider adding to your camping kitchen gear. It packs a knife, fork and other tools in a convenient sheath that even prevents the spread of bacteria. Let’s take a

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Monkeylectric Monkey Light M210 and M232 wheel light review

By Andy Chen / August 28, 2014 / Reviews / Bicycle, Health and fitness, Outdoor Gear / 5 Comments

My son finally took up an interest in learning to ride a bike, so I’ve been looking into ways to increase visibility. Bright clothing and reflectors are important, but a wild array of LED lights on the wheel? This could be hard to ignore!

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Stay alive and pop open a brew with SlideBelts Survival Belt

By Andy Jacobs / August 22, 2014 / News / Camping, Crowdfunded, Outdoor Gear, Survival / Leave a Comment

I’ve watched the TV show Survivorman enough to know that in a survival situation, sometimes having the right tool can mean the difference between life and death. The folks at SlideBelts know this too. They took their already innovative no-hole belt design and are amping it up with new survival-type features in a crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign. In addition to

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Save space with collapsible buckets

By Julie Strietelmeier / August 22, 2014 / News / gardening, Home and Kitchen, Outdoor Gear / 3 Comments

Janet recently turned me on to the Tiny House Nation TV show on the FYI channel. While I know I will never be able to talk Jeanne into downsizing to a 500 or smaller square foot house, I can’t help but dream about minimizing and simplifying all our junk. I love watching the Tiny House

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Viatek Night Stars Landscape Lighting review

By Bill Kuch / August 22, 2014 / Reviews / Home and Kitchen, Lighting, Outdoor Gear, Outdoors / 23 Comments

Ever since my granddaughter visited Disney World, she’s been asking when I was going to put “Fairy Lights” in the trees around the house. I’ve been able to deflect, usually with the promise of ice cream, but now I can answer her request using the Night Stars light. Although my initial thoughts were “who needs

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You won’t need a fancy compass with this nickel that points North

By Julie Strietelmeier / August 19, 2014 / News / Outdoor Gear, Spy gear / 10 Comments

The Covert Compass from Shomer-Tec is a genuine nickel that has been modified to function as a simple compass that will point to magnetic North. The nickel has a groove around the edge that is used to suspend the coin from a thread. You supply the thread and when dangled, the heads side of the coin

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