Review: LimeFuel - Limeade Blast 18000mAh charger

I was asked "what piece of gear do you think you'd be pissed, if you went out and left behind?" and I had a hard time coming up with a single item, as I have a lot of redundancy in my EDC. However, one thing that I have found that I really don't like realising I have left behind, or lent out, is my external power source. My personal go-to power-pack is an item I originally backed as a Kickstarter, and have now moved into full commercial production, the LimeAde.



This is the Limeade BLAST L180X, their 18000mAh high-capacity option at the time of the Kickstarter campaign. It has been with me since July 2013 and faithfully charging my devices every other week or so.

Read the rest of the article on Breach Bang & Clear, here.

I've had very good service out of my Limeade Blast, and when I go on adventures, or even just have solid days away from my desk off-site or in meetings, it's an invaluable addition to my loadout, and one that is appreciated by anyone else who wants to sponge Amps off me.

Review: Baubax jacket

Its just about spring-time here in Melbourne, which means a lot of rain, and cold mornings for me. I hate the cold, and hate being rained on. I am a big fan of soft-shell waterproof jackets and having lots of pockets, but sometimes you want something more than just rugged and dependable, when it comes to snivel-gear. You want something nice.

I saw the Baubax jackets on Kickstarter and their portal site (and was directed to them by umpteen people) and really liked what I saw. They offered four designs, (Dress Blazer, Sweatshirt, Windbreaker and Bomber) in a range of colours, and materials, which all featured a mass of features. Billing them as the "Worlds Best Travel Jacket". I jumped on the bandwagon and eventually, after much delay, they arrived.



I ordered the heaviest and feature-packed option, the Bomber.

A travel-friendly Bomber Jacket with stylish flare, this street-smart piece features pockets for all your smart devices, a built-in neck pillow, an eye mask, and a detachable hood. But that's just a handful of features.

The jacket is made from a machine washable 100% polyester soft shell, with cotton and fleece linings, and weighs in at 1.2kg (2lbs 10oz) making it quite a hefty piece, but that weight gives warmth and security.

It is also PACKED with features:


GLOVES: Built-in half-gloves that easily slide in and out of the sleeves, to keep you warm and cozy when you're on the go. Made from cotton, they will soak up water if you wear them in the cold and wet, but they cut the wind in dry conditions and are really great on those cold morning train-station waits.

EARPHONE HOLDERS: Built-in Earphone holders always keep your earphones untangled and ready for instant use. I havent really used this much, but the loops make really good deep-cover securing locations.

BLANKET POCKET: All BauBax jackets come with a pocket to carry the optional extra proprietary 60"x40" BauBax Blanket that'll keep you warm and cozy when you're traveling. If you don't get the blankie, another woobie or even a dry-cloth would fit in there nicely.

KOOZIE DRINK POCKET: No more fumbling with your drink and your laptop on a plane table tray. With an insulated neoprene drink docket, keep your hot drinks warm, cold drinks cool and your hands free for work. I have only occasionally actually kept a drink in there, but the padded and press-stud fastening pocket is good for loose valuables you want to keep protected.

iPAD POCKET:A 10" pocket to carry an iPad or any full size tablet to free up space in your carry-on or purse and for more convenient plane boarding. This is excellent, and I have stowed my iPad in there a number of times. It just "fades away" into the side pocket, seamlessly and is right there when needed. Be sure to do the little zipper up though, lest you drop expensive delicate technology.

TELESCOPING PEN: This was a cute addition. Clipped to the main zipper is a 1" pen that extends to 4", the bottom of the telescoping pen has a soft tip Stylus to ensure you always have a Stylus handy. It's totally not integral to the jacket, but a very nice feature nevertheless.

SMARTPHONE POCKET: Easily accessible water-resistant smartphone pocket that offers a seamless connection to your earphones., built into the upper outside of the chest on the left, it was a great place to secure my phone when out on the mountain recently.

SUNGLASS POCKET: Easily accessible sunglass holder in a pocket in the upper right side of the inside of the jacket to keep your optics safe and handy. Built-in Microfiber cloth included for cleaning sunglass lenses was also a really nice touch.

PASSPORT POCKET: Passport size inside chest pocket designed for quick access to boarding pass and ID while traveling. Keep your secure documents secure, and handy at the same go. Obviously they're not as safe when the jacket is open, but a damn side safer than if they were in the back-pocket of your flying jodhpurs.

HAND WARMING POCKETS: Multi layered hand warming pockets for extra warmth. I can not stress enough how good it is to have properly lined pockets. built of the same material as the rest of the jacket, both the inside and outside of the pockets are equally warm. No more still-freezing from the inside with these pockets, even with the jacket open.

DETACHABLE HOOD: BauBax Bomber and Blazer come with a detachable hood. The hood features a double press-stud gorget for really bad weather, and zippers onto the body of the jacket, behind a quilted collar that matches the waist and cuffs.

EYE VISOR:  Inside that hood is a fleece eve-visor, which forms your very own shade-cloth and eye-patches when you need a daytime nap, or just don't want tot make eye-contact whilst browsing for saucy delights on your phone in your lap. I found however, that the visor flopped down over my eyes when I was walking around with the hood up. A button-eyehole would have been a good feature to include on this.

NECK PILLOW: This was super sweet. A semi-built-in, inflatable neck pillow that easily hides inside the hood of the jacket, by means of a buttoned down compartment, but was also easy enough to hang behind the shoulders from the hanging loop. Its innovative valve technology allows for a 2 second, one breath inflation. Simple and easy one press deflation, as well as a very comfortable design rounds it out. Also not integral to the jacket, it was a brilliant addition, especially for those of us who often find ourselves sleeping in odd places, at odd times and can't just rack-out.

this was a really good jacket, and I'm glad I had it this winter, and spring, although we had to wait a long time for them, and the sizing of the ladies sizes (I got one for Omega as well) was a bit limited.  That said, the jacket held up well in all kinds of inclement weather, including snow and sleet. The cotton cuffs soak up water, and wold be better is treated to be waterproof, but otherwise, its a great jacket.

Home Front: Power Outage

We had a scheduled power outage at our place over the weekend, which we had completely ignored, and it took us a little by surprise, but thankfully, we have gas-for cooking and hot-water.

 What we didn't anticipate is the power-hungry nature of the ladies Pokémon GO running iPhone 5's. We might have lost wireless internet, microwaved cooking and refrigeration but they still "gotta catch 'em all!"

 However, that said, we were prepared. I fired up my replacement Power Practical PowerPot XL and set up two battery-packs including the Lithium 4400 and Limeade Blast 18,000mAh.


I also set up my tea-light candle driven Tellurex tPod power system which coupled with the power strength meter Power Practical Practical Meter charged another battery pack inside, as well as having a LED output option.

We were fortunate that even though the power-outage went 3-4 hours over time (apparently the pole-replacement was too big for the hole dug) it was not as cool as it had been, getting down to 5oC at nights, as all our inside heaters are electric. However, running the stove, boiling water in the PowerPot for hot drinks as well as generating power, and our collection of candles and lanterns for lighting.

Outside, I ran our BioLite thermoelectric stove much to the delight of Tactical Baby, who insisted in roasting marshmallows over the flames, whilst I charged yet another Lithium 4400 battery and phones directly. I cut wood to run the BioLite, as it only takes short sized lengths of wood and twigs before dark set in. We were preparing to cook by candlelight when the power came back on.

With good use of ambient light, not opening our fridges and freezers, and gas-cooking and water, we were hardly inconvenienced, and with my collection of thermo-electric power sources, we has device-running power aplenty.

Review: MrGhost EMR detector

Adding to my list of sensors and scanners, if you recall the APOC Radiation Detector I reviewed some time ago, here's another one that I've had for a while and then came across it again recently.

I had backed this on Kickstarter, specifically because I wanted to add to my list of spectrums I could detect, surpassing the Gamma and x- rays, and the occasional Alpha particle. It was for a detector that would connect to an iPhone or similar product and an app to drive the detection process. The app and Device go by the funny name Mr.Ghost, and takes a page from the PKE Meter from Ghostbusters although it's fundamentals are based on the material world rather than the preternatural. The creator goes to lengths to state the app is intended for entertainment purposes only and does not provide true ghost detecting functionality.

EM radiation stands for "electromagnetic radiation" is a wave-like form of energy like microwaves, visible light, and x-rays. EMF stands for "electromagnetic field" and is the near field part of EM radiation. Any time you have electrons moving through wire (like in the power supply of your appliances), it generates an electromagnetic field. Mr.Ghost acts to detect this field and is specifically tuned to detect AC electricity.

MrGhost is the companion app for the Mr.Ghost EMF detector that plugs into the headphone jack of your device. I've used it for both my iPad and iPhones, and never had any trouble. For those without the peripheral, the app will still work as an advanced sound level detector with your regular microphone so it is fun to use either way.

The readouts of the app show both the strength of the signal at the top, listed in RMS,
typical readings are 12-60 for fluorescent lights, 20-30 for wall-adaptors, 100-200 for dimmer switches, 200-400 for flatscreen TV's and 2000-4000 for old CRT tv's.

The second window shows either a spectral analysis of the emissions  or its waveform, giving you an impression of the nature of the emissions. The spectral analysis starts at approximately 10hz on the left and moves up to 22,000hz on the right.

The third window gives a sliding record of signal strength over time, based on the RMS reading from the main window.

The control sliders at the bottom control sensitivity, and the one below that allows you to set an offset, to baseline the device you are scanning with the Mr.Ghost from. There are also "record" and "send memory" options to capture your particular observations be email.

There are in fact three "modes" to the MrGhost app: primary scanning, gyro-mode and glow-mode. These are accessed by swiping left or right from the main window.

In gyro mode, the main window gives a block of the same scaled-by-colour signal strength as with th primary mode, blue being lowest, through grey to yellow, orange and red to white. It also gauges strength by proximity. The app ties into the iPhone gyroscope to giv you a real time, directional signal.  Adjust the sensitivity all the way left, and swing your phone back and forth in gyro mode and see the direction of high powered emitters. Very good if you're trying to pinpoint a obfuscated power source, like faulty wiring, a secreted transmitter or perhaps whatever spook keeps moving the remote control. .


Glow mode fills he entire screen with the signal detection colour of the gyro-mode, but without an extra data, just full screen colour. It glows brighter/hotter based on emission level, it also allows recording of your detected signals if you can film or time-lapse your detection to paint a light-picture of signal strength.

One thing that Mr.Ghost will not detect is the mobile phone you use to drive it and capture the signals. It was designed such that the EMF coming from the iPhone is generally above the 22.05khz cutoff that the detector senses. This means you can use it without having to turn on airplane mode, and without contaminating your data capture. Mobile devices do cause a tiny amount of baseline signal which the offset feature can handle easily. It does not affect functioning. 

This does mean however that you can't use it to find your lost phone ...

Overall, his is a fun peripheral and well or together app. It is a bit tricky to get the settings right so you can capture meaningful data, and it's not a professional industrial espionage signal detector, but for what it is, it's totally worth getting and waving around to gauge what all the trappings of modern life are radiating at you. 

Review: BioLite thermoelectric stove

I finally laid hands on one of these, the BioLite thermoelectric power generation stove and have had some fun trying it out. I've covered these before, in a WishLust post, so I was really happy when a good deal came my way.

The general principle is this: a steel pot, an inner layer with air-holes, a protective outer mesh to prevent accidental contact with the hot pot, built in folding legs, and an attachable, thermocouple driven, high-capacity battery, with both USB output and an internal fan to drive the fire.

The fire output is measured as 3.4 kW (at low power with the fan) and 5.5 kW (With the fan at high power). I haven't yet timed it, but BioLite state that it takes as little as 4.5 minutes to boil 1 liter of water, but obviously boiling times vary by strength of fire, which then comes back to the quality of the fuel used.

Officially, 46g (1.6 oz) of wood to boil 1 liter of water, when I used it, I simply chopped up a fistful of wood, and fed it in, feeding as it went. One thing to note is that with a small combustion pot, you need to feed it regularly, as it burns down rapidly, more so if the fan is set to high.

The varnished pine ex-furniture I was using here went up like a candle, but I expect that denser, or damper wood to burn a bit lower and slower. Charcoal would be an ideal fuel, but anything form hay (which I used to light it) to paper and cardboard, twigs, pinecones, whatever, would do. If you have the fire going, and can fit the solid fuel into the firepot, it will probably work.


The output of the USB varied, with the intensity of the fire, but is documented as 2W @5V at a continuous burn, and a peak output of 4W @5V. This in turn gives a phone such as the iPhone 4S (2G) 20 minutes of charging provides 60 minutes of talk time.

As with the boil times, charging times would vary by device and by the strength of the fire.

I really like how by clever design the fan/charging pod, fits neatly into the fire pot, with the thermocouple poking out.

When packed, its 21cm (8.25") tall, and 13cm (5") around, and weighs only 930g (33 oz).

The triangular trivet which clips over the scalloped triangular metal lip provides extra security for placing pots or cups on the top, for cooking, water sterilizing, or what-have-you, doesn't clip nicely back onto the lip when the charging pod is stored, but the whole package comes with a nylon drawstring bag, so you're covered.

The USB port is nicely fitted, and covered by a silicone flap which keeps it drip, splatter and ash-free when not in use. The external honeycomb grill shields you from direct burns, but still heats up pretty swiftly, so don't try picking it up once burning.

I look forwards to coupling this with my newly-replaced PowerPot XL and doubling the off-grid charging and powering that I can offer my camp-site.

If the little BioLite looks a bit small for your needs, they also make these jumbo versions too, the BaseCamp.

Wish Lust: Beacon- Waterproof,Solar Power Bank,Light and Signal Device

This is mostly a summary of published materials, for a cool piece of tech that I saw come up on Kickstarter, and wanted to pass along to you all, especially in light of my most recent camping adventures where we managed to keep most of our personal technology and lighting charged by a combination of solar and thermoelectric sources.

Smith & Bradley, the maker of tactical and sport watches representing three successful Kickstarter campaigns, has launched its fourth Kickstarter project, The Beacon is a unique outdoor survival box combining waterproof storage for electronics, solar charging, and LED beacon signaling. Enclosed in a light and rugged, efficiently sized package, the Beacon unleashes the power of solar energy to not only charge, but protect, electronic devices. Further, true to its name, the Beacon comes equipped LED lighting for both emergency situations and casual use as well.

These lights are not after-thought add-on's, but rather first rate lighting solutions.

The entire package is crush-proof, waterproof, submersible, and floats even with an electronic device enclosed.The Beacon represents a first-of-its-kind combination of charging, solar, lighting, and waterproof technology. The Beacon allows for storage of two typical mobile phones, contains 3 USB charging ports that can all be used at same time, and a Polymer lithium ion battery. The battery is charged either by traditional wall socket charging or through the Beacon’s high capacity solar panel on the top of the case. The Beacon goes beyond a mere gadget, or drugstore charger. It is a tool that is an absolute necessity for anyone who ventures outside of the urban jungle.
The Beacon is 17cm (6 3/4") x 11cm (4.5") and 5cm (2") thick The interior storage compartment is 27mm (1.06") deep. The Beacon weighs just 15 ounces The Beacon is fully waterproof and is designed to float either empty or with a device enclosed with a device on board.

As a sustainable solar energy source, the Beacon has a fully-enclosed and waterproof solar panel on the lid of the device. Depending on the amount of sunlight, the Beacon's 1.5 w solar panel can provide a full charge to the unit in 36 hours with a 17% conversion rate-meaning that and average iPhone will charge from zero in an hour and a half.
The Beacon may also be charged by a conventional wall outlet The Beacon uses a Polymer Lithium Ion battery to operate the lights and to charge electronic devices and has a 10,000 mAh rating.

 The top of the Beacon is fitted with 12 White High intensity LED lights and 8 yellow hue, low-intensity lights to retain adequate night vision and retain more charge. (TESTED visibility up to 1 mile in blinking mode). As to charging, the Beacon is equipped with three USB charging ports for phones and tablets.
The USB interfaces include 2 ports which are 5v 1.0A and, 1 port 5v 2.1A and the Beacon's built-in battery life indicator shows charge at 25% 50% 75% 100%.

So, it's a fairly well thought out device, I like that it can store and charge two devices simultaniously, securely, safe from both water and other environmental hazards.

Review: Power Practical - PowerPotXL

Another Kickstarted project, another power generating project and addition to my off-grid arsenal.

This is a second generation thermoelectric device, that was launched as a Kickstarter in order to get the new models out there. These are the PowerPot X from Power Practical and I really liked it.

I've covered the charge-indicating power regulator from Power Practical previously, a USB dongle that indicated the wattage being output by power sources, (or conversely, the draw). I've also covered a thermoelectric generator before, in the form of the Tellurex tPod tea-light candle powered light/charger. I also wish-lusted the BioLite camp stove too, but haven't laid hands on one yet.

The PowerPot X is a sleek 10-watt generator that converts heat into electrical power. It works by housing a thermoelectric module between the base of the regular pot, and an aluminium base-plate. The modules are encased in weatherproof high temp silicone casing  Just heat up water in the pot and the PowerPot  will immediately start putting out electricity to power or charge your devices.

The smaller first-generation PowerPot V, only has a 1 amp output, but the X can push up to 2 amps, sufficient to charge larger and more power hungry devices like iPads and SLR batteries. 

The X ships with a standard USB (5V) port, and comes supplies with one of Power Practical's three-headed adapter cables (mini, micro and 30-pin). The detachable cable has a one-way-only connector to the body of the pot for safety, and three-feet of highly durable, flame-resistant cabling.  Built into the USB end of the cable is a solid-state voltage regulator provides safe and stable power at up to 10 Watts charge any number of small high-tech devices.


The PowerPot X comes in two sizes, the X is 2.3L (3 qrt) and the XL (which I selected, because bigger) is 3.8 L (4 qrt), each having the same kind of hard-anodized aluminium pot, with folding handles. The XL measures 19cm x 13cm (7.5" x 5"), and weighs 770g (11.2 oz) . Not bad for an output of 10w, 2amp, 5V as infinate as your water and heat source.

That's one thing to note. You can't run it dry, or the thermocouple will get fried. I've run mine on both an electric hotplate and by gas, both on the home stage, and also a propane BBQ plate, to remarkable success. Whilst out camping recently, we charged a number of iPhones and iPads, in fairly short order.



The size of the pot allowed me to boil 5 cobs of corn at a time as well as charging. This could be used at each meal-time to top up devices, recharge lights and batteries. As long as you have water to act as your thermal mass, and fuel to heat it, the Power Pot is a never-ending source of electricity in a lightweight and dual purpose package.

I almost look forwards to our next power outage, so I can dazzle the neighborhood with my awesome power.

Review: DOSS DMP7 Dynamo radio

For quite some time, I have been missing a key element in my survival kit.

Knives, lights, radios, pouches, oh my. Everything but a radio, as it happens. So when I saw a dynamo powered radio on ZAZZ, I jumped right onto it.

This is the DOSS dmp7 dynamo multifunctional radio / music-player. 

It is more than just a radio though, and it is jam-packed with extra features.

As well as a scanning (no dials or even readouts) AM/FM radio, it also has a SD card slot and USB port to play solid-state media music, and a 3.5mm stereo auxiliary input port.

A push button selector cycles through the input types and similarly, the scanning forwards and backwards is by push-button. I found this a bit difficult to use, or at least awkward, to try to find a station I was specifically after.

Each side cap features a LED lamp, also push button controlled. The left side is white and continuously lit.

The right side features four flashing red LED's and also activates a siren, which is both loud and annoying. Perfect, really. At full charge, the siren will play for 3 hours.

The unit features a 1000mAh 3.7V lithium polymer battery internally, but can also take four AA batteries as well. Power status indicators on the front also show how well the hand-cranking dynamo is working on your manual charge.

It also will charge USB devices with an output of 5VDC /500mA.

The radio will play for 7 hours, the torch will last 15 hours and the SD/aux playback will run for 3-5 hours.

Made of a pretty lightweight ABS plastic, and with exposed seams throughout, this is not really a rugged piece. More suited to sitting in the glove-box or in the box of camping gear than for treks in the Amazon, or salvage runs into Chernobyl, but given the eternal nature of the dynamo as a power source, not only for the radio, lights but also as a charging station, this little multi-purpose device is a welcome addition to my just-in-case collection. You never know when the power will go out, and radio is an excellent source of news and information.

Review: Power Practical - Practical Meter

Here's a very cool gadget that I backed via Kickstarter, and have added to my mobile power ensemble. I've previously covered power generating thermo-electric systems such as Tellurex tPod1
and the bioLite power generating campstove as well as some options for going solar.

I've also covered a couple of power units, such as the Snow Lizard SLXtreme-5 iPhone case and the Power Travellers Power Gorilla.


This is the Practical Meter which is a clever little in-line USB unit, which gives you a visual means of determining the power usage and output. The LED's built in give an indication of the number of Watts (0-10W, 0-2A) that is being drawn to a given device. This display is in two stages, blue LED's lighting up for 1-5W, and then with the flashing red LED indicating 6-10W.

This level of resolution enables the user to customise the output, either by adjusting cables for better USB version, or the power source. For example, with solar collectors, it would be possible to adjust the angle of the panel to catch the maximum solar output. The same would stand for a thermo-electric generator, or any USB source combination.


Having an adjustable and monitoriable source of power means that a survivor can tailor their resources to best serve their needs in the event of being cut off from reliable mains power. Whether it is solar, fire or from a variety of battery sources, with an item like the Practical Meter, you can at least see what you are getting. It's not a robust piece of tech, so needs to be treated with more care than a ruggedised piece of bug-out kit, but at 12g (0.4oz) it's a great value piece of tech to add to your "power-pack pack".

Review: Snow Lizard - SLXtreme 5 iPhone case

Attentive readers may recall the Kickstarter for the rugged, batter and solar powered phone case, the SLXtreme that I covered a while ago. You may also recall how I took it on the Tough Mudder twice last year but it didn't survive the second attempt.

The hinge cracked and I had some water leakage into the unit, temporarily shorting out my phone, and killing the unit. I was sad, because it was otherwise a great piece of kit, but I also realised that I had put it through a pretty arduous test for a phone case.
However, undaunted, when I saw that Snow Lizard had gone on to make a case for the iPhone 5 (which I had subsequently upgraded to) I got in touch with them to let them know that I was keen to put it through its paces, and they kindly sent me a replacement, in the form of the new and improved SLXtreme 5. In safety orange no less.

It features all the same aspects as the previous model: latch-locking top opening, press-button battery-check and solar power switch, 2,550 mAh battery, membrane speaker

and mic covers, rugged buttons for volume and "home" buttons, a lanyard loop, capacitive touch-screen membrane.  It also sports a thumb-screw bottom sealing latch, and an access port for both USB charging and for the headphone jack. Forward and read-facing camera ports allows for photo and video capture and selfies.

There had been significant improvements as well.The in-built battery is 550 mAh larger in capacity over the "4" version.

 The bottom access port is now tool-free access (even though previously all you needed was a coin), the main latch is now a two-part metal, rather than polycarbonate.

The most exciting new feature however was the headphone jack socket and adapter. With an o-ring sealed plug, and matching sealed adapter, it is possible to have the phone safely cocooned and waterproof, as well as having access to headphone and mic jacks, a feature I've missed since my yellow Walkman days

As with the previous model, the SLXtreme 5 is rated at IP-68 with an operational depth of two meters, so in theory you can take SLXtreme anytime you are in or around water. It doesn't float, however, so I kept mine well attached to myself with a lanyard of paracord. This "open" shot gives you an idea of the engineering used in this cases creation, and it certainly paid off.

having access to the USB port (not the Lightning port of the phone, mind) allows you to charge the phone and its built in battery, but not synch, as far as I can tell.

The main port includes optically clear and easy to clean lenses, padding and improved closing latches, as well as hinges, substantially stronger in design than the previous model, I was pleased to see.


The solar panel was also improved, with a more matte finish to the surface, and what looked to be improved collector crystals internally.


The finish and the feel of the case as a whole was a lot more refined, and with the extra metal hardware, and the changes to the bottom panel, I was really impressed with the design improvements the Snow Lizard team had put into the next model.

When I took the plunge, (so to speak), and took my phone in its new case into the warm waters of Fiji, I knew I was going to give it a good test. With its "2m" depth rating, I was trepidatious  about how it would survive the trip, but as you can see, it worked wonderfully.
I had to remind myself a few times to use the buttons to control photo operation, as the main screen doesn't work under water, but I was able to switch between still and video controls on the surface easily enough, with just a flick of the wrist to clear water from the surface.

I found that the edges were a little tight, when dealing with water droplets, for dexterous screen manipulation, but the macro-control I needed worked just fine. The phone was bone-dry after almost an hour in the water (and subsequent jet-ski back to the resort), and the footage turned out really well.

All in all, I am thoroughly pleased with my replacement SLXtreme 5 case, and would highly recommend them to anyone who wanted to do some wet and wild filming, mapping, long distance phone calls and catching up on your favorite Apocalypse Equippedness blog from a beach-side or mountain-top retreat with their trusty iPhone.

Shout out Review: PowerTravellers - Power Gorilla

Kevin Martin over at BreachBangClear has done a cool piece on a hefty ruggedized power-pack for charging his devices out in the field, for extended times.

Here's the link to his take on the PowerTravellers - Power Gorilla. This tablet sized battery boasts 20,000 mAh of charge, and you can see that Kevin put it through its paces in some pretty rough conditions.

I've covered a couple of power-generation devices in past, the thermoelectric Tellurex-tPod1, and a wish lust BioLight campstove to generate power, solar systems like those found on the SLXtreme iPhone case and the other small solar systems I have tried
but as yet haven't really covered how to STORE that power, other than in those built-in devices. Worth checking out Kevin's findings, for sure!

Wish Lust: Beyond Vision - CiFer unbreakable carbon fiber card tool

I received an email from the creators of this tool who have an ongoing Kickstarter project, who thought that you (awesome, Equipped reader) and I might be interested in.

I've covered several card-tools in past, including the Card-Sharp 2 knife (don't forget to take it out of your wallet at airports).  I have a carbon fiber card tool already, the Kumquat but its only real "tool" is a bottle opener. Cute, but not overly functional.

This tool, however, has a lot more going for it, and I was only too happy to share it with you, to add an EDC option we can all carry. This is the CiFer "Unbreakable" card tool.




Constructed of a top layer of 2/2 Twill wave 200gr/sqm carbon fibre which is 0.27mm thick followed by 3 layers of 2/2 Twill wave 650gr/sqm carbon with a thickness of 0.6mm. This gives a final thickness of 2.07mm and the best possible strength.

The thin (0.27mm) carbon fiber fabric gives you the perfect looking finish and the addition layer of thin carbon provides a lot of reinforcing support. There WILL NOT be any kind of fiberglass, eGlass, performanceGlass backing layer.

Thanks to the extremely durable yet ultra light material - carbon fiber, CiFer only weights as much as two credit cards (11-12 g).

The CiFer is a iPhone holder, cable management card (headphones can wrap in the side notches and the earbuds feed through the bottle opener), a bottle opener, a 7mm, 8mm, 10mm and 13mm wrench (along with a second 8mm one in the corner as a keychain hole and an etched ruler.

The phone holder will accept many flat-sided phones and tablets, but will not work with the iPhone 3 series.

The folks from Beyond Vision also gave the CiFer the "will it blend" test, and whilst the carbon fiber took some dings, in the end, it was too much for the blender body, shattering the vessel.

This is a pretty cool do-dad that I'd be happy to put in my wallet, especially as it could be carried through metal detectors. I do hope this tool makes it through funding, check it out.

Review: Strike Industries - SHOX iPhone 5 case

It's no great secret that I am a big phone freak. Since writing this blog, I've covered my iPhone 4S cases, namely the OPT silicone-armor case, a Maxpedition iPhone pouch, the feature rich Snow Llizard-SLXtreme "ruggedized" case, the hunter-friendly Griffin "mossy-oak" Survivor case as well as my most recent addition, the Strike Industries Battle-case (on top in this picture).

 When Strike industries sent me the 4S compatible Battle Case, they also kindly sent me their newest, 5/5S compatible case, the Battle Case Shox  and accessory pack!
 The most exciting part about the SHOX case, apart from having the same grippy, textured thermoplastic polyurethane material, is that the SHOX has built in shock absorbing springs built into the corners! Beveled lips hold the phone snugly in place, and keep the sides dust free.

The springs add a certain bulk to the corners of the phone, which I have found to be quite an exceptional addition, as it means that the speakers are off-set, and when held, are not blocked by the edge or heel of my palm. A built in sound reflector adds to that, without expanding the dimensions further. They also add a nub to grip on, increasing the retention capabilities of this case. Power and volume buttons are permanently protected, but accessible through the case.

The lines of those spring bumpers are combined with the finger loop, which as in the original Battle Case, provide a tremendous advantage for drawing the phone from a pocket or pouch, as well as retaining it in the hand, by carabiner or lanyard. Unlike the Original Battle Case, this loop is at the "top" rather than the "bottom" of the phone.

This case lacks the honeycomb macro-texture of the original, but instead features ridges, as well as bevels around an internal storage area, large enough to fit a couple of credit card sized objects.

These are accessible via a slot on the side, and visible through a window in the middle of the case. Both the window and the opening slot act as heat vents, I've found, especially useful when the phone is dash-mounted in my vehicle. The camera opening is wide enough to accommodate all the sensors and flash easily, reducing back-scatter considerably. 

Looking inside the case you can see that it has additional internal structure to add to the padding and protection that the semi-rigid polyurethane offers. I have also been using the clear plastic camera guard, which is included in the "plugs accessory set" and sits in an insert holder.  The other accessory plugs have been too much trouble for my day to day use, but for dust-proofing, look like would all serve their purpose ideally, except the sound-reflector cover, which I couldn't get to sit in the case correctly.

All in all, this is an excellent case, and my iPhone 5S is happily encased, protected and secure. I noted that several "third-party" Lightning plugs were too wide to fit, but a quick pass with the Dremel sorted that right out.


Also, for those that complained last time, Strike Industries now stock a Samsung S4 Active version and for the candy-coloured wolves out there, a iPhone 5C version as well.