Review: Contour GPS

So some of us may think that we have our priorities straight when it comes to disaster preparedness and response, we have our EDC squared away, bug-out-bags filled and stowed, pantries stacked and indexed but here's the thing. When people (and by people I mean the people I see doing this online, on the news and myself...) see something heavy going down, they often whip out a camera, take some snaps, maybe film some to go up on YouTube and then deal with the situation however they may. There are those who go out of their way to see exciting thing up close and personal, and when they do, sometimes having your hands free to deal with the situation is more important than getting it fully in frame with the right aperture settings.

For those people (myself now included) there are the helmet-cams! These little, robust cameras are designed to be strapped to ones person, their kit, or whatever, and give you an "I was there view " of the action they put themselves in the way of. Here is my review of the one I recently purchased and put through its paces. This is the Contour GPS. This little nugget of technology houses a 135o lens, and will capture video at 720p at 60 frames per second or 1080p at 30 frames per second. It will also take continuous stills and has some smarts to auto-adjust for lighting conditions. It features built in GPS and has a Bluetooth option. The Bluetooth option allows you to configure the cameras settings, and check the alignment with your iThingy acting as a viewfinder.

An omnidirectional mic allows the sounds of the action to be recorded too, and its gain is also adjustable to cut out high-speed wind noise. The body of the camera is a well machined aluminium tube, which houses all the electronics, the GPS antenna and the Bluetooth card slot. The lens is centrally located and is built into a 180o rotatable swivel, to allow you to mount the camera and adjust the angle of its capture. Twin built in laser-sights allows you to level the picture as there is no view-finder, or any display options internally. The removable battery is USB rechargeable, and the micro-SD slot takes up to a 32Gb card. There is a toggle switch to move between pre-set setting options.

The case is marketed as water-resistant but it is NOT sealed, the end cap is plastic, which slides and locks into place but it by no means watertight, or even dust-proof. That's not to say it doesn't fare any worse than other camera battery-covers, but not what i'd hoped for in an otherwise rugged camera. So, i also bought the waterproof case. which is rated for dives up to 60m deep. It latches down at the front, and has a magnetic induction slide-switch to operate the camera (only works to turn it ON, with mine though however ... very disappointing bug). The back-cap is the Achilles-heel of this device.



Both the waterproof case and the main camera share a rail-attachment system, that allows for a number of kinds of mounts to be fitted. The camera comes with an adjustable goggle-strap mount, and two adhesive "flat-surface" mounts. that slide and lock into place along either side of the camera. I've mounted this to the side of my kendo men helmet, to the shoulder of my Platatac Bravo hydration pack and so far have managed to only get a few "straight" shots. Learning is part of the fun. What ISN'T fun, is the difficulty I've had getting the camera to actually film when I want it to. There are four sets of indicator LED's on the main body; a battery indicator, a memory indicator, a "status" indicator and one for "recording". Between these, and the press-button power button, and "slide-to-record" switch, you'd think someone tech-savy would have a breeze getting it going. Not so much. The combination of "press-and-hold" and "secret extra un-labled button" make for a clumsy system that requires getting used to before you capture that big exciting event. Like several hours of laser-tag, (which I missed the exciting parts of) or some good kendo footage (also didn't record when i thought it was...)

I did however get several hours worth of Tough Mudder footage, which although askew by about 30o due to how I mounted the camera, and required a battery change "in the field" to get a total of 5 hours of the 5 1/2 hours I was doing the challenge, and am really impressed with how both the camera and waterproof case held up.

So, clumsy user-controls, and non-water proof body aside, this is a fun toy, and I plan to film a lot of things with it.

Review: Platatac Bravo Hydration

With the upcoming Tough Mudder Australia event this weekend, I wanted to show you one piece of kit that I've been using, both for preparation for this, but also on my Stargate Lasertag LRP events, as well as a good solid piece of outdoor and adventure kit. This is the Platatac Bravo Hydration System, which is coupled with a Source WXP 3L Bladder. This was an item that I managed to put on my wish-list, and was lucky enough to receive. I've always been fond of keeping fluids on me, mostly with my combination of my SIGG bottle, which I've reported on, and carry in a FUP pouch everywhere I go. However, sometimes it's more practical to sling all of that onto a backpack, rather than hanging off a belt, especially if you're going to be away from reliable water for a while, or know you'll be doing some hot hard work. That's where a bladder reservoir comes in so handy, especially if they are well made, and carried. That's where the Bravo comes in.


As with all the Platatac range, it's made from the 1000d Cordura, and features a 4 channel, 6 row battery of PALS/MOLLE attachment points on the back, as well as 3 nylon D-clips on the sides of each ventral edge. These are great for either attaching the pack to another piece of gear, like a pack or plate-carrier, or to sling shock-cord through to attach items to the Bravo itself, like a poncho, or the like. The Bravo also comes equipped with a reinforced drag-handle, with hook-and-loop for nameplates or the like and also a hanging loop, which I've found very useful. As you can see from the side-profile, the pack itself expands quite a lot, and there is in fact room for an entire second hydration bladder, should you so desire, (remembering that 1L water = 1kg!) but it also means that there is room within the pack for other things (be sure not to pack anything pokey though!). You could also use the D-clips to use shock cord to compress the pack, keeping the load snug and secure, and adding some water-pressure, but I haven't had any concerns with this.


 The "front" of the pack looks like front side of most backpacks, with a couple of exceptions. As well as the usual Fastex clips and webbing loops, a couple of D-Clips and a sternum-strap for stability (which also includes a signalling whistle in the clip, nice one Platatac!). The backing of the Bravo is a moisture wicking-mesh, and features a drainage grommet. The zipper for access to the insides of the pack is on the "inside" and can be seen as the big curved arc at the top of the pack here. There are ports for the hydration tube at either shoulder, and large squares of hook-and-loop towards the top the shoulder-strap gives you more control over the placement and movement of the tube. The wide mouthed screw opening of the bladder fits snugly into the dorsal side of the pack, and is totally removable.

The Source bladder that came with the Bravo is all kinds of awesome as well, featuring their TASTE-FREE™/BACTERIA-FREE™/CARE-FREE™ Grunge-Guard™ System which basically equates to a easy to clean, easy to maintain, and nice to use bladder and drinking tube (which is in itself covered in a woven tube, for protection, UV resistance and insulation). The mouthpiece is angled 90o which means it is easier to use, with less cod needed to get it into your mouth, and features a really good drinking valve. Both the mouthpiece and tube detach from the bladder for ease of cleaning, with spill-free valves built in, and the bladder itself has both a wide mouthed screw opening and a fold-and-slide closure too. I had some misfortune with my first bladder, after not reading the care-manual, I rinsed it out with hot-hot water, which somewhat melted and warped the bag. DON'T DO THIS!

I'm really pleased with the Bravo, and the Source bladder Platatac paired it with. Its been out adventuring with me a couple of times, and will be getting a serious workout this Saturday at Tough Mudder. Wish me, and my gear, good luck!


[EDIT]

I survived the Tough Mudder, as did my Bravo! I really appreciated having a source (har har) of hydration along the way, and it also gave me a good platform to run my Contour GPS off (although running makes the footage a bit jiggy).

The pack stayed snug to me as I ran, crawled, slid, swam, climbed and trudged my way through the course, was barely noticeable as far as wear and rubbing is concerned and the tube system was really convenient. The mud-cap worked really well, and hardly any muck got on the mouthpiece, even when I was caked with almost an inch of it to my whole front. I saw a lot of discarded hydration systems, mostly cheep looking ones, Camelback being the only name I recognized, but there was no way I was going to discard mine! One thing I noticed, the wide-mouth screw-cap leaked a bit. Should it have an o-ring in it? Maybe Platatac can let me know if I've lost mine, or just didn't screw iit down tight enough.

Review: North Face pants

Welcome back, readers. I've been a bit slack recently whilst working hard, traveling and generally trying to be a more rounded person. Well, I've had enough of that and its time to get back to Apocalypse Blogging! I like to pack lightly, if I can, at least in regards to what I'll be wearing. SO I often look for clothes that will serve me over several different seasons in one day. Melbourne is like that, and I like being able to move from warm to chill, indoor to outdoor, with ease and still fit in wherever I go. I've been wearing cargo-pants for years now, and cargo-kilts to boot, but last Giftmas, my lovely partner got me a set of these, which are smart looking and add a touch of slacks to my otherwise khaki wardrobe. Here they are on me, the North Face Burke pants in "NEW TAUPE" after a week-long trip to New Zealand for work, and wrangling Triceratops Girl and Tactical Baby on my return. The best parts of these pants are their ease of wearing, and how they handle a variety of use and still coming up looking snappy. I keep my pants up here with my 215Gear Riggers Belt which made it though airport security without having to come off even once, WINNING! The only drawback is the belt loops being a little narrow, I had to detach the male end of the Cobra buckle to feed it through.


So, what can I tell you about the pants? They are made of a 92% Nylon, 8% Elastine blend, which is supple, abrasion-resistant with very good stretching, whilst not feeling like wearing baggy lycra. A cool thing about the fabric is that is has been treated with a Durable water repellent (DWR) finish which I found was able to not only shed the light drizzle and fog I encountered in Wellington, but dried really swiftly when it did become damp. It also stays fairly clean, even after several crammed-into-economy-seat airplane meals and a weeks wear, and baby-dribblings. There are several pockets, which I always find very handy. One great feature of these, are the zippers that are fitted, which are reverse-coil zipped for smooth opening and were cleverly placed so that the zipper head tcked under a hood, out of the way, and snag free. The two front pockets, two at the back and one at the leg feature that zipper closure, and there is a second front of leg, unzippered pocket as well.

I really like being able to stow my needfuls, and have them on-hand when I need them, or just to free up my hands for a moment whilst I breach containment, make up a baby bottle, or crawl under a desk to find loose cabling. I wanted to show you the insides of these pants too. The waist band is Brushed tricot, and is both smooth, soft and grippy, an unusual combination, sure, but helped to keep my shirts tucked in, as well as feeling pretty good on the skin when going topless. You can also see the stitching, which was solid all the way though, and also isn't rough on the skin after prolonged wear. The waist size worked well for me, and was true-to-measure, I tend to get a size or so too wide, and belt up, in order to get legs long enough. The fit around the legs was great, and the range of motion, and their "ride" was really good too. The fabric clung to me knees a bit when clambering over obstacles, but the stretch of the fabric stopped this from slowing me down much. The material is also very light, and surprisingly good at stopping the high winds I encountered in Wellington, crease resistant and roll up nicely to convert these pants into erstwhile shorts when the need arises. They also stayed wrinkle free, which was a super bonus. So, in summary, I can heartily recommend these pans for those who want the functionality of outdoorsy clothes, pockets and durability, but don't wish to look all "tacti-cool" at the office, lab or airport-security line.

Home Front: Airports

Location Location Location: Airports

Having been in a few recently, I have given some time to thinking about airports and how they may be utilized in the event of disaster. I've been in a lot of airports around the world, and spent many hours sitting and wandering around them. I've always paid attention to the areas that passengers can go, emergency exits, emergency services and even the shops that line the through fairs. The design of airports is presumably a well documented topic, but one I am unschooled in. I'll instead discuss only my observations and suppositions, rather than points of confirmed data.

So, bearing that in mind, here are some things that I've observed. Large metropolitan airports are large, high maintenance entities. They have many service dependent features, not the least is the human element. Airports y their very nature are hubs of transport and have a heavy throughput of traveling people, as well as those picking up and dropping off. They also have a fairly significant service population; shop attendants, booking and checkin staff, customs and immigration staff, luggage staff, aircraft maintenance crews, air traffic control, cleaners, local police, emergency response crews and administration staff. Being what they are, airports also have rather unique requirements. Large expanses of flat, clear land for runways. Areas free from flooding, stable ground, with security fences sufficient to stop wildlife and deter trespassers are all aspects of airport requirements.

Much like hospitals, airports would require a certain amount of redundancy in their systems; radar and signaling being two major ones, and the electricity to run them. The movie Die Hard2 gives us a look at what kind of situation an airport without comm, radar and power could find itself in whilst trying to operate "as usual". Just in this last trip severe weather shut down one major airport and another regional one, although that was more due to high winds and poor visibility, although I did hear that the regional airport was losing power intermittently. In the event of widespread disaster, flights in or out of airports may be disrupted simply by the conditions on the ground, because whilst there are many technologies available to assist in landing under adverse conditions it may come to pass that landing or taking off may be too dangerous for the aircraft, pilots or passengers. Much like racetracks, runways need to be left clear of obstructions and have an unbroken surface.

Apart from the practicalities of the landing and taking off of aircraft, the terminal buildings themselves, and all adjoining and associated buildings, like "the tower", hangars, fuel depots and the like are all highly secured facilities due to the sensitive nature of air travel safety and security. Again, security fences, locked doors and an active security force ensure that the public don't have access to these areas.

Where am I going with all of this? Well, here goes. Airports are hubs of traffic, they may well constitute "a way out" or at the very least "the way home" in the event of a disaster. It seems likely that many people will try to get to them in order to do that, and anyone who has seen what people are like when a single flight is cancelled can imagine what an airport full of cancelled flights must look like. Multiply that by people who don't have bookings, are desperate and think how the very regulated air travel system would cope. Not well I expect. Airports are designed to facilitate the movement of people, but in an orderly and systematic fashion.

Would they be a good place to go in the event of a disaster? I don't think so, unless it's to escape widespread fires or other natural disasters where wide, flat, empty land is valuable. Maybe later on, after the initial wave of panic and chaos. As I've said, they have lots of resources, redundant infrastructure and are designed with security in mind.

Home Front: Foreign cities

I'm very well traveled, I grew up being a lifestyle expatriate, having lived in 8 different cities across the world before I was 18, and visited many more on holidays. These days I travel mostly for work, and on occasion find myself in cities not-my-own.

For some people this might actually be a daunting task, for me it was how I grew up. Strange cities bring several challenges to first timers and seasoned travelers alike. I tend to go everywhere on foot when I am staying in the CBD Street signage and road rules is different from city to city, and can be jarring when you are trying to navigate, but with a decent street map that almost every hotel offers. One way to help get your bearings is to pinpoint tall well signed buildings and use them as landmarks. Something with 4 story high logos are usually works well.

Something that new cities present a traveler with is not knowing which neighborhoods are good, which ones are bad, where is fun and where is either trouble or boring. Simply having good situational awareness (something that is good to develop no matter where you are) and being able to present a confident demeanor has always gone a long way for me, and I've never had any trouble. Being bright and cheerful, polite and having an accent always helps too. It's in fact something that I have played up at times. I don't have a proper Aussie accent, by a long shot. Too many years in North America, an American parent and "the media" have graced me with what I call a "Generican" accent, even with 6 years of English schools, in the UK and the UAE, and living in Australia for the last 20 years. I can, however, "put it on" or at least say a few things to put me more in the "Aussie" bracket. In the event that that doesn't cut it and someone twigs that I'm "Gererican", and might want to cause trouble based on some poor foreign policy decisions in the last 30 years, my fall back plan is "I lived in Canada, eh!" cheating, perhaps, but true. Being a dual citizen has many advantages, but not being a target has more.

Knowing a bit about where you are going is key however. The geography, seasonal weather, local events and current affairs, and customs are all things that can be researched before arriving, and can for the most part be planned for. Knowing what you'll need to wear, both for weather and to fit in, or at least not ruffle any feathers is an easy challenge to meet. It's March, and cool and wet here in Wellington where I am right now. It was hot and damp when I left Melbourne. I've packed layers and it's working just fine for me. Wellington isn't prone to earthquake, but no one thought Christchurch was going to be hit as hard as it was last year either. It's not a high risk, but one I made sure I was aware of, so as not to be caught unawares.

If in doubt, I use some wilderness observation skills to make sure I have a good time. Go where the locals go, do what the locals do, eat were the locals eat. Getting a local guide can help a lot, but they're best when you know them already, even if it's a friend of a friend. Getting in touch with your network when going away, seeing who knows who and what there is there to see, do, eat, or on the otherside, what to avoid.

I love the chance to visit foreign cities, to see the sites and add those experiences to my repertoire.

Wish Lust: Tent - Tentsile

It's not often I come across a piece of gear so unique that I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it. this certainly is an example. I've seen canopies on hammocks before. I've seen no-pole tents. Multi-person suspended tree platforms and suspended shelters, but never all at once and never do well thought out and realized. This has it all. It is the http://www.tentsile.com/ and it is simply amazing.

The basis is fairly simple, take a modern tent, and suspend it in the air to give a stable and raised camp site. Tentsile offer three designs; the Type A, a single triangular shape built for 1-2 people, the Type B, which features three radial triangular arms centering on a d12 looking hub, for 3-4 people, and the Type C which is a scaled-up Type B, for 5-8 people.

All of these tents are constructed from several different materials, all the sheet materials are fire retardant and UV resistant treated, and the components are as follows: 2 Ounce silicon coated nylon Rip-Stop fly sheet, 4 Ounce silicon coated nylon Lower sheet, 6 Ounce PU coated texurised nylon Hammocks Mesh bed flooring. The body of the structures are made up of
a 35mm webbing strap skeleton 30mm and the different models feature a sparse number aluminium central poles and battens for some internal structure. The Type B Tentsile’s skeleton is made from webbing straps is rated at a breaking strength of 5 tonnes and is configured to take the weight of four adults and their luggage, or 500 kg (1,100 lbs).

How does it all work? Well, the product pamphlet states that Tentsile can currently be set up where there are 3 anchoring locations at high level. Each radial wing ends in a hook which is coupled to a tentioning cord and ratchet. Once the three cords have been ratchedted tight, a fourth cord is coupled to a groud anchor and ratcheted downwards, creating a tension space. This is just the kind of tree climbing fun time that is right up my alley. The brochure goes on to suggest that anchoring points can be found in both rural and urban contexts. Trees make an ideal post for attachement but a simple loop plate fitting can be attached to the side of any building and even vehicles can provide the necessary fixing locations.

There are obvious reasons to get up off the ground in some situations; flood prone areas (like those seen in Moulamein, NSW for Confest New Years, 2011), where there are critters on the ground who might find you tasty (Lions, Tigers, Bears, oh my!) and where being in a high-hide has observational advantages. (not for use in T-Rex prone areas. ) I've lived and been out adventuring in some places we're there are indeed critters who would come into your tent and eat you, and have also found myself camped in a wet and marshy spot, and also on some pretty cold ground. I can see some real practical advantages to camping up off the ground, as well as it being a fully awesome concept.

Obviously all this high end design comes at a cost. These tents are bespoke technology, they are hand made, and in order to do what they do, by necessity very highly engineered. I don't usually go into the costs of things I review, but looking around on their website, associated Facebook page and the like, I saw time and again the question of interested parties. "How much do they cost?" This being information that you can only get by asking, I thought I would post it to save you the trouble. The TypeA is listed as USD$2900, the TypeB as USD$8620 and the TypeC as a whopping $11800.

Pretty much a dream killer for me, but I have great hope that the idea will take off, after these folks get a lot of good press and cash, and the manufacture process will speed up, dropping costs to a level where those of us without personal mini-subs can pick one up. I fully expect to see these featured in a blockbuster Hollywood hit sometime soon, they are simply amazing. I will be strongly thinking about my own options for setting something like this up. Till then, I'll dream the dream. And prepare.

Review: Wire Saw

One of my readers came across an item on one of my favorite gadget-sites, and thought I should know about it. Turns out, I already have one, or similar at least, but I thought it apt to tell you all a bit about it too. This is a Wire Saw. For those of you who have never seen one, it is a strand (or strands) of wire with some form of edge cut into it. Mine has a spiraling ridge that is cut into the strand running the length of the high-tensile wire. I have also had one that had circular grooves cut into the entire length of the wire, (confiscated by airport security somewhere...). The way these are used is to drape the wire over the item to be cut (wood, plastic, soft metals, bone, whatever) and by tensioning the wire with the rings, cutting by drawing it back and forth.

Because it's a flexible tool, and includes the split rings at each end, the length of draw can be extended by adding cords, which can even enable you to cut overhanging, out of reach or hard-to reach spots. You can also fit it to a flexible pole to make a bow-saw. The offering from Zazz has a multiple strand wire which is probably more sturdy and lasting, as well as giving a better bite and cut. I've used mine to cut a dangling broken branch as thick as my forearm which was blocking a CFA water-truck whilst at a festival, much to the volunteers delight, to rough-cut 2x4 planks and to put notches into poles for lashing purposes. Never a problem with cutting, no failures. Bear in mind this isn't nearly as bitey as a proper toothed sawblade, or a chain-saw (even the manual kind, thanks to Ken of Modern Survival Blog), but its light, packs to nothing and won't cut your gear even when stored haphazardly.

One of these features in the Bear Grylls' Ultimate Survival Pouch that I reviewed a while back, and I can't recommend them enough to anyone who adventures in the wide and wild outdoors, wants to be ready in case of disasters, or perhaps just wants to look like a bad-ass zombie-decapitating mall-ninja! I keep mine in my messenger bag, I'll let you be the judge of my mall-ninjaness.