Outdoor Roller Skates – Choosing The Correct Quad Roller Skate

Posted on June 30, 2011 by admin

About Outdoor Roller Skates

Since their invention in 1760, roller skates have become part of competitive sporting events as much as they have become a recreational pastime for many families. Consisting of a boot with 4 wheels fixed to the base, outdoor roller skates allow anyone (with a little practice) to be able to glide effortlessly across any hard surface. Outdoor roller skating is a great way to get exercise, spend time with your family, and even just sight see your home town from a different perspective.

Although it may seem like choosing the right outdoor quad roller skates should be as easy as finding a good fitting boot, in reality there are a number of variables that come into play. The first decision you must make is to choose whether you will be primarily roller skating indoors or outdoors. Second, you must decide if your goal is to have a comfortable leisurely skate or if speed is important to you.

Differences In Outdoor Roller Skates

While there are indoor outdoor roller skates, it is best to piece together a quad skate with one particular environment in mind. Rather than have a skate that performs adequately indoors or outdoors, with a few modifications you can have a skate exceptionally suited for each style of skating. Whether you are looking for men’s skates or outdoor roller skates for women, the variables and modifications are the same. Here are some choices you have when selecting a skate:

  • Boot Height – While most rental roller skates are ankle height, the flexibility you can have choosing a lower cut boot height will make moving around much more enjoyable and less constricting.
  • Single Action Vs. Double Action Trucks – Which is better? The single vs. double action truck debate has roots as deep as their inception. Only you can decide which is more comfortable for you by trying them out, but a good rule of thumb is to start with double action trucks if you are a recreational skater. Once you move into more competitive roller sports you can explore the world of single action trucks.
  • Wheel Density – By far the most crucial difference between indoor roller skates and outdoor roller skates is the density of the wheel measured in durometers (signified with a lower case “a” after a number). Most roller skate wheels fall between 70a-100a. The lower the number, the softer the wheel. Most outdoor skate wheels have a rating of 85a or less, while indoor roller skate wheels have a rating over 85a, usually in the mid-90a. The theory is that the softer wheels will give you more grip and better absorption of uneven surfaces like concrete and asphalt. Conversely, indoors those same wheels will slow you down significantly.

If you are unsure whether you will be skating indoors or outdoors, be sure to pick up two sets of wheels, one with a low durometer rating and one with a high rating. That way you have the perfect setup for both indoor and outdoor roller skates.

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Fishing Gloves – Keep Your Hands Protected While Fishing

Posted on June 30, 2011 by admin

What Are Fishing Gloves

Some of the best fishing in the world takes place in cold climates. The problem for most pro anglers is that despite the need to keep your hands warm and functioning properly, you must have the dexterity to tie knots, unhook fish, slow your reel, make adjustments to your equipment etc. Most gloves make it difficult to utilize your fingers to their full capacity, a problem exacerbated when fishing.

Luckily, manufactures like Glacier Glove have developed fishing gloves to keep your hands warm, without hindering your ability to fish. This is achieved by using high quality materials in their fishing gloves like neoprene and fleece. Additionally, most fishing gloves have a partially fingerless, or removable fingertip design that allows you to expose your finger tips when needed. This is perfect for tying knots, removing hooks from a fish’s mouth, or slowing your reel when bait casting.

Benefits Of Fishing Gloves

There are essentially three main advantages of using fishing gloves, all of which protect you from weather, water, and the fish themselves. It goes without saying that the ice cold wind on the surface of most lakes and oceans can pose a serious risk of frostbite. Wearing fishing gloves keeps your hands warm and protected from the snow and wind.

However, any normal glove would cause more harm than good as soon as it was dipped in the frigid waters to grab a fish. Waterproof fishing gloves eliminate this problem by using the same neoprene material found in wetsuits. This gives you the freedom to reach into the water for a fish as if it were the middle of summer.

Finally, fishing gloves give you protection from the teeth, scales and fins of cold and warm water fish, making it easier to hold them, remove your hook, and even clean them. The added grip of ice fishing gloves makes it easy to bring fish to the surface without a net.

Types Of Fishing Gloves

There are several different types of fishing gloves, each with a specific function. The most popular include full finger coverage with a slit allowing you to expose your finger tips in a moment. These are perfect for all types of fishing, but are particularly useful for bait casting and fly fishing where dexterity is a requirement to cast the lure. Fly fishing gloves specifically address this issue.

For milder climates, fingerless gloves give your hand some added warmth, without causing any clumsy or awkward hand control. On the opposite end of the spectrum, fish handling gloves are specifically designed to give your hands and fingers the most protection from fish teeth and fins. Their exterior is nearly impenetrable from anything a fish can do to cause harm. They are perfect for cleaning fish as well.
Fishing gloves are a smart investment no matter what climate you prefer to fish. The minimal investment will allow you to keep your hands out of your pockets and enjoy the sport and outdoors.

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Walkie Talkie Headset – Hands Free Walkie Talkie

Posted on June 30, 2011 by admin

Benefits Of Walkie Talkie Headsets

With a cell phone glued to everyone’s hip, you might be wondering what the advantage might be of using walkie talkies in today’s work place. While cell phones and text messaging has made it easier than ever to communicate with one another, there are still several advantages of using a walkie talkie headset in specific environments like security, police, fire, factories, farms, construction sites, and the military.  Like cell phones, walkie talkies are a form of wireless communication with a fairly large coverage area. While the coverage of walkie talkies is certainly much more limited than a cell phone, there are advantages that outweigh their shortfalls.

  • No Operation Costs – Unlike a cellular plan which charges by the minute or kilobyte, walkie talkies have no monthly fees or costs associated with them.
  • No Dead Zones – In areas of limited cell phone service, headset walkie talkies thrive.
  • Instant Real Time Communication – Most high intensity environments cannot afford the time it takes to dial a phone number and wait for an answer. Walkie talkie headsets are instant and in real time.

Over-head Walkie Talkie Headset

The most common type of walkie talkie headset using an over the head design. They are similar over-the-ear headphones with the exception that they have a boom mic that wraps around the front of the face to capture vocal input with clarity. The benefit of this design is that it can be easily configured to be a hands free walkie talkie headset which transmits only when it hears the sound of your voice.

Earpiece Headset

Earpiece headsets are a little more discrete than a full over the head model. They can also include a boom mic for clear vocal input. Earpiece headset walkie talkies are less obtrusive and can be extremely comfortable. VOX activation and push to talk (PTT) modes can be used for seamless communication.

In-Ear Walkie Talkie Headset

Required only in the most intense environments, in-ear walkie talkie headsets are available in one of two designs. The cheaper design sits in your ear similar to an earbud headphone. The audio is transmitted from the device through a wire into a small speaker in the earbud. Most professionals prefer, however, the transparent surveillance in ear walkie talkie headset that carries signal through a small clear tube. The ear piece is firmly planted inside the ear out of site, and offers superior noise canceling performance.

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Lacrosse Cleats – Men’s And Women’s Lacrosse Cleats

Posted on June 28, 2011 by admin

About Lacrosse Cleats

The game of lacrosse has roots as early as the 5th century when Native Americans would play a variation of the game from sun up to sundown for three days straight. The refined version of the game, limited to ten players per team for a shorter period of time, did not really emerge until the early 1900s. It gained popularity on the east coast of North America in the first half of the Century before spreading to the west coast and Europe as the years progressed.

Today there is an entire lacrosse industry with products and services dedicated to lacrosse players. In addition to a lacrosse stick, one of the most important pieces of gear a player can have is proper attire including lacrosse cleats. With the hundreds of styles of lacrosse cleats available, it can be difficult to decide which cleat is right for you. Additionally, the shoes used for football and soccer can look very similar to lacrosse adding even more confusion to the process.

Lacrosse Cleats Vs. Soccer Cleats

On the surface, it may seem like lacrosse cleats are identical to those used in soccer and football. The reality is there are several differences that make it crucial that you buy the correct footwear before playing each sport.

  • Height – The most noticeable difference between soccer and lacrosse cleats is the height the shoe rises up the ankle. Lacrosse cleats have a very specific height, mid to high ankle, that gives your ankle the support to make fast lateral movements.
  • Pivot Cleat – The cleat pattern on soccer and lacrosse footwear is very different, most notably with the forward pivot cleat being present on lacrosse cleats. This gives you the stopping and pivoting grip you need to keep up with the fast paced play of the game.
  • Length/Width – In general, lacrosse cleats are shorter and wider than soccer cleats.

Lacrosse Cleats Buying Guide

While it can be tempting to just buy the most popular brands like warrior lacrosse cleats, knowing what to look for in a cleat will help you make a more educated decision. Here are some of the features you should be looking for:

  • Proper Fit – It goes without saying the most important thing to remember when choosing a mens or women’s lacrosse cleat is a proper fit.
  • Leather/Synthetic – The benefits of leather are obvious – better form, better breathing, longer lasting, more comfortable etc. However, they do come at a price. While leather is certainly a superior material, synthetic or combination cleats will do just fine.
  • Molded/Removable Cleats – Molded cleats are definitely more common in lacrosse, but there is the option of having removable or replaceable cleats for field lacrosse. If you’re just getting start though, stick with a molded lacrosse cleat. The added weight and hassle of removable cleats are usually not worth it.
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Survival Knives – Custom And Military Survival Knives

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

Features Of Survival Knives

Survival knives are arguably one of the most important tools that you can have in any given survival situation. A proper knife can be used for a number of tasks ranging from killing dinner to chopping wood for fire and shelter. There are certain features that are included in survival knives that make them even more useful when faced against the wild. Designed with versatility in mind, these types of knives will not be the best at any one thing, instead they will do a good job of cutting and chopping across a wide variety of materials.

Some of the most common additional features in survival knives include:

  • Serrated Edges – There is some debate over the use of serrated edges in a survival knife. Those for the toothed design say that sawing and chopping dense materials is much easier. Those against say they are too difficult to sharpen to justify in the wild.
  • Full Tang Blade – The strongest knives are those who’s blade shaft extends all the way to the butt of the knife. Survival knives need to be extremely strong to handle intense cutting.
  • Fire Starter – Many survival knives include a fire starter in the sheath or on the lanyard of the knife. With a knife and fire starter, you can survive almost any situation.
  • Whetstone – Some of the highest quality knives include a whetstone inside the sheath for sharpening in the wild.
  • Hole Punch/Window Breaker – Many knives include a hole punch or window breaker in the butt of the knife for safe escapes through windows.
  • Sticky Grip – Made of rubber or some other polymer material, survival knives must have grips that can withstand hours of constant abuse without slipping from sweat.
  • Lashing Slots – Holes purposefully placed in the handle of a knife can be used to fashion a spear if necessary in the wild.

Types Of Survival Knives

The most popular survival knives generally start as a custom survival knife put into production. Knives like the Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Knife and the Gerber Prodigy survival knives are perfect solutions with their full tang, fixed blade, and partially serrated edges. Any military survival knives will have the quality and durability to last in the wild, just be sure to avoid fake plastic handled models. Rambo survival knives have always been a quality product, however their built in compasses often get in the way of the knife for what little value they add.

Survival knives to avoid include any sort of hollow grip design. Although it may seem useful to have matches, whistle, iodine pills, and a needle inside the handle of your knife, there are two major problems. First, it guarantees your knife is not full tang making it less durable than other knives. Second, if you loose your knife, you loose all of your survival tools as well. Do yourself a favor and keep your knife and survival kit separate.

Other Things To Consider

When choosing the perfect survival knife there are other things you should consider beyond its bonus features. Beyond being full tang, you also want to pay attention to the type of metal your knife is made of. Stainless steel is most common because it is sharp, durable, and won’t rust in the elements. However, carbon metal blades are said to keep sharper for longer, but will rust much sooner. Also, pay attention to the length of your blade. We recommend a lenth between 6 and 10 inches. Any less and you can’t do the work, any more and it becomes a burden to carry and wield.

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Gerber Bear Grylls Knife – When It’s You Vs. Wild

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

Who Is Bear Grylls?

Made famous by his television series “Man Vs. Wild,” Bear Grylls has had a lifetime of adventure. Most notably, he was the youngest Briton to reach the summit of Mount Everest at the age of 23 after months of climbing and a near death experience at 19,000 feet. He is the holder of several world records including the first person to circumnavigate Great Britain on personal water craft as well as the highest formal dinner party at altitude. Today he is a speaker, author, television host, and the youngest scout chief at the age of 35.

About Gerber Knives

Founded in 1939 by Pete Gerber, Gerber knives are some of the most well known and respected knives in production. They were the first knife company in history to team up with a custom knife maker (David Murphy) to put a custom design into production. Today Gerber knives specialize in fighting, hunting, boot knives and multi tools, with over 300 employees in their Oregon headquarters.

Gerber Bear Grylls Knife – Ultimate Survival

Gerber has teamed up with Bear Grylls to create some of the best survival knives on the market. The flagship Ultimate Survivor Knife definitely lives up to it’s name. It is a fixed blade knife with serrated edges for cutting, slicing and sawing. It’s five inch stainless steel blade and comfortable grip are exactly what you’d expect from Gerber. But the added features are what set it apart as the Ultimate Survival Knife, such as:

  • Pommel Strike – The metal pommel strike on the butt of the blade is perfect for hammering and crushing
  • Lash Holes – Easily fashion a spear using the holes on the grip.
  • Safety Whistle – The whistle on the lanyard of the knife is always helpful in emergency situations.

Sheath Features:

  • Sharpening Stone – Simply flip open the sheath to reveal a diamond sharpening stone.
  • Fire Starter – Embedded in the sheath is a fire starter, something that really sets this knife apart. Additionally, the back side of the blade has a cut out for use with the fire starter.
  • Included air to ground and survival guide.

Other Gerber Bear Grylls Knives

In addition to the Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Knife, there is a line of survival products licensed by Bear himself. As chief scout, he has developed two scout knives, the Bear Grylls Scout Drop Point Knife, and the more compact Bear Grylls Compact Scout Knife. Both have a folding blade and locking feature for ultimate convenience and control.

Also in the Bear Grylls survival line is a complete Survival Ultimate Kit, Fire Starter, Survival Series Parang (Machete), and other folding knives.

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Beach Tent – Enjoy The Comfort Of Shade At The Beach

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

What Is A Beach Tent?

Relaxing all day at the beach is one of the reasons most people vacation in tropical locations. However, absorbing all of the sun’s harmful UV rays all day can really take a toll on your body. Sunscreen and lotion do a good job of protecting your skin, but occasionally, more protection is required. Beach tents are the perfect way to keep the sound of the ocean in your ears and the sand in your toes without risking sun poisoning, dehydration, or fatigue.

A beach tent differs from a traditional dome camping tent in a number of ways. Primarily, the purpose of dome tents is to provide protection of wind, rain, bugs and animals. They are therefore designed to be sealed shut and water tight. Beach tents are usually open on one half and are designed only to protect you from the sun and give you a sand free location to store your belongings.

Types Of Beach Tents

There are several different varieties of beach tents that all serve a different purpose. Among each different type, there are a few similarities. Primarily, all beach tents will have some type of UV coated nylon or polyester material designed to take hours of beating from the sun. Additionally, rather than the traditional water tight walls, most beach shade tents will have mesh walls which allow you to enjoy the cool ocean breeze. However, there are a few specialty types of beach tents that have specific purposes:

  • Baby Beach Tent – Baby beach tents are a smaller, more portable version of traditional beach tents with a few key variations. First, they guarantee more shade by having a lower hanging roof or UV protected walls on all sides. This gives baby the most protection from the sun. Second, baby beach tents usually have a raised floor lip that keeps sand from getting in the tent.
  • Beach Cabana Tent – The most popular beach tents have a shape similar to a sea shell standing on end. With only half of the material of a normal tent, beach shades or pop-up cabanas are easily portable and set up in as little as 5 seconds. Simply position the back of the tent to face the sun, and enjoy the panoramic view of the shore.

Benefits Of A Beach Tent

The health benefits of a beach tent are obvious. Everything from fatigue to melanoma or other skin cancers can be avoided by properly protecting yourself. However, there are other benefits of beach tents. For example, having a cool and sand-free location to store your beach equipment can keep them safe as well as increase their longevity. Items like cellular phones and other electronics can be severely damaged by long term exposure to direct sunlight. Not to mention your pina coladas will stay frozen a lot longer in the shade!

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Coleman Instant Tent – Are They Worth The Money?

Posted on June 8, 2011 by admin

What Is A Coleman Instant Tent

For the weekend camping family, one of the most frustrating tasks upon arriving to your campsite is setting up the tent. Instead of spending your free time with your family enjoying the outdoors, the first few hours of your trip are usually dedicated to setting up a base. Luckily there are now solutions which now allow you to cut that time to literally minutes instead of hours.

At the heart of any campsite is the tent, which under normal conditions can take an inexperienced camper anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour to set up. However, with the coleman instant tent, you can set up your tent in 60 seconds or less. Due to the ingenious built-in-pole design, all that is required of you to assemble the coleman instant tent is to telescope the rods and snap them into place. After you’re finished, the tear down takes just as little time, allowing you to maximize your time outdoors.

Benefits Of A Coleman Instant Tent

There are a number benefits that separate coleman instant tents from other instant tents on the market. First and foremost the tent is much easier to set up and tear down than any other brand of instant tent. However with that claim comes the responsibility to be both wind and weather resistant. The coleman instant tent does not disappoint, with a 150D polyester fabric twice as thick as traditional tents, along with thick steel poles, this tent will have no problems should you experience even a severe storm. Coupled with the leak proof zipper seal flaps, and water proof “weather-tec” fabric, you’re sure to stay bone dry despite the forecast.

Our coleman instant tent review also led us to discover two additional features to love. First are the interior accessible zipper vents for keeping cool and dry during storms. Second is the over-sized duffel bag used for storage. Finally a tent bag that doesn’t require a machine fold to fit!

Coleman Instant Tent Sizes

Ranging from the manageable 4 person 8’ x 7’ foot model to the full blown coleman 8-person instant tent, you’re sure to find a footprint that meets your needs. All three models share all of the same benefits including the one piece construction, 150D fabric, and rain fly free design. Some added features of the 8-person model are a simple room divider for separating areas in the tent, as well as a 6 foot 5 inch center height making it possible for most people to stand comfortably in the tent. While the 6-person coleman instant tent can fit two queen size air mattresses, the 14’x10’ eight person can fit up to 4 queen size mattresses comfortably.

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