Are you tired of your dog pouncing on your freshly opened tennis balls and chewing them into a soggy, stringy mess? To keep Fido out of your tennis bag, you might consider getting him some of his own balls.
The Orbee-Tuff “tennis” balls from Planet Dog are more durable than regular tennis balls and designed specifically to withstand repeated chewing sessions from doggy teeth. Non-toxic and recyclable, the balls are designed to travel further when you throw them (or hit them with a racket), and there’s a little hole leading to a hollow core where you can stuff treats inside to give dogs even more reason to prefer these to your tennis balls. Thanks to the hollow center, the ball makes a whistling sound when you throw it, which makes it easier for Fido to keep track of if your throw games last until the sun goes down.
A 3-pack of balls is available from Amazon for $20: Orbee Tennis Balls
What kind of gadgets are going to be popular on the slopes with skiers and snowboarders this year? Well, I’m not a pro at either, but based on my experience, I’d say these electronic optic ski goggles are likely to be a hit.
I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of time taking my goggles on and off (which is a dumb thing to do because they get all fogged up), because it seems to be too light or too dark with them on. Well, these goggles have a button you touch to electronically adjust the lenses from light to dark, so you can get the view just right. That way you can wear the same pair for night skiing as you do under the glare of the morning sun.
At $200, the price will put them out of some people’s ranges, but maybe you can ask mom and dad to get them for you as a Christmas present.
Whether you’re a boarder or a skier, a helmet is always a smart idea (I can say this with full conviction since I’ve cracked my head on the ice more than once… they can’t all be fresh powder days). But when you head into the lodge and take off your helmet, your hair is a mess. This is probably more of a concern for the girls than the guys, and the lightweight K2 Moxie Helmet is designed with women in mind, long-haired women in particular. Aside from keeping you safe, the helmet sports a built-in “pony port” to let your hair hang out the back. No more trying to mash it up into the helmet or letting it hang lose below the helmet where it becomes crusted with snow and ice.
Other features of the Moxie include Active Matrix ventilation, an easy-fit system, “stow-away integrated posts” for helmet/goggle systems, a washable lining, and 2-season removable ear liners. The helmet is available in 4 sizes and 5 colors (black, silver, white, light blue, and champagne).
If your yoga instructor is doing her job, you’ll get nice and sweaty when you go to class. Good for your body, but your yoga mat is bound to get a bit… ripe after a while. Most of these things aren’t machine washable, so what do you do? Well, you can grab one of these handy little yoga mat cleaners. The individually wrapped wipes are infused with essential aromatherapy oils and sanitized to effectively clean your mat. They dry quickly, “leaving the yoga mat with its important sticky surface and a faint lingering scent that invigorates the senses and adds to your yoga practice.” Available scents include lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, and tangerine.
The wipes are environmentally friendly (plus the packaging is 100% recyclable) as well as skin friendly (the cleaners don’t use alcohol or bleach). It’ll cost you $11.95 for a pack of 20 individually wrapped wipes.
I love my iPod, but I hate those stupid wires attaching it to my head when I’m at the gym. I have to be careful around the weight equipment or I end up getting them caught and having the headphones yanked out of my ears. That’s why I would love to have something like the Plantronics Pulsar 590A wireless headset.
According to the manufacturer’s site, the headphones work with cell phones (I could care less about that aspect… I don’t call people in the middle of my bench press routine) and mp3 players (now that’s what I’m talking about). For those who want to know where else they can use the wireless headset, it also works with laptops, tvs, DVD players, etc. so you wouldn’t need to dedicate them to gym use.
I think something like this would be good for runners, walkers, and anyone who works out with their iPods or other mp3 players as well as body builders (I just know that the weight room is the only place those wires have really bugged me). Unfortunately, the price for the Pulsar 590a is $250, which means I probably won’t be getting a pair. That’s a little too much for something I might break at the gym. It might be worth the investment if you like to roam around the house while you talk and listen though.
BiM (Bones in Motion) Active has merged GPS-enabled cell phones with the Internet, so runners, cyclists, inline skaters, and the like can track their progress. You can track your path using the BIM service, upload it wirelessly to the Internet, then merge it with data about weather and terrain, for example. At any time during your workout, you can check the phone’s screen and read the distance you’ve traveled, your pace, your calories burned, your split time, and your total elapsed time.
When you’re done with your workout, you can log onto the site’s community space to share your favorite routes with others (and view cool places to go in your area). You can also check progress charts and summaries of your daily activities on the web site. All this high tech sophistication probably won’t improve your times, but it can make your training a little more interesting.
Not that keen on your current bicycle seat? I don’t know about you, but my rear always gets sore after a while. I’m not sure if this is because I just don’t bike often enough to build up, er, calluses or whatever, or if it’s my seat. I suppose one way to find out would be to try something like the Hobson Easyseat II.
It has two separate sides, one for each cheek. The purpose? “The Hobson Easyseat II eliminates the center horn of regular bike seats, removing pressure and allowing the natural flow of blood in arteries.” Ah, so it’s more blood down in that area I need, not calluses. That’s good to know. (Some places just shouldn’t be hard.)
The split seat is supposed to work with any bicycle (excluding stationary bikes) and be fairly easy to install. Maybe something like this is just what I need to encourage me to go riding more often.