Need some a new snowboarding jacket and pants for the coming season? Why not pick something that’s eco-friendly (zippers, lining, fabric, etc. made from recycled materials) as well as cool looking?
The 10k Recycler Series from Lib Tech features a jacket and pants that you can feel good about wearing.
The Bailout Jacket and Crisis Pant come in various colors and patterns and are offer 100% recycled polyester fabric, 10k solvent-free laminate, recycled polyester lining, and recycled zippers, along with several features to make the gear comfortable and practical for the mountain.
More information at Lib Tech.
For ages, runners have been using heart rate monitors to find their target zone and keep track of calories burned. For swimmers, it’s been a different story. But now technology has brought us some waterproof heart rate monitors that can be used in the pool, lake, etc.
This heart rate monitor clips to your goggles and even talks so you can get your stats without breaking a stroke.
“The device’s infrared sensor clips to your earlobe and monitors light pulses on the skin caused by capillary blood flow. It converts the pulses into beats-per-minute (BPM) and uses bone conduction technology to transmit clearly spoken heart rate readings through your temple bone to the inner ear. As unobtrusive as a Bluetooth earpiece, the heart rate monitor attaches to a goggle strap and does not rely on chest or wrist straps, ensuring it won’t inhibit swim strokes. You can set it to automatically relay readings from 20 seconds to five minutes apart, or you can receive immediate readings with the touch of a button.”
Pretty darned cool if you ask me. And at $160, it’s comparable to other heart rate monitors on the market.
Swimmer’s Talking Heart Rate Monitor
When I was in the army, I used to tie my room key to my shoelaces because our shorts didn’t have any good pockets. I guess what I really needed was the RackTrap.
This “personal bra pocket” is kind of like a mini purse you can stick to your bra. It’s just big enough to hold a key, credit card, and a few dollars, so you don’t have to worry about valuables flying out of your pockets (or your shoes) while you jog, walk the dog, dash down to the teriyaki hut, etc.
Made of hypo-allergenic poly material, the RackTrap is designed to fit comfortably in any size or style bra. It even comes in multiple colors, so you can get a few and swap them out to feel fashionable. $8 gets you one or pick up a four-pack (in different colors) for $20.
I admit it: I sweat. Especially when I’m exercising. During yoga? Check.
I can’t do a downward-facing dog without my hands slipping. Not all at once, mind you (I’ve yet to face plant in yoga class), but they gradually inch outward during those long poses. Yup, the feet sometimes head south too. So, I guess I’m just the customer for the Yogitoes Skidless Groovy Mat Towel.
Unlike regular yoga mats, this one has some groves and texture, so it’s supposed to help keep you anchored. The $60 price tag (and the fact that I have a yoga mat and my gym provides towels for free) is going to keep me from trying it, but if your pockets are deep and you’re looking for a gift for a yoga-friend (or yourself) for Christmas, then you might want to check it out.
Yogitoes Skidless Yoga Towel Mat
Available in colors such as SpringBurst and SeaBurst (hey, they sound cheerful and zen at least)!
Our mountains opened early this year, so we’re hitting the slopes well before Thanksgiving. Lots of great powder, short lift lines, and… foggy ski goggles. The same old same old.
While there are plenty of ski goggles that claim to be anti-fog, they never seem to perform as well as promised. If you’re tired of skiing into trees, small children, bears, etc. because your lenses are fogged up, you may want to check out FogShield Sport from Bausche & Lomb.
“Since the product has proven extremely effective in anti-fog protection for firefighters and hazmat professionals in industrial environments, we believe it will be effective for skiers, snowboarders, paintballers and scuba divers.”
At $2 an application, the one-time use wipes may sound a little pricy, but once you rub up your goggles, they’re supposed to stay fog-free for up to 8 hours.
You can pick up a FogShield box of 10 individually-wrapped wipes for $20 through Amazon:
If you set your kids up a basketball hoop in the driveway or at the end of the cul-de-sac, you may have noticed an unfortunate side effect: missed shots veering into the garden, parked cars, the street, the koi pond, etc. etc. etc. Well, here’s an easy solution:
A rebounding basketball net.
“Designed with fun in mind, the Rolbak net attaches easily to your basketball backboard. The net can be positioned and angled to direct the rebound back to you or in any direction.”
You can keep balls from shooting off in unwanted directions, and it quickens up the pace of your game, since it returns balls right to you. Practice those free throws for hours on end without having to wander far to fetch the ball.
$100 at FogDog Sports
If all those hours at the keyboard are causing twinges in your hands or wrists, it may be a muscular imbalance rather than a joint issue. This hand fitness trainer is supposed to slow the development of osteoarthritis and lessen the discomfort of such hand- and wrist-pain problems such as RSI and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
If you’re thinking this looks just like those hand-grip strengtheners or ball-squeezing exercises, it’s not. It actually exercises the opposite muscles as those do. Try putting a rubberband around your thumb and fingers and flexing your hand outward–these are those muscles.
“The device slips on like a glove and has elastic bands that strap to each fingertip, providing resistance as you open your hand. By flexing your hand in the opposite direction of its typical motion, the trainer strengthens the extensor muscles in your hands, wrists, and elbows, helping to reduce the painful symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, and tendonitis.”
You can pick up the hand exerciser for $40 at Hammacher Schlemmer: