The crew that made it possible for anyone to update their Facebook status from the backcountry (or call a rescue helicopter when they thought their water tasted too salty) is now launching a satellite phone. The SPOT Global Phone will sell for $500 out of the box and you’ll pay $0.25 per minute to chat [ more... ]

Seattle-based Sqigle is trying to bring the rugged, solar-powered Earl tablet to the backcountry market hoping it will appeal to a generation that’s come to rely on their phones to find their way from work to home (I am among this group). The startup is attempting to crowdsource funding, asking for contributions of $249 to [ more... ]

We all have luxuries that we don’t like to give up when we’re on the trail whether they’re a bit of whiskey or shoes. Mammut is catering to the ultra light crowd with their new 39g inflatable pillow. I’m not sure how much it sells for, but if it’s more than a box of Franzia, [ more... ]

GPS maker TomTom is back in the news, and this time not for being partied to the disastrous Apple Maps technology. The company accounted they’ll enter the sports watch market with the goal of bringing simplicity to wearable GPS units. Hopefully they also bring very low prices considering the GPS training options that are widely [ more... ]

The helmet-maker Giro has launched a new line of road cycling gear that doesn’t make you look like a neon-clad billboard. It’s Rapha-style stuff at a fraction the cost, meaning it’s still very expensive at about $140 for a shirt. That said, the designs look good, and I love anything that gets people onto bikes and [ more... ]

Following the debacle of the recall of their electronically heated Omni-Heat jackets, Columbia Sportswear has accounted that they’ve decided to cut the line. They left the door open, saying they might release more in 2014. While electric gear is useless to a lot of backcountry skiers, there are a lot of people out there who [ more... ]

If you have more money than vacation days, maybe you’ll be interested in picking up some very expensive tailor-made skis that could make you a better skier. You know, instead of skiing more. Wagner Custom Skis is run out of a small shop near Telluride. The founder relies on a questionnaire regarding the persons physical [ more... ]

My first thought upon seeing the Tree Tent was, “What if I forget that I’m up in a tree when I get up to go to the bathroom at night?” But then I realized I’d be able to just hang out the side of the tent and let it fly into the night without worrying [ more... ]

Remember our teenage friend Jimmy Winkleman Jr. who produced a spoof of North Face called The South Butt? He was sued by North Face, but his lawyer father stepped in. A couple years after launch The South Butt closed down as part of a settlement. About a year ago Jimmy produced a new brand called [ more... ]

The secret of so many outdoor companies is that they make a lot of their money supplying specialty, American-made, high end gear to the military. And good for them. They’re getting in on that massive military budget, keeping the money in the US, and they’re making real money. Minnesota company Granite Gear is expanding their [ more... ]