Sports Product Review

Mission Product (www.missionproduct.com) is not only about marketing, though if great packaging, website, athlete endorsements and tag lines count for anything, this skincare line has a bright future. Take these slogans, for instance: For Mission Lip Protector SPF 20: Conditions in All Conditions. Daily Offense sunscreen: The Sun Doesn’t Take Time Outs. Anti-Friction Cream: Don’t Get Rubbed the Wrong Way. Foot Synergy Gel: Help Your Feet Compete. And our favorite phrase, from Mission’s Revive Gel: Giving Everything You’ve Got Takes a Lot Out of You.

But once you go beyond the cool, sleek look, the world-class athletes and superior website, there had better be quality products or a lot of money spent on flash and sizzle will go down the drain. Fortunately, like a player who tells you he’s good, and then backs it up in the game, Mission’s products deliver solutions for skincare worthy of their dynamic marketing.

Teaming up with scientists and skincare industry veterans, the entire Mission Product line is designed, and has been proven, to meet the specific needs of athletes and sports enthusiasts across all sports. By providing vital nutrients and antioxidants, Mission provides the best equipment for your skin, so athletes can focus on their sport and maximize their performance.

Some of the world's most accomplished athletes, including two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, two-time Olympic gold-medal swimmer Amanda Beard, two-time Olympic gold-medal soccer player Mia Hamm, 2008 X Games Halfpipe Gold Medalist Gretchen Bleiler and extreme endurance athletes Charlie Engle and Hunter Kemper, have joined the team at Mission Product and are intimately involved in product innovation and development.

We tried each of the Mission products, and they really perform as advertised. The sunscreen and lip balm provide powerful sunblock, and the Foot Synergy Gel softens and relieves calloused and cracked feet. The Revive Gel helps re-hydrate, re-nourish and replenish skin by replacing precious nutrients lost by sweat and prolonged exposure to the sun. All are oderless and greaseless, chock full of vitamins and antioxidants, and can turn the leather skin of the Old Man and the Sea into a chamois. And if you want to feel good, and feel good about feeling good, check out the charities Mission Product supports.

So in a world where great sizzle doesn’t necessarily mean great steak, it is nice to find something that gets it right on both fronts. Yes, the folks at Mission Product can talk the talk, but, to their credit, they can also walk the walk. And, then, after the walk, they’ll make your skin feel better.

Source: Mission Product

My kids, like most kids, love PlayStation. We only let them play on weekends, but I’m constantly shooing them out of the house on beautiful days because they’re hooked on “MLB The Show” or “Madden” or some other sports game. Yet it’s been hard for me to not feel hypocritical in my disdain for their gaming because I remember, as a kid, buying a baseball board game and playing it on the floor of my family room for hours. Thirty Christmases ago my favorite present of all time was a little handheld computer football game where I could maneuver a series of red LED blips down a field. I hardly put it down for a year. And when my neighbor got the first home video game, Pong, I thought it was the greatest thing I’d ever seen. If there had been a football, baseball or basketball video game as realistic as the ones my kids now have, I wonder if I’d have ever gotten up from the TV.

But that doesn’t mean that would have been a good thing. It’s fine that my kids enjoy video games to a point, but when it starts causing arguments or when I walk past the family room and one of them doesn’t appear to have moved for hours, that’s when I draw the line.

So when Sony announced that it was releasing a PlayStation Portable a few years back and my kids asked for one, my first thought was, “Yeah, right.” The last thing I want to do is make it even easier for them to be connected to a video game. Plus, I doubted the quality of the graphics and complexity of the games would be such that would justify the unit’s price tag.

But of course, my wife’s dad got them one for Christmas. Thanks, Grandpa. Now there was one more reason to not read a book, to not go outside and get better at sports. I shook my head, but what could I do? Trying to keep them off PlayStation was like trying to stop them from raiding the candy dish. I told myself that not everything they ever did had to be “good for them.” It wasn’t like they weren’t active kids. But deep down I wished PlayStation had never been invented.

Then, I took a look at the little thing. Imagine taking a high-res, flat-panel screen and shrinking it down to the size of a 3 x 5 index card. Then imagine a series of intuitive and ergonomically perfect buttons, and the same, “can’t stop playing them” games available in miniature. Once I tried it, all of a sudden, I was hooked. Now my kids were waiting for me to get off the PlayStation. Out of the blue, my wife got me one as an anniversary gift. I hadn’t asked for it or indicated that I even wanted it, but secretly, I was thrilled. I hadn’t felt as excited about a gift since I was a kid.

As I learned more about it, I was even more impressed. The PSP is one of the most amazing multi-purpose pieces of technology ever invented. The games every bit as good as on the big unit, but that's just the beginning. Got a wi-fi connection? You can browse the Internet on your PSP and send and receive email. Use it as an MP3 player and download songs. The PSP plays full-length movies, which came in handy on a recent flight back from New York. Soon there will be a GPS Navigation application. And, if you want to get Skype, you could even use the PSP as a phone. And maybe coolest of all? PSP is equipped with Bluetooth so that I can sit inside on a beautiful day and play an entire NBA Live tournament with my boys. Not that I’d ever do that, of course. Well, maybe just on weekends.

Source: Sony

There’s a saying in NASCAR that “rubbin’s racing.” But if you’re racing on two wheels (or two feet) instead of four, rubbin’ is the last thing you want. Friction, or rubbing, is a root cause of blisters, chafing, saddle sores, rash, and other forms of skin irritation while riding a bike. Body Glide (www.bodyglide.com) is anti-friction, anti-blister skin formula.

Body Glide and new Foot Glide help guard against friction – and help moisturize skin and protect it against dryness, cracking and chafing. It works in dry, hot, cold, humid, and even wet conditions - and it stands up to wind, fresh and salt water. Year after year, and around, the world, marathon runners, cyclists, triathletes, and adventure racers depend on Body Glide to see them through the toughest competition. The formula combines all natural plant-derived triglycerides (waxes), with aloe and vitamin e – and it’s packaged in a convenient stick. Body Glide is not messy and it does not evaporate - which sets it apart from all the products made with petroleum, mineral oil, lanolin, water or alcohol. It works with surface skin cells to create an invisible barrier. It feels soft, not oily, sticky or wet, it’s invisible, and it doesn’t fly away like a powder. We applied some to tough calloused heels and even felt the difference the rest of the day just walking around.

Apply Foot Glide or Body Glide skin protectant stick directly onto your feet or any part of your body where annoying irritation may occur. If blisters or chafing have ever prevented you from running or riding that extra mile, now you can “glide” through your next race with ease.

Source: Body Glide

You choose all your gear based on performance. Your money doesn’t go to the companies with the biggest marketing departments, rather, those with the best R & D. Everything you ride, play or wear is state-of-the art. Then why would you put your foot inside of an ordinary pair of socks from Wal-Mart if you knew there was a superior choice? To complete your top-of-the-line ensemble all the way to the bottom of your toes, check out PowerSox, www.powersox.com.

PowerSox Anatomical Performance Fit (APF) collections are engineered to serve as an essential, sophisticated piece of athletic equipment, offering a cutting edge performance environment within the shoe. The folks at PowerSox not even satisfied to let you wear either sock on either foot. Their left-right technology matches the contour of the left and right foot enhancing performance. And the new APF version pushes extreme sock science even further with a hand-linked, seamless toe and contoured pocket Y heel, which means there’s nothing to cause blisters or create painful friction. The comfort is amazing. We wore a couple pairs of these socks and our feet felt like they were tucked snug into a cozy bed under a down comforter.
 
 But comfort is just half the lure. APF also utilizes high-tech, state of the art Sensura and Merino Fresh yarns that provide superior moisture wicking management, odor resistance and bacteria growth.  In designing the sock, PowerSox cleverly reduced bulk by utilizing a selective cushion pattern strategy for APF that places shock absorption in key strike zones.  The remaining zones are outfitted with circulation ventilation panels to allow feet to breathe better than ever.  This all means that PowerSox stay dry and clean-feeling, no matter how hard you push it.
 
And you just thought socks were socks. Your feet will forgive you if you didn’t know better. But be warned. Once they experience the Joy of Sox, you may never be able to put anything else on them again.

Source: PowerSox

Does that four foot putt for birdie make your knees quake and palms sweat? We haven’t found anything for the shaky knees yet, but now there’s a solution for the sweaty palms. Tite Grip, (www.handssweatnomore.com) is an amazing solution that brings dryness where you need it most: Your grip.

Apply a small amount of Tite Grip to your hands, rub them together, and instantly moisture will be drawn away. After a brief period when they feel a little sticky, your hands will become dry and stay dry. Ever put gymnast chalk or talcum powder on your hands? Tite Grip gives your hands the same sensation, without the powdery mess.

Whether you play golf, baseball, tennis, or any other sport where dry hands mean a better grip and more success, or you just want to shake the boss’s hand without watching him wipe it on his trousers, keep a tube of Tite Grip handy and victory will never slip through your grasp.

Source: Tite Grip