Sports Product Review

In honor of this month’s Earth Day, (April 22), Yakima Racks (www.yakima.com) aim to provide eco-friendly solutions for traveling with a smaller carbon footprint.

With a weak dollar overseas and higher gas prices, many Americans will look at options that involve shorter trips closer to home in a car. Yakima, manufacturer of vehicle racks, has heard the rallying cry and is offering an eco-friendly solution with its line of 80% recycled cargo boxes. With Yakima’s SkyBox Pro Series, consumers can pack gear on top of the car, to put more bodies inside the car, reducing this summer’s road trip carbon footprint.

Yakima’s SkyBox Pro Series also boast a 50% stiffer lid than previous models, offer Super Latch Security for enhanced protection, and a new aerodynamic shape reducing drag and wind noise. In addition, all boxes have universal attachments that can automatically be loaded onto factory, round or square crossbars.

Sound good? Well, whether or not you’ve been concerned about the carbon footprint you’re leaving, you’ll appreciate a quality roof rack. And the racks they make at Yakima will be admired by you, your friends and Mother Nature as well.

Source: Yakima

Wood cellulose. Arnica extract. Cinnamon. Sweet almond oil and sweet clover leaf extract. If it sounds like these ingredients could all be found along the hiking trail, that’s because they probably can be. In fact, All Terrain (www.allterrainco.com) was started in 1996 when its founder, Todd Hakanson, was hiking in Costa Rica.  A bottle of DEET insect repellent he was carrying in his backpack leaked.  It ate through his backpack and melted the keys on a calculator he was carrying to figure out exchange rates.  Worrying what the DEET was doing to his skin, he began to research the effect of DEET upon his return to the United States.  What he found concerned him so much that he developed an all-natural insect repellent formula. This formula, Herbal Armor Insect Repellent, is a synergistic blend of five essential oils, which is microencapsulated for release over time.

The product line has expanded from its modest clinically tested, DEET-free insect repellent beginning, to now encompass “Natural Remedies for Outdoor Enthusiasts.” All Terrain Recovery Rub is a wonderful amalgam of menthol and other oils and extracts that not only provides a natural “icy-hot” feeling to skin and muscles, but offers a deep cinnamon-menthol fragrance that is sinus-buster. Their Aqua-Sport sunscreen is some of the best we’ve tried and it won’t wash off in the water or with sweat. Soaps and sanitizers, like carbon-free Hand Sanz, first-aid supplies and even products to protect your pet are all made from 100% natural ingredients, right down to packaging that is either recycled, recyclable or biodegradable. If you’re camping, hiking, or just generally outdoors, All Terrain continues to develop, test and introduce great products to help you enjoy nature, naturally.

Source: All Terrain

So you pumped up your kayak and you’re off on a wet and wild adventure. There’s just one problem. Your expensive electronics like your camera and cell phone are all going to have to stay behind because if they get wet, you may as well toss them overboard.

Not if you thought ahead and picked up some innovative and 100% waterproof cases from Aquapac, (www.aquapac.net). Manufacturers of protective cases for cameras, camcorders, cell phones, handhelds and other electronic essentials, they’ll get you in the water worry-free. They even offer a protective case and fully-waterproof headphones for your MP3 player so can enjoy the great outdoors to your very own soundtrack.

Everything we submerged in an Aquapac came out of the drink dry as a bone. And though you may love the water, when it comes to checking that email, making that call, or snapping that shot, dry is definitely better.

Source: Aquapac

If you’re looking for that whitewater thrill, an ocean paddle, or even just a cruise down the lazy river but are daunted by the idea of owning, storing and transporting a full-sized kayak, check out the line of inflatable kayaks from Advanced Elements, (www.advancedelements.com).

I know what you’re thinking: inflatable means it’s a toy, not a high-performance water craft. Think again. Three layers of material must be pierced in order to puncture the main chamber through the hull. Plus there is double the material on the bow and stern, and landing plates welded underneath for protection when beaching the kayak.

Keep it in the trunk of your car, and paddle whenever you want. Or pack it into a remote wilderness area and go where no one has gone before. There’s no roof-rack required. A pump, a paddle and a pond are all you need.

Source: Advanced Elements

How many times have you missed that great, spur-of-the moment shot when you were on vacation or participating in one of your favorite activities because the camera was tucked away in a bag? Now, you can be sure you’ll never get caught fumbling when you could be photographing, because of the Digital Hero 3 digital wrist camera. (www.goprocamera.com).

The Digital Hero 3 is a three mega-pixel, waterproof camera that straps to your wrist and other objects. If you’re a water bug, you can take it in the raft or on the board for high-intensity shots you’d usually only see in magazines. The camera locks flat for convenience, then pivots up when you’re ready to shoot. It takes high-quality video too.

So leave your wrist watch at home and go with the wrist camera instead. Who cares what time it is? Time is marked by memories, and memories just got a whole lot easier to capture.

Source: Go Pro Camera