A recap of top stories for the past week, April 24 – 30, 2016.
1) Stairway To Hell: Vertical Tube Race Is Insane
The course entails a pitch of 2,700 steep stairs set adjacent to a hydroelectric tube in Italy. Why not?
2) Welcome To The Future: The Hover Bike Is Born
Flying bike! Yes, it’s real. No, you can’t have one.
3) Bear Spray 101: Tips, Best Practices
Bear spray can save your life. Know how to buy it and, more importantly, how to use it.
4) No ‘Pink And Shrink’: Women’s Outdoor Retail Has New Face
Geared toward the outdoorswoman, a Utah startup will sell packs, clothing, and equipment with an underlying mission of good.
5) Life On The Road: We Visit ‘Van Life Rally’
The adventure-hippie lifestyle is alive and well, and perhaps it’s nowhere more prevalent than at the Van Life Rally in Colorado.
6) Bike-Packing The Redwoods
Tiptoeing through the tulips? Try pedaling through the Redwoods for a bike-packing adventure.
7) Kayak For All: New ‘Accessible’ Design For An Ancient Sport
Launching this summer: This innovative ‘kayak for all’ promises to make the sport more accessible to people of all abilities and backgrounds.
8) ‘Pole To Pole’ Expedition: Renowned Explorer To Circle Entire Globe
Explorer Mike Horn will go the ‘long way’ around the globe, with a longitudinal route tracking meridians across oceans, ice, and land.
9) Homemade Wood Splitters Are Mesmerizing
Homemade wood-splitting machines. Can’t. Stop. Watching.
10) Intriguing Design: The North Face ‘Urban EDC’ Backpack
Pop-open pockets, protective compartments made for electronics, and ingenious ‘ejector tabs’ that help remove media devices… this is not your average commuter backpack.
11) Traveling? This Drawstring Backpack Is ‘Theft-Proof’
Pack has special ‘slash-proof’ fabric and cable straps to withstand cutting and thieves looking to grab-and-go with your gear.
12) Taste Test: Epic’s Wild Boar ‘Meat Bar’ Wild Boar?
New meat bar offers ‘feral swine’ flavor – and we tried it.
13) World’s Safest Bike Helmet? New Tech Says Yes
Helmet within a helmet design could be ‘revolutionary’ in the battle to prevent concussions, but how does it work?
14) Futuristic ‘Dutch Bike’ Manufactured In Netherlands
A futuristic upgrade to the classic Dutch bike…. and this one is made not in Asia but by the Dutch in the Netherlands, to boot.
15) Three Wheels And A Baby: Stroller Half-Marathon Record
Pro runner and uber-dad Calum Neff crushed a world record this year. We asked the stroller-pushing father how it was done.
16) Foldable ‘Hover’ Drone Can Be Thrown, Caught
Lithe carbon-fiber armor lets users throw and catch this Hover Camera drone.
17) Fresh Tread: New Vibram Service Re-Soles Worn Shoes
Upgrade your sole, or re-tread a pair of old boots or shoes with fresh rubber. A mail-in service from Vibram gives footwear new life.
18) Live Stream: Exploring Deep Ocean, Mariana Trench
See the Trench live, where the pitch black areas being explored stretch nearly seven miles below the water’s surface and remain one of the most bizarre places on the planet.
19) Stop Texting: Nearly 1,000 Drivers Ticketed During MN Crackdown
Pedestrians and bikers beware: Nearly 1,000 Minnesota drivers were fined for texting in just seven days.
20) Ashima Shiraishi: Rock Climbing’s Media Darling
Since age 13, Ashima Shiraishi has garnered headlines as big as ‘World’s Best Female Rock Climber.’ We interviewed the (now) 15-year-old for insight on her focus and strength.
21) Around The World In 200 Seconds
All in a moment: amazing video shot for one second each day in 200-day trip across the globe.
22) First Look: Marmot $99 ‘Kompressor Star’ Backpack
A solid value for a mid-size daypack, we put the Marmot Kompressor Star to a test this spring.
23) Thing Of Beauty: Fixed Crit Bike Gets Custom Graffiti
Drool-worthy: Gorgeous custom bikes decked out for Red Hook fixed crit series.
24) 5 Inspiring Films from 5Point Film Festival
We traveled to the 5Point Film Festival this past weekend to see new releases from the best filmmakers in the outdoors world.
25) Basket-Fall? Slovenian Ballers Reinvent The Dunk
Extreme 30-ft. rope-swing dunking: Definitely a ball sport we would try!
26) GearJunkie/Huckberry ‘Spring Stoke’ Shop
From sleeping bags to solar panels, hiking socks, and National Park coffee mugs, we’ve put together a gear shop with everything you’ll need for spring adventures.
27) ‘Haywire’ Film: The True Costs Of Pushing Limits
Cheyne Lempe tackled some of the most remote rock faces on Earth, and he nearly killed his best friend doing it.
28) Review: Wheel-On Wahoo SNAP Bike Trainer
Are you playing Star Wars on that thing? The Wahoo KICKR SNAP is our top-choice for getting into interactive indoor training on your bike.
29) Interview: Adventure Filmmaker James Q Martin
A nexus of conservation and adventure… that is the sweet spot where filmmaker James Q Martin puts his focus.
