A peek at emerging products from the sometimes cutting-edge, sometimes quirky world of gear design.
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Disguised E-Bike
Beat the stigma of “clunky e-bikes” by hiding the battery in the frame. The Jetson adventure e-bike looks like a regular bike but conceals a 36-volt battery. The $1,800 bicycle tops out at 20 mph and is available this summer.
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Running (Shoe) Lights
Light up the night, from your feet! The Night Runner Pro blasts 300 lumens from dual shoe-mounted lights to illuminate your path. The $90 LEDs spread 270-degrees of light and have 10 hours of battery life.
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Shin Splint Relief
Does running give you shin splints? The $35 McDavid Therapy Shin Splint Sleeve offers relief with compression and two adjustable pads to target pressure points.
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GoPro ‘Spherical’ Camera
GoPro’s to-be-shipped Fusion camera (revealed today) has a wide “spherical” lens and huge 5.2K resolution. The brand’s founder said it has “the ability to capture every angle simultaneously… as though you had six GoPro cameras fused into one.” See our full article on the Fusion.
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Smart Wheel
First announced a couple years ago, the Copenhagen Wheel from Superpedestrian is finally for sale this month. The wheel integrates a battery, motor, and sensors into its large red hub. It pairs with smartphones and boosts riders’ pedal power up to 10 times, the brand states. The catch? It weighs about 16 pounds and costs $1,500.
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Yak Sweater
Sheep plus yak equals modern alpine mid-layer. The Kora Xenolith blends merino and yak wool with Polartec Alpha fibers to create a layer that is warm and breathable. The Xenolith is a technical piece, and priced accordingly: $250.
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Advanced Fitness Tracker
Load up on strength- and cardio-training data with Garmin’s latest wrist-mounted activity tracker. The Vivosmart 3 provides a host of data: VO2 max, heart rate, stress tracking, fitness age, and for the first time, repetition, rest, and set-counting for bodyweight exercises. The Vivosmart 3 is available this summer for $140.
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Biker Baselayer
Donkey Label’s sleeveless base layer is specially designed for cyclists. Its super-thin fabric wicks and breathes, and it’s cut short to tuck into bikers’ bibs. The $45 unisex base layer is made in the USA.
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Music, Light & Power
Blast your tunes, illuminate a campsite, and charge a phone — even in the rain. The Ecoxgear EcoSlate is an all-in-one waterproof, Bluetooth speaker. It’s complete with a 200-lumen lantern, two subwoofers, USB port, and it floats. The $150 speaker launches today.
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New Camp Cookbook
Mexican Street Corn Salad, Tin Foil Seafood Boil, and Korean Flank Steak with Sriracha-Pickled Cucumbers are just some of the recipes in Linda Ly’s “The New Camp Cookbook.” The book also offers handy camp-cooking advice like cooking techniques, meal planning, even how to pack a cooler. It’s available on Amazon for $16.
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Full-Frame Mirrorless
Sony touts its mirrorless a9 camera as “groundbreaking” thanks to its full-frame stacked CMOS sensor and up to 24.2 MP resolution. The brand claims it is the industry’s fastest camera and offers superior focus across 93 percent of the frame. The a9 will be available in May for $4,500.
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Camping Cold Brew
Enjoy iced coffee in the woods without making it beforehand. The Dripo 2 allows you to make cold-brew coffee in a fraction of the time of other brewers, as little as 2.5 hours (compared to 24 in other systems). The BPA-free Dripo is a brewing vessel and travel mug in one: just add grounds and ice water, screw on the top, and head to the campsite.
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Subtle Camera Sunglasses
“Look, pivot, record” is the slogan of FaceShot, sunglasses with a docking camera built into the frame. Designed as lifestyle shades with a hidden camera, simply pull out the camera from the frame to start recording. Close the camera back into the frame, and the video ends. FaceShot records in 1080p at 30fps, costs $300, and is available December 2017.
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Convertible Cargo Bike
Front-load this unique cargo bike that sports a removable dolly. The Trego Trolley integrates a two-wheel cart into the front end of the bike frame. You can see video of the dolly-fork in action. The brand claims the Trego saves enormous space over traditional cargo bikes, and will be considerably cheaper. While there’s no word on price yet, you can pre-order for a discount.
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Multi-Remote For Cameras
Shoot scenes with a tethered remote, infrared remote, or from your phone. The $59 Spark attaches to most SLR and mirrorless cameras and gives users trigger options based on the situation. The infrared remote works from 30 feet away, and the app allows time-lapse controls. The company released the Pulse last year, this improves on the design with infrared (instead of Bluetooth).
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Rollers Lawn Game
Horseshoes, bocce ball, and bowling in one epic game — that’s the claim by the makers of Rollers. Take this game anywhere there’s a flat surface. Roll a numbered disc (bowling), try and land it next to a target (horseshoes), and knock other players’ discs to block their points (bocce ball). $45.
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Multi-Use Hammock
Go from tent to hammock to blanket all with the M.C. Hammie from Wildish. Available on Kickstarter later this week, the waterproof nylon fabric is equipped for hammocking as well as folding into a small lean-to shelter. It comes with aluminum tent stakes and paracord for tent mode, and built-in ropes and carabiners for hammock mode.
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World’s Smartest Shoe?
A shoe that analyzes how you run and gives you tips on better form. That’s what Altra offers with its Torin IQ, new this month. These runners have sensors inside the sole to measure footfalls and pair with an app to provide coaching. Read our review here.
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Pull Water From Air
This device pulls clean water out of dry air using the sun. Developed by MIT researchers, the prototype traps water vapor at night from air as low as 20-percent humidity. It then releases water into a condenser. Read our full article here.
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Pro-Built Alpine Gear
Climber and guide Peter Whittaker’s own brand, MtnLogic, comes to market this June. Each item in the line of technical mountaineering apparel was said to have been tested through more than 100,000 vertical feet of use. We cover MtnLogic in a full run-down article here.
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