Camp Cooking Pot made out of. . . Paper!
Most cooking pots are made of metal. Energia USA makes its pots out of paper. The company’s Hexa Pot product is a disposable paper cooking pot made for camping, backpacking, and “survival” scenarios outdoors.
Water Bottle uses ‘Jacket Insulation’ for Cooler Drink
As a puffy and fibrous synthetic down, PrimaLoft insulation is most often used in winter jackets for warmth. But a water bottle from Hydrapak shipping this summer adds PrimaLoft in between its double-wall plastic, creating an insulated vessel to keep your water cool.
Nuun Tablets, Not Just For Sports Anymore
A new type of hydration tablet, Nuun All Day, is marketed as a product to use not during aerobic activity but “anytime on a normal day.” The tablets have less sodium than the original Nuun recipe, though with a dose of vitamins and minerals to keep you drinking and hydrated at work, home or school.
Hydration Experimentation: Inside CamelBak’s Lab
GearJunkie toured CamelBak’s lab last week for a look at prototype products and the equipment used in the testing and development of new hydration gear. A 3D printer and a radio-frequency welding machine were included in the sneak peek.
Temple to Energy Food: Tour at Clif Bar’s HQ
Bikes hang from the ceiling. Dogs roam free. In the cafeteria a scent of baked goods seeps from a kitchen behind a counter. Welcome to the headquarters of Clif Bar & Company, where GearJunkie took a tour last week.
Patagonia’s New Product: Shrink-Wrapped Salmon Jerky
In a vast departure from jackets and fleece, iconic outdoor sporting-goods brand Patagonia this year will begin selling salmon jerky. An environmental message is built into the business plan.
‘800-Year-Old Recipe’ Employed In Energy Bar
With a spicy, sweet taste and a recipe ostensibly dredged from a cookbook used in the Middle Ages, a to-be-released bar from Clif is unlike anything the outdoors world has tasted or seen.
Hydration Hack: Converter Turns Disposable Bottles into ‘Bladders’
Screw on your Coke bottle and hook up the hose. The JetFlow is a simple threaded converter that comes with three feet of hose and can work in a backpack with a disposable bottle to make an ad hoc hydration system.
Tiny UV Light ‘Wand’ Destroys Microbes in Bad Water
Suspect water? Zap viruses and protozoa like giardia and cryptosporidium to provide “germ-free” H20 with this new and miniaturized (and rechargeable!) SteriPEN device.
Stocking Stuffers: Seasonal Energy Food
Forget candy canes. This holiday season stuff your loved ones’ stockings with energy food made for eating when active in the outdoors. Here are a few of our seasonal favorites.
‘Cold-Prep’ Camp Food: Instant Meal, No Hot Water Required
Quick food on the trail often means granola, gorp, or energy bars. With its new pouch product, Mountain House offers a fast meal that can be made in minutes with cold water.
Made-with-Bananas ‘Performance Candy’
Growing tired of the mainstream flavors of energy bars and gels? A new made-with-bananas bar hit the market this summer that tastes so good it’s being sold as “performance candy.”
Test: Grape and Coconut Sports Drinks
Thirsty? Our writer tests three new hydration drinks, including grape-flavor Nuun tablets and a crystallized coconut palm nectar with high amounts of maltodextrin added for energy in a liquid form.
$38 Water Bottle: Nau/Klean Kanteen
Made of stainless steel, food-grade silicone and sustainably-harvested bamboo, the new Nau/Klean Kanteen collaboration bottle is advertised as the most environmentally safe, non-toxic water bottle on the market. It’s among the industry’s most pricey bottles, too.
Primer: Water Purification in the Outdoors
Clean drinking water in the wilderness is never guaranteed. In this roundup review, Gear Junkie looks at a half-dozen purification products made for the outdoors.
Campfire Pie Irons
Cook it up! Gear Junkie reviews pie irons, a classic campfire cooking tool. Just add buttered bread and filling, cook on coals, and open to eat a true outback delight.
‘Birdseed’ Energy Bar
A compressed block of nuts and seeds — flax, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower — make Raw Crunch bars appear to be made for the birds. Gear Junkie takes a taste test.
Bite-Size Energy ‘Solids’
Sidewalk chalk or energy food? Gear Junkie tests “the strangest energy food he has yet to try,” Hammer Nutrition’s chalky, hard Perpetuem Solids.
Adventure Racing Food Plan
How do you eat for a week-long wilderness expedition race? Gear Junkie gives a peek inside his race pack for a few tricks from the field.
‘Glass-Like’ Bike Bottle
Specialized Bicycles’ new water bottle has an infused layer of silicon dioxide to promote “the pure taste of drinking from a glass.” Gear Junkie gave the bottle a harsh test in Patagonia this month.
Holiday-Theme Energy Food
Some Christmas spirit with your energy gel? Clif Bar & Company and GU Energy Labs unveiled holiday-themed energy foodstuffs last month.
Interview: Founder of Clif Bar
Clif Bar & Company celebrates 20 years in the energy-bar business next month. Gear Junkie interviewed the company’s founder about Clif’s origins and the future of energy food.
CRUNCH Granola Bars
In a direct affront at a market long dominated by General Mills and its Nature Valley line, Clif Bar & Company debuted CRUNCH granola bars this summer. Gear Junkie gives CRUNCH a taste test.
CamelBak Antidote
Hydration stalwart CamelBak touts a “redefinition” of the water reservoir with its to-be-released Antidote line.
Mini Treasure Hunt: Roanoke – Winner
We have a winner! As part of our Mini Treasure Hunt we received hundreds of correct responses and our random winner is Danny Garcia-Velez of St. Paul, MN.
Energy Food That Tastes Good
Item No. 3 on my list of “Five Gear Innovations” is. . . Energy Food that Tastes Good!
Thinksport Steel Bottles
These double-walled water bottles are made of stainless steel and touted as addressing “the growing concern of toxic chemicals leaching from consumer products.”
Taste Test: Mojo Bar
Sugar takes a back seat. With Clif Bar & Company’s Mojo Bar, the “salty” part of the equation is key.
‘Anti-Energy’ Drink
“Unwind from the Grind” with an alcohol-free relaxation drink. Reviewer Stephen Krcmar finds out if there is better sleep through chemistry.
Energy from Chocolate
Salazon Chocolate Co. touts its bars as an energy food, not a candy.
Justin’s Chocolate Nut Butters
Justin’s Nut Butter is making a series of chocolate-flavor nut butters that will soon be available in jars and squeeze packs.