Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Snowboard helmet


Smith Optics has asked helped from Portland's Jackalope Studios to design their lasted helmet that is stylish and seems pretty well developed to reduce/eliminate fogging because it is important to realize that goggles and helmet have close interactions.

In addition they have used new technology to combine PC and ABS which enables them to
reduce by 20 percent the volume as compared to competitors helmet.


Sunday, October 19, 2008

100% Organic Element


I was 16 years old when I started to be a big fan of Element skateboards because if I have to choose between two brands that deliver pretty much the same product but one is proactive toward reducing our foot print on this earth...I sure go to this one.

Most of their clothes are made of 100% organic cotton. Of course with the green consciousness every major brands have now an organic line but the difference is that Element is authentic, they tried to do business in an ethical way and I am glad they have shown the way to others.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Board of the 21st century: Firewire



I started to see Firewire boards in surfshop in the heart of Encinitas and once in a while in the water about two years ago. Now that I am back in Florida, I don't see any but that is about to change as Lost is going to partner with Firewire on at least two models.

Yes they are more expensive than regular PU foam board but oh man what a difference in the water. I am far from being a pro but I could feel instantly the difference: it is lighter, more responsive and it simply feels better under the feet.

Until you try, I don't think you can be convinced by words so here are my additional two reasons to switch to Firewire in addition to the performances:
-EPS foam, Epoxy, balsa means a lot less pollution during the processing of a surfboard: not totally green but it is a huge step toward the right direction. and remember ocean is given us so much that is the least we can do.
-Much stronger so the board is going to normally last twice as long, which means it will pay for itself.

I would say the partnership with a brand like Lost is going to be really helpful to popularize the technology.

Image courtesy of Firewire team

Thursday, October 9, 2008

dolphin fins

http://www.markpascua.com/wp-content/lunocet.jpg

During flat days, I enjoy snorkeling around to check out the reef, fishes and different sand bar. Surfing the web, I found out about this designer Ted Ciamillo who has worked for the past 7 years on developing an efficient underwater propulsion system mimicking dolphins.

So after a bit of research, I found out that his company is developing several light gears for staying underwater for hours.
For more info check out the website www.lunocet.com

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Outdoorzy cellphone


No matter what I am doing, it seems my phone always get a beaten, like last winter I dropped it in snow or while at the beach it always get sand in it and has this attraction for my wet wetsuit. Not to mention the numerous time where I dropped it...

I was looking at one that could resist my active lifestyle and I think the G'zOne Boulder from Casio seems to be pretty rugged.
So like many cell phones now days, it has features such as camera, MP3, etc... so I am just going to mention what is of an interest for us active people.

-shock and dust resistance
- immersion (up to 30 minutes), I am not sure if you can make calls underwater though -vibration
- low and high temperature storage
-Flashlight
-Electronic compass
-VZ Navigator-capable – audible maps, turn-by-turn directions and location information