Outdoors and Adventure

Waterproof Backpacks for Exploring Wet Places

If you kayak or canoe regularly you’re probably familiar with dry bags, waterproof vinyl sacks used to store electronics, food, clothes and other items that you don’t want to get wet while paddling.. Recently, though, I’ve been looking for a general use backpack that I could use in both dry and wet places.. I bought an expensive digital...

Apr 21, 2011

Solar flares expected to distrupt GPS systems

Portrait of the sun taken on March 30th by the recently launched Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Shown in false-color, the composite view covers extreme ultraviolet wavelengths and traces hot plasma at temperatures approaching 1 million kelvins. Credit: NASA / Goddard / SDO AIA Team. The sun is awesome. It gives life. It blasts us with...

Jan 22, 2021

SPOT Connect turns smartphones into backcountry tweet machines

The SPOT Connect, unveiled at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, connects smartphones like iPhones, Blackberries and Android phones to satellites when they are off the cell phone grid. This provides a cheaper way to communicate from the backcountry than buying a full-on satellite phone.. The Connect, which is 3...

Jan 22, 2021