OffGrid Solar Backpack is Gadget of the Week

This may not be socially acceptable in camping circles, but we here at Go Camping Australia love our gadgets, such as our iPhone, iPad, iTouch etc. etc.    And we will not be parted with them, even on camping trips.

 

I know, camping is meant to be getting away from it all but I can’t do it.   

I need my iPhone.   End of story.  Non negotiable.

And with this in mind, we bring you the  Camping Gadget of the Week (or sometimes its gadget of the month)

It is....

 Voltaic OffGrid Solar Backpack.

What is it?

As mentioned, many of us  need to charge our devices whilst away.  Our current method is via our Thumper Battery pack or in-car charging.     

But should you be looking for something different to charge your devices, then this gadget may be one you might enjoy (or reading about!).

This solar backpack comes with a removable solar pocket which you can then attach to anything!  Not just the backpack it comes with.      

Plus not only can you charge from this backpack, the bag itself has a padded laptop sleeve and phone pouch (should you be so inclined to carry all of those things with you whilst outdoors).

The website says    4 Watts of Solar Power: 1 hour in sun = 3 hours talk time.

I think if you are travelling alone, having a working mobile phone is imperative.   In an emergency you don’t want a dead battery.

The solar panels are apparently

-          Lightweight

-          Waterproof

-          Built to withstand abuse (verbal? Physical? Mental?)

Should you need to charge the battery it comes with, then this can be done via a USB cable – so sunlight not imperative.    Details on battery:   Battery will be fully charged from 7 hours of direct sun, 5.5 hours from USB port on laptop or optional DC or AC

The backpack itself is waterproof, padded, weighs around 2050g (with the solar panel) and has place for phone, ability to thread cables and bladders through it and waist strap.   All the key things you look for in a backpack.

If you want all the really technical details of this product (and there are quite a lot, and I can’t be bothered to repeat them all here in case I get one wrong, you need to check out the website

http://www.voltaicsystems.com/offgrid.shtml

Want to know if your device would be able to be used with this solar charger?  There is a list of all compatible devices here.

Would not rely on this product too much to charge our iPad –  the 4 watt charge would take some time to charge the battery to power the iPad.    I think smaller, less power consuming devices would be better suited.  

If you are looking for a small solar panel for your outings, this could be something for you to think about.   

My iPhone - nothing to do with Gadget of the Week

Make sure you read up on what it can and can’t do, especially if you are changing voltage from 6V to 12V for your device charging.  Don’t want to fry anything.   

The most important thing is that iPhones are fully compatible with this charger.    And lets face it, if you don’t have an iPhone, well, we just feel a bit sorry for you!!! 

See more about it here:

What are your thoughts on this gadget?    Something you would be interested in purchasing?    Please drop us a note and give your opinion.

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Cooking over a campfire

Unique way to cook your sausage.

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Scrubba is the Camping Gadget of the Week

The Camping Gadget of the Week is...........

The Scrubba Portable Washing Machine

(for all you stinky campers and hikers out there and I think you know who you are!)

 

 

Now no more excuses for wearing the same pair of jocks/undies/boxers for a week!    

Or those socks which can clear out a campsite with the aroma they produce.   

And those shirts which draw your sweat away from you – they can only take so much!

“Too heavy”   I hear you smelly beasts cry out.     Wrong.   It weighs in at 180g (6.35oz) which is nothing. 

 

“I don’t smell”   You protest.    Wrong.   Many a hiker/camper has a certain aroma after a day or two using the same shirt over and over again.  Gross.

Designed by Ashley Newland when preparing for a climb to Mt Kilimanjaro it works like this:

• You add 2-3 litres of water, plus some cleaning agent (eg.shampoo, detergent) and your clothes into the bag.     
• Expel the air
• Rub the clothing inside the bag (which has a flexible washboard in it – and the washboards have been around since FOREVER!)
• Take out clothes and dry

(Note:   If using outdoors, near natural resources, please ensure you dispose of your greywater thoughtfully and appropriately for the environment).

They say you can do it on a plane, though I would not be that impressed if I saw the person next door to me doing their washing.  And the flight attendants would be so thrilled too.....

Size of Scrubba when packed up

But if you were travelling – and not just hiking or camping – but anywhere, it would be handy to have in your bag, instead of using hotel sinks.   

I think it is a great idea, and a lot better than using a Ziploc bag, which leaks water or is not strong enough to endure vigorous shaking.  

Due out in April, it’s an Aussie design (yay!)

Your thoughts and comments on this latest way to keep smelling fresh when in the great outdoors are very welcome.

 

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Cocoon Tent

What is with the obsession with tents that hang from somewhere?

http://www.treehousebydesign.com

In last week's Gadget of the Week, we had the Tentsile which is a tent that you and your pet monkey string up to the nearest available 3 trees.

And now, I find another tent (or the phrase given to it is emergency outdoor survival shelter)  called the  "Cocoon".

 It is a big hammock that is shaped like a drop of water, and you attach it to the nearest tree and climb in.   It will keep you safe from animals, conditions on the ground and the elements!  

Once again, nice concept but the same questions I had about the Tentsile apply here.     To keep yourself safe from some predator, you are going to need to hoist yourself up nice and high.  How you do that, and how you get down from that height remains a mystery.

Despite all these wonderful new shelters that are emerging, when it comes to camping, I think I will stick with one of the many tents that we already own - all of which do not require a ladder to get into them.

What do you think of this shelter?    Hit or Miss?

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Tentsile is the Camping Gadget of the Week

The Camping Gadget of the Week is the....

www.tentsile.com

Tentsile

 (which is marketed as the "world’s most versatile tent".)   

What you get with this week’s gadget  is a tent that is strung like a hammock – protecting you from the elements that you find on land (wet soil, insects, predators etc.).

It uses tension as opposed to poles, and comes in a range of configurations and colours.

It comes in 3 sizes – 2 man, 3-4 man, and 5-8 man tents.

Whilst it looks very appealing when strung up in the photos provided here at their website, a few big questions jumped out at me and are not answered on the website.

• What if there are no trees (or good weight bearing trees) close by to string it up to?     And you do need 3 trees!
• So there are no trees and you brought this Tentsile along - what is plan B?
• How do you you string it up the tree?   
• Do you need to pack a ladder?   Or be extremely proficient at climbing trees?  
• Do you need to bring a trained monkey to scale the trees, if you don't have a ladder?
• What safety features are included to ensure that when (and if ) you do manage to get up the tree, that the tent is secured firmly?  

Whilst I love innovation, and this is certainly innovative, practicality wise, I have my doubts.   

Too many questions unanswered at this point.    

There are photos of a stand that can be utilised with this tent, but from what I read at the website, it must be in conceptual phase only.    Now, if you need to bring a stand with you (presumably carry it, with the ladder or monkey), maybe a 4-season tent could be an easier option?

Want to see other Gadgets of the Week?   Here they are

Your thoughts on this gadget most welcome.  Perhaps you can shed some light on how you would set it up?

All photos from www.tentsile.com

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Spiders spin me out

I hate spiders.   I realise that sometimes this fear is just plain stupid and most of them won't hurt you; they are more afraid of you than you are of them; and so on and so on. (ho hum)

But I do hate them. 

Image credits: Top: AAP Image/Lukas Coch via News.com.au; 

My camping trips sometimes bring me up a little too close and personal with some of these arachnids, and I am not ashamed to say, that I turn into a quivering mess if its big and furry.  Huntsmen spiders really gross me out.  I prefer seeing a redback spider to a huntsman, and my son will pick the latter up too, which makes my stomach turn.

And in today's papers, discussing the NSW flood waters, I see that my furry friends are trying to escape rising waters, along with humans!     Check out these wolf spiders who release their webs, so the wind can catch them and blow them to safety.

Despite the fact that they are spiders, and I would have to be hospitalised if this was happening near me, Mother Nature is still pretty clever......

FYI:  Picture below - that is NOT snow, that is web

Image: Daniel Munoz, Reuters 

More amazing photos can be found here at the Australian Geographic site and also here, taken by Daniel Munoz, who is a lot braver than I am.

Happy (and spider free) camping

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Camping at Little Dip Conservation Park

Going to a new camping location is always filled with anticipation.

• Is it going to be nice?
• Clean?
• Good facilities?
• Will the kids like it? Be entertained?

 In Australia, it takes a fair time to get from A to B, so you don't want a wasted journey.    That is why we do research our locations as much as we can before we head out.

This weekend, Little Dip Conservation Park, was our destination.

We found the information out there on the Internet and in a popular camping book, just didn't give us what we wanted to know.      

So we have written about what we would have liked to have known before we headed out.    We don't regret our decision to head there, but sometimes a little more knowledge of the area would have been appreciated.

Hopefully our review, has filled in some of the gaps that were missing for others too.

  Read about our trip - what we liked, what we didn't, and would we go again!

Little Dip Beach

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Leave No Trace Camping

Pack it in, pack it out.

Leave No Trace.    

Great principles for hikers and campers - in fact anyone using our beautiful countryside and especially those wonderful national parks and conservation parks that have been set up for everyone to enjoy.  Hopefully most of you reading this site will know all about Leaving No Trace and practice the principles of leaving nothing but your footprint.

It's not a difficult concept to grasp.

Unfortunately we have just returned from a campground - Beachport Conservation Park - where that concept has obviously never been understood in recent times by fellow campers.

We were appalled by the condition of 5 of the 6 campsites that were on offer.

Beachport CP - site 2 with rubbish bags

Upon arrival we scanned from our car, all 6 campsites to determine which one we would set up in.    One site was immediately discounted because of the piles of rubbish left by campers, evident from the road into the campsite.  It was not household rubbish - it was typical of what you would have camping.

We chose what we thought was a "clean" camp, and set up only to find scattered all around it, toilet paper, toilet rolls, wipes, beer boxes - all through surrounding foliage, in different levels of decay.

Other campsites all had similar stories, plus broken bottles, piles of peanut shells, bottletops etc - but the overwhelming amount of rubbish was used toilet paper.       One unique way to dispose of human waste was to use a plastic shopping bag and then hang it from a tree.   What sort of disgusting person does this and leaves for others to see/find?


Our children were horrified (having never witnessed litter like this on any camping trip) and did not want to stay, so we packed up our tents etc and moved to the only campsite that was not littered (and incidentally closest to the toilets that were available).

And it was a beautiful, peaceful well sheltered spot to camp.     We loved our time there, but we could not get over the mistreatment of this park by campers.     

Another reason for this mess could be that this park is very close to the township of Beachport and some yobbos may use it as their place to drink up and party....who knows??  Not that I am excusing their mess, but part of me hopes it wasn't done by fellow campers like ourselves - people who should know better.

 It was a disappointing part of an otherwise lovely camping weekend.

Want to know more about the Leave No Trace principles?   Check out

Leave No Trace Australia
Leave No Trace International

 
Happy (and clean) Camping.

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This backpack is the Camping Gadget of the Week

Is it a tent?

Is it a backpack?   

No........Its our Camping Gadget of  the Week and it is a............

                                         Camping Backpack

If you think you are just getting a tent in a backpack - well, you are sort of .    The difference is that there is a frame attached to the backpack, which comes off and extends.   From  there you do pull out a tent from the pack which attaches to the frame....and below is the end result.

http://www.designboom.com

I think for most hikers and campers, weight would be an important consideration and I didn't find the specs on this.

There are so many hiking tents out there - all separate to your pack, and they seem to have a lot more versatility that this one pictured above.   I can't work out how you actually get in/out of this tent, nor what happens to your pack when it rains and how do you access everything in your pack, as it all faces away from where you would be in the tent.

And they are just a few of many questions I have.     But in saying that, it DOES look pretty cool.

Your thoughts on this would be more than welcome...Plus check out previous Gadgets of the Week.

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