VERTICAL HARVEST from Ebb & Flow Media on Vimeo.

The exclusive Autoseal technology offers convenient, easy one-handed drinking; no lids to remove, no spouts to open. Just press the Autoseal button to sip, and release the button to automatically seal. The drink spout defaults to a closed position, automatically sealing for 100% spill and leak-proof performance. By defaulting to a closed position, temperature retention is also enhanced.

Autoseal lids are designed with an open architecture for easy cleaning, and are top rack dishwasher safe. Lids also seal directly at the drink spout to prevent trapping of residual liquid. All materials used in Avex Autoseal products are carefully chosen to be highly engineered, durable, and BPA-free.

We were given a Summit Autoseal insulated stainless steel water bottle to test out AVEX’s technology.  Let’s start by showing an image of how the water bottle was packaged…

Pretty substantial presentation, huh?  Yeah…we thought so too.  First impressions are everything and this one left us feeling that this was much more than an ordinary water bottle.  It is.

The Avex bottle is constructed with a double wall using vacuum insulation to keep your water or other liquid cold for up to 20 hours while eliminating external sweating.  To top twists off in order to fill, however when wanting a drink the user simply presses a button which releases the seal and liquid flows out.  All this can be done using one hand allowing the other hand to be free.  It is easy to hydrate quickly with just the press of a button.  The Autoseal technology keeps the bottle 100% spill proof and leak proof.

I love this bottle.  It goes neck and neck with my Nalgene bottle as my beverage holder of choice.  Sometimes I’ll take both…I consume from the Nalgene bottle first and when that’s emptied I can rely on the beverage in the Avex still being cold.  In this case, it is my reserve, however it is also very much a “starter” or primary as well.  It is ideal for everyday usage.  It is a great bottle to take in the car with you wherever you go…especially on hot summer days because it keeps your beverage cold.  Don’t think this is just a bottle for car trips though, it can be used anytime you want to have a beverage remain cold for an extended period of time.  It is lightweight making it suitable for hiking and camping as well.

The AVEX Summit Autoseal insulated stainless steel water bottle is definitely worth checking out.  We feel that priced at $24.99 even the most critical individual will be pleased with the purchase as it is well worth the money.

Below are some pics I took with my iPhone.

Therefore I GoLite. This is our motto. This is what drives us. Less is more. Less is liberation. Less is our passion. But we didn’t invent this philosophy. You did.

You want to get away from all the stuff—the blaring music, the gadgets, the never-ending load of work and the glut of more, more, more. So you go light. You head out on the trail, because you want to experience nature on its own terms.

You value adventure over advertising. Memories over souvenirs. You don’t want to clog the planet with more stuff. You just want to have pure, simple, heart-pounding fun.

Therefore you GoLite.

Does that resonate with you?  Do you feel that sometimes less can be more?  Do you ever want to just get away from the fast paced rat race we compete in?  My guess is that your answer is yes.  If your answer is yes, then like myself, I think you will appreciate and desire the product lineup from GoLite.  Undoubtedly one of my favorite brands in the outdoor industry.  I’ve always been impressed by their approach when designing and developing products.  The Shangri-La tent is no different.  It is a fresh approach to probably the oldest and simplest style tent/teepee. 

Let’s just jump right into this review!  There are three total components available for the Shangri-La 5; the Floor,  the Nest, the Flysheet.  There is also a “Tent Bundle” which combines the Flysheet and Nest.  We tested the Shangri-La 5 Tent Bundle.  total weight of the bundle is 5 lbs. 9 oz. making it one of the lightest, if not lightest 5-person tents available on the market.  The Shangri La has limited space above, but the floor is absolutely huge and makes it a true 5-person tent.  The Nest and Flysheet can be used together tent-style or separately depending on conditions.  It will shed wind (do a YouTube search 40+ mph) and weather with ease.  The ability to pitch the tent as just the Nest, just the Flysheet, or both make the Shangri-La very versatile.

Setup of the Sharngri-La tent is as easy as it gets; stake out the base and erect the center pole.  It is the easiest tent to setup that I’ve ever come across.  The Shangri-La pitches with 4 stakes, yet it is packaged with 8 to use for extra support.  The center pole features lighter Green Anodizing process and is adjustable to create the desired tension for the shelter.  The only negative thing I can say about this tent is that when pitching in soft or sandy soil, it doesn’t allow for much tension as an increase in height to the center pole will most likely pull the stakes from the ground.  This happened during a hike in Wisconsin in which we setup camp close to a lake’s shore and the soil was heavily mixed with sand.

There are probably many people that won’t appreciate the ingenuity of the Shangri-La; those that don’t just haven’t hiked enough or don’t mind an extra 5 lbs. in their pack.  I believe the Shangri-La is a must-have essential for any hiking enthusiast to include in their arsenal.  I have a lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with larger tires than stock, as a result the stock spare wheel/tire is of no use.  My spare tire compartment instead has become an area for gear.  The Shangri-La is the tent that I leave in my car at all times.  It isn’t always in my car.  I still take it on hikes, but when not in use on the trails it serves as a great emergency tent in my spare wheel well.  Emergency is defined as:  car breaks down and I need to hike out of a situation or during travels, I come across something epic in nature and want to stay awhile.  I’ve done the latter, thankfully I haven’t had a car break down, but I would welcome the adventure as I am well prepared.

There are several features worth mentioning.  Both the Flysheet and the Nest have two peak vents which provide cross-ventilation.  We found that the peak vents in combination with leaving the door open creating enough air-flow for hot and humid summer hikes.  Of course, if it isn’t raining the Nest alone is ideal.  We love when tents have loops, baskets, or shelves inside…the Shangri-La 5 has high internal gear loops for clothes lines and hanging items.  Placed near the peak vents, we found that these gear loops were located in an ideal place for drying socks and other outer-layers.  Peak and center are reinforced to allow for the center pole and the tension that you set.  You wouldn’t think the tent would be as sturdy as it is, but this is far from the teepee style tent you and your friends built as a child.

Again, the only fault we could find was when setting up in soft or sandy soil.  Perhaps GoLite could offer or recommend some stakes to use for this type of environment.  Aside from that, the two words that sum up the GoLite Shangri-La 5 tent are:  must-have.  This tent is one of the reasons that I am brand loyal to GoLite.

Meet Kuat Innovations.  Founded in 2007 by Luke and Brian, riding partners with a passion for all things bike that wanted to become a larger part of the bike community.  In 2008 KUAT launched their first line of aluminum hanging style hitch racks, the ALPHA and the BETA.  Due to the consumer response Luke pressed on as the company visionary but with a new partner, Guy Mace; engineering genius, manufacturing guru, and an avid outdoor enthusiast who owns more cars than the average car lot. With the new partnership Kuat released more goodness to the public for 2009-10 ( THE NV and SHERPA bike racks).  In all, Kuat’s product line features four bike racks and during the process of writing this review, I learned that they’ve added a roof basket with a built in skewer mounting system…very cool!  I’m intrigued and excited by anything these guys put on the market.  Thule and Yakima be scurd.

I’ve always been a fan of tray racks which are hitch racks where the wheels sit on two trays.  This allows the user to set the bike’s wheels atop the trays, drop a clamp onto the bike frame, and tighten some ratcheting straps through the wheels to secure.  When I originally contacted Kuat, it was in hopes to test their THE NV and SHERPA tray style bike racks.  I had owned Thule’s 990XT Doubletrack bike rack and really liked it, but both of Kuat’s tray style racks appeared to enhance and improve on the things I wasn’t satisfied with regarding my Thule.  I was very much intrigued because I had heard a lot of good things about Kuat’s racks.  Unfortunately for us (and you), both of these racks were in hot demand and they didn’t have any to send for us to review, but they offered to send us their ALPHA bike rack.  Hey, it wasn’t the style rack we wanted, but like any Kuat product it seemed to improve on other bigger brand’s models…we were interested.

The ALPHA rack arrived and it made an immediate impression.  Packaged inside along with the rack were an anodized orange aluminum Kuat bottle opener as well as a Kuat koozie.  In my line of work in sales, we call those items “value added”.  I don’t usually like cheap stuff like this, but I like beer and as you will later learn, I’ve really become attached to these items.  The rack was inside as well and when lifted from the box, I was shocked at how lightweight the rack was.  The rack weighs just 13 pounds!  The wifey isn’t going to be able to sucker me into putting on or removing this rack because it’s (in her whiny Southern belle voice) “too heavy”.  Right from the start, everything to this point was impressive.

Testing has been going on now for about six months and we have been very impressed and satisfied with the ALPHA rack. Innovation?  Plenty of that!  One of the coolest features of the rack is the way it mounts into the hitch.  There is a cam system on the hitch mount that removes all play. Most hitch interfaces have a wobble. The Kuat has a knob on the main tube that you turn to expand a cam on the hitch mount for a tight and secure fit.  There’s also two other anti wobble knobs on the rack to remove all play on the pivoting sections of the rack.

The rack is extremely light and so easy to mount and remove that you don’t feel the need to leave the rack mounted at all times.  Sometimes, with other racks that I’ve used, their weight, ease of mounting, and size for storing have detoured me from removing it once I first mounted the rack.  I think I removed my Thule once and  after remounting, it didn’t seem to fit as securely as it had before…it needed a cam to expand like the Kuat has.

There is also a built in lock included. The lock is minimalist but it’s always there and it only locks the last bike since the other bikes can’t go anywhere with the last bike blocking them.  I can’t comment much on this, as I believe I broke the lock by over tightening it.  It probably would have helped had I read directions.  So…Kuat, please, for people like me add a unbreakable lock.

Typically, the rack is mounted to my lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee or the (future) Mrs.’ Ford Escape, but I did put it on my parent’s Ford Windstar and at certain climbing elevations such as a steep mountain…ha…steep driveway the rack could bottom out.  What rack doesn’t bottom out on a minivan though?  I don’t think that’s a problem of the rack, but more a problem of the chosen vehicle for your outdoor activities.

How does it accommodate bikes?  Quite well, with only a few exceptions. The two main bars which the bikes rest on are closely spaced together which allows for the rack to accommodate a wide array of bikes.  The rubber mounts where the top tube of the bike rests are trigangle-shaped and rotate freely.  The rotation allows the user to fit the bike by adjusting the mounts to give it maximum contact points.  There are two rubber straps on each mount.  Ideally, one strap goes around the top tube and the other goes around the seat tube of the bicycle frame.  The seat tube strap will help stabilize the forward and backward movement of the bike while the car is in motion and the top tube mount…well, that obviously keeps the bike on the rack.  This rack will accommodate just about any bike with a triangular style frame.  What it won’t mount is something like an Ibis Mojo with no front triangle.  For a bike like that, you would need a tray style rack or you would need a frame adapter bar which attaches to the seatpost and the handlebars of the bike.

My only complaint has to do with a pivot point and support pin.  When mounted and you want to fold the rack down for access to your vehicle’s hatch, you remove a support pin which allows the rack to pivot and fold down.  What I didn’t realize is that the support pin in which you remove must be reinserted into another location or the rack will free-fall downward with no support to catch it from smacking the pavement.  This, by all means is a result of user error and it could have been avoided, but something that I would have thought would have been built in.  It is a complaint because what it left me with was a gorgeous rack that I love that now has a scar or blemish reminding me of my stupidity.  As if the broken lock wasn’t enough!

Overall, I am completely satisfied and extremely impressed with the innovation and design of this bike rack.  I mentioned above that I typically don’t like the cheap chotskies as I mentioned earlier, however I use my Kuat koozie and bottle opener frequently because I’m very proud of my Kuat Innovations ALPHA bike rack and as far as I can tell, I’m brand loyal for life.  I strongly encourage you to give Kuat a hard look before making any bike rack purchase.  If you do, you just may understand what “rack love” means.

The Bleuet Pocket Stove and Large 14g Fuel Cubes offer the outdoor enthusiast the following benefits:

Stove – A palm sized wonder that can get anyone cooking, anywhere

• Compact design (3″ x 4″ x 3/4″)
• Weight (3.25 oz.)
• Glavanized. Hardened Steel
• Folds open for use and closed for storage of unused cubes
• Includes six 14g Solid Fuel Cubes
• MSRP $9.99

14g Large Solid Fuel Cubes – Stable, storage fuel for camping or emergency preparedness

• Individually blistered waterproof package
• Fuel is biodegradable and non-toxic
• Cube burn time 16+ minutes per cube
• Fuel cube water resistant
• Leaves no ash or toxic residue
• Reusable after being extinguished
• Fast Boiling time, pint of water within 7-8 minutes
• Easy to light with match or lighter
• No smoke or sparks
• MSRP $5.99 12pk – 14g Cubes

* All Bleuet products are heavy metal-free and BPA-free.

The non-toxic fuel cubes and ultra lightweight cooking equipment are perfect for camping, adventure, or emergency preparedness.

“We make products that solve a problem or fulfill a need, to better enjoy the great outdoors,” said Dan Dixon, National Sales Manager for Bleuet.  “These solid fuel cubes are amazing, they’re unbelievably packable and store forever.  They’re also biodegradable, in that they burn down to ashes.  Unfortunately, the same doesn’t hold true for propane bottles or butane canisters.”

In addition to the Pocket Stove and Fuel, the following new products will be introduced in early spring 2012:  two new cook sets, food jugs, flask and coffee maker which will all use the same Bleuet solid fuel system the Pocket Stove uses.

We were excited when we came across the concept of a carback carrier.  A carback carrier is essentially just a backpack for your car.  Brilliant right?  The immediate recognized benefit is that it won’t affect your gas mileage like a car top carrier would.  When we first saw the Rightline Gear Cargo Saddlebag we were confident that this product would be on our list of best new discovered products for the year.  That’s saying a lot because we were well into the year already so there were quite a few products/gear that had come before it.  Who wouldn’t think that though?  I mean, it is a backpack for a car…how cool is that? 

The highly anticipated arrival of our Cargo Saddlebag from Rightline Gear arrived mid summer and we’ve had a few opportunities to utilize it and test it out.  A forewarning before reading on, we are quite critical of the carback carrier because of the excitement surrounding this brilliant concept.  Now for the nitty-gritty.

The Cargo Saddlebag comes in a stuff sack that is about the side of a 5-6 person tent.  That sure beats the large X-Cargo plastic cartop carrier stored in the crawl space of my parent’s house.   Don’t get me wrong, if you have the storage space and don’t mind consuming more expensive gas and making a Prince somewhere wealthier, then these are great for extra storage when traveling.  However, if you’re like me you will appreciate having more storage space for toys and tools.  Inside the stuff sack are the following:  Cargo Saddlebag, (1) 2″ W strap, (2) 1″ W straps, stuff sack, and sewn-in instructions.  On Rightline Gear’s website there are images and an additional setup guide to supplement the sewn-in instructions.

Now the moment of truth.  They say that seeing is believing, but as a reviewer you must not just believe what you see, but put things to test and usage to become a believer in a product or brand.  This is when the disappointment began and where frustration didn’t end.  The Cargo Saddlebag folds up and stores nicely, but as a result it doesn’t allow for any structural support.  What little support it did have, a plastic insert base, just wasn’t enough.  As a result, it was very difficult to setup the support straps and pack the carback carrier.  The images on Rightline Gear’s site shows a Cargo Saddlebag that is a very shaped perfectly in a rectangle, leading you to believe that there is an internal frame, however there is not.  Not having any sort of internal frame made setup of the straps very difficult.  As you would tighten one strap, it would compromise the shape of the Cargo Saddlebag until the other strap was tightened.  It was difficult to find that “sweet spot” where all straps are tight and the Cargo Saddlebag and “good shape”.  I had a similar issue when using a Bagstar when I redid my bathrooms at my house.  The lack of any type of frame made it difficult to get the desired shape allowing for optimum capacity.

Not to take anything away from the concept, as we see this to be a product of genius, but we would like to see some refinement before recommending and encouraging others to purchase it.  We were left frustrated and never did get the Cargo Saddlebag setup correctly…no where near the beauty seen in the pictures on their website.  I think this problem could easily be fixed if the edges had sleeves to insert framing material in order to create a frame for the bag.  The ability to “take shape” without any gear inside would make for a much easier setup and configuration.  Imagine trying to load a tent with gear without having a frame to stretch the material, it would be quite difficult.  That’s what I would compare this to.  A frame system like what a freestanding tent uses would solve the problems we faced.

We really hope Rightline Gear makes the modifications needed because it could be a “must-have” for anyone with too little cargo room.

Aside from the material itself, some of my other favorite features of this wading jacket are the waterproof, sealed zippers on the double, external chest pockets–the perfect place to keep a camera and a flybox–and the roomy, billed hood of the jacket, sure to keep your noggin dry during a downpour. Other well-designed features include micro-fleece-lined hand-warmer pockets, a rod holder strap–a great place to secure your rod while getting your picture taken, the net hook on the back of the jacket, and the neoprene-lined cuffs, which can be cinched tight to keep water out. The designers of this jacket also made it really easy to get it adjusted correctly. There are cord adjustments in the waist and hood, and the cut of the jacket is roomy enough to fit winter layers beneath, yet not so baggy that it gets in the way casting and landing fish. For more information about Frogg Toggs fishing products, visit www.froggtoggs.com. There, you’ll find their full offering of fishing and outdoor rainwear.

The below video is of me riding with Greg. He and I will ride together on Thursday the entire ride and our goal is to beat the trucks to Grinnell, Iowa and be the first riders to reach Grinnell.

The below is my my descent down Twister Hill in Pilot Mound, Iowa. I almost wipe out as I had an unknown issue which we have diagnosed as “brake chatter”. Simply put, brake chatter occurs when the brake isn’t centered so when you apply the brake, one side of the rim rubs more than the other causing the rim to produce a wobble and resemble a flat tire. I hadn’t previously had this problem because I hadn’t had a descent in which I reached 40+ mph. There’s a bit more to the story, but I’ll write about this in another post with pictures and a more detailed explanation. Regardless, it was pretty scary. Luckily, I was able to ride it out.

The below is the 300 foot ascent of Twister Hill. This climb was a beast as you can tell by the many people walking with their bikes up. I’d also like to point out the “serious looking cyclist” who is out of his saddle for more power pedaling while I stay seated and overtake him well before the peak. I try to always ride without coming out of my saddle…sort of an ego I have I guess.

Day 3 of RAGBRAI was from Carroll, Iowa to Boone, Iowa. A total of 70.9 miles. Today’s ride featured 1,787 feet of climb with a 300 foot descent and ascent on Twister Hill in Pilot Mound, Iowa. Below are some of the towns we passed on today’s route.

Carroll to Lidderdale – 9.9 miles
Lidderdale to Lanesboro – 8.9 miles
Lanesboro to Churdan – 13.4
Churdan to Paton – 12.3 miles
Paton to Pilot Mound – 12.5 miles
Pilot Mound to Boone 13.9 miles