The Green Hiker

Solar Survival For Hikers In the 21st Century

My Droid3 smartphone is now an essential piece of my basic hiking gear. Communication (where are you?), location (where am I?), and weather (when is it?) are just a satellite away. So, while flipping through an app store, I came across the complete “FM 21-76 US ARMY SURVIVAL MANUAL”app. And I downloaded it to my phone …. and began to think about solar survival for hikers.

It may be a bit of overkill (I don’t think so), but I can now access 233 pages of survival/emergency techniques while on any trail — without lugging around an 8 pound manual.

Here’s a sample of the Survival Manual topics:

• Basic Survival Medicine … lifesaving steps, bites and stings, bone and joint injury, environmental injuries (heatstroke, hypothermia, …)

• Shelters … site selection and types

• Water Procurement … sources, purification, filtration

• Firecraft

• Food Procurement … traps, fishing devices, preparation

• Survival Use of Plants … edibility, plants for medicine

• Dangerous Animals, Insects, and Snakes

• Desert, Tropical, Cold Weather and Sea Survival

• Expedient Water-Crossing … rivers and streams, rapids, rafts, floatation devices

• Field-Expedient Direction Finding … using the sun and shadows, the moon, the stars; making improvised compasses

• Signaling Techniques

• Survival in Man-Made Hazards … nuclear, biological, chemical environments

Wow! All set for the next hiking mishap. Bookmark the page on blisters.

Enter The Solar Part Of Survival

There’s an emergency and it’s your fourth day of hiking (or camping …). The battery strength of your on-the-trail phone dwindles as you try to contact help while reading the Army Manual on how to stabilize a bone fracture and minimize shock. A bit far-fetched? I don’t think so.

That possible scenario spurred me to research solar-powered battery chargers.The missing element of solar survival for hikers.

Besides the obvious restriction of clear-sky sunlight, most chargers just aren’t that efficient. But the technology is quickly improving.

After some diligent research, the solar charger my wife purchased for my birthday is the Soladec Hybrid Solar Power Charger. Weighing less than 13 oz., this latest generation solar charger/portable battery can charge over 3,500 different electronic devices that use a USB.

That includes most GPS navigators, Smartphones, Bluetooth devices, Apple iPhone4/4s/iPod/ipad, Amazon Kindle, Blackberry, HTC, Samsung, Motorola, or Droid phones (including my Droid3) … just to name a few. According to the manufacturer,

“the commercial-grade photovoltaic cell has the highest efficiency possible with today’s technology, allowing it capture far more power from Sunlight or any ambient lighting [my emphasis] conditions when compared to other solar chargers available today.”

We’ll see. The Soladec will now be part of my (longer-than-an-afternoon hike) hiking gear … along with my Droid. I’ll report back on its effectiveness. And any expedient water-crossings while trying to avoid man-made nuclear hazards.

For additional info on the Soladec, click the image below:

Now Go Outdoors!

Christmas Gift Ideas For Hikers and Campers

While researching Christmas gift ideas for hikers that I know need updated hiking gear, I came across a couple of posts that may help others with similar shopping objectives. So here they are:

• The Bellingham Herald offers 20 Ideas for the outdoors lover on your Christmas list. Not all of these ideas are for hikers, but it’s a start.

• Holiday gift ideas for your favorite hiker or outdoor enthusiast.

• Eco-friendly gifts for an outdoor adventurer.

• Eco-Friendly “Experience Gifts” .

And you can always see the latest Green Gear from Mountains Plus by clicking the banner to the right and below.

Amazon Top-Rated Hiking Gear

For the latest top-rated (at least four-out-of-five stars) hiking gear from Amazon, simply click any of the category links below:

• Top-Rated Gear: $25 to $50

• Top-Rated Hiking Gear: $50 to $100

• Top-Rated Hiking Gear: $100 to $200

• Top-Rated Hiking Gear: $200 & Above

And for bargain shoppers here’s a link for 50% Off or More on hiking gear.

Now Go Outdoors! (… Or Shop)

Eco-Friendly Tools and Programs

Consumer Reports Greener Choices, from the non-profit Consumers Union, has a wonderful resource page that links to an array of useful and eco-friendly programs and tools.

From “Appliance Calculators” to “Toxics”, you probably cannot find a more environmentally focused, single-page asset. Here are a few of the 21 categories:

• Appliance Recycling
• Carbon Footprint Calculators & Offsets
• Climate and Energy Basics
• Government and Industry Links
• Household Energy
• Toxics

I guarantee you’ll bookmark the page. It’s almost addicting to go from link to link.

Check out the Greener Choices page.

And if you’d like to donate to Greener Choices, go here.

Other Consumer Reports News Items

• Baby Boomers
• Aggressive Mosquito
• Healthy Fast Food Spurned

 Now Go Outdoors!

Hiking Packing List

Kelly Montgomery in Digital Trends Gear Guide offers a very basic yet useful hiking packing list.

Most readers of this blog already own these hiking gear essentials. But for the novice outdoors-person to-be, her post is a great hike-off point.

And …

There is one “no-brainer” item that does need further emphasis:  sunscreens. Eco-friendly, effective, sunscreens.

With one basal cell cancer cut from my cheek(face!), a good sunscreen is now part of my basic hiking pack. So what are some good sunscreen choices for the  green hiker?

Eco Friendly Sunscreens

Of course,  if you want fail-proof, eco-friendliest sun-block protection, wear a hat and a shirt. No joke.

But for the next step up, consider these choices from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) 2011 Sunscreen Guide (and review their rigorous methodology for assessing sunscreens).

Here are some of their top-rated sunscreens and sports sticks, in alphabetical order:

• Aubrey Organics Natural Sun Sport Stick Unscented Sunscreen, SPF 30

• Badger Sunscreen, Unscented, SPF 30+

• Badger Sunscreen Face Stick, Unscented, SPF 30+

• California Baby No Fragrance Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30+

• Eco Skin Care Eco Baby, SPF 30+

• Hara Body Care Sport SPF 30

• Lavanila Laboratories The Healthy SunScreen SPF 40 Face Cream

• Soleo Organics All Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+

• Green Beaver Company Certified Organic Kids Non-whitening Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30

And the product I use? Lavanila. Why? It’s the one my wife bought for me.

If you want more info on any of these sunscreens/sports sticks, visit the EWG site or click on any product in the carousel below.

Now Go Outdoors!

The 2011 National Trails Day is Saturday, June 4th.  Themed “Made With All Natural Ingredients” (mountains made of rock? rivers flowing with fresh water?), the 19th edition of Trails Day encourages all to experience the magnificent outdoors.

The sponsor, the American Hiking Society cheers any outdoor activity on this day:  hiking, trail repair, kayaking, and health fairs ….

So here’s the plan.

If you’re  a loner, or family-centric teen or parent, or a gregarious outdoors person, or a club leader, or a business owner …. mark this day on your Summer calendar. Plan an outdoor adventure. Make a day of it with family, friends and fellow workers.

Not sure what to do? The above AHS link has a state-by-state search map of June 4th events.

And if your community organization would like to participate or even host an event, you can Register Here .

Now Go Outdoors!

A study by Ethical Consumer magazine claims that companies that produce hiking boots, tents and all sorts of outdoor gear are causing serious damage to the environment …. and are abusing workers’ rights. Ouch!

You can read more about the allegations …. and some of the named outdoor gear manufacturer’s  responses here.

Other News Accounts:

• Common Dreams

• Toxic Shirts?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Outdoor gear contains petroleum, nanotech (sfgate.com)

Now Go Outdoors!