The Green Hiker

How are your backcountry navigation skills?

You’re on your own and about to leave the well-marked trail. Maybe to explore a lake, climb a peak, or cross a snowfield.  Do you know what natural features provide a good line of travel? Can you meld the surroundings with the map in your hand?

Well, if you’re a bit rusty or unskilled, not to worry:

Simply check-out Molly Absolon and Backpacker Magazine’s newest publication, Trailside Navigation: Map and Compass.

Trailside Navigation includes chapters on:

• Topographic Maps
• Compasses and Altimeters
• “Dividing the World”
• Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and
• Route Finding

Well-written, insightful, and informative, Trailside Navigation is a great addition to your hiking library.

Now Go Outdoors!

These backpacks use solar energy to keep cell phones (think hiking crisis) and other electronic gear fully charged. About three hours of sunlight on this outdoor gear should provide one hour of power.

The Voltaic backpacks use fabrics made from recycled soda bottles.

Voltaic Solar Battery Charger Backpack

If you’re on the go or have a kid who is, look at the Voltaic solar battery charger backpack. The solar panels on the Voltaic solar battery charger backpack connect to a battery to charge your iPod, cell phone or laptop. The Voltaic solar battery charger backpack comes with a phone adapter and a USB adapter so you can charge your batteries and gear.

Eclipse Solar Gear – KVUE Inteview

KVUE TV news clip interview about Eclipse Solar Gear’s innovative solar backpacks and solar chargers.

Brian Brawdy’s top picks for outdoor gear from the Outdoor Retailer Market 2008.

Mauromedia’s Gear-2-Get – Outdoor Retailer 2008

Mauromedia’s top 5 picks from the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2008. Our host Brian Brawdy visits each booth and gives us a brief look at these cool new products for 2008.