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In BP News: Soon, It Comes! The Lightning Pack! |
Would you be interested in a backpack that reduces apparent load by twenty percent, decreases fatigue through shock absorbing frame systems, and uses the waste energy of your movement to charge your GPS? If you're like me, you want that. Several years ago Dr. Lawrence C. Rome of the University of Pennsylvania invented just such a pack, capable of generating 7 Watts of recharging power from the vertical movement of your pack load. Seven watts may not seem like a lot, but look at it this way: the efficiency of this system reduces the apparent weight of a 45 pound load to 39 lbs; the recharging system, if applied to a power hungry GPS system, could reduce a week's supply of double A's from about a dozen to four. That's a lot of weight loss. The Lightning Pack works by mounting the pack itself on a generating apparatus that connects to an old style external frame--the bounce in your step is absorbed and converted to energy. Since the marketplace has shifted focus to the new internal frame designs this could turn the backpacking world upside down if it hits the consumer market. But where's my Lightning Pack? I've written Dr. Moon to find out if he's making any progress. Apparently it's all hush hush stuff, because he's declined to answer. |
In BP News: Barepacking--The Rush for the Brush |
If you're interested in my views on the subject, please visit my article Green Guide to Nude Backpacking for a tongue in cheek look at an off trail off topic. |
I found several links with intriguing, or sometimes disturbing information about barepacking. I had intended to post those on my Hub Page, but after consulting the rules I decided that any inference that the human body might be at some time in a reader's life actually seen by someone else would probably terminate my membership there. So I'm posting the links here. Really, it's kind of disappointing, and I mean that in so many ways. Journey into this unknown at your own risk. Hiking Naked is the most thoroughly thought out and well written article on this fringe topic that I've seen as yet. With attention to social considerations as well as practical ones, Mark Storey states very simply and thoroughly the sensible rules of the naked road. Nude Hiking in the Yukon is honestly something I would never have considered. I was stationed in Alaska in 1970, for just over a calendar year, and never got warm the entire time I was there. My reaction to this fellow is, well, are you nuts? But from the pictures I presume he had fun. Is this further evidence of global warming? Nude Hiking and Soaking in the Pacific NW actually does offer helpful tips on gear for those who prefer to be naked in weather that would freeze me solid. I used to live in that part of the country and I swear to you it was never skinny dipping weather, not even in the summer. People born there thought differently--it's a cultural thing. I wish all you stalwart naked souls the best of luck, and should we meet on the trail I promise I will try not to look down. But I probably will. |
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Still a Wild Wild World |
grizzly photo by dustie; lion, copperhead from Wikipedia Commons |
Photo by Allen Conant www.morguefile.com |
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Jimmy's Hiking Articles Water Filtration -- better than dirty socks Hammock Tents -- bye-bye, sharp rocks Trail Spears: Best of Paul Chen Garmin Legend GPS: Quirks and Perks Hydration Packs: Answer to a problem no one had? Good Campstoves Debris burners, Svea classic & more. Bear Country Tips: Coexistence with the Big Boys Cougars Coming Back: Staying at the top of the food chain Defense Against Animals: Surviving without doing harm Canoe Sailing Rigs Cruising the lakes without lifting a paddle; sailing tips. Making a Self Defense Staff : The cudgel is heavy, end weighted, and effective. Here's how to harvest your own. Staff Market: Shopping for Ancient Weapons and New Survival Sticks. Primal Weaponry: Old weapons for new times. House of Pockets: Some of my favorite packs, from ALICE to Luxury Lite. Solar Panel Chargers: Rundown on battery chargers and crank generators for hikers. Lost with the GPS: Overview of systems and shortcomings. Guide to GPS: Basic information and thoughts about new products. Magellan Triton 2000: Should have been the best GPS; maybe it will be soon. Good Compasses: Gear everybody needs, from cheap good to pricey good. Guys Who Don't Sew: SERE Air Force training reviewed. More in FEB 2009 archives on The Marked Tree. Barefoot Running: my podiatrist said I shouldn't walk without orthopedic supports, so I gave up shoes. Working with Axes: Chopping, Hewing, and Racing Axes in today's world. |
In BP News: Plastic Panels and Nanotubes |
The problem has been with us for years: you have good gear but it devours batteries. Whether it's a GPS or a satellite phone, the really useful back country electronics needs power, and power gets heavy. If you're living outback for months then hauling in enough silicon power cells to recharge the essentials does make sense. If you're just out for a few days the weight of a solar cell bandolier could exceed the weight of the disposable batteries you're trying to replace. It's a nice idea but it doesn't quite make good sense if you're only out for the weekend. |
On the far horizon there's a glimmer of something even better. Carbon nanotube technology could make solar cell construction nearly as simple as printing or painting. In fact, that's exactly what Somenath Mithra of the New Jersy Institute of Technology has in mind. When this idea works, you'll be able to print solar cells using your own computer and inkjet printer, or simply spray a panel on your tent. Solarmer had better make money while it can. http://www.solarmer.com/index.php http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719011151.htm |
Here's hoping that they do, because plastic solar panel rain gear could be efficient enough to work on even cloudy days, and a plastic solar panel tent could recharge the GPS in a few hours. Eventually the system could be so refined you could take your laptop to the wilderness. Not that I'd want to. Or would I? If the bundle weighs less than my copy of Moby Dick, I'd consider the upgrade. |
Help is on the way, in the form of wearable fabric plastic solar panels with the best efficiency ratings yet. The technology is real, but as yet the products are not. Consumers won't have a shot at this new gear until the second half of 2010, even if the parent company – Solarmer Energy, Inc. – makes the financial gamble work. Manufacturers of clothing, backpacking tents, and military gear should be pushing each other to the ground to be first in this market, but good ideas often are the first to fail economically. I'll keep my fingers crossed. The Lightning Pack vanished and that concept was similarly well received. Success of the plastic panel solar cell could depend on how well entrenched the silicon cell has become. Companies may be reluctant to change. |
LINKS The Scottish Life in Japan Frugal Life in the Most Expensive Country Tartan Tsunami heatingappliances.net |
Sweet Hope Hill by Walter Baxter, CC 2.0 |