New Gear
Posted by on Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Having a birthday in early January allows for some Christmas/birthday combined-presents. As a result, Santa delivered some pretty nice snowboarding gifts this year; thanks! And the timing is really handy too. With Fernie just around the corner, I think the new gear that I was hoping to take has all been sorted out.
In my stocking I found some new snowboarding pants, with accompanying tool belt, a helmet cam, a backpack, some (much needed) socks, an avalanche beacon and an avalanche probe. The transceiver was kind of a present to myself, but hey :)
There are a couple of things that I'd like to try out before we go. First, I'd like to get some practice in with the beacon, get a little familiar with it. I'd also like to try using the helmet cam a few times, to try and find a consistent way of setting it up so that it's pointing in the right direction. I'll probably hop on the skateboard for this... There's also the actual attachment to the helmet itself that I'd like to get as solid as possible - I hope to get a chance to post some pictures showing this.
Perhaps the coolest thing though is the 686 tool belt. I've been wanting one of these suckers for a while now, and it was bundled with the pants. You'll never forget the screwdriver... Sweet!
So that's the list wrapped up. All I need to do now is go snowboarding.
PantsBackpackTransceiver (& probe)Helmet cam
Labels: 2008 shopping list
Helmet Cam, Round Two
Posted by on Friday, December 14, 2007
Well I've ordered the Oregon ATC-2K helmet cam. I've got some reservations, but I'm confident it's gonna fulfill at least some of my needs. The whole package was pretty reasonable too.
I bought the camera itself from purely gadgets. It was £75 plus £5 delivery. It may not be the cheapest price around but I'm sure it's close.
I also ordered a couple of 2GB SD cards. The manual recommends a couple of SanDisk models; I opted for the SanDisk Ultra II SD 2GB, rather than the standard card, just in case it makes a difference, as was hinted at in that review I read. I'd like to say I knew more about this kind of thing, but I don't, so I figured I just spend a few extra quid to be on the safe side...
I picked up the SD cards from play.com, £11 each with free delivery, making a grand total of £102. That's not bad!
I'm sure I've read it somewhere, but I can't remember what the expected battery life is. I'm gonna get some lithium AAs from somewhere as they're supposed to be better in cold conditions, but it would be handy to know how long they're expected to last. The two, 2GB cards gives me around 2 hours of footage, so I hope to be able to cover that with one set of batteries...?
I'm pretty interested to see how it turns out! Here's an update on the list:
Pants- Backpack
- Transceiver (& probe)
Helmet cam
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Labels: 2008 shopping list, helmet cams
Helmet Cam?
Posted by on Tuesday, December 11, 2007
I'd quite like to try out a helmet cam next year in Fernie. I've seen some footage around the web that looks pretty good, and then there's some of the examples from snowboarding films.
My current video camera doesn't have video-in, however, which eliminates nearly all of the options on the market. As far as I can see, it certainly eliminates the chance of getting half-decent video quality.
At first I decided to just drop the idea, due to the camera's incompatibility. But since then I've seen a couple of self-contained helmet cams that might be worth considering.
I've found two options. actioncameras.co.uk has a decent summary, with the only suitable models being Oregon's ATC-2K and the Tony Hawk Wireless Helmet Camera.
Of course the quality on these devices isn't great, but you'd expect that given the size and the price. The self-containment does have several advantages, the main one in my eyes being that I don't need to carry the larger, more delicate camera all of the time...
I hate riding with my camera in my backpack. I don't mine riding with it while I'm using it, and of course, if I'm riding while one of my friends is using it then all the better :) A small helmet cam could be carried in a pocket, giving the option to get some video at any time, without having the backpack with you.
I've pretty much ruled out the Tony Hawk camera as the resolution is too low at 320x240. It's only 640x480 when attached to a pc, what's the point in that!?
That leaves the ATC-2K. There's a good review of the camera on Helmet Cam Central, which includes some links to sample footage: one being the raw footage and the other a YouTube sample.
There's another good review of the ATC-2K on Nollie, which looks at some of the usability issues, including the act of attaching it to a helmet!
So what am I thinking?
- The camera is cheap, as are additional SD cards for storage
- Self-containment is a big plus. Being solid state it's also pretty robust. These benefits to me are worth the trade off in quality
- I'm concerned about how well it attaches to the helmet
- I'm concerned about regular batteries working in cold conditions
- I'm concerned that the choice of memory card might effect the quality
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Labels: 2008 shopping list, helmet cams
New Threads For Fernie
Posted by on Thursday, November 29, 2007
Well it looks like the snow is starting to fall in Fernie, which is awesome. I know you're never guaranteed good snow anywhere in the world, but that's not stopping me from hoping for one or two epic powder days.
Anyhow, I mentioned a while back that I'd hooked up some new pants for next year, so here's a pic. These suckers are pretty baggy. In fact, it's the first time I almost didn't buy the XL's :)
That's the first item I can tick off the shopping list:
Pants- Backpack
- Transceiver (& probe)
- Helmet cam
Labels: 2008 shopping list
Transceiver & Probe
Posted by on Thursday, November 22, 2007
A transceiver is one of the items on my shopping list for this season. Based on the riding that we did last season and the riding I hope we'll be doing in Fernie, and the future for that matter, I'm gonna need one.
The question is should I buy one now or just rent one as and when I need to?
Renting is the cheaper option, for the short term at least, but there are clear advantages to owning your own. First, you're in control, so you know things like whether or not the batteries are charged and what condition it's in. Naturally you'd expect this if you hire a transceiver, but it's a bonus non the less.
Secondly, you don't need to go to a shop on the morning you decide to head off-piste. If it's just dumped 40cm the last thing you want to be doing is adding time to your arrival at the top of the hill!
But perhaps most importantly is the fact that you'll be using the same transceiver each time you go out. This means that you can get familiar with how it works so that in the unfortunate event of needing to use it for real, you won't be fumbling with how to control it.
So despite the cost I am leaning towards getting one for myself...
- Which brands should I look at?
- Should I go for a pure analogue transceiver or a digital model?
- Is it worth looking on eBay?
- Should I get a probe too?
Simon passed me a link, which is a transceiver test that Facewest.co.uk did early this year. It's a perfect review for someone like me who doesn't really know much about what's on offer. They sell avalanche safety gear on their site too.
About a probe... if I'm going to get a transceiver I may aswell get a probe too. From what I've seen, read and heard, they make finding a burried person much easier and quicker. You can use them for testing snow depth and stuff like that also.
Labels: 2008 shopping list
Dakine Pro II/Heli Pro BackPack
Posted by on Monday, October 29, 2007
One of the things I'd like to get hold of for next season is a new backcountry pack. I like the pack that I've got at the moment, but it's a little on the small side for what I want.
I've got my eye on one of the Dakine Pro packs - but I don't know which one: the Pro II or the Heli Pro 20L.
Both packs are a fair bit bigger than the heli pack, which is the key change. They've also both got a pocket that will take the shovel head, and it's at the front of the pack, which should make getting things out of the main compartment easier. The little (camera?) pocket on the waist strap is handy, and again, it's on both packs.
To be honest they're pretty similar - the main difference is simply the overall size. I kinda want the slightly bigger one, but the goggle pocket, which is on the heli pro and not the pro II, is pretty cool...
Labels: 2008 shopping list
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