This week I had to visit a company making equipment for a project I’m working on, and due to the locations of both of our companies, it was simply easier to do the 350 mile drive each way over the last couple of days. As a result – and also the result of the rental car not having any sort of MP3 player input jack, and me not bringing any CDs – I listened to a lot of radio. I heard angering stories about Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, Komen, and the state of financial literacy in our nation. I also heard one story that immediately sounded so good that I questioned the veracity. Tell… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

America is a hodgepodge of people from all over the world, with a correspondingly big mix of religions, celebratory days, and religious holidays.  But we’re Americans, so we kinda invented a few cultural things as we went along, some secular holidays that everyone-no matter your nation of origin, your creed, your color, your gender, your sexual orientation, or whatever–you can enjoy along with everyone else in the country.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Remember that moped you thought was the coolest when you were 14? No? Well, pre-drivers license, the idea of motorized transportation in any form sounded way cool to a lot of us. That even went for mopeds, until we actually bought one. Well this is like the moped but is a whole lot cooler.

I have said many times that running with headphones in is not a good idea. It’s dangerous for multiple reasons; you can’t hear cars, animals, or people coming up behind you. Even with the music turned down you lose a sense of what’s around you. The common suggestion is usually to leave one earbud out, but then you’re stuck with a mono listening experience. That’s why One Good Earbud is such a smart idea.

From their website:

One Good EarbudTM is the ideal way to safely listen to music, podcasts, audio books, and mobile calls while running, cycling, snowboarding, or working out at the gym. Our custom-designed earphone mixes both channels of sound from a stereo

The JawBone JamBox was released in November of 2010. Yes, that’s almost a year and half ago… ancient by today’s tech standards. So you might be wondering why we’re covering it NOW. The reason is simple: although it was released almost a year and a half ago the JamBox is still the best portable Bluetooth speaker on the market and, thanks to updates and additional apps for it the speaker just keeps getting better and better. Thomas was quick to buy one when it was first released but I held back and only got one a few months ago. I wish I hadn’t waited because it really is an incredible little device. I like it so much in fact that I purchased one for Elana to use when she is training clients.

Oh, and there is another reason we shot the video now… it was the first time since I got JamBox-ified that Thomas and I were together. So here’s a quick video of Thomas and me talking about the device and why it’s become one of our favorite gadgets. Yes November of 2010 was quite a while ago but this is one piece of gear that isn’t even close to becoming long in the tooth.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The only thing bigger today than extreme sports, is extreme sports videos. The internet is full of amazing video footage of talented and sometimes crazy people hitting the big trick or conquering a huge slope. We seem to have begun to video everything we do and it often produces some pretty entertaining footage. Myself and several buddies have begun filming our deer and turkey hunts, editing them into full episode, high definition presentations of our adventures. In fact, the ability to film my own hunts is something I have struggled with using my current set up. Dragging a tripod by myself out to a tree stand or ground blind is not always possible while… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I don’t know about you, but for me, trying to get into and keep on a fitness plan is difficult. Unless you have motivation, it can be difficult to keep with it. Personally, one way I have found that works to keep motivated is to have a training partner, or use statistics to track my progress. Well, the iBike POWERHOUSE does both!

The iBike POWERHOUSE is a fitness tool which combines an iPhone 3G/3GS/4/4S or an iPod Touch with a hardware device which:

• A weather-proof / shock resistant patented smart case and sensors
• The iBike POWERHOUSE app
• Goal-specific plans developed by world-class fitness expert Hunter Allen

You simply start… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Here at CES last year I was introduced to a new earbud company. YurBuds was offering their Inspire earbuds. The bright red earpieces stood out and promised a degree of comfort and “stay-putt-edness” that is in great demand among people who  listen to music while doing a strenuous activity. I was skeptical but ended up impressed by their sound. Elana, who hates in-ear headphones, tried them on and within minutes co-opted the pair the company had given me for review. (The company kindly replaced mine.) A year later Elana’s YurBuds are going strong and she continues to evangelize for them every chance she gets.

Apparently she is not alone. The company had a fantastic 2011 that saw tremendous growth and a significant expansion of the offerings. Among them are the Inspire Pro headphones. The build upon the original version in some significant ways and take good headphones and make them great. Once again the company was kind enough to provide a pair for review (I expect to lose these to her as well) so lets take a quick look at what is new.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Dan and Judie may be facing off to see if the Fitbit truly reigns supreme at CES, but Fitbit isn’t stopping with just your everyday activities. They’re also announcing a new scale that syncs over wifi right to your Fitbit account! One of the toughest things about losing weight and keeping track is actually doing the data entry and work. Fitbit is aiming to make it as easy as possible for you!

From their blog:

We’re excited to let you be among the first to learn about our newest product — the Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale.  Aria will accurately track your weight, % body fat, and BMI over time and sync your

Since I am one of Gear Diary’s cooking and kitchen gadget reviewers and also write about food for a few other publications, it’s all I can do to keep myself anywhere near fighting weight. One of my favorite exercise regimens as part of the battle of the bulge is cycling, both on the road and in the gym.

So that’s why I was excited to see the latest announcement from Velocomp that they have developed an iOS-based cycling computer that interfaces with iPhones and iPods. I usually ride with my iPhone anyway, for safety on the road and for entertainment indoors, so this integration is welcomed. Combined with a wireless speed/cadence sensor on your bicycle, the iBike Powerhouse system tracks your progress and creates goal-oriented cycling plans for your individual fitness level.

Here’s the rest of the information from their product release announcement today at CES in Las Vegas:… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The GPS watch market has been dominated heavily by Garmin. Ask a runner, “Do you have a Garmin” and they aren’t going to wax poetic about their Nuvi…they’ll know you mean a Forerunner watch. But Magellan is looking for a piece of that pie, and they’ll be debuting two new watches, the “Switch” series, designed to appeal to runners as well as “crossover sports” (triathletes, bikers, and swimmers, presumably).

Based on the press release, it sounds like the Switch will have very similar features to the competition, including the ability to race against a specific pace, mark laps and miles, and use a heart rate monitor. It should be interesting to see if Magellan can unseat Garmin… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

If you’ve eaten in a major fast food chain (especially in New York), you are probably familiar with calorie counts being posted next to ads of Big Macs and greasy, delicious fries. The idea is to discourage you from wanting to eat too many high calorie/high fat foods.

According to a research study done in Maryland, there’s a more effective way-threaten to make people run! They found teenagers turned away from soda MORE when they were told drinking it would require 50 minutes of jogging to burn the calories. What really made my jaw drop was their logic:

Researchers monitored adolescents at four corner stores in West Baltimore, where low-income residents are at especially high risk for obesity partially tied to

When I first read about Gympact I thought it was a joke. Pledging money if you fail to check-in at your gym for at least a half hour? Really? When I realized it wasn’t, it got me thinking: would I sign up for this? If I wasn’t already physically active, would this have led me to working out more?

The answer to both is no, but for different reasons. As of now, I don’t belong to a gym. We had a membership but cancelled it after realizing I only run outside, and Sarah prefers to hike and walk the dog in place of the gym. So we don’t get to benefit from Gympact, even though… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I’ve had good luck with my iPhones since the very start. While I have had to have almost every one replaced at some point it has never been the result of physical damage. Yeah, I know, now that I wrote that my iPhone will get crushed within the next week. Still, since my iPhone comes with me everywhere, it makes sense to think about really protecting it. There are a lot of heavy-duty cases available for the iPhone already but most of them are pretty bulky. Take, for example, the Case-Mate Tank we reviewed ($41 through our NGD affiliate store)or the Speck MightyVault we also reviewed($29.30 affiliate link). They offer a good… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Our five year old washing machine died two weeks ago and had to be replaced. We were told, at the time, that five years is about the lifespan for this type of appliance these days. That’s not so surprising considering the fact that the 25-year-old dishwasher at our lake cabin is still going strong. Yes, companies want to keep you coming back as a repeat customer and the lifespan of many things is growing shorter and shorter in order to help ensure it.

It seems Planet Fitness has found a way to keep their customers coming back time and again as well. It’s a bit creative and fits with the New Years resolutions that people… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...