A huge family tent for car camping that should sleep 6 of us easily! Review to come shortly!

Family tent review

BT

Coming soon new dog gear reviews by ruff wear. In the mean time check out the product specs and some pics of the leash in action!

Ruff Wear Dog Gear

BT

What is your:

1) Favorite Outdoor Activity (G rated, of course)

2) Food while participating in an Outdoor Activity

3) What is your favorite piece of gear?

Please leave your answers below (click on the word: comments).

Nature Event Finder – easy to use, easy to find something close to you ~

http://www.nwf.org/naturefind/

Come visit Andy’s Page for a short discourse on how I manage to bring the perfect cup of tea on the trail.  Maybe not the way everyone does it, but I share my ideas and resources.

Mountain Hardwear and Montrail are sponsoring a contest for women.

http://gotogirl.mountainhardwear.com/

Good luck!

The Odwalla Plant a Tree program to donate $100,000 worth of trees to state park systems based on votes at http://bit.ly/YnPaW

Vote for your state park!

I hope more of you will send in pictures of you and your friends and family enjoying the outdoors.  Email to: share@4alloutdoors.org

The following pictures are of Rob, Megan and Anabel enjoying a beautiful day.

I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend!  We had a good time – the weather wasn’t very good on Saturday, but Sunday and Monday were beautiful!  We tried out the new GeoMate Jr, Steripen Journey Water purifier, Kulumbo Bug Repellent Bandana, and a retractable leash, collar, food carrier and water dish from Dog Planet.  After I got home, I put Badger Balm’s Sore Joint Rub to use.  The reviews are on my page: Leesa’s Ramblings

Want to upload your GPS tracks so others can use that cool trail you just hiked? Have you hiked all the trails around your area and need to find some new ones? Then visit www.everytrail.com

4Alloutdoors even has a page where you can follow us.

http://www.everytrail.com/profile.php?user_id=52179

Its easy to use.  Sign up and upload your tracks.

Bkodriver

I recently bought a new pair of hunting boots. They are Brahma’s Nine Point camo boots and I got them from Walmart. They are size 9 W, so may be a bit big for me, but I wear thicker socks during hunting season.  These boots are leather, waterproof/breathable and insulated. The insulation is 400 gram thinsulate ultra.  I don’t think I will need anymore insulation than that, as most of my hunting season is the month of September and temps usually range in the mid 60′s during the day. I haven’t used them yet, as hunting season is still months away, but I am going to start walking in them to break them in. The soles are rubber, and have a triangle tread pattern. The rubber feels fairly soft as I can squeeze it. All seems are double stitched and I don’t see any flaws in the craftsmanship. The best thing is I got them on clearance for 7 dollars!

I just received a tin of Badger Balm’s Sore Joint Rub.  Hmm, funny that it arrived the same day I said I wanted to try out Nordic Walking…

Badger Balm makes all natural, certified organic products – besides the Sore Joint Rub, they make a Bug Balm, Foot Balm, Sore Muscle Rub that are useful for those who participate in outdoor activities.  The also make lip balms and sun products.  http://www.badgerbalm.com

I will be reviewing this as summer starts, and my time outdoors increases.  I’ll be hiking this weekend in southwestern Maine, so it will be in my pack for sure.  I will say, it has a very pleasant smell – not medicinal at all.

I’ve been thinking about trying Nordic Walking – from what I had heard, it seemed like a good workout, and it can be done almost anywhere.  So, I started doing some research, and came across some great information on the Leki site.  I’m including it here (with their permission).  As I get more into this, I will post updates.  Feel free to include any experiences you’ve had – or if you’d like to join me on this adventure!

A few facts:

Nordic Walking is the activity of walking for fitness using specially designed poles to give you a full-body workout.

And the videos: http://www.leki.com/nordicWalking/videos.php

Trekking (hiking) poles and Nordic Walking poles are not the same.  These two types of poles may look similar, but there are significant differences in design, which allow them to serve different functions.

Trekking

• Poles are 3sections
• Poles are used in front of the body in order to absorb stress to the joints
• The poles are planted out in front, using the muscles of the arms and shoulders
• Used for balance and stability and to take pressure off the knees on steeper slopes
• The user lightly holds on to the poles with the aid of an adjustable strap
• The hands can move freely in the straps and are not attached to the poles
• Carbide Flextips are concave in order to connect evenly with the walking surface, especially rock and ice
• Rubber Tips over the Carbide Flextips may be used indoors or on pavement; however,
they are not advised for use on rock or ice

Nordic Walking

• Poles are usually 2 sections although three-sectioned and one-piece fixed-length are also available
• Poles are lighter and their tips are meant to be engaged to the sides and behind the body while walking
• LEKINordicWalkingpolesareusedforpushingoffthegroundtoengagethewholebody
• Follow-through is important – the natural gait of arm/leg motion is intuitive
• Not meant to support weight but to evenly distribute stress and movement, and engage the walking surface
• Nordic Walking poles are not gripped as tightly as trekking poles are, but rather, held loosely
•The hands are connected to the poles with straps that click in securely and have a releasable Trigger feature
• The Rubber Tips are angled to assist with push-off and maximum movement
• Poles can be used without the tips on soft or irregular surfaces

What are YOU doing this weekend?  Getting away?  Where?  I’m planning on heading out with the kids to a great spot along Cold Creek in southwestern Maine.  Pictures to follow!  Please share your plans, and pictures after.

Win a Stanley Stainless Steel Water Bottle

http://www.outsidesd.com/blog1/2009/05/15/win-a-stanley-stainless-steel-water-bottle/
Outside San Diego is excited to announce that Outside San Diego, thanks to the generosity of Stanley will be giving away 6 of their super-cool Nineteen-13 24 oz. Stainless Steel water bottles. One lucky winner will even walk away with their limited edition Bonnaroo bottle to celebrate Stanley’s partnership with the music festival in the “Less-Bottled Water Program”.

Thanks Laurie for sharing the pictures!

Mount Katahdin is located within Baxter State Park, in Maine.  It is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

_

Check this out:

Pedometer from Google ~

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com

Information on how it works~

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=404

Multifunction watch with altimeter, digital compass, barometric pressure trending, and weather forecasting.

http://tinyurl.com/59czw9

***Stay tuned for an ongoing review of the Rendezvous Peak watch

SPOT

In keeping with the mission of 4alloutdoors.org ‘get out more’ and ‘enjoy yourselves’, this seemed to fit right in!  http://www.getoutmore2009.com/     SPOT, in conjunction with Backpacker, is sponsoring a tour throughout 2009, giving the outdoor community a chance to see and hear more about the SPOT device.   Here is a direct link to the schedule and map: http://www.getoutmore2009.com/tour-info/#cal

Do you have experience with the SPOT?   Care to share?