Equipment Outfitters

Caravanning and Camping Barbecue Units

Portable barbecue are becoming more popular among travellers as the designs become more sophisticated and the products lighter and more efficient. Kettle barbecue are a good example as they are lightweight and long lasting. They come in a wide range of manageable sizes and can be used to make a wide variety of foods. With the lid on, the air flow can be finely tuned and they are mercifully easy to clean. More important, they contain heat well and are considered a perfectly safe place to make a fire when there are non-permanent places available. Their ideal fuel is compressed charcoal brikettes, which are light and conveniently packaged. Read the rest of this entry »

The torch inside the sleeping compartment also serves for a last-minute check, when everyone is bedded down, to ensure that no insects have found their way inside the inner tent lining. Midges can sometimes be troublesome to city-dwellers with tender skins, especially on campsites near rivers and lakes, but once inside the zipped-up sleeping compartment they are usually safe from them thanks to the fine mesh from which ventilation panels are made. It is only a matter of remembering to dispose of any that have already intruded. Read the rest of this entry »

Off-road riding is a popular pastime with many motorcyclists, and involves the dual-purpose trail bikes — motorcycles that are at home on both roads and the dirt. They are designed with greater ground clearance, greater clearance between tyres and mudguards, higher footrests, longer suspension travel and ‘knobbly’ tires.

It is an excellent hobby and can be a very good way of keeping fit. A tough ride requires a lot of physical strength and endurance. Read the rest of this entry »

Flysheets, groundsheets and A-poles

Although a weight of 4.5 kilos was given in the equipment checklist, some specialist tents weigh as little as half or even a third of that amount. This can be achieved nowadays by making them out of polyurethane- or silicone-proofed nylon, and generally standards of manufacture are very high. But the backpacker or cyclist should think twice before buying a tent without a tough, sewn-in groundsheet. A large protective flysheet which extends right down to the ground is also worth the effort of the extra couple of pounds. As well as making the tent less transparent, warmer and more rain and windproof, a flysheet with a front or side extension provides an undercover space in which to stow your gear or shelter your cooking apparatus during any bad weather. Read the rest of this entry »

Use of the Motorcycle Throttle

Smooth motorcycle operation of the throttle goes hand in hand with smooth motorcycle clutch control and machine appreciation. Harsh motorcycle acceleration can cause motorcycle wheelspin or wheelies; great for posers and fly boys, but bad for professional and caring motorcyclists, and bad for the general image of motorcycling.

Excessive use of the motorcycle throttle, when not absolutely necessary, is also very expensive. The cost of motorcycle fuel is always rising, so the less you open the throttle the better for your pocket. Read the rest of this entry »

Proper care of motorcycle visors and goggles is essential if perfect vision is to be maintained.

The following three precautions will extend the motorcycle life of your visor and ensure that scratches are kept to a minimum:

Never wipe your motorcycle visor with a glove or overmitt ; any dirt particles will scratch the soft visor. Read the rest of this entry »

Motorcycle Rider Concentration

Motorcycleriding concentration is defined as the complete application of motorcycle rider mind and body to a particular endeavour, and the exclusion of everything not connected with that motorcycle endeavour.

Today’s road and traffic conditions demand that all motorcyclists exercise full riding concentration every time they venture on to the road. Read the rest of this entry »

The chances that while on a camping holiday you will receive an invitation to dine with the French President or attend the Hunt Ball are fortunately rather small. So all the “dressing up” clothes can be left at home and your outfit can be confined to the strictly practical. For winter holidays and mountaineering, high quality clothing is essential but for summer conditions what you wear is to a large extent a matter of personal taste. Read the rest of this entry »

Off-road riding is a popular pastime with many motorcyclists, and involves the dual-purpose trail bikes — motorcycles that are at home on both roads and the dirt. They are designed with greater ground clearance, greater clearance between tyres and mudguards, higher footrests, longer suspension travel and ‘knobbly’ tyres.

It is an excellent hobby and can be a very good way of keeping fit. A tough ride requires a lot of physical strength and endurance. Read the rest of this entry »

A long journey by car is not half the ordeal it used to be in the past, but it still pays to get your car serviced and have all the crucial functions thoroughly checked; don’t skimp on repairs. Roadside breakdowns are no fun, and anything you can do to avoid them is well worth the trouble. If you suspect a major fault, book the se^-vice well ahead of your departure date — and factor in more time for taking back the vehicle to have any ’settling down’ problems sorted out as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Free-falling from an aircraft is one of the extreme sports that millions around the world take part in every year. The excitement of plummeting to earth with the time to think and enjoy the view is what attracts so many to jump from what most would consider a perfectly good airplane. Over the years, sky diving has evolved from what was once a necessary skill of self preservation to the source of inspiration for other sports like sky surfing and B.A.S.E. jumping. Read the rest of this entry »

Dome Tents

The most popular tent shape is the dome. It is the result of extensive research, and dome tent designers make the best of many modern materials such as carbon fibre and Ventex to produce ranges in all sizes. These materials make use of advanced technology to provide shelters of unparalleled resilience — in many cases they have a strengthto-weight ratio that can only be described as phenomenal. The dome shape is intentionally aerodynamic, and the stiffeners provide a good degree of flex; such tents can survive strong winds, even if these are accompanied by snow, hail and sleet. Many come with a built-in wind-deflector as part of the fly sheet, which, if correctly positioned, provides additional shelter and helps keep gusts away from the main opening. Read the rest of this entry »

Land Sailing began hundreds of years ago in China when it was discovered that the power of the wind could be harnessed to make tasks like plowing and moving objects easier. Many historians believe the Chinese were the first to attempt to harness the wind for purposes of transportation, though there is reportedly evidence that the ancient Egyptians may have beaten them to it.

Modern land yachts are capable of attaining speeds approaching 100mph (160 kph)—the world record is 95.5 mph. Many modern land yachts are designed to swap out their wheels in the winter for ice blades. Ice yachts, with less friction to inhibit their speed, are now exceeding 150 mph (240 kph). Land and ice sailing designs are generally limited to modern three-wheel machines. There are some other approaches to land and ice sailing, such as skateboard-like systems employing either wheels or blades mounted to windsurfer rigs. These systems do not reach the velocities of their larger counterparts, but are none-the-less exciting and challenging to sail. Read the rest of this entry »

Charging down a hill at warp speed on a bike is a rush that most of us have enjoyed at some time. As bikes developed they headed down the path of tradition, and for a while, all a bike buyer could find was a road-racing-style bike or a cruiser. Road bikes were fine for speed and offered a broad range of gears. But road bikes offered little comfort and didn’t take very well to rough surfaces. Cruisers were very comfortable, but heavy and not geared very well. All that changed in the early Eighties when a Japanese bike company by the name of Specialized purchased a unique bike made in Marin County, California, and took it home for a closer look.

The mountain bike can trace its roots back to when a small and unknown group of riders in Marin County, California first began riding stripped down and beefed up Schwinns on mountain roads just prior to WWII. One can only assume that the natural propensity of extreme oriented riders continued to pursue downhill riding until a few notable pioneers of the modern mountain bike began simultaneously experimenting and redefining the equipment they were riding. According to one of those pioneers, Gary Fischer, the early Schwinn “Ballooner” Cruiser bikes everyone was riding were so heavy that they were pushed, not ridden, uphill. Fischer is reported to have been the first to equip a Ballooner with multiple gears, an act that made it easier to pedal uphill, but also added 25 lbs (11.35 kg) to their weight. Read the rest of this entry »

Skateboarding Stunt and Cruiser

Mounted to every deck is a set of “trucks.” Trucks are the steering and axle assemblies on which two wheels are mounted. Trucks are available in a variety of widths. Skateboards all have four wheels, two on the front trucks, two on the rear trucks. Wheels are available in a wide array of widths and diameters, and also in different compounds. Compounds vary by their hardness and traction. Generally, harder wheels offer less traction than softer wheels. Each skater has their own preference when it comes to wheel size and compound.

There are two basic types of skateboards: stunt boards and cruiser boards. Stunt boards are designed to be agile and easy to throw around when performing tricks. Stunt boards are either “old school” or “new school” designs and are used to skate street and vert. Old school boards are wide with longer, wider tails than tips. New school boards are narrower and with symmetrically shaped tips and tails, however their tips are longer than their tails. Old school boards generally use wider trucks than new school boards. Cruiser boards are a lot longer than stunt boards, and tend to use wide trucks for added stability and tracking at speed. Read the rest of this entry »

The hydrofoil, a wing that creates lift in water, is not new, and hydrofoils are commonly used on powerboats today. They are even used on sailboats to minimize resistance and set speed records, which is itself an extreme endeavor. However, it wasn’t until 1989 that a hydrofoil attached to a chair became commercially available for athletes seeking a new tow-behind water challenge.

The air chair, as it has become known, was designed by a couple of friends on the Colorado River, one of whom was the co- creator of the kneeboard (a waterski that the rider kneels on) and a hot dog waterski pioneer, Mike Murphy. Murphy’s friend Bob Wooley became fascinated with the concept of riding a performance hydrofoil, and after several months of experimentation attached the foil to a “sit ski,” a seated version of a waterski. Read the rest of this entry »

Swimming into the deepest reaches of the ocean is a feat that many divers have experienced to a degree. Some may go below 200 feet (60m), others deeper. All would be lost without the air they bring with them. There is a special breed of diver who can go deeper than most, without air tanks. These freedivers have pushed the limits of unassisted breathing dives to below 400 feet.

Tofreedive to depths of even 50 feet (15m) is an unsettling prospect for all but the strongest swimmers. To dive much deeper requires holding a breath for minutes. In fact, the world’s best freedivers hold their breath for periods that rival many marine mammals. Read the rest of this entry »

Swimming long distances for sport is a challenge that only the most fit and determined extreme athletes pursue. Its roots can be traced back to1875 when Captain Matthew Webb became the first swimmer to cross the English Channel. Since then, crossing the channel has been one of the more defining feats of long distance, or open water, swimming. Open water is the appropriate term, since races and crossings are never held in a pool that would be too easy and lacking danger.

Open Water Swimming races are held globally, and were included in many of the early Olympic Games. Course lengths are usually 5, 10, 15, or 25 kilometers (3-15.5 miles) and require several hours to complete. The courses are set between two points on any large body of water. Some races require athletes to do several laps to complete a given distance, while others may consist of one very long lap. Read the rest of this entry »