Ok, we’ve drawn you in, and we’ll admit that technically it isn’t ‘free’ – it depends what you’ve got hanging about the house and what mapping apps (if any) you’ve already bought. The idea came to us when we forgot our regular GPS for logging a route, and realised we annoyingly had to use our […]
Tip of the Week – Free Mapping GPS Anyone? Read More »
While you should always carry a map and compass (and know how to use them!) a GPS device is still a useful bit of kit in the mountains. Our smartphones and tablets have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years and can be as useful as a proper GPS (close, but not
Navigational Skills 14 – What’s the Best OS Mapping for your Smartphone? Read More »
I’ve sworn by my Garmin GPS watches for many years now, and while I’ve dabbled with mobile apps, they don’t come close to the experience you get with a watch built for that purpose. So when I got my hand on the Sony SmartWatch 2 (or should that be the other way around?), I though
Deathmatch – Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS Watch v Sony SmartWatch 2 Read More »
The Sony SmartWatch 2 is one of the latest smartwatch offerings along with the Samsung Galaxy Gear, that follows in the footsteps of the Pebble and the previous, rather unloved, Sony SmartWatch. Wearable tech is certainly coming of age, but is this device the mass market watch we’ve been waiting for or something strictly for
Sony Smartwatch 2 Review Read More »
You may take a couple of gadgets on the hill, but how many of these can you tick off? With bonus points, how many points do you score? Are you an outdoor luddite or an outdoor nerd of the highest order? Our Outdoor Geek test goes all the way up to eleven and we don’t
Are You An Outdoor Geek? Read More »
I’ve been eyeing up pico projectors for many years now, but not one of them seemed suitable for camping off-grid. They were heavy, bulky and more importantly didn’t really have the battery life for watching a full movie. Well, actually neither does the Aiptek Projector, but does run effectively for long enough from an external
Aiptek A50P Mobile Cinema Pico Projector for Android Read More »
While some of you will want to get totally off the grid while on the mountain, there’s nothing wrong with setting up a mobile movie theatre on a wild camp. While the ‘glampers’ smugly camp down in the valleys, near the road, all safe and snug; you can get some wild glamping done instead. What
Ultimate Wild Camping Entertainment System? Read More »
While we’ve had our hands on this nifty little tablet for a few months, with first impressions here, we decided to give it some time before finally reviewing it. The Google Nexus 7 is the internet giant’s first attempt at a tablet, with the idea that you get a tablet with none of the bloat
Google Nexus 7 Tablet Review Read More »
It took me a while to be convinced of the merits of this device, but as I needed to take reading matter on a 4 night trip into the wilds, it was the ideal time to give a Kindle Touch a try out. The reading experience is as expected, brilliant. Words are crisp, even in
Kindle Touch Review Read More »
These new Google Nexus 7” Android tablet, if you’ve been lucky enough to pre-order, have been arriving at their doors over the last few days. I hadn’t expected mine, so when it did arrive then it was a pleasant surprise. Although it does appear that many haven’t received them on time due to an error
Google Nexus 7 Tablet – First Impressions Read More »
With the cheapest GPS with proper OS mapping still in the region of £200, plus a significant whack on top of that if you want significant mapping coverage, we ponder if there’s an alternative with the glut of cheap 7” (why the imperial i ask!) Android tablets and cheap mapping apps (see here). With Viewranger
The Death of the GPS? Read More »
While we certainly raved about the Motorola Defy, and dipped it in various beverages after consuming a goodly amount ourselves, it’s far from perfect. It’s water resistsant and depends on the ports being covered by flimsy rubber covers, which is easily forgotten when you drop it in someone’s pint. Yet it’s the best available so
Fully Waterproof Electronics Around the Corner Read More »
The Garmin Forerunner 110 is a basic gps watch, with an RRP of £150 alone, or £180 with a heart rate monitor. I was fortunate enough to pick one up on Amazon at just over £100 without the HRM, but seem to be around the £125 mark now with the HRM bundle being cheaper than
Garmin Forerunner 110 Review Read More »
Satmap Active 10 Plus with GB Outdoor GPS Map with bike mount – About £600 (but available at half price) Ok, so you insist on getting a GPS. If you’re going to get one, you should either go for the cheapest that’ll record your route or one that shows proper mapping. I don’t mean contours
All I want for Christmas 5 Satmap Active 10 Plus with GB Outdoor GPS Map with bike mount Read More »
Garmin Forerunner 610 GPS Sportswatch with HRM £359.99 Buying a GPS watch was the best thing I ever did for my running. Some people are happy to run to time, but I like to know how far I’ve gone on a run and it really is the thing that motivates me. What’s more, I can
All I want for Christmas 2 Garmin Forerunner 610 Read More »
If you’ve read my disappointing review of solar chargers, or rather the poor summer that made them rather redundant, you’d know that I’m on the lookout for a different option. While I’d considered spare batteries for my phone, you’re still in the position where you need to leave your phone unattended if you manage to
New Trent iCruiser IMP1000 External Battery Pack Review Read More »
You may or may not be interested to see us put the Motorola Defy through it’s paces below. In three months use, the phone’s been severely abused in use and has survived. Packed hastily into a windproof pocket and drenched in an hour’s torrential rain and survived. It’s even survived a few impromptu dunks as
Motorola Defy – waterproof / ciderproof test – The only way to kill off Angry Birds Read More »
If you’ve invested in one of these expensive bits of kit, then you’ll want to protect it if you take it outside or just want to read in the bath. The Aquapac iPad waterproof fits the iPad or any similarly sized 10″ screen tablet, the Asus eee Transformer fits perfectly, even if you include the
Aquapac iPad Waterproof Case Review Read More »
WIMM Labs recently announced a multifunctional, wearable android device. Will this take over from your GPS watch and mp3 player soon? Following on from our review of android running apps, one of the issues we found was carrying the phone with you. This would be a much more elegant solution. It’s also water resistant, so along
WIMM – Wearable Android Platform Read More »
I wanted an anemometer to see how strong the winds really were that were rocking my tent. I want to be able to relate the speeds given on the forecast to something i can see on the hill. So i wanted one of these. Their basic model, XPlorer 1, is just a wind speed meter
SkyWatch Xplorer 4 Review Read More »
The second Installment of the Free Android Running Apps.. (first one is here) Cardiotrainer – On opening you can start a schedule for a ‘week’ but not beyond that. Ideal if you’re doing a steady few runs every week and building a base, and so far the best scheduler (you can state the activity you
Five Things – Free Running Apps for Android Part 2 Read More »
While there’s always the mapping and GPS apps, we took a look at what other outdoorsy apps that could be of use. Here’s a few we unearthed, and for once, stuck to the ‘5 things’ in the title. iGeology – Simple but effective geology map. It displays a basic overlay on an OS map that
5 Things – Outdoor Apps That May Be Useful Read More »
With the recent acquisition of both a smartphone that works and a net book running Android, a whole new world of apps on Android is available. This isn’t necessarily a good thing unless you can separate the wheat from the chaff. Essentially, I’m looking for something that does exctly what a GPS does by giving me my current location
Five Things- The Top Android Mapping Apps Read More »
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