I’ve always been fascinated by kayaks, and their versatility as an adventure vehicle.  From long-range oceangoing expedition kayaks to the sportier whitewater versions, they’re available in an incredible range of sizes and styles.  But I live in an apartment, and don’t really have space for one.

Inflatable kayaks have been around for years, but never seemed to be able to find a sweet spot between expensive professional models and pool toys.  

Advanced Elements seems to have established a solid middle ground, with a model that uses the inflatable portion as a frame under a tough nylon skin.  The bow and stern are reenforced with aluminum, and it includes a couple of fins on the bottom to improve tracking.  A metal “backbone” can also be added for extra rigidity.

As luck would have it, an Advanced Elements AE1012-R showed up under the tree this year.  I’ve taken it out twice so far, once in a snowstorm.  I’ve been pretty happy with its performance characteristics, and am looking forward to additional testing.  Kayak gear post to follow!

Ok, so Seattle has a little snow.  It’s not much, but I’m excited.  I have a chance to use stuff!

Outdoor Research Crocodile Gaiters.  I picked these up for hiking St. Helens, and haven’t had much other opportunity to use them this winter.  Is the snow deep enough to justify them? No comment.

Khul Renegade soft shell pants.  I love these.  They’re ridiculously stretchy and comfortable, and even water resistant to a point.  Certainly enough to get me to work and back.

The Marmot Variant makes another appearance, and is still going strong.  I love this thing.  I’ve come to really appreciate the extra insulation on the core of this.  It makes for great layering without unnecessary bulk in the arms.  Plus thumbholes in the cuffs.

And finally, something I don’t have yet, but am seriously considering.  I like my gloves to be waterproof, but I’m not a fan of bulky, insulated skiing gloves.  Naturally, to find the most badass of gloves, one must go to that most badass of sports.

Ice climbing.

The Outdoor Research Warrant gloves are waterproof, while maintaining dexterity and durability thanks to a soft shell and leather construction.  They also look pretty badass.

So maybe I’m jumping the gun a little on gear, considering we’ve only gotten three inches of snow so far.  But if it keeps up I may need something extreme.

No, not mine (that’s coming up soon though, I think).  My friend Jenny’s blog Figure Mommy is a year old as of yesterday.  She blogs about everything from fitness and nutrition, to parenting, and even gear once in awhile.  Usually with more thoroughness and enthusiasm than I can manage.

So here’s to a year of making me feel bad every time I decide to eat half a pizza and play video games instead of working out.  May there be many more to come.

Ahh…tactical gear and Christmas.  If you find yourself in a war zone this Christmas, or just want the most badass stocking over the fireplace, this is pretty much awesome.

Oddly enough, there are actually several different tactical stockings out there.  But these are my favorite.  Maybe it’s the drag handle.

A rather affordable $12.00 from LA Police Gear.

Three months ago I wrote about the then-unannounced Kindle Fire, and speculated as to what some of its weaknesses may be.  It’s been out for a few weeks now, and reviews seem to be mixed.  I’d like to revisit that analysis and see how it panned out.

Lack of Buttons is an issue that was actually mentioned in several reviews.  Apparently changing the volume is something of a hassle because the on-screen menu is not responsive enough.  In a similar vein, there’s been some grumbling about the placement of the power button and headphone jack.  I’m not sure if this is because the bottom of the device is actually a bad place for them, or if people just don’t like it because it’s different from the iPad.

Screen Size also turned out to be an issue.  Both in usability and its ability to display non-book reading content.  In both instances, although the size gets the blame, the problem really appears to be software-based.  I still think 7” tablets are a good size, ergonomically.  

The Interface seems to be the biggest problem.  With Android hitting a new high in usability and polish, going back two major revisions to a pre-tablet version of the OS, and then throwing their own homebrew skin over the top was a big risk.  The Cover Flow-esque main menu moves at a great framerate, but this is countered by its slow loading art on other screens, and stuttering page turns.  Were they so inclined, this would be a good place to start the process of improving the Fire.

The Google-Free Experience is causing some concern among developers who dislike the Amazon App Store experience, and see this as Amazon’s attempt to break into the wider Android app market.  While it’s entirely possible to sideload apps, or hack the Fire to use Google’s app store, I doubt your average consumer will know this.

I was wrong on my last point - that it would sell well enough to cause outages of its related services.  If there have been any huge upticks in the usage of Amazon’s services, they’ve been handled smoothly.  Though it’s not Christmas yet.  Ironically, the opposite problem cropped up.  Early reviews of Silk were mediocre, prompting a statement from Amazon that it would get faster as more people used it.  If Apple gets a pass for Siri’s occasionally mediocre performance based on the excuse that the system is “learning,” I’m inclined to give Amazon the same benefit of the doubt.  This is somewhat new territory, and I’ll be interested to see if the Fire’s browser speed issues clear up in the coming months.

And me? I just grabbed an original Galaxy Tab from Woot.  What can I say, it seemed more my style.

I’m having domain/hosting issues.  Eligear will be fully functional again shortly!

Egg Freckles has a post that reminded me of an old favorite product of mine from Apple.

The 17” Apple Studio Display fits an interesting niche in history, having been launched during the period of time when the term “Apple Tax” was coined.  Apple was selling a 15” LCD for $999 and a 20” LCD for $3999 when monitors from other manufacturers were going for less than half that.  Even the 17” ASD itself was arguably overpriced at $499 - despite its advanced color calibration features.  At the time though, it served two purposes - Apple needed a monitor in that price range, and CRTs were still outperforming LCDs in areas like color calibration, bit depth, contrast, and refresh rate.  Or at least some die-hard CRT fans insisted they did.

But aside from the specs, it’s simply a beautiful piece of engineering.  Its design falls between the Fruit style of early iMacs, and the eventual evolution into the White theme, when graphite grey plastic rather than aluminum distinguished the “Pro” products.  This design style didn’t last long - encompassing just this monitor, the iMac DV line, and a couple of G4 desktops - including the legendary G4 Cube.  But it did inspire some great Apple accessories like the Harmon Kardon SoundSticks, which have been in production for over a decade now.

It’s rare for a product like this to see the light of day, even from Apple, which increasingly likes to hide the workings of its devices behind layers of aluminum and glass.  But if you look at teardowns of their recent products, you can see the same attention to internal details, even if they’re no longer visible.  

I posted about the Marmot Variant jacket last year when it came out.  Mostly I liked the look, but didn’t have an immediate need for it.  I just picked one up recently (in the color above) and so far have been very happy with it.

 The sleeves and back are Polartec Power Stretch, not softshell.  It’s kind of like stretchy, fleece-lined sweatshirt material.  This is definitely a mid-layer, as it has no degree of waterproofing.  But it’s incredibly warm, fits like a glove, and has sleeves that are actually long enough (this is rare, for me).  Also, gotta love those thumb holes.

 Pairing the Variant with a heavy hooded softshell would cover nearly any kind of weather condition.  My only concern is its long-term durability. The Power Stretch material feels a little fragile, and seems prone to pilling and velcro damage.  I’ve had a couple strands of insulation leak from the front panel.  This may be the tradeoff for how lightweight it is.

Naturally, I can’t make a full review until I’ve used it for a winter (working on that), but my impression after using it for a few weeks is that it’s going to be a staple of my winter gear.

I kind of blew off trekking poles as unnecessary for a long time.  But after a couple of hikes where I just wanted to claw my way up the last mile, they started to make more sense.  

The Black Diamond Ergo Cork Trekking Poles are aluminum. I seriously considered the carbon fiber version.  I mean, I love carbon fiber.  But after some research, I was convinced that the durability and repairability of the aluminum version would make them more versatile, as aluminum tends to bend rather than shatter when stressed.  And the weight difference was literally two ounces. 

Without much to compare them to, I’d have to say I’m pretty happy with these.  They certainly saved me from a couple of slips on my last hike, and were indispensable when hiking across snow.

Still, not that exciting as far as gear goes.  You’d think they would at least have lights or something.

For not having been announced yet, the until-now theoretical Amazon tablet has produced a lot of buzz.  The reason for this is basically twofold.  Amazon’s aggressive pricing of the Kindle speaks well of their ability to source and competitively price electronics - a necessity in the tablet market.  And word was that they would have some significant ways to differentiate their new tablet from the current crop of Android devices.  General consensus is that these two things lend it the potential to, at the very least, top the Android tablet market.

But a hands-on preview by a TechCrunch writer and a blurb from Business Insider point to several potential problems that may make it a less competitive device than originally expected.

No buttons
I’m a fan of sparse design.  But one of the biggest complaints I hear about reading on the iPad is its lack of physical buttons for page turns.  Since it’s being positioned against the Nook as an ebook reader, this could be a strike against it that will be lamented by everyone who reviews it.  Oh, and 

Some of the page-turning touch mechanics still needed a bit of work in the version I used.

For a device that’s theoretically being positioned as an advanced ebook reader, that worries me.  Especially considering the existing page turning mechanics in the Kindle iOS app.

Screen size
I would love a seven inch tablet. The iPad is just barely too big to hold comfortably in one hand.  But so far only one seven inch tablet has produced decent sales - the aforementioned Nook.  The question is if producing something that isn’t a “standard size” tablet will hurt or help sales.  It’s differentiation (and certainly helps the price), but maybe not the right kind.  

The interface
Again, potentially a key aspect of differentiation. I’m not arguing that the Android UI is a shining pinnacle of usability.  But I’m also not convinced that Amazon can produce a compelling user experience based on what I’ve seen of their work with interfaces.  If they do pull it off, more power to them.  I’ll reserve judgement on this until I try it.

No Google anything
Not an awful idea on its own, but by removing it from the greater Android ecosystem, Amazon is betting awfully heavily on their ability to manage their own app/music/media system. Based on their past performance, that could become a problem.

It’s going to sell really well
I think based on the popularity of the Kindle, and general reputation that Amazon has right now for producing solid hardware at a decent price, their upcoming tablet will sell at least as well as any existing Android tablet, possibly even better.  This will lead to any and all flaws being magnified, publicized, and whined about incessantly.  It also means Amazon will have to be really on the ball about the online components of their system.  I foresee outages around Christmas when massive influxes of new users cripple the system.

I’ll admit, after reading these articles, I’m not necessarily less likely to buy one of these things.  I’ve wanted a Kindle for a long time, but couldn’t justify it because I have an iPad.  This is cheap enough and capable enough to be worth it — even if I end up rooting it and installing Honeycomb.  Or add Whispernet and I’m all over it.