Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Hello and good day.
Welcome to the Super GoodCamping Podcast.
My name is Pamela.
I'm Tim.
And we are fromSupergoodcamping.com.
We're here because we're on amission to inspire other people
to get outside and enjoy campingadventures such as we have as
family.
Today we want to talk about campand trail tech innovations.
So some gear that might bechanging how we interact with
the outdoors.
(00:21):
Camping used to be aboutroughing it, but now even your
backpack could charge yourphone.
And if these tech deep grades,are they really improving your
outdoor experience?
Or are they just adding moreweight or more cost or just
generating sales for somecompany?
Innovations can make campingsafer, lighter, and more
sustainable, but which ones arereally worth it?
So we'll talk a little bit aboutthe others today.
(00:43):
And so why is this outdoor techgear really booming?
It's because people areinterested in lightweight and
eco-conscious design.
So they want the performance ofthings without the bulk or the
waist, or they want toexperience more comfort while
they're out and about.
Material science and renewableenergy advances have transformed
tents and clothing and cookinggear, and we've certainly
(01:05):
evolved as far as our tents.
We've had a number of tents frombig and bulky and heavy now to
very lightweight.
And climate change andunpredictable weather are making
demand for more adaptive fabricsand power sources.
And then tech supports safetyand accessibility, especially
for people that are solo campingor or families.
SPEAKER_00 (01:27):
So wait here, some
some solar-powered innovations.
It's better for everything,especially for the environment,
uh, because it's renewable poweroff off-grid.
You've got access to more gear.
In other words, you you know youdon't have to take lights uh
that have batteries.
(01:48):
So it saves you weight.
You can take communication andthen not have to worry about
your battery dying on yourphone.
You don't you can take a um asatellite, whatever satellite
phone.
Uh by now, most of you've heardme talk about our Zolio.
Uh we take that with us, and andit has a wicked battery in it,
(02:08):
but uh, but it if we need to, wedo, we can charge it by solar.
So uh there are solar fabricsand panels.
Um, the Biolight solar panel,it's ultra thin, adjustable
kickstand, integrated battery,charges phones and GPS.
SPEAKER_01 (02:25):
It's only small in
terms of milliamps though, so
3200 milliamp hours.
SPEAKER_00 (02:30):
Yeah, and it's about
Canadian dollars, about 150
bucks.
Um it's 10 it 10 wattsapproximately one pound, uh, but
you can attach to a backpack andyou can be charging things while
you're uh while you're luggingstuff.
SPEAKER_01 (02:46):
Or while you're
piling.
SPEAKER_00 (02:48):
Yep.
Uh goal zero Nomad 20 solarpanel folds flat, it's reliable
for extended trips.
It's about two pounds, but itputs out 20 watts, and it's
about 200 bucks.
There's a new tech that's that'sfairly recent in coming out.
It's not and it's not all ofthat in a bag of chips quite
yet, but it's getting there.
(03:08):
Solar fabric tents andbackpacks, uh, companies like uh
powerfilm, voltaic systems, uhand again it can charge while
you're hiking.
They're thinner, lighter, moreflexible, basically solar panel
stitched on.
Um, so it's a little bit lessefficient than than a than a
hard, what's the right term?
Yeah, then a hard solar panel.
(03:29):
Yeah, yeah.
Uh, and then solar lighting.
Uh like we have Lucy lamps.
Um they they literally charge abattery pack built into the
light itself, and and they putout all kinds, they have
different levels.
Shoot, I can't remember.
We bought we bought somereplacements.
Ours are are fairly old and havetaken quite a beating, and we
(03:53):
tend to be not pay attentionwhen we pack them, so they don't
necessarily hold air becausebecause they collapse, so you
you inflate them.
You did so they're waterproof,all that sort of jazz, but uh at
least at least half of ours nowkind of sag slowly.
So we we bought some new ones,which we haven't had the
opportunity to try out yet.
Not not Lucy brand.
(04:14):
I want to say flex light, butI'm not positive.
SPEAKER_01 (04:17):
And they uh so you
can plug your phone into them as
well and charge your phone,although it takes forever from
it does from the Lucy lights,but apparently these new ones
that we got are faster, bigger,bigger, higher outputs.
SPEAKER_00 (04:30):
Uh they feel about
the same weight, they collapse
down as well.
So well, well, I'm sure we'll doa review at some point, uh, just
when we get a chance to get outthere.
It's it's snowing and stuff.
SPEAKER_01 (04:39):
So it's minus 18
with the windshield.
SPEAKER_00 (04:41):
There you go.
Celsius.
Right.
That'd be pretty stinking coldin in uh in Fahrenheit, yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (04:49):
Uh yeah, so smart
clothing and adaptive materials.
This is why it's better.
It helps to regulatetemperature, it improves your
comfort level, reduces the needfor multiple layers of clothing,
so less weight to carry with youand less clothing to cart along,
less bulk.
Uh, temperature regulatingfabrics, so there's, for
example, outliers supermarinecotton, it's just naturally
(05:09):
water-resistant and breathable.
And uh Columbia's Omni HeatInfinity jackets with reflective
gold dot lining, which reducesyour heat loss.
And then as emerging things, somaybe not necessarily available
just yet, but graphene and fusedlayers that conduct and retain
body heat with last bulk.
Uh, there's moisture-responsiveclothing, which we know somebody
(05:32):
that might need some fat.
Patagonia, cappilline, air-basedlayers.
So it's merino wool and recycledpolyester, so adapts to humidity
and activity levels.
I was surprised actually when wewent whitewater rafting this
summer and they were like, Yeah,yeah, don't wear cotton, don't
wear cotton, don't wear cotton.
It has to be synthetic,synthetic.
And I always thought likesynthetic to me always felt like
(05:53):
it didn't breathe as well.
SPEAKER_00 (05:54):
But there that was
the so the I the concept behind
that is that it doesn't it alsodoesn't retain water.
Like it doesn't, whereas cottonabsorbs water, right?
SPEAKER_01 (06:03):
Right, right.
Uh and then smart textiles arein development, ones that might
be self-drying, which would begreat too.
So if you're paddling and youend up getting wet, uh odor
neutralizing, that's also reallygood when you're in the
backcountry and you don't haveaccess to the shower.
I haven't had a shower in sevendays.
Energy hard harvesting weavesthat will power small devices.
(06:23):
Well, that would be cool if yourbody heat could actually power
your phone.
SPEAKER_00 (06:27):
I have a lot of body
heat.
SPEAKER_01 (06:29):
You do that too.
SPEAKER_00 (06:31):
Uh there's also so
ultralight inventions, uh
innovations, sorry.
Um, it reduces fatigue andinjury risk, makes multi-day
trips more accessible,especially for older.
That's me, or family campers.
SPEAKER_01 (06:46):
Yeah, little kids
they could carry some things
like the tent because it'slightweight.
SPEAKER_00 (06:51):
Yes, yes.
We'll actually specifically getto uh our tent.
Um, but tents and shelters.
So uh Z packs duplex, it's undertwo pounds, it's a Dynema fabric
and it's fully waterproof.
Under two pounds.
Under two pounds.
Well, so okay, so fine.
Let's let's talk about our.
We've got a Nemo three person.
(07:14):
I can't remember which model itis, but it is it's two pounds.
It absolutely weighs nothing,and it's itty bitty, like it
packs up to oh man, not I don'teven know that it's I've been
I'll use Imperial.
It's maybe a foot, 14 incheslong, and it's a bundle that's
(07:39):
two inches across, two and ahalf inches across, and it's
yeah, it's two pounds.
SPEAKER_01 (07:43):
Like it's sleeps two
people and a dog comfortably,
comfortably easily.
SPEAKER_00 (07:47):
Um it ridiculously
expensive.
I want to say it was a solid 800bucks, maybe a little bit more.
Um, but is if it lasts, like ifwe get you know eight years out
of it, which remains to see.
Yeah, we've got two out of itnow.
So, well, yeah, two.
So another example is uh BigAgnes Copper Spur HVUL2, which
(08:09):
means nothing to me.
Uh it's lightweight but roomy,it's a three-season versatility.
And then the so I mentionedDynema earlier.
It's a it's an emerging fabric.
Uh it's a composite fabric, it'sstronger than Kepler and lighter
than nylon.
SPEAKER_01 (08:24):
So you can wear it
as a bulletproof tent?
SPEAKER_00 (08:27):
I don't know.
I don't know.
I know how Kepler works, and itmeans you have to have a bunch
of it.
Okay.
That's that's it's not quitethat simple.
Um but it's it's thinpolyethylene sheet laminated
between two sheets of polyester.
It's light, it's strong, it'scrazy expensive.
Sleep systems.
Hi, puppy dog.
(08:48):
Hi.
You're nut.
Uh never mind.
Uh sleep systems.
So thermorest Neo Air Uber lightpad, uh, which I don't have.
Uh it's 8.8 ounces, has a high Rvalue for its weight.
And yeah, uh uh lots of peopleswear by Thermorest.
(09:13):
I've only had one Thermorest padand it didn't work for me.
Uh mostly because it's squeaky.
SPEAKER_01 (09:21):
Isn't that C to
Summit?
I think it's a C to Summit.
Oh, is that what it was?
Yeah, I think so.
SPEAKER_00 (09:24):
Okay, my bad.
Uh so C to Summit is the nextone.
It's a Spark SPI sleeping bag.
Uh it compresses to the size ofa grapefruit.
So I haven't spent the big buckson those.
All of our bags are much largerthan I would like them to be.
Uh, but we do have bags that godown to minus minus 20, I think.
(09:46):
So, you know, they're gonna bebigger.
I welcome to welcome to life.
A cooking gear is uh a jet boilstash stove, titanium pot, rapid
boil, ultralight, solo stovelight, wood burning, efficient
airflow, and you don't have touse a gas canister.
We've discussed this before.
Um so like it keeps things lightto do that.
(10:08):
To basically uh I in my tinybrain it's a twig stove.
Uh, and if you have that option,but we just recently spoke to uh
a couple of gentlemen that campin the uh or trek through the
barren lands, so the Arctic, andain't no trees, so no twigs to
burn.
Not an option.
Um so that there's that issue.
(10:29):
There's also uh firebands whereyou have to be able to, it has
to have an on-off switch forlack of a better term.
So you can't always pull thatone off, but but I have have
seen a number of twig stovesthat are like, yeah, that's
pretty cool.
The the Kid Products one isprobably my favorite just
because I've actually talked tothe guys that made them, so I
know how they work and and howmuch innovation of their own and
(10:53):
great ideas that they put intouh into doing, into making them.
Uh, we'll move on to smartnavigation and communication
tools.
It's better because it enhancessafety and efficiency while
reducing dependency on cellservice, which is a thing.
That's part of why I personallylove the backcountry, is because
I can't get a signal.
Too bad.
Nobody can get a hold of me.
(11:14):
Well, they can, no.
So we have a Zolio satellitemessenger.
Uh, it can connect seamlesslywith your phone, um, but it uses
GP like satellite umcommunication, not not your
phone, like not LTE or 5G oranything like that.
Uh, it's easy interface.
Uh I mean, we've had it for agesnow.
(11:38):
Uh, and I can you, you know, youcan you can use it in your
sleep.
You literally text from yourphone if you need to, or you can
just push a button that says,I'm okay, which could be a lie.
So wait, wait we mentioned it inanother episode.
Some other ones.
Well, one, another one is wouldbe a garment in reach, uh, the
(11:58):
mini two.
It's got GPS tracking, it's gotan SOS and texting uh via
satellite, but you can actuallytext on the Garmin itself, so
you don't need to take a phone,which is probably the only the
only downside I can come up withwith the solio.
And I don't mind it becauseyou're taking your phone
probably to take some picturesbecause that's what we do now.
We don't take cameras, we do,but not everybody does.
SPEAKER_01 (12:18):
So well, and Rogers
now offers a satellite service
of some sort.
I haven't looked at it.
SPEAKER_00 (12:24):
I don't think it's
specific to Rogers because I'm
on what am I on?
Wind, freedom, something likethat.
Uh, although that is a Rogersresell sort of deal.
Um, but yes, I I have that uhsatellite emergency access on my
phone as well.
So who knows?
Um, it's a that's a thing that'scoming.
Is that going to I'm I'mcurious, completely not
(12:45):
completely off topic, but I'mcurious to see if that pushes
satellite messaging, likestandable satellite messagers
out.
Yeah, so uh navigation apps anddevices, uh Gaia GPS or all
trails.
Uh we know people that use bothof those or either either or of
those, and they swear by them.
So uh you get offlinetopographical maps, uh elevation
(13:07):
profiles, uh route sharing, andemergency integration,
AI-assisted trail planning andvoice navigation.
It's coming to the Garminecosystem.
You know, keep keep your keepyour keep your eyes peeled.
It's coming.
SPEAKER_01 (13:22):
Uh slightly off
topic.
Um, we've mentioned in the pastthat I'm a parks uh prescriber,
which just means I can prescribea time in nature for people,
especially for their mentalhealth.
But as part of that, theypartnered with All Trails Plus.
So if people uh do get a parkprescription from their
prescriber, then they canactually get access for six
(13:43):
months free, I think, to theAllTrails Plus.
SPEAKER_00 (13:45):
Oh, cool.
Cool.
There you go.
Water, power, and food tech.
It's better because it increasessafety and convenience without
adding weight or pollution.
We have a platypus, thefour-liter platypus uh water
filter system.
Uh it is, it packs down fairlysmall, and I like it because we
(14:08):
I don't have to, it's a gravityfilter.
Fill up the dirty bag, slap onthe uh the hose with the filter,
attach the the clean water bag,uh hang it on a tree, walk away.
Go, you know, go collect yourfirewood, do whatever.
Um come back and it has filteredto this stuff.
(14:30):
You don't have to actually doanything.
Uh but it is bigger and bulkierthan for you know, like a the
grail geo press because it you Ithat and the in the Sawyer
squeeze, although who I knowsomebody who has the Sawyer
squeeze, and I went, oh wellthat's cool.
That's because that's faster.
Like it it if you need waternow, it's faster than our
(14:50):
platypus.
But you know, everything has itsadvantages.
So the geo press filters virusesand bacteria in seconds.
Oh, it isn't a pumping one.
I thought it was okay, becausethere's one you can like
literally put over the edge ofyour boat and and you pump a
lever on it and then it filters.
There you go.
I don't know everything.
Uh the solar squeeze isultra-light and field proven,
(15:10):
and and it is.
I'm sure that I mean we ran, I'msure it was on a whitewater
trip.
Maybe, maybe Bill had it.
But we're gonna talk to himsoon.
Um the gentleman behind the nameof Thunderbox Diaries, uh, and
I'll I'll quiz him on that.
So pay attention, stay tuned forthat episode.
Uh, power banks andrechargeables.
(15:31):
An example would be an anchor521 powerhouse, 256 watt hours,
power small electronics fordays, nightcore NB 10,000 gen 2
carbon fiber, ultralight 10,000milliamp hours.
I bet that's really expensive,though.
We've got we've got a couple ofpower banks.
One's an anchor.
(15:52):
Oh, and I can't think of whatthe name of the other one is.
We've had it forever.
It's uh they're both about thesame weight.
The the one we've had forever uhis definitely a smaller, smaller
milliamp hours.
Um but between those two and anduh 24, 26 watt solar panel, we
run all our things.
We keep all our cameras charged,keep our phones charged,
(16:15):
satellite communicators, lightsif need be.
Because it would to to do that,if there's a plug-in, like a USB
plug-in on your uh whatever yoursolar light is, Lucy light or
what have you, um it it willcharge faster than the small
panel that's on the lightitself.
Just saying.
There's all kinds of ways thatyou can make that stuff work.
(16:36):
Uh, food innovations, good to godehydrated meals or there's camp
kitchen and bland can take hike.
SPEAKER_01 (16:44):
Bland can take hike.
SPEAKER_00 (16:46):
So specific to the
good to go dehydrated meals, uh,
they're chef made, although soare the other ones.
Uh lower sodium recyclablepackaging, which I like.
The Mylarp bags, I don't thinkare recyclable.
I'm not positive, but I don'tthink they are.
SPEAKER_01 (17:00):
I think if they're
silver lined, if they're not.
SPEAKER_00 (17:02):
Yeah, so it's uh
they may be in some places, but
not here in Toronto.
If it's if it's got silver onthe inside of it, garbage, uh
unfortunately.
Emerging tech, 3D printed oralgae-based.
Oh, interesting.
Algae-based protein meals.
SPEAKER_01 (17:18):
3D printed meals?
SPEAKER_00 (17:19):
Weird, no.
SPEAKER_01 (17:21):
Get out of here.
SPEAKER_00 (17:22):
Well, that's what
that's that's what the research
says.
Uh, but they're for ultralightuh ultralight packing.
How cool is that?
SPEAKER_01 (17:30):
Sustainability and
circular design.
So why it's better, of course,like this is applies to your
day-to-day life as well, reduceswaste, reduces your carbon
footprint, and reduces yourimpact on landfill.
So repairable and modular gear.
I mean, people don't really sewor fix things that much anymore
often.
It's just uh, this is got a holein it.
(17:51):
Chuck it.
But yeah, so I mean you can fixthings.
And Tim has done work on ourgear sometimes with our tent
started leaking, that he's doneseam tape.
SPEAKER_00 (18:01):
I did seam tape, and
that's the only place that it
didn't leak after that.
SPEAKER_01 (18:06):
Uh, anyway, so
repaira and modular gear,
Patagonia's Warnware Arcteryxrebird repair program.
So I don't think they willrepair things for you.
That would be awesome.
Uh recycled materials, so tentpoles that are from aluminum
that's been recycled, packedfabrics from ocean plastics, uh,
and end-of-life gear recycling.
(18:28):
So companies like Rab andTerracycle, so Terracycle, I'm
familiar with, they actually dohave a program where you either
register with them and they willactually just give you a label
to print off, like a shippinglabel, and then you ship
whatever this is back to them.
Um, Tim was talking about theMylar bags, and with our dog
food bag, it was a big kind ofplastic bag, and I was like, How
(18:49):
can I recycle this?
It's plastic, I should be ableto recycle it.
And regular recycling programsdon't take it, but Terracycle
does.
So you can actually contactthem, and if you gather up a
certain amount of stuff, thenyou just slap their label on it,
the shipping label on it, andsend it out.
Um, and they they do a number ofother things too, that like um
(19:11):
the wall plug-in air freshenerthings, they'll recycle those
too.
Anyways, just look intoTerracycle if you're interested
in recycling things like thatthat may not necessarily go in
your regular recycling program.
And solar and rechargeablesystems replacing disposable
fuel canisters and batteries.
SPEAKER_00 (19:28):
Right, and oh, and
just to throw in there, uh,
because Thomas uh sent me a linkfor it, there is uh flip flip
fill, I think it's called, uh,where you uh you you can flip
fuel, I think.
Flip fuel.
So you can you can put it onyour canister uh that's low,
that still has a little bit offuel in it, and put it into one
(19:49):
that has that's half full orwhatever.
Like you can you can top up yourother one.
So you're not taking fourpartially you know pre used
ones.
Um cool.
Yeah, yeah, I think that'sawesome.
Awesome.
SPEAKER_01 (20:00):
Uh yeah, so the
potential drawbacks andor um
things to consider, so higherupfront costs sometimes for some
of the sustainable or newinnovations.
Uh but if it's either moresustainable for the planet and
or you get better performanceout of it, maybe it's worth that
extra cost.
SPEAKER_00 (20:18):
And hopefully no uh
P were they PFAs?
SPEAKER_01 (20:21):
Uh yeah, forever.
Uh reliance on tech could reduceyour own self-reliance.
So you want to kind of try tobalance it with what happens if
if there's a failure of your newtech, then you might need to
have the backup, know how to usea map and a compass.
Uh difficulty if you're inremote areas.
So if like power for some whatreason doesn't work, or usually
(20:44):
like Tim will usually have abackup plan of like, all right,
if we're we have the map andcompass, we have some other
means of uh dealing with aproblem if there's a problem.
And then there's theenvironmental trade-offs.
So things like lithiumrechargeable batteries are maybe
not always the best thing forthe environment either, uh, but
perhaps better than regular oldbatteries that are gonna go
(21:06):
into.
SPEAKER_00 (21:06):
I think they are
better than regular old
batteries.
Um and they're becoming they'reuh as technology becomes more
accepted and used, uh, it bringsprices down, but it but they
also do things like they learnhow to reclaim um some of the
ingredients, some of the stuff.
(21:27):
Yeah, the expensive or bad forthe bad for the earth
ingredients if they reclaimthem, reuse them, less bad.
SPEAKER_01 (21:35):
So the kind of
takeaway is bring tech that
enhances your connection withyour experience with nature, but
doesn't distract you.
And that's where people haveoften said to us uh that you
know, yes, they film thingswhile they're there, but it can
really take away from theirexperience if they're constantly
like holding up their phone,taking a video of something
instead of just enjoying it withtheir own eyes.
(21:58):
So just try to balance that out.
SPEAKER_00 (21:59):
Uh that and the
other paddler in the boat gets
annoyed with you because it'slike, how come I'm the only one
paddling?
Yeah.
Somebody has to shoot all theway.
SPEAKER_01 (22:06):
I'm always on screen
and you're never on screen.
Uh outdoor tech isn't aboutglamping, it's about being
comfortable, but we can alsolive with discomfort, um,
safety, and environmentalstewardship.
So camping doesn't have to meanthat you're suffering.
Uh, so take maybe one new pieceof equipment on your next trip,
see if it improves yourexperience.
I mean, we certainly started outwith all of the base equipment,
(22:28):
and we've over the years becauseof okay, now we can upgrade
this, we can upgrade that, we'veenhanced our camping.
Uh, and the future of campingmay be lighter, cleaner, and
smarter if we use innovationwisely.
That's it for us for today.
Thanks so much for listening.
Please do reach out to us if youhave any questions or if you
want to talk anytime.
We're this episode will airbefore Christmas.
(22:49):
So if you're looking for someideas for your favorite someone
for uh camping, then maybe youwant to pick up some of these
things.
And uh otherwise, we hope youhave a very happy holiday season
and we'll talk to you againsoon.
Bye.
Bye.