Equipment

Here is a cool new electronic gadget for the outdoorsman. It's called the satellite personal tracker, or SPOT. It can be found on the web at www.findmespot.com/field. The company is affiliated with Google Maps. The device allows the user to be in the backwoods and call out to civilization for help,…

For decades, I had trouble-free feet while hiking and backpacking.' Until this year, I did not bother to shop for boots that fit.' I ordered my size from mail-order catalogs and they worked fine. Then in 2005, I had my first problems with blisters while taking many long hikes in a…

This advanced compass features a magnetized disk for accurate bearings and comes with helpful reference cards that store inside the compass. Magnetized disk is more accurate than conventional needles and settles quickly for fast, accurate bearings. Anti-static, liquid-filled dial with jeweled bearing features 1 degree gradations to ensure accuracy, sighting…

My usual tennis group, led by Paul Anderson, played three long sets of tennis yesterday evening in a steady, cold rain. We have done this type of thing before. Many times over the years, we have played in still falling (or already fallen and piled high) snow, sleet, rain, high…