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As we pass beyond the halfway point of summer, you may be looking at ways to maximize your time outdoors. While nature should be a break from our digital life, if you pair the great outdoors with some great gadgets, it can help you make the most of your time outside.
If you saw Drew Kozub on Breakfast Television and want to know more about the gadgets in his segment, you came to the right place!
This week Drew Kozub and Devo Brown looked at gadgets to help cyclists, hikers, and fitness enthusiasts enhance their outdoor experiences the right gadgets.
GekoGear Moto Snap Dash Cam
We've all heard of dash cams for our cars, but what about for our bikes? GekoGear makes a smart dashcam designed for bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles with some pretty thoughtful features catering to riders.
First, in the event you're in some sort of accident causing your bike to take a tumble, you can be sure that this dash cam not only captures that footage but also protects that footage. It's equipped with something called a G Sensor, which can tell if your bicycle or motorcycle has tipped over. In the event that happens, it protects the video file, making sure it can't be accidentally over written.
There's a lot of reasons why we think this is a top-notch dash cam for your bike or motorcycle (read our full review here. But aside from the safety features, the camera has an excellent sensor for a variety of lighting conditions. It instantly starts recording as soon as you slide it into the mount. And it's easy to remove when you park your bike (so no thieves are tempted to take it).
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Moto Snap Dash Cam
Bicycles and Motorcycles
With a really practical design, long battery life, and an excellent app experience for viewing recorded footage and adjusting camera settings, we think the Moto Snap Dash Cam is the best option available today for a camera for your bike or motorcycle.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
Apple knows how to make the perfect smartwatch experience. But that "perfect experience" varies a lot person to person because everyone's needs are different. The Apple Watch SE is the budget-friendly version that suits many people. The Series 10 is the latest that's suits most people. But for the smaller group that's looking for Apple's toughest and highest-functioning smartwatch, those people will want the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
It has an extremely large, flat display inside of a 49mm titanium case. With a peak brightness of 3000 nits, even in direct sunlight, you'll have no problem checking out the elvaation of your hike or the cadence of your bike ride.
Unlike the (very capable) Apple Watch Series 10, the Ultra 2 has an additional button on the side which can have a custom function assigned to it. Outdoor enthusiasts may want to consider assigning this button to the watch's Backtrack function, which uses GPS data to help you retrace your steps if you get lost. It's a feature of the compass app, which also allows you to mark waypoints and areas of interest as you explore.
And if you're doing any snorkeling or diving, this watch automatically can go into diving mode showing you depth, water temperature and more as you explore.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 can get 36 hours of no-compromise use on a single charge and that can be extended to 72 hours in low power mode (though this will impact some watch features). With additional metrics available for track runners, competitive cyclists, and the advanced health tracking features (nevermind the stylish and exclusive black titanium finish) this is the most premium and performative watch Apple offers. Read our full review here.
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Apple Watch Ultra 2
Ultimate Apple Watch
With excellent features for hiking, diving, biking, and fitness, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the toughest timepiece in Apple's lineup with the longest battery life. This does add a bit more bulk, but thanks to the titanium case, the extra size only adds 20 grams over the, more slender, Series 10.
Smart Skipping Rope
For an outdoor workout companion, the most obvious thing you'll want with you are a good set of earbuds (see our reviews of our favourite Android and Apple options). But once that's taken care of, what else can help you enjoy your exercises outside? Kick it old school and get a skipping rope, but make it smart!
Admittedly the world of smart skipping ropes has grown quite robust in the past few years. The styles, features, and weights, vary almost as much as the price. Because of this, we think that Tangram's SmartRope is probably the best starting point.
It's a no-nonsense skipping rope experience. Instead of built-in rechargeable batteries, this runs off of the same sort of battery you might find in an AirTag or a watch. It means this thing will last for months, and months, and you never have to worry about charging it.
What does a smart skipping rope even do? Primarily, it counts your jumps, showing you your progress over time and the calories you burn in any given session. The app works for iPhone and Andoroid, the rope itself is extremely lightweight and portable, and the length of the rope is adjustable accommodating a variety of heights.
If you like the idea of exercising outdoors and you need a new toy to motivate you, maybe this is it? Skipping rope generally burns more calories in less time compared to other cardio while allowing you to work on balance and coordination, requiring minimal space and engaging many muscle groups at once.
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Smart Jump Rope Rookie
Smart Fitness
Tangram makes a few different smart skipping ropes but the easiest to use is the Rookie. It's also the lowest cost one, so it's a great starting point to see if skipping rope works with your exercise routine. The app is straight-forward. The battery life is excellent. The Rookie can make you feel like a pro in no time!
Blavor Solar Power Battery Charger
If you're spending a full day in the great outdoors, you may need to top up your phone's battery, so a portable battery pack is essential. Blavor makes some interesting options for charging on the go.
The most prominent feature of this specific one is the built-in solar panel. Which at first, seems great! You'll never run out of power as long as the sun is shining, right? Well, not quite.
This has a very large 10,000 mAH battery (that should charge the average phone 2-3 times before running out of juice). The problem is, when it does run out of juice, that solar panel is just too small for decent charging times. Based on our testing, it would take almost an entire week in the sunshine to fill that battery back up.
But if you want to use as a rugged power bank for your hiking expeditions that just-so-happens to also have the ability to charge with solar power, this is for you. Don't buy with the solar charging as a main feature, it's a side feature, since it's not terribly practical.
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Blavor Solar Power Bank
Portable Power
This charger allows you to plug in your devices via the USB ports on the device to top up their battery. It also features Qi (wireless) charging if you lay a compatible device flat against the charging pad. It could be extra handy to have while hiking or camping because it also has a built-in, dual light flashlight. It has a water/dust rating of IPX5, which means it would be okay if got splashed with some rain drops, but you can't drop it in a creek and expect it to be okay.
If you just can't get enough outdoor gadget recommendations, then we've got you covered! Here's some other tech I've been testing out over the past few months that I thought has been particularly fun to use while enjoying some quality time outside.
As always, you can keep in touch with me in between TV segments by giving me a follow on Instagram. And if you have any questions about any of the gadgets featured in this week's TV segment, hit me up there too.
Thanks for geeking out with me!
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