Week In Review ~ 2 February

Camera carry that’s not just for cameras, camo fabric that goes against the stealth principles of camo and a much-talked about avalanche airbag pack that’s not just a lot of hot air…dive into this Week In Review to find out more…

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Black Diamond’s advances on avalanche airbag packs

If snow is your second home, you want to hope for the best and be prepared for the worst when you’re hitting the slopes. Black Diamond’s Jetforce avalanche airbag backpack utilises a battery-powered fan instead of compresed gas canisters to inflate the airbag. The main benefits of using the fan over gas canisters is that the airbag can be activated several times before the battery needs recharging as opposed to gas canisters which offer one activation. Plus with the gas canister version you’ve got some serious travel restriction hurdles to overcome, whereas there’s no hassle with transporting the battery-powered pack on a plane. What’s the drawbacks with Black Diamond’s pack? Well, it’s still very expensive and colder temperatures will reduce the battery’s power. If you’re keen to find out more, click here for an indepth look at the pack.

Chrome’s not-so-undercover camo

Camo is for stealthing, right? Not if it’s Chrome’s Reflective Camo, which they have released as an updated second issue on their Citizen, Barrage and Victor carry gear. The material will reflect light from up to a hundred feet away, helping you stay safer whilst out and about at night on your biking adventures.

Dual-purpose camera carry for weekends away

HoldFast’s Roamographer leather camera bag is for people who want a camera bag that doesn’t look like a camera bag. Constructed out of Great American Bison leather, the bag is essentially two bags in one. The removable camera insert enables you to use the bag as a weekender if you don’t have camera gear to carry around. The camera insert has dividers that allow you to customize it to your needs and the shoulder strap features a sheepskin pad to make the bag more comfortable to carry. What’s the catch? It’s pricey at US$495 – but there’s no denying it’s pretty as a picture and more versatile than standard camera bags.

Laptop carry that offers a little extra

If you want to make your laptop carry work a little bit harder, C6’s laptop bag provides smart office and travel styling, a variety of organization options and helps good causes. The bag has a separate internal padded section that accommodates a 15-inch laptop, while the main internal section has two drop pockets and there are large external zipped pockets on the front and back. Plus a percentage of each C6 product sold goes towards supporting diverse environmental and social projects. Not bad for a humble laptop bag.

Handy handcrafted hack

A while ago we highlighted how you can make your own Altoids tin survival kit but how about some handy handmade carry for your kit? Sticking with the survivalist vibe, this paracord pouch is great for carrying your EDC survival kit but is also suitable for the likes of phones, music players and other small EDC gadgets (or you could make it larger to accommodate larger items). You don’t need to be a pro DIYer as there’s step-by-step instructions and accompanying photos to make the process easy to follow. Plus, even if yours does end up looking a bit squiffy, who cares – you made it, it’s personal and it’s multipurpose…therefore automatically achieving an abundance of awesome points.