Reviews

Jul

2024

Zenbivy 3D Flex Mattress – Review

I did the photography for this review of the Zenbivy 3D Flex last year with my friend Jason Lorch from Tyres and Soles. I ended up with this uber-comfortable mattress and have been using it lately when camping out of my car. If you have the space, as it’s big and bulky, then I highly recommend one of these things. It’s not something for your backpack though. The pillows? Well, I think if you have enough space from the mattress then you have enough space for a couple of normal pillows. I always find blowup pillows a little noisy under the head. Now on with the review!!

Cut to the Chase

Do you want to sleep like the dead? The Zenbivy 3D Flex Mattress is the comfiest basecamp mattress we’ve ever used! If you want an end to uncomfortable nights, painful hips or back and are thinking “If only I could bring my bed on these damn trips”, then look no further. With a supportive 4-way stretch design with a fully flat edge-to-edge surface so you won’t roll off the edge, and 3 inches of dreamy support with an inflation time of seconds, you really should stop losing sleep over it and join the Zenbivy (sleep-like the dead) army.

Pros:
Feels like your home mattress
3″ Thickness provides amazing comfort
Supportive 4-way Stretch
Impressive heat loss capabilities (R-value of 7)
Low-profile retains good head space in vehicles or low-pitched tents
One-way reversible valve keeps air in while inflating
Valve allows for customizable comfort with its slow-deflation “button”

Cons:
Not cheap, but neither is back surgery.

Zenbivy 3D Flex Mattress – Review

Roughing it has its place, but once you get to a certain age you’ve been there, done that, and got the t-shirt, so now it’s a time for some luxury in your life. The Zenbivy 3D Flex Mattress is the luxurious basecamp mattress packing 3 inches of self-inflating horizontally-cored foam to give you the most comfortable night’s sleep possible. No peas were harmed during this test.

Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial to the way you feel the following day. This is even more important if you need to be at your peak performance for a race. Sleep has been linked to performance levels and if you simply can’t sleep due to crappy mattresses, then this needs to change.

Fortunately, Zenbivy is the master in making bedtime a very comfortable experience for campers. If you’re a car camper looking to upgrade to a superior mattress for those weekends away or someone who’s taken to the van life and on the road for weeks, months, or years at a time looking for a reliable and consistent good night’s sleep, the Zenbivy Flex 3D mattress is one to check out.

We’ve reviewed their Zenbivy bed in the past and it has become our go-to sleeping bag (bed) for all our overnight adventures. More on that here. When you combine the Zenbivy bed with the 3D Flex mattress, it provides the same levels of sleep you would find at home in your own bed, and there’s nothing like sleeping in your bed.

Features

The Flex™ 3D Mattress is the ultimate ultra-comfortable basecamp mattress.

The Zenbivy Flex 3D Mattress has been designed to look and feel just like your home mattress. The 4-way stretch knit top provides excellent support combined with a luxuriously soft flat top surface that is usable from edge to edge cradling you just like your mattress at home.

The 4-way stretch fabric allows the mattress to “flex” with your shape and movement, so the top feels softer and more supportive than other camp mattresses—even at firm air pressures.

Hip comfort is crucial for a good night’s sleep so Zenbivy made sure to eliminate hip soreness with the vertical side walls providing 3 inches of self-inflating horizontally-cored foam to raise your body from the ground to give you the most comfortable night’s sleep possible and still low enough in vertical height to fit into any vehicle.

The R-Value is a measure of the transfer of temperature from one side of a material (in this case a mat) to the other. Eliminating heat transfer into the ground is an important part of how a mattress retains its heat and how quickly you can lose body heat into the ground. The Zenbivy Flex 3D Mattress delivers an impressive R-value of 7 due to the horizontally-cored foam design which drastically reduces cold spots found on most vertically-cored mattresses.

A one-way reversible valve keeps air in while inflating and allows for customizable comfort with its slow-deflation “button”. When it’s time to pack up, the entire valve pops out for an instant, hassle-free deflation. Then pop the “deflation” valve side back in and the air stays out as you continue to roll.

Set-Up

Setting up the Zenbivy 3D Flex mattress is a very simple affair. It took us no more than a minute or two from unpacking to fully inflated. The carry sack doubles as an Inflation Dry Sack for fast manual inflation and doubles as a storage bag for the mattress.

Simply roll the mattress out onto the ground, connect the carry sack, to the one-way reversible valve, close the top loop of the carry sack to capture some air, then push down on the inflated carry sack and all that air forces its way into the valve, filling the mattress. It only took us 3 bags of air to fill the Zenbivy 3D Flex mattress. This is very fast! Faster than any foot pump we’ve used. It’s also silent so it won’t annoy any nearby campers.

Note, be sure to close off the other valve on the opposite corner of the mattress, or you will be there for eternity trying to inflate it, just like we did the first time, ahem.

It only took us 3 bags of air to fill the Zenbivy 3D Flex mattress. This is very fast! Faster than any foot pump we’ve used. It’s also silent so it won’t annoy any nearby campers.

The Zenbivy Flex 3D Mattress has the appearance of a traditional home bed.

We tested the largest of the three sizes. A fully inflated size of 52″ x 78″ (132 x 198 x 8cm), and a packed weight of 7 lb 11 oz (3.49 kg). The tester is 6′ 2″ and weighs around 86kgs.

The Zenbivy Comfort Factor

Talk about crying yourself to sleep. We almost cried ourselves to sleep with tears of joy on the first night. The comfort levels with the Flex 3D mattress are so close to the bed you would sleep in at home that it’s a joy to sleep on. It has a supportive, yet soft firmness which evenly spreads your body weight to prevent the build-up of pressure points, particularly in your neck, back, and hips, similar to an orthopaedic mattress.

Undoubtedly, the Flex 3D is the most comfortable camping mattress we’ve ever used, and we’ve used quite a few over the years. Previous car camping mattresses were double the height and 10 times as noisy with comical support levels. You know the types, where you move, and your partner gets ejected into the air.

A 3-inch thick mattress is a perfect height. It provides enough thickness for the mattress to feel bottomless in almost every sleep position and doesn’t take up too much headroom in your tent or car. It works everywhere! Even in low-pitched tents.

The 4-way stretch fabric allows this mattress to “flex” with your shape and movement, which evenly spreads your body weight to prevent the build-up of pressure points, particularly in your neck, back, and hips, similar to an orthopedic mattress, even at firm air pressures.

The Zenbivy pillows offer a luxuriously soft cover for your face, and good levels of head and neck support. It also packs down into a teeny-weeny sack.

Another plus is the flat surface of the Flex 3D mattress. This means you use the entire surface area and never feel like you are about to roll off the edge. The flat surface, even under firm pressures, remains flat which is perfect for stretching.

What amazed us is that the height is only 3 inches, but the support is almost equal to that of our orthopaedic mattress at home, which would be closer to 6 or 8 inches. The 4-way stretch 50d polyester knit provides a soft comfort to the surface and the Urethane foam gives it a supportive, yet supple cushioning.

The low height of the mattress is also a bonus because it doesn’t overly reduce the head height in the vehicle or if you have a low-pitched tent.

Packing up

When you’re all done and ready to pack up, just unplug the two-way valve, allow it to deflate, then roll it up and store it in the carry sack. For what the Flex 3D provides, it doesn’t take up that much space (66 x 20cm packed size). You can easily store it in the boot of your car or under the storage shelving in your van.

It’s not cheap. But how much do you value your sleep and your body? If you compare it to a home mattress, how much would you spend on one and what’s the lifetime of those? 5 or 10 years? I know our parents had the same mattress for double that. So if you take that into account, and do a lot of car camping, and do put a value on sleep and body health, then we think it’s definitely worth the dollars.

Full tech specs here.

Conclusions

We’ll say it again! The Zenbivy 3D Flex Mattress is the comfiest basecamp mattress we’ve ever used! If you want an end to uncomfortable nights, painful hips, or back in the morning and are thinking “If only I could bring my own bed on these damn trips“, then look no further. With a supportive 4-way stretch design with a fully flat edge-to-edge surface so you won’t roll off the edge, and 3 inches of dreamy support with an inflation time of seconds, you really should stop losing sleep over it and join the Zenbivy (sleep-like the dead) army.

Where to Buy

You can purchase directly from the Zenbivy website.

Guest Author

Jason Lorch

I was born and grew up in Wales but I’m now a fully-fledged Aussie: a passionate mountain biker, hiker and general nature addict. I’m also a bit of a muso and enjoy a good craft beer now and again (probably too often). I hope what we do here at Tyres and Soles will inspire people to get out there and experience first-hand, the natural wonders surrounding them. So, pump up those tyres, and don your favourite boots. Grab a mate, a partner, or a pet… and head out into nature. But tell us all about it when you get back.

Tyres and Soles Facebook

Mar

2020

Lander Cairn Powerbank

The Lander Cairn Powerbank Is Shining The Way For All Other Lanterns

The hideous white glare of the typical camp lantern is something akin to creating a scene from a refugee camp, not forgetting the hordes of bugs that come travelling from miles around for a kamikaze nose dive in your face. Well, we have seen the light, pardon the pun, and it’s come to us in the form of the Cairn. An ingenious little lantern that has a couple of nifty tricks up its proverbial sleeve.

First Impressions

There are few brands, although I can think of one right now (sounds like schnapple) who are masters of creating things we thought we’d never need, but now there is another; a lantern called the Cairn.

Whereas other products often clutter our lives with needless things, the Cairn has brought a marked degree of pleasure to our camping activities. The Cairn is a thing of beauty and as soon as you hold it in your hands, you’ll be charmed, just like we were.

The Cairn is not only a lantern but also a power bank for charging external devices. It’s incredibly versatile at setting different lighting moods, robust and durable for the outdoor lifestyle and just looks bloody great!

The Lander Anchor System. You can hang the Cairn pretty much anywhere you like.

Features

The Cairn, made by the brand Lander, is first and foremost a lantern, but it does have another pretty cool feature, and that’s being able to charge other electronic devices. Admittedly, this will reduce the number of hours you get out of the light but at least you’ll be able to make that important phone call or group selfie if need be.

Variable Dimming

The Lander Cairn features a 300 lumen LED light with a fully adjustable dimmer functionality, designed to fit into any setting, be it dusk, late night or the early morning. The LED light creates an intimate soft glow for smaller spaces and all the way up to a super-bright light that floods the entire campsite.

Changing the brightness is easily achieved via the dimming feature, which is integrated into the power button. Simply press and hold and the light dims and brightens, then release when you get to your desired brightness.

Battery Life

Lander claims that you will get around 2.5 to 3 hours on full brightness (300 lumens), and we agree that is pretty accurate. We got around 2.5 on a very cold night in the Blue Mountains but on other warmer nights, we got a little more out of it, which was expected.

But 300 lumens is very bright, you would probably use only half that (150 lumens) for the majority of campsite use, and lower still when in the tent. You can expect to get about 6 hours + out of the device if you are solely using it at 150 lumens and not using it to charge any other devices.

When you hit the 3-hour limit (at 300 Lumens), it doesn’t just shut off completely, it reduces the brightness to around 10 lumens and can continue at this brightness for about 10+ hours. Admittedly, 10 Lumens isn’t bright, but it’s certainly better than nothing. The Cairn takes about 2 hours to charge from flat to full.

Power points in the Cairn powerbank — The Cairn is rechargeable and can also charge other electronic devices.

Lander Cairn Powerbank can charge your phone — The Cairn powering up a smartphone.

External Device Charging

The Cairn is a rechargeable unit thanks to the built-in 3300mAh battery and is also equipped with a 2.1 amp USB charging port to power external devices.

When the Cairn is at full charge, you can juice up your smartphone to about 75% and still get around an hour’s worth of light at 300 Lumens. This could provide a solution to an urgent problem when in the bush and your phone is out of juice.

Adaptability

The Cairn Powerbank can be mounted pretty much anywhere you like with the Lander Anchor System, an innovative multi-axis reflective nylon cord. Simply choose your preferred spot and hang away – this is the definition of ‘set and forget’ technology.

The Cairn has two cord sections on each side of the light, one with a plastic T bar piece on one end. You simply loop the T bar through the other loop of the cord which creates the hanging system. I found it really handy when setting up camp and organising the gear in and around the tent.

Durability

There’s nothing more annoying than worrying about your tech when in the great outdoors. Thankfully, the highly functional Cairn is P65 rated for water and dust resistance, protecting it from splashes and downpours.

However, we highly recommend you do not fully immerse the device. We did this out of curiosity and it killed it. So as Lander has stated, it’s water-resistant, not waterproof. On the other hand, it can handle a fair bit of rain splashing over it.

Lander Cairn Powerbank is p65 water rated — The Cairn is P65 rated for water and dust resistance.

Specifications:

Equipped with an integrated 2.1-amp USB charging port to power devices.
Variable light dimming and strobe modes (including SOS pattern)
Multi-axis anchor system with reflective nylon cord allows you to hang the light wherever you need.
Waterproof Rating: IP65
Bulb Type: LED
Max Light: 300 Lumens
Avg Run Time: High: 10hrs; Low 40 hrs
Batteries: Rechargeable lithium-ion
Rechargeable: Yes
Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.7 x 5.5 cm
Weight: 284 grams

Where to Buy/Price

Price: $79.95

Available from the Lander website or other good online retailers.

Words: Jason Lorch, Chief editor at Tyres and Soles.

If you like hearing about great bits of gear or tales of adventures in either MTB, hiking or camping then be sure and swing by the Tyres and Soles website and check out the content there. Just click the logo and check it out

Aug

2019

APPA’s, product and more

It’s been a quiet couple of weeks for me on the race photography front. There’s been a couple of weeks break from shooting the races but the fun never stops when you have a camera in your hand

Just because it is quiet on the race front doesn’t mean that my photography has come to a standstill. The Australian Professional Photographers Awards (APPA’s) were on in which I entered 4 images. I’m happy to say I came away with 3 silvers this year. I know some of my peers frown upon the APPA’s but I personally have learnt a lot from entering over the years. The need to submit physical prints forces me to print my pictures which is something I rarely do. I also find that it makes me be highly critical of my own work.

Back from holidays now bring on the weekend, its time to go shoot!!! A shot from the Cannonball Whip Wars in Thredbo,
Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Superflow at Mount Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra, 2019
Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Superflow at Mount Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra, 2019
Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Superflow at Mount Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra, 2019

I went out last weekend and shot some great products with the Tyres and Soles crew again. It’s always fun shooting with them and checking out new gear up close. Be sure and keep an eye out on their website for the upcoming gear reviews. There is still a bunch more kit to shoot with them as well such as the new ZenBivy sleeping bag, North Face duffles and more. As much as I love shooting the sports stuff I also love shooting different things. Shooting the gear reviews lets me do both, win win.

Whistler Performance Lubricants
Oi Bike Bell

Caught up with some friends as they went out on their foil boards. Whenever there is swell these guys head out, they don’t actually need breaking waves. The boards seem almost comically small but they definitely do the trick. I have been seeing the foils pop up more and more in other places too such as paddleboards and kitesurf boards. The crew definitely seems to be growing and I can see this taking off in a big way in the future if people can just keep from getting chopped up by their foils.

Some of the boys took their foils out for a spin today at Long Reef here in Sydney. A few nice waves about for it.

I have also been shooting a lot of fitness and gym stuff of late for my gym, Joe’s Basecamp. They have me shooting all their ambassadors but I will write more about these shoots soon.

This weekend coming it’s back to the mountain bike racing with the next round of Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Shimano GP at Ourimbah followed by the Fox Superflow also at Ourimbah the following weekend.

See you out there!!

May

2018

Anja Camera backpack from f-stop gear

I did a review of the Anja pack from f-stop Gear for Tyres and Soles. Like all the f-stop Gear mountain series backpacks it’s the attention to detail that makes it stand out from the crowd.

The New f-stop AJNA Has Your Back, No Matter What!

f-stop has done it again with their AJNA 40l pack. If you consider yourself a serious photographer, then you should seriously check out the AJNA.

f-stop makes great packs. They came out strong about 12 years agp and quickly became a market favourite with their Mountain series and for good reason, they’re tough, versatile and comfortable. I have been using F-stop packs for a few years now and I am a big fan.

Mountain series include 5 packs (Lotus 32L, Ajna 40L, Tilopa 50L, Sukha 70L, Shinn 80L), apart from the Mountain series they also have the Ultra Light Series that include: 25L Guru UL, Kashmir 30L and Loka UL 37L. The Kashmir UL is the pack with shortest torso length. It is suitable for both men and women with some benefits for female shooters such as the slightly curved should straps.

The Ajna (orange) fits in around the middle of the range at 40L. Photo: ©Richard McGibbon

Features

f-stop packs are very water resistant. I’ve had mine in heavy downpours without a rain cover and there was next to no water getting into the pack, and better still, none even got close to my camera gear. However, rain covers are an optional extra and the packs do have a storage pocket and attachment loops for them.

ICU

The internal camera units (ICUs) are a great piece of interchangeable gear. It’s basically the removable guts of the bag that allows you to customise and fit your camera gear safely. I have a couple of ICU’s that hold different kits and I’ll just throw one into the pack depending on my needs. All setup and ready to go.

: Fstop Gear Anja backpack and large ICU

: Shooting F-Stop Gear Anja camera backpack

: Fstop Gear Anja backpack and large ICU

Comfort

What really sealed it for me was how comfortable the Ajna felt on my back. My full kit weighs in around 12-14kgs. When I need to spend all day lugging this around, comfort is of the maximum importance to me. f-stop has not only made a pack that can store photography gear, they’ve looked long and hard at what makes a pack comfortable.

The comfort comes from an internal aluminium frame which provides the overall structure and rigidity, maintaining good shape whilst still being lightweight. Combine this with the ergonomically designed hip belt and shoulder straps, which have been injected with a gel-like material, and you get an exceptionally comfortable pack.

Storage

There’s enough storage in the Ajna to easily store all my camera gear plus food and water for a day on the hill. This is ideal as I’m out on location for long sessions at a time and need to ensure that I have everything with me.

Access to the ICU is via a padded rear panel constructed with heavy gauge catch-free YKK® zippers which opens up to give you full access to the entire ICU unit. Having this rear access means that you can place the pack down on its front, access all your gear and avoid getting mud on the harness straps and your clothing.

The main internal access is from the top zippered panel and is roomy enough for all sorts of gear, clothing etc. There are also easily accessible side pockets with full-length zippers and an expandable design, so you can cinch the pack in or keep filling it out. All zippers are heavy duty wet weather resistant and are remarkably catch free…ah heaven!

There’s also a multipurpose internal sleeve that can fit either a 13” laptop or can be used as a hydration bladder pocket.

: Shooting F-Stop Gear Anja camera backpack

: Shooting F-Stop Gear Anja camera backpack

: Shooting F-Stop Gear Anja camera backpack

Shooting F-Stop Gear Anja camera backpack

The Little Things

The Ajna has more pockets, attachment loops, bungee cords, straps and hooks than you could possibly need on a single trip. The pack has ice axe, avalanche shovel, sleeping bag attachments but I tend to use these to keep my tripods strapped and secure.

And for storing smaller items like passport, wallet, keys and phone, there’s a zippered mesh underside lid pocket. It’s the small details like this that can make a big difference when your travelling interstate or overseas.

f-stop ajna — It’s the little things that make a big difference. Photo: ©Richard McGibbon

Durability

Unlike many products these days the F-Stop packs are robust. Being none too gentle with my equipment, my bags tend to take a bit of a beating. They get thrown down, dropped on rough surfaces, rained on, tossed on the wet muddy ground and dragged around. To date, I have never had anything get damaged inside my pack aside from managing to squash a banana.

The packs have been designed for use in the mountains and you can see this in all the materials and parts used. The material, zippers and attachment points are all of the highest quality and can withstand years of abuse. I know from personal experience with my other F-Stop packs.

The main fabric is made from a breathable oxford-weave ripstop nylon and AdvantaTM, a thermoplastic polyurethane film giving it high tear resistance. The Ajna also features a Hypalon® reinforced base for extra protection if you drop your bag onto rocky or hard surfaces.

: Fstop Gear Anja backpack and large ICU

: Shooting F-Stop Gear Anja camera backpack

Key Feature List

Highly tear resistant, wet weather and breathable fabrics
Hydration system with Velcro® sealed tube port
4 Internal ICU attachment points
Heavy-duty 3-fold carry handle
All-day support provided by an internal aluminium frame
Quick-release side compression straps
Adjustable sternum strap with an integrated whistle for emergencies
Soft Flex injection molded EVA belt and shoulder straps for all-day comfort
Water and weather resistance YKK® Aquaguard® zippers
Fast and catch-free closures
Reinforced base
Multipurpose internal and external pocket configurations inc laptop storage.
Accessory attachments via 16 GateKeeper mounting points (GateKeepers sold separately)

Specifications

Height: 59.7cm | 23.5in
Width: 33cm | 13in
Depth: 26.7cm | 10.5in
Volume: 40 Litres
Weight: 1.7kgs | 3.75lbs
ICU sold separately

: Fstop Gear Anja backpack and large ICU

: Shooting F-Stop Gear Anja camera backpack

: Fstop Gear Anja backpack and large ICU

Where To Buy/ Availability

The F-Stop Ajna is available to buy at most good photography stores. Click here to discover the full F-Stop range.

Price: $399 approx

[wp-review id=”6677″]

If you are into camping, hiking, MTBing etc and wondering about new gear go check out Tyres and Soles because there is a good chance they have reviewed it.

Oct

2017

Review: Sleeklens Landscape Workflow

I was asked by Sleeklens to put their landscape workflow to the test and give it a review. The workflow pack contains 51 presets and 30 brushes, a guide on how to Stack/layer presets and brushes, a guide on how to layer/stack the presets. and instructions on how to install the presets and brushes, all available for instant download

My first impression upon opening up the workflow was that the example photos they showed were too over-processed for my taste. They have been pushed well into the realms of heavy HDR and over-saturated in some areas which is really not to my taste. That being said the processes and tools that got them to that point are a great set of tools and they don’t necessarily have to be taken that far.

I thought the best way to test it out would be to take one of my photos from the original RAW file through to a finished product using their tools and suggestions.

Original RAW capture

I picked this shot from Bright in Victoria. Although I have shots from the same morning that are similar I have never edited this one, which seems a shame as I love the sunburst on the mountains.

I used a total of 6 presets, Deep Blue Skies, Add Contrast, Brighten Shadows, Add Clarity, Warm It Up and Subtle Black to get it close to what I was after. Then 1 of their brushes for finer adjustments and finished off with just a little tweeking of the settings to adjust things a bit more to my taste. The whole process was very quick. I could certainly keep tweaking and going into the finer details.

Final Image: Sunrise in Bright

All in all its a great package stuffed with a fantastic collection of stackable brushes and tools, Presets are always a handy time-saving tool to have in your bag of tricks. They are a tool that I don’t utilise nearly enough though especially considering the mass of work that I put out with OuterImage.

I think like most of your tools you need to be familiar with what each one does and how it affects the final image. I intend to dive further into these so I know what each one does. Before looking through this workflow I never thought about setting brushes as presets. If you use Lightroom in your photo editing and are looking for a way to speed up your processing or even just a way to get some new ideas on what direction to take a photo then these are well worth having a look at.

You can find everything here on the Sleeklens Website

Jun

2017

Outdoor Retailer Australia Show ’17

I went to the ORA (Outdoor Retailer Australia show) for a day to have a chat with some people and check out all the new gear that is coming to Australia over the next few months. I teamed up with guest blogger Jason Lorch, the editor from Tyres and Soles, who wrote the words below. T&S do loads of great gear reviews on their site and I thought this was exactly their cup of tea.

It was our first time at the ORA show and I only wish we had gone for more than one day. It was on from the 18th – 20th June 2017 at the Royal Hall of Industries and the Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park.

We couldn’t shoot every product as some were pre-production and prototype models, and the exhibitors didn’t want us shooting those, which is understandable. We understand that you need to keep a few tricks up your sleeve in this industry. It’s also worth noting that this event is primarily focused on B2B, so business is key here and media although welcomed, are not the highest on the agenda for the exhibitors. Again, we understand and respect that.

But rest assured, we saw a lot and you should all be getting excited about the new products heading your way.

AXISGO (Aquatech)

Aquatech have been around for years making submersible camera housing and other protective gear, at the highest quality. After making very specific products for a certain target market, Aquatech has now jumped into the global market of the smartphone with their AXISGO iPhone underwater case and we managed to have a play with it.

The AXISGO is a housing kit that allows you to take your iPhone down to depths of 10 metres! It comes in 3 colour choices, with a trigger handle (which was brilliant!) and different housing lenses for different image effects. We saw some of the photos that had been taken with this gadget and the results were astonishing!

AXISGO

Outdoor Retailer Show 2017 — The impressive AXISGO underwater housing for iPhones from AquaTech.

Barz Optics

Barz Optics is an Australian-based family company located at Burleigh Heads in Queensland on the east coast of Australia. They offer a huge range of optics and frame types for any situation. Floating models, kids’ polarised models, melanin-infused polarised sunglass lenses, polarised lenses with a bifocal reader, and prescription lenses….

New products at the show included their latest floating model, the Polarised Photochromic BiFocal Reader – the Cabo, as well as the new kids floating polarised model, the Grom. They’ve also released a cycling-focused model which has been very popular with the cycling community to date. We recommend you check them out.

Barz Optics

LifeStraw

LifeStraw started in 1994 with their first filter that could remove Guinea worm larvae from water. It then evolved into a more effective pipe form in 1999 and is essentially the design you see today. Since then, more than 37 million LifeStraw Guinea Worm filters have contributed to the near-eradication of the disease.

The design is simple, elegant and highly effective at removing 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella. It weighs only 57 grams and can be placed in your pack or pocket. You can literally drop down to a dirty puddle and suck it up. The effect it has had on third-world communities has been hugely impactful.

LifeStraw now has a range of products from the individual LifeStraw, LifeStraw Go, LifeStraw Mission and the LifeStraw Family. Plus, for each LifeStraw that’s purchased, one school child in a developing community receives safe drinking water for an entire school year.

LifeStraw

UQUIP

One of the main purposes of attending the ORA 2017 show was to discover new brands. One such brand is UQUIP. A small company based in Bad Bramstedt in Northern Germany (close to Hamburg). They produce a range of camping products such as stools, beds, portable storage, mats and lights.

What impressed us was the detail and the level of quality in their designs. One item caught our eye straight away. It was a teeny weeny folding chair, that looked as if it would fit a very small dog or kitten. In fact it can hold up to 150kgs of weight yet it only weighs 250 grams! So we just had to test this out for ourselves.

Although I was nowhere near that weight, it felt incredibly secure and rigid under me. It was also surprisingly comfortable. We could see this stool being incredibly handy for many uses, especially for the professional photographer who needs to carry a lot of stuff around and sit in the same spot for long periods of time.

UQIP

THERMAREST

We’re fans of the THERMAREST products, namely their air mattresses and sleeping bags but we haven’t had much exposure to their tent range, so were happy to see their Tranquility tent on display. The tent itself appeared well-built and had all the quality you would expect from this brand. It is aimed more at car camping, so don’t expect anything lightweight that you can carry in your pack for multiple days.

The 4-man tent weighs in at 5.19 kg. If you’re looking for high quality and not concerned about weight for those short trips to your favourite car camp spot, then you’d do well with these tents. Thermarest offers a range of 4 to 6-man tents, shelters and footprints.

The Tent Field

We headed out to the tent area where a lot of tents were set up, in a variety of shapes and sizes.

PELICAN

Pelican have been around for years and are best known for their virtually indestructible travel cases. What caught our eye this year was their range of drinkware and cooler boxes. The Traveler Tumbler can store hot or cold liquids at the correct temperature all day, and come with a narrower bottom section so they can fit into most vehicle holders.

We were told that the cooler boxes can retain ice for ten days! One of the Pelican exhibitors recently came back from a ten-day fishing trip where he had fish stored in the box but was dubious about opening it up and releasing all the cold air, but he took a gamble and opened it anyway. To his surprise, there was still ice in the bottom, after ten days!

ONE PLANET

The reason we didn’t shoot as much as we wanted was that we got stuck at the One Planet stand for longer than expected. We’re big fans of One Planet and any opportunity to catch up with them is a bonus for us. One Planet is based out of Melbourne and has been manufacturing outdoor equipment for more than 30 years. They have a reputation for creating gear that’s incredibly tough and durable.

It was great to see how the One Planet range has evolved. Offering more and more products each year, from their beloved backpacks and sleeping bags to tents, jackets and footwear. They remain true to their core market and their consistency for high-quality, super-tough gear can be seen across all of these products.

All in all, it was a great show with tons of interesting brands and products on display, I just wished we’d come for more than one day.

Author: Jason Lorch

Born and grew up in Wales but now a fully fledged Aussie. A passionate mountain biker, hiker and general nature addict. He also fancies himself as a bit of a muso and enjoy a good craft beer every now and again (probably too often).

His blog at Tyres and Soles will inspire people to get out there and experience first hand, the natural wonders that surround them. and is well worth checking out. Be sure and go get lost in the stories and reviews over at Tyres and Soles.