Do you know what the Ten Essentials for the Outdoors are? From the Boy Scout Handbook, it includes a pocketknife, first aid kit, extra clothing, rain gear, water bottle, flashlight, trail food, matches/fire starters, sun protection and map/compass. Let’s take a look at starting a fire with a flint.
What is it?
A 6″ fire-starting steel rod kit capable of producing a shower of hot sparks, despite weather conditions.
Hardware specs
Large 6” Ferrocerium rod will keep starting fires up to 30,000 strikes.
What’s in the box?
Emergency paracord and whistle
Multifunctional scraper tool
Tinder holder and cotton
Design and features
The6-inchh rod feels substantial. When I was a kid, I had a tiny keychain version that was no larger than a match. This thing is about as big as a Sharpie pen.
The metal scraper has a scale on both sides plus a bottle opener notch.
Inside the capsule is a wad of cotton tinder, in case you don’t have anything suitable to start a fire.
The orange bit is actually a whistle and snaps into the black part to form a paracord end.
Setup
After going through the Cub Scouts my son is now in his first year of Boy Scouting. I thought I’d let him take a crack at it. His 11 year-old muscles had a little trouble producing a shower of sparks, but with some patience and persistence…
Success! “Woo hoo!” was his quote.
Performance
I discovered that with the included metal scraper tool, technique is key. Scraping at a roughly 45 degree angle gave slightly better results.
Positives
Beefy 6″ rod will likely never run out in your lifetime
Everything you need for basic survival included (paracord, scraper, whistle, tinder capsule)
Negatives
You’ll need a little bit of grunt power to produce sparks of sufficient quantity.
Final thoughts
The SurvivalHax 6″ Fire Starter Flint totally beats my wimpy flint steel of yesteryear. I like that it includes not just the steel, but a few other items that make this an no-brainer for one of the Ten Essentials for the Outdoors.
A recent trip to the local wine store has opened my eyes to the many possibilities for smuggling alcoholic beverages with you in a variety of purse styles. Apparently, now the seemingly health-conscious can also smuggle in their potables (potent or not) in this yoga mat-like Sling Beverage Cooler. The sling measures 28″ long x 3.25″ in diameter to hold 6 12-ounce cans. It’s made of polyethylene and hemp, and the insulated bag is waterproof, with a seam-sealed lining to contain any condensation or spills. The adjustable strap allows you to carry it on your shoulder or crossbody. The Sling Beverage Cooler is available in tan for $21.95 at UncommonGoods.
We’ve all heard that sitting all day is the new cancer. And that explains why standing desks and treadmill desks have become so popular in the last couple of years. But what about those of you who don’t want to or can’t stand for an extended period of time? Should you just give up and make a reservation at the morgue? Don’t give up just yet. There is another way that you can add more movement to your otherwise sedentary day and burn up to 20% more calories while you’re at it.
I’m talking about the HOVR under the desk active-sitting device. HOVR is kind of like a swing set for your feet and comes in two styles. One that attaches to the bottom of your existing desk, and one that comes with its own frame that sits on the floor under your desk. Both styles provide a place for your feet to rest to provide a non-distracting way to move all day without even thinking about it.
The price for the HOVR ranges from $79.99 – $149.99 depending on which version you go with. For more info visit hovrpro.com and head over to Amazon to order one.
I’ve seen a lot of security devices for travelers, but many of them tend to be alarms that sound when someone attempts to open the door. The Veritas Travelers Doorstop is designed more to keep out intruders than to merely alert you to someone breaking in. It’s made of a solid aluminum wedge with a hardened steel adjustment- and anti-slip screw. Simply slide the wedge under the door and use the screw to elevate it until the door is solidly wedged closed. Should anyone push in against the door, the Veritas simply wedges in tighter and the pointed screw digs into the subfloor to keep the door from sliding open.
The wedge works with both concrete and wooden subfloors, and there will be no damage to either the carpet nor the subfloor if no one tries to force open the door. Veritas weighs only 7 ounces, and it comes with its own travel case. It’s available for $29.50 from Lee Valley Tools.
Remember watching the Jetsons as a kid, with their video phone, video doorbell, and flying car? Well, of those three, the flying car is the only one that’s not already sitting on store shelves waiting for you to take one home. Anyone with a smartphone has a raft of video chat clients at hand. There are several video doorbells on the market. In fact, we were offered one from Wisenet, née Samsung Security. It’s called the SmartCam D1 and is installed in place of your existing wired doorbell. Follow along on my adventure to the future.
Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.
Hardware specs
System Requirements
Internet Connection: High Speed Internet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Mobile: iOS 8 or higher, Android OS 5.0 or higher
Requires an existing hard-wired doorbell
Requires wiring to a 16-24 VAC doorbell and transformer
What’s in the box?
SmartCam D1 Video Doorbell Camera
3 Interchangeable Faceplates
Power Stabilizer Kit (For existing chimes)
Power Extension Kit
Screws and Anchors
Screw Driver
Quick Start Guide
Warranty Card
Design and features
This item had come into the queue and I had taken possession of it just around Halloween. I was procrastinating installing it, after skimming through the instructions. All it took was a break-in at our home two weeks before Thanksgiving to put it on the front burner. After getting into the specifics, it’s far easier than I was imagining.
Setup
The kit itself comes with everything you will need except a drill and a ladder, and the drill is optional. There is a power stabilizer that attaches onto your existing chime, and three trim rings (silver, black, and brass) to best match your door, and all manner of screws and terminal clips. Let’s take a look at how it worked.
According to the manual, the first thing is to cut power. With a light-enabled doorbell, this is pretty easy – have someone watch the doorbell light while you flip breakers until the light goes out. “That’s the one!”
The next step is to unhook two leads from your chime and connect the little harness for the power stabilizer. This is as simple as it sounds: disconnect two wires, connect them into single terminal blocks from the kit, and screw the other wire back to the chime terminals. It took me longer to compose and type out that sentence than it took to do it.
Next, disconnect the existing doorbell, and attach the SmartCam. Then, ask the person in the house who will care which trim ring they prefer. Acknowledge the importance of their contribution, and put the other two rings in the box. (This most likely applies only to those in a long-term, committed domestic partnership, but I do my best in that “ensure domestic tranquility” thing the Constitution talks about.)
The instructions at this point say to put everything into place, but I opted to test before buttoning it all up. Your confidence in your ability to follow instructions will determine your path at this point.
Download the SmartHome software, create an account and get to the authentication screen. Flip the breaker back on, and make sure your doorbell is getting power, sign it into your WiFi, and test it. While this sounds simple, this is probably the most tedious part of the whole process.
Once everything is working as expected, screw the SmartCam over the place your old doorbell was and test again. There is a reset button to the upper left of the unit before you install the trim ring, so be sure everything is working before installing the trim ring. There is a small brass set screw that goes into the lower side of the SmartCam tightened with an Allen wrench that is the final piece. This finishes the doorbell and covers all the attachment points and reset buttons. The Allen screw is recessed, and a pain to get to, which is what you want in the link to bypassing your video security doorbell, right?
At this point, you can stick down the power stabilizer and put the cover back on the chime unit. This was the second hardest part to me, because while it’s the size of a book of matches, there isn’t a lot of spare space inside that chime box, and you have to allow the chimes to vibrate, so nothing can touch them.
Once it’s all installed, you can go into the settings and set the notification preferences, sounds, etc. You can also install it on the phones of your housemates, so that they can participate in the joy of remote door answerage. This is left as a challenge to the installer and their communication skill, as well as the depth of commitment in the earlier mentioned long-term domestic partnership…
So, the doorbell was installed, I freaked the dog out sufficiently by ringing the bell and talking to him through the SmartCam, and felt pretty good about it. Having previously been notified from test security camera systems by every single car that passed on the street, I was happy that there are multiple activity areas that can be set up, and thus am spared my neighbors leaving for work at 4 AM causing my alert to activate. The next day at work, however, I got an alert to a human activity at the door. I pulled up the SmartHome software and activated the live view, just in time to watch the UPS truck drive off.
The video record of the delivery showed the entire process, with the delivery person walking up while talking on their phone, placing the boxes on the porch, and trudging off through the leaves back to their truck. I now enjoy hearing that alert, knowing that something has been dropped off. Should a second alert sound, I can immediately check to see if it’s a second delivery, someone wanting to rake my yard, or someone snooping around my deliveries. And I can speak to them, just like Jane and George or the kids, and they don’t know if I’m inside or at Spacely Industries.
Now, about those flying cars….
Performance
I found that the performance is very fast. While raking the leaves last weekend, I finally had to turn off notifications before being vibrated to death. I have been in a neighbor’s yard, showing them the system, and could scream and activate the “human detection” signal. That’s pretty cool.
Positives
Much easier to do install and use than to read directions about
Everything is provided and explained in detail
Software is friendly, has many options, and works as expected
Negatives
There is a registration and on-going fee for video storage. Granted, this is fast becoming an expected thing, but it’s just one more “only $5 a month” service.
Once it was installed and I got a few notices at work, I found it fits into my lifestyle very easily. I get a message on my Apple Watch, check the video, and make sure it’s something I am expecting or need to handle, all without disengaging from a customer on the phone. If my Lovely Bride calls to ask, I am ready to let her know, after checking our expected deliveries and the doorbell video. I’m actually looking forward to salespeople coming by this spring, just so I can turn them away!
Oh, and one last fun thing. You start to really wonder about the attitude of delivery folks. I’ll leave these videos right here without further comment.
Price: $249.99 Where to buy: Amazon Source: The sample of this product was provided by Wisenet.
Success! “Woo hoo!” was his quote.
