Cooped Up? Get Uncooped.

We've seen a few goggles with built-in video cameras, but goggles really only show up for snowsports. Sunglasses wear all year. And so do sunglass cameras. Pivotheads offers a line of sunglasses with 1080p cameras planted right between the eyes. They call it "true point of view." The camera includes features like gyroscope image stabilization, auto focus and 8-megapixel still photo shooting. There's also an integrated microphone for audio. On the sunglass end, Pivotheads provide...

read more

One of the many cruel ironies of outdoor survival is that the conditions where you need fire most can make it the hardest to start. While the warm, dry summer months tend to give you plenty of dry tinder and firewood, snow-soaked winters make dry firestarting provisions scarce. That doesn't mean you can't start a fire, it just means you'll want to learn to adapt. In the following video, we see how you can use...

read more

For about a 1/100 of the cost of an outdoor GPS unit, the ViewRanger app brings a comprehensive set of features and functions for outdoor navigation. This app could just make your iPad a more effective tool than your Garmin Oregon. The app has been available in Europe for years but launched in the US earlier this month. For a $4.99 Android or iOS download price, you get an outdoor mapping GPS with a set...

read more

Most any winter sports enthusiast has used them (or at least received them as a gift): hand and toe warmers. Throw one of those little packs in your pocket and you'll get a few hours of warmth. Problem is, the minute that warmth expires, the pack is useless. With outdoor gear of every stripe going green, it's not surprising to see reusable hand warmers. While at the Outdoor Retailer show, I saw two different designs:...

read more

I know what you're thinking: Why write about cooking a turkey weeks after Thanksgiving--  the only day of the year people eat turkey? Fair question. The answer is simple: As of Thanksgiving afternoon, I really had no idea how to cook a turkey on a campfire. So I experimented on my own, cooked a tasty, smoky bird and thought I'd share the experience. Plus, some people eat turkey on Christmas, so it's not too late....

read more

Time. Even on a lazy summer hike through the park, it’s still important to keep track of. You could go all Dual Survival and build your own sun clock to keep track of time, but carrying a watch is just so much simpler. A wristwatch is the most obvious option, but not everyone wants to weigh his wrist down with a hot, sweaty, bulging machine. These watches deliver what you want—time, and in some cases,...

read more

We see a ton of new gear, technology and innovation come and go here at Uncooped. We try to bring you news of the latest and coolest new outdoor gear, but don't always get to try it out in the field. Many times an item can look super-innovative and useful only to fail miserably in the field. The last thing you really want to do is buy that special someone on your holiday shopping list...

read more

I actually used a Polar Bottle back when I started mountain biking about 15 years ago. I wasn't impressed. The bottle's reflective insulation is supposed to keep your drink colder, longer, but I didn't find that it worked any better than a regular water bottle. So I wouldn't recommend buying one based solely on the insulation promises, though it's been a long time since I've used one, and things change. But, if you like to...

read more

If you had to think of a location where an indoor ski resort makes sense, it would probably be a climate with little to no cold weather/snow and little to no elevation. Like Dubai. Or New Jersey. You wouldn't expect to find a huge indoor ski resort in a country far up in the northern hemisphere where mountains peak at nearly 7,000 feet. But that's exactly what's underway. Swedish architecture firm CF Moller recently revealed...

read more

No, not that. We refer, of course, to wallets. These days, small, dainty purses seem in vogue (at least from the three cumalitive seconds I've ever spent paying attention to purses), so it follows that the wallet should be equally small. A few months back, I did a review of ALL-ETT's super-slim rip-stop wallet. I love the thing, and it's my ideal wallet--enough storage space for the essentials (cash, credit card, license) without all the...

read more