Ask any multi-tasker, hands free is always the way to go. So when the makers of the Capture Camera Clip asked me to test out their new device I immediately jumped at the chance. This sleek little gizmo makes the camera neck strap obsolete with a clever quick-release system that allows a photographer to snap his trusty SLR reporting tool on a waist belt or shoulder strap for easy and immediate access. In principle the Capture works beautifully, but after several weeks of use I discovered that its...
Gear Whore Confessions
It’s the first week of December and I’m still out on the water! Thanks to this GORE-TEX Lightweight Paddling Suit from Kokatat I can still get out on my stand up paddleboard for morning workouts even as chilly temperatures welcome another Wisconsin winter. As an adventure journalist I use GORE-TEX gear to venture out into the world and bring back many of the interesting stories you find here at the Joy Trip Project. Products constructed with this amazing waterproof breathable material have made it possible for me to stay...
#ORSummer, Business, Diversity, Environmental Justice, Gear Whore Confessions, Outdoor Retailer, Summer / 15.08.2011
The Business Card Shuffle – The Joy Trip Project
I spent more than a week trying to get Chris Keyes to return my calls. So when the senior editor at Outside Magazine reached out to shake my hand during the breakfast meeting of the Conservation Alliance I was naturally thrilled. It’s at these events during the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market when the distance between professional relationships shrinks and contact can be made face to face. But the depth and strength of any relationship should never be taken for granted. And as I discovered it’s usually best to truly connect with a person before you try to game an exchange of business cards into something more than the meeting of two people.
Charitable Giving, Gear Whore Confessions, Outdoor Retailer, philanthropy / 22.12.2010
Gear whore confessions: Keen gives Kiva share of shoe sales – The Joy Trip Project
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="269" caption="Marcial Juan"]
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When it comes to supporting non-profits, I’m in it for the money. I expect a worthwhile return on my investment in some form of quantifiable currency I can bank on. Same goes for gear companies who boast about their giving to charity. When I lay out cold hard cash I want the organizations that tug at my heart strings to be accountable for their claims of largess by feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, gaining some ground in the fight to cure cancer, whatever. Show me the money!
Typically I’m paid lavishly in warm fuzzy feelings of satisfaction in the knowledge that I helped do some good in the world. Plus I’m rewarded by the benefits of living in a society where the needs of the most vulnerable are made secure. But when the donation I made to the Kiva Foundation through KEEN Footwear yielded up an actual cash divided I damned-near creamed my shorts.
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When it comes to supporting non-profits, I’m in it for the money. I expect a worthwhile return on my investment in some form of quantifiable currency I can bank on. Same goes for gear companies who boast about their giving to charity. When I lay out cold hard cash I want the organizations that tug at my heart strings to be accountable for their claims of largess by feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, gaining some ground in the fight to cure cancer, whatever. Show me the money!
Typically I’m paid lavishly in warm fuzzy feelings of satisfaction in the knowledge that I helped do some good in the world. Plus I’m rewarded by the benefits of living in a society where the needs of the most vulnerable are made secure. But when the donation I made to the Kiva Foundation through KEEN Footwear yielded up an actual cash divided I damned-near creamed my shorts.
Moab Utah 9:20 AM MST
The Red Rock Bakery
I have all the gear I’ll need for a long time. Making breakfast this morning while camped along the Colorado river near Moab I had my choice of three different stoves, two Teflon coated cook kits and four variations on the spork to prepare a bowl of oatmeal. All the excellent gear I have I’ve received from manufacturers for my consideration in a prospective story or product review. That’s a common practice in my line of work. But as I begin to expand my career to include stories that will likely be sponsored in part by the very companies I report on I wonder if my integrity as a journalist might be called into question.
A few days ago I ran into the very talented young photographer Becca Skinner at the MSR booth during the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City. There with her friend and my first mentor Ann Krcik Becca hoped to begin the process of building the critical industry relationships she’ll need to get a stove of her own. The folks at Mountain Safety Research have been very generous to me over the years and with Anne’s guidance I’m sure Becca will have no problems getting her first pro-deal.
“It was like walking around with the Queen of England,” she said, “Anne knows everybody.”
A few days ago I ran into the very talented young photographer Becca Skinner at the MSR booth during the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City. There with her friend and my first mentor Ann Krcik Becca hoped to begin the process of building the critical industry relationships she’ll need to get a stove of her own. The folks at Mountain Safety Research have been very generous to me over the years and with Anne’s guidance I’m sure Becca will have no problems getting her first pro-deal.
“It was like walking around with the Queen of England,” she said, “Anne knows everybody.”
I have way too many friends on Facebook. That’s more of an observation than a confession, but that bit of reality becomes more clear to me every time someone with whom I am well acquainted online but have never met in person happily greets me in the real world. That happened at least three times at the Open-Air Demo during the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market. And in the process I did something I’m not terribly proud of. And my bad behavior has revealed a truly dark side of my nature I thought I was above. Turns out I’m a gear whore.
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