WEBVTT - Tech in the Great Outdoors 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from my Heart Radio. 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:14.440 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:17.280 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:20.560 And how the tech are you today? I want to 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:25.600 talk about technology that's designed to enhance our time spent outdoors, 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.600 specifically when you're doing stuff like hiking or camping. And 0:00:29.680 --> 0:00:31.880 before we really get into it, I thought I would 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:34.559 talk a little bit about my own experiences of camping 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:38.680 back when I was much much younger. You see, I 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:42.720 camped fairly frequently. As a teenager. I had joined the 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:46.680 Society for Creative Anachronism or s c A, which is 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:50.479 a nonprofit group that, at least in theory, is dedicated 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.400 to learning about culture during the Middle Ages. In practice, 0:00:53.600 --> 0:00:56.400 it can often be more about dressing up in funny clothes, 0:00:56.680 --> 0:00:58.680 eating a lot of food, and hitting each other with 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:03.040 rattan sticks wrapped and duct tape. Anyway, I would often 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:07.520 attend s c A events, which usually took place at campgrounds, 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:12.000 and that meant camping. So I had all the camping basics. 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:14.560 I had a tent, I had a sleeping bag, and 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:16.800 um if I remember to pack it, I had a 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:20.200 beat up egg crate, foam mattress topper to take a 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:22.200 little bit of the staying of a sleeping on the ground. 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:27.199 And that was pretty much the extent of my camping gear. Well. 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:31.360 I loved the sea events, but it didn't care for 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:36.640 camping too much. It was too uncomfortable and inconvenient. Now, luckily, 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:39.720 this was way back before we had stuff like smartphones 0:01:39.920 --> 0:01:42.039 or else. I really would have gone nuts if I 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:45.280 had been cut off from that technology. My point is 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:49.560 I lacked the right stuff to make camping right for me, 0:01:50.040 --> 0:01:54.440 and as I got older and less resilient, I lost 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:57.680 interest in camping. I mean, these days, if I were 0:01:57.720 --> 0:01:59.920 to try and sleep on the ground without a prop 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:04.000 per pad, I would probably be unable to move the 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:08.079 next day. But here's the thing. I didn't really lose 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:13.120 interest in camping itself. I lost interest in putting myself 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:17.760 through discomfort. And also since those days, which you know, 0:02:17.840 --> 0:02:19.720 to some of y'all might seem like to happen just 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:24.080 after the Middle Ages, things have changed significantly. You know, 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:26.760 We've got smartphones and other devices that more of us 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:29.960 lean on year after year. In fact, I think some 0:02:30.040 --> 0:02:33.520 of y'all have probably experienced withdrawal symptoms whenever you're pulled 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:37.080 away from your smart devices. And that's not a comment 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:42.079 on your character. Rather, it's a comment on how incredibly 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:46.920 useful and yes, addictive, these devices have become. Well, something 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:50.519 that I think is really cool is how various companies 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:53.680 have responded to this by creating solutions that start to 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:57.960 remove the things that would otherwise make people say, I 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.920 don't really want to go camping. There are so many 0:03:00.960 --> 0:03:05.520 examples of technologies that ideally encourage more people to go 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:09.240 out and spend time in nature, and that time is valuable. 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:12.480 I mean, it can help you shed stress and anxiety. 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:15.840 It can encourage a sense of accomplishment. You know, everything 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:18.960 from setting up your tent to lighting a fire or 0:03:18.960 --> 0:03:22.160 a camp stove, or cooking a meal. All of these 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:26.600 things can really make you feel better while you're exploring 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:30.400 nature and walking around national parks that you otherwise would 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:32.280 have just passed on by as you go from one 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:35.320 city to or another. It's it's a significant thing. So 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:37.880 today we're going to take a look at some of 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:41.320 the technology designed to get you out from behind your computer, 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:44.560 out of your house, and out into the real world. 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:47.080 And I thought I would start off with a hobby 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:49.680 that I first became aware of more than a decade ago, 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:55.080 and I'm talking about geo cashing. So geo cashing is 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:57.600 an activity that grew out of the fact that in 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:02.280 two thousand, the then US President Bill Clinton brought an 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:06.600 end to a practice called selective availability. All right, but 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:11.080 what the heck is that? Well before two thousand, GPS 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:14.600 signals were considered to be crucial for national security in 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:18.240 the United States. As such, there was a requirement that 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:22.880 any public GPS signals first had to be degraded before 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:26.159 citizens would be able to access them. So, in other words, 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:30.760 if you use a civilian GPS device, the information you 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:35.040 got about your position was only sort of correct, and 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:37.000 by sort of, I mean your positioning could be off 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:40.679 by like a hundred meters, which is significant. You would 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:43.200 not be able to use a GPS device for navigation. 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:46.080 If that were the case. You would get an instruction 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.320 to make a right turn, and it would just turn 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:50.200 out that that road that you're supposed to turn on 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.160 is fifty behind you, or maybe it's a hundred meters 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:55.200 ahead of you, or maybe you're not even on the 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:59.279 road that the GPS device thinks you're on. So before 0:04:59.320 --> 0:05:03.440 two thousand GPS devices at least four civilians were interesting, 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.719 but not practically useful in any way. It was a 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:10.400 different matter for GPS devices that were used by say 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.640 the military, those signals were not degraded. And if you're 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:16.040 wondering how did they degrade the signals, it all has 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.000 to do with timing. You see, the signals that get 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:25.000 to your device are coming from satellites, multiple satellites, and 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:28.400 each of those satellites has a very precise clock on it. 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.919 When those satellites send out a signal that your device receives, 0:05:32.520 --> 0:05:35.680 it knows when that signal was sent by the satellite, 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:38.159 and it can measure the amount of time that it 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:41.240 took for the message to go from the satellite to 0:05:41.279 --> 0:05:45.039 the device, and by coordinating that with multiple satellites, you 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:47.840 can figure out where on the Earth you are. Well, 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:51.840 the way selective availability worked, the satellites would fudge the 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:55.719 time just a little bit, but just a tiny change 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:59.359 in time was enough to make a significant change in 0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:02.080 the results on the GPS device, making you think you're 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.599 somewhere where you're not, at least by a hundred meters 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:09.640 or so. Well. Starting on May one, two thousand. All 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:13.960 that changed. President Clinton ended selective availability, and the constellation 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:17.800 of GPS satellites would send accurate information instead of masking it, 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:22.200 giving you a precise location when you used your device. Well, 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:28.080 that capability encourage some GPS hobbyists to create a new activity. Now. 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:32.240 The idea was you go to some location, frequently a 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:37.240 remote location out in nature, somewhere, preferably one that you're 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:40.200 allowed to be in. Right, You're not supposed to trespass 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:42.880 or anything like that on private property, So you would 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:45.800 go someplace where you're allowed to be and you would 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:49.360 take note of your precise location using a GPS device. 0:06:49.600 --> 0:06:53.000 You would write down the coordinates. Then you would take 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:57.040 a container of some sort, preferably weather proof and resistant 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:00.359 to damage, and you would put inside that contain a 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:03.840 log book for others to sign, some writing implements so 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:06.440 that people can sign it, maybe a couple of cheap 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:09.160 little do dads as a type of reward, and you 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:12.120 would seal all of that away and hide the container. 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:15.600 Then you would go back home, hop on a database 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:20.000 frequented by other GPS hobbyists and you would share the coordinates. 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:23.960 The other hobbyists can then use those coordinates and use 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.240 their own devices to try and navigate to that precise location, 0:07:27.800 --> 0:07:31.239 search for the container, open it up, signed the log book, 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:35.040 and take a do dad. Now, the practice quickly evolved 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:37.800 so that the hobbyists who are doing the hunting would 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:40.760 bring along their own little do dads, and they would 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:43.440 swap them out so they might have a token of 0:07:43.480 --> 0:07:45.600 their own that kind of was their signature, and they 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:48.640 would leave that token in the stash and take something 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:51.040 else from it and then go on their way after 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.560 signing the logbook, and the log books grew longer and longer. 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:58.920 This hobby is still going on today, and frequently. One 0:07:58.960 --> 0:08:01.520 of the driving fact ars of this hobby is that 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.720 the hobbyists like to find locations that are special in 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:08.520 some way, and it may be that getting to those 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:12.160 special places requires some determination and skill. Often that will 0:08:12.160 --> 0:08:15.600 be marked down on a database to how much strenuous 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:18.440 activity might be required for you to reach the destination. 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:22.920 Maybe the destination will have a spectacular view, like it 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:27.480 might overlook a waterfall or something. The hobby became part 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:33.480 treasure hunt, part tech geek activity, and part exploration. As 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:37.000 more folks joined in, more would go out and about 0:08:37.000 --> 0:08:40.760 finding great locations where they could hide the next dash. 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:44.000 There are urban versions of this too, where people will 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.440 hide them in like neighborhoods and such, but more frequently 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:49.520 you hear about ones that are in parks and things 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:53.560 of that nature. Now, let's be clear, folks could have 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.319 done this kind of activity without the tech. In fact, 0:08:56.480 --> 0:08:59.400 there is a very similar hobby called letter boxing, in 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.839 which instead of leaving coordinates, the people who hide a 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:06.800 stash will share clues and riddles that will lead people 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:09.959 to wear a stash is hidden. It is in many 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:14.200 ways similar to geo cashing, but doesn't require the coordinates bit, 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:17.360 which frankly can make it even more challenging depending on 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:21.360 how well the clues are formed and how clever you 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.840 are and figuring them out. But the tech in geo 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:28.600 cashing really facilitated things. It's served as a reason to 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:33.480 get outside and go exploring. It provided inspiration, and that's 0:09:33.520 --> 0:09:36.720 what I love about these kinds of technologies. The problem 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:40.720 they are solving is not about necessarily making camping or 0:09:40.800 --> 0:09:45.840 hiking or even exploring a snap. It's removing the barriers 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.280 that we put up for ourselves that stop us from 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:52.440 getting out there in the first place. I think. Another 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:54.960 technology that has inspired folks to get out more are 0:09:55.120 --> 0:10:00.920 quad copters or drones. Many years ago, according to a 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:05.040 quick search online, I remember seeing a quad copter drone 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:08.120 for the first time. It was at c e S 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:12.120 or the Consumer Electronics Show, and it was a device 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:14.280 that's no longer on the market, so there's no point 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:17.800 in even naming it. But the idea was you could 0:10:17.840 --> 0:10:21.560 have this squad copter and pair your phone to the drone, 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:24.400 and you would run a special app and your phone 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:27.760 would become a remote control for the device, and you 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:30.560 could even use the camera that was on the drone 0:10:30.600 --> 0:10:35.000 to feed a video straight to your phone. Well, at 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:36.920 the time, I had no way of knowing that what 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:39.680 I was seeing was going to become an entirely new 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:44.400 consumer product line. Today, there are dozens of companies that 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:47.760 are into it. You can find lots of different brands 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:50.520 of drones. There are plenty of drones that can shoot 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:53.920 images and video at four K resolution or even higher. 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:56.960 A lot of them have tons of cool features like 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:00.640 obstacle detection and avoidance that make them easy year to pilot, 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:05.240 and they can get absolutely breathtaking shots that you would 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:10.679 otherwise need a helicopter to manage. I've seen phenomenal footage 0:11:10.679 --> 0:11:14.679 from drone pilots and looked at pristine locations that are 0:11:14.720 --> 0:11:17.720 just so gorgeous that I can't help but feel I 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:21.480 need to go visit those myself. Now. I'm sure for 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.040 some of the folks who are using drones, they were 0:11:24.040 --> 0:11:26.600 already outdoorsy, right. A lot of them might even have 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.280 been into hobbies, or maybe they even had a career 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:34.560 in nature photography. But there's a slice of drone users 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:38.200 who before they got their quad coptor, they weren't the 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:41.240 type to do much outdoor exploration. Now they have a 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.240 device that pretty much requires that they do that, and 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:46.760 I think that's cool too. It gives people a reason 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:50.000 to get out there. Along the way, they might find 0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:53.880 that they really liked the lifestyle, and they progressively get 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:57.360 more into it. We're gonna take a quick break. When 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:00.640 we come back, i'll talk about some more technology that's 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.360 meant to get you out and about in the great outdoors. 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:16.240 You know, one technology that has really evolved incredibly rapidly 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:19.840 over the last decade, maybe two decades, would be the 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:23.760 camping trailer. So in the old days, a camping trailer 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:27.040 was really just this terrible living space that you could 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:29.400 use to sleep in while you were out on the road. 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:33.240 It might feature some pretty cool technology in it. You 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:38.160 might have climate control options, maybe a fridge, perhaps a 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:42.120 cooking surface of some sort. But these days there are 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:44.839 camping trailers that have more smart devices in them than 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:48.200 my house does. I had a conversation with the CEO 0:12:48.280 --> 0:12:51.720 of a particularly famous company known for its camping trailers, 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.360 and I learned about how, as the head of a 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:58.960 company that manufactures these things, trailers meant to appeal to 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:02.800 people who like to go on outdoor adventures, that he 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:06.880 sees technology as being pivotal to the business model. He 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:12.040 pointed out that people want certain conveniences, for instance, connectivity. 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:14.880 You know, some people feel such a sense of anxiety 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:18.080 when they have no cell phone service that they can 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:21.800 enjoy themselves. They're too busy fretting over what they might 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:25.520 be missing. Those people are far more likely to turn 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:29.240 down the opportunity to spend time in nature, which is understandable. 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:33.240 None of us want to invite more anxiety in our lives. 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:37.480 For that reason, he said, his company made sure to 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:41.160 boost connectivity features in their products, so new models of 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:45.719 camping trailers would include things like amplified antenna to pick 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:49.080 up cells service and signal boosters which could take a 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:52.440 week signal and make it strong enough for campers to 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.880 make it useful. And he also talked about how more 0:13:55.960 --> 0:13:59.640 and more features in the company's campers are smart technologies, 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:03.600 controllable from an app even if you aren't there, so 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:07.000 you can do things like check on levels of the 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:10.680 battery in the camper, or how much water is in 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.320 the camper, things that you would need to know before 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:15.120 you would actually go out on a trip. You could 0:14:15.120 --> 0:14:19.120 just check it from your phone. Now, obviously his goal 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:22.600 is to sell as many camping trailers as he possibly can. 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.560 That's the business. But his point was unless you listen 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:30.320 to what customers want and you remove those things that 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:34.120 would otherwise convince people not to go camping, you're going 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.240 to fail as a business. So for folks who want 0:14:37.320 --> 0:14:39.960 the camper experience, there are all sorts of new gadgets 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:44.880 and gizmos a plenty incorporated into those designs. Today, there 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.920 are a lot of camper companies out there now. I 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.840 don't want to single out one at the expense of 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:53.760 all the rest, because lots of companies are doing innovative 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.720 things with their camper technology. So I'm just gonna talk 0:14:56.720 --> 0:14:59.640 in general about some of the tech that we're starting 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:02.440 to see in prototypes and in at least some cases 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.200 campers you can actually go out and purchase. We're seeing 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:09.360 a lot of work with very lightweight materials and three 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:13.200 D printed components which are meant to maximize efficient use 0:15:13.240 --> 0:15:17.280 of space while also reducing weight. Reducing that weight makes 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:20.400 it easier to tow the camper behind your vehicle. Uh. 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:23.840 In fact, there's a prototype camper that has its own 0:15:23.960 --> 0:15:29.520 drive train that ends up using its own power supply 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:34.080 to help propel the camper behind the towing vehicle so 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:38.080 that it's less of a load for the towing vehicle. 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:43.080 That's pretty incredible. Uh. One prototype system even has an 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:45.800 option where you detach the camper when you get to 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:49.200 your campsite and you use a connected smartphone as a 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:53.360 remote control. You can actually maneuver the camper into the 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:57.240 position you want at your campsite using your phone. You 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.680 don't have it connected to your vehicle anymore at all. 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:02.520 That's cool as heck, and it takes the worry out 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.440 of how to back a camper into the right spot. 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:09.200 Several of these campers incorporate solar panels to provide electricity 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:12.240 to charge on board batteries, which in turn can power 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:15.560 all sorts of stuff like a water pump, a heater 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:18.560 which gives you a sink with hot and cold water, 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:24.280 or powering a cooking surface, or an entertainment system, refrigerator, 0:16:24.400 --> 0:16:28.400 air conditioner, lights, even ultra high definition televisions, and some 0:16:28.480 --> 0:16:31.000 of these models, it's kind of like having a hotel 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:35.360 room that's portable. Now, a big trade off you have 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:40.440 with campers is that they can run to be really 0:16:40.520 --> 0:16:45.200 really expensive. Plus some outdoorsy folks might feel like it's 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:47.920 kind of like cheating. I mean, sure, no one wants 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:51.640 to be miserably uncomfortable when they're out and about, but 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:54.920 you might want to at least feel like you're roughing it. 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.000 And sleeping in a luxurious camper surrounded by four K 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:02.440 television screens probably doesn't at that bill. However, we're seeing 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:06.399 a lot of technology that's aimed at outdoor enthusiasts that 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.560 doesn't quite go to the extremes of top of the 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:14.560 line campers. For instance, there are self inflating sleeping pads 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:16.600 that will get you up off the ground, which is 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:21.080 something that's absolutely critical when you're in colder months or 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:24.800 when the weather turns nasty. Now, this technology actually dates 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:27.920 back to the nineteen seventies and it's pretty interesting stuff. 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:31.680 So the pads have foam in them. The foam, if 0:17:31.680 --> 0:17:34.120 you were to look really closely at it, you would 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:36.760 see are made up of what are called open cells. 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:41.919 The cells that create the foam are have open walls 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:45.160 in them, which allows air to flow into that space. Now, 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:48.919 if you pack that stuff into fabric that does not 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:52.280 allow air to pass through it, and then you include 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:55.240 a valve that will allow air to pass but only 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.080 in one direction depending on how the valve is set, 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:03.360 you have yourself an ideal structure for camping. You turn 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:06.440 the valve so that air can pass into the pad 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:09.679 but not out, and air will rush in and the 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:13.560 pad will expand. That expansion is the foam stretching out, 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:15.640 and as it does, it starts to create a vacuum 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:17.679 and air moves into fill it. Because we all know 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:21.960 that nature abhorrors a vacuum right well, when it's trying 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:24.080 to pack up. Turning the valves that the air can 0:18:24.160 --> 0:18:27.040 only move out means you can start to compress the 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:30.359 pad and squeeze the air from it. The valve prevents 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:32.960 air from coming back in, so you get the pad 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:35.080 as compressed as you can so that you can pack 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:38.320 it back up again, which is pretty genius. Now there 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:42.720 are also inflatable air sleeping pads out there, meaning these 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:45.639 are pads that you have to pump air into or 0:18:45.760 --> 0:18:48.840 maybe blow it up yourself, which to me sounds like 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.639 a terrible activity after you've just hiked your camping spot. 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:54.800 And of course there are various pumps out there too, 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:58.480 from hand pumps and foot pumps to battery powered electric pumps. 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:01.040 The point is there are a lot of solutions for 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:03.359 campers when it comes to finding the right surface to 0:19:03.400 --> 0:19:07.119 sleep on, and as someone who can tell you from experience, 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:10.280 you definitely want to make that at least a little 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:13.359 comfortable so that you can move around the next day. 0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:16.040 By the way, if you do want to shop for 0:19:16.119 --> 0:19:18.840 that kind of gear, you should pay attention to the 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:22.919 temperature ratings on the products. This also will go for 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:25.439 sleeping bags, but the rating systems are different and they 0:19:25.440 --> 0:19:29.560 can get very confusing. The air mattress style pads will 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.879 keep you more comfortable as you know as far as 0:19:32.920 --> 0:19:37.760 it being softer than the self inflating foam pads do, 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:42.760 but the air mattress style pads don't have good insulation 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:47.040 against the cold. Many sleep pad manufacturers will indicate what 0:19:47.200 --> 0:19:50.399 their pads are rated for, which is designated with a 0:19:50.560 --> 0:19:54.080 value that has an R in front of it, and 0:19:54.119 --> 0:20:00.199 the higher that value is, the better insulated that pad is. 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:03.400 For those who plan on camping in late fall, maybe 0:20:03.440 --> 0:20:06.879 even into winter, and our value of three point five 0:20:07.080 --> 0:20:10.320 or greater is a good idea. Of anything below that, 0:20:11.119 --> 0:20:13.960 you are probably going to be too cold at night 0:20:14.280 --> 0:20:16.280 and you might just want to call it quits rather 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:20.840 than enjoy your experience again. Picking the right stuff so 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:25.000 that the experience is fun and something that you eagerly 0:20:25.119 --> 0:20:29.119 seek to do again. That's the goal. We're not looking 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:35.399 at making a technology nervana out in the wilderness, but 0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:39.640 rather an experience that enhances our time outside so that 0:20:39.720 --> 0:20:43.200 we seek it out again and again. As for sleeping bags, 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:46.240 they come in a variety of shapes and materials and 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:50.399 temperature ratings. Those ratings are usually designated I s OH 0:20:51.040 --> 0:20:55.800 that stands for International Standards Organization, So a bag that 0:20:55.880 --> 0:20:58.000 has an I s O rating on it is one 0:20:58.040 --> 0:21:01.520 that the manufacturers submitted to the I s O to 0:21:01.720 --> 0:21:06.560 test the bag out. This actually costs money to the manufacturers, 0:21:06.720 --> 0:21:08.720 which means that not every sleeping bag is going to 0:21:08.800 --> 0:21:11.520 have an I s O rating on it. When we 0:21:11.560 --> 0:21:14.040 come back, I want to talk about the testing process 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:17.280 the I s O uses because it's actually pretty nifty 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:29.639 and uses some interesting technology. But first another break. So 0:21:29.680 --> 0:21:32.880 the I s OH, in order to test the sleeping bag, 0:21:33.359 --> 0:21:37.200 gets a test dummy and they cover it in heat sensors. 0:21:37.680 --> 0:21:40.399 They also put the dummy in a base layer of 0:21:40.440 --> 0:21:44.520 clothing you can think of like light pajamas, So there 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:48.640 are bottoms, there's a top, there's a hat, and socks. 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:52.400 The dummy is then shoved into the sleeping bag that's 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:56.080 being tested. Actually, more likely it's folded into it and 0:21:56.240 --> 0:21:58.600 zipped up, because that makes more sense. But I just 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:01.320 like the visual of someone having to shove the test 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:04.240 dummy into a sleeping bag. And on top of that, 0:22:04.640 --> 0:22:07.080 the bag with the dummy in it is placed on 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:10.399 top of a winter rated sleeping pad. Now, if you remember, 0:22:10.440 --> 0:22:12.720 before the break, I talked about how sleeping pads have 0:22:12.760 --> 0:22:16.240 an R number associated with them to tell you how 0:22:16.280 --> 0:22:19.639 well insulated they are against, say the cold In the 0:22:19.720 --> 0:22:22.960 case of this test, it's a sleeping pad with a 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:27.879 rating of R five. That is a significant insulated pad. 0:22:28.440 --> 0:22:32.440 So that's that's one really meant for cold cold weather. Now, 0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:36.320 the pad plus the base level of clothing is standardized, 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:40.359 so they use it on all the different sleeping bags 0:22:40.359 --> 0:22:43.520 out there. Obviously, it would not be fair to switch 0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:46.520 out any of that stuff between tests because that could 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:51.479 lead to incorrect conclusions about the correct temperature rating of 0:22:51.560 --> 0:22:54.720 the bagging question. Now, the test takes place in a 0:22:54.800 --> 0:22:58.600 room that can be cooled down to around zero degrees fahrenheit. 0:22:59.400 --> 0:23:02.640 The I s SO lowers the temperature and then monitors 0:23:02.680 --> 0:23:05.479 the sensors that are on the dummy to determine the 0:23:05.520 --> 0:23:08.040 lowest temperature at which a human would still likely to 0:23:08.080 --> 0:23:11.959 be comfortable while sleeping in the bag. The I s 0:23:11.960 --> 0:23:16.040 O actually produces two ratings per sleeping bag. The first, 0:23:16.040 --> 0:23:19.520 which is the higher temperature of the two, is for 0:23:19.720 --> 0:23:23.960 people who sleep quote unquote cold, and for those people 0:23:24.440 --> 0:23:27.919 they would probably be comfortable at that temperature, but no lower. 0:23:28.359 --> 0:23:32.040 So these are people who prefer a warmer sleeping environment. 0:23:32.119 --> 0:23:36.840 If it is cooler than that, then they feel chilly. 0:23:37.280 --> 0:23:41.680 The second number, which is a lower temperature that's sometimes 0:23:41.680 --> 0:23:44.680 referred to as a transition number, is the temperature where 0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:48.720 people who sleep warmer will feel comfortable. So this would 0:23:48.720 --> 0:23:51.159 be the lowest temperature for those who like it a 0:23:51.200 --> 0:23:54.720 little chilly in when they're sleeping, Like I like a 0:23:54.840 --> 0:23:59.720 nice cave temperature when I'm going to sleep, so I 0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:04.280 sleep warmer. Frequently you will hear folks refer to the 0:24:04.359 --> 0:24:08.679 first number, the higher temperature, as the women's temperature, and 0:24:08.760 --> 0:24:13.200