Up by Jawbone

Technology has become an integral part of life, enhancing the way we experience and interact. Up by Jawbone is designed to encourage a healthier lifestyle with sleep monitors, activity tracking, and even a prompt to log daily meals. The idea is to create an extremely personal fitness plan based entirely on the user's data inputs.

Reading about this device brings into question what else this technology can be applied to. Can this be modified to assist in long backpacking trips, factoring in rationing of food and water; or tracking mileage/altitude achievements? Could this prevent heart attacks by monitoring blood pressure and stress levels? Can GPS tracking be incorporated in some way to ensure a safe return for every camper?

And of course, this little genius bracelet has a sleek and simple design that perfectly compliments the iphone app that logs all of this data.

Poler's Napsack

Poler's Napsack is a sleeping bag with a sense of humor. The Napsack allows the user to stay in their sleeping bag for as long as they want. It is described as a summer weight bag with zippers at the shoulders so you can stick your arms out, and a cinch at the bottom so you can stick your legs out. Most of the photos on the website feature someone wearing this sleeping bag in their kitchen, on a couch, or just hanging around. This is a funny little example of how easily camping accessories can enhance our daily lives outside of... the outside!

BioLite

The BioLite is a wood-burning stove for camping and backpacking with an added bonus.  Heat produced from the flames also powers an electric generator for charging electronic devices in remote areas.  The BioLite can boil a liter of water in 2 and a half minutes, folds to 7.5 x 4.5" and weighs 1lb 10oz.  Relying entirely on the BioLite would require a steady supply of dry kindling but would also eliminate the need to carry any form of liquid fuel.

In addition to being incredibly useful, the BioLite is also environmentally conscious, using less than half as much wood as an open fire and reducing smoke emissions by 95%

Heat-It

A new concept from Ortik, the Heat-It is great for alpine climbing. It's fire proof fabric houses the burner on a standard backpacking stove, shields the fire from wind, and condenses the heat. Cables make the stove and pot easily converted to a hanging system. A total 40 percent improvement of efficiency and boiling rate is coldest temperatures is worth the lightweight (6.4 oz) addition to standard gear; in not so extreme cold, 15 percent improvement.

Magnetron Carabiner

Black Diamond just introduced a magnetic locking carabiner.  Although this may seem a little unnecessary, they claim the negative attraction of the magnet forces the latch open, allowing for easy one-handed operation.

The Cave

The Cave is an inflatable tent from Heimplanet, an outdoor product start-up.  This interesting tent is inspired by the molecular structure of a diamond and can be inflated in less than a minute with a standard hand-pump.  At a little over 11 lbs, this may not be your best bet for backpacking, but it is an interesting concept.

MTN Approach

MTN Approach is an Idaho based start-up that just introduced a set of innovative products for backcountry snowboarders.  Their folding system allows riders to quickly deploy and stow cross-country skis in order to travel between locations with the speed of traditional splitboards, but not the hassle.  Besides being innovative, their products also appear to be simple, elegant, and extremely effective.  Their system was designed by Pillar Design in Seattle, Washington