Gear Junkie: National Geographic TOPO! Series

National Geographic Maps employs 60 full-time cartographers to produce publication supplements, atlases, globes, recreational maps and maps used for the society's video and television productions. This division also produces TOPO! State Series software, a collection of digitized United States Geological Survey (USGS) maps packaged by state or region.

Essentially, the maps viewable in TOPO! are normal USGS quads that can be navigated and analyzed on a computer monitor. At the heart of this program are high-resolution scans of USGS maps in the standard 1:24,000 scale, all detail preserved from the originals.



National Geographic Map's TOPO! Series Software


But the digital format provides dozens of extra features not found on the paper copies, including topographical shading, three-dimensional views, distance and elevation tools, and GPS compatibility. Digital maps are seamless, as well, meaning you will never have to tape together two individual maps.

The latest version of TOPO! debuted earlier this year and has a few new features, including a "Fly-Thru" option that animates map data. After tracing a route on an onscreen map, users can right-click with the mouse and select the Fly-Thru option to enable a three-dimensional, videogame-like experience that flies the viewer through the virtual topographic terrain.



TOPO! in motion, a screenshot...


Fly-Thru is most effective for mountainous regions, where topographic lines are tight enough to cause canyon walls and cliff faces to pop off the screen. In this mode, users can look down a steep river valley or check out the view from an imposing mountain ridge to get a feel for the land before heading outdoors and into the real thing. For context, a split screen shows the two-dimensional map alongside the virtual bird's-eye view, and you can stop anywhere along the fly route to zoom or pan 360 degrees.

Other new TOPO! features include live map updates via the Internet and highway and city street information.

The program has multiple layers of maps, from atlas-proportion 1:500,000 scale to the mid-range 1:100,000 maps, on down to the detailed 1:24,000 scale. You navigate by scrolling north, south, east or west from the atlas view before zooming in on a particular area as the program loads the higher-detail map.

Once your destination is centered on the screen, TOPO! provides dozens of tools to annotate, measure, analyze and plot your adventures. You can draw in routes and measure their distance and elevation gain. You can load GPS waypoints onto the screen. MapExchange, a free online service run by National Geographic, lets you download route data--like secret hot springs locations or the path of the Pacific Crest Trail near Mt. Whitney--from the Internet right onto your maps.

The program lets you print small areas or large swaths of geographic detail on any size printer. National Geographic sells waterproof, tear-resistant paper that works with inkjet and laser printers. It is called Adventure Paper, and it costs $20 for 25 sheets of 8.5 x
11-inch paper.

TOPO! State Series software (www.nationalgeographic.com/topo) costs $100 per program, which includes one or more states, depending on state size. It works on Windows and Macintosh computers. The software comes in packages of multiple CDs organized in a small plastic case.

In preparation for an upcoming adventure race, I tested the TOPO! software for West Virginia. I found the program to be fun and easy to use. Navigation of the maps and all basic operations was intuitive, and in no time at all I was virtually flying through Appalachia, scouting the course and hopefully getting a leg up on the competition.

Fixed Gear Bikes

An hour into a long bike ride last week, I had an epiphany. Though I'd ridden through the city, on streets and sidewalks, and then turned south on a fast paved trail to ride for several miles, I had not once touched the brakes.

My bike, a skinny tire single-speed made by Co-Motion Cycles Inc. (www.co-motion.com) of Eugene, Oregon, was a unique creature. Though it was equipped with high-end caliper brakes, the bike's speed -- both acceleration and deceleration -- could be controlled without ever calling on their influence.


The Co-Motion Streaker, a fixed gear bike...

The Streaker, as the Co-Motion bike is called, was set up as a fixed-gear bike. Like a unicycle or a child's tricycle, fixed-gear bikes lack a freewheel, which is the component that allows the rear wheel to spin freely and the rider to coast. On a fixed-gear bike, the pedals, chain, chainring and rear-tire gear -- and thus your legs and the bike's back tire -- all are connected, moving in sync, never stopping while on the go.

Basically, as long as the wheels are turning, your feet are spinning around on the pedals. Coasting is not an option.

In lieu of brakes, speed can be controlled on a fixed-gear by applying reverse pressure on the pedals while they are spinning. The action, which is much like downshifting the transmission in a car to slow before a red light, will not stop you abruptly. But with time fixed-gear bikers learn to slow down, stop and then reaccelerate all with their feet, no shifting or braking involved.

Fixed-gear bikes have garnered a small following in the past five years, with urban commuters and bike messengers being some of the earliest adopters. Proponents cite increased control, focus and awareness of your technique. Some even wax silly about oneness with the bike.

I found the fixed-gear setup on the Streaker to be just plain fun. It forced me to change my riding technique, with no coasting and no slop in my style. It was a great workout, too, as my legs were kept spinning nonstop for miles and miles.

Other advantages to fixed-gear bikes include their pared-down component list, which decreases the bike's cost, its overall weight and its propensity to break down. Shifters, derailleurs, pulleys and extra gears are eliminated. Many fixed-gear riders even eliminate brakes, which are seen as superfluous once speed can be controlled with pedal motion.

Fixed-gear bikes are not good in hilly terrain or off-road, where a freewheel and multiple gears are necessary. Hopping curbs and potholes on a fixed-gear bike is difficult, and the riding style, in general, requires solid cycling technique. I would not recommend a fixed-gear bike to an inexperienced rider.

The bike I tested, the Co-Motion Streaker, has a unique feature for riders that want a fixed-gear bike only some of the time: The Streaker's rear wheel has a fixed gear on one side and a freewheel-equipped single-speed gear on the other, letting you flip the wheel around to choose a riding style of the day.

The Streaker is an amazing bike, with a smooth, fast ride and great response, plus a sweet retro orange-and-blue paintjob. It's built around an Easton Ultralite 7005 double-butted aluminum frame that weighs a mere 2.6 pounds. (The complete bike weighs about 16.5 pounds.) It has a carbon fork and is built with top-shelf components all around, giving it a healthy price tag of $2,395.

Other fixed-gear bikes, however, cost much less. Redline Bicycles' (www.redlinebicycles.com) 925 model, for example, goes for $500 at some shops. Many independent bike shops also refurbish used bikes, converting them into solid, non-nonsense and low cost fixed-gear rides.

Aquapac

The setting was London, 1983, and three young windsurfers were brainstorming at a pub, contemplating waterproof Walkman cases and a potential new business venture. Napkins and borrowed pens were likely involved, and the kernel of an idea was birthed in part that fateful evening long ago.

Twenty-three years later, with a patent for a waterproof sealing system in its files, Aquapac International Limited has an established world headquarters in London. The company's line of waterproof cases, which feature a unique lever-lock sealer, includes products made to protect electronics and other items while boating, beach walking and, of course, windsurfing.



The Aquapac MP3 Player case

In total, Aquapac makes 40 products, with designs to accommodate cell phones, GPS devices, MP3 players, radios and PDAs. The polymer cases are flexible like plastic bags. The sealer on top is a bulky plastic trim that covers the case opening. It locks down and closes airtight with the twist of two or more tiny levers.

All Aquapac cases are guaranteed to remain watertight when submersed to depths as much as 15 feet. Most will float when dropped in the water.



The Whanganui

In addition to the interesting sealer system, which the company (www.aquapacusa.com) calls the Aquaclip, many of these cases are "use-through," meaning buttons on electronics can be pressed for controlling digital cameras or iPods when they are sealed in their protective cases. The polymer material also acquiesces with sound, letting you speak through the watertight material when a phone call comes in.

Aquapac cases range from general, multi-purpose bags, like the $30 Large Whanganui Case, to the highly specialized MP3 Player Case, a $50 product that has a clear front panel for operating controls as well as a waterproof earphone jack.



The ArmPac, perfect for the beach

The ArmPac, a $30 case that measures 6 inches high and 3 inches across its face, fits on your upper arm, attached by a neoprene band. It is made for keys, cash and credit cards -- all those items you don't want to leave on the beach when taking a swim or catching a wave. Other products are custom made for cell phones, digital cameras and GPS devices.

In my tests, the Large Whanganui Case worked as promised, sealing quick and easy and keeping water off my merchandise inside. Honestly, I did not trust the product enough to submerge my pricey digital camera, though my socks and wallet -- tucked safe inside the polymer shell and held underwater for several minutes -- were kept safe and dry as a proverbial bone.

Sure-Fire Flashlights

Okay, let's get something out of the way before moving on. The U2 Ultra, a 6-inch metal flashlight from SureFire LLC, has a retail price tag of $279.

Yep, $279. For a flashlight.

But, lo, this is no workaday torch. The U2 Ultra, indeed, has luminosity enough to rival the surface of the sun. The United States Military uses it during battle. Cops wield this beam to spot creeping criminals in dark alleys. Some Web sites actually classify it as a weapon, the flashlight's bright white beacon capable of temporarily blinding and discombobulating a perpetrator.

SureFire LLC, based in Fountain Valley, California, is a company with roots in weaponry. Its first markets, before entering into the outdoors stream, were military, police, S.W.A.T. forces and the like. Red-dot laser gun sights and handgun-mounted flashlights were among the company's (www.surefire.com) product offerings.

Today, parlaying perhaps on a kinder and gentler image, and trying to grab a bigger market share no doubt, SureFire is marketing its line of lights to the masses. The company went first after the hunting crowd, introducing its products to recreational gun-toters more than five years ago. Then, about two years back, SureFire started to reach out to the broader outdoors market by introducing its lights to backpackers, campers and other wilderness explorer types.

I met with the company in January at the Outdoor Retailer trade show, where a marketing rep loaned me two flashlights to test.


The U2 Ultra

In addition to the U2 Ultra, SureFire set me up with its E2L Outdoorsman, a 5.25-inch light that costs $129. Like many SureFire products, the E2L uses an L.E.D. (light-emitting diode) to generate light instead of a bulb. Also like most other SureFire products the E2L puts out an amazingly solid white beam of light that illuminates dark woodsy trails or creepy basements with aplomb.

The company rates the E2L's max brightness at 30 lumens. Its beam is comparable to the light output of much larger and bulkier flashlights from other companies. The E2L, which weighs a scant 3.5 ounces, makes most of my headlamps seem dull and silly.


The E2L

A step up in brightness and performance, the $279 U2 Ultra can generate 80 lumens of light. It is slightly larger and bulkier than the E2L, though at 6 inches long and 5.7 ounces it is still quite small and portable considering its brightness. The U2 Ultra also has six selectable levels of light output; the company says its batteries will last more than 40 hours when the U2 Ultra is kept on its lowest light setting.

Both lights burn through batteries while putting out their brightest beams. The E2L is rated to produce its brightest light for only three hours. Most SureFire models run for less than five hours before needing new batteries.

The company's line of flashlights includes more than a dozen models, with prices starting at $36. The brightest, most expensive flashlight, appropriately named The Beast, can shoot a 2,000-lumen beacon several hundred feet through the dark. It costs an astonishing $4,800 and is currently available only by special order.

The middle-of-the-line lights, like the E2L, are best for the outdoors.

On the trail and in the outdoors, I found SureFire flashlights to be best used as ancillary light sources. As a primary, always-on light source, the blaze was too much. But for spotting an orienteering flag in the dark, shining a beam on a cliff face during a mountain descent, or chasing off a prowling bear, the bright burst of a SureFire flashlight works like nothing else.