Few pieces of gear are as important for your comfort and safety in the backcountry as your听shelter.听But tents, like rainjackets听and anything else with a water-repellent coating, wear out over the years. Leaks can sneak up on you鈥攜ou usually don鈥檛听notice them until you wake up in a puddle during听a rainstorm. Here, 国产吃瓜黑料听editorial fellow Philip Kiefer uses听听($8),听听($5),听听($22), and听听($19) to fix an old tent. Read the full article here.

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Take proper care of your rainjacket and it will last for years. Here’s how to do just that.

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Every other GoPro geek has a quadcopter, but how many have their own submarine?
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Channel your inner James Cameron with the . GoPro Hero3 or Hero4 models mount to the front of the 30-inch-long听remote-control submersible, which can operate to depths of 32 feet and reach speeds of about two听mph. Expect approximately 50 minutes of battery life.
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TT Robotix offers three models鈥攖wo are wireless, and one connects via a cable. Both wireless models include a smaller surface vehicle that allows Wi-Fi transmission.
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Look for the Seawolf launch sometime later this summer.
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$TBD, 听

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Fifteen-foot-long tiger sharks swim in clear, cobalt waters. Below them, the warm kiss of the Gulf Stream nourishes the shallow shoals that are home to castles of coral and forests of algae.

Thirty-four miles off the coast of North Carolina, there’s a marine ecosystem that’s a mix of artificial engineering and natural wonder. Welcome to听, a renovated Coast Guard light station straddling hurricane alley, the “graveyard of the Atlantic.” This week, Annenberg-backed 501(c)3 teamed up with 听to debut three cameras live-streaming from the Frying Pan.

The tower, which resembles an oil platform, was built in 1964 to help ships navigate. It was automated in 1979, but then the advent of GPS made it obsolete. In 2004, the Coast Guard abandoned the station, but because it’s situated above a protected reef, the structure was never destroyed. Nearly five years ago, a software engineer bought the hunk of steel for $85,000 in a government auction.

This year, Explore.org began the painstaking process of camera installation. It’s a philanthropic endeavor鈥攏o ads or fundraising involved. Explore.org’s founder, , wants viewers around the world to experience this place from the comfort of their screens.

“You’re going to see something that’s never been seen before,” he says. “Seeing sharks in their natural environment, that’s never been done, even with scuba or snorkeling, there’s some human interaction. This is the first time it’s completely pure.”

Marine life here isn’t distracted by human divers or boats with noisy engines. Result: scientists could get a whole new way to study sea life.

Weingarten’s track record includes filmmaking from the Arctic and Africa. Millions have tuned in online, and through media partnerships with organizations like the BBC and National Geographic. The Frying Pan project is closer to Weingarten’s home but it was no easy install.

Since underwater cameras often get covered by microbial organisms that obscure imagery, Explore.org used View Into The Blue’s . Magnetic arms employ an automated wiper to dislodge oceanic schmutz. In the Frying Pan stream, you can actually see the arms cleaning the camera casings every few hours.

The second major hurdle required even more MacGyvering because it’s impossible to transmit wireless signals underwater. Explore.org ran 250 feet of cables from the main deck of the Frying Pan Tower through the maintenance deck and down to cameras at depths of 15 feet and 50 feet.

But workers also needed a way to get the images to the mainland so they could broadcast them online in real-time. The tower network was hooked up to an autonomous battery system that operates on solar and wind power. Large high-frequency radios were installed to communicate 60 miles between a dish on the Frying Pan and an 1,800-foot tower in Winnebow, North Carolina.

A fourth camera was mounted on the tower in Winnebow and trained toward the Frying Pan. View Into the Blue then arranged for a 25-mile relay from Winnebow to a TV station in Wilmington. Signals were sent over Time Warner Cable servers and distributed to Explore.org. For the images broadcast on your computer to make the trip in milliseconds, they had to travel 90 miles from the tower to their broadcast location.

Weingarten admits that it was so much work, he’s not sure if he would do it again. But now that it’s done, he’s excited about the potential. The end goals are to make this place a scientific research center, maybe feed live footage to aquariums, and possibly study how marine life deals with natural disasters like the hurricanes that plague North Carolina’s coastal region every year.

“This is the ultimate marine observation tool,” Weingarten says. “You could write your PhD based on these cameras.”

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A few weeks ago, my wife told me about a and stayed on the ocean floor for a year and a half before a diver found it and returned it to the owner.

While this particular instance is extreme, there are other stories about people who have found forgotten cameras with intact footage. There鈥檚 even devoted to lost-and-found GoPros.

From its start, GoPro has designed cameras with extreme users in mind, and its testing process has become more sophisticated as the company has grown up. 鈥淏ack in the early days, I鈥檓 not sure we planned on having a camera that could last a year underwater,鈥� says Paul Osborne, senior director of product management at GoPro. 鈥淚t was about designing the cameras, then sending Nick [Woodman, GoPro鈥檚 founder] out to test them.鈥� Now the company submits its cameras to massive impacts in a lab and uses that data to make the product鈥攁nd its accessories鈥攁s durable as possible.

While most of us won鈥檛 be paddling into Mavericks with a GoPro on the nose of our board, there are ways to maximize the camera鈥檚 life while using it to capture less-extreme footage. Here are four best practices to follow if, say, your action cam spends 500 days underwater.

#1: Treat It Like Your Other Expensive Camera Equipment

鈥淲hen storing the camera, keep it in the housing and in a cool, dry place,鈥� says Osborne. If you live with young children, storing the GoPro in its housing has the added benefit of protecting it from any impacts.

#2: Keep It Clean

Osborne suggests removing the GoPro from its housing and washing the housing with freshwater every time you use it in the ocean. This will prevent corrosion in the gasket, which keeps the camera case waterproof.

#3: Honor Thy Memory Card

If you want to retrieve footage from a lost GoPro, be careful with the memory card, says Osborne. First, try to copy the files from the camera onto your computer to confirm they鈥檒l work.

If your GoPro just suffered a massive hit and you鈥檙e worried the files are corrupt, charge the camera before removing the card.听GoPros have a that restores footage if you touch any button after the camera has been charged.听

#4: Dry It Out

Worst-case scenario: The camera is removed from its housing and submerged in freshwater. (Note: A camera dunked in saltwater without its housing is basically toast.) Thankfully, with a little luck you can鈥攗sually鈥攂ring it back to life. 鈥淭here is a matter of luck,鈥� says Osborne. Start by removing the battery and getting all of the water out of the camera. Don鈥檛 take the whole camera apart. Then, submerge it in a bag of rice or dry it with a hair dryer. Wait at least two days to turn on the camera.

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Instead of that old-school boombox, consider throwing a powerful water-resistant speaker or high-tech action camera in your beach bag this summer. Check out these six sand- and sun-resistant products guaranteed to make your hot summer nights even more fun:

Canon PowerShot D30 ($330)

Go ahead and dive up to 82 feet below the surface with this . The tough outer shell can withstand drops on the dock up to 6.5 feet. The killer feature? Perfect for beach-goers, the screen uses a new LCD screen that鈥檚 viewable even in direct sunlight.

Outdoor Tech Big Turtle Shell ($230)

Don鈥檛 dip your toes in the water unless you have the tunes to play in the background. This is water- and splash-resistant (not waterproof), plays music at a loud 110 decibels, and connects to your phone or tablet from up to 30 feet away.

Quiksilver Rashguard ($40)

This has a hidden feature. Although it looks like every other T-shirt you鈥檇 wear to the beach, it uses a new Rashguard tech with a UPF 50+ rating for sunblock. The entire line includes long-sleeve shirts, swimming trunks, and surf shirts.

Miir Growler ($59)

Not every water bottle is beach-ready. Not so the , which uses a unique clamp system that keeps sand and other residue from building up at the lip. The double-insulated shell keeps cold drinks cold for about 24 hours and hot drinks hot for 12 hours.

Sprint Kyocera Hydro Vibe (Free with contract)

A few years ago, companies started offering so-called 鈥渨aterproof鈥� phones. The actually lives up to the claim鈥攊t can be submerged down to 3.28 feet for 30 minutes. The 4.5-inch screen is also crack-resistant and the phone wards off dust and sand.

Plantronics BackBeat FIT ($130)

This , which is splash-resistant and durable, comes with a neoprene armband to hold your smartphone on your arm while you lay out at the beach. The headset lets you control music and answer calls with a quick finger press.

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Canon PowerShot G1X Camera

Nearly every major manufacturer jumped on the mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera (MILC) trend this year. While we鈥檙e big fans of the technology, we also like that, with the G1X, bucked the trend and honored a simple truth: most photographers prefer one versatile lens to a quiver of them. Canon wisely dropped the interchangeable-lens mount from the mirrorless G1X in favor of a 4x digital zoom that stretches from a very useful 28mm to 112mm and shoots between f/2.8 and f/5.8鈥攆ast enough for 90 percent of everyday situations. Canon also beefed things up with a 14.3-megapixel CMOS sensor and a viewfinder that makes using the G1X feel like shooting with a vintage Leica. Other slick features include a tilt/swivel LCD screen, HD-video capabilities, and an ISO range of 100 to 12,800. All told, the G1X may not fall squarely into the MILC category, but it鈥檚 exactly the niche we hoped somebody would fill: DLSR quality in a package that takes up less space than a paperback in your travel bag.

FEATURES: 5
VALUE: 4.5 (OUT OF 5)

Panasonic DMC-TS4 Camera

BEST FOR: Heavy-handed gadget geeks. THE TEST: A barometer on a might seem like overkill, but it鈥檚 fitting for the nearly indestructible DMC-TS4, which can withstand drops of 6.6 feet, is waterproof to 40 feet, and will keep on snapping when temperatures tumble to 14 degrees. The Lumix also includes a GPS that pinpoints where an image was shot, which makes uploading multimedia maps of your adventures to Google Earth a snap. It has ten photo modes, including macro, tilt-shift, and even 3-D. The features feel a bit gimmicky, and we鈥檇 prefer that it kept working to negative 14 degrees, but the respectable 12.1-megapixel image quality and armored body compensate. THE VERDICT: The Lumix is a fixture in our pack.

FEATURES: 5
VALUE: 4

Nikon D4 Camera

BEST FOR: Pros; aspiring moviemakers. THE TEST: Acknowledging that most serious photographers also want to be able to shoot cinema-grade short films, souped up the video capabilities of its new flagship HDSLR, the D4. It features a 3.2-inch LCD with onscreen audio levels as well as an in-camera editing mode. Nikon stuck with the 16.2-megabyte full-frame CMOS sensor of its D7000 but added an ultralight carbon-fiber shutter that fires at 1/8,000th of a second. It also tailored ergonomics to videographers鈥� needs, with a handy record button beside the shutter release and a repositioned joystick that makes it easier to adjust f-stop and exposure while shooting in vertical orientation. THE VERDICT: Warrants the hype.

FEATURES: 5
VALUE: 2

Pentax K-01 Camera

BEST FOR: Downsizing Pentax devotees. THE TEST: took its K-01 in the opposite direction of the Gear of the Year鈥搘inning Canon G1X, making it compatible with hundreds of K-mount lenses. This baby accepts everything from fish-eyes to a 600mm telephoto, though the included ultrathin 40mm f/2.8 lens will be plenty for most enthusiasts. The lens options make it versatile, but the K-01 was still the most intuitive camera we tested. The ribbed rubber grip felt solid, and Pentax didn鈥檛 skimp on horsepower: a 16.3-megapixel CMOS sensor powers the K-01, it can fire seven frames per second, and you can edit HD video onscreen. THE VERDICT: This brawny MILC was a close runner-up for Gear of the Year.

FEATURES: 4
VALUE: 3

The Pentax is among a new generation of cameras with interchangeable lenses but, unlike DSLRs, no mirrors between the lens and sensor. So-called mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras (MILCs) blend DSLR performance with the ease of a point-and-shoot.

Sony DSC-TX200V Camera

BEST FOR: 国产吃瓜黑料 travel; nights on the town. THE TEST: We liked the simplicity of latest point-and-shoot: it has just three buttons (on/off, shutter, and zoom), and the 3.5-inch touchscreen鈥檚 interface is as easy to use as an iPhone. We also loved that in burst mode it can shoot giant 18-megapixel images at a jaw-dropping ten frames per second, which is considerably faster than most DSLRs. The Sony also includes a sweep mode for easy panoramic shooting, is waterproof to 16 feet, and is the size of a deck of cards鈥攁ll of which makes its steep price tag palatable. THE VERDICT: Elegant, high-tech, and surprisingly rugged.

FEATURES: 5
VALUE: 4

Leica V Lux 3 Camera

BEST FOR: Aspiring wildlife photographers. THE TEST: managed to pack blazing-fast speed into a body that鈥檚 a third the size of Nikon鈥檚 D4. The V Lux 3 can shoot 12.1-mega-pixel images at 12 frames per second, and if you鈥檙e willing to drop the quality to 3.5 mega-pixels, it鈥檒l fire an astounding 60 frames per -second. The digital-zoom lens spans from 25mm, wide enough to shoot Himalayan landscapes, to a long-lens-mimicking 600mm, which you can use without a tripod, thanks to admirable image-stabilizing technology. THE VERDICT: It鈥檚 pricey, but the ability of Leica鈥檚 glass to reach out and touch faraway objects is unsurpassed.

FEATURES: 4
VALUE: 3.5

Olympus TG-320 Camera

BEST FOR: Backcountry shooters; parents. THE TEST: The TG-320 delivers all the waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof protection we鈥檝e come to expect from the Tough series, with more power than ever. This compact packs a 14-megapixel sensor, an optical-zoom lens that stretches from 28 to 102mm, and a whole suite of postproduction features, including 3-D and a kid-friendly filter that turns images into Crayola-like master-pieces. The TG-320 doesn鈥檛 have the speed or video capabilities as the similarily rugged Panasonic, but it comes close鈥� and it costs $200 less. THE VERDICT: A resilient point-and-shoot that won鈥檛 break the bank.

FEATURES: 2
VALUE: 5

Looking for a camera that can handle the occasional inadvertent wallop or dunk? The Olympus and Panasonic are both waterproof and shockproof, while the Sony is just waterproof.

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Contour+ POV Camera

Last year, Contour beefed up its HD model by adding GPS. This year (with a $200 price hike) it’s added HDMI live streaming: your friends and family can watch as you bomb down a hill or (with an optional waterproof case, $50) go 200 feet below the sea. Meanwhile, Contour continues to deliver video and audio as sharp as any POV camera’s, with less fish-eye distortion.

TAGS: LIVE STREAMING, HI-DEF

Motorola Titanium Smartphone

Sure, there are fancier smartphones, but the Titanium is one of the handful built with military-spec ratings for dust, shock, and temperature鈥攊.e., it can tumble out of a bike jersey and keep on texting. Bonus: it’s one of the few Android phones with Nextel Direct Connect, so it can pair with another device on that network as a two-way radio, making it an ideal first-responder phone.

TAGS: MILITARY-GRADE, ANDROID

Westone Elite Series ES5 Earphones

We’ve long been curious: do custom earphones really sound that much better than off-the-rack jobbies? Yes, they do. The crisp, noise-isolating ES5’s make it sound as though you’re right there in the concert pit. Of course, having ear molds made adds to the cost ($50 and up from an audiologist), but Westone’s entry-level modules start at $300. Greater comfort, additional drivers, and our custom logo upped the final price here.

TAGS: CUSTOM FIT, AUDIOPHILE SOUND

Jawbone Jambox

Considering how small (about the size of a can of soda) and tough the Jambox is, the sound is downright booming. Charge the rubberized rectangle up, connect it via Bluetooth, and go completely wireless, whether you’re using it as a speakerphone or (like us) as the sound system for your iPad.

TAGS: TRAVEL SPEAKER, IMPRESSIVE SOUND

Olympus TG-810 Digital Camera

Waterproof to 33 feet, shockproof to 6.6 feet, freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and crushproof to 200 pounds of pressure, the TG-810 may be the ultimate travel cam. But the truly amazing thing is the near-DSLR quality of the shots. It’s still a point-and-shoot, but with 14-megapixel photos and 720p video this colorful鈥攑lus fun add-ons like GPS tagging and 3-D鈥攊t’s pretty impressive.

TAGS: TOUGH, UPGRADED COMPONENTS

Nikon Coolpix S9100 Digital Camera

Nikon further blurs the line between DSLR and compact with this super-zoom camera, offering a stunning 18x optical zoom that covers the range from wide-angle to telephoto鈥攁nd then retracts all the way into the slim body. A CMOS sensor provides 12.1-mp images and 1080p video, and we like how fast it starts up: less than two seconds from power-up to snapshot.

TAGS: BIG ZOOM, FAST

DeLorme InReach Communicator

Paired with an Android smartphone or a DeLorme PN-60W GPS, this nifty little unit becomes a satellite-powered text-messaging device, allowing you to send and receive tweet-sized texts to and from any cell phone or e-mail address. By itself, it can send preloaded messages or be used as a tracker, allowing folks back home to chart your movements online. $10-per-month subscription required.

TAGS: TRACKING, TEXT MESSAGING

Solio Bolt Solar Charger

Every electronic device on these pages can be replenished by this lightweight, hard-shelled charger. Set it up at base camp and it collects a full charge in eight hours, allowing you to juice your favorite gadgets overnight. Or load it up from the wall in your hotel room and you’ve got a boost for your iPod on the third leg of an international flight. As an insurance policy, it’s a no-brainer.

TAGS: BACKCOUNTRY, COLLAPSIBLE

Sony Walkman NWZ-W260 MP3 Player

You no longer have to settle for either a tangle of cords or a crappy-sounding Bluetooth device. Not only does this waterproof MP3 player-headset sound great and stay where it belongs, but if you forget to charge it before heading out the door, a quick-charge function gets you an hour of music from just three minutes of plug-in time. Our only gripe: the small amount of storage.

TAGS: HANDS-FREE, SWEATPROOF

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There are two ways to go here. One is a traditional hard case. The best of these turn the housing into an extension of the camera, leaving all the dials and buttons to work just as if they were in your hands. Alas, price can be an issue here.

A case in point is the Aqua Tech DC-5 v2. It鈥檚 purpose-built for the Canon 5D, and moreover is purpose-built for surface work or near a surfboard. It鈥檚 made of composite material, so is light and very rugged. And you can swap out the lens port to accommodate different lenses. The down side? It’s $1,800. Yikes! But if you want to ensure your camera has the best protection and most functionality, this is the real deal.

The alternative is a 鈥渟oft鈥� case, made from polyurethane. Think of a zipper-type kitchen plastic bag made from more rugged and durable plastic and with a hard lens cover for clear imaging. A good example is the Aquapac SLR Camera Case, model AQP-48 ($140). It鈥檚 designed for cameras such as the Canon D5. And it鈥檚 a good surfing case鈥攊t’s waterproof to 15 feet and it floats if dropped. Access to your camera’s controls isn鈥檛 as good as on a hard case, but it’s not bad. It鈥檚 also a good case to use when around the beach as it keeps out sand and other nasty stuff.

鈥擠oug Gantenbein

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THE SELL:The camera you’ll clip to your pack. THE TEST:To come up with the nearly everything-proof 14-megapixel WG-1, Pentax started with last year’s GOY-winning W90 and added even more ruggedization. The WG-1 can withstand 220 pounds of pressure, is dustproof and waterproof to 33 feet, and can be dropped onto concrete from five feet and still keep firing. More important, for all that armor, the Pentax offers a 28鈥�140mm optical zoom and 720p video at a lifelike 30 frames per second. For close-up underwater shooting鈥攐f a seahorse, say鈥攖he WG-1 offers a microscope mode that uses five LED lights around the lens and can focus on objects less than an inch away. THE VERDICT:The image quality won’t blow your mind, but the WG-1 will keep shooting long after other cameras have been whisked out of harm’s way.
Features:3
Value: 4

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