Gear Check

Test

How to Mount a GoPro onto an Aquatech Underwater Housing

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I thought it might be fun to put my GoPro on my Aquatech underwater housing to record some clips to share on social media, and probably here on the blog. Initially I figured I’d probably have to MacGyver something together to mount a clamp to the top of the housing, but it tuns out that Aquatech are one step ahead of me and they actually make a specific adapter that screws to the top of the housing. At $70 it’s kind of pricey for what it is, but I also value my time and it would save me a lot …

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How to Speed Up Your Drobo

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The vast majority of my data lives on a variety of Drobos. I currently have a Thunderbolt 3 enabled Drobo 5D3 as my primary storage device, stacked with 32TB of drives, and I also have the same set of data mirrored onto a Drobo 5N2 which I can access remotely from anywhere in the world. A further Drobo 5D is held offsite too.  In chatting with one of Drobo’s technical gurus recently I learnt something that I didn’t know. Whilst a Drobo can protect your data as long as it has at least two drives in it, the data read and …

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GoPower 300W Pure Sine Wave Inverter. WHY?!?

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Those of you following my Instagram stories recently will have seen my portable base camp, a Taxa TigerMoth adventure trailer. This rugged little trailer came pre-wired for 120v shore power for RV park usage, and solar power, but lacked an inverter to convert DC to AC. Normally you would simply buy one of those little cigarette lighter 12v adapters that gives you a regular 120v power outlet, like this one, but I found that when I used my laptop with this on the 12v DC circuit of the trailer, it drew too much power and continually blew the fuse in …

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How to Wire a Goal Zero Solar Panel to a Zamp Connector

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My Taxa TigerMoth adventure trailer has a so-called “Zamp” connection on the outside of it for wiring solar panels to charge the battery. I say “so-called” because actually the plug itself is a standard SAE connector, but the solar company Zamp wires the plug up with opposite polarity to the industry standard. Then they put a big sticker on the trailer or RV that says “Warning, only use Zamp solar panels with this plug!”. Well… that’s a load of crap if you have a soldering iron and ten minutes to spare! When I first got my trailer, the dealer (British …

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Shedding Pack Weight: Redundant Remotes

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These can be convenient accessories, but do you really need them? It’s possible that these days you don’t, and in my quest for a lighter kit I think they might have to go. Here’s why…

Shedding Pack Weight: MSR PocketRocket 2 Stove

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A stove is a common necessity on the trail, but not all stoves are built equally. If you really want to lighten your load, this is an area for weight savings and decreased volume. I tested out the MSR PocketRocket 2 stove and you can find my thoughts on it here.

Gear Check: Drobo 5D3

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Drobo recently announced a new Thunderbolt 3 enabled storage unit called the 5D3. As it happened, it came out right as I was contemplating a new storage setup due to increasing needs so I ordered one right away from B&H Photo. If you want to read more about my entire photo backup strategy, I recently wrote an update to my guide over on Shutter Muse, but here on this blog I just wanted to give you guys a quick heads up about this new product. I’ve been using Drobos for longer than I can remember, but they really started coming …

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Shedding Pack Weight: Flexible Water Bottles

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In my quest for a lighter pack, this is easily one of the cheapest and most noticeable changes I made to my usual backpacking kit. Click through to find out why these things are so awesome!