scattered technology news

Day Pack Reviews: Camelbak Urban Assault & XL - Sunday, July 13, 2008

Camelbak is company not short on innovation. Bringing to market a line of very handy and convenient hydration systems has benfitted us all. We got a first look at two brand new packs from Camelbak, the Urban Assault and Urban Assault XL. The Urban Assault packs at first looks like an intimidating, menacing, ready to kick some butt pack. Loaded with features and hidden surprises, the Urban Assault is prepared for your day.

The Camelbak Urban Assault packs are constructed of a middle-ground 500D Cordura. As stated before, Cordura is pretty much the best material you can use, and at 500D the Urban Assault combines a good balance of strength to weight ratio. The zippers are genuine YKK and surrounding them is a rubbery flange meant to help keep water out. Camelbak had the right idea when they made their zipper pulls as well. The zipper pulls are made of cord with a plastic tube around them. This offers the flexibilty and silence you need, while offering the rigidity and strength required to open/close the zipper. Located on the back is a very intimidating, yet comfortable looking design. Three large foamy pads are arranged in an ergonomic design and allow for ventilation. The organization of the pads keeps the weight off of your spine and moves it to the sides and lower parts of your back. On the shoulder straps is some dense 15mm EVA foam. All of the side release buckles on this pack were made by ITW Nexus which is an industry leader in tough buckles. Read More

Day Pack Reviews: Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack - Sunday, July 13, 2008

Tactical Tailor is a company that truly knows what “tough” is. Founded by a US Army scout sniper, Tactical Tailor has the expertese and experience in what a tough pack requires. Tactical Tailor’s Enhanced Day Pack exhibits this knowledge throughout from the materials used for construction, a “KISS” attitude, and the inclusion of almost everything you need, without everything you don’t.
Constructed of mil-spec 1000D Cordura no other pack in our lineup contained such a rugged material. Cordura is a type of nylon developed by the DuPont company. The Cordura brand is now owned by Invista. Cordura is 3x more durable than normal polyester and 2x as durable as normal nylon. Both inside and out the Enhanced Day Pack is made of this almost bomb proof material. All zippers on the Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack are genuine YKK and pull smoothly. There aren’t any flanges near the zippers to get caught making it very hassle-free. On the shoulder straps a nice amount of 1/2″ thick foam is spread throughout. Along your back is 3/8″ thickness foam in a 1000D Cordura enclosure. This pack doesn’t have a true internal frame-sheet per say, but the sturdy foam in the backing keeps the pack’s shape nicely and is a suitable substitute.

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Day Pack Reviews: High Sierra “Grid” - Sunday, July 13, 2008

High Sierra’s grid is a light-weight sporty backpack that does not disappoint. It has a range of bright, yet not gaudy, color mixes and is very nicely styled for the active day-adventurer. Loaded with functional pockets, the High Sierra Grid makes separating your goods easy and convenient. This pack excels when you need something mobile and comfortable on the fly.

The High Sierra Grid is constructed of 600D “Duralite” material. This is a type of polyester that is incredibly light. While the Duralite construction isn’t as strong as some of the other ballistic nylon and cordura materials used in the other packs, the significant weight savings of Duralite are certainly appreciated. The Grid uses a “waffle-weave” construction which while not necessarily adding more strength, is more aesthetically pleasing and stands out as something different from the other packs. The back of the Grid uses very soft padding covered in vapel mesh. This padding has plenty of play and and is quite comfortable. The same padding can be found generously on the S curve shoulder straps. One interesting thing about the rear padding configuration is the large gaps it leaves around the sides of your back while wearing the pack. This allows for generous amounts of airflow and ventilation. On the inside, the Grid disappoints. A much thinner and weaker material is used. Looking at the stitching in some areas just screams, “cheap!” Looking at the laptop compartment elastic top keeper we see how it’s only held on by a weak cross stitch which isn’t very re-assuring. Where the stitching is most disappointing is the front pocket. The accordian like wings that fold out to hold your items are very poorly stitched and appear as if they’ll rip from the slightest persuasion. Nowhere on this pack are there any signs of double-stitching. While it seems the outside of the pack is sturdy enough with the standard stitching, the extra added peace of mind from double stitching would be nice to see. One thing that is appreciated is the internal frame sheet located in the back adding rigidity and protection for your laptop. Read More

Day Pack Reviews: North Face Recon - Sunday, July 13, 2008

The North Face Recon is a very sleek and functional urban pack. It is a frequent sight at college campuses everywhere and should just about have it’s own plug in the campus tours as well. Coming in at 19 different colors/combos the Recon holds the most variance of styles and is guaranteed to offer a style for everyone. While not a large pack (main compartment 1520 cu in, secondary compartment 330 cu in), the North Face Recon offers sufficient space for the majority of people out there.

The North Face Recon is constructed out of 420D Nylon (main body) and 1680D Nylon (bottom). 420D Nylon works fine strength-wise, but won’t hold up to rugged or harsh conditions. Luckily, this pack takes most of its beating on the bottom where the beefy 1680D construction should ensure a long-lasting bottom portion of this pack. Looking over this pack the stitching is fine, although no hints of double-stitching can be found anywhere. It’ll hold it’s own, but don’t count on being able to push it to the max. Since this pack is made of all nylon it is decently water-resistant and you can safely put this pack under a faucet for a minute without worrying about your belongings getting all soggy. This water-resistance also makes cleaning the outside much easier. All the zippers on this pack are tried and true YKK built to last. The Northface Recon is made in Vietnam, but was one of the better made non-USA made packs.

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Day Pack Reviews: The Roundup - Sunday, July 13, 2008

Outside of avid hikers and dedicated military personnel the depth of thought that goes into most people’s daily carry backpacks is, “Hey, this one’s on sale!” The cycle rolls on from year to year replacing our old and worn out packs with a new one, and commonly not the same model as our previous one. Shortly after our new pack purchase the ominous signs of end-of-life are readily apparent, worn zipper pulls, frayed material, and various seam rips can be found all over. The question was, buried beneath the pile of ubiquitous “on-sale” backpacks did rugged and well thought out packs exist?

My quest led me to see if makers of high end enthusiast and professional backpacks offered anything for the average Joe. The companies were The North Face, High Sierra, Camelbak, and Tactical Tailor. The North Face has been making rugged outdoors enthusiast products for decades and seemed like a good place to start. High Sierra is another classic outdoors company that routinely provides packs and bags to professionals requiring ruggedness and function. The innovative Camelbak has always been there for the sportsman with their hydration system. Their packs are not only outdoors qualified, but battle proven around the world. The last company, Tactical Tailor is a smaller company than the others, but is known exceptionally well in military and government circles for their tough gear.

The Packs

Starting from the left to the right we have: The North Face: Recon, Camelbak: Urban Assault, Camelbak: Urban Assault XL, High Sierra: Grid, and Tactical Tailor: Enhanced Day Pack

Testing Method
The standard/control for this pack comparison is going to be the Recon backpack from The North Face. The Recon is an extremely popular backpack and has many great qualities. While not as obviously rugged as our other models, we felt it would display the differences between a more mainstream backpack and our overbuilt rugged packs.

Grading is based on a few different criteria on a scale of 1-10:

• Construction: Many cheap backpacks are constructed “just good enough” and the poor effort put into them shows. Blown seams, ripped stitches, as well as inferior materials can all lead to many annoyances in a backpack. We’ve taken a look at the materials used in the construction of our test packs, how durable the stitching is, down to the brands of the zippers.
• Design: All of our test packs had to meet a few criteria to be included in our tests. Since we are a tech blog, every pack had to accommodate a laptop. Along with the laptop compatibility we graded these packs on how well they stored your everyday gadgets such as mp3 players and phones.
• Comfort: One of the most commonly overlooked part of a backpack is how comfortable it really is. Seeing as it’s difficult to load up a backpack at a store this often taken for granted. We tested the ability of our packs to stay comfortable with both average light and heavy loads. Thanks to special correspondent Lauren Steussy we were also able to include any comfort/fit differences for women.
• Price/value: You can have the best pack in the world, but if it’s priced too high what difference does it make? Each pack will be graded on just how much it’s worth the price as well.

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EarPeace Technologies: Livewires (Review) - Thursday, December 20, 2007

Every once in a while you stumble over a product that is so marvelous you wonder if you’ve actually discovered the holy grail. A creation that offers something for everyone, and at a price that is affordable. It’ll suit you whether you’re a neophyte or a connoisseur. Fortunately for us, one of those little gems has come to our attention recently from a small company in California. EarPeace Technologies presents us with the Livewires in ear monitors.

EarPeace Technolgies has taken up the task of producing a custom molded in-ear monitor (IEM) for the masses. Traditionally worn by (and only affordable for) professional artists on stage during concerts, the Livewires have opened a segment of the audio market for many who can appreciate the sound quality and comfort that custom molded earphones have to offer. Custom molded IEM’s offer improved comfort over normal universal headphones. Even though a plethora of different tips made of different materials and different shapes are available for standard headphones, a significant amount of people still discover comfort issues with those. While the fit of universals may work for some, it frequently becomes fatiguing after a period of time. Livewires seem to disappear once you insert them in your ears. In my experience I’ve worn them for over eight hours without experiencing any comfort issues. A custom molded IEM offers all of the noise isolating and sound quality properties of a normal universal IEM, yet also offers a level of comfort no universal IEM can achieve. Livewires are EarPeace’s first forray into the audio market and it looks like they have a strong chance of being rookie of the year.

Purchasing a set of Livewires isn’t as simple as going to your local white box store and ringing them up at the register. Since Livewires are custom molded, there are a few steps involved in making a purchase. The first step would be to contact EarPeace Technologies or one of their distributors (list included at the bottom). The folks over at Livewires are all very friendly and will help you accordingly with your inquiry. They’ll eventually refer you to a local audiologist to have impressions of your ears made. The appointment normally only takes around 15 minutes. The impression material is thick goop that feels strange, but doesn’t cause any discomfort during the procedure. Once you have your impressions the next step would be to ship them over to EarPeace Technologies. They’ll have your Livewires made at their lab and you should have your brand new set of headphones within a few weeks. Read More

Shure SE110 Earphones: First Steps - Thursday, October 11, 2007

Following up with a tradition of excellence, Shure Inc. introduces us to their latest in ear monitor (IEM), the SE110. Priced fairly reasonably, the SE110 aims to pick up where the aging and now discontinued E2c left off. It also introduces a new low-end product for Shure’s general consumer “SE” series since the “E” designation is now being used for professional IEM models.

Shure SE110 Specifications:

• Speaker Type: Balanced MicroSpeaker
• Sensitivity (1mW): 113 dB SPL/mW
• Impedance (1kHz): 27 Ω
• Frequency Range: 22Hz - 17.5kHz
• Cable Length: 18 in (54 in w/ extension)
• Colors: Available in Black and White

The Shure SE110 utilizes a single dynamic driver design that is capable of a frequency range from 22Hz - 17.5kHz. This isn’t the most impressive frequency range for an audio enthusiast, but it is very sufficient for many people. All of this technical wonder is contained within a clean and good looking housing that is available in either black or white. Also included with the SE110’s is Shure’s classic package of many different tips to fit the plethora of ears that these IEM’s might satisfy. Shure provides a set of rubber and foam tips in sizes small, medium, and large with their package to help obtain a greater seal while maintaining a good level of comfort. A helpful cleaning tool is also included in the package to keep out any ear wax that may have entered the headset. In order to protect and not lose these accessories, Shure provides a soft and thin profiled case to carry your headphones and extra sleeves around. The case is nothing special, but it serves its purpose and even has a carabiner to attach onto a backpack.

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