2011 Holiday Gift Guide PDF Print E-mail
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Written by RV Life Magazine   
Tuesday, 01 November 2011 00:00


Naturalight Torch Lamp
The Torch Lamp from the Naturalight division of The Daylight Company is both a desk lamp and a flashlight. Folded up, it works as a flashlight; unfolded it becomes a lamp that provides strong light from 28 LEDs.

Ed Ras, the company’s national sales manager, said the Torch Lamp is a great addition to an emergency kit for a car or RV. It not only can serve as a flashlight, but its fold-out design and flexible positioning makes it a convenient lamp while making a roadside repair.

The Torch Lamp comes with a hand strap and is powered by three AA batteries. Its LEDs never need replacement. Suggested retail price is $59.99. The product is available at retailers nationwide and at daylightcompany.com.

Sport-Brella Chair
This chair has an attached umbrella that can be moved from one side of the chair to the other and swiveled at three different points to provide 360-degree protection from the sun and wind.

The umbrella opens out to 46 inches wide and includes UPF 50-plus lining for maximum sun protection. It is constructed of nylon and canvas with a lightweight steel frame and folds into a compact carry bag. The chair has a built-in cup holder, bottle opener and a zippered pouch. The chair is available at $39.99. For information, visit sport-brella.com.

Ceiva Photo Frames
If receiving digital photos from friends and relatives through the Internet is difficult or inconvenient, there’s another option. You can use connected digital frames, a technology invented and marketed by Ceiva Logic, a company founded by former Disney executives in Burbank, California, more than a decade ago.

Ceiva markets the product as a great gift for grandparents or others who want to receive digital photos in an easy-to-use system that doesn’t require computer knowledge.

Subscribers receive a photo frame with a high-resolution LCD screen and are enrolled in the company’s Picture Plan Photo Delivery Service. The digital picture frame receives photos through a standard telephone line, so there is no need for a computer, although the frame also can be connected to receive photos over the Internet via broadband or Wi-Fi service. Subscribers receive an unlimited photo storage account at ceiva.com.

Friends and family can send photos from anywhere for free via smart phone, camera phone, e-mail or through ceiva.com. A blue light alerts recipients to the fact that photos have arrived. A starter pack that includes a digital photo frame with a lifetime warranty and one year of photo delivery service costs less than $150. For information, visit ceiva.com.

Anti Sleep Pilot
If you are driving long distances, fatigue is always a potential problem. The Anti Sleep Pilot, designed to make sure you stay alert, is available as a dashboard-mounted device or as an app on your iPhone or iPad.

Here’s how it works: The driver inputs his or her age, sleeping habits and other baseline information. At the start of each trip, the device helps the driver determine his or her fatigue status. During the drive, personal information is combined with drive data from built-in sensors to calculate the fatigue level.

The driver’s alertness is tested at 10- to 25-minute intervals during the trip by gauging the reaction time in response to audible alarms. When the device senses that a break is needed, a loud alarm and a red light alert the driver.

The Anti Sleep Pilot is available from ASP Technology for $179 as a standalone device or can be obtained as an iPhone or iPad app for $7.99. For information, visit antisleeppilot.com.

Double Shot Travel Mug
Planetary Design has created a French press and travel coffee mug in one called the Double Shot. Originally designed with backpackers in mind, the mugs can be used anywhere you want to brew and enjoy a cup of coffee.

The mug is constructed of double-walled stainless steel and has a patented plunger press and ultra-fine, stainless steel mesh screen. The mug is designed to fit into a vehicle’s cup holder and includes a built-in storage container in the base to hold enough coffee grounds for a second cup. The mug has a capacity of 14 ounces. Suggested retail price is $29.99.

Planetary Designs makes a number of other French press mugs in various sizes, and also offers AirScape, a kitchen canister that keeps coffee and food fresh by removing oxygen from the container. For information, visit planetarydesign.us.

DeLorme inReach
If you are in a place where cellphones won’t work, you can still send and receive text messages with inReach, a new device from DeLorme that uses the Iridium satellite network, which covers the globe.

By itself, inReach can serve as a GPS communicator, sending messages and SOS alerts, but to both send and receive text messages you need to pair it with an Android phone or the DeLorme PN-69w GPS. The inReach lets users send and receive 160-character messages to family and friends or post messages at Facebook and Twitter from anywhere in the world. In case of an emergency, users can send messages describing the situation so responders can come prepared.

As a solo device, inReach can send up to three pre-loaded text messages or SOS alerts and receive delivery confirmation. It also allows you to let others track your progress. DeLorme has priced inReach at $249.95. For information, visit delorme.com.

Korkers Boots
Detachable outsoles on Korkers footwear allow men who wear them to maintain traction on all kinds of terrain.
For example, the Korkers SnowJack comes with two outsoles: a regular rubber outsole and a rubber outsole with metal studs for better traction on ice and snow. The wearer can easily change the outsoles to meet current weather conditions.

The boots are waterproof and insulated to provide warmth during outdoor activities such as snowshoeing and hiking. Suggested retail price of the SnowJack is $159.99. For information, visit korkers.com.

Family Talk

Family Talk is one of a series of conversation games created by Around the Table card games to open lines of communication among families. Beth Daniels, an occupational therapist, founded Around the Table in 2006, and the games are now widely available in stores across the country.

Family Talk is a series of 100 cards with questions. You pick a card, ask the question and get responses from family members. The questions cover diverse topics to appeal to all ages. Around the Table also produces Grandparent Talk, with 100 questions to stimulate conversations between grandparents and grandchildren. Other conversation games are designed for children and teen-agers.

Family Talk is priced at $9.99. For information, visit aroundthetablegames.com.

Solar Flashlight

Five hours of sun will produce 2.5 hours of continuous light with Energizer’s Solar Flashlight. It has an internal rechargeable battery that can be powered by the sun or by an attached hand crank. One minute of cranking will produce four minutes of light.

The flashlight includes a clip so you can attach it to a backpack or other gear. Energizer’s suggested retail price for the flashlight is $24.29. The company also produces a solar spotlight that can be charged with an AC car adapter and a solar-powered folding lantern. For information, visit the lighting products section of the website at energizer.com.

Yellow Leaf Hammock
Up to six miles of yarn and 150,000 loops are handwoven in the lightweight hammocks from Yellow Leaf, a social enterprise that works with weavers from hill tribe groups in northern Thailand.

The hammocks come in bright stripes and various sizes and can hold from 330 to 550 pounds. They can also be customized in a choice of colors. Yellow Leaf says its hammocks are technically engineered to cradle you weightlessly without flipping over and are also weatherproof, fade-proof and easy to clean. Prices range from $135 to $210. For information, visit yellowleafhammocks.com.

Griddle-Q
The Griddle-Q is designed to allow virtually anything to be cooked on an outdoor grill. The stainless steel griddle sits atop a portion of your outdoor grill, so that you can use the griddle to cook eggs, hash browns or other food while leaving the grill free to cook steaks or other things.

The Griddle-Q is available in multiple sizes and both rectangular and round shapes. It has high sidewalls to keep food on the griddle and a grease trough to eliminate flare-ups. Cleanup can be accomplished on the grill, so there is no need to bring it to the kitchen sink.

Price of the Griddle-Q ranges from $69.99 to $209.99, depending on the size. For information, visit littlegriddle.com.

Glass Cleaning Kit
If you are looking for an extremely practical gift, you might try an array of glass cleaners from Invisible Glass. The manufacturer has packaged its products into a kit that has everything you need to keep the glass in your RV clean.

The kit consists of glass cleaner, a glass cleaning tool for hard-to-reach areas, a microfiber cloth, two packets of Invisible Glass with Rain Repellent, 20 packages of lens wipes and a headlight lens restoration kit. The products bought individually would cost $45, but the kit is priced at $29.95 and is shipped with $15 in coupons for future purchases.

Invisible Glass products are sold at Target, Walmart, Costco, Fred Meyer and other retailers, including hardware and auto parts stores. For information, visit invisibleglass.com.

 

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Craig S.
We LOVE our CEIVA
written by Craig S., November 18, 2011
CEIVA picture frame is the "cleverest" gadget EVER made... and perfect for RV life. Just the fact that ANY of our fiends and family can send pictures of whats happening in their lives DIRECTLY to our frame (while we are on the road) still amazes us. Just one of those simple things that makes our "home on wheels" more of a home. I can't rave enough. Worth EVERY penny.

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