coLAB

Ideas that probably won’t make it into production ::o)

2008-11-28T11:12:54+00:00

How about . . .

Dehydrated water. Save weight on long summer walks, just add water to rehydrate.

The invisible tent . . . ideal for low-impact wild camping, and great for getting out of paying campsite fees!

Self-extracting friends - save leaving expensive kit when your second can’t get it out, just have friends that come out when you pull!

Anyone got any more?

Surviving the Outdoor Show

2008-09-30T10:12:50+00:00

. . .survival tips gleaned from the last one!

(1) Use all the preparation time you can. You will need it.

(2) Get there early. This allows time to sort out all the overnight disasters, such as the cleaners chucking your invention away after mistaking it for litter. ::o)

(3) Don’t bother taking a packed lunch. You won’t have time to eat it.

(4) When everyone is distracted by the Royal Marines abseiling off the ceiling . . . this is an excellent time to go to the loo!

Anyone got any others?

Live chat on Outdoors Magic

2008-11-12T09:25:50+00:00

Nick will be chatting about coLAB09 during a live chat session hosted by Outdoors Magic. It is a chance to ask questions about the award format and how to get the most out of it. The guys at OM will open the chat board from 1pm.

Date: 13th November
Time: 1pm
Location: Outdoors Magic Forum

Run up to the show

2009-02-25T12:34:51+00:00

The finalists have been announced and press releases fired out so the Award should get some publicity over the next few weeks, Jon Doran at OutdoorsMagic is first off the mark with a round up of the finalists..

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/5881

When . . .

2009-02-03T10:57:28+00:00

. . . do we get to see what made the final?

Or has it already been announced and I’ve been clueless enough to miss it? ::o)

Last years entrants and ideas

2008-09-21T09:28:56+00:00

Any update on where they are now.

And whatever happened to the 100% waterproofed jeans - ever become a commercial product?

Early Bird Idea coLAB 09 - take it or leave it

2008-09-22T10:58:10+00:00

Hi everyone,

just stumbled across this coLAB site, me likes!
Anyway, I’m not one who has a lot of patience or stamina when it comes to DIY Projects nor do I have an enterpreneurial mind, so I’m giving this idea to anyone who likes it:

Being a lightweight enthusiast, I don’t understand why I’d need a separate axe, machete and saw. Think like the Swiss - turn the three into one big Swiss army knife! I was thinking of a somewhat stronger machete blade (similar width to an axe), with a saw on it’s back, or a lighter axe with a longer blade, again with a saw on its back.

Maybe most trekkers don’t need this (especially since you either need an axe OR a machete), but I find the hybrid a better solution because

1) I’d often like some properties of the other cutting instrument (when using a machete, I’d sometimes like the strength of the axe, using the axe, I’d sometimes like the long blade for clearing away vegetation etc.), yet I am not prepared to carry all separate pieces of equipment

2) Most people carrying an axe/machete will have some kind of saw with them anyway, so why the extra weight? I only carry a saw blade due to weight(which I then turn into a saw, taking some time and effort which I could save this way).

3) Apart from saving weight and space, it will make working with wood a little easier, as I have all tools in one hand and can e.g. brush off surrounding vegetation, cut down a tree, saw it into bits and chop these all without putting my one tool down.

I think this could work if a real engineer sat down and thought about this for a while because unlike so many All-in-One gizmos flooding the market nowadays it doesn’t have a thousand working parts to go wrong. it’s basically a 30-50cm long piece of steel (carbon steel?), made heavier at one end (handle on the opposite end), sharpened on one side and a saw shape cut into the other side. You could go all fancy shedding some extra grams by drilling holes into the construction and giving it that ridiculous commando look, but that would attract the wrong customers is my guess (My best buying advice is still: if it looks like rambo would use it and has “survival” written on it, leave it on the shelf for the kids

One extra would be of advantage though, namely an additional grip (either at the base of the existing grip or carved into the steel at the tip of my “AXEchete”) allowing me to get a better grip whilst using the saw i.e. the fist should be at 90 degrees to the sawing motion, not parallel. This would need a graph, but I’m lazy. Just imagine a typical one hand saw grip and think of how you could add it to the AXEchete.

Hope someone likes the idea and makes millions with it, affording supercars, champagne, cigars, women(/men)... thanx to a humble 10min post

Seriously though, if you do manage to get this or something similar market ready - pls @ me l dot cerny at gmail dot com - I SERIOUSLY WANT THIS AXEchete!

Judges for the Colab09

2008-09-19T11:35:01+00:00

Andy Kirkpatrick had agreed to be judge, he has been a bit quiet over the last few weeks but he has just released his book, available here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychovertical-Andy-Kirkpatrick/dp/0091920965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221827718&sr=8-1

I havent read it yet, but will do soon.

Graham Thompson is also going to be a judge again.

Cheers

Nick