“Dude, ziplines for work! You have won.” -Brendan Leonard
BL is correct. And you know what? Winning feels good.

To launch our latest headlamp, the Vizz, we decided to put together a video that explains all the features and attention to detail that went into this light. Your favorite scientist from the other PTEC videos is back. We also upped the video ante. With cool stuff like zip lines and helicopters* and all kind of other things we had in our back pocket. We are really excited about the results, and sure that you will be to. Just hold tight a tiny bit longer while we put the finishing touches on this.

This weekend, we’ll be visiting Damascus, VA as Trail Days descends on the town. You going to be there again? Cool, see you there. Don’t know what Trail Days means? Look it up, go hike the AT, and we’ll see you there next year!

-George

*But I’m kidding about the helicopters.

Pepper and I are gearing up again! We are getting excited to get back outside after a weather roller-coaster winter. It started off great but the ups and downs started in January. There were always signs and anticipation for more snow, but not much panned out. We are mixing it up a little on this trip and will put our hip flexors to the test………and hopefully get some good turns to accompany all of the elevation gain. We are looking at putting our skis on, slinging a pack over our shoulders and skiing from just north of Lake Tahoe to Mt. Whitney, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Our goal is to ski the 400-500 miles roughly following the Pacific Crest Trail/John Muir Trail and Sierra High Route corridor (depending on snow conditions and weather). With the mixed bag of weather this winter we are hoping we’ll be on snow the whole way because there’s nothing worse than hiking in ski boots and carrying your skis!

We are setting of on Monday, April 15. It looks like winter is going to return for the start of the trip, with temperatures in the teens (Fahrenheit) and 50 mile per hour winds. We are making some last minute adjustments with the weather forecast, and scrambling to get our gear ready today so we can head out the door tomorrow.

Check back in……….I’ll be updating throughout the trip!

Right before he left, Trauma posted up his gear list. Keep an eye on his blog for updates from the trail.

Sweet rig, Nemo!

Spectrum, ready to rock.

Justin and Tim at the ready. Tim, you’re looking extra tall here.

Inspiration, plus the tools of the trade.

The less glamorous side of life on the road.

Are you a St. Louis Cardinals or Mizzou Athletics fan?

Another happy customer.

Making the all important decisions.

Eric’s feedback on the PTEC Apex Rechargeable Headlamp he use for Hellgate: “I found swapping out the rechargeable battery packs very quick and easy. In fact there is a video (Hellgate 100K 2012) that shows me swapping the battery at Camping Gap aid station. I had put a spare battery in David’s coat pocket and just ran up to him and got it while the videographer was behind him (unbeknownst to me). That happens from 1:46 to 2:15 in the video.”

Eric’s super detailed race report here. Interesting read as it described everything from time leading up to race, through race strategy.

On the topic of all things dive, we recently held a photography contest. Here are our picks in no particular order, plus a wildcard who probably didn’t even know he entered:

Prizes? Check!

Tons of good stuff from Cressi, M Essentials, Akona, and of course Princeton Tec! Thanks for all of your entries and congrats to the winners!

“The color combonation i used on the headlamp is based on my future expectations, I plan on atending NC State University and their colors are red and black. I also plan to enlist in college Marine Corps ROTC, curently i am in Marine Corps JROTC.”

~RK

It’s always cool to see everybody’s Spectrum FUEL headlamp designs. Even better when we get a few works about the design’s inspiration. spectrum.princetontec.com

Madison, Wisconsin. All the people I met were so nice! I’m from Jersey, and I hate to say that relative to the fine folks I spent the weekend with, we are jerks. Thanks for being excellent hosts!

There was a ton of sweet handmade gear at the show, from boats to paddles to soft goods and other accessories. Wood boats? Check. Greenland paddles? Yep. Want a carbon fiber canoe paddle to ease that bad shoulder? No problem. How about a carbon / kevlar boat that weighs like 2 pounds and looks badass? They have it all. I’m sure it’s all old hat to the various paddling tribes. As a new guy who knows nothing beyond my 17′ Grumman that looks like it came off the same production line as an airplane, everything was pretty fascinating.

We brought Spectrum to Madison, building custom headlamps for everyone that wanted, and setting up other folks else with a waterproof QUAD or EOS. The reception was amazing, most of the folks who stopped by knew what we were doing at the PTEC booth because of a video the show’s organizers posted on the Canoecopia Facebook page the first day. Several of the people who saw the first video came by with their headlamp ideas and camera prepared and made their own videos of us building their light. Really, we’re flattered!

It was cool to see people excited about getting outside no matter the conditions. There is no question that the show is a great success as it continues to grow each year. Thanks to Rutabaga for inviting us to their biggest event!

On the media front: we have some new videos just about ready for our most popular tactical lights. Look out for those in coming weeks on our YouTube and Vimeo channels.
-George

We found something that resembles a chalk outline. We’re still investigating that.

New paint to kick it all off. Here’s to a fresh start.