Video of the Day – Extreme kayaking around the world

Before watching this video, I was unaware that it’s possible to intentionally be inverted or airborne in a kayak, let alone both at once.

If you love river sports and/or beautiful cinematography, then settle in for three and half pulse-raising minutes and check out this trailer for River Root’s kayaking film dubbed Frontier.

Featuring scenes from Mexico, China, Iceland, Norway, the U.S., and Canada, Frontier follows a group of kayakers as they explore some of the world’s most powerful rivers and seemingly impassable whitewater. The full length film is due out on DVD this month and is available for pre-order on the River Roots website. Needless to say, if the full film features more scenes like the final clip of the video, then I’ll definitely be ordering a copy.

Have you uploaded any footage or photos of your favorite adventure sport? Share it with us by leaving a comment below or adding it to the Gadling Flickr Group and it could be our next Photo/Video of the Day.

Postagram app turns your Instagram photos into postcards

The whole crew here at Gadling loves sending postcards. Heck, we love receiving them, too. Sadly, handwritten notes – including postcards – are nowhere near as popular as they used to be. Why send a postcard from the road when you can instantly Skype or IM with someone? Why send one stock photo when you can upload all of your own pictures? The answer to both questions is the same: sending someone a personalized, analog message shows that in that moment, at that place, you were thinking of them and wanted to put some effort into showing them just that. Thankfully, there’s a new iPhone app that combines the thoughtfulness of postcards with modern social networking. Postagram allows iPhone users to turn pictures from the Instagram app into real postcards.Our friends over at TechCrunch shared the info on Postagram earlier today. For just 99 cents, users can turn any one of their Instagram photos into a postcard, add a 140-character message and have it printed and in the recipient’s hand in 2-5 business days (longer for international shipping). Users can do everything from the Postagram iPhone app or on the Postagram website. The picture can even be popped out of the postcard if the recipient just wants the image without the message.

We think this is a great tool for sending postcards to friends, especially if you’re in a location where finding a post office is challenging. And the price is cheaper than the cost of buying a postcard and a stamp in many places.

Certainly there are downsides. The 140-character limit means that you can’t write much of a note to accompany the picture. Also, while it does save the addresses that you enter to mail Postagrams, we’d love to see it access your iPhone’s contacts to make selecting recipients and inputting their addresses that much quicker and easier. Lastly, since it won’t be mailed from your location, it lacks the mystique of postmarks from faraway lands.

That said, it’s still a unique image that you took and chose to share with someone. In that sense, it still maintains the personal feel of postcards.

Anyone who signs up today will receive their first Postagram for free, which is a nice way to try out the app and service. I just made my first Postagram (for free, since I signed up today) and it was quick and easy. Oddly, while their site says that the Postagram will arrive in 2-5 days, the app itself said that it would take 3-7 days. That’s certainly something to keep an eye on.

Postagram is free and available on the iPhone App Store.

[Via TechCrunch]

Moleskine notebooks introduces new bags, reading, and writing accessories

Few products (analog, at least) get travelers, writers, and artists as excited as Moleskine. The classic black Moleskine notebooks have been used by Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and Oscar Wilde, as well as many a journaler and design-lover. A new collection unveiled this week at Milan’s Salon del Mobile is the stuff of many travelers’ dreams. The Reading, Writing, and Traveling series from Italian designer Giulio Iacchetti includes bags and computer cases, pencils and pens, reading glasses, a rechargeable reading light and an e-reader stand. Each piece is designed for maximum mobility, and to complement each other as well as the original notebook, complete with the signature black elastic band.


The new collection is on view in Milan now and at the ICFF design show in New York in mid-May. See more photos and details on the Moleskine Facebook page and on the design blog core77, along with an interview with the designer.

We can’t wait to get our hands on a Moleskine laptop bag, though we can’t help hoping they branch out to luggage as well. What Moleskine products would you like to see?

Photo courtesy of Moleskine on Flickr.

Cruise lines branch out, sell other stuff too

Looking to be the best-dressed passenger on your next cruise? No? How about looking like you went on a particular ship but didn’t really make it? No? Hmm, well how about you want a cool gag gift to give your friend who hates even the idea of a cruise? Oh, that might work? Well now there is no need to sail anymore just to get all the cool cruise line swag that makes your friends green with envy (or about to be sick) because cruise lines are branching out and sell most all that stuff in advance, online.

Just this week, Norwegian Cruise Line set up shop online offering everything from ball caps to coffee mugs for sale. At the new Norwegian Cruise Line shop, you can order and have those hard-to-get items that would normally cost the price of a cruise vacation to get delivered to your home. Some real thought went into these items too. I like the Solar Powered Battery Charger as a cool bit of cruise gear. It’s kind of pricey at $43.75 but the 60″ Golf Umbrella for $15.85 is a steal.

Other lines do this too. Check Royal Caribbean’s Gifts and Gear pages where they offer a wide variety of products for at home or on the road. A Royal Caribbean Dual Sports Bottle/Thermos is a good deal at $15.00. Royal Caribbean breaks down their products into categories too like Luxurious Lounge Wear, Adventure Gear and Travel Essentials.

Surely, these are no SkyMall Monday offerings but there is some good stuff here.Royal Caribbean International announced not long ago the new Royal Caribbean Bedding Collection available for sale to anyone. You might never sail on one of their ships but can get these fine linens delivered to your home.

“In line with our Royal Advantage program, the Royal Caribbean Bedding Collection was chosen with care to offer the indulgent sleep experience that they enjoy onboard and longed and requested to bring home,” said Lisa Bauer, senior vice president of Hotel Operations.

Royal Caribbean’s collection offers not just sheets and pillows but full-size ma tresses as well made in Italy by Matermoll and Emmebiesse. The popular Royal Memory Pillows start at $79 (with $26.95 shipping make that $105.95. Kinda pricey. Remember that number, we’ll be coming back to it shortly.

Rival lines Carnival and Holland America also offer bedding for sale. I have a bunch of the Carnival Comfort Collection pillows that have done well over the 4 years we have used them. It makes sense too; this stuff is made both for durability and comfort. To make it to luxury-status in a commercial setting, they have to hit both marks.

The other cruise line products available online tend to be well-made too, especially the logo items. Cruise lines want you wearing that ball cap for years to come. Free advertising is pretty hard to beat.

As cruise lines branch out, we’re hoping for Royal Caribbean to open a Cupcake Cupboard right down the street. That would be…well…sweet!

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Flickr photo by brianholsclaw

SkyMall Monday: Reel Marshmallow Roaster

Despite the fact that spring is off to a chilly start here in the Northeast, we’ve begun to plan some camping trips for the upcoming summer. If you want to book the best campsites, you have to reserve early. As such, we’ve started taking a look at our camping gear over here at SkyMall Monday headquarters to make sure that everything survived the winter. On any camping trip, you want to have the proper gear and ensure that it’s all in working order. That way, once you’re at the site, you can just enjoy the great outdoors, relax and savor those sweet, sweet s’mores. However, s’mores-making technology hasn’t advanced much since people learned how to search for sticks in the woods. We’re still poking marshmallows onto dirty twigs and rotating our arms in ways that put tremendous stress on our wrists and elbows. Most people assume that our proximity to the fire is the most dangerous part of making s’mores, but it’s actually the physical labor. Thankfully, we can save ourselves a trip to the orthopedist thanks to SkyMall. The next time we go camping, we can roast our marshmallows with the Reel Marshmallow Roaster.I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like s’mores. The combination of gooey marshmallow, melty chocolate and crispy graham crackers makes them the perfect camping snack. Plus, lighting marshmallows on fire is just plain ol’ fun. However, there’s nothing in the world more tedious than rotating your marshmallow (not a euphemism) to get it roasted evenly. After a night of binging on s’mores, you may find your wrist sore, swollen and tender. It’s a condition commonly referred to as Roasting Wrist. Most doctors treat Roasting Wrist with months of physical therapy, pain killers and the Hershey’s S’mores candy bar. It’s a long and arduous road filled with disappointment every time you taste that underwhelming confection. Thankfully, we can now avoid that with advances in modern s’more technology.

Think that sticks are the perfect s’mores tool. Believe that operating a fork attached to a fishing reel actually puts more stress on the human wrist than previous s’mores-making devices? Well, while you suffer through a charred marshmallow, we’ll be reading the product description:

Give it a spin, and you’ll never go back to a plain old stick again. Simply put your hot dog or marshmallow on the tip of this fishing reelpowered roaster, and crank it until it’s perfectly cooked on all sides.

Look, anything that gives you the excuse to say “crank it until it’s perfectly cooked” is a good thing. Am I right, ladies?

It’s not wishful thinking to suggest that Memorial Day will be here before you know it. With that comes camping trips, long hikes and, yes, s’mores. Get your gear in order and pick up some new gadgets to make your camping trips perfect.

See you by the campfire.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.