Teva introduces flip flops with lights – and you can win a pair!

by Mike Barish on

With Spring hitting the Northeast early, we’re thrilled to be able to start thinking about trips to the beach, hikes in the woods and some new camping adventures. And warm weather means throwing those Winter boots aside in favor of flip flops. Our feet haven’t seen the light of day in months and it’s time to let those dogs breathe. With that in mind, we were psyched (and a tad amused) to see that Teva is launching a new flip flop with LED lights attached. We’re also pretty jazzed that we have a pair to give away to one lucky reader.

The Teva illūm is a new of sandal that gives you a powerful LED light on each foot. The 10-foot beams of light are intended to help keep you safe when the sun sets and you find yourself on the trail, looking for your campsite or seeking a clandestine spot on the beach to make out with your date. While it may seem gimmicky, we’re actually rather intrigued by the idea of having sandal-mounted lights to help guide the way. Sure, you should still pack a headlamp for any night hikes or camping trips, but extra light is never a bad thing.

The Teva illūm will be available on the Teva website beginning on May 1, 2010 and you can learn more about the sandals on their own unique site. They will be available in synthetic and waterproof leather for $50 and $60, respectfully.

But you can get your hands on a pair for free before they even hit stores. Gadling and Teva want to give to one lucky reader a pair of illūm sandals. We plan to have an official Gadling review on the site later this Spring. In the meantime, perhaps our winner can give us some feedback.

To enter to win these sandals, simply leave a comment below stating the place you’d least like to find yourself in the dark. Maybe it’s in the foggy English countryside. Perhaps it’s alone in Death Valley. Or maybe it’s just in your own attic. Wherever it is, let us know in the comments and one person will be randomly selected to win a pair of Teva illūm sandals.

  • The comment must be left before Friday, April 2 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
  • You may enter only once.
  • One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
  • The winner will receive pair of Teva illūm sandals (valued at $50).
  • Click here for complete Official Rules.
  • Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, including the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.

Photo of the Day (2.7.2010)

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Is this a photo of a “magic” forest? Because it looks like something straight out of another world: slanting rays of light, ominous trees and a multi-colored starburst of sun. It’s remarkably similar to this other sunlight photo from earlier this month. Congrats to Flickr user kanelstrand for capturing this otherworldly forest shot during her travels to Norway.

Have any photos you want us to consider for Gadling’s Photo of the Day? Submit your best shots here.

The Gadling gift guide for the lightweight traveler

by Scott Carmichael on

Traveling light is a challenge – I’ll admit that it is the kind of challenge I usually avoid, but with rising luggage costs and more exotic destinations, people are starting to pack as lightly as possible.

In this list, you’ll find a couple of gifts that can reduce your luggage load, and help make your trip more enjoyable.

Of course, every lightweight and “one bag” traveler has different needs, so if you have a great tip for a lightweight travel item, let us know and leave a comment below!

Don’t forget to check out our other gift guides:

Gift guide for the iPod and iPhone
Gift guide for famlily travel and kids
The top ten travel products of 2009

Joey Totes

Earlier this year, I took a look at the Joey Totes – and was really impressed at how convenient they are. Joey Totes are bags made from parachute style nylon, that can fold into themselves, AND each other. End result is a 4 ounce pouch of three super strong waterproof bags. They are perfect for carrying up to 40 lbs in excess stuff, or as a backup if your main luggage abandons you.

Price: $20 for three bags
Product page: Joey Totes

Eagle Creek HC2 Hovercraft Upright 22″

Before you bombard me with complaints about lightweight travelers and rolling luggage – I know that hardcore one-bag lightweight travelers hate rolling bags – but there are still plenty of us that are always on the lookout for the newest piece of luggage that won’t add to your overall weight.

The Eagle Creek HC2 Hovercraft is such a bag. At just three kilos (just over 6 lbs), it is the first ultra-light bag I’ve seen that does not make all kinds of compromises. It has a massive front pocket large enough for a laptop, it expands, it features a side-mounted water bottle pocket, inner compression straps and handles on the top and side. In every possible way, this is a normal rugged rolling suitcase, just a very light one.

To make a great bag even better, the HC 2 Hovercraft comes with a “no matter what” lifetime warranty.

Price: $250
Product page: Eagle Creek HC2 Hovercraft upright

SCOTTEVEST Pack Windbreaker

SCOTTEVEST has long been a personal favorite, and not just because the owner shares my first name. SCOTTEVEST products are the ultimate travel garment, something fellow Gadling Blogger Annie recently discovered.

Imagine a windbreaker with 17 pockets and an interlinked cable routing system. Now imagine that same windbreaker turning into a travel pillow, all by folding it into itself and closing a zipper on the back. With all those pockets, you can indeed turn your jacket into your third carry-on bag, without the airline even noticing.

Price: $75
Product page: SCOTTEVEST Pack Windbreaker

Dell Inspiron Mini 10 with GPS

I’m pretty sure I don’t have to tell any lightweight travelers about the advantages of a netbook. But I’ll explain it anyway – lightweight, decent power and great battery life all make the netbook a travelers best friend. And the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 with GPS adds one more great feature for travelers – GPS. The GPS receiver is an optional extra on the Mini 10, and the option comes complete with a full navigation package. Of course, with a machine equipped with GPS, you can also do other neat tricks, like photo geotagging and Twitter location updates.

The GPS chip inside the Mini 10 is actually a tad smarter than many other receivers, because it takes advantage of WiFi signals in addition to regular GPS satellites. Of course, the

Price: From $299 + $70 option for GPS
Product page: Dell Inspiron Mini 10

Humangear GoToob travel bottles

Back in July we took a closer look at the GoToob lineup of silicone bottles. These things are ideal for the few remaining toiletries you still want to carry, plus they are the right size for the TSA. The larger of the bottles comes with an integrated suction cup, making them ideal for holding shampoo, and sticking to the shower wall.

Price: from $6 each
Product page: Humangear GoToob

Patagonia Men’s Capilene® 2 Crew

I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to travel – for example, I’ll never go anywhere that requires large amounts of thermal underwear. That said, several of my fellow Gadling team members swear by the Patagonia Capilene Baselayer. This is an extremely lightweight garment, but provides excellent insulation and built in odor control.

Price: $40
Product page: Patagonia

Mysterious blue light shines over Norway

by Katie Hammel on

On December 9th, residents of northern Norway were surprised to see a weird blue light shining above. According to reports, the beam of light seemed to point to the sky from behind a mountain. As the light began moving in circles, forming a spiral, a brighter beam came out of the center. The phenomenon lasted for about 12 minutes.

After the light disappeared, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute was inundated with calls from people asking about what they had seen. Almost as quickly, people began speculating about what the light could have been from. Air traffic controllers who saw the light said it lasted too long to be astronomical, and it is not believed to be connected to the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

Another conjecture was that the light came from Russian missile testing in the White Sea but the Russian Navy has denied any such testing. Experts say that if the missile exploded, the leaking jet fuel could create the odd pattern. Of course, there are some who have a few more far fetched ideas. Black hole, UFO, astronomical event or man-made light show – we many never know what really caused the odd light pattern.

Photo of the day 12.07.09

by Karen Walrond on

This beautiful shot shared by Code N in the Gadling Flickr pool is a masterful example of showing how a photographer can maximize and manipulate the light to the utmost advantage. Code N has perfectly exposed all the streetlights, the sunset in the background, and the reflections in the water in Shanghai to stunning effect. Beautifully done.

If you’ve got some great travel shots you’d love to share, be sure to upload them to the Gadling pool on Flickr. We might just pick one as our Photo of the Day.