Daily gear deals – $2.99 Bluetooth headset, waterproof camera and more

by Scott Carmichael on

Here are the hottest gadget deals for today, Tuesday June 9th 2009. Remember, these deals are often only valid for one day, so act fast before they are gone!

Handsfree does not get much cheaper than this $2.99 Bluetooth headset (after a $15 mail in rebate). It ships in a “polybag”, which is an expensive way of telling you that you’ll get it in a plastic bag.

Amazon has some hot deals on their lineup of tough Olympus cameras, including the popular Stylus 550WP for just $159.99. This camera features a 10 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, and is waterproof up to 10 feet. You’ll need to add the camera to your cart to see the final price as it is “too low to display”.

Woot.com is selling a 2-pack of sleeping bags for just $19.99. I can’t comment on the quality, but at $25 for 2 sleeping bags (with shipping) it may be worth a try. Just don’t come crying to me if they didn’t keep you warm on your next expedition. Woot is a one-deal-a-day site, so order quickly, or the product will be gone.

And finally, in our lineup of great gadgets for today is this Toshiba 250GB external hard drive. At just $64, it is one of the cheapest options out there for a portable external drive. To get the low price, be sure to check out the various other sellers on the product page – you’ll find one selling the drive for $64.

Lippi Selk’Bag is wearable sleeping bag

by Mike Barish on

As the writer of SkyMall Monday, I encounter plenty of odd products. But even I’m baffled by the idiocy of this little discovery. The Lippi Selk’Bag is essentially a wearable sleeping bag. Imagine that a sleeping bag had sex with your childhood snowsuit and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. When you’re done cleansing yourself of that awkward situation, we’ll proceed.

According to the site’s FAQ page, the bag gets its name from the nomadic Selk’nam people of Patagonian Chile. There are three Selk’Bag styles with creative names such as Selk’Bag One, Selk’Bag Two and Selk’Bag Three. As the numbers go up, the warmth of the sleeping bag/suit increases. The Selk-Bag Three has a “comfort temperature” of 49 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is, you know, not really that cold.

So, the bags can’t handle extreme temperatures. But surely they’re waterproof. Wrong. Referring again to that helpful FAQ page, “Selk’Bag is not a waterproof sleeping bag as this would compromise its breathability.” OK, I guess I can deal with it not being waterproof so long as it’s convenient. Well, does your definition of convenience include easily being able to go to the bathroom? Oh. Then this thing is not convenient. “When visiting the toilet the Selk’Bag should be unzipped and pulled down.” Uhoh. That’s going to be a problem considering that it’s not waterproof.

I haven’t the foggiest idea who this product would appeal to. It looks cumbersome and awkward. I’m going to stick to my favorite sleeping bag and pretend that this ugly episode never happened.

Design your own sleeping bag

by Justin Glow on

It’s getting close to camping time here in the Midwest. I love camping. I love loading up the car with my tent, sleeping bags, coolers filled with various meats and beers, and heading into the wilderness. Had I not been recently gifted a pair of new, cold-weather sleeping bags, I’d consider building my own from the UK’s PHD Mountain Software.

The company’s website has a slick Flash interface for constructing your own sleeping bag, and offers two “trails” to getting it done: the “free route” — if you know what you’re doing — or the “guided route” for the novice. Since I don’t know the first thing about building a sleeping bag, I chose the guided route.

From there you’re given various features to choose for your future sleeping bag: minimum temperature, outer fabric, inner fabric, stuff patterns, width, length, colors, and many, many others. Make your selections, submit your order, and you’re done.

The prices, unsurprisingly, are not cheap. The bag I built was 270.00 GBP (about $530 USD), and I’m sure it could have been much higher had I selected more add-ons. But this might be the perfect thing for the hardcore camping or mountaineering enthusiast with some extra cash to burn. For now, I’ll stick to my Keltys.