I am a huge sucker for technology. I wish I had thousands of dollars to spend on all kinds of different goodies, but I don't. However there are some things that can be incorporated into your riding without a ton of cost. Here are a few...
GPS-
There are some good options out there for using a GPS on your rides. There are even some mounting options available too. Things to be mindful of are... In car navigation gps's like the Tom Tom do not work as well in the back country. Their screen is hard to see in the sun, and there might not be a preloaded map for where you are riding.
-What do I use?
My android phone. I little while back this wasn't a good solution but now Google maps offers the ability to cache map areas. So I have cached in my phone my favorite riding places. If i want to record my location, speed, heading, and elevation I can use Google's "My Tracks" app. The only thing it doesn't do is send out an emergency signal if I get lost or stuck. This brings me to my next device.
Spot... or something like it-
I personally don't have this device, but I see its value. Spot allows you to pay a subscription, then it will transmit your location. You can also send an "I am OK" text, or custom text to pre-programed numbers. This would be great for the snowmobiling back country. If you where to break down with no way out, and ended up spending the night, then this would alert your family where you are. You could then decide if you are going to freeze to death and need to be rescued, or if you are ok.
POV Camera-
This one is just for the cool factor. You can record your rides in 1080P video. These cameras have come a long way. Now Go-Pro offers one that is wifi enabled, and has a remote to start and stop recording with their new GoPro HD Hero3. It is very thin and light. Also it can record 720P video at 120 fps. This means you could make awesome slow motion shots.
This is one of those ares that as soon as you decide to buy something, another company comes out with something cooler. I still love my Contour GPS, but the new GoPro is very appealing.
Avalanche airbag-
These have come a long way. Every year there is more proof that an avalanche airbag really works to save lives most of the time. ABS has come out with a new product for their avalanche airbags system. It is a detonation handle that transmits a signal to the other handles around, and detonates their bags too. It can be set up to only detonate your own bag, to only detonate other bags, or to detonate every bag around.
This would be nice to have because most of the time when somebody is doing something dangerous on a slope, others are watching. If say my friend was snowmobiling on a hill, and caused an avalanche, I could remotely detonate his bag so that he can concentrate on maneuvering his machine away from danger.
Avalanche beacon-
This was my first purchase for safety. If you get buried in an avalanche it transmits a signal so that others with beacons can find you. There are many beacons out there, but I highly recommend a three antenna beacon. They are more accurate than older predecessors.
These are just a few of the many technology options you can think about using or incorporating for your next ride. If you have any others please let me know about them by commenting bellow.
Thanks for reading,
DPS
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