We Have a New Site!

Folks, we have a new site! Part of the upgrade has included moving our blog over to the new wordpress format. Contain your excitement and be sure to reset your bookmark to:

http://www.nemoequipment.com/category/blog/

Perils of Adventure

There's been lots of talk in the last week about risk taking and what kind of role it should play in adventures. Check out this piece in the NYTimes, followed by Steve Casimiro's response in Adventure Journal.

Steve's message is hits the bullseye. If you can't bear to read anything more than a paragraph, here's the takeaway:

I don’t know if this is maturity or prudence or simply experience. All of the above, maybe. The big difference between the me on Whitney Gilman and the me today is that I’ve learned that risk can be managed. Not all of it, or it wouldn’t be an adventure. But it’s also not as black and white as the Times or others suggest, where you’re either likely to die doing something you love or you simply don’t do that thing you love. That big grey area in the middle is where you find adventure, where you find risk, and where, to me, the best of life begins.

Long Treks Skate China, Episode 1-3

We've been supporting Long Treks on Skate Decks for a few years now, from their trips through Peru/Bolivia to Morocco. The latest journey in a skate through China from Qinghai, Xining to Sichuan, Chengdu.

Unlike the previous trips, Adam Colton completes his journey here solo. And it is not an easy trip. Between the big trucks, constant honking of car horns, no sleeping pad (his choice, not ours), freezing temperatures, dirt roads, and high elevation, we were glad to see Adam come back in one piece:








Adam's key to surviving the mental and physical exhaustion? Read on:

For me, the key to distance skating is not realizing you’re distance skating, go figure. It helps to not be aware that you are pushing a not so efficient plank of wood walking speed with a backpack on up a very large mountain with cars buzzing close to you. Why not be distracted with more lovely thoughts such as your girlfriend, why you were such a crazy person in high school, or dreaming about some made up family and how you would raise kids. Problem was daydreaming for a long period of time did not happen because I was always struck out of it with a horn blaring in my ear.

We have so much potential and options here in the USA. For most of us in the US we can pick and choose to rough it and survive in the wilderness on a camping trip, get cold, and then come back home to a warm place. I can go on the internet and arrange a whole trip, flight, and accommodations in a far off place like France. I have mountain biking trails at my disposal all around me. Even though we live in a very complex time with lots of gadgets and distractions, we can still pick and choose our way through it all. I was here in China roughing it with the people surviving in their harsh environment but the whole time I had the option of leaving; I was going to leave. The families I saw in China did not have this option really. This was their life and it was fine and they were happy, working together as a family unit surviving, but I feel very fortunate to have a life with so many options and opportunities.

XO, from NEMO

Top 10 Ways to Survive NEMO with NEMO Equipment

Top 10 Ways to Survive NEMO with NEMO Equipment

1. Huskies make really great warm blankets.
2. NEMO Ditto Tote good for making igloo blocks, fill and dump to build your winter shelter while also feeling satisfied about using an up-cycled fabric construction device.
3. High pressure showers are amazing when you don’t have water – have you filled your Helio?
4. No heat, no water, no electricity…why NOT go camping!
5. Sledding, Tuo pad, ‘nuff said.
6. Grandma’s quilt has nothing on the Muse.
7. Hilarious phone calls from your Mom stating “Can you believe they named the storm NEMO, just like your company!”  (… guess you need to work here)
8. Snuggling in the back country or snuggling in your freezing cold house NEMO has you covered, Tango Duo.
9. Drinking whiskey in the dark by headlamp is way more enjoyable in a tent then in a house, trust us.
10. Dream about NEMO’s launch of their winter sleeping bag line, the Cannon series – coming soon…..

Working Name, Kicka$$ 1P

New tent for 2014. And no, we haven't set our color scheme to "circus" setting (yet). Fun color schemes are often an unexpected result from prototyping.

Any guess to the GDP of Red Bull, if it were a country?

At some point in the last 7 or so years, it became apparent that Red Bull has resources beyond most of our means. Which is really a polite way of saying that they have an operating budget that would undoubtedly put them in the top 10 list of countries listed by highest GDP.

Every industrial designer in the house can't help but to be utterly impressed by some of these prototyping capabilities.