Outdoor Products

Bike Safety with BikeGlow

Bike safety has always been of the utmost importance to me, especially when it comes to my own family and especially since we’ve moved into town. The kids are always riding on our street, and even though our street isn’t that busy, it still concerns me. When I was still in college, I remember getting a phone call one morning just before chapel, letting me know that a friend had been killed that morning as he was riding his bike along the road….that friend happened to also be a husband and a father to some pretty awesome kids; we had all met on a missions trip to Papua New Guinea. It was devastating news. Ever since then I guess you could say my bike safety radar has been on….I’m the helmet enforcer, the safety enforcer….well, you get the picture.

I hadn’t heard of BikeGlow before now….most of the time, we’re not riding in the dark. My husband will sometimes go out and ride after dark, though. BikeGlow provides long safety light tubes for bicycles. The tubes can wrap around a child’s bike frame, loosely around an adult bike frame, and can also fit on a pull-along child carrier. It’s actually pretty easy to attach to your bike and can be quickly done.

We received a pink BikeGlow Safety Light; they’re available in blue, yellow, red, green, white, aqua, pink, or purple. Since pink wasn’t really geared toward my boys, I decided to put the light tube on my own bike. The nice thing is it’s waterproof, so if my bike gets left outside for some reason, and it rains….it’ll be perfectly fine. Now, the light tube does have a battery pack and requires 2 AA batteries, but battery life can last for quite some time. If the tube is flashing, batteries can last 120 hours; if constantly glowing, they can last 50 hours. There are attachment ties to help secure the light tube to your bike and a velcro strap for the battery pack, which you can place anywhere you want, from under the seat to the handlebars or maybe even on the bike frame itself. The lights can do a slow flash, fast flash, or be constantly illuminated. I prefer constant, as anything flashing really messes with my head.I did not know this, but according to Bicyclesafe.com, high visibility from the side is critical for safe cycling in low-light conditions because the most common vehicle-to-bicycle collision scenario is a car hitting a cyclist from the right or left side perpendicular to the bicycle. That’s where the BikeGlow light tube makes a difference, as it illuminates the entire bike frame, not just the tires or pedals. It’s visible to cars from all directions.You can purchase BikeGlow for $24.95 from BikeGlow, REI, and other bike shops. It also comes with a 1 year full warranty. I definitely recommend this product as a safety tool to help keep you and your family safe when out riding. Be sure to Like BikeGlow on Facebook.

(Disclosure: I received a BikeGlow Safety Light, free of charge, from BikeGlow and Asylum PR, for the purposes of review. All views/opinions, however, remain my own, as I truly am concerned about bike safety.)

Tuff Cam from Educational Insights

August 23, 2011 By Mel 1 Comment

Educational Insights has honestly become one of my favorite companies to not only work with but also in terms of their products. Being a homeschool family, we LOVE using toys and manipulatives to make school even more fun and provide even more hands-on learning opportunities.

Jacob enjoys taking video and pictures; in fact, he was taking pictures the whole time we were on vacation. Now he has the GeoSafari Tuff Cam, which can be used to take indoor or outdoor video, though it is made “Tuff” so it’s extra durable for the outdoors. The Tuff Cam is actually very ergonomic in terms of holding a camera to record; it has a handle with a rubber grip and also has a point and shoot trigger. Kids can look at the 2″ digital screen to see exactly what they’re recording or taking a picture of; yes, it takes pictures too. It has a zooming feature which makes it nice when you need to get a little closer.

The camera was not hard to learn how to use. It comes with a little instructional booklet that explains all. There are 3 modes: Photo, Video, and Play. It also has a microphone and speaker, so you have pretty good sound when recording. There is a menu, so that settings can be changed, such as Color, Saturation, Sharpness, Size/Resolution, etc. It also comes with a USB cord/docking station, so the battery can be charged, or pics/video can be removed. The battery is partially charged when you get it but only takes 2-4 hours to fully charge. It is a 12 MP camera with 32 MB memory. It can also be used with a Mac or PC.

I actually like the toughness of this camera; I don’t feel like it’s going to get broken within just a few days of use. I also like the point and shoot mechanism, making it easier for kids to operate; it’s meant for ages 5 and up. One thing I noticed, however, is that the picture quality is a bit darker than I’d prefer. Maybe we just haven’t totally figured out the settings yet, but it seems like it works best in lots of light.

You can purchase the Tuff Cam from Educational Insights for $179.99. The price does seem hefty to me; we normally wouldn’t want to spend that much, but I’d definitely recommend the Tuff Cam for kids who spend a lot of time outdoors and are especially interested in filming; Jacob’s involved in Cub Scouts, so this is actually a great tool for him to use when he goes on field trips/camping excursions.

One last bit of information that you don’t want to miss! You can post your own video of your family using an Educational Insights product on the Educational Insights Facebook page. Educational Insights is giving away 5 Tuff Cams to the BEST fan videos! Don’t miss out on this opportunity! Of course, also be sure to follow @ed_insights on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest news.

(Disclosure: I received a Tuff Cam, free of charge, from Educational Insights, for the purposes of review. All views/opinions remain solely my own.)