GearFlogger

weBoost Drive Reach Cell Phone Signal Booster

There are those like and those who need reliable communications in the backcountry. While professionals rely on radios and sat phones, the rest of us have cell phones, not always a bad thing thanks to the wide coverage in so many parts of the world. But quantity does not automatically beget quality, as anyone who has experienced dropped calls and terrible call quality with three solid bars can attest. Luckily weBoost can bridge the gap with a range of solid cell phone signal boosters. We tested the Drive Reach and found it to deliver consistently better call quality.

The weBoost Drive Reach is a big leap forward for 4G LTE cell boosters, the efficacy of which depend quite a bit on raw power. Cell phone signal is measured from -50dB (perfect signal) to -120dB (dead zone). The Reach has up to 50dB gain for incoming signal - the FCC max for mobile boosters - and 29.5dBm in uplink power for transmission. Keep in mind that every 3dB increase doubles the power because decibels are on a logarithmic scale. Before you get to the installation, remember to register your device with the FCC. It's free and just takes a minute.

The Drive Reach is clearly a quality-built product with about as simple a setup as possible, and you'll spend more time thinking about where to put the components than actually installing them, which takes about 15 minutes once you're ready. They lay out the sequence in clear stickers on each component so you can't mess it up: install magnetic exterior antenna, install interior antenna with included double-sided sticky Velcro, install amplifier and plug into cigarette adapter. Done! We mounted the exterior antenna above and ahead of the lip of rear hatchback on our 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the interior antenna on the right side of the driver seat, routed the exterior cable through the weather seal on the rear hatch and the interior cable we just duct taped to the floor in the center of the rear cabin. Both cables end up with the amplifier in the rear cargo area, just leave room around the amp for airflow to control heat. The amp has a convenient bracket with screw holes, but we didn't need to use them because there are also two very handy Velcro strips that grab the carpet liner securely. The Jeep's cargo area has a cigarette adapter so we just plugged it in. The adapter itself even has a USB pass through port, so if you need to mount it up front you get some extra flexibility.

After installing put your phone in field test mode to see your signal strength in dB, because the bars that supposedly show signal strength really don’t mean jack. On iOS 12 open phone app > dial pad > type in *3001#12345#* > hit send to open a hidden menu. Go to LTE > Serving Cell Meas > look at the rsrp0 number to see the strength of the closest cell tower in dB. On an iPhone this mode used to replace the useless bars with a useful numerical decibel reading where -50dB is a perfect signal and -120dB is a dead zone. However since iOS 11 you now get this funky menu setup that has a lot more information but is difficult to read, not least because the list of data that includes the critical rsrp0 number keeps automatically resorting every second or so. If you’re specifically interested in data up/download speeds get the Speedtest app by Ookla to test your speeds before and after boosting.

Signal strength generally depends on the location and power of the nearest cell tower, which you can find at least roughly with a number of apps and websites. Performance of the Drive Reach depends on signal strength: the higher the signal strength, the more you'll gain, it's just the nature of the thing, and weBoost recommends a base signal strength of -100dB to operate. We still saw small gains of 5 to 10dB, although somewhat inconsistently, at a base strength of -110 to -120dB. At around -90 to -100dB we saw consistent improvements of at least 10dB, and sometimes up to 30dB.

What's this mean in layman's terms? We made more connections, and the connections we made had generally better voice quality and fewer dropped data packets. This means you will get usable signal in more places and better quality on the signal that you're using. The cost of the Drive Reach puts it beyond the budget of most casual users, but for those of us who frequently need reliable comms on the fringes of normal cell service, the Drive Reach is absolutely worth the investment.

$499.99 at Amazon

SPOT X Two-Way Satellite Messenger

So a satellite phone, a Blackberry and a GPS walk into a bar. It's $1 shot night, they get plastered, have a three-way and somehow produce a child. That child is the SPOT X, one of a handful of satellite messaging devices that will track your travels, provide text-style two-way communication and, should something go terribly awry, allow you to call for extraction just by holding down the big SOS button.

We normally like our reviews to stand on their own, but since there are really only two major players in this product space, Garmin and SPOT, let's just get the inevitable comparison out of the way up front. Compared to the Garmin inReach devices, the SPOT X has three clear advantages: cost, standalone functionality and battery life. The SPOT X is quite a bit less expensive both for the hardware - $350 for the inReach Mini and $450 for the Explorer, versus $199 for the SPOT X. On the service side, prices for both start at $11.95/month for a year or $14.95/month to month with a $19.95 one-time activation fee. However the Garmin base plan includes only ten text messages while the SPOT X includes twenty, and SPOT X charges 25 cents for extra messages versus 50 cents for Garmin. SPOT X also includes tracking in its base plan, unlike Garmin.

The second point in favor of the SPOT X is its standalone capability, starting with the fact that it comes with a dedicated phone number so your people can text to it just like they text to any other phone. The SPOT X has a dedicated keyboard as well, and it even supports illumination for night use, although it's a bit clunky and the tiny keys are not really usable with gloves on. On the usability side, the SPOT X is fairly straightforward, although with any piece of equipment that crams a lot of functionality into a tiny non-touch screen, you'll want to read the quick start guide first and eventually the detailed instructions.

The third point is battery life, which at about 240 hours is head and shoulders above the competition. This will decline somewhat if you decrease the tracking interval, but it's still great. Know that the SPOT X doesn't use standard replaceable batteries so on a longer trip you'll need to bring a solar panel and/or some kind of power bank, which wasn't a big deal to us since we usually have one along anyway.

So if you're focused on cost and/or you can't/don't want to bring a smart phone into the backcountry with you, the SPOT X is a solid choice, albeit one that comes with a few caveats. First, although the tracking feature works to accurately show you your location, altitude and time, and you can even connect it to social media accounts, it won't tell you your distance traveled. The SPOT X also doesn't support maps on the device, limiting you to basic waypoints and compass headings, although this feature makes good use of the small screen and is surprisingly usable, even telling you the distance to destination.

Other minor nits include the fact that if you send updates to an email address, you're still limited to 140 characters, and that includes the reply. So when your significant other replies without deleting the text in the original message it will fail to send but s/he won't know why. Finally the fact that the SPOT X doesn't work with a smart phone is both blessing and curse, since you can't crossload contacts or use maps on your phone. There is an app, but we couldn't get it to download messages or anything else even though it was logged into our account at www.findmespot.com.

Overall the SPOT X is a solid contender based on those three factors: cost, standalone use and battery life. It brings a certain peace of mind to backcountry travel, both to you and the people in your life who even if they don't care about your latest epic adventure still like knowing that you'll show up to the next BBQ.

$199.99 (on sale from $249) at REI

Bullfrog Sunscreen & Mosquito Repellent

Bullfrog knows sunscreen, and being in Alaska we know mosquitos, so we were happy to have a chance to test Bullfrog Mosquito Coast Sunscreen and Insect Repellent, as well as their Land Sport Quik Gel. Both products are SPF 50, and the Mosquito Coast is also available in a pump in addition to the aerosol we tested.

First, the Mosquito Coast. We were out in the sticks bushwhacking our way to a canoe on the shore of a lake - in other words, perfect mosquito country - and the Alaskan bloodsuckers were coming in heavy. I hosed down with the MC, wondering if I was about to regret my choice to go DEET-free, but to my relief it provided good protection. When we reached the canoe, my thinking-impaired "friend" proceeded to dump me in the water as we attempted to launch. This gave me an unexpected opportunity to test the water resistance. After a couple hours on the lake we hauled out and the original application was still mostly effective, but I did notice a few more getting through so I re-applied and all was good.

The Mosquito Coast goes on a bit filmy with a lightly pleasant smell, but not enough to be a bother, you just end up with a bit of a moist sheen that actually feels like a moisturizer, which makes sense since there's aloe in it. The active ingredient is a long chemical name, also known as IR3535, but it's been used in Europe for a couple decades and is deemed safe. There are some cautions about using it combined with sunscreen as sunscreen needs to be re-applied every couple hours and that might be a bit heavy on the dosage for this chemical. It is effective however, and we have no problems recommending it for short-term usage.

The Land Sport Quik Gel was also effective. It goes on kind of like a hand sanitizer and is a bit on the tacky side, but it applies more quickly than lotions and was effective to its advertised 80 minute limit. It's also oil, paraben and PABA free like the Mosquito Coast. Bullfrog makes this in a stick and lip balm as well, which are TSA-friendly for you frequent fliers out there. At the end of a few weeks of testing we're happy with both products and have no hesitation to recommend, especially if you're heading into mosquito country.

$50.81 for a 3-pack of Mosquito Coast at Amazon
$12.49 for Land Sport Quik Gel at Walgreens

Stanley Fubar

Sometimes you need to wreck something for a good cause. Sometimes that thing that needs to be wrecked requires something bigger than a hammer or that expendable piece of yard art you never liked anyway. In those situations, go big with Stanley's Fubar.

The Fubar is billed as a forcible entry tool for first responders who need to get inside a house or car in extremis. They don't have time to mess around, so they need a heavy object with sharp and blunt surfaces to poke, pry, slash and crush their way in. Stanley has a bewildering array of tools designed to do just that, but we like the Fubar, and not just for the name.

The Fubar comes in two sizes, a handy 18 inch, 6 pound model and a larger 30 inch, 9 pounder. Both feature jaws sized for 2x lumber with a recessed fire hydrant nut wrench, a gas shutoff wrench, nail remover and beveled prybar. Both also feature a hammer head, with the one on the 30 inch model being significantly larger. All the features work intuitively and as designed, and as a bonus both can be used to break glass and rake the windowsill to remove the poky bits that will otherwise slice and dice you as you climb in or the rescue-ee climbs out.

We like the shorter model for our vehicle and the longer one for the house, but it's nice to have a choice between two great tools. One small change we'd like to see is using the grip material from the longer tool on the shorter one. The longer tool grip has better traction, is lower profile and kinder to the hands. We see the need for a harsher grip on the shorter tool since you'll likely have to use more force due to the decreased leverage, but maybe the grips could be made to be interchangeable so you could choose your material. It's a small suggestion to improve an otherwise great set of tools.

Around $64.99 at Amazon

RESQME Car Escape Tool

You remember that whole "ounce of prevention" thing? Well, here it is in a three-pack. The RESQME keychain car escape tool should find a home on your keychain or attached somewhere handy in your car where it won't fly into a crevice during a rollover or high-impact situation.

It's pretty simple: three colorful tools small enough to fit on a keychain, each capable of cutting a seatbelt or breaking a window with the spring-loaded glass breaker. The cutter definitely works, and the glass breaker does too but with sometimes a few tries.

The three-pack includes a visor clip, although you might want a more reliable mount in case of impact. The RESQME is not just for you; it could help if you come upon a vehicle in distress as well. We've attached one to the car seat of our seven year old, to hopefully begin instilling a sense of self-sufficiency and preparedness in him. We'll deal with the incidental paranoia later in therapy.

Seriously though, it's a cheap bit of kit for peace of mind on the road. At less than $9 apiece put one in you and your significant other's cars and give the third to a friend or relative.

$26.95 at Amazon

H3R MaxOut 250R Fire Extinguisher

Fire extinguishers are so commonplace that we tend to ignore them, like traffic lights. Unlike traffic lights, fire extinguishers require a little knowledge to select the right one and to use it appropriately. Luckily the folks at H3R know what they're doing and are here to help. Rather than going over the nitty-gritty of why H3R extinguishers are so great, just know that their products are everywhere in racing, offroad and aviation because they're designed right and they work when you need them to.

We were looking for an extinguisher that we could keep in our Jeep, both for automotive fires and for fires in the backcountry that were small enough to contain with a handheld extinguisher. Yes, we're talking about your out-of-control campfire. Knowing that, we selected the MaxOut 250R. It's medium sized, with 2.5 pounds of dry chemical agent, with a UL rating of 1A:10B:C.

Let's break that down, starting with the rating. UL is Underwriter's Laboratory, which has been testing and certifying products for safety since 1894. The extinguisher rating has three letters for the types of fires it is designed to put out: A for wood, paper and other combustibles, B for flammable liquids and gases like gasoline, and C for electrical fires. A and B get numbers too, which indicate the relative size of the fire the extinguisher can put out. For more details check out H3R's FAQ page, it's great.

The agent, the stuff inside the extinguisher that sprays on the fire, is important too. H3R makes B:C extinguishers specifically for cars and airplanes called HalGuard that use the agent Halotron, an effective, environmentally safe and more expensive agent. But it doesn't work well on type A fires, which we wanted the option for because of campfires, so we went with the MaxOut. Size was a consideration too. Our neighbor is a wildlands firefighter and says that 2.5 pounds is a good start, meaning you have to catch a fire early to put it out with a small to medium extinguisher. That should be OK for fires that start when you're present, but use good judgement for bigger fires you might stumble on; using 2.5lbs on a fully engulfed vehicle is like throwing bricks in the Grand Canyon.

Mounting was our final challenge. On a Jeep you can mount to the rollbar, seats or in the cargo area. We used H3R's seat mount, which took some finagling. There wasn't quite enough space on the side of the seat to mount there, so we put it in front with the mounting surface vertical. The picture above on the lower right is our install, the pic above it is the H3R recommendation. It took about an hour, starting with a loose assembly, lots of nudging of parts and gradually tightening everything up. Gently smacking the brackets that mount under the seat bolts with a five pound hand sledge helped create enough space to get sockets on everything. In the end the mount intrudes about 4-5 inches into the passenger footwell, not a huge deal.

One day Jeep will get smart and make the front of the seat mount more accessory-friendly, but for now this works. The extinguisher is in a space not normally used for storage, doesn't hugely detract from foot space, and is quickly accessible by both driver and passenger. Plus it's hard to miss every time you get in the vehicle, so like our trauma kit mounted to the ceiling you'll remember where it is when you need it. You just can't go wrong with H3R in your car.

$73.38 at Amazon

Staying Safe in Bear Country

It's that time of the year again, the bears are awake and sharing trails with us humanoids. And it's not just bears: the past few days have seen moose and mountain lions as well. Just days after we published this article last year there were two more bear attacks near Anchorage. Each was a brown bear sow with cub, and there were no fatalities thankfully. In one case bear spray almost certainly saved a pair of cyclists. One lesson from that encounter that we neglected to mention below: at least two people per party - and preferably every adult - should have bear spray, and know how to use it. In this case only one did, and luckily he was not the one initially attacked so he was able to deploy the spray effectively, driving off the bear so he could rescue his friend who was badly wounded.

Where we live we take animals on trails for granted. Gearflogger is based in Anchorage, Alaska, a city with the motto "Big Wild Life". The wildlife part of that is a big attraction, and it can also be a source of big danger. Tragically this was the case this past week when two Alaskans were killed by bears in separate incidents just a day apart.

Bears live in a good chunk of North America, primarily - although definitely not exclusively - in the Northwestern parts. A few years ago I was at an outdoor wedding rehearsal dinner at a hotel in South Lake Tahoe and a very large black bear came ambling around the corner, no doubt following the scent of the buffet. I did what all good Alaskans do, made myself tall and shouted and waved my arms, assuming I would be joined by other guests. The bear continued to advance, and I looked around to find that everyone else had exited the area. Luckily a few brave souls came back to stand with me and the bear thought better of it, zipping right over a six-foot fence to leave.

The National Park Service has good info on staying safe around bears, as does National Geographic. The basics are to travel in groups, make noise by carrying a bear bell or talking or singing a bear song, don't run and carry bear spray. If camping, secure your food in a bear-resistant container, preferably hung from a tree. If attacked, don't run: play dead for a brown bear and fight a black bear. It's also smart to carry a noisy signaling device: it probably won't deter a curious or aggressive bear, but it will let people know where you are and it's a great idea to make sure all children have one attached to their person so you can quickly locate them if they become separated from the group.

Here in Alaska there is endless debate about bear spray versus guns. One study indicated that bear spray is generally more effective, but there are simply too many variables to make a blanket statement. My personal opinion: if you are not shooting hundreds of rounds a year through your gun - and preferably thousands - you probably shouldn't own one at all, much less rely solely on a gun for defense against bears or anything else. Bear spray requires minimal training (although definitely practice), comes out in a cloud, you can carry it in your hand if you're nervous, and in the event of a negligent discharge the consequences are much less severe.

Bears are magnificent animals, smart, curious and often unpredictable. Your best defense, as always, is to be smart yourself and avoid dangerous encounters in the first place. Educate yourself, equip yourself and unlike a bear strive for boring predictability in your safety routines.

Bear safety products on Amazon

Klik Belts D-Ring Rescue Belt

I've never been much of a belt person. I've always been of the opinion that pants should fit, and belts are just one more piece of clothing you have to buy, store, clean occasionally and put on and take off. And then along came practical/tactical belts, and lo! I now have a belt collection.

My latest discovery is Klik Belts, maker of some absolutely fantastic webbing belts, the flagship of which has got to be the D-Ring Rescue Belt. The belt uses the awesome AustriAlpin quick release buckle, one of those top-of-the-food-chain pieces of kit that is so satisfying to use you'll find yourself working it just for the sheer pleasure. Whether it is holding up Lady Gaga at the Superbowl or saving a life in technical rescue situations, the AustriaAlpin is state of the art.

Klik Belts uses a special version with a built-in D ring that can easily support body weight. As a person who has a day job that involves working in an office building on the 14th floor - in an earthquake-prone town where fire ladder trucks can only reach to the 7th floor - I've always had a vested interest in technologies that would allow me to GTFO down a rope should the need arise. The Klik Belt is fashionable enough to be worn daily as part of business casual attire, yet tough enough to perform life-saving duty when the need arises.

The D-Ring Rescue Belt has a design where the ring will lie flat until you need it, and the tail where it goes through the buckle is thinner for easy threading. The 1.5 inch width is perfect for carrying tools, and the stitching will last a lifetime. With the weakest link in the system being around 4,000 pounds (buckle strength in a straight pull), you're good to go when the going gets hairy. Available in black and coyote brown, a more handsome and practical belt there is not.

$69.00 at Klik Belts

North American Survival Systems EF-20A-1 Lightning Electronic Flare

Water plus darkness is pretty much no one's idea of a good time. Should you find yourself alone in the water in the dark, a cello playing ominously in the background, you'll want someone to find you and fast. Whether it's on land or water, you can help them help you with a signalling device, and it's hard to beat the EF-20A-1 Lightning electronic flare from North American Survival Systems.

The Lightning is housed in a sturdy aluminum cylinder with a tough polycarbonate dome on the business end, and a lanyard on the tailcap. It's under five inches long, 1.25" in diameter at the light, and weighs five ounces with the included two CF123 batteries. It's four CREE LEDs are visible up to ten nautical miles away at night and 1nm in daylight, with 360 degree coverage. Operation is stupid simple, the only kind that works in stressful situations: push the recessed tailcap button once to turn on, once to turn off.

The Lightning flashes once per second after activation, and will continue strobing for 35 hours. Unlike a conventional flare, it won't burn you or anything near you that might be flammable. It doesn't float, but it is waterproof to 50 feet. The Lightning is aptly named: if you've got one of these on your person and it's visible and operating, your chances of being seen are good. Highly recommended for any activity where you need to be seen.

$69.00 at North American Survival Systems

Frabill Ice Safety Kit & Scotty Throw Bag

Some of you - let's call you people who don't live in Alaska - are already enjoying Spring in full Fling. Those of us who do live in Northern climes are still enjoying the last gasps of winter activities, from skiing to ice skating. Speaking of ice, it can kill you dead. Not so much the ice, but the water you fall into after breaking through the ice.

So, if you're ice fishing or snowmachining - yes, snowMACHINES dammit! - or backcountry skating or walking out to a glacier or anything else on ice, please do yourself and others a hyuge solid and get some ice claws. Or ice spikes, or ice picks or whatever you want to call them. If you go in the drink it's extremely difficult to self-rescue without spikes to pull yourself out with. It's also extremely difficult to rescue someone else without a rope.

Fortunately there are economical and easily portable solutions to both those problems. Frabill's ice safety kit includes a pair of leashed ice claws, a whistle and a pair of traction devices for your feet. All work well, and the hand spikes have a nice spring-loaded cover over the spike to protect you from accidentally stabbing yourself. We were easily able to pull ourselves along the ice with these, although we may end up replacing the leash with a straight piece of thin cord for more comfort; easy enough to do.

The Scotty throw bag with fifty feet of 9/32 550lb test floating MFP rope is also superlight and easy to carry, with the bag having a built-in buckled strap and reflective band. Note the whistle in the picture is sold separately. The high-visibility orange rope allows you to stand off a safe distance and still heave the rope bag to someone in distress. The fact that the rope floats makes it easier to see and to grab. Just clip it to your pack, your boat, a life ring, or what have you and when the time comes off it throws. It repacks smoothly, and the bag has a mesh side for easy draining and fast drying. For under $40 for both the throw bag and the ice safety kit there's no reason to leave home without it.

Frabill Ice Safety Kit $15.99 at Amazon
Scotty Throw Bag $22.23 at Amazon