[vrview img=”http://www.factorytwofour.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SAM_100_0029.jpg” width=”100%” ]

Meant to be paired with a Samsung Galaxy S6 or higher as well as the Samsung Gear VR, the Gear 360 is the link between viewing and creating virtual reality content. The Gear 360 is competitively priced at $210 and supports 360-degree image quality up to 7776 x 3888 (approximately 30 Megapixels), however, 360 video quality drops to 3840 x 1920 at 30 frames-per-second.

The connected Gear 360 app on my Samsung Galaxy S6 makes shooting 360 content a breeze. After I Bluetooth connect from my S6, I get a live view of what my gear 360 is seeing and I can capture images remotely without having to run away while a timer ticks to zero. The camera includes time lapse and video looping modes as well as regular photo and video.

When I first began using the Gear 360, I quickly realized that my basic camera tripod was not suited for 360 degree shots. Although the Gear 360 is built to screw into any ¼ inch tripod head, the size of most heads means that the bottom of my 360 image is blocked by an awkwardly stitched plastic mass. I ended up going with the SmaTree SmaPole (don’t know about the name), an extendable monopod with an attachable three leg base. Its only downside is it looks terribly creepy when set up in the middle of a trail, looking as if it might scurry toward you at any moment!

My favorite aspect of this little camera is the life it brings to my pictures and videos, as well as native support on Facebook. I went for a quick hike in Valley Green, a small reserve outside of Philadelphia, and captured some great shots of rocky paths, graffiti-ed bridges, and my old friend William Penn.

[vrview img=”http://www.factorytwofour.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SAM_100_0023.jpg” width=”100%” ]

When I post these photos to Facebook, I feel like friends and family can experience what it was like to be there in the woods with me. As VR headsets become more and more mainstream, I believe that demand for 360 photo and video content will skyrocket. I’m predicting a future of full length 360 movies available for rent similar to your traditional On-Demand rental system.

I’m jumping into the VR game while the water is warm. What about you?

The post Samsung Gear 360: A Virtual Content Creation Essential appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

It’s been said that a truck should come only in one of two forms: filthy and covered in mud, or totally spotless. Mud is a reminder of all the fun you had the other day, but holy crap it is hard to clean off the mud from your undercarriage (especially clay). And don’t get me started about your camping gear in the bed of your truck. It’s downright maddening trying to clean some of your gear when it gets covered in dirt and grime.

Inevitably someone comes up with the idea of wrapping their gear in black garbage bags, or to cover it in tarps with an inordinate amount of tie-downs to keep gear clean and dry. At best in that moment you look like a hillbilly headed to the county landfill. After a few miles the wind begins beating against your precious protective layer of garbage bag and tarp, suddenly a tie-down slips and your tarp begins flapping in the wind like an oversized super hero cape and starts fraying and falling apart. I know we all enjoy the idea of having a Superman cape that allows us to fly off to rescue Lois from the maniacal Lex Luthor, but your truck doesn’t need to look like a poor man’s homage to the Man of Steel with a tarp flapping in the wind.

No, I am not suggesting that you sacrifice valuable truck bed real estate by putting on a gaudy shell that makes you look like you wish you bought an SUV or (gasp) a family van instead of a manly man’s vehicle. No self-respecting man wants to look like that. He wants to throw his gear and motorcycle in back and ride in triumph down the street in glory with ladies turning their heads to behold his magnificence.

Enter the Tuff Truck Bag and ride with confidence knowing that your gear will stay dry and secure. The Tuff Truck Bag has solved all of those little annoying nuances associated with transporting your gear around while keeping it clean, dry, and out of view from prying eyes (for that day that you are hauling around a mountain of cash and don’t want anyone to know that you just robbed a bank).

I have been testing this bag all season to make sure I can weigh in properly and give an unbiased opinion on whether or not you should spend your hard earned cash on an enormous bag. And here are the highlights:

Hits
• All my gear stayed clean and dry.
• The bag has enough space to hold a large tent, a few sleeping bags, a stove, air mattress, lantern, and a couple small duffle bags.
• The zippers are sturdy and don’t feel like they will slip.
• PVC material is strong and didn’t rip when I threw a log on top.
• Strong corner D-rings allow for secure rigging.

Misses
• The opening is a little small and awkward to get my gear into. This was a bit frustrating when trying to push my gear to the back of the bag.
• The beige bag looks pretty dirty after a couple uses. More color options would be nice (real men want camo!).
• Rolling the bag up to store is frustrating as the included storage bag is small and flimsy.

Opportunities
• Create an additional opening on the opposite end for easier access.
• Provide a better storage bag that will stand up to abuse.
• Add a little more length to the bag to allow for more capacity.

Overall, I think this is a great idea that will keep my gear in great shape for years to come. The Tuff Truck Bag really stands up to its name and has withstood several beatings that my canvas truck bag would have failed on immediately. There are some opportunities for improvement on design, but the product is rock-solid and will serve you well for many seasons to come. Farewell Superman truck! Check them out for more information, or at least to watch what happens when a person climbs inside and goes through a car wash!

The post Dirt Don’t Hurt… But it is Nice to Keep it Off of Your Gear appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

These 45L beasts are made of lightweight aluminum and feel just as weightless as the Wolfman textile bags we tested last week. A common refrain you hear is that hard luggage is so much heavier than fabric panniers. Well, SW-Motech seems to have silenced that argument with their TRAX ADVENTURE series. And if they are equal in weight to their fabric cousins, they certainly come up tops in protection. Not only does the aluminum shell protects your belongings, but the lids are fully lockable to keep sticky fingers at bay. Additionally, you can lock these cases to your bike to prevent someone from just lifting off the whole pannier. Lastly, SW-Motech also provided us with a third lock that secures your racks to your bike. Necessary? I doubt it as you would either need to be familiar with the racks or have a decent stretch of time alone with them to learn how they are attached. So not necessary, but every little bit helps piece of mind, eh?

So are they better than soft panniers? We’ll do a full compare and contrast after The Bet is finally concluded this weekend. So far, these SW-Motech units will be hard to beat…

The post Go Hard with SW-Motech’s Panniers appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Wolfman Luggage out of Colorado makes what is deservedly regarded as the best soft luggage available anywhere. It’s rare to see the level of passion and obsession they posses for their craft outside of a Japanese teahouse or Amish woodworker. The Wolfman Rocky Mountain saddle bags that they have kindly supplied us with have clearly been created out of a depth of experience – there are so many small details and features that seem superfluous or fiddly at first glance, but reveal themselves to be wholly  necessary upon your first actual offroad ride with them. Take the multitude of snaps, adjusters, belts, and fasteners we found on our panniers. Upon unpacking them, my initial thought was, “This could have been done cleaner and simpler.” Design arrogance is one my better traits. But I was eating crow as I loaded my bags full of spares and camping gear, and every belt and buckle on the bags was used for the specific purpose of securely cramming as much as possible into the defined space.

Installing was a breeze at 15min or less while packing was the normal Tetris game and internal dialogue of, “Do I really need that!?” Riding with the Wolfman luggage was nice in that even when fully stuffed they are no wider than my handlebars – thus not making the bike any harder to ride or maneuver through traffic or rocks. And as far as protection, not only did almost immediately ram a bag into a concrete pole at “my” gas station to no ill effect, but the bags survived with nary a mark after several offroad crashes and drops – skilled motorcycleship being my other best trait. That is one major benefit of soft luggage, in that the eventual crashes leave no dents or scratches on your panniers. As for the other advantages over hard luggage, we’ll take a look at some aluminum examples next week then do a definitive showdown after The Bet. Stay tuned…

The post Wolfman Luggage Has Pimped Our Ride appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Offroading and adventure riding is different beast. Sure, you’re only going 30mph down that dirt road, but you’re falling often and when you do you’re regularly greeted by sharp rocks and happy little trees that make you not so happy. When I first got my dualsport bike for training I immediately donned some old combat boots and a no-name discount armored jacked who’s zipper didn’t even last the 6mos I was training with that bike. Once I upgraded to the “big” BMW adventure bike it was time to get serious about donning real protection for my squishy bits.

Luckily, true adventure wear is a small world and Klim was the natural choice. They have the most experience with this type of gear, they’ve outfitted plenty of well-publicized expeditions, and their staff has been crazy friendly with helping us get just what we need for our planned adventures. I picked up a full Badlands suit for both myself and my competitor/nemesis (we’re twinners!) and I gotta say: I get it now. I get why people wear this stuff. Where before I cast a sideways glance at getting all suited up for a ride, once it’s on you it becomes clear that ultra-modern moto wear is much better than leather and denim for staying cool and comfortable while in the saddle for hours. The Klim Badlands just works. It’s got strategic vents to keep you cool, zippers and straps to keep you dry when it rains, and is full of fun little features like medical info pockets and zippers built to be used with chunky gloves on.

I spent a 9 hour trip through 90-100 degree heat in my Badlands and never really worked up a sweat. With all the vents open, and at speed, I was totally comfortable. The lightweight materials also make moving around in the suit easy and immediate. You don’t realize how much leather and thick denim slow you down and mute your senses until you try something different. Did it get hot when I was standing in traffic getting to gas stations? Yes. Show me any kind of real moto wear that doesn’t do that. The Badlands suit is full of armored sections with the coolest kinetic material you’ve ever seen. Normally it’s pliant and flexible, but once it encounters a sufficiently hard impact it stiffens up 100-fold to protect you. This means you can easily move around in Klim’s suits, but they still protect you in a crash.

Crashes is something I’ve had plenty of in my Badlands. Offroad training on my BMW has not been kind to any of my equipment, but I’ve yet to do anything to my suit other than make it dirty. No rips, tears, burns, or even scuffs have materialized on my kit – and not for lack of trying. Probably my favorite feature is the built in pocket for a drinking bladder right on your back panel. This means not external Kamelback to make your back sweat, and one less piece of equipment to keep track of.

I can’t believe they’ve converted me to a full on motorcycle suit guy, but Klim has done it. I still wouldn’t don it to commute to work or run to the shops, but if I’m touching freeways to go camping or go on a long tour, I’ll be sporting my Klim Badlands and I’ll be quite happy about it. Plus, it looks pro as hell!

The post Gear for The Bet: Klim Badlands Suit appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

The gym can be intimidating, but once you get into a groove, it is smooth sailing. It all starts with a solid program. If you want to look good, fill out shirts quick, and worry about strength later, find a good bodybuilding split which usually focuses two muscle groups. If you instead want strength and your looks to come later, a good powerlifting program will focus on consistent strength gains. I highly recommend a powerlifting program if you’re just beginning.

When I first started working out, I cared about how I looked in the gym. Over the years, this sentiment has faded as I switched from bodybuilding to powerlifting. I’ve always had issues with shorts either being too baggy or too short, until I picked up some gear from Respect Your Universe. RYU’s Discipline Training shorts are sleek enough to stay out of my way when I’m deadlifting, but provide plenty of room when I’m squatting. The pockets aren’t too deep for your choice of music player, and the crotch won’t be all up in your business.

I’ve always been the one to wear ratty shirts littered with stains from who knows where. Today I proudly wore a clean Warrior Tee from RYU apparel and never felt better. Made for athletic builds, nothing on my upper body was restricted when I was benching. The material was stretchy like performance gear, but felt like a normal t-shirt.

Start filling out those shirts, get out of being in between sizes, and hit the gym. You’ll feel better about yourself in the long run along with plenty of other benefits that don’t come from just getting a tailor. Plus, everyone knows confidence is key and when you have the gear from RYU apparel, you’ll have that confidence to push out those extra reps.

The post The Struggle: In Between Sizes with RYU Apparel appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.