Review: Panasonic Toughbook CF-74

The Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 is a rugged computer that is built to be used in the outdoors by people with jobs that require a rugged computer such as contractor, police officer, construction worker, etc. The toughbook is encased in a magnesium alloy case and comes protected with sealed port covers and a shock resistant enclosure around the hard drive. These features make the toughbook water and dust resistant as well as shock resistant. The toughbook that I own comes with a touch screen and stylus. However, the touch screen requires you to press rather hard and works much better with the included stylus. I have my toughbook running Windows 10 and it runs mostly smooth, except encounters a few problems when streaming video or music over Wi-Fi. These problems are usually minor and most of the time these problems consist of buffering. However, if you plug the laptop into an ethernet cord or use a PLC (Power Line Communication) box, streaming works fine. The monitor of the laptop is anti-glare and sunlight readable for use outside. The built-in speakers on the toughbook work fine and have a mediocre sound quality. The toughbook also has a built-in handle. All in all the toughbook is a great computer but is a little heavy to carry around when hiking or camping.

Comments

The DIfference Between Top Rope Climbing, Lead Climbing and Bouldering

Top Rope Climbing Recently I had the opportunity to try both top rope climbing and bouldering at EVO in Portland. I also learned about lead climbing. Rock Climbing is the most basic of all of these three methods. This is when you climb up a fairly tall rock wall and you are tethered to the top of the wall and to a belayer. This is the safest of these methods when done correctly. Lead Climbing Lead Climbing is when you are climbing up a rock wall but are not tethered to the top of the wall. As you climb you clip your rope into different carabiners on the rock wall. You are also tethered to a belayer on the ground. When you are lead climbing if you fall, you will generally fall from 6 to 20 feet (Twice the distance from you to your last tie-off point). You generally want a belayer who is heavier than you so that when you fall they don't fly into the air. Bouldering Bouldering is when you climb up a wall that is about 16 feet tall without being strapped/h...

Origins of the Bycycle

In 1869, Eugène Meyer of Paris invented the high-wheeler (aka. the "penny farthing") and the wire-spoke tension wheel. This was one of the earliest predecessors to the modern bicycle. With front wheels up to 60 inches in diameter and a direct drive system, they were hard to mount and painful to crash because of the height and hard to ride because of the high center of gravity. Despite all that, the penny farthing took off in popularity. Next came the manufacturing of a rear-wheel, chain-drive bicycle with similarly sized wheels and pneumatic tires. These inventions made the bike even more popular because the idea of riding a bicycle with symmetrical wheels wrapped in tires filled with air was a lot more fun than bouncing around high above the street on solid tires. An effect of the huge popularity of bicycles was that cities and municipalities began paving roads to accommodate the flood of cyclists. That's right. Roads were built for bikes. Remember th...

Petzl Adjama Harness Review

I recently purchased this harness and used it at EVO Rock and Fitness. This harness is meant for mountaineering and ice climbing but it works fine when sport climbing as well. While I was using the harness, I climbed a few top-rope climbing routes with grades from 5.6 to 5.11 and boulder problems* from VO to V4. The harness was less constricting and allowed for a wider range of motion than all of the other harnesses I have used in the past. Even though people usually remove their harness before bouldering, I decided that because this harness did not restrict my range of movement that I would leave it on. There was no difference between bouldering with this harness on and bouldering with this harness off. There are also many other cool features on this harness. The gear loops for hanging climbing gear (Quickdraws, carabiners, slings, cams, bolts, extra rope, etc.) are filled with hard plastic in the front of the harness so that it is easy to reach your climbing gear. ...

Base Camp

Search This Blog