For all those girls (or boys, for that matter) still slightly bitter that they never got to hop a ride in Wonder Woman’s invisible plane, the Molokini Kayak from Clear Blue Hawaii may help ease some of that pain. As ThisNexter brunurb explains, the Molokini is “an all-transparent two-passenger kayak made out of the same durable polycarbonate material used in the production of bulletproof glass and fighter jet canopies.”

“Vacuum molded you can see everything around you,” according to John and Rose, the kayak is best used for areas that experience calm ocean conditions. That may or may not apply to Joe, who comments, “Neat idea. Of course, where I come from, the primary undersea view is ‘murk.’”

Don’t get left in the dark: When it comes to hands-free illumination in the nighttime wilderness, ThisNexters prefer Petzl headlamps. Water-resistant and with white LED lighting, the headlamps can be used while camping, caving, climbing, hiking, fishing, sailing, or running at night. Both Adam Chase and Luke Miller go for Petzl’s Tikka model, which Luke dubs “perfect for travel.” (“I aspire to be as powerful and last as long as another small guy who only occasionally needs his battery charged,” Adam says of his Tikka.) But for Cedar Wright and Angela Hawse it’s all about the Petzl Myo XP: “Because this headlamp is extra bright and has an extra long burn time, which means no changing batteries on those 24 hour epics,” says Cedar of his pick. And nyenye lights up with the Zipka Plus Ultralight. “It’s so compact and versatile,” he says. “I use it at work, home, and in emergencies!”

Here’s a bright idea for campers who want to conserve space in their backpack: Paddling.net’s Firefly Lantern lets you turn your water bottle into a lantern - just by screwing on a lid that contains an integrated LED light. “Now you can use your Nalgene as a flashlight,” says ThisNexter rugenius. “How awesome would that be for camping?” GirlOutside has already tested the Firefly on several camping excursions, finding that the product’s worked with her Nalgene, GSI and Cyclone wide-mouth bottles (“Different colored bottles determine how bright it is,” she notes). “Seriously, at night it will illuminate a dark bathroom and your path to it,” says GirlOutside. “Great to find your bottle of water at night in the tent…and kids love it too.” The Firely’s also a hit with runbike’s kids: “We have a couple of the lanterns that we set up on the picnic table when we are camping and then they make great lights in the tent,” he says. “They look really cool with our red bottles.”

With peak foliage season just around the corner – or already arrived – in spots across the country, it’s time to gear up for some weekend hikes through your nearest deciduous-tree-lined terrain. Unsure what to bring along when you hit the trails? Check out JustHike.com’s list of hiking essentials, then visit ThisNext to get some specific product recommendations.

To protect your feet as your climb, lace up with Vasque’s Sundowner Brown GTX boots, a favorite for Will R. (“When I was researching hiking boots, I read a lot of magazine reviews that basically said these were the best, most durable all around hiking boots you could buy,” Will says. “That was almost 10 years ago, and my pair has never disappointed.”) For the ladies, there’s Ecco’s FYM Ankle Strap sandals, which Deb Schiff calls the “most comfortable sandal I’ve ever worn.” (“They’re somewhat technical, so you can wear them on light hikes as well,” she adds.)

...continued: Leaf peeping

As one of the most popular rock-climbing spots in the country, West Virginia’s New River Gorge offers more than 1,400 climbs within its 63,000 acres. To learn your way around the highest among those climbs WiredNut.com (a primo resource for Mid-Atlantic climbing news) suggests checking out Eric Hörst’s newly updated Climbers’ Guide to Bubba City. As “the first climbing boomtown of the late 1980s new-route gold rush in the New River Gorge,” Bubba City’s got more than 175 sport routes. Among the most fantastically named: Bad-ass Tattoo, Skinhead Grin, Tongulation, and Reaches From Hell.

It’s always so disappointing to find out you’re just like everybody else. Having just visited the Centennial State for the first time last week, I’d been fancying myself uniquely Colorado-obsessed until reading Backcountry Blog’s recent post about how all of America “can’t get enough of all things Colorado.” Backcountry’s blogger takes a break from offering “backcountry adventure, gear reviews and outdoor industry scuttlebutt for backcountry addicts” to share a little bit of snarky humor borrowed from Green Chair Marketing Group. Here, a few suggestions for Mattel’s line of “limited edition Colorado Barbies”:

Cherry Creek Barbie

This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer h3. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won’t be able to afford any of them.

Ft. Collins Barbie

She’s basically Boulder Barbie, but with all the accessories of Highlands Ranch Barbie, plus a kayak and mountain bike. As for Ft. Collins Ken, I would expect his accessories to include a teeny tiny little Ph.D. diploma in entomology, which enables him to double as a professional fly-fishing-consultant action figure ($1200 graphite fly rod and miniature accessories licensed from Orvis sold separately)

Glenwood Springs Barbie

This Barbie comes with her own mountain bike. Available with SUV, complete with Kayak on the roof and dog in the back. Optional Ken doll also comes with his own mountain bike and dog.

Happy feet need happy socks - especially when you’re trudging through the outdoors on a hunting or fishing expedition, as Peter B. Mathiesen at The Gear Hound so often is. Peter recommends high-tech synthetic products like Thorlo Warm Weather Hunting Socks (shown right, and made with “well-padded bottoms and a lower density space in the arch for better boot contact”) and Smart Wool socks (soft, no-itch, and offering “great blister protection”). And to get the right fit, try this tip:

“The next time you buy a pair of boots, don’t try them on while wearing everyday socks. Instead, wear a pair of high-quality socks and a thin liner—a sock combination you’re likely to wear in the field. You might find that you’ll need to jump up a half boot size.”

You’re never too young to start rock-climbing. Which probably isn’t true, but it’s nice to know there are some solid footwear options out there for when kids do reach that rock-ready age. The Climbing blog deems the Montrail Grommet rock shoe for girls “the first really fun design for a kid’s rock shoe,” hailing the Gryptonite-rubber footwear as great-fitting, easily adjustable, and - maybe most importantly - “supersticky.”

As FlyFishMagazine blog points out in a recent post, “the last place you want to be is between a hungry bear and its meal.” To help protect outdoorsmen and women in those tense moments of surprise bear encounters, blogger Murdock shares a few tips from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park:

-You’re too close if the bear stops eating, heads in a different direction, or watches you.

-If a bear persistently follows without vocalizing or paw swatting, try changing your direction.

-If the bear gets closer, talk loudly or shout at it. Act aggressively and try to intimidate the bear.

-Don’t run and don’t turn away from the bear.

At FishSpawn.com, the blog of the Angling Exploration Group, you can get all your fly fishing news, reports, event info, and - of course - product reviews. Like this post on Chaco’s Z/2 sandals, which FishSpawn.com declares worthy of years of wear. Also ideal for canyoneering and trail running, the performance sandals were designed to accommodate anyone “who cannot tolerate anything except mud or sand between their toes.”

After you’ve constructed your Penny Alcohol Backpacking Stove, empty all those beer-breath-disguising, curiously strong mints from their tin and make your own Altoids Survival Kit. Steve at The Shed Antler points us to a Field & Stream step-by-step guide for cramming “all the gear you’d need to survive in the wild” into those tiny metal mint boxes. So what can you fit inside? According to Steve, “fire-starting gear, an LED flashlight, a compass, water bag, iodine tablets, fishing gear - and oh so much more.”

Calling all hikers, backpackers, and other nature-lovers who live for exploring the outdoors on foot: Andy Howell at Must Be This Way has just set up WikiTrek, a “public domain Wiki that deals with all things hiking/backpacking, etc.” Created to cover walks and treks throughout the globe, WikiTrek needs lots of you-generated content about favorite excursions, gear, cafes, and so on. Click your way to the main page and get going on building what Andy hopes to be a “great resource for walkers and trekkers everywhere.”

As Justin at My Outdoor Adventures points out, no one wants to stay standing after a long day of hiking. In the interest of “keeping my butt off the cold and wet ground” on upcoming excursions, Justin’s picked up the Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair, designed to fit over your Therm-a-Rest self-inflating mattress. It just might be the next best thing to kicking back in a La-Z-Boy for comfort-minded campers.