Technology, Innovation & Outdoor News

Sub-zero survival lighter fires out lasting flame in rowdy conditions

May 20, 2026 | C.C. Weiss
The average $2 Bic lighter is great for lighting up a cigarette but not as great for lighting campfires or grills. Minnesota startup Radlight presents an intriguing alternative developed specifically for such outdoorsy tasks ... and for fending off hypothermia when things really go south. Its oversized weatherproof lighter delivers a confident, reliable starter flame, even if you're battling squall winds, horizontal rain or temperatures as low as -40.

Nissan builds $14K tiny camper using crazy-versatile everyday material

May 19, 2026 | C.C. Weiss
Nissan keeps the factory camper vans coming. Its newest is built atop its smallest van, the Clipper kei van, which measures in under 3.4 meters (11.2 feet) long. To make it a micro-camper, Nissan relies on a basic household staple with which everyday DIY handymen have been familiar for ages: pegboard. The van's integrated peg panels serve as a simple, affordable means of holding up the bed and providing highly versatile storage organization for related (and unrelated) outdoor adventures.

Cooling copper plates could slash data center energy use by 90%

May 20, 2026 | Etiido Uko
In 2025, data centers consumed 485 TWh of electricity. 30% of that, more than the entire annual power consumption of Sweden, went to cooling. Scientists have developed a 3D-printed copper plate cooling tech that can slash this figure by over 90%!

Top Stories

The Manx R is a proper supersport, one that doesn’t feel like a retro cash-grab. Rather, a statement that the company wants to be taken seriously again – not just as a historic badge, but as a modern performance bikemaker with something left to prove.
The Byron Bay tiny house is a spacious model that's centered around an open kitchen and living area. The towable home also has multiple upgrades available, including an off-grid setup, and would be a good fit for small families.
CycloKinetics, a US propellant company, has unveiled a new family of superfuels for aircraft, missiles, and rockets that increase fuel performance by 32%. Aimed at the defense market, the fuels could allow vehicles to fly farther while carrying heavier payloads.
Winnebago's latest launch is its most ruggedly luxurious yet. Picking up where the Revel and Ekko leave off, the Arka truck camper is prepared to spend 2 full weeks at a time in the deep, dusty backcountry. Just don't expect a spa bathroom.
What better place to pull the covers off of your latest and greatest pocket camera than the Cannes Film Festival? DJI has done just that, unveiling the Osmo Pocket 4P on one of the most prestigious stages in global filmmaking.
Turkey-based upstart Shark Instruments is taking the fight to higher-end guitar makers with advanced manufacturing capabilities. Its latest industry-first feature: adjustable frets.

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Health and Science news from our sister site: Refractor
A new study shows that some plants can enrich themselves by absorbing the essential minerals from dust through their leaves, forming an underexplored pathway that plays a major role in plant nutrition in nutrient-poor and dust-affected ecosystems.
The importance of bees for pollinating wild plants and crops is well known. If we lose the bees, we lose our food. But this is only part of the picture.
A survey found nearly 30 percent of American-registered physicians think it’s somewhat plausible that we’ll invent the ideal conditions for a brain to retain enough neural information to function well after death.
Texas-based company says its artificial egg supports the full development of bird embryos outside a biological eggshell, without requiring supplemental oxygen. The work is part of its plan to “de-extinct” birds, including the giant moa and dodo.
Is life really out there? A team of scientists from the University of California, Riverside, has devised a new statistical method that could serve as more than a cosmic thought experiment, potentially providing answers to the age-old question.
Could glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) nix the inflammation that drives asthma? Maybe, according to a large national study of more than 27,000 older adults, which was presented to scientists last week.

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Editor's Picks

The Tesla Cybertruck has done what very few modern-day vehicles have been able to achieve – become one of the most recognizable cars on the road. However, Tesla has a major issue on its hands: Its angular electric pickup isn't selling in the numbers it had hoped for.
Following construction restarting earlier this year, more details have been revealed on what is arguably the world's most ambitious architecture project: the mind-bogglingly tall JEC Tower, which is currently rising in Saudi Arabia.
The first-ever "biological computer" powered by human cells, which form an ever-learning neural network, has been launched. It's an entirely new kind of AI – Synthethic Biological Intelligence – and not even its creators can predict its full potential.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a landmark eye drop that uses a combined dose of medication to restore age-related near-sightedness, without the need for surgery, for longer than anything else on the market – and with fewer side effects.
After leaving the competition scrambling with the launch of a powerful ebike drive system in 2024, DJI brand Avinox is set to do it all again with a second-generation flavor designed to beat every rival on power, torque, and weight.
Volkswagen has added an 8-seat option to the Multivan lineup, turning its MPV into an even more capable people-mover. The 8-seat option won't be on offer in the new California camper van range, but there will indeed be an available 8-seat camper.
In the grand narrative of automotive history, Koenigsegg's Light Speed Tourbillon Transmission isn't just a new chapter; it's an entirely new volume of mechanical sorcery, making it the only production transmission to enable all-wheel drive with one electric motor.
Using scented products indoors changes the chemistry of the air, producing as much air pollution as car exhaust does outside, according to a new study. Researchers say that breathing in these nanosized particles could have serious health implications.