New Cool Gadget Find of Today: Wind!

Need a charge for your phone when you're on the go? Several new gadgets aim to harness the power of the wind and transform that energy into juice for your phone, camera or MP3 player.
As mentioned in the article on howstuffwork.com "How Wind-turbine Chargers Work," wind power is one of the fastest-growing segments of the green power industry. Now there a couple of handheld devices that let you utilize that power for personal use, instead of having a wind turbine, which can run thousands of dollars for a residential setup. One is the Orange Wind Charger announced that runs purely on wind and can power up a mobile devices such as cell phone, MP3 player, and digital camera using clean energy and without a wall outlet. It is light and compact and great for travel and camping. It's made to fit in a backpack and then mount on top of a tent to capture wind. The turbine directly charges a battery located in the detachable control box, and then the battery charges your cell phone with a 0.5-watt output.
The other one is The HYmini which is a smaller, one-piece unit that generates more power than the Orange -- up to 1.7 watts. This is because the HYmini doesn't rely entirely on wind power. In fact, wind is just an ancillary power source. The primary ones are a wall outlet, which charges up the HYmini before you go on your trip.
For more information on these and how to use them check out the article "How Wind-turbine Chargers Work."

Snail, a heating unit that runs off of sugar

A new use for sugar! A winner of the Electrolux Design Lab competition has come up with a device that uses sugar as the source of kinetic energy that in turn heats up pots, pans, mugs, and other containers with food and drinks. While it is designated as a home appliance, as mentioned in the this article about the 'Snail', I think it can definitly have potential as a great travel gadget since it does not uses electricity. Hence, there are no plugs to find or adjust to and no wires. A “high density sugar battery” provides the power needed to cook or heat containers. The sugar energy heats up a coil used for magnetic induction to cook.

For now this is a futuristic concept, though hoping that a similar prototype might make it into production.
Let me know what you think about this innovative gadget

Belt Bank Money Belt

This is an interesting travel gadget that is a regular belt, at least it looks that way to everyone else. However, it has a secret compartment for paper money to carry around with you securely when traveling abroad or unknown territories.

Belt Bank Money Belt Review on TechyZone.

How to take care of reusable water bottle

Some time ago, I had a couple of entries that mentioned the benefits, utility, and coolness of the reusable waterbottles. (Make love not landfill and Top travel accessories) They keep the water in, cool, and easily accessible. Reusable waterbottles are also great for the environment and give back in saved money over continously buying bottles of water.
Today, I came across an article that provides tips on how to take care of reusable water bottle to prolong its life and keep you drinking clean and healthy water:
Cleaning Your Reusable Water Bottle

Update: Quit Bottled Water with These Cool Products from Life Scoop
Green travel: how to ditch the plastic water bottle