Nike Golf Hires Justin Leonard

Nike Golf has announced that Justin Leonard, a 10-year veteran of the PGA Tour, has joined the Nike Golf Tour Staff.

Global Sports Marketing Director for Nike Golf said that Justin feels that Nike can help him return to prominence and they agree. Leonard is known as a traditionalist and fiercely loyal competitor and he says he was attracted to the energy and innovation that Nike Golf has been bringing to the sport of golf.

Nike's accomplishments in golf products include the solid-core golf ball with Tiger Woods in 2000, the Air CG (center of gravity) introduced with the Slingshot Irons in 2003 and the next-generation titanium, NexTi, introduced with the Nike Ignite Driver in 2004, Nike Golf has been leading change not only in equipment but also in footwear and apparel.

Leonard has entered an exclusive multi-year relationship with Nike Golf that includes clubs, ball, glove, bag, footwear, apparel, headwear, and accessories. He will reconnect with Nike Golf's lead club engineer Tom Stites, who used to develop new equipment for Leonard's previous endorser.

At the Buick International Tour he will be carrying Nike Golf's 410cc Ignite Driver, Nike's Forged Blade Irons, Forged Pro Combo Wedges and playing the successful Nike One Black golf ball.

Ocean Kayak Unveils Prowler 13 Kayak

Ocean Kayak, recently unveiled the Prowler 13 and Prowler 13 Angler edition fishing kayaks. The Prowler 13 is a compact (13-foot-long) version of the company's popular Prowler (15-foot) kayak.

Ocean Kayak says the Prowler 13 includes molded-in tackle box storage space with bungee and a seat back for comfort while the Angler edition is specially outfitted for fishing with flush-mountedrod holders and a small tackle box. They highlight their highly stable platform and say exceptional tracking gives anglers an advantage in their pursuit of big fish.

The Marketing Director for Ocean Kayak says, "Working directly with pro kayak anglers, our designers intimately understand what anglers need out of their boats, we’re able to respond by providing plenty of cockpit room and a very large tank well. The Angler edition is the ultimate in fishing kayaks."

The size of the Prowler 13 is 28 inches wide, weighs 54 pounds, and has a total weight capacity of 400-450 lbs. Its features include molded-in foot wells; side-mounted carrying handles; dual paddle keepers; bow and stern bungees; deck line; and a large bow hatch with neoprene hatch cover. The Prowler 13 also has a six-inch center hatch with unique bucket storage – perfect for cell phones, keys, or other small items – as well as a molded in tackle box holder. A rudder is available as an option.

Nike Footwear Charged With Copy Catting

In a strange twist, it is reported that Nike has been ordered by a Bejing court to pay damages to Chinese cartoonist who said his stick figure was copied in the footwear giant's ads. China is usually the one accused of stealing products and ideas from Western companies.

Nike uses a stickman character that looks the same as one created by 28-year-old Chinese Cartoonist. Nike was ordered to pay 300,000 yuan (19,000 pounds). Nike said they would appeal the order.

Nike was in a brawl earlier this month when China stopped showing Nike ads featuring basketball star LeBron James going against a series of animated Chinese opponents. Nike later apologized for the "Chamber of Fear" ad.

Former Freestyle Watch Owner Launches New Reactor Line

Reactor Watch, maker of durable sports watches launched its new line of sport-inspired watches. Jimmy Olmes, is co-founder of Reactor Watches and formerly owned of Freestyle watches.

He says, “Spring is an exciting time of year for our customers – it’s when they end hibernating, get outside and push themselves to their limits, with Reactor, we wanted to offer products that stand up to the daily wear and tear of our customer’s rugged lifestyles, but take it a step further in terms of style and features.”

There are currently six different models of Reactor sport watches for men and women. The sport watches are meant to be upscale for casual or formal use but also useful when recreating outdoors. The sport watches sell for between $150 to $250.

Olmes says the new models include the mc2 and the Alpha both in 6 different styles.

Children's Backpacks Could Be Dangerous

It was recently reported that some Chiropractors are warning parents to make sure their children are wearing properly fitted and secure backpacks.

A Newcastle chiropractor says the most common problem tends to be that students like to use the "trendy" backpacks. "What is really important is to have added support, the right size bag and a bag fitted correctly between hip and shoulder height," she says.

Ergonomically designed backpacks are encouraged, however many students still carry them incorrectly. The report goes on to say a survey of 1000 school children showed one in three suffer significant back or neck pain with 46 per cent of students carrying backpacks in excess of 10 per cent of their body weight. Backpacks should be no heavier than 10 per cent of the child's body weight when packed and no wider than the child's chest. To avoid injury parents should choose a backpack for their children that has broad, padded shoulder straps and should have their kids use both shoulder straps, waist and chest straps.

Gore-Tex Wins Backpacker Award

GORE-TEX(R) fabric invented by W.L. Gore & Associates recently won a place in the prestigious Backpacker Magazine Top 5 Gear inventions award.
Gore-tex fabric is said to give weather protection and keep backpackers and other outdoor enthusiasts dry and comfortable from head to toe. The Gore company says Gore-tex uses membrane technology to form a barrier against wind and water but it is still breathable and comfortable to wear.

Gore's signature product, Gore-tex joins other Backpacker Reader's Choice winners Yosemite National Park, Patagonia apparel, REI Half Dome tents, Smartwool socks. Backpacker conducted the survey among its readers on-line between September 1 and October 4.

Steve Shuster of Gore says, "What makes this especially gratifying, besides the fact that we rank higher than a multi-million dollar government satellite navigation program, is that this is the outdoor market weighing in with what they prefer out in the field."

Other Readers' Choice winners of the Top 5 Gear Inventions include the Therm-a-Rest sleeping pad and screw-on canister stoves.

Garmin GPS Unveils New Outdoor Products

Garmin, popular manufacturer of GPS systems unveiled some of its new GPS products at the Consumer Electronics show.

Reports say Garmin is using the Consumer Electronics Show to launch the largest product release (7 new GPS products) in the company's history.

The products include:

*Two new automobile-based GPS devices, the StreetPilot c320 and c330 - both with high-resolution color screens and touchscreen controls.

*The iQue M5, a totally new product for Garmin: it is a Pocket PC-enabled computer that combines GPS technology with Microsoft's mobile operating system.

*The Garmin Forerunner 301 - a devices that allows runners, walkers, bikers and others to track their pace and even altitude as they exercise.

*A Bluetooth GPS sensor

*Two new versions of its camper-hiker GPS series of handhelds.

Bicycling Helmet Cycling Accessory Company Bell Sports Buys Sports Instruments

Bell Sports, known for bicycle helmets and accessories for cycling and other active sports, recently announced it has purchased Sports Instruments. Some of Sports Instruments products include: heart rate monitors, cycle computers and sports watches.

Bell says they will market and sell the Sports Instruments product line through its network of 3,000 independent bike dealers, 1,000 snowsports retailers, and more than 40 international distributors. Electronic cycling & sports accessories make up one of the largest sporting goods product categories, behind cycling apparel and cycling helmets, respectively.
Bell's Specialty Retail Division will manage the Sports Instruments Line. Bell will sell the existing Sports Instruments product line while its world class R&D team works towards new and innovative products for the future. "We are highly focused when it comes to the types of accessories we deliver to the specialty channel," stated Kwai Kong, President of the Bell Specialty Division. "The Sports Instruments products were created through close collaboration among sports physiologists, engineers and industrial designers who are also athletes. These products offer athletes and fitness enthusiasts the tools they need to improve their performance. We have plans and people to create a steady stream of great products in this field."