"The Rock, pool that is...has landed"

Well Rockpool of Anglessey has hit North America. I've been eyeing these boats for some time now and owning one may be a reality sooner than I thought. A new composition even? I Emailed Chris Mitchell of Rockpool North America and this is his reply:

Hi Stan,
Thanks for the inquiry. I have been getting alot of email interest so here is the generic answer,

"Hello,
Thank you for your inquiry regarding Rockpool Kayaks in North America. We are in the process
of developing a manufacturing operation to produce the boats here. The molds and demo boats are in transit
from the UK and I hope to see them in 3 weeks. Refining the manufacturing process
and actually producing boats ready to sell will take at least another 5 weeks. The boats are being made by an
Aerospace composites manufacturer and as such will be of the highest standard available using the latest materials. We anticipate
using an infused Epoxy process with a 2 part polyurethane finish eliminating the use of gelcoat , thereby saving 10-15 lbs over conventional
composite manufacturing. This is the same process currently used in space craft, airplanes and racing cars where an exceptional strength to weight ratio
is required.
We anticipate the finished boats to be in the $3100-$3400 range. Due to the high cost of manufacturing, we will not selling
to a dealer network so we can keep the price in line with other high end composite kayaks.
Instead we will being holding demos days around the country beginning in June or July. We are developing a website
www.rockpool.reednorthamerica.com that will have updates and schedules as soon as we receive the molds from Wales.
The site will have a place for you to sign up for those updates if you choose.

Thanks again for your inquiry,
Sincerely,

Chris Mitchell
Reed/Rockpool North America "

I am ramped over this. Reed North America is also part of their company here is the cool link:
http://rockpool.reednorthamerica.com/index.php/Rockpool-Home
photo courtesy Rockpool Gallery

"ThermaCELL"

Mosquito Area Repellent, nifty but does it work? Did you ever buy a piece of gear proclaiming to do this one specific thing or a few things and ya get it home or out in the camp and it does nothing. It becomes solely a gadget and a worthless one at that and it makes ya feel well kind of deflated and cheated, but when ya hit that gadget that is simple and actually useful, and does what it says it does and effectively , well it makes ya just wanna kiss it.......kiddding!

The ThermaCell works by heating a mat containing a mosquito repellant.

" ThermaCELL Mosquito Repellent utilizes the active ingredient known as allethrin. It belongs to a class of materials called pyrethroids, which are synthetic analogs of pyrethrin, which is a naturally occurring insecticide found in certain types of chrysanthemum known as pyrethrum flowers. Mosquitoes really do not like this material. The allethrin is contained in the blue mats, and when they are heated it causes the allethrin to "volatilize", which is similar to evaporation".

The reppellant seems to be effective against no-see-ums, blackflies and sandflies. The unit is not waterproof however. Works effectively in about a 15 foot diameter area. The bottom cover where the butane cylinder inserts does not clamp on snuggly so I tape it on so as not to lose it. It does not hold the cyclinder in so if it was lost the unit would still work. You shouldn't handle the blue mats too much if at all avoid contact with skin and avoid the vapors, so definitely don't put in your tent. Strictly for "out-outdoors".

The unit has an on/off button and a start button to turn on the heating plate. A lens on the end of the appliance glows to let you know the appliance is working. A butane thermaCEll cartridge contains 30x the energy (by Weight) of alkaline batteries. 12 grams of butane can last for 12 hours and you can turn off or on the unit as needed.

Another interesting thing is that the pesticide is highly toxic to fish. So you shouldn't dispose of the used mats in water, which would be polluting anyway, and do not contaminate food/feed by storage.

My overall impression is that I do use this on camping trips when I am able and have lots of time to properly handle and contain the Cell, but the moment you have to think of "containing" anything should probably give you cause for concern. I do not take it kayaking I would be too concerned about contaminating my kit based on the small storage areas we deal with. However it was rated well in Backpacker magazine. I really liked the fact that it worked well and will continue to use it camping. A few pesky mosquitos aren't bad but it sure was sweet having this along when they were extremely heavy. The web site has tons of info for most concerns and pricing at and I just love the buzzing of their ad. http://www.mosquitorepellent.com/