It’s a new year, it’s a new decade, it’s a time to reset and make some personal goals for 2020. Whether your new year's resolution is to exercise more, improve your diet, or learn a new skill, we think it’s a great idea to incorporate a resolution (or two, or five) for the special canine in your life. January is National Train Your Dog Month, which is a great way to kick it off. Make 2020 your dog’s best year yet!

 

1. Daily Walks

Exercise is extremely important for both you and your pup, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Resolving to take at least one walk a day with your dog is a great way to keep you both fit while enjoying some fresh air. Winter is the hardest season to get started and keep up with daily walks due to cold weather and the dark mornings and evenings. Bundle up, add some lights, and you’re ready to go. For your furry friend, check out our Rechargeable NiteHowl LED Safety Necklace to keep him or her visible at night. For yourself, a good headlamp is key for nighttime walks. The Radiant 300 Rechargeable Headlamp is a great solution to light up your neighborhood streets.

 

2. Learn a New Trick

Despite the old sayings, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Or maybe you have a younger dog that could use more basic training. Whatever your dog's skill level, it’s always good to keep his or her brain active by learning new things. If your dog has mastered the basics, consider a fun trick like “speak,” “spin” or “take a bow.” Here’s a list of 10 impressive tricks to try, and how to get started.

 

3. Make New Friends

If you have a social butterfly, let them spread their wings. Try scheduling a doggie play date with a friend who also owns a dog, hit up a dog park, or look for a dog walking meetup. Socialization training is key for puppies, but older dogs also benefit from being around other animals. Playtime is great for physical exercise and brain stimulation. Plus, a tired dog is a good dog!

 

4. Go Somewhere Fun

If one of your resolutions involves travel, camping, or hiking, consider bringing your pup along for the journey! After all, they’re the happiest when they’re with you, and you can find pet-friendly hotels and rentals if you plan ahead. Most dogs love road trips, but we recommend securing them with a seatbelt. (We’ve tried this one from Kurgo for a 70-pound Labradoodle, and he gives it two paws up.) If your dog has a tendency to get car sick, visit your vet before you head out and they can prescribe something to help. For easily packable food and water dishes, look no further than our RadDog Collapsible Bowls! If you have a dog that is reliable off-leash and you’ll be in an off-leash area, the RadDog All-In-One Collar + Leash is perfect for allowing them to roam, but quickly get a hold of them when needed.

 

5. Schedule an Annual Check-Up

Your pet needs a yearly physical just like you, but with the busy day-to-day lives we all have, it’s easy for that to get pushed down on the priority list. Resolve to get it done so your vet can make sure everything is looking good. If there might be a problem, catching it early could make a huge difference. You should also be sure your dog’s vaccinations are up to date so he or she can enjoy all the fun in 2020 and beyond!

 

We asked some of our own dogs what resolutions they’re making this year, and the most popular answers were “eat more treats,” “chew on more toys,” “play more fetch” and “more belly rubs please.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's nothing like a good family gathering around the holidays, right? The ham is baking, the children are playing, the wine is flowing, the fire is roaring, and your Aunt Maude is busy asking everyone's opinion on current events. So fun! It's easy for conversations with family members (who you may only see once a year) to quickly become tense, awkward, or otherwise less than pleasant. Sometimes it's just best to avoid those sensitive subjects altogether – but that's not entirely up to you, is it? While we can’t join you at your family Holiday Table, we have a few suggestions to help steer the conversation in a more amicable direction. Like how much you love your gear!

 

When your Aunt asks  “Are You as good of a cook as your mother?”

You can say: Impossible. But I do FaceTime her while cooking to get tips, using my handy dandy Steelie  Pedestal!

 

 

 

 

When someone tries to bring up Politics...

You can say: Everything's a mess, isn't it? Speaking of messes, has anyone used a Nite Ize Gear Tie to keep things organized?

 

 

 

 

When your grandpa says, “Businesses don't care about their customers anymore.”

You can say: Not good ole Nite Ize! They have a worry-free guarantee on all products. Plus, their customer service reps are amazing.

 

 

 

 

When your sister says, “How many drinks have you had?"

You can say: Not sure at this point, but my SlapLit Drink Wrap keeps them cold and easy to find.

 

 

 

 

 

When your mom says "Are you really having another slice of pie?"

You can say: Don't worry, I'll be sure to work it off on my morning run tomorrow with my Nite Ize Headlamp!

 

 

 

 

When your brother AsKs, “Are you still a terrible driver?”

You can say: At least I’m not always looking down at my phone like some people, thanks to my trusty Steelie Orbiter.

 

 

 

 

When your niece says, “Who is your favorite character in Frozen?”

You can say: Kristoff, I love a man who can rock a holster!

 

 

 

 

When Your Dad says, “Remember when you…”

You can say: Before we RunOff into the past, have you seen these amazing waterproof bags?

 

 

 

 

When there is an awkward silence:

You can say:  Speaking of tension, I use my Dual Cam Jam Webbing Tensioner on the reg.

 

 

Happy holidays from all of us at Nite Ize, and wishing you the best of luck at your next family gathering!

No matter how well you know a guy, sometimes you just haven’t had that moment of inspiration when it comes to finding the perfect gift. Or maybe you need a gift for the guy who already buys himself everything, or one who says he wants nothing. Don’t panic, we’ve all been there. And, we’d like to help you out with recommendations of some of our favorite products that make for superbly unique gifts for men – or pretty much anyone else in your life!

 

1. Give That Beat-Up Old Wallet A Serious Upgrade

With a Financial Tool RFID Blocking Wallet, he gets protection for his cards and the added bonus of 10 integrated multitools.

 

2. Steelie: Give Him The Gift of Hands-Free Safety and Convenience

If he’s not already using a Steelie 360 Magnetic Mount, you’re going to blow his mind with this car phone holder. With easy, quick, sleek magnetic mounting technology, Steelie lets you attach your phone to your car dash, to a desk pedestal, or to your fridge in a snap.

 

3. Supercharge His KeyChain

He’ll feel like MacGyver when you upgrade him to a slimline SlideLock Key Ring, a DoohicKey Keychain Multitool, and the unique write-anywhere INKA Key Chain Pen.

 

4. Give Him The Ultimate Handheld Flashlight

Flashlights make great gifts for just about anyone. They make you feel a little more prepared, and with the INOVA T4R LED Flashlight, he will be prepared for just about anything. This tactical, rechargeable flashlight packs 850 lumens, can be cradle mounted, has five different modes, and is crush-proof, shockproof, and water resistant. This is a gift that never fails to impress.

 

5. Illuminate His Beverage Of Choice With the Nite Ize SlapLit Drink Wrap

Bring a little light and fun to his favorite drink with the SlapLit LED Drink Wrap – keeping hands warm and spirits bright all year long.

 

6. Help Him Travel and Adventure Smarter

No one can resist the appeal, functionality, and sleek design of our new RunOff Waterproof Bags. Whether he’ll use them to shoot the chutes down a favorite river or to protect his belongings on the next beach vacation, he will love his newfound travel-organizing waterproof bags. The RunOff line consists of a Waterproof Wallet, Pocket, 3-1-1 Pouch, Toiletry Bag, and Packing Cubes in two different sizes.

Need more ideas? Take our gift-finding quiz here! What’s your favorite Nite Ize gift you’ve ever given or received? Let us know in the comments section below.

It’s the hap, hap, happiest time of year! Let the holiday decorating, caroling, cocktail parties, and family gatherings begin. As everyone knows, with all the fun also comes stress. So, we’ve put together a few of our favorite Nite Ize tips and tricks to make sure you sail smoothly through this holiday season.

 

Perfect Light Placement Every Time

Sometimes getting those lights and garlands hung just perfectly can be an art. Make it simple with Gear Ties or cut-to-length Gear Tie Foam Twist Ties to attach those lights just about anywhere. Also, pro tip if you get a warm weekend in November, hang your light then! You don’t have to plug them in, but when the chilly weekends of December roll around, you’ll be glad to already have the job done.

And if you do get stuck hanging lights on a chilly day, just remember: nothing warms you up like a cold beer. With the Traveler Drink Holster, you never have to work without a beverage close at hand.

 

Don’t Be That Guy Who Leaves A Tree On The Highway

Twine is an imperfect solution for strapping trees to the roofs of cars. Don’t chance it with user error or failed twine that leads to a Christmas disaster on the highway. The easy to use Dual CamJam Tie Down System is easy to use and lets you achieve the right amount of tension to confidently keep your tree snugly in place for the drive home – no matter how far you have to go.

 

Trees Won’t Be The Only Thing Getting Lit

Light up your holiday punch bowl with the floating, waterproof NiteGems. They can be set to a variety of colors so you can reuse them throughout the year for all your other holidays too or when you just want to add a bright pop to your beverage. If you want to get really fancy, make your own garnished ice cubes to float alongside your NiteGems, like these cranberry-and-rosemary ones:

And don’t forget about your beer and other-beverage drinkers – keep some SlapLit LED Drink Wraps around to keep hands warm and spirits bright all night long.

 

Fill The Stockings, Then Light Those Up Too

Add SpotLit LED Carabiners to the stockings to color-code them or for a fun pop of color. You could even color code everyone’s gifts with their stocking light color as a creative theme.

 

Save Your Future Self A Headache

When it’s time to clean up after the holidays, take a minute to wrap and organize your lights with Gear Ties – it’s worth an extra minute so you’re not sorting through a mangled mess of lights next year.

Share your holiday tips and favorite uses for Nite Ize products in the comments section below.

Let’s be honest, the glamour of air travel has long faded and flying these days is mostly a logistical slog – dragging lots of bags around and waiting in line after line after line. But hey, then you get to sit in an overly small seat that makes you question if your lunch choice was a bad decision, all the while breathing in recycled air ripe with the aroma of your fellow passengers. Add in a couple kids and the most crowded airport days of the year, and you’ve literally created many people’s worst nightmare.  It’s not exactly a relaxing send-off into a holly jolly holiday, but more a necessary evil. Because it’s unavoidable for many of you, we’d like to at least help make it a little easier and more enjoyable for you this holiday season. I’d like to think you could also title this blog post “How To NOT Lose or Ruin Anything While Traveling” – it’s all about those little victories.

 

1. Pack Smarter

Are you headed somewhere warm and sandy? Somewhere cold and snowy? Whatever the elements, you’ll want an easy way to keep your electronics, clothes, and gear protected and dry. The innovative RunOff Waterproof Bags do just that, while also helping to keep your luggage organized. While the larger packing cubes and smaller wallet and pouch protect your stuff from external elements, the RunOff Toiletry Bag will ensure that any exploded bottles inside stay contained. Another added bonus is that being air-tight, the RunOff Bags can be used to compress your clothes so you’re not only packing smarter, but also packing smaller.

 

2.  Secure Everything

There isn’t much that feels worse than realizing you’ve left something important in security or on the plane. Your favorite water bottle rolled out of your bag. Your phone slipped out of a pocket. One of the kids dropped their favorite lovey without you noticing: game over. The good news is that with travel accessories like Gear Ties and S-Biners, you can essentially create a handle for just about anything and have a way to clip or strap it to you, to a bag, or to a stroller. For your phone, use a Hitch Phone Anchor + Tether to give you a convenient attachment system and prevent drops, loss and theft.

 

3. Gear Ties, Gear Ties, & More Gear Ties

If you are an over-packer, or if you’re traveling with kids and all the car seats, Pack N Plays, bags, and bottles that come along with them, and especially if you are one of those saint-like people traveling with small children by yourself, Gear Ties will be your saving grace. Use Gear Ties to secure smaller bags on top of your bigger ones, use them to strap unwieldy car seats on top of wheelie bags to get them to bag drop, use them to strap toys to kid bags. Heck, use them to strap kids together – just kidding! …sort of.

 

4. Maximize Your Electronics

One of the best parts of flying these days is getting to watch good movies to pass the time. (Unless of course, you’re a parent of small children, then there is no best part. At most you might get to watch the latest animated film that you’ve already seen a thousand times while your toddler splashes milk onto nearby passengers.) If you’re lucky though, you’ll be on a fancy plane with built in screens and easy viewing. But let’s be honest, most of us won’t be that lucky and we’ll be craning our necks and holding our phones at funny angles trying to get comfortable watching them for hours on end. Enter the Steelie Pedestal. Using Steelie magnetic mounting technology, this pedestal securely holds your phone for you all flight long. And, with the magnet on the back of your phone, you can then conveniently also use the Steelie Bar Mount on your stroller, and the Steelie Vent Mount on your rental car for easy hands-free use on the go.

 

5. Organize Your Electronics

As wireless charging and Bluetooth technologies are evolving, we may not be far from a cordless existence, but at the moment we all travel with whole mess of them. But don’t worry, there’s an answer for that too and I bet you can guess it – more Gear Ties! Between Gear Ties and our Curvyman Cord Supervisor, we can help you keep those unruly cords and headphones neat and organized on the go.

By Pet Photographer Adam Goldberg, AGoldPhoto

Make nighttime walks with your pup simpler and safer

We recently teamed up with Nite Ize and the Seminole Heights Dog Pack to test LED products that make nighttime walks with your pup simpler and safer. With Daylight Savings Time ending, it gets darker earlier and the Nite Ize LED products make it easy to keep track of multiple pets in the dark.

The Seminole Heights Dog Pack typically convenes on Saturday mornings, so their members were excited to gather on a weeknight to light up the night.

Pictured below is the Nite Ize SpotLit Collar Light, which easily clips onto the D-ring of your pet’s collar or harness.  A simple push of a button lets you switch from a constant glow mode to an attention-grabbing flashing mode.

We walked around the neighborhood and the SpotLit Collar Light attracted a lot of attention from passers-by, which is exactly what you want when walking in the dark.

We’ve met pups in the past that need to walk at unpopular hours due to leash aggression, so walking later at night is a necessity. Having a collar light will make those walks even safer.

Darker dogs are especially difficult to see at night. The SpotLit Collar Light is necessity to ensure your night time walks are safe.

We also tested out the NiteHowl Rechargeable LED Safety Necklace, which is made with flexible polymer that’s illuminated by bright LEDs and can be recharged for hours of nighttime fun and safety. The NiteHowl makes identifying multiple dogs easy with the ability to choose from one of three selectable colors (red, green, blue), plus a unique Disc-O mode. By illuminating the polymer with multiple colors at the same time, Disc-O mode creates a flowing color-blending pattern that’s as fun as it is functional.

A crowd favorite during the Pack Walk was the Nite Ize Leash Lit. The Microlight will help light the path ahead and keep your favorite furry friend and yourself seen and safe. Four Gear Tie legs are attached to the bright white light so the LeashLit can easily wrap around leashes, treat bags, belts, and more to create a conveniently accessible light that is always right at hand. The design allows it to be quickly attached or removed, as well as stand on its own for hands-free lighting. Last but not least, the LeashLit will always be ready to shine a light on the inglorious task of cleaning up after Fido.

Stay safe with your pups at night!

All photos by AGoldPhoto

AGoldPhoto Pet Photography is made up of Tampa-based husband and wife team Mary and Adam Goldberg. AGoldPhoto hosts Pet Photo Shoot Fundraisers all over the country and raises awareness about pet rescue and adoption.

You see them on the news all too often – hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, hail, ice, lighting earthquakes and fires. Severe weather and emergency situations can happen at any time, but fall is especially high for storm systems and fire hazards. If you checked out our September blog posts for National Emergency Preparedness Month, you’re already ahead of the game when it comes to putting together your home emergency kit so you’re ready for whatever Mother Nature throws your way. (Catch up on those here if you haven’t already.) But aside from the supplies you’ll want to have on hand, you’ll need to be mentally prepared as well.

We’ve become so accustomed to having power that you barely even realize it’s there – until it isn’t! Ever tried to sit in a dark room with nothing but your thoughts for extended periods of time? We don’t recommend it. Here are some tips to keep you sane.

 

Immediately After Losing Power…

First things first – when you’re suddenly left in the dark, check your circuit breaker and surroundings to see if the outage has affected other homes around you (although your first instinct is likely to check your phone battery). Although it’s easy to assume one of your neighbors is or has already done this, take it upon yourself to report the outage to your electrical company. They might have more information for you, but it will definitely help them in identifying the problem (thus, restoring your power quicker).

 

Gather Your Gear

Hopefully you’ve already built your home emergency kit, but if you haven’t yet, start with gathering your light sources. We recommend lanterns, headlamps and flashlights over candles to reduce risk of fire. You should also have some extra batteries on hand to fit your light sources (who knows how long this outage could last). We also encourage you to have some portable chargers at the ready, or even better – one that is solar powered (like this), so your devices can stay charged. The Radiant 314 Lantern from Nite Ize actually doubles as a power bank if you need to charge your devices without losing light.

 

Assess Your Food Situation

Note the time of the outage right when it happens because your refrigerator is now a ticking time bomb of food freshness. The USDA says food will stay cold for only four hours following loss of power, but remember to NOT open the doors until needed – this will only speed the warming process. A full freezer should stay cold for 48 hours (24 hours if it is half-full). It’s good practice to keep thermometers in the fridge and freezer to make sure the temperature is right for keeping your food safe.

It might be a good opportunity to have a backyard barbecue if you don’t get power back before your time window is up. Better drink those brews while they’re still cold too. Light ‘em up with a SlapLit Drink Wrap and call it a party!

 

Have Some Fun!

Power outages might not be “fun” per se, but they’re a great time for a good old-fashioned family game night. Break out the board games, set up your lanterns and transport yourself back to a time before smart phones, tablets and video game consoles. It’s worth having some non-electronic entertainment at home for situations like these. If you’re by yourself, fear not! We’re willing to bet you have some books (the ones with paper pages) lying around that you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to yet. For a small, cute little reading light, the BugLit works great!

Keeping your head up, mind occupied and remaining calm during a power outage is important for your safety and mental wellness. Hopefully you won’t be left in the dark for too long!