New Survival Packs From Scottevest

I’ve posted several times about the fantastic Scottevest jackets with the multi-pockets to carry your gear on the plane with you.  Now they have some cool new items that anyone venturing off into the wilderness (as eco-tourists tend to do) could use.  We can’t all be Bear Grylls and every little bit helps!

Scottevest Survival Kit

To find this item on their website, please click on either of these 2 images. The survival kit is on the accessories page as highlighted in yellow.  While you are on the website, don’t forget to check out the daily sale items and the wonderful travel clothing for both men and women!

Scottevest Navigation

Please note that these are affiliate links and I do get a small commission from your purchases when you click through my link.  If you choose to use it, thank you for your support!

 

$1000 Anti-Pickpocket Guarantee

Seems incredible doesn’t it?  Yet Scottevest has come up with a $1000 Anti-Pickpocket Guarantee!  Based on my own use of this product, I can confirm that it would be very difficult for anyone to access the inner pockets by stealth though they could still threaten you with a weapon or drug you so you should still be careful when walking in strange areas and don’t accept food or drink from strangers.  Always check with locals about how safe an area is before you go there.

Of course there are T&Cs which one would expect to go along with this offer.

SeV will reimburse you up to $1000 US for any valuables pickpocketed out of your SCOTTEVEST while traveling. The following restrictions apply:

Register Your SCOTTEVEST Product Here

It is not an everyday guarantee. It is not something that you will hear from other companies. But, this is exactly how confident we are in our product. If you are pickpocketed while wearing your SCOTTEVEST, we will reimburse you any losses up to $1,000.Unfortunately, anytime you wave around $1,000, it brings out the scam artists and conmen. So our lawyers made us put in some fine print….but even with the details below, we promise you that if you are truly pickpocketed while wearing your SeV, we will cover your losses. Now for the boring (but important!) part:

  • Your SCOTTEVEST must have been purchased on or after June 1, 2013, and you must be able to provide proof of purchase (invoice, order number, account email address, “bill to” name, etc.)
  • Your SCOTTEVEST must have been purchased from us or an authorized reseller. Authorized resellers include stores that sell SCOTTEVEST. Excluded resellers include private sales, eBay and online sites other than www.SCOTTEVEST.com.
  • The Pickpocket Guarantee only applies to the following items: Travel Vest for Men, Travel Vest for Women, Classic Vest for Men, Classic Vest for Women, Tropiformer Jacket, Fleece 5.0, Fleece 7.0, Transformer Jacket, SeV Men’s Trench, SeV Women’s Trench, Penny Coat, SeV Standard Jacket, Revolution Jacket, Revolution Plus Jacket.
  • You must provide an official police report describing the incident and an itemized list of stolen items and values. The police report must mention by name that you were wearing the SCOTTEVEST in question at the time of the pickpocketing. You must report the crime to the police immediately and get the police report to us within 10 days of the incident. The guarantee applies only to pickpocketing, not mugging/robbery/assault/threatening, which is an altogether separate crime. SCOTTEVESTs are not bulletproof.
  • You must provide a signed, sworn statement that your valuables were pickpocketed from an interior pocket, that it was zippered at the time of the incident, and that it they were not stolen by someone known to you.
  • The guarantee applies only to any items stolen from zippered, interior pockets.
  • If you have other insurance already – e.g. travel insurance – you much first make a claim to them, and SeV will pay anything up to $1000 not covered by your insurance and any relevant deductibles. Stolen items that are later recovered are not eligible for claim under this guarantee.
  • We reserve right to get additional information, and judge the facts presented before accepting or denying your claim.
  • If there are more than 2 claims made in 12 months by same person, we reserve right to cancel your coverage.
  • If your SCOTTEVEST was not purchased from us, e.g. through one of our authorized resellers, we may require you to complete a registration form within 60 days of purchase of your SeV before coverage is available.

Send your claims to sales@scottevest.com.  Claims will be reviewed within one week and you will be contacted for more details as needed.  Please note that reimbursements are calculated based on the face value of cash and retail value of goods.  Sentimental value and time to replace items cannot be calculated into the reimbursement. A check will be sent by us within 45 days of application acceptance.

*Disclaimer – the hyperlinks contain my affiliate link.  Thank you for your support if you choose to use my link for your purchases.

Big Scottevest Father’s Day Sale

There are some really amazing deals going on with top travel gear outfitter, Scottevest!  Eco-tourists should consider the excellent Tropiformer jacket which is designed for the conditions we travel in and very versatile.  It’s 40% off which makes it a bargain at $96, but be quick as the sale ends 13 June or while stocks last.  Click on the image to get to the sale page.  This is my affiliate link and I do get a small commission on your purchases for which I thank you.

Scottevest Faher’s Day Sale

The Fine Print: Father’s Day 25%-40% Off Deals

* The sale runs from 12:01AM MT on Tuesday, June 4th, 2013 until 12 Noon MT on Thursday, June 13th (aka until close of shipping on the last shipping day before Father’s Day). Although unlikely, we reserve the right to end the sale early or extend it.

* 25% – 40% off sale pricing applies only to the specific items listed on this page, and for the specific percentage off as shown per product. These deals cannot be combined with any other coupons, discounts or offers. No promo code is required for the discounts, and no additional promo codes or discounts may be applied to these items.

* The discount applies to IN STOCK items only (no rainchecks), and does not apply to prior purchases. Only while supplies last.

* Our normal Return Policy is in effect.

 

Avifauna Brasileira – Guia De Campo Avis Brasilis

Avifauna Brasileira: Guia De Campo Avis Brasilis: The Avis Brasilis Field Guide to the Birds of Brazil by Tomas Sigrist is arguably the definitive guide to the birds of Brazil.   I probably never would have heard of this book if my guide, Gilberto didn’t have a copy.  It’s what he would use to communicate to me which species we had seen during the day as he doesn’t speak English.  It’s an excellent field guide and has the names of the birds in Portuguese, English and the scientific names.  After I left Urua, I checked a bookstore in Belem with no luck.  Surely I would find it in Sao Paulo where we had a day layover?  Nope, nada!  One bookstore checked all their branches by computer and no one had it.  Either it’s VERY popular or out of print.

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I struck out with my usual port of call for books – Amazon.com.  It’s not that they don’t have the book but I think $375 for a used copy is a bit too much! Just for fun, I Googled it again last week and found a copy at a more reasonably price through a British company which specializes in books on science and nature:  NHBS.  It’s still not cheap and I paid for express shopping to make sure it didn’t get lost but it’s an investment that a keen birder will use over and over again so I felt it was worth it.  The service was excellent and the book showed up in Australia in about 5 days including a weekend so I can recommend this company.  The listing is here and they also have some sample pages.  It comes in 2 volumes, one has the pictures of the birds and the maps where they are found; the other book contains a short paragraph about each bird in both English and Portuguese.

Sample page showing ranges of birds

Sample page of bird pictures

Sample page of text (Portuguese). The book also has English text>

A Field Guide To The Birds Of Brazil

I always advise bringing a birding field guide with you to help you identify the birds you see.  Your guides will know the birds but especially in Brazil, they may not speak English……….but they can definitely point to the right photo in the book.  This guide is very comprehensive and covers birds from the whole country.  Some of the reviewers feel the book is a bit heavy to carry but most of them were happy with the quality of the guide.  This is my affiliate link, I do appreciate your support if you use it to click through for any of your Amazon purchases.

Big Sale On PDF Versions Of Lonely Planet Guidebooks

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2 Day only sale on the Lonely Planet website.  $10 gets you the FULL version of the book not just the chapters!  Eco-friendly way to carry around travel information from the king of budget travel guides.  Although for birding field guides I prefer a real book, for travel information I much prefer PDFs in my laptop with maybe just a few maps printed out to carry around while walking.  Check the publishing schedule, some books won’t be updated until 2015 or 2016.  If you are an advance planner, you can buy the books now and just keep up to date with prices online.  Please note this in not an affiliate link, I’ve been using Lonely Planet since the 80’s and love the products!

A Photographic Guide To The Birds Of Indonesia

This is the book I wish I had known about BEFORE my trip!  It was only just published in Dec 2012 and we left on 28 Feb so had stopped looking around by then.  It’s well laid out with photos of all the birds you can expect to see in Indonesia with the bird’s habitat highlighted on a map.  Great planning tool, can also help with communicating with guides who don’t speak English.  I found it in a book shop in the Surabaya airport on my way back to Bali for around $35 but you can order it on Amazon (affiliate link) for $23 and have it to study in advance.

Cool New Product From Scottevest – Tropiformer Jacket

I am a big fan of the Scottevest products and this time they have really outdone themselves!  The Tropiformer has been redesigned with various pockets to suit everything.  The video explains it all.  Click on the photo below to be taken to the website if you want to order one.  It is my affiliate link and I earn a small commission which I appreciate if you use it.

 

Scottevest Tropiformer

Travel Gear – Hydration Packs

Birders do a lot of hiking in hot, humid weather and you may be out there for hours so a good water supply is essential.  Hydration packs provide an easy way to carry your water and access it easily.  There are a lot of versions of this product and they come in many sizes so I suggest going to this page and check out all the hydration packs in the suggestions section.