Over the past two years I tried several brands and used them for their prescribed purpose. I wore them after my tough speed sessions and long runs to help speed recovery and never noticed whether they actually worked or not. I wore them during my long runs and noticed nothing.

I gave up on thinking compression wear actually worked and decided that all of those runners who were jumping on the bandwagon, wearing their knee-highs in marathons, half marathons and 5ks were all just doing so because it was the new trend.

In July I was contacted by Erin Curley, a sales representative for an agency which reps for CEP. She offered to send me some CEP compression socks and leg sleeves to test out. There was something she said in her email which caught my eye.

I’m sure you are aware of compression, however did you know that not all compression socks are created equal?

The nonbeliever that I had become raised an eyebrow. Really? I had pretty much written them off, but I’ll give them a try.

CEP Compression Sock

To begin with, CEP socks are fitted by calf size, not foot size. There is also a specific process to putting the socks on. When you first open the package and pull them out they look pretty tiny. You need to first find either the Right sock or the Left sock, then pull them inside out, stick your foot in first, and then gradually pull the sock over your calf in sections. I know that sounds confusing but it really isn’t that hard. There is a nifty video to show you how to do this.

As soon as I put them on my legs felt incredible. The socks hugged my calves tighter than all of the other compression brands I had tried up until this point. I couldn’t wait to give these things a try on a run and for post-run recovery.

The idea behind compression socks is that they help expand the diameter of your arteries, resulting in better blood flow. According to CEP, “approximately 30% while at rest and by approximately 40% under physical strain.” The benefits would be a quicker and easier run, and improved post-run recovery.

Back in July and August my short runs lasted around an hour and my long runs were upwards of 3-5 hours long. I wore the CEP compression socks, as well as the CEP compression leg sleeves, on all of those long runs. After those runs I always felt great. Sure, a four hour run can tire you out and I’m not saying I wasn’t tired, but my legs never felt horrible. I was always ready the next day to head out for more. In fact, there were several times when I would head out for a 2-3 hour run the very next day.

Now, my ability to bounce back could very well have been due to my training, but I am not about to dismiss the idea behind compression wear and say that they had nothing to do with my recovery. They very well could have played a part in my ability to head back out the door the next day feeling good. In fact, I believe that it was a combination of training, nutrition, and recovery using my compression socks that enabled me to sustain such a demanding training schedule.

CEP Compression Sleeve

Have I become a compression sock convert? Absolutely.

Will I continue to use my compression socks to aid in recovery either by wearing them on my long runs or post-run? Indeed, I will.

Do I believe that all compression socks are created equal? Without a doubt, my answer is No!

But I do believe in CEP Compression Socks and Leg Sleeves. The dent it puts on my wallet (mind you, it’s not that bad) is certainly worth it in my mind. In fact, I will admit that the only reason why I never tried them prior to this was because of the cost. The eternal thrifty shopper that I am, all of the compression socks that I had tried previously were under $30. That could be why they never worked, it’s hard to say. However, after putting the CEP brand to the test, the quality and effectiveness of these socks is well worth the cost.

We all know the commercials, the ones that sell grassy renditions of sheep, cows and dogs … even US Presidents! I bet you even grew one on the window sill as a kid. But who knew the seeds were not only edible, but high in Omega-3, anti-oxidants, fiber and protein?

The chia craze has hit the running community hard. Made popular by Chris McDougall’s book Born To Run in which he touts the benefits of chia seeds which he was wisened to when running with the Tarahumara in Mexico. Chia seeds come from the Salvia Hispanica plant, a member of the mint family, that grows in Mexico and South America.

I bought a bag of chia seeds, and they sat in my cupboard for months as I had no idea what to do with them. Then I discovered Chia Charger at the St. Luke’s Half Marathon expo this past spring. Heralded as a “superfood energy bite”, Chia Chargers are soft, molded cookie-like clusters made from peanut butter, nuts, sunflower seeds, cranberries, oats, agave nectar, and what else? Chia seeds.

They come packaged three per bag and are available in original or spicy flavors. The original flavor is delicious and in my opinion would taste pretty bland if it weren’t for the addition of cranberries which really give your taste buds a slight punch. The spicy flavor kicks things up a notch, giving your mouth a little something to remember as you continue on with your run.

I have taken these nibbles along with me on my long trail runs over the past few weeks and they have come in handy. First of all, you don’t have to worry about crushing or breaking them when you pack them into your pocket, pouch or hydration pack. Think of a soft cookie and you’ll have a good idea of how durable they are when packed tightly against your other items.

They are a perfect size, about an inch and a half in diameter and about ¾ inches thick. This is good enough for three or four small bites and enough to quell any little hunger pains you experience while out on your long runs.

Chia Charger contains 16 grams of carbohydrates (3 g of fiber, 8 g of sugars) and 3 grams of protein. Out of curiousity, I took a look in my running cabinet and found a Honey Stinger protein bar, PowerBar Gel  and Accel Gel to compare with the Chia Charger.

It looks as if Chia Charger ranks somewhere in the middle of similar products on the market these days, but the selling point for me is that it is all natural. As I move away from processed foods to natural food sources, especially during training runs, I like the idea of relying on natural ingredients for energy. Granted, this product may not be for everyone, especially those that are really into the numbers and worry about getting all of that protein, sodium and potassium into their bodies. However, take a look at the serving sizes. You get a pretty good punch with less product when you eat a Chia Charger. The overall difference between Chia Charger and Honey Stinger bars is less than 1/2 a calorie per gram of product.

I’ll also mention that selecting the right sports drink can even out what you may be missing out on in regards to sodium, potassium, etc. Take for instance, ZYM sports drink which I highlighted earlier this year. 16 oz of lemon-lime Zym provides you with 250mg Sodium and 50mg Potassium as well as other key ingredients.

It all boils down to figuring out the best formula for your refueling needs, just as your running is individual to you. However, Chia Charger can fit into any diet regardless of whether you use it on a run or throughout the day … it’s a healthy snack no matter what.

http://chiacharger.com/
Available for $11.99 for 6 packs, $22.99 for 12 packs and $31.50 for 18 packs through the Chia Charger website.

Recently, I have been testing out a new trail shoe for Trail Runner Magazine’s fall trail shoe review. (And no, they have no idea that I own and operate an online magazine.) This fall Saucony will unleash something new to the market, the ProGrid Outlaw. It’s a low profile shoe whose uniqueness lies in the fact that it is a 3/4 cut shoe and the company’s first lace-up high top. (Last year Saucony introduced the ProGrid Razor, a high top of sorts with soft shell waterproof eVent gator that zips up to a three-quarter cut.)  At first glance it reminds me of those aerobic shoes that hit the scene back in the 80′s.

The ProGrid Outlaw was designed for rugged mountainous terrain or muddy plains, but I have found that it works great on the more low-key trails here in eastern PA, which offer some pretty rugged terrain if you look for it. The low profile shoe offers protection from the elements in a lightweight—11.5 oz. men’s; 10.1 oz. women’s—package. While it’s certainly not the prettiest shoe on the market (they’ll never touch my Brooks Cascadias) there is definitely potential there. After figuring out how to lace up the shoe so that it didn’t feel strange on the front of my ankle (worked this out quickly enough) I was on my way for a test run at Trexler Nature Preserve.

Two hours later = love!

Key Features

High top – It’s tough to ignore this feature since it’s the entire foundation for this shoe. The shoe is designed to extend up and cover the front and sides of your ankle in order to lock out debris from entering your shoe. At the back of the ankle is a soft, snug extension which protects your achilles.

View of hightop from side and rear

Tongue - EVA pads on the shoe’s tongue sit directly under where the laces cross, helping to dampen the effect of lace bite. Lace bite refers to the pressure on your foot where the laces cross and seems to be a big issue for ice hockey players. As a runner I have never experienced it but I think this is a nice touch to the shoe.

View of lace bite protector

Fit - Out of the box they were a perfect match for my feet. They were extremely comfortable and I put in a good two hours in these babies on my first run in them. Absolutely no rubbing or issues with my feet afterwards.

Traction - I think these lugs could do some damage. Strong and deep, they grab  the ground extremely well going in both directions: uphill and downhill. Once I realized how well they grabbed the ground my confidence was elevated and I was very comfortable pushing a bit harder without worrying about falling.

Check out these lugs! 6mm deep compared to Brooks Cascadia at 3mm

Debris - For the very first time since I’ve picked up trail running I finished a run with absolutely no debris in my shoes; a major plus! Enough said.

Rockplate - Yes, this shoe has it and protects the bottom of your feet from tough rocks on the trails.

Breathability - Crossing streams and creeks, the shoes drained extremely well. Combine that with a breathable sock (check out triathlon specific socks) and you’ll be ready to rock the trails!

My opinion: Two Thumbs Up!

Due out Fall 2011
Suggested Retail Price: $110
Colors: Men’s – black/yellow, orange/black, citron/black; Women’s – black/green, pink/black

The training program begins with walks in the first week and gradually adds running into the mix as the weeks progress. Before you know it, you are no longer using the walk/run approach (walk 4 minutes, run 1 minute) but running much more than you walk. By the end of the program, which is twelve weeks long, you will be running a total of 30 minutes straight with a short warmup and cooldown walk. You are reminded that if you are not comfortable moving up to the next week’s schedule it is okay to repeat a week, or two, or three. The training program is gentle enough for anyone to start, with a doctor’s blessing of course, and the combination of nutrition tips and information helps create a complete health & fitness routine.

Using proven nutrition strategies such as making good food choices and developing proper eating habits, budding runners learn that food and exercise go hand in hand. Running does not give you a license to eat uncontrollably, or to eat whatever you want. Runners must be as mindful about what they put into their body as they are about their training regimens. Readers are encouraged to keep a food log to track their eating habits, even if for only a day or two. Doing so will help them get a better idea of what their current eating habits really look like.

Sarah keeps it real. Reading this book is just like sitting down and having a normal conversation with the author in her home. She shares her own issues with running such as etching out a place for it in her busy life, as well as finding motivation from time to time. As she states early on in the book, not all runners are fast, skinny people. Runners come in all shapes and sizes, and run for a variety of reasons.

Scattered throughout the book are photos and stories of actual runners who used the program outlined in the book to start running. The test panel results are nothing short of motivational: confidence gained, weight and/or inches lost, and goals achieved. They share their struggles, their triumphs and tips on how they held themselves accountable.

Even though I am not a beginning runner I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and felt that it very much resembled the way I started running using the run/walk method and tracking my food. One great feature in the book are the Asides scattered throughout with tips and advice from Leslie Bonci, sports nutritionist and registered dietitian, and Budd Coates, exercise physiologist and senior director of the health and fitness center at Rodale, Inc. I also thought that the running and food logs in the appendix were a great touch and perfect tool for beginning runners to keep track of their progress.

You can purchase Run Your Butt Off! through Rodale, Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.

Check out the RYBO Facebook page, too!

As with most great films, it takes me a couple of days to digest the entire story. Bikila’s story is a complex one. He is a quiet man, somber and serious, which in effect creates an even deeper story as one begins to understand Bikila’s level of passion for not only running, but competition and for pushing through all odds to achieve something nearly impossible for most. This passion, this drive, is one that all types of athletes possess, not just runners.

The film makers create the story by weaving together his past using actual footage of Bikila in the Rome (1960) and Tokyo (1964) Olympics, with the story of his childhood and his life post-Olympics as a paraplegic. This method of jumping back and forth through time really helps to create a more complete picture of Bikila’s story and life. From gorgeous landscape shots of Ethiopia to close up shots of the man as he overcame his injuries, to rise again to the status of an Olympian in the Paralympics as a dog sledder, an incredible story unfolds before your eyes.

Bikila is probably most famous for his first Olympic victory at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. Until that time, no black man had ever won a long distance running event. Bikila would be the first to show the world that yes, a black man could conquer not only short sprint distances, but endurance distances as well. A relative unknown in the marathon world, on this day Bikila would become the first black man to win an Olympic marathon, bring home the first Olympic gold medal to Ethiopia, break a world marathon record, and do so running barefoot. Four years later, at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, he broke the world record again, this time he had a mile on his competition. A mile!

Not much information is available about Bikila’s Paralympic successes which is included in this film, making this a wonderful and complete biographical picture of the man who became a hero to thousands of Ethiopians in the 1960′s. In fact, the film’s opening scene is a shot of him at his first Paralympic dog sledding competition,  which he won. The film ends with the end of a showing of a documentary of him called The Ethiopian, created by Bud Greenspan. After the film, Ethiopia’s Emperor, Haile Selassie, approached Bikila and shook his hand. In the years before his car accident which caused him to become a paraplegic, Bikila had served in the Emperor’s Imperial Guard.

Rasselas Lakew, himself an Ethiopian by birth, proclaims Bikila’s story the “greatest gladiator story” of all time. Bikila, who was born on the same day as 1932 Los Angelas Olympic Marathon, would become a marathoner himself, one day, as well as an Olympian. Perhaps his life was fated to be. This film is a great contribution to Bikila’s life and to Ethiopia’s history.

Rasselas Lakew, lead actor, co-writer and co-director of The Athlete.

The Athlete will show again on Saturday, June 18 at 5:00 pm. The screening will take place at Broughal Middle School, 114 Morton Street, Bethlehem. Tickets are $10 each.

I may have failed to mention the third main reason why I don’t listen to music while running, and actually this is the top reason why I don’t listen to my iPod at all – those darn earbuds do not fit in my ears. They continually fall out, especially in the midst of a sweaty workout, and it is almost impossible to find the old school headphones that were the only thing available back when all we had to listen to was the Sony Walkman. (Man, we’ve come far!)

As luck would have it, I stopped by Aardvark Sports Shop last month and discovered they were selling Yurbuds, a product I had only heard about in passing but had pretty much ignored because I’ve never had any luck with earbuds, what made this product so special?

Apparently, I’m not the only one to have been disappointed with earbuds. Yurbud founders Seth Burgett and Richard Daniels, both accomplished athletes (Burgett is an active triathlete and Daniels has run 24 marathons) felt that earbuds were painful and often fell out of their ears while training. They developed this “ergonomically designed earbud enhancer” which fits over your current earbuds and can be personalized by size, depending on the size of your ear canal. Sizes range from 5 (smallest) to 10 (largest.)

FIT - Yurbuds are made of a medical grade silicon which slips easily over your current earbuds. They fit into your ear canal and once in place, you twist the headphone cord forward toward your chin to lock them in place. Size 5 fit my (freakishly small) ears perfectly.

COMFORT – This factor was huge for me. Would the Yurbuds be comfortable and stay in place throughout a sweaty workout? The answer: YES! To my surprise, they did the job, and well, at that. I have never had such luck with earbuds – I may start listening to my iPod more regularly now.

SOUND – I quickly discovered that I had to turn down the volume level on both my iPod and my phone. Sound quality was increased by the Yurbuds and kept external noises from disrupting phone conversations and musical enjoyment.

PRICE – $19.95 for Yurbuds; $29.99 for Complete Kit (Yurbuds, earbud headphones, zippered carrying case)

You can purchase Yurbuds at Aardvark Sports Shop.

OVERALL SATISFACTION – Two thumbs up! I love this product and have been completely happy being able to listen to my music again, as well as not dropping any more calls on my Droid from my ear accidentally hitting the “end call” button on the phone’s screen.

* This review is for the Blue Personalized Performance Enhancement Yurbuds. There is another model available, the Yurbuds Ironman Series, retailing for $49.95 and including 2 sets of silicone yurbuds, earbuds and carrying case.

http://www.yurbuds.com

For me, seeing is believing, or in this case, tasting is everything. I have tried a lot of products out on the market. Such is my nature, much to my husband’s chagrin. At home I am constantly bringing home a new product to try, unable to stick to the tried and true brands as he would prefer. If there is something new on the market, I HAVE to try it. I cannot resist.

Since orange-flavor is my favorite, I went for that one first when tasting the ZYM drinks. Too much flavoring would be overpowering, too little would be disappointing. But like Goldilocks when testing out the Three Bears’ porridge, the middle road would be just right. How would ZYM fare? To my surprise, they nailed it! The flavor was JUST RIGHT. To any of you out there who buy the powdered drink mixes, you know what I’m talking about.

Second up was the berry-flavor. I haven’t been a big fan of berry drinks in the past. They never quite seem to do it for me, but this one … perfect! Just the right flavor, not heavy and not too light. It was just enough flavor to satisfy but not overpowering. Plus, this one is packed with 100 MG of caffeine for a little extra kick when you need it.

The final flavor is one I generally avoid, lemon-lime. Given a choice between lemon-lime sports drink and water, I’ll choose water, or anything else for that matter. This was THE test. Depending on how this flavor tasted would affect my opinion overall. As I swallowed this final flavor my eyes lit up. Could it be that someone has finally gotten it right? Could this be the best lemon-lime sports drink I have ever tasted? Absolutely, without a doubt, the answer is a resounding, YES.

Then I became excited. How could I help Brian Koff get this product noticed? I need to help him because those little drink tablets, packed with electrolytes and Vitamin B+ are convenient, delicious and should not go unnoticed by my fellow athletes. First things first – head over to the ZYM website and get yourself a sample. You’ll need to submit $3 for shipping and handling and in return you will receive: 3 Endurance Lemon Lime tabs, 1 Catapult Berry tab, stickers and a brochure. That’s the first step. Then, try them out and place an order. Poke around the website and learn more about ZYM products. Their tablets contain no sugar except for the lemon-lime tabs, but they only have 1 gram of sugar so I think you can deal with that.

http://gozym.com/

Yes, I have been called crazy for going gloveless for the majority of winter.

I have been searching for that “perfect” glove or mitten ever since I began embracing winter running. And by George, I have finally found it!

When I first discovered the Saucony Ulti-Mitt it was mid-autumn and I was making a stop at The Finish Line Running Store. The fluorescent orange and black mitten hung on the rack screaming for my attention. I wandered over to the mittens, grabbed one to investigate further and fell in love.

Now I realize that it sounds a little silly to declare love for a mitten, but please indulge me and allow me to elaborate on probably one of the best gloves made for running that I have ever seen. This is both a glove and a mitten.

The main purpose of a glove or mitten is to protect your hands from the cold. You can solve this problem with pretty much any glove that exists. But the best running gloves are those that are designed to not only keep your hands warm, but to repel the elements and wick moisture while at the same time adding a variety of additional features that runners will appreciate.

The Saucony Ulti-Mitt does all of this with following features:

High Visibility – One of the first things you will notice is the fluorescent orange mitten. While the orange fabric is itself not reflective, it is extremely high visibility and can be seen a far way off. Up until now all of my high visibility apparel has been fluorescent yellow and while I do think that color works great, I started to realize that most hunters wear orange, not yellow. There is a reflective Saucony logo on the front of the mitten shell.

Glove – The glove is made of 92% polyester/8% spandex. It provides just enough stretch to pull the glove on to your hand and then hug your hand comfortably. I would rate the thickness of the glove in the thin-medium thickness range.

Dexterity – The glove features an open finger and thumb design which provides a slit on both the forefinger and thumb on both hands for those times when you need to grab something. Also useful for controlling your iPod.

Mitten – The mitten shell made of 100% polyester provides a wind barrier against your hands. What a great option for those that need a little extra warmth on those especially cold days.

Pocket – The mitten folds into a pocket on the back of your hand. This pocket is also a convenient place to store an extra tissue or two.

Nose Wipe – But wait! Who needs a tissue when you have a built in nose wipe on the side of each glove. How brilliant.

Light – Each Saucony Ulti-Mitt comes with an LED light which is charged via USB port on computer. There are two settings: constant or flashing.

 
If I could give a four thumbs up rating for these gloves, I would. Check them out! They are well worth the $40 investment; this coming from a runner who typically shuns running gloves.

Also available in black and grey.

NOTE: Sizing runs big. I normally wear a small-medium sized glove depending on the manufacturer, I comfortably wear an extra small size in these gloves.

Have you tried these chips yet? They are infectious, just like the inventors of these tasty treats, Tim and Jerry.  These chips are light and fluffy yet packed with flavor. The fruit is dried and freeze dried to perfection and 100% peanut free. They qualify as vegan and gluten free snacks. The natural ingredients provide you with a healthy punch of apples, bananas, blueberries, mangoes, cranberries, acai berries, apricots and more mixed and mingled in 100 calorie serving size bags.

If you were at the LVRS/Finish Line Happy Hour at Brew Works on the Green earlier this month you had the distinct pleasure of meeting Jerry and taking home a sample of Try Chips. I also ran into them at the expo for the Philadelphia Marathon last weekend handing out samples of their awesome chips.

There are three different flavored bags to choose from: Aspire, Endeavor and Venture.

Aspire contains dried apple chips, freeze dried apricot, brown rice syrup, freeze dried banana, freeze dried pineapple, dried sweet potato, dried cranberry, Matcha Green Tea, Wild Sunflower Root, freeze dried pomegranate, natural cranberry flavor.

Endeavor includes dried apple chips, freeze dried blueberries, brown rice syrup, freeze dried mango, freeze dried banana, dried sweet potato, freeze dried Acai, dried wild sunflower root, dried blueberry, dried cranberry, natural blueberry flavor.

Venture contains dried apple chips, freeze dried strawberry, Brown Rice Syrup, freeze dried banana, freeze dried peach, dried sweet potato, freeze dried maqui berry, dried wild sunflower root, cinnamon, dried ginger, natural peach flavor.

The bananas (my personal favorite!) are so light and fluffy and perfect, there will soon be a fourth TRY chip snack available which contains only bananas.

Tim and Jerry, co-owners of Try Chips

Tim and Jerry are on a mission to build their Facebook fan base and spread the word about their product. Please head over to their Facebook page and become a Fan today.

Tim and Jerry will be at the expo for St. Luke’s Half Marathon here in Allentown on Saturday, April 30th. You can check their website for more events where they will be making an appearance.

TRY Chips sell for $2.50 a bag or $7 for 3 bags. You can make a purchase on the TRY Chips website.

Website - www.trychips.com
Facebook - TRY Chips fan page

For years I have been on a perpetual quest for the perfect camera: a small, point and shoot camera that will take great photos, videos and will endure the inevitable bumps and knocks that I will eventually bestow upon it. I’ve not had much luck. The cameras I choose have a lifespan of around 2 years. Eventually the buttons stop working, the camera loses functionality and then it stops working altogether. I have struggled to find the brand and model camera that will work best for me … until now.

Earlier this Fall I borrowed two cameras from Olympus to test out and review. After hearing about the Tough Series cameras I could not wait to get my hands on one and it was a stroke of luck when I met Olympus sales rep, Eric Sives. I soon had two different Olympus Tough Series models in my hands and quickly set to work at testing out their functionality and features.

After years of having a camera attached to my hand at any given time of day I have four main criteria for rating point and shoot cameras:

- megapixels
- speed of pulling off a shot
- advanced features, including scenes
- ability to change ISO settings

The cameras I tested were the Olympus Stylus Tough 3000 and Olympus Stylus Tough 6020.

Olympus Stylus Tough 3000

One of the main differences at first glance between the two cameras were that the 3000 model had black plastic buttons and the 6020 model had a more rugged look with metal screws showing and metal buttons. Functionality of both cameras was very similar as far as basic features though the 6020 definitely out-shined the 3000, for me at least, because of the ability to adjust ISO settings. This more advanced feature is a definite selling point for me.

Olympus Stylus Tough 6020

Some of the features that I loved which both cameras have were the creative art filters: Pop Art, Fish Eye, Drawing and Pin Hole. I often found myself using the Pin Hole and Fish Eye settings to create some very fun images. Two other settings which I loved having available to use were the Panorama setting and the Beauty Mode, which would smooth out images by softening shadows and removing blemishes and/or wrinkles on subject’s faces.

Olympus Tough 6020 – Pinhole setting

The video functionality in both these cameras was one of the best I have used yet. The fact that the video is recorded in HD is a definite bonus for me, and uploading the video to the computer and online web spaces was painless and easy.

As a runner, the ultimate test for me was to see how the camera would hold up on a run. When I received these cameras from Olympus, Eric was kind enough to include a neoprene arm band case in which I could carry the camera while out running. A camera accompanied me on many runs on the roads and the trails. I was able to whip out the camera quickly and grab many great shots without much fiddling. The images which I captured were crisp and clear, the image stabilization which is built into both cameras definitely helped create steady photos.

Olympus Tough 6020 – group run at Trexler Nature Preserve

One more important feature – and the reason why these are called Tough cameras – is the fact that the camera is shockproof to 5 feet. Yes! If you accidentally drop this camera it will not destroy it or ruin the integrity of the camera. You can search for plenty of video footage online of people testing out the Tough Series cameras by dropping them and using them underwater. Yes, the cameras can be used underwater as well without needing to place them in special underwater housing.

I would also like to note that besides being able to fully function after being dropped from a height of 5 feet and/or underwater, the Tough series cameras can also perform at below freezing temperatures.

The three major differences between the 3000 and the 6020 models are megapixels, waterproofness and price.

Olympus Stylus Tough 3000 (Specs)
$199.99
12 megapixel
waterproof to 10 ft

Olympus Stylus Tough 6020 (Specs)
$279.99
14 megapixels
waterproof to 16 ft

It is holiday shopping time and some of you out there may be looking to buy your special someone a camera. I would highly suggest looking into the Olympus Tough Series cameras. And while you’re at it, could someone please tell my husband that I still need a point and shoot? Hint hint. I give the Olympus Tough cameras two thumbs up.

Two more shots from the Tough 3000 camera:

Panarama setting – click to enlarge