Innholdsfortegnelse for Jul/Aug 2018 i Popular Mechanics

I MISS the bonus material DVD. I love the behind-the-scenes footage, the bloopers, the interviews about how they filmed the fight scene or the car chase. I love learning about the filmmaking process, the decisions that were made as the movie came to be, the stuff that made it happen. You ever see the footage of Tom Cruise undergoing Navy training to learn to fly F-14s for Top Gun? And then the mother of all bonus DVDs is actually a whole other movie unto itself, Hearts of Darkness, the story behind the making of Apocalypse Now. Some people avoid learning about the making-of because they think it detracts from the magic of the movie. They don’t want to know. I understand this. I couldn’t explain why I disagree, so I…

The Porsche 911 Turbo S can extend its chin spoiler for less drag. So can… the 2019 Ram 1500, which lowers its front spoiler 2.5 inches at highway speeds. The AMG GT R uses shutters controlled by an electric motor to either enhance cooling or lower drag, depending on the situation. So does… the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. The Ferrari 488 GTB uses vortex generators on the underbody to increase downforce. Just like… the Honda Civic Type R, which uses the top of its hatch to direct air over the rear wing.…

STEP 1 The night before you want to eat, stab the tri tip all over with a fork. Put it in a Ziploc. Pour in a 15-ounce bottle of Italian dressing and refrigerate overnight. STEP 2 Remove the meat from the fridge before firing up the grill. Turn all burners to high, close the lid, and let the thing get screaming hot. STEP 3 Sear both sides (5 to 10 minutes each), then turn the burners to low and roast until done. Medium rare can take more than a half hour, depending on the size of the steak.…

When I decided to become a good photographer, the hardest part, after accepting the cost of truly good lenses, has been measuring light. My full-sensor digital-camera body and 55mm f/1.2 prime lens get adequate exposures on the dreariest days with the automatic settings. But those “average” a picture to mediocrity: Everything is in focus but nothing stands out. You need a light meter to measure the layering of light. That way, for example, you can add your own backlighting for a more dramatic effect. Decent light meters cost upward of $500 and often don’t measure color temperature, the way a color looks based on the light. The Lumu Power ($299), however, plugs into any iOS 8+ device to measure flash, ambient exposure, and color temperature, and to determine ideal flash…

2018 Jaguar XF Sportbrake Why we love fast wagons. If you’re not a regular subscriber to Britain’s Practical Caravan magazine (though we assume you are), the editors there bestow annual awards on the best vehicles for towing caravans, a.k.a. travel trailers. The Jaguar XF is a repeat winner in its class, with a U.K. tow rating of 2,000 kilograms—or 4,409 pounds. I began investigating foreign RV publications because Jaguar doesn’t publish a tow rating for the XF in the U.S., and it seemed like that might be the Sportbrake’s only deficiency versus a crossover. Or, as it turns out, not. If you installed a hitch, the Sportbrake, with its long wheelbase and self-leveling rear suspension, would certainly tow a healthy boat. While also offering a 5.3-second zero-to-60, sport-sedan handling, and…

At 30 years of age a crossroads lay before me. To the right my conventional life. The left my dreams. Like a strong headwind, the Great Recession, in 2009, set me free. Swept from a career in the financial markets. Coupled with the loss of my best friend Ben, I formed a plan: honor Ben’s death by making his camera live again! So it came to pass I began a new career as a photographer. The wildlands became my stock. The ups and downs, my adventure. Nowadays, when any destination is a potential port of call, my eyes become the compass and my RV takes me there. The road isn’t so much a state of mind as a way of life. As a photographer, I now have an office that…

WHEN YOU’RE CARRYING your kitchen and the pantry on your back for a multi-day hike, every ounce matters, but so does each meal. “During an intense hike, like the Appalachian Trail, you’re burning 5,000 calories a day,” says Zach Dibble, who leads through-hiking training sessions with REI in Atlanta. Here’s how to fuel your body with meals you will actually enjoy eating. Pack between two and two and a half pounds of food per day, and a half gallon of water unless you’re entering a drought area, says Dibble. Then he’ll carry up to two gallons. Prioritize weight-efficient foods, like jerky and cheese, which carry about 120 calories per ounce. Legumes and nuts are also good. To add calories to pasta, rice, or a dehydrated meal, Dibble recommends coconut oil,…

NEAL SCANLAN AND I started creating the Indoraptor (above) in August 2016, with the creature concept artist, Jama Jurabaev, and the director, J.A. Bayona. J.A. knew what size he wanted the Indo to be. He wanted it to be black, with oily snakeskin, so that it felt like a deadly shadow. Early on in production, he showed us a picture of a shell-shocked soldier during World War I, this haunting image of a man with the craziest eyes you’d ever seen. J.A. wanted those eyes on the Indo. We got concepts from Jama that J.A. would tweak. We used those to create a detailed study of the head. That’s when we had Steven Spielberg come in and approve it. From there, Neal and his team added details and created a…

METHANE Best for indoor fire effects, since it burns clean and doesn’t make fumes or much smoke. PROPANE Makes lots of black smoke and soot—good for outdoor fires. PROPYLENE Makes even more black smoke than propane, and red flames. DYNAMITE Creates high-velocity explosions, and it’s not too smoky. The problem is shipping: In the U.S., you basically have to hire a special truck to move one case at a time. DETONATING CORD Similar uses as for dynamite, and easy to ship in the U.S. BLACK POWDER Makes lots of smoke, and lower velocity than dynamite. According to Anthony Simonaitis, pyrotechnics supervisor for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, “You could still be hurt by it, but it won’t shoot a pebble through your head.”…

PREFACE THE MIRROR The shiny floors of the Hall of North American Mammals at the American Museum of Natural History, normally echoing with the footfalls of fourteen thousand daily visitors, are quiet. In a glass case, fourteen feet by eight feet, a model bull elk—actual size, clad in actual elk skin—bugles to attract more females, even as three already in his harem graze on the chokecherry and aspen around an approximation of Trappers Lake in northwestern Colorado. The diorama is normally behind glass, but the glass is broken. Bec Meah is here to fix it. Meah is a preparator, one of the trained fine artists—she’s a sculptor—who builds and maintains the museum’s exhibitions. She’s working with Stephen Quinn, dean of the museum’s preparators. He’ll retire in a few years after four…

□ BREAKFAST A fried egg, a whole avocado, smoked salmon or bacon; or a keto “smoothie” (see right) □ SNACK Coffee with butter and coconut oil or macadamia nuts □ LUNCH Spinach salad with olive oil, sunflower seeds, and feta cheese □ DINNER Broccoli-chicken casserole made with cauliflower rice, a ton of cream, and Parmesan cheese Recipe THE KETOGENIC “SMOOTHIE” □ 1 Tbsp cacao powder□ 2 Tbsp NuttZo seven-seed and nut butter□ ½ can coconut milk□ ½ avocado□ ice→ Blend until smooth.…

p. 6 plane, p. 30 Getty; p. 34 skateboard: Allie Holloway; p. 40 Peggy Sirota/Trunk Archives; p. 42 Getty; p. 45 Red Bull; p. 56 Mark Halston/Getty; p. 58 bike, kayak: Getty; truck: From Desk to Dirtbag; p. 59 styling: Mia Katoe; pp. 80–81 Aug. 2017: Christopher Pearce; Apr. 2018: Kristen Brown; others: Getty; pp. 82–85, 90 Getty; pp. 96–97 Uncle Drew, bike: Alamy; robot: Amazon; Lakers, lightning: Getty; p. 100 Getty. POPULAR MECHANICS (ISSN 0032-4558) is published monthly (except combined issues in Jan/Feb and Jul/Aug), 10 times a year, by Hearst Communications, Inc., 300 West 57th St., NY, NY 10019 USA. Steven R. Swartz, President & Chief Executive Officer; William R. Hearst III, Chairman; Frank A. Bennack, Jr., Executive Vice Chairman; Catherine A. Bostron, Secretary. Hearst Magazines Division: David Carey,…

A / MORE POWER, FASTER The microwave beam’s pulse relies on a very high and fast power peak to crack the crystal structure of semiconductors beyond repair. B / PULSE GUIDANCE The disc and tilting square on top of the HPM system are reflectors that aim the microwave beam at targets. C / DRONE TRACKER To track multiple targets simultaneously, the HPM uses a phased-array radar with sets of antennas that can be pointed in different directions. ARMED FORCES and law enforcement have surprisingly few effective anti-drone tools, and none—that are declassified—to target multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or swarms. Shotgun shells that fire nets to snare the propellers work only at close range. Missiles, like the $38,000 Stinger, aren’t cost-efficient for taking out $900 drones. And high-power lasers and…

A TRIP TO UNIVERSAL! Enter for a chance to win a supercharged trip to Universal Orlando Resort! The four-day, three-night trip for four people includes on-site accommodations at the new Universal’s Aventura Hotel (opening in August), round-trip airfare, and admission to Universal Orlando’s three theme parks—Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure, and Universal’s Volcano Bay water theme park. Visit orlandosweeps.popularmechanics.com or text TRIP to 246810. See page 93 for details. Standard message and data rates may apply.…

A FRI ENDLY GUIDE TO THE DIGITAL AGE. BOOSTED MINI S I admit to silently ridiculing the adults I see riding Boosted electric skateboards. Would you want to see one of these things leaning against the wall below your attorney’s law degree? But try one, and you’ll see they’re too much fun for you to care who sees you. The new Mini S gets seven miles of range and will hit 18 mph. More important, it’s the first Boosted board that’s small enough to stash under a desk. For fun per dollar, give me one of these over a drone any day. $749 OLLOCLIP Olloclip has finally made an iPhone X version of its snap-on lens rig. Of the base kit’s three lenses, I use the Super-Wide the most. It…

The North Face’s new Prophet 100 was designed for—and tested on—snow-capped mountain summits. But every adventurer hauling a few days of supplies down a trail can benefit from the technology that makes the Prophet not just supremely capable, but one of the most comfortable packs available. The backpack is light (five pounds, 11 ounces), and made from abrasion-resistant and ripstop fabrics that will last decades, but North Face wanted a pack that made the ugliest endeavors easier by focusing on the fit, mobility, and balance, says product manager Alex Goulet. “It’s built for the ultimate suffer-fests.” As in, carrying 60 meters of rope, ice axes, and a base camp, including the kitchen, into thin alpine air. The 100-liter aluminum-framed pack ($400) and 85-liter model ($380) are the first to use…

For all the great mystique surrounding surfing, it’s actually not that hard to ride a wave. On a huge board, in the right conditions, with a decent instructor, most people will get to their feet the first day. And it feels amazing—like sliding across the kitchen floor in your socks, only the floor is the ocean, and you’re walking on water. The hard part comes when you love that feeling. When you decide you want to surf for real, and on your own. There’s equipment to master. Rules. Lingo. Tides. Swells. The sea is always changing, and you have to learn how and when it’s willing to play. You’ll go out in slop. You’ll get turned back by waves that are too big. You’ll get tossed around underwater and cut…

OWNER: Wes Shaver LOCATION: Milwaukee, Wisconsin FOUND ON: eBay PURCHASE PRICE: $3,100 YEARS OWNED: Two MY GRANDPA WOULD always buy my grandmother the newest Cadillac. Her last Cadillac would go to him, and his Cadillac went to my uncle. Then my aunt, then my other uncle, my other aunt, down through our whole family. I remember being seven years old and going to Central Cadillac in Cleveland with my grandpa. I was enamored with this Allanté sitting there. I asked, “Why don’t you get one of these for Grandma?” He had read the reports: Allantés are fickle. “The top leaks,” he said. I’m now on my sixth Allanté, and he was right. The tops have been a pain in every single one. On the freeway, when it’s raining, water shoots…

TENTRR Ideal for new campers, or folks looking for built-in comfort, Tentrr sites include a 10-by-12-foot canvas tent with a queen-size cot, fire pit, drinking water, sun shower, camp toilet, and grill. The 500 campsites are clustered in the Northeast, but Tentrr is expanding to the West Coast this summer. BOOK THIS: Slippery Rock River Retreat in Greene, Maine [A]. Hike the property’s 400 acres and launch canoes from the campsite’s river shore. ($100 per night) HIPCAMP The 40,000 sites across the U.S. range from economy camps on a lawn to a treehouse with a hot shower. Use Hipcamp to rent a spot just outside a bucket-list park, like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite, to sleep in the same natural splendor without the crowds. BOOK THIS: Salmon Creek Ranch in…

REI Co-op Flash Air Hammock An aluminum spreader pole makes it a roomy hammock despite weighing sub-three pounds. $200 L.L. Bean Solar Lighted Water Bottle The top of the cap has a solar cell, which powers a light on the cap bottom and turns the bottle into a lamp. $30 inReach Mini by Garmin Stay connected in the backcountry with the first pocket-size satellite communicator. $350 Columbia Solar Ice Shirt Reflective microdots cover the fabric to deflect sunlight and keep you cooler. $75 Osprey Levity 45 Backpack The most comfortable ultralight pack. Some are lighter, but you wouldn’t want to wear them. $250 Kariba Explorer This car-camping stove doubles as a hot-water heater with a DC pump for showers. $495 Smartwool Merino 150 Boxer Brief Testers have worn them for…

I loved camping when I was a kid. My family would roam cross-country for weeks at a stretch, and we nearly died only a couple of times. Once I was old enough to camp on my own, I spent every warm night outside, looking at the stars, wondering what was biting my neck this time. My first grand teenage adventure came when I was 16. I had fallen for a girl at summer camp—she had tended to me after I’d tumbled off a cliff—and we agreed to meet again in Ontario’s famed Algonquin Park. I drove up with my canoe and gear. I had also packed my weight in condoms, because I had big plans on losing my virginity that week. Instead I ended up in poison ivy. I didn’t…

THE PLOT An FBI agent turned security consultant (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) has to protect the world’s tallest building—and save his family and clear his name when a terrorist group frames him for setting the building on fire. THE SCENE Johnson flees down a stairwell before retreating back up the stairs and out the window. All while a camera trails him and tries not to get in the way. THE STEADICAM RIG that I wear is connected by a mechanical arm to a harness on your body. It weighs about 60 pounds. The arm has a whole bunch of springs in it that act like shock absorbers, so you get smooth shots even if you’re running or going up and down stairs. Steadicam shots are often what we call a…

CRYOTHERAPY WHAT IS IT? Cooling the body with nitrogen WHAT IS IT SUPPOSED TO DO? Reduce inflammation HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? $90 per session WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE? Standing on your porch in a blizzard I hand my robe to Michael Margulies, one earnestfaced half of the husband-and-wife team that owns NYC Cryo, a black, low-ceilinged basement gym in New York City, and I am practically naked inside an eight-foot-tall silver cylinder. Fog seeps over the top, like it’s been pumped in from a stage set for Macbeth. I march in place in my thick black crew socks and rub my nubby white gloves together. Margulies tells me not to be nervous, but I am. Three years ago, a woman died during an after-hours solo session at a…

A DeWalt LENGTH: 4 inches DIAMETER: 1 ¼ inches Good for small hands, with multiple grip options. Plus: a hanging hole! $12.40 (two-piece set) B Harbor Freight Pittsburgh LENGTH: 4 ½ inches DIAMETER: 1 ¼ inches A ball detent in the socket allows it to take any plain-shank hex screwdriver bit. C Channellock LENGTH: 3 ½ inches DIAMETER: 1 inch Ridges in its handle provide good grip and it has the most stable stand-on-end handle. $6.30 D Wiha LENGTH: 3 ⅜ inches DIAMETER: 1 ¼ inches Has a stand-on-end handle and a unique bulb shape that provides a surprisingly powerful turn. $11 (two-piece set) E Craftsman LENGTH: 4 ⅛ inches DIAMETER: 1 ⅝ inches A huge handle gives plenty of torque. The tip is plated in industrial diamond particles for…

Okay, maybe it’s not technically an air conditioner, since a true a/c both cools and removes moisture. This won’t do the latter. But a bunch of ice is much cheaper than a refrigerant loop. 1. / Pick up a Styrofoam cooler from your local convenience store. The lid must be large enough for you to cut out a hole the size of your fan. (A standard floor fan separated from its post will work.) 2. / Trace your fan’s outline on the cooler lid. Cut out the hole. 3. / Trace and cut a couple holes for air outlets. You want to be able to insert some kind of pipe or tube to direct the air. Toilet-paper rolls will work, but elbow fittings are best, because they can be rotated…

CAN YOU TELL THESE APART? (ANSWER KEY BELOW) There is a basic tension between aerodynamic engineers and car designers. Each side will say that their missions are in harmony, that good design should not preclude good aerodynamics, and that aerodynamics should not limit design. But that’s not really true. The wind doesn’t care whether your grille is distinctive, or even whether you have one at all. The wind wants your car to look like a raindrop, and anything else is a compromise. Yes, every percentage of miles per gallon or range per charge matters, but visual distinction sells cars. “I always ask, ‘Have we perfected the bottom of the car?’” says Andrew Smith, global head of design for Cadillac. “Let’s work on the part that nobody can see first.” The…

While electric cars get ever more capable and less expensive, electric bikes are enjoying the same progress in batteries and motors. From 2016 to 2017, U.S. e-bike sales doubled, and even Harley-Davidson is producing an electric motorcycle next year. We tested three new examples of bi-wheeled electric transportation. The Dirt Bike: HPC Revolution $9,999 The California-built Revolution conforms to U.S. e-bike rules, with 750 watts of power and a 20-mph top speed. At least, until you hack it. If you’re heading off-road, you can reprogram the Revolution’s software to unlock the hub motor’s full potential, which cranks out as much as 6,000 watts. Then, you’re on your way to a top speed of 50 mph and a riding experience that’s really like that of a very quiet, tail-heavy dirt bike.…

askroy@popularmechanics.com @askroypm Why is our gas grill so hard to light? Larry R., Tallahassee, Florida First, find out whether it’s a gas-flow problem or a spark problem. Try to light the gas as you would normally, but instead of pressing the piezo igniter button, use a long match or a long-reach butane lighter. If the grill lights and burns properly, you’ve got an ignition problem. It could be a worn-out spark module, a loose wire or other connection, a dead battery, corrosion or dirt on the igniter tip, or cracked porcelain on the igniter element. If the grill doesn’t light using the match, check for low or no gas flow. Your problem could be as simple as a low gas tank. Or it could be worse: gas plumbing clogged by…

NUMBER OF PARTS: 415 MODEL: WEBER GENESIS II LX E-440 PRODUCED: PALATINE, ILLINOIS TIME TO DISASSEMBLE: 3 HOURS, 52 MINUTES NOTES: No one knows the appeal of a charcoal grill more than a Weber aficionado, but there’s a reason the storied grill-maker also sells gas grills. After a set-up process that amounts to “pick up propane tank from gas station,” on a grill like this one you get more than ten hours of grilling time. No chimney, no charcoals, no debate about the merits of lighter fluid. Sure, you don’t get the smoky charcoal taste. But you still get grill lines, and the Maillard reaction, and standing outside and making conversation with tongs in one hand and a beer in the other. Plus: Have you heard of Flavorizer bars? (See…

The first low-Earth-orbit hotel, Aurora Station, aims to welcome space tourists by 2022. Though the unbuilt four-guest luxury hotel has countless technical hurdles ahead, one vacation amenity is covered: the beer. Jaron Mitchell, cofounder of Australia’s 4 Pines Brewing, saw the growing interest in space tourism in 2010 and began developing a recipe to satisfy travelers in microgravity. “The challenges are carbonation, taste, and pouring,” says Mitchell. Because there’s no up in microgravity to direct carbonation, a terrestrial beer will separate into large beer-covered bubbles that result in uncomfortable wet burps. And astronauts have reported a dulled sense of taste, so the beer had to impress blunted palates. 4 Pines settled on an amplified Irish-style stout, rich with heavily roasted barley, that still felt and tasted like great beer with…

THE SCI ENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF HEALTH AND WE LLNESS. THE ROOM WAS HOT and sweaty and smelled like feet, and Red Bull skydiver Jeff Provenzano was struggling to hold a squat on tiptoe. It was only the second pose in his regular Bikram yoga class. Normally he would find his eyes in the mirror, suck in his abs, and easily steady himself. Today, it wasn’t happening. First his hearing went fuzzy, like he was listening to the room through a cone. Then he got dizzy and balloon-headed. This will peak in a minute, he thought, and I’ll be fine. He wasn’t. His vision started blacking in from all sides like it was being rubbed out with an eraser. He made it down to his mat just seconds before keeling…

Voyageurs National Park Minnesota Paddle out to the Locator chain of four lakes. There is only one single-family campsite at each, and Quill or Loyden are occupied the least. —Chuck Remus, former Voyageurs chief ranger Yellowstone National Park Wyoming The sites at the drive-in Canyon Campground are really convenient for spotting wildlife, with trails into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It’s a big campground, but the tents-only Loop E is more secluded, especially sites 95 and 96. —Linda Veress, Yellowstone spokeswoman and former ranger Denali National Park & Preserve Alaska At Wonder Lake, there is a campground with just 28 sites. You’re as far from civilization as you can be while still being on a road. You get amazing views of Denali only 26 miles away—it looks monstrous. —Chad…

Everything in the film takes place in a building that exists only on a computer. For a fight scene near the end of the movie, the flames would be added in post-production, but we had to light the scene so that it looks like it takes place with a huge fire burning around it. Fire has a very specific color temperature. If it’s a big, big fire, it’s lower than your light-bulbs. It’s much redder. So we measured the color temperature of fire with a meter. Then with gel packs in front of a tungsten light, you can very accurately re-create the color of fire. We hooked our lights up to boxes that vary the voltage at high intervals, so they appear to flicker. As many as 15 to 20…

A / Uncle Henry 55UH A fine knife, but the hinge needed substantial lubrication. And the locking liner was particularly difficult to push to the side. It sharpens to a reasonable edge, and the lanyard hole could be useful. $20 B / Böker Plus 21788 This simple lock-back knife is made in China, but its workmanship is good. The blade is made of 440C stainless steel, so it takes a good edge. It’s a little wider and heavier than the Case. $20 C / Case Mini Copperlock 61749L CV Our favorite knife is slim and polished, with exceptional workmanship. The hinge is smooth, the hilt is comfortable, and the blade takes a shaving-sharp edge. $50 WHAT WE PUT THEM THROUGH Opening boxes, slicing sandwiches, cutting rope, and whittling. And we…