ExOfficio Nio Amphi Convertible Pants
Yeah, I know, I’ve heard all the reasons why these travel pants that convert to shorts are not for cool people. If you’re part of the fashion police brigade, you can ignore this review of ExOfficio’s version.
For everyone else—and judging by what I see on the road “everyone else” is a whole lot of people—these Nio Amphi ones are the top shelf version of this adventure travel staple. But first, if these convertible pants are so dorky, why are they so popular?
There’s one primary reason: one less item to pack. Here at Practical Travel Gear we believe in packing light and one of the best ways to pull that off is by choosing a lot of double-duty gear. These pants are exhibit A in that strategy. They’re pants when you need pants, but the legs zip off and they’re shorts when you need shorts. Handy on a hike or when you’re a man in a country where men don’t wear shorts (which is, unfortunately, most of the world). Pants by day, shorts by night in the hostel or guesthouse.
The ExOfficio Nio Amphi ones make the packing even easier by being super-light and wrinkle free. They weigh about half what a couple cheaper pairs I have weigh and they feel nicer on the skin as well. Their tag line says they “dry faster than you can say ‘amphibious’” and while that may be stretching it, I’ve repeatedly found them to dry in less than an hour on an outdoor clothesline—impressive.
These travel pants are water resistant and stain resistant and in my experience they still look like new after multiple trips and washings—both in the sink and in a machine. They’re light and wispy, but still pack a 30SPF sun protection.
As with most ExOfficio products, there are a lot of little details that set these apart. There’s a nice built-in woven nylon belt that can be removed, there are flaps covering the zippers on the legs when the bottom parts are removed, and there’s a soft liner around the waist to make them more comfortable. You want pockets? These pants have so many pockets you could stash your money in seven different places if you wanted, including two zippered back pockets, a couple that close with Velcro, and some secret stash pockets for change or bills.
The ExOfficio Nio Amphi pants come in three colors and multiple sizes for men and two colors for women. The list price is $75, but less popular colors and sizes sometimes get discounted to move them out the door.
Free Shipping On Orders Over $50 at ExOfficio.com
See the ExOfficio Nio Amphi Women’s version at Backcountry.com
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on September 1st, 2010
Crazy Mountain Hardware Guys Camp Atop Ski Resort in Chile
So there I was sliding off the ski lift at Valle Nevado resort in Chile a couple weeks ago when I spotted a dome tent with a Mountain Hardware logo on it. Curious, I skied over to see what it was all about. As this guy explains in the video, he and a couple other guys are camped out up there the entire ski season! In the daytime they ski a little, greet visitors, build igloos, and show off their gear. At night, they bundle up.
I think the point is that this gear can hold up well to the elements, even for an entire winter at 10,000 feet in the Andes Mountains. Tents, sleeping bags, insulated pants, and serious puffy jackets.
You can check out Mountain Hardware gear yourself at the following online retailers.
Mountain Hardwear at Backcountry.com
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear on August 31st, 2010
Tunebug Shake: Turn Your Bike Helmet into a Speaker
When I’m “going green” and using pedal power for my travels, I still enjoy taking along some of my favorite tunes. But I’ve been leaving the music player behind because conventional earbuds and earphones block out too much traffic and other sounds I need to hear while biking.
The Tunebug Shake is an ingenious solution, turning a bike rider’s helmet into a speaker. And it still allows me to hear traffic and that dog that decides to give chase—a much safer solution than earphones or earbuds.
The Shake is a battery-powered puck that attaches to the helmet. Two different mounts are included. The Shake connects to a portable music player with an included cable. Or if you don’t want a cable getting in the way, it will also connect via Bluetooth.
It can be recharged through a computer USB port and a full charge lasts around five hours.
Tunebug calls this technology SurfaceSound and I was surprised how good it sounded. It’s not the same as a $500 set of earbuds, but I wouldn’t expect that. The Shake, as promised, delivers a very listenable sound through a helmet and doesn’t drown out other sounds I need to hear. It would work just as well on skateboard or snowboard helmets.
Weighing in at 2.4 ounces, the extra weight on the helmet isn’t even noticeable. Two touch-sensitive buttons turn the unit on or off and adjust the volume.
The Tunebug Shake retails for $119.95 and is available from the manufacturer’s website or Amazon.
A helmet may be a strange-looking speaker. But the Tunebug Shake makes it sing—with no worries about the sounds you’re missing.
Posted by JohnG in Adventure Gear, Business Gear, General Gear on August 24th, 2010
O’Neill Rash Guard Shirts for Sun Protection
Even when I’m not using difficult natural sunscreen, I find slathering lotion all over my body about as much fun as repeatedly pulling weeds in the garden. So I wear a sun hat while walking around and will slip into a rash guard shirt if I’m boogie boarding or snorkeling on the coast.
In a moment that made me realize why I like shopping at REI in person sometimes, I asked the sales rep what the difference was between the Body Glove rash guard shirt I was holding in one hand and the less expensive O’Neill one I was holding in the other. “Nothing really,” he replied. “Just buy the one that fits better and looks better.”
This is the third one of these things I’ve owned (see my Body Glove review here) and I was glad to hear that my hunch was the reality. Any brand you pick will do a good job of keeping you from getting sunburned and keeping you from rubbing your skin raw if you surf or ride a boogie board for hours. The Body Glove one I reviewed in the past did the job and looked good; so does this O’Neill version.
These cost a bit more than a regular wicking t-shirt, but not much. This one had a list price of $34 on it and I got it a bit cheaper on sale. Sometimes you can find various models for less than $20 on close-out sales at Sierra Trading Post or Campmor.
So what are you getting exactly? A very stretchy, strong, and fast-drying Nylon/Spandex shirt that feels like a second skin. It offers an SPF sun protection of 50+ for UV rays, so you can spend all day in the water and just have to reapply lotion to the arms and legs. (Or you can buy a long-sleeve version and have even less skin to worry about.) You can’t see it in the photos, but there’s a little tab at the bottom to help you pull it off when it’s wet and clingy.
Naturally these rash guard shirts are lightweight and easy to pack, but be advised that every curve and love handle will show up when you’re wearing one of these, so they’re meant for people in decent physical shape—as in six-pack abs, not a big Joe six-pack gut. (Of course all your kids will care about is the color, so get one for them regardless.)
If you’ve got a really fast connection and lots of time to wait for pages to load, see the whole collection at Oneill.com. Or get your sun protection swim shirt (at what may be a late-summer discount) at your local surf shop or at one of the following:
Search O’Neill swim shirt prices online
Search for rash guard swim shirts at Campmor or Sierra Trading Post
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, General Gear, Kids and Family on August 11th, 2010
Natural Outdoor Products From All Terrain
I had to wait until the heat of summer to try out an array of product samples I got earlier in the year from All Terrain. Most of what they produce is meant to protect you from two menaces: the sun and biting bugs. They do both in an all natural way though, with no DEET in the insect repellent and no wide array of tough-to-pronounce chemicals in the sunscreen.
Some of these products I liked more than others. If the stuff works as well as its chemical counterpart—or close at least—then naturally I’d rather go natural. When there are performance issues, however, using the natural variation is more of a moral or health choice than anything.
Lip Armour Balm – This lip balm was my favorite of the bunch, and a bargain at a list price of $2.59. In this case the product feels (and tastes) better on the lips than the usual petroleum-based alternatives. It’s made of Shea Butter, Vitamin E, hemp seed oil and All Terrain’s proprietary Z-Cote zinc oxide for SPF 25 sun blocking. Great stuff!
Herbal Armour Insect Repellent – My past experience with natural insect repellents has mostly been disappointing, with the results ranging from “not bad if you reapply every half hour” to “bugs thought I was breakfast.” This All Terrain version is the first one I’ve tried that I would consider a fairly good alternative to DEET. The company claims it stays 100% effective for two hours (and 95% for another hour) and while I didn’t scientifically test those claims, the 5-oils repellent didn’t require frequent reapplication to keep the mozzies at bay. Especially if you have kids or sensitive skin, Herbal Armour offers natural protection without a lot of trade-offs. At $7.99 for four ounces or $4.99 for a two-ounce travel size, this is a great value too.
Biodegradable Sunscreen -Unfortunately, it wasn’t a three out of three with the all natural products. “I absolutely hate this sunscreen” was my wife’s reaction after a couple of days using it at the beach and I had zebra stripes on my belly after not rubbing it in uniformly enough one day. I tried all three versions (Terra Sport, Aqua Sport, and Kid Sport) and the results were similar. All were tough to apply without a lot of elbow grease, streaky on the skin, and quick to leave white streaky stains on all three of our bathing suits. These problems aren’t unique to this company, but are issues that plague nearly every brand of natural sunscreen. Without all the binding agents and nanotech wonderstuffs you get with the more popular kinds, and with the tendency of any zinc oxide product to be less-than-transparent, natural sunscreens have a tough comparison battle with the chemical alternatives.
Having said all that, I would still use this in sensitive areas like Yucatan cenotes or when snorkeling around protected coral reefs. It’s worth it to put up with a little inconvenience to protect our planet mates. In a swimming pool though? Unless you have sensitive skin, bring on the Banana Boat.
See the full line of All Terrain Natural products and order direct.
All Terrain Herbal Armor Spray Insect Repellent at REI.
Kid’s Herbal Armour at Amazon
Related review:
Beyond Coastal Sun Care Products
Posted by Tim in Adventure Gear, Kids and Family, Travel Light on August 5th, 2010
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