Posts Tagged hiking
Adidas Outdoor Terrex Feather Shell and Windstopper Hybrid Jacket
As a family of soccer players, we thought we were quite familiar with the Adidas brand; I’ve been buying their cleats, shorts, and athletic warm-ups for years. But as skiers and winter outdoor enthusiasts, we had no idea Adidas also offers a high quality, high tech line of outdoor apparel.
The women’s GORE-TEX Terrex Feather Shell weighs in at the absolute lightest full-coverage, full-duty outer layer jacket I’ve ever tried. It features a helmet-compatible hood with built-in visor and drawstring adjustment, full-zip closure, zip-ventilation on the sides and under the arms, adjustable cuffs (perfect for fitting over winter gloves), and an adjustable, removable storm skirt. All this, and it folds up to next to nothing for packing.
I’ll admit, I was skeptical before I tried this shell. With a retail price of $495, I figured it had better be lined with gold. But what actually makes the Terrex Feather Shell stand apart is what Adidas calls ‘formotion technology’: the jacket’s design is such that it follows your natural movement. In other words, this jacket will move with you, not against you. I wore it downhill skiing, hiking, and while walking the dog (trust me, that’s an aerobic activity!) and could feel the difference from other shells.
Underneath, I paired the shell with Adidas’ Windstopper Hybrid-Jacket, which, unlike my initial skepticism of the shell, I fell in love with immediately. The Windstopper is roomy without being bulky, thick without being suffocating, and truly such a windbreaker that on all but the most frigid of days, it could pull solo duty as an outer layer. Where does the ‘hybrid’ factor in? The Windstopper is designed with different performance fabrics placed in different (strategic) locations, all targeted to work with the human body in movement. This jacket will definitely be in my luggage for every type of cold-weather travel (and in the meantime, it’s the one I reach for every day at home).
As aforementioned, the Terrex Feather Shell lists for $495, but you’ll probably find it for less at Amazon and REI. The Windstopper Hybrid lists for $200 and is also at Amazon. You’ll find both at some outdoor physical retail stores too, but Adidas just launched this whole outdoor line a year ago so the items aren’t totally widespread yet.
Bottom line: can you outfit yourself for winter travel and outdoor sports for less? Of course. But if you’re truly looking for the best of the best when it comes to performance and comfort, this may be it.
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Posted by Amy in Adventure Gear on January 24th, 2012
Cheap Survival Insurance: $15 Adventure Medical Kit
With this kit, you can prepare for unexpected problems without carrying a lot of extra weight and bulk.
If you’ve ever been on a guided tour or hiking trip, you’ve probably noticed that whenever something goes wrong or someone gets hurt, the guide has a Hermione-like magic bag filled with all the right bandages and first-aid supplies. You almost never see a professional guide without some kind of daypack because they need to be prepared for whatever nature can throw at them.
How prepared are you when you go hiking, kayaking, biking, or rural road-tripping on your own? Are you prepared for getting stuck somewhere for the night—with no heat?
It’s hard to justify a big and bulky kit that covers every possible bad situation. But I’m digging this little 4-ounce, $15 Survival Medic packet from Adventure Medical Kits. It’s got some first aid supplies in it, like antibiotic cream, an antiseptic towelette, and bandages. The real high-value items though are things you would probably spend much more than $15 on if you were to buy them individually and pack them up yourself. (And they wouldn’t fit so well together.)
This kit has their cool little firestarter that makes sparks, tinder to light up from those sparks, and an emergency blanket to retain your body heat while all that gets going. There’s a compass to keep you from wandering in circles and a signal whistle to alert anyone around that you need help. You also get 26 inches of duct tape and some very useful survival instructions in a small booklet.
All this packs into a waterproof plastic bag that’s about the size of one hand. It takes up about as much room as a solar charger, so it’s not going to be a packing burden or weigh you down.
You wouldn’t know it from watching 24-hour news channels, but I read that more tourists died in U.S. national parks last year than died in all of Mexico. But people don’t usually warn you to be careful when you say you’re going to go hiking in Yellowstone. Pack one of these—it’s cheap insurance. Order it direct or get it from Amazon here. It should also start showing up at stores shortly.
If you go backcountry hiking on a regular basis, check out this heftier kit I reviewed earlier from the same company: Origin SOL Survival Kit.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on January 19th, 2012
Ultrathon Bug Repellent: Stay Bite Free
I’ve stopped looking for an alternative to DEET. I gave up after having a long talk with a scrappy guy in a hunting and fishing store in lower British Columbia. “I’ve researched this over and over,” he insisted, “and I’ve tried every new thing out there. It’s not like I WANT to put DEET on my kids, but it’s the only thing that really works.”
My experience agrees. We’ve tried all kinds of alternative bug repellents in our outdoor adventures and while some of them do indeed smell lovely and might keep the bugs at bay for an hour or so, when it comes to things like avoiding malaria or other nasty mosquito borne illnesses, I’ll take the DEET and minimize the risk. The travel clinic I use recommends Ultrathon Insect Repellent by 3M. We used it for our travels to Southeast Asia two — or was it three? — years back and I’m packing it now for my upcoming trip to Tanzania.
The first line of defense is spraying your clothing and gear. It’s easy enough to do — I just hung two weeks of clothing on the laundry line, sprayed it, and waiting for it to dry. There’s no real smell once it’s absorbed by your clothing and it’s good for about six weeks or six washings. I’ve also got the lotion — in a 2 ounce tube for TSA friendliness. That stuff does have some chemical scent to it and honestly, using it in hot climates I found it less than idea, a little sticky on my skin, even. The thing is, this stuff is 34.34% DEET, giving you maximum protection from bugs. There’s a spray option too, that’s probably a bit easier to deal with wearing. It’s still pretty strong at 25% for the aerosol and 19% for the pump.
Usual common sense precautions apply. Don’t get the bug repellent in your eyes or mouth, keep it out of cuts, don’t inhale it. The side effects will vary from person to person; your most like to just have irritated eyes or a rather nasty taste in your mouth. There’s a decent FAQ that addresses any health concerns you might have on the 3M Ultrathon site.
I love the idea of less toxic packed sprays made from things like lavender and peppermint, but we’re bug magnets at our house, we get bitten. Nothing has proven — in our experience — to keep the mozzies at bay like this bug juice from 3M.
Get your airline friendly size lotion from Amazon here. The spray for your clothing (you’ll do this pre-trip) is here. Hesitating about going all DEET crazy? The CDC traveler’s health page is here; it should scare you enough to reconsider going chemical for your travels. And hey, there’s also insect repellent clothing; check out Tim’s review here.
Posted by Pam in Adventure Gear on September 2nd, 2011
The Whole Package: Ecco Tahoe Multi-purpose Shoes
Packing fewer pairs of shoes makes a huge difference in your volume and weight, but it’s not always easy to find a good compromise for multiple activities where there is some adventure involved. Ditch the hiking books, give up the waterproofing, stability and traction. Ditch the sneakers, give up the comfort and soft upper. When you find a pair of travel shoes that can really combine these two styles without compromise, it’s a beautiful thing.
I’m always on the hunt for these elusive double-duty shoes, the ones that will hold up to a five-mile hike, work well for a day of sightseeing, and do the job for a circuit in the gym. I’m happy to say these Ecco Tahoe ones fit the bill. I’m pretty jaded at this point and start focusing on the faults almost immediately, but these really passed the tests without frustration.
Starting at the bottom, these have the kind of sole you’d expect on a good pair of medium-duty hiking shoes. There’s some serious rubber tread under there and Ecco’s “Receptor” technology is designed to support the way your body and foot move naturally through heel strike, mid stance, and push off. To use their words, it was “developed with the guidance of the world’s leading biomechanists to amplify strength, apply additional torque, enhance stability, and better ‘sense’ terrain.” I would normally call b.s. on that kind of hyperbole, but I’ve felt less fatigue with these than pretty much any hiking boot/shoe I’ve tried. They’re onto something.
Moving up, there’s a direct-injected polyurethene footbed that gives, but is supportive. The insole enhances the fit without effort and is this is one of the few pairs I’ve tested where I haven’t eventually pulled out the insole and stuck in my own orthodics. The uppers are a nice mix of cushioned mesh fabric and leather. Not just any leather though—yak leather! The leather from those high-altitude beasts is supposedly three times stronger than that of lazy cows. There’s nothing in the specs about water resistance, but I got caught in a rain storm one day while out walking in these and my socks stayed completely dry.
Rounding these out are an extra layer of protection around the heel and toe, loops that allow the laces to be adjusted to fit your foot size, and a heel loop for getting them on or off.
These fit me fine, but my foot is a bit wider than what most shoes are sized for. If you’ve got narrow feet, try them on at a store.
Ecco is a Danish company that displays that region’s love of good design and well-made products. It was founded on the idea of making shoes made to fit well, based on science and not just marketing. The company has a rabid fan base that few brands can match and word of mouth is a big part of what drives their sales. This is the first pair of theirs I’ve tried, but now I get it.
The Tahoe–which for some reason shows up as Xpedition Lite as well—comes in two color styles and lists for $150. (Like I said, they’re from Denmark.). Check prices online at these retailers:
Ecco Men’s Tahoe Hiking Shoes at Altrec.com
Get them at Amazon (where it’s listed as Xpedition Lite)
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Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, Travel Light on September 1st, 2011
Osprey Verve 10 Hydration Pack
It’s been some time since I bought my ancient Platypus hydration pack. I never did love it, it had some major flaws that have no doubt have since been fixed. The biggest issues I had with my old pack were centered around the hydration unit itself — the water reservoir and how it worked. I could never quite find the valve, it was always flapping around loose. And it leaked like crazy, soaking the right side of my bike shorts right through on those long rides. Not a problem on hot days, but in typical Seattle weather, you don’t need an additional cooling system.
The Osprey Verve hydration pack fixes those two major issues and has a whole mess of nicely designed features to make hauling a bunch of water around with you on your active outdoor adventure easy and comfortable.
First, that issue with the valve. Osprey has a magnet on the valve so it clips to the buckle on the chest strap. The valve is where you expect it to be, it’s not swinging around. It’s bite activated and it has an open/shut mode — you turn the valve to drink from it — so it doesn’t leak. Complaints? Gone. The water resevoir has a wide screw top mouth so it’s easy to fill and a stiff back so it holds its shape; it doesn’t settle to the bottom of your pack the way some of those hydration bags do.
There are lots of nice details that I noticed right away. The zipper pulls have plastic loops on them that are shaped to fit your fingers, there’s no fussing with them. There’s a special clip for your bike helmet — though hey, most of the time, you’re wearing your helmet, right? There are straps you can use to cinch your coat on to the outside of the pack. I attached my rain shell when the sun came out and the weather dried up and my coat was secure and out of the way. There’s a mesh outside pocket, a zippered wallet sized pocket, and a main storage pocket with organizer sections.
My test run with this Verve pack was on a day hike on a mild day. I had a sweater, a rain coat, a pocket camera, my wallet and keys, a few small odds and ends. I was able to stuff my sweater in to the main compartment and, as I mentioned, tie my coat to the straps on the outside of the pack. Everything was secure, the zips stayed shut, the clasps held everything in place. For a minimalist day out, it was absolutely fine — I probably could have squeezed some snacks in there too.
But I couldn’t fit my SLR in the bag, not even when it was empty. I prefer to bring my camera with a telephoto lens when I go play outside, and there’s no way this bag would accomodate it. It’s not a flaw in the bag, so much as it is my own fault for insisting on dragging that much camera around with me. But consider this a heads up. If you’re like me and want your telephoto, this isn’t the bag for you.
Osprey makes a whole lot of packs, many of them include their very well designed hydration system. Day hikers and bikers will find lots to like about the Verve Hydration pack, or the companion Viper line that’s designed for the guys. You’ll just have to pack light. Not a bad restriction to have.
The Verve is available from Amazon for $84. Or follow these links to check prices at REI and eBags.
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Posted by Pam in Adventure Gear, General Gear on July 29th, 2011
