The SCARPA Gecko is the rare all-around approach shoe that walks comfortably over many miles, while maintaining good sensitivity and traction on rock. Italian leather uppers, to-the-toe lacing, and thoughtfully lugged Vibram soles create an ideal shoe for everything from casual…
I’ve been wearing the Spy Optic Allure Mint Chip Fade with Happy Bronze Polar lenses non-stop recently. These sunglasses have the new Spy Optic Happy Lens, rubber nose pads and temple tips, and are durably built with ‘virtually indestructible’ Grilamid®.…
A cozy update of a classic mummy bag: When the Eleanor Plus first arrived on my doorstep it seemed to be nothing more than a standard 3-season 700-fill-power mummy bag. It packed down small, fluffed up nicely, and was stuffed…
The new SCARPA Vapor is an evolution of the classic Vapor V climbing shoe. It features a stiffer last than the Vapor V and a redesigned one-piece leather upper. Straight out of the box the soft leather upper and shape of…
“This is good… this is really good,” Bryan proclaimed, thoughtfully masticating his fifth PROBAR of the day, a Cran-Raspberry Fuel. As he nodded approvingly, I was struck by his enduring satisfaction after several days of subsisting on a PROBAR-based menu.…
The original Petzl ELIA was the first climbing helmet I bought for myself due to the great and simple fact that it was specific to females, particularly to allow for ponytails and other rat’s-nest hairdos that result from a hot…
This spring I spent a somewhat miserable week lugging some heavy backpacking gear through a desert canyon in the pouring rain. Every time I lifted up my pack, I dreamt about all the ways I could lighten my load. Upon…
The weather in Colorado is its own animal and I am always struggling to have the right layers for all conditions. I was stoked to try the La Sportiva Hail Jacket because of the way it was advertised, which is: a light,…
If you typically run in a neutral and/or minimalist shoe on the trails and the thought of running in a pair of high-profile kicks seems like a bad idea, think again. The Trail N3 is a highly cushioned trail runner that…
A very important part of a backpacker’s gear list is their sleeping pad. Without one, you’re stuck lying on the ground, which leaves you cold, wet, and achy. After a long day of hiking, I can assure you that a…