Welcome to Spring in Utah! As I’m writing this, it is actually snowing outside at the end of March. But no matter — spring is on its way. So I figured I would post a few key cycling events in and around Utah for those who are so inclined. We’ll start with some of the mountaing biking events. (more…)

At Outdoor Retailer in January, I was shown some prototype trail running shoes from Vasque. The new kicks were the Vasque Aether Tech Softshell shoes. The standard Aether Tech shoes were released earlier this year, but the softshell versions will be out late in the summer–just in time for cool-weather trail running.

Not only are these shoes built for cool/cold-weather trail running, but I’ve also been told they are great for beach running since they don’t have any mesh. No mesh = no sand inbetween your toes. Another great feature of the Aether Tech Softshell shoe is the built-in Boa Lacing System, which is mounted on the top of the foot as opposed to on the back of the shoe–like most Boa trail shoes. (more…)

The name Pflueger has been around for some time. My first fly reel was a Pflueger although I do no remember the model it served me well over the years. However it finally gave out and I had to purchase a new reel recently I purchased one of the 7-8 weight Summit Series Fly reels and I must say that I am impressed with this new reel by Pflueger. While fighting steelhead here in Idaho I have enjoy the way the Summit Series is capable of handling these often aggressive fish. (more…)

With Steelhead season picking up and Salmon season just around the corner I decided it was time to pick up a new fishing rod and reel. I found an excellent setup with the Penn SV6000 Spinning Reel & Rod Combo. This Rod and reel combo package has it all, it is well balance has a large spool and the drag system is one of the smoothest that I have used. (more…)

Here is a quick gear review of the Black Diamond Glidelite (Standard) climbing skins for alpine ski touring. I’ve ridden different brands of skins, my most recent being the Backcountry Access Low-Fat climbing skins. Those have some great adhesive & plenty of grippy tread. But there were two complaints I had with those: 1) the tip loop had to be jury-rigged to fit on my wide-tipped LINE Mothership skis, and 2) the tail hook was just that — a simple hook — so you had to cut them EXACTLY right for the length of ski, and you had to put them on starting at the tail. A royal pain. So now I am stoked on Black Diamond’s STS tail hook for the Glidelite skins, since it gives you a bit more flexibility in terms of ski length. Enjoy the quick vid! -Brig