Helmets used to be a laborious thing to find — they all have different shapes to the shell, and so it’s hard to find one that doesn’t pinch your forehead but also isn’t a total salad bowl. Since I have a football-shaped head, I used to have to get something too large so that it wouldn’t pinch the front & back of my head, and then stuff the sides with enough foam to fill a sofa. I think I’ve found the solution — at least for my pinhead. The Giro Indicator is a bike helmet that will fit you no matter what, and at a price that won’t make you balk. (more…)

While I’m a huge proponent of eVent Fabric, sometimes it makes sense to bring things in-house. KEEN is doing just that for 2009 with the introduction of KEEN.DRY breathable, waterproof membrane for their footwear. Select hiking boots and shoes will come with the new KEEN.DRY fabric, which has a 2-year guarantee!

From KEEN:

“Each KEEN.DRY bootie is subjected to rigorous testing before it leaves our factory. KEEN guarantees that all shoes featuring KEEN.DRY will be 100% waterproof for up to two years from the date of purchase–and will replace any defective pair.”

Quite a nice warranty… something not offered by others that I’m aware of. Again, I’m not a huge fan of GoreTex liners for shoes, but eVent has been much better than GoreTex because it breathes 100-times better than Gore.  It looks like KEEN.DRY should allow KEEN to develop their own shoes and liners to save time, money and development efforts moving forward.

Look for KEEN.DRY in boots such as the KEEN Targhee Mid II sometime in early 2009.

More Info: Visit www.keenfootwear.com

Buy Now: Search for Keen Footwear in the GEAR.com Catalog

If you are a Salt Lake resident, there is one trail that you ought to be flogging every Saturday morning: the Pioneer Trail in East Canyon. This trail is extremely accessible but the great thing about it is that you get some great climbing that isn’t brutal, and is shady most of the way. Perfect way to work those thighs without crushing your lungs. (more…)

Well, not just yet, but soon. If you look at the Nau website you’ll see that Nau is about to take on it’s 2.0 shell come August 1, 2008. From the looks of it they sort of tried what Black Diamond did of Chouinard Equipment, that is an employee buy out of assets and brand, but fell short a bit to where Horny Toad stepped in to cover the difference. My guess is that it was a big difference.

Enough has been hashed out about why Nau went down in a blaze of flashy web code and stores to match, but the concept of building and selling clothing in a responsible way that keeps the earth as priority number one which they helped push along was something that I knew was powerful enough to last. It looks like they may be around for good this time.

Nau will unveil a Fall/Holiday 2008 line and will be working with select retailers who share their vision and philosophy.

True to the statement on the Nau homepage, their first order of business is to fire up the Nau blog called the Thought Kitchen. On there they state what some would call the obvious direction they should have taken the first go around rather than the Dot Com style of brand building that burned through funding at impressive rates.

We’re going to start small. With a tight crew, we’ll focus on product development and what we like to call ‘story development.’ We’ll also focus on our ecommerce business once we re-launch the site for our new Fall/Holiday 2008 line. We will not be operating our own brick-and-mortar stores, but instead we’ll be developing relationships with select retailers who would like to partner with us.

From Horny Toad’s site they say of this move:

6 weeks ago Nau closed up shop due to some financing issues. But they have many, many fans and good friends who didn’t want them to go away. Horny Toad stepped in and bought most of Nau’s remaining assets and hired a small talented team from the original Nau who will now (no pun intended) continue to create incredible product and keep alive the core philosophies. We’re calling the new Nau Version 2.0 and it will launch August 1, 2008.

Get the full scoop at HornyToad.com

For a while now I’ve been in the hunt for a new pair of casual shoes that would both look good at the office and function if I needed to get away from the pavement for any reason. While looking I came upon the Montrail Whidbey Shoe which although had mixed reviews from customers at Backcountry.com I have had good luck with the Montrail Vitesse (I’m on my third pair) and these were comfortable enough out of the box that I figured I’d drop some coin and give it a go.

When I got home and pulled out my new shoes it was to my surprise that they were all alone in the box. No paper in the toes, no rice paper liner, no cardboard to separate the two, nada. Just a box with shoes. My initial

response had me thinking it must have been a returned pair, but then upon closer inspection were these words printed on the box:

Less is more.
We are doing our our best to reduce the environmental impact of producing quality footwear. One simple initiative is to eliminate the paper stuffing…..Please continue to help us by reusing or recycling this box…

Ok, so they’ve won me over on the Vitesse and now on the lack of paper in the box. Let’s see how the shoes do.

Quick Review of the Montrail Whidbey Shoe

Unlike most shoes these were quite comfortable right out of the box. That first day wearing them I spent the entire day on the go from meeting to meeting, lunch get together, evening reception and more. They look good along with a nice pair of jeans or khakis whether you’re headed to the office or traveling abroad.

The insole is quite comfortable and even had a medial arch support that for my foot (higher arch, wide forefoot) was an added bonus. I think those with a flat foot may be bothered by this feature. The leather is supple enough that they stretched out in the forefoot to my width.

The one thing that does annoy is the fact that the tongue wants to constantly slide over the the outside. I noticed that one of the customer reviewers on Backcountry.com also had this happen. While not a show stopper, it may annoy.

All in all, I’m quite pleased with these shoes. The comfort level and looks with the versatility of a solid sole makes them a keeper!

Features of the Montrail Whidbey include:

• Thermo-moldable CTX footbed
• Soft supple leather
• Fantastic sticky rubber sole
• Montrail Warranty

Buy Now: Check out the Montrail Whidbey Shoe at Backcountry.com

Because my typical “lunch hour” consists of a 45-minute mountain bike ride on the awesome trails nearby my office here in Draper, Utah, my body will burn through the calories that I eat for my actual lunch by about 3:30 pm.  At that point, I’m usually reaching for that box of cereal on my shelf and eating dry Total flakes, or I just down more water.

Yesterday, I actually peered through the glass of the vending machines in the break room–hoping to find something that seemed healthy.  “Hmmm… Cheetos… Doritos… Fritos and other greasy snacks–nah, that won’t do.  Odwalla Bar? How did that sneak into the coffin of death snacks?”

I had never actually seen an Odwalla bar, but I’ve partaken of the forbidden Odwalla juice (forbidden because it tastes so good, but costs so much). A quick card swipe and I had in my hands an Odwalla Bar.  I’ve been downing ProBar’s lately and really like them because you can see what you’re eating, they taste good and they fill you up.

Odwalla Chocolate Chip Peanut Bar

So, how does it taste? Well, it’s not like a fat-laden and chocolatey-tasting Snickers Bar, but I think it tastes really good. It is soft and chewy (something ProBars aren’t) and has a good consistency.  With 8 grams of protein and a mix of organic ingredients, everything seems to jive as far as a healthy snack.

Looks like there are four total flavors:

• Banana Nut Bar
• Berries GoMega Bar
• Choco-walla Bar
• Chocolate Chip Peanut Bar

Check them out at your local fine food retailers.  I think Odwalla is onto something here.

Buy Now: Visit REI.com

Whenever you cruise through the streets of downtown San Francisco you can’t help but see hipsters huffing up hills on fixed gear roadies. Of all the places where fixed gear bikes wouldn’t take off, I would have thought it would be San Francisco because of the hills. But despite all odds, it has. And whether or not you are a hipster in SF trying to look cool, FixedGearGallery.com is the place to go drool over the cool bikes others have posted (I’ve added a couple to this post — go to FixedGearGallery.com for many, many more). (more…)

One of the very coolest things about living in Salt Lake is being around tons of other people who moved here because there just isn’t another place like it for accessibility to the outdoors. Yeah, Boulder is hip. Portland’s got Hood and Hood River. And Seattle…well, it’s got it’s own world of cool. But if you want to get outdoors LOTS, then there’s nothing like being 20-30 mins from Snowbird, Alta, Park City, Deer Valley, Brighton, etc, etc, etc, etc. (more…)

I’ve always been a fan of the little guy. In this case, the “little” guy isn’t so little anymore. While SRAM is looking to exceed $400 million in revenue year ending June 30, they are still far behind Shimano who according to the Boss Report is “on pace to sell more than $1 billion in cycling components this year.”

But at a handsome $400 million in revenue this family owned company is not looking to sell but will be looking to leverage the momentum they have to keep the growth machine going. To do this they’ve employed JP Morgan to help find an investor who is willing to come along for the ride. (more…)

Fly fishermen going after small stream trout or pan fish can use almost any reel to simply serve as device to store their line. However if you are going for powerful fish like pike, steelhead or salmon, having a reel with a smooth drag and is capable of quickly taking up line are a must have quality in your fly reel, having a reel that is well balanced and light weight is also important to the fly fishermen who spends all day on the river. Keep in mind that if you are after these qualities you are going to have to shell out more of your hard earned cash but you will be glad you did if like me you spend most of your day casting and fighting the powerful steelhead and salmon. (more…)

It seems that I’ve come full circle on the concept of a functional shell for backcountry skiing and similar outdoor pursuits. Years ago it was a lightweight single layer shell with plenty of layers. Then it was the heavy duty 3 layer Gore Tex with or without fleece lining that either way was overkill for 99% of all situations. Now I’m back to a lightweight shell that employs better technology and features that minimize the need for the many layers.

For backcountry skiing this past season I picked up the Westcomb Mirage Jacket and have been more than stoked on it’s performance. I think I’ve found the jacket built for me.

The specific jacket that I picked up was the Westcomb Mirage Special Edition Jacket that Westcomb and Backcountry.com teamed up on this past winter. It varies slightly from the standard Mirage Jacket which has a few more bells and whistles but either way you go the functionality and dependability of this jacket is tops! (more…)

It’s rather sobering when the very first product listing on a GPS devices webpage describes that it’s “easy for rescuers to know who you are and where you are, worldwide,” but that’s the harsh reality of the deep woods adventurer, especially in the untamed wonder of the Rocky Mountains. And the same webspace reminds hikers about the idiosyncrasies of electronics: “Consider your GPS as third tool always carry a compass and a map, decide if you need an altimeter, and practice your navigation skills.” (www.mec.ca - Selecting a GPS’) (more…)

Talk to any die hard Steelhead fishermen and they will tell you the two most important items when selecting a steelhead rod are sensitivity and line handling. The G.Loomis STR1263C GL2 Steelhead Rod is packed with both of these features, with the sensitivity to feel the lightest of strikes to the strength for handling the most aggressive runs a steelhead should make. (more…)

I have to admit, in the early days of organic goods and “going green”, I associated these terms with my 7th grade science teacher’s patchouli perfume and toilet paper that has both the color and texture of sand paper. I’m not sure if my perception has changed within the last few years, or if these “green” products have become more appealing to the mainstream, but my guess is it’s a combination of both.

When I first tried Kathy’s Family organic happy yoga mat wash, I was incredibly impressed that an organic antibacterial spray actually smelled fantastic! The mixture of lavender and tea tree is relaxing and also invigorating…go figure! I tried the spray on my yoga mat, and was delighted with the clean appealing scent that lingered. It also seemed to help with the stickiness of my well-used and well-loved mat, and I was much more comfortable going into child’s pose knowing that my forehead was not resting on millions of nasty germs, but rather a clean and wonderful smelling mat.

The instructions on the bottle say to spray a cloth or paper towel 3 or 4 times, but I noticed that I sprayed considerably more than that…maybe it’s just my imagination, but I didn’t feel like 3 or 4 sprays were adequate to clean my entire mat. Not just for yoga mats, I also used the spray to clean off my grimy hand weights, and I’ll probably bring it along to the gym too to spray on the equipment I use. Who knows, I may even decide to stash one in my diaper bag and use it to spray shopping carts, doorhandles, and any other germ-laden surface! I love the fact that this product has so many practical uses. Add to that it’s eco friendly formula that is all natural, vegan, organic, and made without preservatives or parabens, and smells wonderful.

I think I’ll do just what the bottle tells me, “blissfully inhale and exhale, relax with abandon.”

Learn more about this and other organic products at: kathys-family.com

I’m in love with this hunk of plastic.

There are times when you find a tool or a piece of gear with tons of flaws yet still performs wonderfully. This speaker is a perfect example. I think this is because the speaker looks so simple that I can’t believe I’ve found as many things to improve. I also don’t think I’ve seen any of these speakers that I’ve really enjoyed listening too in the past.

The bottom line is that I love a full and powerful sound when listening to music, just as my friends how many times they have to turn down music when they come over to my house. This speaker delivers a ton of sound and it very simple and elegant. I’d recommend this to anyone.
(more…)

Dockers-brand clothing has been around for years. Likely the most ubiquitous dressy-casual wear in the world, nearly everyone owns at least one pair of Dockers slacks or khakis, right? I know I’ve got at least two pair in my closet… what about your closet? I’m sure they’re in there.

Keeping true to the office casual and business apparel market has likely been a good move for Levis, who owns tne Dockers brand. I’m sure it’s not without plenty of analysis and strong market projections that they will introduce the Dockers Outdoor brand in Fall 2008.

Unlike Merrell Apparel, the Dockers Outdoor clothing line will be aimed at the casual outdoor enthusiast. Styling and function are designed for the small adventures of life… a walk in the park with the kids, a stroll along the beach, or an impromptu hike on a local trail. The line isn’t “technical” per se, but more versatile, with the ability to go adeptly from the office or the mall to whatever adventure awaits. (more…)