What Your Nalgene Says About You
What started as lab equipment and quickly became standard outdoor gear, Nalgenes are now the de-facto reusable bottle for everyone shamed by years of drinking from disposable plastic containers. But Nalgenes don’t just symbolize your feigned commitment to the environment, they reveal critical information about your personality.
SIZE
Small
You’re a realist. You understand that having 16 ounces of water at your disposal is plenty, but you’re cautious about what a small bottle says about your character and commitment to hydration. When people ask you about your small bottle, you say “I actually really like it!” But you say it in a tone that suggests you shouldn’t. Continue reading »
Today’s Gear Fix: Klymit Amphibian Jacket
Mountain Hardwear makes a piece of outwear called the Argon Jacket. It ranks among some of the most technical jackets on the market. It’s made for serious mountaineers who are willing to shell out serious cash for a serious shell. But we are not reviewing the Argon Jacket by Mountain Hardwear. Instead, we’re reviewing a jacket that is actually filled with Argon…The noble gas.
Klymit is an innovative company that uses Argon gas as an insulator. Why argon gas, you might ask? The answer is in the layers (or the lack thereof). Layering up with mid-layers only to strip back down later is a tedious and unfulfilling task; like making a bed for the purpose of messing it up later when you sleep. Argon allows wearers of Klymit jackets to control insulation by the click of a dial.
The Amphibian is designed for cold weather activities that expose the user to water. Not only is Argon buoyant, in case you fall into the water while ice fishing, it’s unable to get wet because, well, it’s a gas and gasses don’t get wet. The shell is coated with a DWR and as long as it’s not punctured, the jacket stays dry like any other flotation device. Continue reading »
10 Best Food Items at Outdoor Retailer 2011 (Part II)
continued from 10 Best Food Items at Outdoor Retailer 2011 (Part I)
6. Clif Shot Gel (Strawberry + Caffeine)
My favorite part of the Shot Gel was the litter leash, although it did bother me that Clif put a patent on it; as if they want to block other energy-gel companies from being eco-friendly. The shot itself was scrumptious and is 90% organic. At the top of the packaging is a logo with a coffee mug and the words “1/2 shot” next to it. What does that mean? Does that mean a half shot of Gel = one cup of coffee? Or that a gel packet equals a half shot of espresso? To be fair, unlike other dubious energy supplement companies, Clif had the decency to specify the amount of caffeine per packet (25 mg). Continue reading »
JanSport Giving Away a Backpack Full of Cash
$10,000. And not really in a back pack; although if you do win, you could probably buy your own bag, withdraw the winnings and stuff your own sack, thus turning yourself into target for mugging.
Here’s how the contest works. You take a 360 video of what you consider to be your “outdoors” and upload it to JanSport’s What’s Your Outdoors website. They have a panel of judges who will decide which video they like best. Submissions are due August 31, so that gives you spring ski, summer sports, and just enough time for Steelhead season.
According to JanSport, your idea of “outdoor”… Continue reading »
Letter to our Friends in DC
To the good folks out there in DC, please prevent the world from becoming like this. Watching X Games would suck and I would no longer have anywhere to go for vacation.
HOUSTON, WE HAVE LIFT OFF
As of Monday March 7 (today), TrailsEdge.com/blog has launched. Let this day go down in history as a day that will benefit all gear addicts. Trails Edge’s blog will explain gear in ways that no review site has done before: in an understandable and non-boring manner.
Our gearheads have a sense of humor, yet know how to explain the technical aspects of equipment without confusing you. That said, our writers are have some of the highest credentials in the performance outdoor sports industries. Meet the crew.
10 Best Food Items at Outdoor Retailer 2011 (Part I)
It’s been a month since the OR show and I’m still digesting some thoughts. Here’s a question for those who attended…
Do you remember seeing an Asian guy in ski gear, with a snowboard strapped to his pack, raiding the Clif Bar and jelly bean stands every couple hours? That was me. And I know for a fact I was the only one who fits this description.
“Candystore for gear heads” is the cliche for the OR Show. For me, it was more like a gear store with free candy. The snowboard and pack were strategic moves; the snowboard for confusing vendors into treating me like an athlete who needed massive quantities of food and the pack proving useful for stuffing plentiful amounts free packaged candy. I have enough caffeinated jelly beans to keep me cracked out for the next month.
But they weren’t the only ones dispensing free treats. Here’s a list of my favorites snacks of Outdoor Retailer.
1. Crack Nuts Continue reading »
I’m Launching and I Want You to be a Part
Hey there blogger. I want you. Bad. Real bad. I want to enter into a relationship with you. In a writer/editor sort of relationship. I’m launching a blog and I want you in. This is your chance because this blog is going to be SWEET.
We’re looking for gear heads who have a sense of humor. There’s too many uptight reviews out there and we’re not about that. We want to talk gear so you understand, and maybe even laugh in the process.
Do you know the lingo? I’m still looking for funny writers in the following categories.
- Ski/Board (resort)
- Climbing/Bouldering
- Mountaineering/Back Country
- Camping/Back Packing
- Hunting/Fishing
Send me a sweet sweet email. editor@trailsedge.com
Meet TrailsEdge
Every morning, our staff writers wake up to the breakfast of champions; a glass of fine cognac and numerous cigars. No rocks in the yak for our writers, for they will spend the rest of their day writing about real rocks (boulders, cliffs, mountains) and little ice cubes don’t deserve to be graced with their attention. The cigars are for building lung endurance.
Our staff has dominated many rocks in their lifetimes. They continue to do so, but now, they write about them. Meet the team.
How to Avoid Being the Most Annoying Person in the Backcountry
“Hey Jimmy Hendrix! How about you guys shut it the f*** off!”A man full of madness once yelled this at a friend of mine and I as we jammed out on sweet mandolin melodies as beautiful as nectar, somewhere out in Zion National Park. He then proceeded to threaten us with violence. While irrational, deranged, and in need of a tranquilizer dart to the jugular as he may have been, the man had a point: we were crushing the aural tranquility of the place, or as the Japanese may put it, we were “disturbing the ‘wa’.” People venture outdoors for many reasons, not least of which to leave behind a world of inescapable annoyances and general douchebaggery, if for only a weekend. To highlight ways in which you might like to avoid acting so that you don’t ruin it for everyone else, below are a few stories about a guy called ‘Richie.’ Continue reading »
