Staying Cool with a Columbia OmniFreeze Zero Snowball Necklace

As I topped out at Ten Lakes Pass this past weekend, I was sweating and cursing the hot sun and heat. The exposed landscape and high altitude meant the sun was super intense, and very little breeze was blowing to help cool off. Half of my group was ahead and half behind, so I decided to drop my pack, hydrate, and wait for the rest of the group to catch up.

Instead, I was attacked by a wild napping rock. (When NAPS ATTACK!)

After a brief snooze under the sun, I awoke and eyed a nearby snow patch. It’s been a dry year but there is still a bit of snow above 10k. I rolled a snowball and rubbed it on the back of my hot neck. Yep, that felt good. I was tempted to make a snow angel.

Snow patch – and a nice view, too.
Snow patch – and a nice view, too.

Instead, I rolled another snowball.

Snowball. Wild Nap Attack Rock in Background.
Snowball. Wild Nap Attack Rock in Background.

Then, I took my OmniFreeze Zero gaiter (don’t leave home without it!)…

OmniFreeze Zero neck gaiter – a favorite
OmniFreeze Zero neck gaiter – a favorite

 

…and stuck that sucker inside.

Snowball Necklace
Snowball Necklace

I put it back around my neck.

All decked out in the OmniFreeze Zero
All decked out in the OmniFreeze Zero

And for the next mile it gradually melted, dripping refreshing freezing cold water.

I intend to use this technique liberally throughout the summer. I always thought one advantage to hiking above 10k was access to snow for margaritas, but this is really what it’s good for!

 

The Hoo-Rag: The Ultimate Multi-Use Ultralight Gear

Wearing the Hoo-Rag around my neck on a hike
Wearing the Hoo-Rag around my neck on a hike

One of the most important doctrines of ultralight backpacking is the principle of multi-use. If an item can be used for more than one purpose, it means carrying less single-use gear. Simple.

I want to talk about an item that I think best exemplifies this principle, the Hoo-Rag. Hoo-Rag sent me one of these to try out and it’s been a lot of fun finding unique and undocumented ways of using this simple yet versatile item.

The Hoo-Rag is a lightweight, seamless tube-style soft bandana. It comes in tons of different patterns and there are more ways to wear it than I can count. Hoo-Rag shows off their product primarily as wearable (and hop on over to their site to see the numerous ways you can wear it), but I want to focus on how this has become the ultimate multi-use item in my backpacking kit.

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Review of the Artemis Hoodie from Triple Aught Design

Triple Aught Designs Artemis Hoodie
Triple Aught Designs Artemis Hoodie

Triple Aught Design (TAD) is a brand I became acquainted with several years ago when my husband was teaching nights up in San Francisco. One of his favorite places to drop by when he had extra time was their Dogpatch store. He would bring home military-style gadget organizers – holsters for his knives, pouches to organize his fishing kit, and other items that he took special delight in collecting.

So, when I was contacted about checking out a new line of women’s clothing from Triple Aught Designs I initially didn’t even realize it was the same company. It was only after visiting their website that I realized it was the same San Francisco based equipment manufacturer. Biased by the military-style gear that my husband had brought home years ago, I was rather surprised to browse their site and see some beautiful, functional women’s apparel.

The folks at TAD were kind enough to send me an Artemis Hoodie, a 100% merino wool hooded zip-up top with thumb loops. From the moment I opened the package I was impressed with the feel of this piece. The thick, heavy merino wool top was soft to the touch and fit like a dream – form fitting but not tight (what I would call an ‘athletic fit’). The length is perfect, long enough to pull over the hips and not ride up when moving.

Trying on the Artemis for the first time
Trying on the Artemis for the first time

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Calipidder and Gear sticker giveaway!

Over my many years of attending the Outdoor Retailer show I’ve managed to collect quite a pile of stickers. Many of them have made their way to my bear canisters, car windows, and random file cabinets. But I’ve decided I want to share some of this OR show swag with you guys! I have ten envelopes full of Calipidder.com and miscellaneous gear brand stickers to giveaway to my readers.

Win a set of stickers from this pile!
Win a set of stickers from this pile!
And some Calipidder.com stickers!
And some Calipidder.com stickers!

Use the app below to enter. US only, please – I’ll be sending these out in regular first class mail envelopes to the winners. (As long as you have a US mailing address you can enter). Entries are open for a week and you have multiple chances to enter, including answering a question, becoming a fan on Facebook, or tweeting a link to this post. I will notify the ten winners within 48 hours of the end of the contest.

Entries are open from now until 3/1/2013 at 12:00 am PST.

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Outdoor Retailer 2013 Wrap-Up: People and Parties!

You guys! I got to meet Jim Whittaker!
You guys! I got to meet Jim Whittaker!

What is it like to attend an Outdoor Retailer show? A couple of weeks ago I saw someone on Twitter describe it as the SXSW for outdoorsy types. I’ve never been to SXSW, but several people told me that’s an apt description. After business is done on the show floor the parties ramp up, and there is never a lack of something to do if you want to have fun!

The gear just seems to be an excuse to get a bunch of awesome people together twice a year. While the new gear is exciting and interesting, it seems that the real pulse of the show is around the human relationships. It’s great to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. This industry is just filled with great people.

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Gear Highlights from Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2013

Outdoor Retailer Show Floor
Outdoor Retailer Show Floor

Each January I travel to the mecca of outdoors gear, the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City. Several days are spent meeting with companies and touring the products that will be hitting the shelves next fall. I’m still recovering from this year’s whirlwind, and you’ll hear all about the peripheral events in my Trip Report. Over the four days I was solidly busy, and I wanted to share the items that stood out to me for some reason or another. It doesn’t mean that there weren’t other awesome things, it just means that this is the cool stuff that I got to see.

You’ve probably seen a lot of “Best Of” lists and “Editor’s Choice” awards on various publications during and after the show, but I often find these lists disappointing or incomplete. The problem is that the show is simply too big to see in the allotted time, so each list you see will be biased by who the writer was able to meet with during the show and what their particular publication’s interest is. I didn’t meet with any ski companies, so therefore my highlights don’t include any ski gear. But no worries – look around and you’ll probably find one that is almost exclusively ski gear.

My overall impression is that this seems to be the year of updates, with several companies returning to popular product lines and refining designs. I think this is a good thing – too often it’s all about the next innovation, without taking time to reflect on what worked and didn’t work in past product lines. It’s amazing how fast the industry moves with new products. In fact, the ~6 year old Osprey pack I was carrying was called an ‘antique’ by one of their reps, and my 3-year-old ‘ancient’ Columbia OmniHeat hat was a relic worthy of photos.

Enough rambling. Without further ado, here is Calipidder.com’s Highlights from Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2013.

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