For years, going to Mount Everest was at the top of my bucket list. I grew up reading my brother’s National Geographic magazines and watching the Discovery Channel, dreaming about exploring the Himalayas, going face to face against mother nature. Since I didn’t have a spare $100,000 and a death wish, I knew I was going to have to settle for Everest Base Camp rather than the summit. While it’s not the top of The Mountain, going to Everest Base Camp is still no small feat, and required months of preparation. Continue reading “THE PATH TO THE SUMMIT, AN EVEREST ADVENTURE”
ARLINGTON — A few years ago I attended a seminar about keeping yourself safe overseas. It was taught by a genuine Bearded Tactical Guy (genus Hombre Sapiens Tacticus Barbus Americanus). I have no doubt he delivered a terrific amount of great information but I only had two major takeaways. First, the next time you are really, really, really hungry up in Nepal — like lost for a week or two in the Himalayas hungry — control yourself and don’t eat undercooked water buffalo when you finally stagger out of the hills. It can make you really, really, really sick. Really, that’s really a lot of reallys but don’t do it. Eat your water buffalo well done. Wait until you’re back at Longhorns to get the rare steak. The second thing was that there is underwear with pockets. In an aside, the instructor mentioned that you could carry some last ditch money, emergency numbers or such items in the pocket of your underpants. I mean, I’m a guy who loves pockets but I’d never even thought of having pockets on my skivvies. So, remember this, scouts: never eat undercooked water buffalo and there’s underwear with the ability to store more stuff than just your stuff.
A staple of mine is the Filson Feather cloth shirt, I could live in this shirt. When the epaulets version was on closeout awhile back, even though they didn’t have my size left in stock, I ordered 4-5 of each color. Although the version with epaulets is sadly still not available, Filson has given us new colors and plaids, as well as the standard short sleeves version. As always Filson backs their wear with their lifetime warranty.
We’ll have a full review of the Feather Cloth Shirt coming up shortly, as our order of the new one should arrive this week. LINKFP
Here we are at last with our final entry in the Patagonia down series. We’ve taken a look at their new designs for both the down coat and vest, and have had some harsh words for them on the quality of their new products. Have we saved the best for last? Continue reading “THE PATAGONIA DOWN SWEATER”
Aether first caught our attention years ago as a lifestyle brand with real world and performance sensibilities. Brands like Aether and NAU go a long way towards proving you don’t have to give up style to stay warm and dry on the trail. Their products feature a good fit, advanced or industry standard features and a lifetime guarantee. Although Aether is marketed primary as a lifestyle brand, it has a lot of the makings of an outdoors brand. Continue reading “THE AETHER SHELTER HOODIE”
Last week we brought you the Patagonia down vest review, this week we’re taking an in depth look at the newest Patagonia down coat. Patagonia is a legendary outdoors brand, I’m sorry to say however, that their down coat is far from legendary. Lets take a look at why. Continue reading “THE PATAGONIA DOWN COAT”
The Outdoor industry is always updating and changing it’s product lines to keep up with the changes made in technology and demands made by professional athletes. These days there is also the green factor. But these changes aren’t always in the best interest of the user. Some features are a industry standard for a reason, but in the interest of “better” design features will end up dropped or modified.
Here’s part 1 of a 3 part series examining the new line of down products from Patagonia. We’re going to look at Patagonia’s new designs fit, durability, if they meet industry standards, and of course report on how warm they are. Lets get to it! Continue reading “THE PATAGONIA DOWN SWEATER VEST (First Published 2017/06/16)”
The Bk-9 shown sheathed with wood scales.I’ve been looking for a great trail knife for the Jeep for years, and I may have just found what I was searching for. I’ve previously used a classic KA-BAR but it was stolen awhile back so I’ve been open to new styles for the replacement.
After some searching, I decided to go back to KA-BAR and see they had in various styles. I’d heard the Becker had some great designs so I decided to check out their Combat Bowie. A full tang, lightweight, built like a tank, classic bowie shape that is surprisingly reasonably priced. Continue reading “THE KA-BAR BK-9”
