Category: Tech
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Black Diamond Current: by the numbers
BD Current in 176. 3 pounds, 10 oz a ski. Manufacturer claimed length (straight pull) and widths (118/86/106) are accurate. Tips have 12 inches of rocker when decambered, with about 2 3/4 inches of splay (height) per side. Tails have 7 inches of rocker, with a little over an inch of splay a side. Overall…
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Julbo Sniper: a goggle for us
The fat bike summit last month provided a mass case study in how neither goggles nor sunglasses work well for aerobic activities in especially snowy conditions. It was close to freezing, snowing hard, and there was only modest wind. Goggles fogged due to exertion, as did sunglasses, but squinting into the face of the blizzard…
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Musings on tech nordic
First; define your terms. Here, and just about everywhere else I’ve written about ski gear, I’m talking about multi-day rugged nordic touring. Distance oriented travel in unbroken, mixed terrain. Like what is featured here, in my still all-time favorite ski video. Conditions and preferences will dictate skis; anywhere with overflow and/or significant wind exposure you’ll…
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LaSportiva Sideral: Trial by liners
Plastic boots hold huge advantages for backcountry ski touring. And I mean true touring: multi-day trips where the travel is the primary goal. Plastic boots don’t absorb water, are somewhat to very waterproof, and the closed-cell foam liners you’ll find on any decent boot provide excellent insulation. Most importantly, CCF does not absorb more than…
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The packbike
This past weekend Jason, Casey and I talked about talking about a packbike, but never got around to actually talking about it. So now I’m writing (and drawing, badly) instead. A packbike is a bike purpose-built for trips which will involve carrying the bike for significant distances on a pack. Bikes like this one; trips…
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Winter tech thus far
The winter feels like it has barely gotten started, what with the holidays, travel, and illness, but the snowpack is in good shape and the stack of memorable trips is already fat. Earlier this evening I threw together a list for Backpacking Light, and the memories evoked moved me to comment in greater detail. You…
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Alpacka Scout weigh-in
The Scout arrived today. As expected Alpacka fulfilled my color request well (I don’t like yellow, and black on the tubes behaves poorly on hot days). My intention with the Scout is to see how well is stands up to technical water, or to put it another way, when smaller forward tubes and no deck…
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Hill People Gear Runner’s Kit bag review
I’d love to see a historical accounting of when outdoor recreation became, in the first world, bifurcated as it is today. My research indicates that by the mid 70s the effete world of hiking/backpacking/skiing/etc was well separated (in, among other places, ads) from that of hook and bullet. Cultural distinctions between these two have only…
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Load carry
Good video from HPG about their new pack. I particularly agree with the importance of lumbar padding, which is equally valid, if different in application, with a frameless pack (i.e. one without stays of any kind). The idea of attaching the back-side compression straps to a wave of fabric sewn into the seam will be…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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