Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

That’s beautiful daddy! – beck

I’m a trail runner. After an ankle injury early in the season the doc said that I needed to find trail shoes with ankle support.  Right!  Well, with a bit of help for the folks at Pemba Serves I’ve had the opportunity to put a pair of Sabino Trail Mids by Montrail to the test.  2 month on, and I have to say,  the Sabino Trail Mids were just what the doctor ordered, and then some.   Read the rest of this entry »

Clothed in new costumes
That weather your new found storms
Staring through reason
Content with your new found decor
– collective soul

I’ve always been conflicted when it comes to companies like Wilderness Systems.  I don’t think of them as “sea kayak” companies. They seem to put more weight into their recreational and fishing boats and come to sea kayaking as an afterthought.  It’s hard to imagine the company that makes the infamous Pungo could produce a decent sea kayak.  Still there have been a lot of good things said about the Tempest since it came out.  Given that, and that I had Cindy Scherrer (partner of co-designer Steve Scherrer) paddling right beside me while I was out test paddling boats in Grand Marais, it seems like as good a time as any to take one for a spin.

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We can never know about the days to come
But we think about them anyway, yay
And I wonder if I’m really with you now
Or just chasin’ after some finer day
– carly simon

I’ve had the old white Romany for some time, but as I said it was not “my” boat so I rarely paddled it.  In fact until recently the only time I paddled the Romany was when the local river was in flood. At those times I’d take the boat out to play in the currents and surf since I was not worried about banging it up.  Now that I’ve repaired the hull and have it seaworthy again, I’ve been paddling it quite a bit which offers a great opportunity to share some fresh thoughts about the Romany in general.   Read the rest of this entry »

The suspense is terrible… I hope it’ll last. – Willy Wonka

If you’re on my Facebook (s)  or twitter, you’ve already seen this video and you’ll know I pulled the the GearPods from the back yard rain barrel last night  (I couldn’t very well keep them in the tub for 3 days!).  How’d they do?  Well, this morning I need to run up and meet with a client about 30 miles away, then I’m going to come back and fill in those last blanks on the review which should be posted a bit after lunchtime. Yeah, I have a real job too!!

Video – Next week I’ll be doing a review of Gear Pods, the cool new modular adventure gear kits.  This weekend I’m running the final and maybe most important (to me) test.  It’s called “The Oatmeal Test”.  Just how waterproof are Gear Pods anyway?  In my kayak filled world, I’ve found my waterproof bags and cases can sometimes spend hours in and under the water.  It happens.  It happened to me last weekend in fact!! Nothing sucks more than when you realize that your first-aid kit got soaked because the “waterproof” case leaked.  How Gear Pods hold up to sitting in standing water for a couple days will tell me a lot about how appropriate they are for sea kayaking.  Next week, we’ll talk a bit more what Gear Pods have to offer as I review their Backcountry kit.  AND by Monday morning we’ll know just how they stood up to the dreaded Oatmeal Test as well!

Who’s gonna ride your wild horses?
Who’s gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who’s gonna taste your saltwater kisses?
Who’s gonna take the place of me? – U2

Saturday after coaching an introduction to sea kayaking class at Rutabaga in Madison, WI., I had the opportunity to test paddle a beautiful “almost new” fiberglass Valley Nordkapp.  Apparently the story behind this sharp black and red kayak is that the owner only had it for a short time before deciding was a bit too much horse.  I can see that… Read the rest of this entry »

Step on a steam train  | Step out of the driving rain, maybe  | Run from the darkness in the night
Singing Ha, Ah La La La De Day
Ah La La La De Day
Ah La La De Day – U2

Summer?  That must mean product testing season is here again!  Well, you know how it goes around here… Like you, it seems when I’ve finally solved all my clothing & gear problems there’s always something that needs to be replaced or something that just didn’t work out.  Sometimes, I just trip into trying out new products.  Take these Sabino Trail™ Mid GTXs by Montrail for instance…

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