RSS FeedI’ve been refining and updating my gear lately (which is a bit odd given the lack of income), and recently acquired both the ever popular Patagonia Down Sweater and the Mountain Hardwear Nitrous down sweater. Let’s get these two into the ring and see who is left standing! Quick overview: Current champ: Patagonia Down Sweater: [...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Down sweater battle: Mountain Hardwear Nitrous v. Patagonia Down Sweater
December 1st, 2009 
Justin First look: Stoic Bombshell jacket
November 24th, 2009 Justin Been doing some serious gear whoring the past week or so as biz locally was going good for a bit. Was. Ahh well, at least I’ve got some new gear to show for it. First up, the Stoic Bombshell jacket. Stoic is the new name for the house brand gear from backcountry.com, and from what [...]
Mini Review: 2009 Subaru Outback (and Wentworth Subaru)
November 3rd, 2009 Justin As for the review, I’ll summarize it as: 2009 Subaru Outback – decent car, LOTS of little issues. Not even remotely up to the legacy (no pun intended) of my 1988 wagon. Wentworth Subaru – two thumbs down, one middle finger up Long story short, when moving to Portland from CA I had my kayak [...]
Posted in Reviews 
Tags: 2009 subaru outback, broken subaru racks, subaru leaki, wentworth subaru 
1 Comment »Review: Mountain Hardwear Phantom 32 sleeping bag
September 15th, 2009 Justin It’s been awhile since I’ve done any gear reviews. Between a move back to the Pacific Northwest, working on getting a startup off the ground and enjoying the local beer scene I haven’t been outdoors as much as I’d like outside of daytrips v. last summer when I spent every weekend somewhere in the Sierra. [...]
First Look: Mountain Hardwear Koa 55 pack
June 23rd, 2009 Justin In an odd stroke of timing I was talking about wanting to try the Mountain Hardwear Koa 55 early last week. It really seems like a good mix of light (though not ultralight by any stretch) and feature filled. Fast forward to Friday and I discovered MH was doing their semi-annual warehouse sale, which also [...]
Posted in New Gear, Reviews Tags: backcountry, backpack, backpacking, camping, hiking, mountain hardwear koa, mountain hardwear koa 55, mountain hardwear pack 1 Comment »Review: Westcomb Mirage jacket
May 28th, 2009 Justin It’s been awhile since I’ve fired up a review, and I’ve been sleeping on this one for awhile. Took the pics a few weeks back and just haven’t set aside the time to fire up some thoughts on the jacket. Marketing speak The Westcomb Mirage jacket is part of the Hardshell AX line of outerwear [...]
Posted in Reviews Tags: backcountry, ski, skiing, snowboard, snowboarding, westcomb, westcomb mirage Comments OffPhoto sneak preview: Osprey Kode 38 pack
April 19th, 2009 Justin Dying tonight in our heatwave (RIP snow) and melting on the couch figured I’d snap a few pics of the Osprey Kode 38 that recently came into my possession. I’ve only got two days on the pack so want to hold off giving any real review yet as I’m still getting used to the Kode [...]
Posted in New Gear, Reviews Tags: backcountry, osprey kode, osprey kode 38, ski, skiing, snowboard, snowboarding 4 Comments »Backcountry (or Mex surf trip) coffee paradigm shift
March 31st, 2009 Justin OK, paradigm shift may be a bit overstating it, but depending on your current BC coffee configuration maybe not. Like most that grew up in the Northwest I’ve got love for a few things – the outdoors, good beer and good coffee. Hell, I’ll settle for marginal coffee as long as I’m getting some. For [...]
Posted in Off-topic, Reviews Tags: aeropress, backcountry, coffee, jetboil coffee press, preva espresso maker, starbucks via Comments OffReview: Westcomb Rampage HX pants
March 18th, 2009 Justin I’ve been sleeping on giving my reviews since posting a few teasers, mostly due to lack of time and mental capacity to write a long-winded and thought out review, and I apologize. This post nails the long-winded part, but it’s a bit lacking in the thought out side of things. Also, I’ll update this post [...]
Posted in Reviews Tags: eVent, gear review, schoeller, skiing, snowboarding, westcomb rampage 1 Comment »Westcomb Rampage pants – ruh roh pt. 2
March 3rd, 2009 Justin upcoming review part 2 = Westcomb Rampage pants
