Poor Man's Heli » Gear Reviews

Down sweater battle: Mountain Hardwear Nitrous v. Patagonia Down Sweater

Justin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:08:24 +0000

I’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: Probably the [...]

First look: Stoic Bombshell jacket

Justin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:23:03 +0000

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 I can [...]

Mini Review: 2009 Subaru Outback (and Wentworth Subaru)

Justin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:05:30 +0000

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 on my Subaru [...]

Review: Mountain Hardwear Phantom 32 sleeping bag

Justin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:26:34 +0000

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

Justin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:10:53 +0000

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 [...]

Review: Westcomb Mirage jacket

Justin — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:23:00 +0000

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 from (ex-Arcteryxers) [...]

Photo sneak preview: Osprey Kode 38 pack

Justin — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:27:07 +0000

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 [...]

Backcountry (or Mex surf trip) coffee paradigm shift

Justin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:33:58 +0000

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 me [...]

Review: Westcomb Rampage HX pants

Justin — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:30:29 +0000

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 [...]

Westcomb Rampage pants – ruh roh pt. 2

Justin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:55:19 +0000

upcoming review part 2 = Westcomb Rampage pants

Extra eVenting on the cuff

These need patches to [...]