Gear: Guides and Reviews
Gear to be purchased for 2007: I am looking into getting a canoe this year, so that is going to be the big purchase. Right now the front runner for our choice is an "Old Town -Discovery 169". Along with getting a canoe will also be the purchase of canoe related gear. As for my continued climbing ambitions, my wife and I have started climbing at a local rock gym, so we will be purchasing equipment for this new activity as well. With our move to Toronto we are looking forward to discovering the Ontario are as well as checking out outdoor activities in upstate New York. I have already purchase a number of books to read up on canoeing and camping in Ontario, now I just need to get the Canadian maps for my Garvin GPS.
Gear recently purchased or received as a gift: So far the list includes a Pembroke climbing harness by Black Diamond, and espresso maker by GSI, an additional MSR SuperFly stove, an additional Black Diamond head lamp, dry bag for canoe, Therma Rest Z-fold mat, and some random camp site gear.
For Clothing I have had great success with the following products:
| Jackets: | Marmot Precip Jacket (very pack-able, great for layering), and Patagonia R4 |
| Shirts: | Pearl Izumi and North Face shirts |
| Pants: | Pearl Izumi cross training pants and TNF Paramount zip-off pants |
| Base Layers: | Patagonia mid and silk weight underwear (tops and bottoms) |
| Gloves: | Black Diamond, Metolius, and Burton (my hands get cold while climbing so I carry a heavy pair of gloves up above 14,000 ft on climbs in all months of the year except maybe August) |
| Socks: | Smart Wool socks (I always carry a second pair) |
| Footwear: | Montrail Torre GTX II (used for trail running, climbing, and backpacking. So good I bought another pair after wearing out the first pair) |
| Other: | Black Diamond Front Point Gaiters |
For Gear I have used:
| Backpacks: | Camelbak, Dana Designs -"Salish", and Mountain Smith packs |
| Sleeping Bags: | Marmot's "Sawtooth" and Kelty's "Light Year 3D" |
| Tent: | Marmot's "Bastile" 3+ season tent |
| Sleeping Pads: | Thermarest for backpacking and an Aero bed knock-off for car camping |
| Storage: | Rubbermaid Actionpacker totes are great, they are tough and a great way to hold all the miscellaneous camping stuff, for food storage in the car a Coleman steel belted cooler |
| Head Lamp: | Black Diamond's Gemini and Night Ray head lamps (if you don't have a head lamp you are really missing out) |
| Cooking: | MSR's "SuperFly Stove" (fast, easy, and trouble free); and MSR, Primus, and Evernew cookware |
| Climbing: | Black Diamond Momentum and Pembroke harnesses, Black Diamond Figure 8 and ATC, Black Diamond locking and bent gate biners, and an Arc'teryx chalk bag |
| Other: | Rudy Project sunglasses, SpyderCo Knives, and Garmin color GPS "etrex Vista C" |
| Transportation: | 2000 Toyota 4Runner |
- Reviews & Resources
- SummitPost Gear
- Mtn. Bike Review
- Gear Companies
- Pearl Izumi
- Patagonia
- Ynot
- Arkel
- Rudy Project
- MountainSmith
- Smartwool
- MSR
- Specialized Bicycles
- Burton
- Teva
- Duluth Trading Co
- Merrell
- GoPro
- Deuter
- Brooks
- Online Stores
- REI
- Campmor
- MEC (Canada)
- Sierra Trading Post