Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2′s $90     Test Period: 7 months Field Tester: Scatman I’ve been using Crank Brothers pedals for over 5 years now and love them.  That being said I had a really hard time writing this review and apologize to the good people at Crank Brothers for the delay in doing so.  So why was it so hard to write?  Well the reason is I’m torn between the simplicity of the pedals and how great they [...]

Hello friends family and followers, You’ve probably noticed I’ve been missing in action for a while.  I have lots of post coming but I also have lots of other things going on as well which have kept me away from my computer.  I should also mention said computer also died so that made composing posts quite hard. I’m off to Colorado tomorrow afternoon so expect a report from there.  They’ll be hiking, hot springs and [...]

Mammut TR1 + Ambient light Set $44.95     Test Period: 7 months Field Tester: Scatman This was the second Mammut headlamp I’ve tried over the years.  The first was quickly returned because I couldn’t feel the buttons to turn it on with my gloves on while skate skiing.  It’s a shame as it really lit up the trail.  When I first tried the Mammut TR1 there was no chance I was returning it.  The TR1 has a [...]

Julbo Pipelines $160 Test Period: 6 months Field Tester: Scatman Though large for my face I love these glasses.  I should point out it wasn’t love at first sight.  The Pipelines are,  well different.  Once we go to know each other my view changed.  The first time I wore them I put them on at 8:30 am and didn’t take them off until 6 pm.  I never felt like they were digging into the tops [...]

Hike Your Own Hike (HYOH) by Francis Tapon. Available in Hardcore, ebook, and audiobook, ($9.99-24.99). Francis might come off to some as the classic over achiever.  He speaks over 5 languages, graduated from Harvard Business School, co-founded a successful Silicon Valley company, has hiked the Triple Crown (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail) and has been to over 80 countries.  He also has written books, made movies and plans on visiting every [...]

September 24, 2011 Our intended loop was to start at Salmon La Sac, ride the road east to FS4305, work our way up to the Sassy Mtn Trail #1340, then ride the ridge to Trail 1307 the Jolly Mtn. Trail which would drop us back down at Salmon La Sac. Location: Region: Snoqualmie Pass — Salmon La Sac/Teanaway Agency: Okanogan – Wenatchee National Forest, Cle Elum Ranger District   View Sassy Mtn. in a larger [...]

Gyst Backpack 1-11 $180     Test Period: 4 months Field Tester: Scatman I haven’t been this excited about a piece of gear in a while.  I hounded the poor guys at Gyst until they got me a BP 1-11 to test.  I had previously tested the Duffel 1-10 by Gyst and was sold on the concept instantly.  No matter what sport you’re into we’ve all wished we had a simple, clean and efficient place to [...]

Icebreaker Stripe Tech T $75     Test Period: 3 months Field Tester: Scatman This is my first piece from Icebreaker and I have to say I like it.  I’d say I like it a lot but there is one small quirk that bugs me to no end.  We’ll get to that, first the good stuff because one quirk isn’t enough to make it a bad shirt.  The feel of the wool is comfortable and [...]

Smartwool Microweight Crew $65   Test Period: 2 months Field Tester: Scatman I’ve always been a fan of Smartwool socks so I was interested in seeing how they did when it came to shirts.  My first impression upon receiving the Microweight Crew was it was soft, nice to the touch and the construction looked great.  Smartwool claims it to have a semi fit but I found it to be like that of an ordinary t-shirt. [...]

Saucony ProGrid Guide 3 $95 Test Period: 10 months Field Tester: Scatman The ProGrid Guide 3′s were suggested to me after the first shoe I tried gave me blisters within a few miles.  Right away I could tell the Saucony was a better fit for my foot.  I’m a firm believer that if you have the right shoe you shouldn’t get blisters. I made the classic rookie mistake and my first run in these was [...]