Category Archives: outside
camp vibes
Filed under outside, photography
Klettersack
The newest addition to my pack army is this Purple Label climbing pack, released in Fall 2008 to the Japanese market the pack is covered in a gray herringbone and dark olive cordura bottom. I’ve been putting it to work while running errands around the city on my bike, no matter how fully packed the bag stays slim which makes it more manageable for high activity. The rubber lash points on the sides have been useful for carrying extra-large items on the outside and the daisy chain is a nice way to carry a u-lock without getting in and out of the pack. Funny how these details meant for mountaineering have been coming into play.
Filed under gear, outside, photography, private collection
Mountain Guide
I found this book cover over at the Zabou shop blog, and while I don’t have a clue of what it might say I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s some sort of Japanese mountain style-bible. Either that or it’s actually a guide to the outdoors for the Japanese… regardless, I still think it’s an amazing likeness of myself in the winter months when I gravitate towards buffalo plaids and fall behind in visiting my barber. Any tips of what lies inside of this book would be greatly appreciated.
Filed under outside
Bike Camping
If you don’t feel like carrying it all on your back why not let your bike do all [a good portion] of the work? Whether you’re going across country or just out of the city for a couple days there are some obvious basics you shouldn’t leave home without. Aside from a good touring frame you’ll probably want some pannier bags, a saddle bag, and definitely a kit that will fix your flats. Everything else really depends on how long you intend on being away and what kind of weather you’ll be facing. Some people tour with nothing more than a credit card and a fix flat kit, stopping at cafes and bed & breakfasts.. perhaps a bit posh but a lightweight travel option.
A friend of my undertook a great journey this past summer taking him from east to west on a Bianchi San Jose loaded up to it’s maximum capacity. You can track his entire journey with journal entires at each stop reflecting on the best of times and the worst of times, obviously there are pictures too..
pictures from Dave’s great trek.
A Swift Boot
So, I’m looking for a pair of hiking boots and I’m between (left to right, top to bottom) the Vasque Sundowner, Merrell Wilderness, Limmer midweight, and Danner Mountainlight II. Right now I’m leaning towards the Limmer’s because they custom make their boots by the unique shape of each person’s foot and chances are I won’t be able to try on any of the other boots before I buy them. Decisions..
Filed under gear, outside, want/do want
Colin Fletcher
I’ve been reading through the first edition (there are four today) of Colin Fletcher’s The Complete Walker for the past week, absorbing valuable information on boots, packing, and other outdoorsing know how chapters at a time. Fletcher is known for being the first man to hike the entire distance of the Grand Canyon, all by himself at that with the aid of an occasional air drop of supplies once a week or so.. oh and also walking the entire length of California, that too. Often hailed as the godfather of the hiking movement of the 1960’s. His writing isn’t so boringly straight-forward technical information as one might expect from a book like this, rather it is imbued with a strong sensibility and humor of his personality.
“I was gently accused of escapism during during a TV interview about a book I had written on a length-of-California walk. Frankly, I fail to see how going for a six-month, thousand-mile walk through deserts and mountains can be judged less real than spending six months working eigh hours a day, five days a week, in order to earn enough money to be able to come back to a comfortable home in the evening and sit in front of a TV screen and watch the two-dimensional image of some guy talking about a book he has written on a six-month, thousand-mile walk through deserts and mountains.”
It’s also enlightening to hear him talk about all the new gear that was coming out at the time, the book was written at a pivotal time where new brands popped up every year and products evolved just as quickly as more people took up hiking.
Filed under outside
Archival Rucksack
The lovely folks who run Archival Clothing are working on this great rucksack. Think of a rugged Duluth pack but at a more manageable size with some features that are a little more useful for day to day use and not so much epic canoe trips while constructed with a waxed twill that’s comparably stronger than competing style packs. Personally I’m a big fan of the pockets under the flap but wouldn’t mind seeing some on the sides as well.
Filed under outside, want/do want
cork grips 
