This past weekend, I went on a weekend backpacking trip with 3 friends. It was the first for the season for myself and the first overnight trip in over a year. We set out on an aggressive hike schedule, 2.6 miles the first evening, stay overnight at a designated tent site, 8 miles the next day and overnight at a shelter at 3500′, followed by a 14.4 mile day back to the cars. All in all, a 25 mile loop hike of the Franconia Ridge trail, hitting five 4k footers of the White Mountain National Forest. All this in April, where the expected forecast was snow and sun, never getting 40 and dropping down to the single digits.

Unfortunately, due to an epic ball drop by the Parks Service, they failed to make known that two of the major bridges we needed to cross during our hike were destroyed last year by Hurricane Irene. Not one note on the trail head signs, only a scribbled note right at the bridge, 3 miles in on the trail. Plans changed, but I learned quite a few new things on this trip, which I plan to list out here in a hope to pass on some knowledge.

1. Pack Light – Going ultralight is one thing, you can empty your entire bank account when you start counting ounces. However, it doesn’t take any money to evaluate your gear and keep a working memory of what you use, don’t use, or don’t ever see yourself using when you’re backpacking. Do you really need that clunky multi-tool on an overnight? How about that extra t-shirt? The old saying goes: Ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain.

2. Plan Your Water – You can cut weight on gear all you want, but you can’t do anything about the weight of water. When planning your trip, keep water sources in mind. Every liter of water you carry weighs about 2.2 lbs, plus the weight of the container it’s in. You could carry 3 liters or an extra 6.6 lbs on your back, or realize you might be crossing several streams throughout the hike – streams where you could treat (always treat!) and refill your water. Predict your water consumption based on your hike and your hikers and plan accordingly.

3. Plan Your Meals – You can go extravagant or spartan when it comes to food. I like to straddle the line. Pack high calorie/high protein foods that taste good and pack light. Mountain House is a good bet, or you can make your own meals from soup packets, noodles, dehydrated vegetables, etc. The best meals are those you can just add water to and eat. It cuts out pots, pans, and even dishes when you just eat them out of the bag. Surprisingly, its both useful and easy to pack in some comfort items as well. Tea bags, instant coffee, and sweets are light and help give you a boost of energy or a slow burn to keep you warm at night (astronaut ice cream anyone?!)

4. Sleep Comfortably – Sleeping bags aren’t the entire solution – make sure you have a sleeping pad as well. Also, make sure both are rated to the temperatures you’ll be sleeping in. Over my most previous trip, I brought my lightweight 35 degree down bag. I had a 15 degree bag, but it was made of heavy synthetic insulation, which i didn’t want to lug around. What happened? I freezed my butt off when the night time temps dipped below 20. I plan to get a 15 degree down bag in the future for these really cold trips. Sugary and fatty morsels are great to munch on before bed, the slow burn of fat will help keep your metabolic “slow cooker” going through the night, keeping you warm.

5. Be Nimble – Be ready to change course or reroute the trip should situations change. My friend Eric, the master trip planner, assessed the destroyed bridge problem, and came up with several alternatives. We then decided as a group on how to change the trip according to the amount of time we had remaining and what we felt like doing. Be ready to work around obstacles or course correct.

6. Bring Drugs – Naproxen Sodium (Aleve) and Ibuprofen are your best friends on the trail. Using them responsibly can help you stave off cramps and aches before they start in the morning and help you get a good nights sleep at night. They reduce inflammation while dulling pain, both of which you’ll experience on a backpacking trip.

7. Don’t Sleep With a Full Tank – I actually learned this from Ben Shilling’s book on Winter Camping, that having a full bladder will actually draw more energy from your body and keep you from feeling as warm as you could be. Why? Because your body requires energy to keep that bladder full of whizz up to a homeostatic temperature in your body. Get rid of it and you’ll actually feel warmer! It works!

8. Write Down What You Learned – This blog post is part of this step, which I found astounding when my buddy Eric suggested I do this. It was one of those “why haven’t i been doing that?” moments. But after each trip, write down what you learned, what you think you should do differently, and what you used and didn’t use. Don’t rely on your memory, chances are you’re going to dump all your gear in the garage and not remember a thing the next time you dig it out for another trip.

9. Quality Layers – What I lacked on this trip was a set of heavy weight base layers to sleep in. Since most of my camping and hiking is done during the warmer months, I have a collection of warm weather base layers. These work great when you’re huffing and puffing up a mountainside. Unfortunately, these do a poor job keeping you warm when its cold out and you’re standing around a cook stove or trying to sleep in your bag. What I definitely need is a dedicated set of cold weather base layers, that can be used in situations like those.

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My girlfriend got me this shirt for my birthday (good job, Dar!). She knew I had wanted a long sleeve base-layer that bridged the gap between warmish weather to cooler temperatures. It’s tough to find as you normally find short sleeves for warm weather and thick long sleeve layers for cold weather. Finding a shirt that operates smoothly during temperature swings is tough. Days where you have cool mornings and warm days overs 50F. I’m talking spring and fall, the times when you’re out a lot. Getting your spring hikes in before the black flies take over and hitting the trout rivers for the hatch action. In the fall, you’ve got September bow hunting when the temperatures are all over the place.

Initial Impressions

As with any Arc’teryx product, I was very impressed with the Phase SL Crew out of the bag. It was light and very soft. Putting it on, it was instantly comfortable, it’s not loose but not tight either. It has a slightly athletic cut, its tailored with high gussets around the armpits and tight around the chest. It’s not Under Armor tight, but it’s not baggy like a t-shirt. It straddles a middle ground that traps body heat but doesn’t burn you up either. I’ve tried just about every base layer material there is out there, from merino wool to straight up spandex. This is the ONLY shirt I’ve ever put on that was instantly comfortable. I was shocked, I searched for something to gripe about. Merino wool is sometimes scratchy when you first put it on, spandex and Under Armor is so tight you feel like you’re choking. This shirt just is. You put it on and forget about it.

Material

The material will instantly draw your attention due to its patterning and softness. It has a horizontal striped micro pattern on the shirt. You can’t see it unless you’re about a foot away. Arc’teryx touts that this helps wick moisture and channel heat. Whatever it does, it works. It doesn’t effect the softness or comfort of the shirt one bit, this material feels great next to the skin. It has some stretch to it, but doesn’t feel spandexy. It’s very thin, it’s nearly see through if you hold it up!

Along with the softness, the 70% polyester, 30% polypropylene fabric has encapsulated silver ions to help with odor control. Being a microbiologist, I can vouch for the anti-microbial properties of silver. This shirt will stink after awhile, but it takes a long while to. I’ve worn this shirt for days without washing it, merely because I didn’t have to!

In the Field

I put this shirt through its paces very quickly after I got it when hiking the Inca Trail in Peru. I wore the shirt for two days straight, through the high temperature swings of the Peruvian Andes. Mornings would start in the low 50′s, while the afternoon highs would reach into the high 70′s. All this with off and on mountain breezes, high exertion hiking, and altitude effects to boot. This shirt kept me warm when i was cold, cool when i was hot, dried quick, and  didn’t stink up ruins of Machu Picchu either. Enough said. This would make a great traveling shirt too, especially in the darker colors it’s offered in.

I’ve also worn this under my Sitka Jetstream while out bow hunting. I like it because it holds up well as a singular base layer under the jacket into early November where it really starts to get cold. I plan to use it again for May turkey season.

Observations

None. This shirt is perfection with sleeves.

Lasting Impressions

Would I recommend this to someone else? You bet your ass I would. It’s pricey for a shirt, but when performance counts, this shirt does the trick.

Check out the Arcteryx Phase SL Crew at your favorite online retailers: REI (on closeout!!) / Moosejaw / Amazon

Sidenote: Yup, before the article even starts I’ve got the testicular fortitude to sidenote. To add to the pomp and frill of this article I’ve taken the liberty of providing you with some background music. Hanni El Khatib – You Rascal You. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.Oh and I disclaim this article to high heaven.

Anyone who has walked more than 10 feet in their life has twisted an ankle. Okay, so maybe you walked a little more than that before you hurt yourself but it happens. Typically, this is seen as a very common sports injury, but with the increasing number of outdoor sports stores popping up all over the country, more and more people are experiencing the pain a tendon or ligament can cause when it’s abused.

Often used interchangeably, there is actually a difference between sprains and strains. Sprains are injuries to ligaments. Strains are injuries to muscle.

Assesment
Usually it’s very difficult to assess the degree of injury since there is a lot of pain, but a period of immobilization and some Tylenol or Ibuprofen could help you. Swelling around the joint is common as fluid builds up there with the inflammation. Check to see if the joint is stable. If you can jiggle the joint around it may mean there is a more severe grade of ligament damage and possibly a partial or complete tear. Since the person is in pain, they may not be able to move the joint. No need to put them in unnecessary pain, so move on to immobilization.

Treatment
The old adage of “RICE: Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate” is tried and true. However, when in the wilderness this may not be a luxury you have. The most important thing to help contain the injury and reduce pain is to immobilize the joint. ADD LINKS FOR SPLINTS AND WRAPS. To immobilize, keep the joint in a neutral and comfortable position. Take a SAM splint or something stiff and fashion the splint so it mimics the joint angle. Then take ace bandages or strips of thin cloth and wrap the splint to the joint. Be sure to secure the splint above and below the joint. This means if it’s your elbow that’s hurt, you secure the splint on your forearm and bicep primarily. If there is an obvious deformity to the joint for the love of Pete, don’t try to fix it!! Just immobilize it the best you can unless you’re hiking with an orthopedist and an X-ray machine.

A few things to check for when splinting:

• Make sure the splint is properly padded before applying it to prevent irritation of the skin.
• Once the splint is applied and and wrapped be sure to check the CSM’s on that limb to make sure you have not cut off circulation.

In the short-term it’s good to remove the splint, reassess, and do some range of motion exercises to get a better idea of injury and help loosen up the joint to reduce pain and inflammation.

Until next time my friends. Stay hungry and stay bold.

Your friend and savior,

Atley Jackson.

Feel free to message or leave a comment if there are particular topics you’d like to see discussed. As always, consult a real doctor when you can and all of the aforementioned information is purely informational.

Asolo is known as one of the best when it comes to high quality outdoor footwear. These boots definitely live up to their reputation.

Initial Impressions

I picked up the Fugitive’s after finally becoming fed up hiking with my Timberland’s and Merrel’s. For the average day hike on moderate incline and terrain, a regular pair of hiking shoes or sneakers will certainly suffice. If you plan to summit and 4K and up peaks, seeking aggressive elevation gains, or plan any overnighters, a sturdy pair of boots should be on your radar. While shopping for boots from companies like Vasque, Montrail, and The North Face, I was instantly drawn to the Fugitive’s. They look sporty, yet rugged, with a sneaker-like sole curve and rigid through the ankle. It comes ina couple colors, but I went for the classy looking red, black, and tan (called Wool/Black).

Materials

The Fugitive’s have a lot stitching when compared to other Asolo’s, like the full leather Power Matics. The majority of the boot material feels like a cross between suede leather and rough canvas. The rest of the boot, including the toe box and back heel is capped with rubber outers. The sole of the boot is a softer rubber that grips like a racing slicks, and is the same as the accent color on the boots (in this case, red). Pretty snazzy look. Snazzy so much, that I’ve worn these out to the bar a few times (on especially crappy winter nights) and have gotten compliments. Can you say PataGucci?

The GTX designation means these boots utilize Gore-Tex. Fully waterproof but breathable, the boots don’t sweat at all, even when wearing cotton socks in the summer or heavy woolies in the winter. Speaking of the interior, it also features a removable sole insert if your feet get especially funky or if you need specially foot support… gellin’ like a felon!

In The Field

I’ve had these boots for about 3 years now, and don’t know how many hikes or outings these boots have been on. They’ve hike all over The White Mountains, New York’s Salmon River, and even hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, including the deserts of Southern Peru. Through thick and thin, these boots have not let me down. They are quite versatile, so much that I hesitate buying other boots when I know these things can be adapted to perform.

Hunting boots? Why bother, the tan and black combination blends with my camo. Winter boots? Why spend the money when they are fully waterproof?

The shank is flexible for fast hikes, but provide enough support for longer weekend hikes. They are also sufficiently rigid enough to be used in strap crampons during the winter. With a pair or two of wool socks, they are adequately warm in the winter as long as you go a half size enough to allow the wiggle room to keep your toes moving.

Observations

There are two downsides to these boots which I will explain. The first is that the rubber soles, truly perform like racing slicks, like I mentioned earlier. That being said, the rubber will wear out quicker than the seams on the boot. I’m about down to a quarter of the rubber I started with, but I also wear these boots on hard pavement when traveling which will eat them up.

The other downside is that the insoles may not provide enough padding for through hikers or long haulers. They are only a fraction thicker than those in a pair of sneakers, so I would recommend that people buy a beefier pair of insoles if they find they have foot pain.

Lasting Impressions

Priced at over $200, the Fugitive GTX’s are not cheap. But when you’re ten miles into a fast hike, your feet will be thanking you. I’m going to be sad when the rubber finally goes on these boots and I will have to buy a new pair. But after 3 years of no complaints and no worry of them letting me down, I think I’ve got my money’s worth!

Check out the Asolo Fugitive GTX Boots at your favorite outdoor retailer  REI / Moosejaw / EMS / Amazon

1. Swing, Shoulder, Shoot. – Don’t fall into the bad habit of mounting or shouldering the gun first, then tracking the target. This is time wasted. Tracking or swinging the gun onto target and firing the moment you confidently shoulder the gun will lead to more busted clays. The key is to fire the moment you are fully shouldered, as long as you are mounting the gun consistently.

2. Bring the gun to your eyes, not your eyes to the gun. – Mounting or shouldering the shotgun should be a short quick deliberate action. Waste no time or effort with poor shouldering, if you need to readjust your the butt pad on your shoulder, you’ll likely miss the shot. The gun should be brought up to your eyes so that you can look down the barrel and see the bead without tilting your head. Many people making the mistake of bringing the gun onto their shoulder and then tilting their head down to it as if looking through a scope. Again, this is both a waste of time but also inconsistent. Consistency can be brought by finding a good cheek weld against your stock that you can repeat with the same placement and pressure each time. Just like a bow hunter who touches their nose to string during full draw, its an anchor point for repeatability.

3. Act natural – Practice bringing the gun up from a relaxed position. It’s a bad habit to call for pulls with a gun already shouldered. First of all, you won’t be able to execute Tip #1 efficiently. Secondly, you’re setting yourself up for failure if you ever plan to do an upland bird or waterfowl hunting. It’s not like you can walk a field or sit in a duck blind with a shouldered 12gauge pointed to the sky all day right? So start from a safe but natural position and react as you would in the field.

4. Rack With The Recoil – This is obviously for pump users only (and possibly any of your bolt action users out there). Rack the gun, or pump, with the recoil. I’ve found that using the recoil to initiate my rack sequence saves both time and energy. The recoil itself is not aiding in the racking action, but more or less initiating it. Because once the shot is made, there’s no reason not to put another shell in the chamber. When shooting single or doubles too often we take a momentary pause to check if the shot hit the clay before racking, as if it has something to do when deciding when to rack. If you rack the moment after you fire, you’ll have the opportunity to make a follow up or move to your next clay in less than time than if you waited that extra half second to see if you made your shot or not. You’ll have plenty of time to see if you made your hit as you’re loading.

5. Don’t Hesitate – I find that I shoot better on double sets than I do on just single flyers. Why? Because I don’t hesitate because I don’t have time to. When I know I have to hit one then quickly acquire and hit a second, I spend as little time as possible on the first. So I wind up shooting instinctively. I can remember precisely where in the sky I shot my second, but can’t for the life of me tell you where I hit the first… I spend milliseconds on it. When I’m shooting just a single flyer, I wind up hesitating as I follow the clay hoping to get a perfect a shot. You wind up switching focus from the clay to your front sight bead, hoping to get it fully on target, and then its all over from there.  See it, shoot it, and move on!

6. Get a gun – Sounds obvious, but if you want to really get your trap shooting skills on par with your buddies, you need to get your own gun and practice with it. Each shotgun is different when it comes to length of pull, weight, and ergonomics. It will take you a longer time to nail down your fundamentals if you’re using a different gun or gauge every time you guys wind up shooting skeet. Pumps can be had for under $300 with Mossberg 500′s, and between $300-$400 with the Remington 870 Express or my Weatherby Upland Pump. I got the chance to handle and shoot an old Weatherby Athena over-under this weekend and fell in love. An over-under just feels solid and nimble in your hands. Nothing rattles or moves, its just a solid mass that points beautifully. Definitely need to get my hands on one someday, hopefully, a Ruger Red Label.

Being that I purchased this camera bag to take with me outdoors for both wildlife photography and hiking. I’m a big fan of Optifade camo, and although I can’t replicate the Optifade patterns on my own (yet), I can get a whole lot closer than black.

All thanks to Krylon Fusion Camouflage Spray Paint!

Krylon’s Fusion line is specially designed to adhere to plastics. If you don’t already know, nylon (which the Toploader is made of), is a plastic! And the Fusion Camouflage comes in Ultra-Flat earthy hues like desert tan, brown, and olive drab. The Ultra-Flat finish reduces shine as it has zero gloss and very rough feel. It isn’t a 100% durable, just a far cry better than standard Krylon spray paint, which you can practically wipe off of plastic.

If you want to camouflage an item using this stuff, the first thing to do is decide what you want actually painted. It’s not necessarily the whole item, if its a bag. I learned this the hard way. I painted a backpack once 100% with this paint and the worst mistake was painting the inner back panel and the undersides of the shoulder straps (what was I thinking!). For one thing, since the paint isn’t 100% durable so I wound up with paint sprinkles on my jacket, and the thing stuck to the my back and shoulders like grip tape. So for this chest pack/hip pack I decided I did NOT want to paint the padded inner panel. I also wanted to keep the LowePro logo on. So I went at it with the blue painter’s tape. Zippers don’t need to be covered as you can still operate them when painted. Just make sure to move the zippers to paint underneath them.

Apply the actual paint can be tricky, as it’s very easy to cake on. It will feel like sandpaper if you over-do it. Usually a light coating is all that’s needed to really change the entire look of the item. I like to call it “dusty” because it reminds me of spending too much time in the sandbox as a kid.

Here are the results of just one light coat with the paint. I hold the can a good 6-10 inches away and smoothly swipe over the area, beginning by spraying the air beside the bag and then steadily going right across. I also give some of the contoured areas an extra once over, following the flow and design of the bag (like around the edges of the top lid and down the squared off walls).

Notice in the above photos that different plastics hold the paint better than others. For examples, this light dusting still lets some black show through on the nylon fabric making up most of the bag, however, harder plastics like the buckles or the rubber zipper pulls look like a solid tan. The photo below illustrates this:

Keep this in mind when painting. Try not to gum up these attachment areas too much!

So far, I’ve just painted the bag and am still planning to paint the 3-point hip harness and the chest harness adapter. When those are finished, I’ll be posting photos of them too!

Disclaimer: Some of you may notice the fact that my garage is pink. I did not choose this color, it’s how it came when the house was purchased (previous owner was an old lady). Since I have so many projects going on around the house and yard, repainting the garage is at the bottom of my priorities. It’s already demoralizing enough letting the neighbors see me working in a pink garage, let alone the entire internet. Be gentle.

We’ve all experienced various forms of cuts and scrapes ranging from, “Where is all this blood coming from?” to, “OMFG why is paper so sharp??”. This topic is vast and varied but I’ll cover some of the basics of cut and scrape assessment and treatment. Please note that some of the materials required for this are discussed in a previous post.
First Step – Assessment
For most minor trauma this isn’t much of an issue, but even minor appearing wound can be hiding fractures, nerve and blood vessel injury.

When in doubt of the extent of the wound, checks the CSMs.

Circulation: pinch the fingertip for a few seconds and let go. The skin or nail bed should go from white to pink within a few seconds.If it returns slowly or not at all, it is an indication that there is not adequate blood flow to the area and is cause for concern.

Sensation: lightly touch parts of skin past the wound further away from the core of the body to see if there is a lack of sensation. If there is a an area that has decreased sensation, there could be a problem related to the nerves. Again, cause for concern.

Motor: see if the person is still able to move all if their fingers/toes. This may be a little more difficult to asses since if the person is in pain they may not want to move much. If there is a problem with movement there may be damage to nerves, muscle, and/or bone.

Of course there is a direct correlation with your level of awesomeness and the extent of the injury. If you’re just sitting there, not much will happen. However, you sliding down a snow covered slope butt-first may yield a brand new butt-crack.

Second Step
The first thing to do is to expose the injured area. Make sure you can see all the boarders of the trauma. Look for foreign bodies, dirt, bits of clothing etc in the wound. Using clean water, gently irrigate the wound with A LOT of water. You will see that irrigation with clean water will be a recurring theme here. Even in the sterile environment of the operating room, the best way to prevent infection of an open wound is irrigation with clean water.

Once cleaned, you can look like Mr. Cool Movie Star by telling someone to “Put pressure on it!”. Direct pressure is usually enough to stop bleeding. Just put a sterile gauze 4×4 on the wound and put direct pressure on it. If there is a bit more bleeding, add more gauze on top of the original first layer. If needed, change the top layers of gauze but keep the original first layer on. Removing the first layer will tear open clots and start the bleeding process all over again. If the bleeding does not stop or there is blood spurting out from somewhere, it may be from a severed artery. This is a serious problem. You can do your best to occlude the artery directly or clamp it with a hemostat. At this stage, get medical help fast.
After the injured area is cleaned up and bandaged, you can change the bandages every 24 hours. This will give you a chance to re-assess the wound and put fresh clean bandages on it. If there is excessive redness, swelling, pus, fever or more pain, these could be signs of infection and require prompt medical attention for wound debriedment and possible antibiotics. After about 24 hours, the wound might be able to be cleaned by letting light soap and water run over it. Do no soak the area.

As a side note, as cool as scars are, some people don’t want them. The prevention of scar formation is not necessarily the initial wound closure, but has a lot to do with protection of the healing skin from the sun. To minimize scars, after the wound heals, use sun screen for 6-12 months daily over the area. For a few minutes a day, a light massage of the skin by the healing site also helps.

Disclaimer
Yup, it’s another disclaimer. I disclaim the above piece of writing. There. It’s done.

The word “disclaim” actually means to refuse knowledge or connection with something. So if you somehow read this or any of my other purely informational works and wind up with an amputated arm because you put two layers of gauze on a gunshot wound and waited 24 hours, well, you probably should have called 911. I disavow all knowledge of this ever having existed.

This article was written by guest author Atley Jackson as part of a Backcountry First Aid series. Check out his other articles:

Backcountry First Aid 101: Assessing and Treating Burns

Backcountry First Aid 101: Make Your Medical Kit

Jeff and Matt over at Goat Head Gear were kind enough to provide me a pair of Sole Spikes for review.

Initial Impressions

My pair of Sole Spikes came in a neat little box along with their driver tool. The box actually reminds me of the case that those old Bubble Tape chewing gums came in. I found this little case very useful later. If you’re a fishermen, hiker, or winter sports enthusiast, you know that tripping is the leading cause of injury. It’s not falling of a cliff face trying to free climb a 5.15. Or getting stuck out overnight in the wilderness, making a bow-drill fire and eating squirrel meat. It’s falling. It’s one of those things that just happens when it happens, most likely because you’re not being careful enough. For me, as both a hiker and a flyfisherman, falling is my worst enemy. Prime fly waters in my area are generally a minefield of submerged boulders, the majority of them glazed with a thin layer of algae. For most of the season, felt-soled wading boots can provide ample grip. But, once you add in sub-zero temperatures to this mix, you’re felt-soled becomes a nice half inch block of ice. When winter hiking, crampons are the go-to solution to ice, but they don’t fair well (or get ruined) when you’re walking on them on anything BUT ice. This requires constant on-off or taking the “just walk gingerly” method when having to cross over bare patch on the trail.

I think these sole spikes bridge the gap between the all or nothing use mode of crampons, and provide a means to tack on (literally) better traction for certain scenarios when fishing.

Materials

Although these are pretty much a set of screws that you screw into your boot, they are pretty well made. The screws are a philips-head style screw, but rather than having a rounded head, the screw head is flanged like a tooth. Think of the top of one of your molars. They are heat-treated stainless steel that offer a good hardness rating while providing rust and corrosion resistance – they are going to get wet and dirty after all. On the underside of the screw head has a flanged locking face designed to bite slightly into the sole of your boot to help prevent it from spinning back out. The threads on the screw are thick and the point is sharp (don’t find this out the hard way). The rubberized sole driver has a magnetic tip that helps hold on to the screws when installing and has a lanyard loop.

In The Field

Since it’s February and I’m not doing much fishing this month (as opposed to last year’s trip to NY’s Salmon River – which I wished I had these!), I decided to bring this pair on our yearly Polar Plunge Weekend.

Now, as I explain this yearly tradition, I hope you don’t figure out I’m crazy and stop reading this review. I am crazy. But you should continue reading.

Every year, my friends and I go to our friend’s lake house situated on an island on New Hampshire’s Lake Winnepesaukee. Being on an island means at least one round trip across a mile of frozen ice. Most often, many round trips to guide people across or, god forbid, we run out of beer and have to hit up the mainland.

This year, with the lack of snow, made the ice like glass. Perfect if you ice skate like most of my friends. Crappy if you can’t skate, like myself. These Sole Spikes kept my ass on two feet during every crossing, even against a 25mph cross wind on the last day. That’s the sort of wind that can turn you into one giant sail if you’re not biting into the ice.

Installing the screws is best done with the boot off. I learned this the hard way after arriving at the shore and trying to screw them in standing one-legged, on ice, in the dark. Depending on the sole of your boot, different amounts of force will be necessary. I tested these on my felt soled waders and they sunk in pretty easily. On a pair of hard soled work boots, I would assume they’d go in easily, but require lots of steady turns. On my hiking boots, a pair of Asolo Fugitive GTX’s, they were a bit difficult to drive in. The rubber on these boots is extremely soft and spongy. I needed a lot of force going into the sole to sink the screw, while maintaining steady, even turns to screw it in. A few times I ended up pushing in at a slight angle and knocking the screw out trying to set it. The best method I found was to put the boot between my legs and pinch it, and drive with one hand while keeping the boot from moving with the other.

Observations

I also wore these during the nearly hourly rounds of ice hockey out in front of the house. I was one of the few people without skates so these kept me on my feet most of the time. However, I think the side to side hard stopping took their toll on these spikes as I ended up losing about half of them through the weekend. I don’t blame the spikes for this, as I doubt the creators had ice-hockey on their mind when using. The force being applied to them while playing goalie was nearly horizontal, so I doubt the soft rubber soles of my Asolo’s could keep them in. In normal circumstances for a runner, hiker, or fisher, the majority of force would be vertical or a 45 degree vector, which these should do well on. I didn’t lose any while walking around or walking around the wooded/rocky yard.

For the makers of the driver, I would also suggest making a wider, flat shaped profile to the driver body. Think of a wing nut or a T-handled driver. Trying to push down on the curved butt of the driver while twisting is difficult and I think that’s what led to me knocking the screws out while setting them. I ended up putting a stick through the lanyard hole that I could grip with my fingers, letting the shaft of the driver come through between my middle and ring finger.

One concern I had with them was with putting holes into my boot sole. After I took them out, I realized that the soles are pretty imperceptible as the rubber closes back up on them like a septum, so I’m not really worried.

Lasting Impressions

All in all, these are clever and good quality boot spikes for the outdoorsman, trail runner, or fisherman. If I had a second set of hiking boots, I’d probably install them in those, and keep those strictly for icy hiking as they do take a minute to install. Conversely, they are cheap enough that I would also install them into my boots for the winter and not mind walking on pavement all winter. If they get chewed up, I’d just replace them as necessary. I’m looking forward to trying these out in 2 months when flyfishing season starts back up and will add to this review afterwards.

Oh yeah, don’t walk on wood floors with them if you value your life (spouse aggro!)

Check out Goat Head Gear Sole Spikes at their official website.

The allure brought on by performance equipment, promising to get your farther, stay out longer, and push harder is hard to resist. It’s hard to be practical and not swing for the fences. The regular bowhunter who gets in his stand every morning is hunting, just as the guy with a week’s worth of food and water on his back in Vancouver is too.

I’ve put together a summary of several companies and what they offer to the table in the way of performance hunting apparel.

Sitka Gear

Sitka is fast establishing themselves as the top-tier company in outdoor performance hunting gear. They have reset the baseline themselves and are pretty much the model for many mainstream companies that are currently developing more “athletic fit” hunting. Many of their features and designs are similar to Arc’teryx, which in turn is a leader in climbing, mountaineering, and outdoor gear. They are so similar to Arc’teryx in fact, many of their products are made in the same factories as BC based Arc’teryx. I’m glad they took this approach. A lot of hunting apparel on market was not form fitting and leaned more toward the XL and up lines. Finding a sized Medium that actually fit like the other performance outerwear I was accustomed to was nearly impossible. However, quality comes with a price and the price tag for Sitka Gear, now owned by WL Gore, is sometimes a tough pill to swallow but when you’ve got on apparel that doesn’t hinder you, it’s worth its weight in gold. Sitka currently makes gear in 3 distinct Gore Optifade patterns and creates several different clothing lines that support each function. Each Optifade pattern is optimized for a specific hunting style.

Open Country is geared toward the spot and stalk Elk/Pronghorn/Sheep/Deer hunter in mountainous or plains area habitats. It’s not to stay it can’t be used in the woods or in a tree, but the geometry and patterning is based around ungulate vision at a horizontal plane. The clothing is also styled for higher range of movement and temperature control, for aerobic and high exertion hikes/hunts.

Forest is geared more toward the Midwestern and eastern deer hunter, who’s hunting environment dictates greater success in a tree stand. The pattern is denser, darker, and aimed toward an ungulates perception of vertical environments. The clothing is designed to block out the elements and keep you warmer and more comfortable in the stand.

Sitka’s newest line is Marsh and changes its quarry from land mammal to waterfowl. The pattern is designed to blend in with marsh and swamp habitats from overhead, and are highly waterproof and weatherproof. This line was only just released in early 2012, so expect it to take off with waterfowl hunters.

KUIU

KUIU is a relatively new company that was created by a Sitka Gear co-founder. The same limit breaking performance and inspired design found in Sitka runs through the veins of KUIU as well… but with a push for ultra-light. For a better breakdown on KUIU, The Will to Hunt wrote a great article on them, calling them a “2012 brand to watch.”

UnderArmor

We all know the name Under Armor as the newly crowned leader of performance apparel. Watch ESPN for 10 minutes and you’ll likely see the “UA” logo more times than you can count. They definitely set the bar when it comes to sports fitness apparel. Did you ever hear about compression tshirts before they started rolling them out?

Although I wouldn’t hesitate to buy their clothing for some sports I do, like Cross Fit, I find that their foray into the hunting industry is merely a chance at capitalizing on the success of other performance companies. I don’t find any of their gear inspired in the least, as they mainly seem to just be renditions of their other clothing but with a Mossy Oak pattern on them. The apparel I do find that is slightly more in tune with the hunter is the same stuff made by other companies, just with Under Armor fabrics. That being said, it’s not that much cheaper than other quality brands, specifically designed for hunters by hunters. That’s not to say their hunting gear doesn’t perform, I’m sure it does!

Kryptek

Kryptek Outdoor Group‘s slogan “From Battlefield to Backcountry”, resonates with their desire to bring combat-proven designs and solutions to the hunting world. They offer high quality and rugged apparel for military, law enforcement, and outdoor enthusiasts. Recently, they were announced as a finalist in the US Army Camouflage Improvement Effort. A small Fairbanks-based company jostling with several multi-billion dollar companies says a lot about the products they produce. Always reaching out and connecting with fans via social media outlets, Kryptek is a small company that’s going somewhere.  Currently, their hunting apparel uses the clever Mothwing Mimicry camo, which Sitka grew popular with prior to rolling out Gore’s Optifade lines. It’s a proven pattern that utilizes both traditional mimicry (think Real Tree) while also being a break-up patten (think Optifade).

Core4 Element

Core4 Element offers a small lineup of hunting apparel focusing on quality. I like where this company is going, they seem to be well designed and have a dedicated following. However, I’m not yet sold on them as a brand as they offer gear at the same price point as Sitka and KUIU, but don’t really inspire the buyer with their  image or small lineup. I don’t mean to be hard on them, because having a wider product offering can be viewed negatively. I’d like to see more pieces of gear suited to different types of hunting situations. Also, some people might not buy into the aggressive marketing of Sitka but prefer a more subtle tact. They also delve very little into the materials and layering systems they use, which is clearly what differentiates companies along this part of the market.

Russel Outdoors APXg2

I find Russel Outdoors APXg2 occupying the same niche as Core 4 Element. It’s good quality clothing, but really requires more to shine as a leader in the performance hunt gear. Being that its a massive step from their entry level APX product line, I think they’d sell far better if they were priced between the $100-$150 price point. Under Armor is currently attacking this market segment, backed up by their own name and materials. When I first think Russel Outdoors, high quality isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Similar to Core4 Element, the APXg2 is a ligthweight layering system, however, they don’t utilize many outdoor “household names”. I think their only big name material is PrimaLoft, which can be found in pretty much anything insulated nowadays. Although many people stand by their products, I think they’d do much better to either bring down prices or bring out more innovative gear to market.

Scent Lok

I know many, many, many hunters that swear by Scent Lok technologies. I know many people who don’t buy into it either. I’m on the fence. Among other things, hunters are most likely busted by their scent. Scent Lok uses activated carbon in their clothing to absorb scent and odors, and this technology is the lifeblood of their products. However, more and more companies these days are incorporating similar scent blocking systems into their clothing through carbon or silver ion fabrics. Its a matter of purchasing scent control apparel that offers some performance characteristics, or performance apparel that offers some scent control features. Be that as it may, I haven’t seen any real comparison of scent control technologies aside from a Field and Stream article uses police dogs. The results weren’t very supporting, as reported in this article by The Columbian. I hate to rag on a company that offers great quality products and customer satisfaction, but having trained my dog in Nose Work and odor/scent detection, it’s pretty tough to fool an animal when so many variables come into play. We also don’t know what exactly deer cue in on when we get busted, is it our scent? Is it our odor? Is it the disturbance we’ve made coming in through the woods? The fact remains that there are plenty of factors that come into play and many people take deer without scent control technology while many people get busted by deer while utilizing scent control.

So the question remains, what do YOU think of the companies that are out their putting out performance hunt gear? Where are you spending YOUR money? Do you love a company I don’t? Do you have hate a company I love? Let me know!

I’m lucky enough to have access to a Nikon D3 DSLR courtesy of my father. This is a pro-body, battery grip camera that’s a lot bigger than the standard Nikon “hundred” line or Canon EOS styles. The majority of users aren’t trying to carry pro-body’s into the field, but keep them tucked safely inside studios and wedding venues. Long story short, Nikon D3: too big. Most outdoor camera bags: too small.

To make matters worse, I prefer to have a camera chest mounted or at least hip mounted so it’s compatible and easily accessible while wearing a backpack. I carried my earlier Nikon D100 in this way.

To make matters nearly intolerable, I want a camera bag that’s able to withstand the elements and offer the needed protection for a $5,000 piece of gear.

So yeah, all above and it should also look good. Thanks in advance.

Enter: The LowePro Toploader 75 AW

This black, form-fitting and adaptable camera bag is built of sturdy nylon ripstoppish material. The loops, pull tabs, and straps are the same quality you would find on any higher end backpack. It features an adjustable inner compartment system, 3-point shoulder strap, and an adequate amount of organization via side zip, side stretch, and top zip pockets. It’s also intuitively design with a flip out lid and comes with a storable rain cover.

Initial Impressions

Well, upon unboxing the Toploader 75 I thought, “Man, that is big.”

(That’s what she said.)

I had opted with the 75 over the 70 to keep my options open for a longer telephoto zoom lens in the future. Currently, the longest lens I use is an 80-300mm, although generally I use a 70-200mm when I’m stomping around in the woods. Aside from the initial shock at the size, I started looking at the construction which was top-notch. Like I mentioned before, this camera bag has all the quality and design of a quality backpack. Everything down to the padding on the side of the bag that contacts the chest.

Materials

The people at LowePro didn’t skip or cut any corners when making this bag. It’s probably why LowePro just dominates this market niche. I had previously used the LowePro Off Trail 2 for my D100, which was great quality but lacked many of the features this bag has.  Everything in the main bag body is reinforced. It has solid, padded walls that contour with the inherent shape of the camera. If it doesn’t fit just quite right, sturdy adjustable Velcro panels inside can be moved up off the bottom (if you’re not using a zoom lens) and an L-shaped inner frame to give a stop for the battery grip.

The attached and stow-able all-weather liner (the AW denotation in the name) is just as good as the rain-fly on my Big Agnes tent, all the way down to the taped seams.

In The Field

I’ve taken this bag with the D3 out on several shed hunting trips as well as out for other photo ops. I’ve been carrying it with the 3-point sling attachment on my left hip. I have not purchased the chest harness yet. It’s very convenient and practical on the hip. I find its easier to access and less obtrusive than a traditional waist pack. A waist pack with the pack side on your butt is less obtrusive but not easy to access. Having it on the front is easier to get to but you’ve got this big honking codpiece hanging in front of you. Having this bag sit sidesaddle is perfect. I can grab the camera out of it very quickly to catch a surprise opportunity, and keep it with the lid only clipped down to get back into just as quick.

The 3-point sling attachment keeps the bag in place while walking. Without the cross strap (which is detachable) it tends to swing around a lot, like a man-purse (not that I wear one, I swear!).

The pockets all around come in surprisingly handy, I immediate found uses for them. There is a stretchy mesh pocket which is perfect for holding a camera lens cover. The top pouch works well for holding an extra battery pack and cards. The front zip pocket fits my Nikon SB-800 speed flash perfectly in its carrying pouch, along with a granola bar and pair of gloves. On mine, I used a zip lens case from my LowePro Hiker 2. It plugs into the side attachment point on the Toploader perfectly. So in that, I carry a 24-85mm macro lense or my 70-300mm zoom lens.

Update 5/4/2012: Having since purchased the chest harness adapter and trying it out on a backpacking trip, I wanted to update this review with some photos and my thoughts on using the chest harness with a backpack. Here is a photo of the rig, I’m carrying a Nikon D100 (didn’t want to lug around a D3 all weekend)

As you can see in the picture above, the bag is riding pretty low, more on my stomach than on my chest.

Getting the chest harness to fit properly while wearing multiple layers is a bit tricky. It will require a lot of adjustment. Unfortunately for me, because I’m so slim, I “bottomed” out the straps pretty quick, meaning I couldn’t get the top straps anymore tighter. You need to find a happy medium between the top straps and the ones that go under your arms to the bottom of the bag.

Because I was constantly fiddling with the bag, the top of the bag would sometimes hinge or hang forward away from my chest. This puts a lot of weight on your shoulders and I found them aching quite a bit. I thought this was from the weight of my back, but it was actually the bag (once I stowed the Toploader with camera in the pack, the ache went away).

One thing to also note with the chest harness equipped, it blocks your line of sight to your toes. I didn’t think of this until we were on our way. Emptying “the tank” or even going through some sketchy terrain is hindered, and you have to swing the pack to the side to get a view below you. You can see me doing this while trying to cross this little brook:

It’s one of those things you don’t realize until you’re out. You look at your feet a lot when hiking!

One upside to using the chest rig is that the top flap of the camera makes a nice place to stash gloves or a map. Also, the whole top of the bag, which is rigid makes a good place to lay down a map and compass while on the trail!

Observations

I don’t have many thing to nitpick about this pack so far, it pretty much solves every problem I’ve faced trying to lug around the D3. One minor thing about this pack, especially if you plan to use it for nature or hunting photography, is that it is a bit loud. The nylon exterior’s rough surface will rub against anything and all the zippers clang together with high-pitched “tings”. I will probably silence those up with a bit of heat-shrink tubing (works wonders) or black electrical tape.

Another thing is that when you’ve got the rain-fly on, it covers the entire exterior of the camera, so you can’t access all those handy pockets without digging a hand down in through the top. Grab your necessities before you slip that on.

Also, given that the thing is standard black nylon and doesn’t really match any of my Optifade camo in the slightest, I’m planning to give this a quick spray in some Krylon Fusion camo spray. I will post pictures of that when I do for you guys.

Lasting Impressions

I think this bag was a home run decision. I’m looking forward to putting some miles on it and finally having some piece of mind bringing a $5,000 camera into the woods. I will probably invest the $15 into the chest harness so it will ride better with a pack and post up my results when I do. If you have a DSLR or pro-DSLR, I wouldn’t hesitate at all in recommending one of these guys. It’s a rock solid sub-$100 investment to protect your very expensive equipment.