Gear Test: Oakley Splice Goggles

The Splice Splice is Oakley's top of the line snow goggle running from $110 to $240 depending on what lens and color you get. The pair I have are $140 yellow frame/ High Intensity Yellow version I picked up for free at an Oakley dealer clinic. Bright yellow is not my style, but free is very much my style. I have been skiing and snowmobiling since I was 5 and have never had a pair of goggles that cost more that $40. The pair of Scott goggles I was using until I was given these I paid $40 for 7 years ago. They have been worn for countless ski days and a few snowmobile days and I only had to glue to foam back to the frame once a couple of years ago. They have never failed me or have I ever thought I need a new pair. But I will never turn down free and I figured the least I could do is write a post on these since I got them for free.

I was interested to see what that extra $100 got you. Oakley is known for their great optics. They have brought a level of clarity to composite lenses that no one before them had. I will admit, these are a bit sharper and more clear than my $40 Scott's. But I don't know if it they are $100 sharper and clearer. They do fit well with very little pressure on my nose as advertised. They stayed tight on my face, they didn't fog up even after I wrecked and filled them with snow. The top vents iced up, but they still didn't fog. I have the high intensity yellow lenses which are supposed to be great for the gray, overcast, low light conditions we frequently have here in the Pacific Northwest.

I have worn these a couple of days up now, and have no complaints. The lens tint works well in low light conditions, they are comfortable, fog free and have great, crisp, clear optics. The only problem is, that describes my $40 Scott goggles as well. The $40 Scott's don't have as clear of lenses, aren't as comfortable, or as fog free, but I don't know if the Splice's better performance equal a price almost 4 times as much. Bottom line is that if I were shopping for new goggles, I would probably still buy the $40 Scotts and throw the $100 I just saved in the ski trip fund.

Dave

Gear Test: Columbia Shimmer Me Timbers Jacket Initial Impressions

It 's 41 degrees Fahrenheit in my back yard right now. I am writing this from the deck of my house wearing my shinny (literally) and new Shimmer Me Timbers jacket from Columbia. I am going to be wear and abusing this jacket until summer at least, longer if it earns a spot in my gear closet and becomes a trusted piece. I received this jacket directly from Columbia for the purpose of field testing, reporting back and writing about it via social media and blogs. Along with the jacket I received a letter asking me to be honest and truthful in my impressions of this jacket. I am your average blue collar working stiff, when I buy gear I research it carefully because I can't afford to spend big money on underperforming items. There is nothing better than being in the outdoors, but the gear to do so comfortably and safely is not cheap. It is my goal on this blog to only recommend gear that I feel is worth the money and worth its weight in your pack when you head into the back country. If I wouldn't pack it, I wont recommend you do regardless of how much gear a company sends me. This is the first piece I have ever gotten for free from a company to review, hopefully it's not the last.

I have a bit of history with Columbia products, growing up in Wisconsin Columbia jackets were the thing to have come winter time. They were what all the cool kids at my high school were wearing. There aren't a lot of places where winter jackets are a fashion item, but given the length and severity of Wisconsin winters, we are a little different. I had a trusty 3 in 1 shell with fleece jacket that could zip into the shell as a liner. It served me well for a couple of winters of snow shoveling, skiing and snowmobiling in Wisconsin. When I left home for Seattle and the Cascades I took it with me and almost died wearing it. I read a ton of stuff on trips, outdoor survival and rescues. Every time I read a story I always wonder how they made the mistakes that got them in their situation and I never understand it. Until I almost needed rescue myself. My first winter in Washington myself and a friend were snowshoeing up a trail just west of Stevens Pass in February. It was snowing as we drove to the trailhead, it was snowing as we hiked up the mountain, it snowed as we made camp, it snowed all night while we slept, It was still snowing the next morning. In the 36 hours our trip took, it snowed over a foot of light powder which soaked every piece of our gear that was made of cloth from the tent, to our sleeping bags to the Columbia shell I was wearing whose waterproofing had worn out well before this trip. Between the fresh snow and the extra water weight our trip back to the truck took twice as long going down hill as the up hill trip took the day before. We were post holing 2 foot deep holes wearing snowshoes. A mile from the truck I tripped and fell face first into the snow for the hundredth time that  day. The thought that came into my mind as I lay there with my pack on top of me was that I could just lie there, fall asleep and die and it would be ok. I have never been so physically exhausted in my life. Thankfully it struck that thinking its ok to lay down and die was ok was a very, very bad thing and I scared myself into getting up and continuing. A lot of little things went wrong on that trip, taking the wrong jacket was just one of them. That was the last time I wore a Columbia product. Since then I have never looked to Columbia as a true technical outerwear company, thinking their products are find for average use, resort skiing, snow play, staying warm and dry on trips to the store, but not much beyond. Last month I read this article from the Gear Junkie on Outside Magazine's blog about Columbia relaunching its self as a leading outdoor clothing maker. I am always skeptical about gadgets and gizmos on outdoor gear, usually simple is the best, but some of the ideas are pretty interesting. My favorite new Columbia technology is the one used in the jacket I am wearing. Omni-Heat Thermal Reflective. Basically they line the item with a bunch of reflective little dots (see below) to reflect body heat back to you. Its a novel idea and now I get to test it.

My $120 test jacket came in a very shinny greenish brown called Breen. It looks great, it looks like a high quality puffy. The outer shell fabric feels a little thicker and tougher than the fabric on other high end puffy jackets I own, which is a good thing. It also some how feels cheaper, feeling less like a high end shell and more like the fabric from a mid level sleeping back shell. I have run into this problem a couple of times with this jacket, I cannot tell you one thing that is wrong with this jacket, one thing that makes it look or feel cheap, but there are a few things that for whatever reason, give me that impression and I can't figure out why. This jacket is filled with Columbia's proprietary synthetic insulation from their Omni-Heat line. It is their version of the popular Primaloft. All synthetic insulations are trying to top down for weight and warmth and none have pulled it off yet, but Primaloft is close. The advantage of synthetic insulation is that it still insulates when wet, unlike down. This is very important when you live someplace like Washington and spend most of your days out on the wet side of the Cascades. I have both down and synthetic puffy jackets, but I only grab the down when I am positive I wont get get. Wet down is useless. According to info from a Columbia representative on Backcountry.com, Omni-Heat synthetic 50% recycled insulation is "Ounce for ounce the most effective insulator out there." The front hand pockets are lined with fleece, something I think all pockets should be lined with, there is nothing better than sticking cold hands in soft warm pockets. The inside of the zipper is also covered in fleece by your chin to avoid chaffing. The hood fits well and is adjustable. I'm not sure it if would fit over a helmet though. The interior is covered in little shinny dots, really shinny little dots. You might be able to use the inside of this jacket as a signaling mirror if you need to signal a rescue aircraft. I'm not kidding. I was most surprised by the fit of this jacket. Columbia products have been known to fit poorly and boxy. I am 6'1" and an athletically built 190lbs and this jacket fits me well. It seems to be cut to fit closer and athletically. It is also long enough to cover my lower back when bent down, something that is a pet peeve. It feels light weight, it moves well, it feels good. As I have written this I have stayed warm despite the sun setting and the temperature going down with it. I can see my breath in the porch light but I am still toasty. This weekend I will be going skiing and I am taking this jacket. I think it might be too warm to ski in but I will rock it around the base area to test its ability to keep me warm while sitting in the snow doing nothing. Stay tuned for updates on this jacket as winter wears on.

Dave

Trusted Gear

There's a saying "There is no bad weather, just bad clothing" and living in the greater Seattle area you have to believe this if you want to leave your house. I grew up playing in the snow and cold of Wisconsin winters learning at an early age how important it is to dress for the conditions. Six years ago I moved to Washington and the conditions I play in change, but the need to be prepared for them hasn't. Every time I head out to the mountains I pack gear expecting the worst and rarely using most of it, but hearing stories time and again about people being caught unprepared in the wilderness motivates me to carry it none the less.  Here is a list of some of my favorite tried and trusted gear.

I'm a big believer in The Ten Essentials. These things are designed to be the bare minimum need, along with some knowledge, to make it through a bad trip and home again. I carry most things on this list stuffed into an improved version of my first aid kit. I started with a kit from Adventure Medical Kit and then added a compass, some iodine water treatment, a small, very sharp folding packet knife, and a pack of REI Storm Proof Matches. I toss this kit in every pack I take on every trip I go on. It gives me a good base to start with and covers most of the ten essentials making my packing list smaller. Every time I use something from the kit, I replace it as soon as I get home.

I always pack a windproof, waterproof, lightweight, packable shell. If the weather turns nasty this will keep you dry and keep the wind from robing you of your body heat.  I pack the First Ascent BC-100 (picture above) it's light weight, packs down small into one of its pockets and is breathable as well as being water and wind proof. Its is a very minimalist shell, but being designed by professional mountain guides it isn't lacking anything. Several items on this list are from First Ascent. I like their gear, its all bare bones, well built gear that has everything you need and no extra weight. They cut their products to be a little more fitted, which I like and their products are available in tall sizes, which being 6'1" I am a big fan of. Nothing is worse than a cold lower back on long hikes and climbs. First Ascent is Eddie Bauer's high end line of outdoor gear available at your local Eddie Bauer store and online from places like my favorite outdoor outfitter Moosejaw.

The next piece into the pack is a super warm, light weight, packable insulation layer. Down is the king of warmth and its super light weight as well. The fact that down is still the go to insulation for ultimate warmth and weight is amazing. You would think that after all these years of man kind trying to build a better mouse trap we would have topped down by now, but no. I always thought puffy jackets looked dumb until i tried one and was amazed by how it weighed nothing and was the warmest thing I had ever put on. The First Ascent downlight sweater (pictured above) is the down jacket I pack. It is super light weight, packs down small into its own pocket, filled with 800 fill down, the exterior fabric is wind, water and tear resistant. Once while digging something out of my pack, this jacket stuffed into its own pocket and zipped up fell out of my pack, bounced of the rock I was on and into a nearly frozen lake. I was amazed when it hit the water and floated, I was able to grab it out before the water resistant outer fabric soaked through. As amazing as down is, it loses all its insulating properties when it gets wet so I was lucky. There are some synthetic insulation options out there that are almost as light, almost as warm and almost as packable as down, but they will continue to keep you warm even when soaked. Because it will keep you warm even when wet synthetic insulation is a good choice for wet climates. I have a Columbia Shimmer Me Timbers synthetic insulated puffy jacket coming my way to test out just for this reason.

Some people have that one type item in life they are obsessed with, my wife has shoes, I have technical packs. I have at least 10 packs ranging from bare bones hydration packs to week long expedition packs and everything in between. After trying out several top companies I now only buy Osprey packs. I have 4 of them and they are the only ones i grab. I have their Exos 34 day pack (pictures above), the Kode 30 ski pack, the Kestrel 85 weekend pack and the Raptor 18 hydration pack. All of their packs are bomber constructed, well designed and very comfortable. They have a pack for everything and you can't go wrong with them.


I will post more gear and detailed reviews of new stuff and stuff I love as the blog develops. I have two new pieces of gear I am looking forward to trying out. I mentioned the Columbia Shimmer Me Timbers jacket earlier, this jacket features Columbia's new OmniHeat technology that uses small reflective dots lining the jacket to reflect body heat back to you. Columbia was once known for making some top gear, but in recent years have kind of faded a bit to more of a mid table clothing company making stuff for the weekend warrior more than the top end gear for the hardcore outdoors man. They have recently rededicated themselves to advancing technology in outdoor gear industry and making high end gear again. I am looking forward to trying out this jacket. I also just got a pair of La Sportiva FC ECO 4.0 GTX hiking boots that I will be writing about soon.