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November 25, 2004
Last modified November 24, 2004 - 8:20 pm
The Gear
Guy's gift list: Toys for outdoor boys and girls
Stephen Regenold
GEAR JUNKIE
Forget video
games. Don't even think about a fruit basket. This year get your family
and friends gear they can use on the snow, in the woods or anywhere else
outside and under the blue sky.
Cool outdoor
gear will excite and motivate even the most lethargic loved one. Maybe a
new hydration pack will inspire your buddy to make the jump from
treadmill to trail running. A good shell jacket will make wintertime
exercise more comfortable for your spouse. Lure a techy kid outside with
a GPS wristwatch.
Here are 14
outdoor-oriented gift suggestions, plus the annual Gear Junkie Top 10
list of my favorite outdoor toys of the year. Pick your gifts wisely.
The skis, backpacks, camp stoves, multi-tools and headlamps you give are
gateways to adventure. Lifestyle changes may result.
Brunton Raptor
It weighs 5
ounces and is smaller than a can of Red Bull, but the Raptor camp stove
can boil a liter of water in less than five minutes. It runs on
disposable butane canisters and has a built-in ignition system to set
the stove ablaze with the push of a button. No priming is necessary, and
with its retractable-arm supports extended pots up to 12-inches wide can
be set upon the flame. Brunton includes a nylon case for the stove.
Price: $40.
Contact: Brunton, 1-800-443-4871,
www.brunton.com.
Suunto X9
GPS technology
has finally made it to the wristwatch. This do-all timepiece includes an
electronic compass, barometer, thermometer, altimeter and basic
GPS-navigation features. Your GPS routes can be saved and the data is
downloadable to a PC for analyzing at home. Don't expect the detailed,
onscreen maps and the other niceties that now come standard on full-size
GPS devices. But if your special someone would like to be the first kid
on the block whose wristwatch connects with a satellite, this pricey
little toy is the only thing on the market to do the trick. Price: $725.
Contact: Suunto, 1-800-543-9124,
www.suuntousa.com.
Ex Officio Underwear
Who says
underwear is a bad Christmas gift? Ex Officio sells a whole line of
"performance travel underwear" made for outdoor explorers and world
vagabonds. The company's claim is that these undies - which are made of
nylon and spandex and topped off with an anti-microbial treatment - can
withstand six weeks of travel. You do have to wash and wring them out in
a sink every few days, but the lightweight and breathable fabric will
dry completely in a couple hours hanging off the side of a hostel bunk.
Pricing: men's/women's briefs start at $24. Contact: Ex Officio,
1-800-644-7303,
www.exofficio.com.
Oakley Thump
Destined to be
one of the funkiest gifts this December, the Thump sunglasses from
Oakley have small ear buds and a built-in digital-audio player. Up to
six hours of MP3, WMA or WAV music files can be loaded onto the glasses
from a PC. Skip, pause, play, volume and other features are controlled
via tiny buttons on the glasses' bows. The optics and frames are
high-end Oakley stock, and the whole package weighs just a couple
ounces. Price: base model, $395. Contact: Oakley Inc., 1-877-619-0312,
www.oakley.com.
Metolius Wood Grips
Training Board
Aesthetics
meets athletics with this polished alder wood hangboard. Made for
climbers and other athletes looking to strengthen their arms and upper
body, this glorified pull-up bar looks nice enough to hang in a living
room. It has three different depths of grippy finger pockets and larger
holds to vary your pull-up workout regimen and strengthen fingers,
forearms, biceps and abdominal muscles. Price: $89. Contact: Metolius,
(541) 382-7585,
www.metoliusclimbing.com.
OtterBox oPod case
The Apple iPod
may be the most popular digital-music player on the market, but it's far
from optimized for outdoor athletes. OtterBox provides protection from
rain, snow, dirt, sand and dust with its polycarbonate resin oPod case.
The water-resistant, crushproof box fits snugly around an iPod and
provides full control of song selection, volume and other functions
through a flexible clear membrane cover. The oPod comes in two styles to
accommodate all iPod models. It's available in five colors - white,
yellow, green, pink and blue. Price: $50. Contact: OtterBox,
1-888-695-8820,
www.otterbox.com.
Buck Knives Short
Revolution
This simple,
elegant design allows the knife to be clipped to a belt loop or backpack
strap like a carabiner and then easily locked open with the flip of the
handle. It weighs 2.6 ounces and has a 2.5-inch blade, which is
available with a nonserrated or partially serrated edge. Buck offers a
lifetime warranty for the Short Revolution. Price: $72. Contact: Buck
Knives, 1-800-326-2825,
http://www.buckknives.com
Moonstone Mountain
Equipment Lucid jacket
Lightweight
and cozy, the quilted Lucid jacket weighs around 10
 ounces but is surprisingly
warm. Its quilted panels are stuffed with premium 800-plus goose-down
fill. For packing it along on a trip, the jacket comes with a stuff sack
that lets you squish it down to the size of a softball. It's available
in several colors and in men's and women's models. Price: $160.
Contact:
Moonstone Mountain Equipment, 1-800-390-3312,
www.moonstone.com.
Bamboo Textile T-shirt
Yes, it really
is made of bamboo. Bamboo Textile touts its line of bamboo-fiber shirts
as being more friendly to the environment than cotton and naturally
anti-bacterial, so it won't stink as bad after a few days on the trail.
The T-shirts are soft, comfortable and pre-shrunk ready to wear.
They come in black, yellow, white, pink, maroon, blue and gray. Price:
$10.
Contact Bamboo Textile, (714) 469-1483,
www.bambootextile.com.
Deuter Hydro Lite 3.0
A hydration
pack with few bells and whistles, the Hydro Lite 3.0 does its job of
keeping water accessible at all times with a three-liter bladder, a hose
and a bite valve. The pack is insulated with reflective foil to keep a
steady liquid temperature. The shoulder straps and frame area are made
of an airy mesh material to keep it feeling light and breathable during
heavy workouts. Price: $49. Contact: Deuter Inc., 1-303-652-3102,
www.deuterusa.com.
Outdoor Research
Backpacker Kitchen Kit
This kit comes
with all the containers, utensils and tools to cook a gourmet meal far
from civilization. The 15-ounce package includes Lexan forks, knives and
spoons; a selection of small containers to carry spices and liquid
condiments; plus a spatula, a wire whisk and a small cutting board.
Everything fits nicely in a nylon pouch that can be hung from a tree for
easy access while preparing dinner in the deep, dark woods. Price: $38.
Contact: Outdoor Research, 1-888-467-4327,
www.orgear.com.
Pacific Cornetta Chugg
Press
Caffeine can
come camping too with the Chugg Press. This mini French press brews
coffee in a couple minutes and is then used as the mug for partaking the
steamy delight. It's made of double-walled stainless steel for
insulation and holds 16 ounces of thick, hot coffee. Price: $22.
Contact:
Pacific Cornetta,
www.liquid-solutions.com.
Mt. Hardware
Poodle Hat and Hoodie
Cushy, cuddly
outerwear is always nice for the special lady on your list. The Poodle
cap borrows style from ragtime days with a nod toward modern outdoor
functionality, as it's made of super-warm Polartec thermal fleece. The
Butter Hoody top is made of bunny-soft microfilament polyester with a
touch of lycra.
It's warm and comfortable enough to use as pajamas. Price: Poodle Cap,
$20; Butter Hoody, $60. Contact: Mountain Hardware, 1-800-953-8375,
www.mountainhardwear.com.
Stephen
Regenold is a freelance writer and the founding editor of the climbing
magazine Vertical Jones. He can be reached at
sregenold@hotmail.com.
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Gear Junkie top 10 gear picks 2004
Over
the past 12 months, I ran two marathons, climbed two major
mountains, skied a 50-kilometer race, explored canyons in
southcentral Utah, completed nine adventure races and traveled
to corners as far afield as Ucluelet, B.C., and Kyoto, Japan.
Along the way, I tested and reviewed more than 50 pieces of new
outdoor gear. Here are the ones that survived, thrived and ended
up as my favorite picks of the year.
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Duofold Hydrid - It looks like a normal T-shirt, but the
Hydrid fits and breathes so well that it nearly became my
uniform for training outdoors this year. I now own three of
them. ($25,
www.duofold.com)
-
Montrail Susitna XCR - They look like normal trail-runners,
but the Gore-Tex Susitnas come with small rubber gaiters and
are waterproof. I even attached crampons and climbed Mt.
Rainier in them. ($125,
www.montrail.com)
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Kahtoola KTS crampons - The accompaniment to the
aforementioned Montrail shoes were these lightweight
aluminum crampons. They're flexible and grip well enough for
snow climbs up to 60 degrees. ($129,
www.kahtoola.com)
-
Squeaky Cheeks - This dry-powder lubricant, made of corn
starch, bentonite clay, elm bark and other odd ingredients,
kept me chafe-free running and racing all year long. ($6,
www.squeakycheeks.com)
-
REI jackets - The Winter Ridge Nordic Jacket and its cousin,
the Performance Wool Jacket, are lightweight, breathable and
optimized for seriously aerobic cold-weather activities. I
wore them religiously all winter long. ($125 each,
www.rei.com)
-
Kona Jake the Snake - This cyclocross model has road-bike
performance with off-road features like knobby tires and a
reinforced frame. It let me keep speed on the pavement while
still allowing for some trail riding. ($1,099,
www.konaworld.com)
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Fischer Nordic Pacer - These 171-centimeter Nordic cruisers
held up to abuse for hundreds of kilometers of racing and
training. They're a bit shorter and fatter than traditional
skis, but provide extra stability and still manage to fly on
the snow. ($219;
www.fischerskis.com)
-
Life-Link Guide Ultra-Light pole - A solid trekking pole
with an integrated avalanche probe, just in case. The
high-grade aluminum and carbon fiber poles weigh just 7
ounces apiece. ($100,
www.life-link.com)
-
MyTopo.com - Customizable United States Geological Survey (USGS)
topographic maps and satellite photos that come in sizes
that range from 18x24 to 36x44 inches. A complete online
database of USGS quadrangles lets you surf, scroll and
select the map of your choosing from anywhere in the
country. ($10-$30 per map,
www.mytopo.com)
-
RailRiders Eco-Mesh shirt - It blocks out the sun while
letting the body breathe. The shirt has a 3-inch-wide
continuous mesh vent that runs up the side of the torso and
a large mesh vent on the upper back to let body heat escape.
($54,
www.railriders.com)
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