Mountain Standards

Posted August 24, 2006

Scarpa Vision V: One shoe for all types of crags

I admit it. I'm a shoe whore. When it comes to cragging, certain climbs require a very specific shoes. Currently my cragging quiver consists of about five shoes (that I can remember off the top of my head). Shoes range from super tight sporty edging shoes to finger-crack shoes to quick on-and-off bouldering shoes. I now have one shoe for just about everything. When I first tried out the Vision V at Blacktail Butte outside of Jackson I was a little skeptical. I felt a little weak but that is probably because I climbed too many moderates in the Bugaboos the two weeks before.



Posted August 15, 2006

OR Zealot storm shell packs perfectly

This is an ultra light, incredibly compact and highly breathable storm shell that I found to be ideal for a variety of uses. Featuring Gore-Tex Paclite fabric with narrowly taped seams, one chest pocket and a hood perfectly cut to use with a helmet, it had everything I needed and nothing more.



Posted August 5, 2006

Outdoor Research Exos Gaiters stand up to variable conditions in Pakistan

It was obvious as soon as I removed the OR Exos from their packaging and took one look at all the crucial features that I had never seen on gaiters before, that these were by far the most bomber gaiters imaginable. In the past, the instep strap on other gaiters has always been the first thing to go for me, rendering the gaiter useless, so I was particularly happy to see how reinforced these ones were.



[     ]