My Next Purchase

After doing some research and comparing the MSR AutoFlow Gravity Filter against the Platypus CLeanStream Gravity Filter System on various websites I decided to go with the MSR. I have been using an MSR pump with a ceramic filter for years and it has performed very well. It is easy to clean, and other than a slowing flow rate, should last for a few more years. But pumping is one of my least favorite elements of the outdoor adventure so I am going to try a gravity filter. This will be perfect for group trips and appears to be lighter than most water filtration systems. The hollow fiber filters are supposed to be a little more fussy but it should be worth it with the higher flow. I will let you know after I use it. Next trip should be in a few weeks.

Warrior Dash

Before I busted up my knee playing basketball (and falling on asphalt) I signed up for the Warrior Dash. It will be my first adventure race of the year and covers 3 miles with multiple obstacles. Before I hurt my knee I was running 4 to 5 miles a day and figured I could compete for a place on the podium (and the metal warrior helmet that comes with it). Now I am just looking forward to jogging the race and bumbling over obstacles. I guess the injury took the competetive edge out of it. Oh well. Should still be a fun event, and for only 60 bones you can't really go wrong.

Yellowstone

My next destination? Yellowstone. 17 hours of driving. 4 or 5 nights on the trail. Can you say life lister? I want to go to there.

The North Face Denali Jacket

If you buy one piece of The North Face gear you should probably get this jacket. The Denali is just fashionable enough to wear out at night and just nice enough for me to wear to work everyday. The 300 series Polartec polyester fleece is warm enough to wear into the 40's or 50's over a t-shirt and also has just enough wind resistant to stand up to about 10 mph gusts. The polyster is also naturally hydrophobic so when it gets wet it retains heat and dries quickly. You can shake this jacket and watch the water come off.

For the outdoors the Denali holds up as a solid 3 season backpacking jacket. It is a little heavy and oversized for my taste but its versatility has forced me to bring it along regardless of its shortcomings. The polyester breathes well while insulating and the shoulder fabric is strong enough to endure hours with backpack straps rubbbing against it. I think my favorite thing about it is that it makes the perfect camp pillow. Fold the jacket up a few times, stick it in a soft shirt, and you have the perfect vehicle to rest your head on. It is warm and soft and does not compress too much (like a down jacket) or spread flat to be uncomfortable by the end of the night. I enjoy using this as a backpacking pillow so much I have considered bringing it on summer trips when I truly did not need it.

Pretty much everyone I know has one of these jackets for wearing around town, but few people realize this is an excellent piece of gear for backpacking. My only complaint is that it should be a little more stout against the wind; if it was I would bring this jacket on every backpacking trip.

Long John Performance: Smartwool versus Patagonia

For my first snowshoeing trip I decided I needed more than one pair of long johns. I bought a pair of Smartwool Midweight Bottoms for general backpacking use a few years ago. I typically would throw them on at night when the sun started to go down and wear them under my pants until climbing into sleeping bag. Since they are merino wool they are soft, odorless, and warm while also wicking sweat away. Since I would be snowshoeing and sweating I wanted a pair to wear each day. I love testing new clothing and building up my gear box so I wanted to try something new. I went with the Patagonia Capilene 3 Bottoms which are basically synthetic versions of the Smartwools. Here is a breakdown of the performance:




Smartwool ($75) - For warmth, softness and cut these can't be beat. The merino wool insulates in the cold and transports sweat when working hard. The fabric is soft enough that these are the perfect cold weather sleep wear. And there is something about the fit around the ankles that is perfect (although the seat is a little dumpy). I wore these after the first day's climb and to bed, and the all day the second day (downhill). For warmth underneath a windshell layer these really can't be beat.







Patagonia Capilene 3 ($45) -I wore these the entire first day underneath my snowshell pants. They were warm enough that I ended up opening my knee zips after a few hours of climbing but they kept my legs dry and I was never uncomfortable. Even while shoveling snow to make base camp the sweat never clung to these longjohns. The elastic waist band and elastic at the ankles were a little too tight but the overall performance was impressive.

Bottom Line - If I was looking to buy one pair of longjohns to last me forever I would go with the Smartwools. They are soft enough to wear at home and perform well enough to wear while doing intense physical activity. If you need to buy multiple pairs for a trip and are on a budget the Patagonia Capilene is a great economical choice. They performed as well as the Smartwools while sweating (the polyester wicks better than the merino) but the Smartwools were warmer while standing around at camp. It depends on the situation but both of these longjohns perform well.

Top 10 Hikes and Dive Spots

The website Gadling has a list of what they consider the "World's best Hikes." One of the hikes is the Mt. Whitney climb which I did in one day in 2008. Maybe it was the trauma of the 22 miles that day, but I would not consider it one of the "world's best." Either way, the ten hikes listed are all trips I want to do.
They also listed the top 10 dive sites.

http://www.gadling.com/2010/01/26/10-great-destinations-for-scuba-diving-adventure-videos/

I now have 20 trips to do in the near future.

Empowered by Gaiters

There is something empowering about wearing gaiters. When combined with durable snow pants and hearty winter boots you feel like you could be walking through knee high lava flows and be fine.
Mine are the Outdoor Research Verglass Gaiters. They are affordable ($45), durable, waterproof, and not vomit inducing ugly. Over two days of snowshoeing and potholing up to my knee my feet remained dry and these remained in place. The calf strap is sturdy and never came loose. The leather straps were easy to adjust (before they were frozen over). The velcro front made putting them on easy even after the spent the night getting coated in ice.
They are not without their problems though. Maybe I have skinny legs for my shoe size but the calf strap had to be cinched almost all the way down to stay up on my leg. While the strap never came undone I did end up with an annoying bunching at the top of the gaiters and the actual strap sticking out to the side. This could theoretically get snagged on something. My second complaint may happen with all gaiters. The lace clip at the toe always came unhooked. This never impacted the performance of the gaiters but had circumstances been different I would want these more firmly locked onto my shoe. I may add a little ring onto my boots so that I have something more secure than crossed laces to hook my clip around.

My Snow Boots - Keen Summit County

I began shopping for snow boots in anticipation of a winter backpacking trip in the fall. While the trip didn't materialize until mid-January I had these boots under the bed for a few months. One thing I have learned about Keen boots is you can pull them right out of the box, slip in your Superfeet, and hit the trail. Before my snowshoe trip (with the broken snowshoes documented here) I had worn these boots for all of an hour inside my apartment. I then wore them for an additional 30 minutes the night before our departure. But when I threw them on the next morning they performed beautifully.
I have never owned a pair of snow boots so this was virigin territory for me. Based on reviews at the REI website and the fact Keens just fit my feet I figured these would be a solid option for snowshoeing. These boots were very comfortable right out of the box and I didn't have any blisters or soreness after our first day of hiking that covered 4 miles and 2000 ft of altitude gain. At night, as temperatures dipped into the 20's and we were stuck milling about in our snow surrounded camp, my toes did start to go numb. These boots could use more than the 350 gram KEEN.WARM insulation, especially in the toes. The toes did stay completely dry at all times, which is the most important thing, and the comfort can't be beat.
I now have three pairs of Keens - these winter boots, the Targhee II Mids, and the Arroyo IIs for water wear. The Targhees are my go to boots for all hiking. They are the most comfortable shoes I own, have the wide toebox I need, and lace up just right. They have been up Mt. Whitney (no blisters after 22 miles in one day) and have also been on a hike where I was basically walking through a river for 4 miles. They can do everything. The rubber knobbies have started to come off the shoe but they have yet to fully detach. This is a very common occurrence with Keen and from what I have read the only real problem with any of their shoes. I still recommend these to everyone with a foot shaped similar to mine.
And full disclosure, I have yet to wear the Arroyo IIs after buying them on sale. Hopefully I can find a wet hike or a warm rafting trip to wear them on in the near future.

Snow in LA!?

Driving on the 10 West to work this morning it looked like it was snowing. Turns out I was following a garbage truck full of styrofoam...oh well, it still looked kind of neat.

My New Watch

As anyone who knows me can attest I thoroughly and painstakingly research anything that I plan on buying. From snowshoes to video games to cars, I read reviews, check Consumer Reports, ask people who own an item about its performance, and try on or test the item(s) multiple times. Normally this process only consumes my time with multiple trips to REI or lost man hours at work researching online. But recently Ariel offered to buy me a watch (and get sucked into my OCD reserch habits).
I am not sure when my love for all things horological began, but at some point I began desiring fine timepieces. It started with a few Swiss Army watches, evolved into any watch that looked nice, then became more technical. Of the watches I wear most I have an automatic (self-winding) Hamilton for fancy events, a Swiss Army with a black face for daily use, a Citizen Eco-Drive Chronograph for daily use, and a Seiko automatic dive watch for ocean use (the rubber band fits over wetsuits). I like all of these watches for the niches they fill but I really wanted to make a step up into the fine timepieces world.
So when Ariel offered to get me a nice watch I began the search by determining what criteria I wanted the watch to meet. It needed to be a certified chronometer, have a metal bracelet, be fashionable enough to wear daily, and preferably be a chronograph (stop watch). So I searched high and low and narrowed it down to six semi-finalists then to three finalists:


IWC Portuguese IW371401





Tag Heuer Carrera CV2A10.BA0796





















Omega Seamaster #2225.80

I decided the IWC was too fancy and not great for everyday wear (the crocodile bracelet is almost too nice), the Carrara just wasn't nice enough, and the Omega was just right.
My lovely fiance was kind enough to head over to the downtown LA jewelry district where her office is located and pick up the watch at wholesale prices. She surprised me with it on Friday after telling me that it would have to be shipped from New York. She almost died from having to keep the secret.
The watch is exactly what I hoped it would be. It is heavy enough that I am aware of it but not so heavy it is bothersome. It has a handsome face, nice bracelet, and is perfect for everyday use. It is a certified chronometer and has a chronograph functions. On top of that it is a dive watch to 300M which means I could take it into the ocean if need be. It has the sophisticated Omega 1164 movement which is based off of a famous ETA 2824-2 movement. It meets all of the technical and aesthetic requirements that I have been searching for. I just love having such an insane amount of handiwork and engineering go into such a small case on my wrist. Click on this link to see a video of an automatic watch.

Thank you Ariel for such an awesome present.

Staying Warm in the Wild and in the Apartment

I am not sure when I became infatuated with Pendleton but there is something about these rugged wool shirts that calls to me. I think the appeal is one part history, one part form, and one part function.

History: Pendleton Woolen Mills was founded over 100 years ago and started churning out Indian Blankets in 1909. The town of Pendleton, Oregon was home to the mill and as many as 20 brothels as recently as 1947 (although you never know how trustworthy wikis can be). The personal history for me doesn't go that far back (I tried to buy one off ebay in February of '09 that was lost in transit) but my dad recently gave me one of his and one of my grandfather's original Pendletons. Since my dad's is about 40 years old that probably places my grandfather's at about 60 years old. It is really interesting to see how the cuts have changed over the years from boxy (my grandfather's), to tails and more slim (my father's), to a modern overshirt (the western style Pendleton my fiance just got me).

Form: Aside from the recent plaid rage these shirts have had a handsome, masculine vibe since they were introduced in 1924. The evolution of the shirt's shape shows how they have evolved with fashion over the last 60 years. The overshirt Ariel recently bought me works in any casual environment with its more slim tailored cut, two breast pockets, and polished snaps.

Function: Other than my newfound family history with these shirts I love the warmth and usefullness these provide. These shirts are the original techincal outdoor gear. Before sweat was "wicked" with "breathable" materials you had to stay warm while wet. Wool was the ideal material for this, far surpassing down for its performance in moist environments. (Sheep get wet, but stay warm. Down is actually the insulation geese have underneath their feathers. Feathers keep the down dry.) I can envision the previous two generations of Maffei's going camping or fishing wearing the Pendletons I now have in my closet.

To buy or not to buy? That is the question...

The snowshoe rental bust (see below) has made me reconsider my gear rental policy. I have always been a firm believer that you should rent anything that costs a fortune to buy that you will hardly use. For that reason I bought an expensive mountain bike that I rode daily but have held off on buying SCUBA gear that I would use a handful of times a year. I used to rent wetsuits when SCUBA diving but this season I was lobster diving so often I found that I was at Sport Chalet 3 times a month picking up the same Bodyglove suit. Even though the $20 to rent was much less than the $200 to buy the cost-benefit of driving to West LA over and over convinced me I would be better off owning a wetsuit. So far I have used it three times but the comfort of knowing no one else's naked body has been in my wetsuit, and not having to drive to pick it up, has been worth the cost.
The snowshoe question is a little more complicated. Renting the shoes is about $20 a trip. Buying the pair shown above, the MSR Denali Evo Ascents, will cost $140 with the 30% discount Sport Chalet has offered as compensation. That means 7 trips to the snow to pay them off. To use my wetsuit I hop in my car and drive a few miles. To use my snowshoes I will have to plan for weeks, watch the weather, and drive 200 miles. My logical side is telling me to hold off. My gear junkie side is telling me it can't hurt to own another good piece of gear.
Somehow I have a feeling I will end up with a pair of snowshoes in my closet in a few weeks. Oh well, I guess I will just have to plan more snowshoeing trips.

DO NOT RENT SNOWSHOES FROM SPORT CHALET!

Last weekend, after months of planning, I went on a snowshoeing trip with my buddies Dane and Tyler. We planned our route, purchase some new gear, and drove the 5 and a half hours (good ole LA traffic, should have been a 4 hour drive) up to the Sequoia National Forest. We arrived to a 25 degree evening with a 6 foot base of snow. Perfect conditions for snowshoeing.
After hitting the trailhead we strapped on our snowshoes (one pair rented from Valencia Sport Chalet, two pair from the Beverly Hills shop) and began our 4 mile hike. With about 2000 feet of elevation gain ahead of us and a late-ish start we needed to keep a good pace. After about ten steps Tyler noticed that his snowshoes were not behaving like Dane's. As you can see from the picture the metal failed and the nylon base pulled out of its rivet. Needless to say that Tyler could not go on with these shoes.

Sport Chalet has attempted to make it right by giving us the rental free (a no brainer) and offering 30% off of a future snowshoe purchase. So now the three of us might end up owning the same pair of shoes (MSR Denalis or MSR Denali Ascents) that failed on us. We haven't made a decision yet but it looks like I will soon own a pair of snowshoes. At least then I can guarantee that they will be kept in good condition.

Garmin Forerunner 205

My fiance Ariel bought me this GPS watch for my birthday last year and it has become my number one training tool. Other than shoes and shorts I can't imagine going for a run without this wristop.
The watch features time and distance functions as well as pace, best lap, average lap, and all the other basics. I typically just look at the total time, lap time, and pace. You can configure the face to have whatever data you want and the watch is light enough that you don't even notice it.
The only problems I have encountered are that the GPS can take a few minutes to acquire a signal and the battery meter is not as accurate as I would like. I have left for a run with 2 of 3 battery bars and had the watch die after 40 minutes when the first battery bar lasted 7 hours.
All in all this watch is a must for anyone who is trying to keep track of their miles on the trail or streets or just trying to get in shape.