The North Face Apex Randonee Pant
January 27, 2008
This is one of the best of the outdoor pants I’ve tried (forgive me as I struggle with the semantic differences between “these pants are” and “this pant is”). Lightweight, stretchy, breathable, thin and somehow incredibly warm, this pant goes from a mid-winter hike to a apres-climb pizza and beer with ease, comfort, and style (once you take your gaiters off, that is). I have worn this pant with thermal tights underneath in single digit temperatures and have yet to be even a little cold. Well placed and large pockets with sealed zippers add utility to an already outstanding product. 10 out of 10 for performance.
The pant is obviously tailored for women. Nice trim waist with roomy hip and thigh cut, a cut that will be welcomed by athletic women with muscular legs. I ended up with a size larger than my regular size, simply because it’s the last pair that was available, and they fit nicely with lots of room for insulating under-layers. I find that The North Face pants are sized a little small so I’m not surprised that I’m happy with one size up. I mean, if I wear a size small on top, I should wear a small on bottom, too, no? Wait, never mind; I just answered my own question. I could do with a slightly lower rise, but a higher waist also equals more coverage and therefore less snow down the back in the event of a fall or slide into deep powder, so that is just a style quibble. The cut of the legs is – dare I say it? – even fashionable, and I don’t feel like a complete tool walking around town in these pants, high-ish waist or no (I just wear a fleece over, and no one can see the waist of the pants anyway).
This is a great product for moderate winter conditions, and a solid mid-layer for colder days.
The North Face Seven Summits Apex Bionic Jacket
January 27, 2008
Now, first I would like to issue a disclaimer. There are, indeed, seven different colors available in the Seven Summits collection, all of which represent a different mountain, the name of which is embroidered on the inside of the lower back along with the flag of the mountain’s country (except for Denali, which is represented by the flag of the mountain’s state, but whatever. Oh, by the way, good on The North Face for using the preferred name for the mountain and not “McKinley” the way that South Dakota senator thinks it should be). I did, in fact, test the orange color which also happens to be the “Everest” jacket. The color was the issue when picking the jacket, not the fact that the mountain is the biggest. In fact, I almost bought the lovely blue “Aconcagua” jacket, but I didn’t, because I already have many blue North Face jackets and fleeces. Note to North Face: that color blue is really awesome. So is the orange, as a matter of fact.
Anyway.
The Apex Bionic jacket is a stretchy softshell outer layer bonded to a bunny-soft inner fleece layer. It’s a lightweight jacket, but not literally light in weight, for you ultralighters out there. Ultralighters meaning ultralight backpackers, not pilots of ultralight aircraft, that is. I must say, I’m having some issues with clarifications in this post. Carrying on: I’ve had this jacket for a while but held off reviewing it because it’s taken me a while to figure out in which conditions the jacket performs best. It seems as if it would be a great winter layer, but every time I wore it, I froze my ass off unless I was constantly moving. After much experimentation, I’ve found that, with a technical base layer, this jacket kicks some serious winter booty. Without the technical base layer, I freeze. Not sure why this is, but now that I’ve figured that out, this jacket has become my winter staple. It breathes, it’s not bulky (major plus for us ladies), and it stretches to accomodate pretty much any movement. It’s a pretty decent windblocker, as long as you have that base layer I was talking about.
It’s cut “generously” but in the spirit of clarification, by “generous” I only mean that the sleeves are long enough to cover your arms when you move them, even at full stretch. The back is cut long to protect your tender butt crack from the ravages of wayward powder snow. The North Face gets even more kudos for managing to cut a jacket that fits a slim woman but gives her enough room for arm muscles. The rest of the jacket is cut slim and trim and looks great.
So, to sum up, a jacket that looks, fits, and performs well? Sign me up.
Superfeet Green Insoles
January 27, 2008
Superfeet. Super? Well….
For my daily caveat, allow me to state that I’ve used Superfeet insoles for years. YEARS. They are a staple of most of my boots. Usually, the first thing I do when I get new boots is to put Superfeet insoles into them to make them better.
However, I use Superfeet not because I think they’re the best, but because I think they’re better than what most boots come with. Yes, I’m settling. Then again, it’s not as if this is a lifetime commitment. I can quit this relationship anytime, so I continue to brazenly jump from footbed to footbed, always practicing safe – lacing? Er.
As footbeds go, they are fairly supportive, and take up a little volume in the footwear, which is nice when dealing with “unisex” or men’s boots that tend to be too roomy for women’s slender and delicate feet (ha! but seriously, they are too roomy). That said, Superfeet are made for people who overpronate. Look, the overpronating thing – maybe a bunch of you really do have this problem. Maybe all the buzz and hype and the fact that I can’t walk into a running shoe store and look at shoes without a sales-type pouncing on me and declaring with confident glee, “You an overpronator?” isn’t simply a result of the running shoe media equivalent to the Atkins diet. But look, manufacturers. NOT EVERYONE IS AN OVERPRONATOR. I, in fact, underpronate. I’ve got arches that hobbits can walk under, and I ask you, where are the footbeds for me? Superfeet’s product pamphlet states that their insoles are made primarily for those who overpronate. Sigh. That would be OK, if they had an option for those who don’t overpronate; those with normal feet or high arches or underpronating feet. But they don’t, so my poor overstressed arches have to make do with the same insoles that serve the billions and billions of overpronators out there, and how exactly does one insole solve two completely opposite problems?
I have read with significant skepticism all the stories on Superfeet’s web site from customers who allegedly couldn’t walk without falling to their knees in agony until angels from on high brought them Superfeet insoles, which have changed their lives and allowed them to immediately compete in ultramarathons without getting sore feet or blisters. I can’t imagine these insoles making that much of a difference. Those people must really have been in bad shape before trying Superfeet, and by that I mean they probably didn’t have any shoes at all. Yes, I have once again lapsed into my old standby of sarcastic hyperbole to get my point across. I don’t mean to be overly harsh or critical; Superfeet insoles don’t seem to cause me any problems that I wouldn’t have otherwise, and in most cases they seem to improve matters when compared to the manufacturer’s insoles that come with most boots. I even recommend them to my friends (especially those who OVERPRONATE). So, I continue to use the Superfeet, and continue to refer to them in my mind as “OKfeet” and “BetterThanNothingfeet.” To be truly Super, they’ll have to work a little harder.
Prana Bliss Capri Pants
January 27, 2008
Just for the record, I will not be spending valuable typing time remembering to type “prAna” for this review. In this blog, it’s Prana. Spare me the pretentiousness of the ludicrous “prAna,” already.
So, the Bliss capri. I wear these pants a lot, but it’s not because I like them all that much. I wear them a lot because I wear them climbing, and climbing clothes tend to get wrecked, and I really don’t care all that much if these pants get wrecked. That said, they’ve held up really, really well for all the climbing I’ve done in them.
Regardless, I’m not excited about these. Like everything Prana, they fit weird. The low rise is nice for fashion, but sucky for climbing, as is the drawstring waist. Yep, a drawstring waist, on climbing pants. That’s quite possibly the worst design ever for climbing pants, especially ones with a low rise. When you’re climbing, things catch on other things, and if the only thing keeping you from exposing your plumber’s crack is a little drawstring around your waist, it can be a bit unsettling.
They’re very nice and stretchy, great for climbing and general comfort. However, the slick-ish nylon feel is a little yucky. Yes, those are technical terms for fabric, by the way.
These aren’t particularly flattering, either. On ANYONE. Many of my fellow female climbers wear these pants to the climbing gym, and no one looks good in them. NO ONE. No one looks truly bad, either, I suppose, but if stretchy, low rise pants can’t flatter a slender, gorgeous woman with lovely blonde ringlets and a climber’s lean physique (note: I am NOT talking about myself here), they can’t flatter anyone. See the picture above? That’s pretty much how they look when they’re on. Those don’t even look flattering when there’s no body in them. Which really doesn’t matter, but I will admit that it matters to me.
Superfeet Berry Insoles for Women
January 27, 2008
This will be the shortest review ever. These insoles must have been created by someone who doesn’t think women should be allowed to walk, because after a few miles with these in my boots, I sure couldn’t. Oh, the pain. I swapped them back out and the pain was miraculously gone. Back to the drawing board, SuperFeet.
The North Face TKA 100 Glacier 1/4 Zip Fleece
January 27, 2008
Another winner from The North Face. Perfectly proportioned, with the blessed extra room in the arms. This is a great fleece that makes an easy transition from the backcountry to a casual night out. I don’t know what this thing is made of but it’s some sort of miracle fleece that never lets the wearer get too hot or too cold (within reason, people, don’t wear a light fleece when it’s 10 below and expect to stay warm). This fleece was catapulted to the top of my “favorite shirt” list.
My one complaint – because there has to be at least one, sometimes – is the recent color selection. Blech, what happened to “normal” colors like green, blue, red, brown, yellow? I’m glad I got in on the light blue color before it disappeared into oblivion at the whim of fashion, or the whim of whoever decides what colors to release.
Don’t get this one confused with the “other” TKA fleece top by North Face, that one doesn’t fit as well. This one is the winner.
La Sportiva K4S Boot
January 27, 2008
This is one of those reviews that I waffled about writing, because this isn’t a women’s boot. It’s allegedly a “unisex” boot, which we all know is just a men’s boot with a more confusing sizing system. However, because of the dearth of women’s specific boots out there, I decided to go ahead and review this boot.
Because of the “unisex” (bleah) sizing, the fit of this boot is not great. I’m left wondering whether the boot itself fits weird or that it’s just designed for a man. Not sure. Anyway, the fit is what keeps this boot from being a shining star. Everything else about it is great. The grip is incredible, it has just enough flex to make walking decently comfortable, and it performs well on technical ice. Takes crampons easily and is stiff enough for front-pointing all day long. The synthetic material is warm and requires little maintenance, which wins it extra points for me because I don’t like the maintenance associated with leather. My feet stay nice and dry, which, again, isn’t the case with leather.
The lacing system could be better. I’m constantly fiddling with the laces, but again, that probably comes back to the poor fit.
I wore these boots for technical ice climbing at about 6 degrees Farenheit, and my feet froze, but for mountaineering the boots stay warm down to zero – as long as you keep moving.
I realize that this review has a bit of a boring tone, but the poor fit of these boots leaves me cold (ha!) and I can’t bring myself to rave, which these boots would fully deserve had they a better fit. I can see that I’d love these boots if they fit me better. So, to stop babbling and sum up: great technology if your feet happen to fit, but if they don’t, you’ll be squirming.
Lowa Struktura Pro Lady A/T boot
January 27, 2008
I liked the Struktura as soon as I put it on – once I got it on. My pair inexplicably shipped with a super low-tech non-standard liner, with no assist loop at the back, a low cuff, soft ankle support, and finger-slicing narrow laces. I try not to swear in this blog, but these things were a B*TCH to get on. No loop in the back? On an A/T or downhill liner? What the….
Out of curiosity, I scoured stores both online and off, and it seems that the Struktura is supposed to come with a better liner with a higher cuff, stiffer ankle, softer, thicker laces, and an ASSIST LOOP AT THE BACK (see photo – see the loop?). I called Lowa to basically give them a chance to say “whoops, our bad, here’s a better liner” but no luck. The first customer service agent I spoke to was sweet, but clueless – didn’t really understand the concept of an assist loop. She transferred me to a tech guy, who told me politely but firmly that I probably just got a “sample pair” with an incorrect liner, and that it was just too bad because there was nothing he could or would do. Why Lowa ships boots with crappy “sample” liners, I’ll never know, and it probably doesn’t matter because the tech guy also told me that Lowa is getting out of the A/T market here in the US.
So, although the boot pictured above shows the correct liner with assist loop and all, the boots shipped to me do not have that liner. Since Lowa couldn’t provide the “real” liner, I am forced – forced! – to review the boot I got, crappy liners and all. So here we go. I tested the Struktura in a backcountry setting the first day, and at the resort the second.
I can barely get these boots on my feet, for starters. The liner, like I said, has no assist loop and is soft at the ankle, so when I tried to grip the sides and force my foot in, the ankle just collapsed and my foot got repeatedly stuck halfway into the liner. After breaking a sweat and saying many bad words, I got the liners on, and tried to tighten the laces on the liners. The laces are meant to hold the liner onto your foot instead of onto the shell, eliminating the blisters that just seem to come with skinning up thousands of feet. It’s a good idea, but these laces were about .5mm thick and not burly enough to grab with my bare hands and tighten, especially in 15 degree weather at the trailhead. My ski partner had to squeeze the sides of the liners once I got them on my feet so I could tighten the laces with thickly gloved hands (to avoid being cut by the knifelike laces) just to make them remotely fitted. To add insult to insult, the laces wouldn’t even stay tied. Bah! Once the liners were on, the shells were easy, and off we went.
I have notoriously difficult feet, especially in ski boots, so to wear these boots two days in a row for over 5 hours at a time without having to remove them to regain circulation in my feet was a dream come true. Skinnng up with the buckles either undone or very loose was quite comfortable and much like wearing a stiff hiking boot. No pins and needles or pressure points on these boots. The boots weren’t broken in at that point, so after tightening the buckles for the downhill portion, ski mode was a little too stiff, so I skied in walk mode, which was pleasantly adequate for the fluffy powder of the day. Once I got the skis pointed downhill, I forgot all about my quibbles with the boots; they skied well. Might have something to do with the amazing powder, but I’ll let Lowa have this one. For the comfort in climbing and the responsiveness while skiing, thumbs up.
I had some problems with the buckles coming undone; something Lowa promised to have addressed with their new buckle retention system. The buckle retention devices, meant to keep buckles closed while skiing, didn’t seem to function worth anything as evident from the number of times I had to stop and rebuckle the boots, until I tried to get the boots off that night. The third buckle on the right boot just would not let go. My partner had to hammer at the clasp to get it off. I wouldn’t complain about this if that buckle hadn’t come loose a dozen times while I was skiing. As it was, it’s rather exasperating.
The next day I put these boots to work at the resort. I had similar problems with buckles not staying closed, and still wasn’t able to ski comfortably in ski mode for too long, but bear in mind the boots aren’t broken in and the liner issue was significant. Unfortunately for Lowa, I suspect these boots would ski a lot better with the higher, stiffer liner they’re supposed to have, but the short, flabby one my pair came with was ineffective and frustrating. However, I skied annoying, icy, choppy runs (all that was open that day) and the boots performed surprisingly well for being in walk mode AND having crappy liners. I felt like I had to choose between two evils; though – if I cranked the buckles down so that they would stay closed, I had too much pressure on the top of my foot, but if I buckled them firm-but-comfortably, the buckles would come undone. In ski mode this seemed to be less of a problem.
All in all, this is a backcountry boot most at home in the backcountry. The pair I tried was just not burly enough for hard charging at the resort, making me think that it’s not the boot for super extreme backcountry runs either. In two feet of perfect powder, they were amazing even in walk mode – I forgot I was wearing new ski boots on that run. For mellow bumps, powder, and perfect groomers, they were fine. For ice, hard bumps, and chop on anything steep, they were tough to control and were too flexible. That’s actually fine by me, as they are in fact a backcountry boot and not meant for the resort. There are backcountry skiers who find chop, bumps, and ice in the backcountry, but I’m not one of them. I ski the powder, and that’s what these boots seem to be made for. With a better liner – maybe I’d have a different opinion.
Dakine Heli-Pro Girls Backpack
January 27, 2008
I read many raves about this pack. Its size, the features, the fit, the special padded pocket for goggles – sounded gimmicky. “It can’t be THAT good” I thought, and as I pulled it out of the delivery box I was a bit underwhelmed. “This is the uber pack that everyone’s talking about?” I thought. That feeling didn’t last though, and whelming took over as I started loading the pack up with all my stuff. The whole process can be summed up in this thought process: “This pocket is for what now? Oh, my goggles. They can’t possibly fit in that pocket, no way. See? Won’t fit. Wait, they do fit, and perfectly.” Substitute “probe” “shovel” and “other stuff” for “goggles” and you have a play-by-play of what it’s like to load this pack up. Everything somehow just fits just where it’s supposed to go, and juuuuuuust right. The pack carries well; it sucked right into my back and stayed put while skiing and skinning. I have a rather short-ish upper body and a small waist, so it’s hard to get packs that fit, but this one was great. It didn’t shift or flap, and the waist belt actually hit my waist instead of my hips. There was plenty of strap left to cinch down for those elfin types, and the excess straps tucked away so they didn’t flap in the skiing-induced breeze. The pack also features a cool-as-ice emergency whistle integrated into the chest strap, ice axe/shovel handle sleeve, diagonal ski carry, and an insulated reservoir sleeve. You can also carry a snowboard with this pack but I didn’t try that out.
A few minor quibbles: As I found out the hard way during an avalanche rescue training, the deployable avalanche gear pocket does fit probes and a shovel; but it fits so well that if the main compartment is loaded with other gear, it’s hard to get the shovel blade out. Luckily there were no video cameras present to catch the scene of me scrabbling at my pack, trying to get my shovel blade out of the front pocket. So be warned: if you need it fast and have a full pack, you might have to strew the rest of your gear out into the snow just to get your shovel out of the pack. Best to practice deploying your avalanche gear to make sure you can get it when you need it.
The pack also has a much-lauded hip belt padded camera pocket, which sounded and looked super cool until I found that I couldn’t reach it well enough when I was actually wearing the pack. I could get the camera out, but getting it back in and rezipping the pocket was a shoulder-torquing exercise in frustration. The pocket just sits too far to the side on the hip belt, and it can’t be shifted. Oh well; just a minor flaw in an otherwise incredibly well-designed and comfortable pack. The extra features are so well executed that when one doesn’t quite work out the way it was meant to, it just makes me sad that I’m not able to put that feature to use. I’ll expend my frustration by blowing the hell out of that super cool whistle, just to irritate my neighbor’s dog.
Ortovox Peak 29 Women's Pack
January 27, 2008
Words fail me in trying to begin this review. How to clearly get across how this pack won me over by embracing me gently in its perfectly placed straps, how I couldn’t wait to load it up after intuitively knowing how it could handle any gear in comfort, how its ski carry system wafted me and my skis to the top of the slope in perfect harmony, how I love that little flower embroidered on the flap which boldly declares “this is a woman’s pack, and proud of it!”
Needless to say I have fallen hard for this pack. It fits perfectly, has a (waterproof!) camera pocket that I can actually reach, and fits all my winter gear and then some. The front flap (diagonal zip with a velcro seal) holds probe and shovel, and the interior top-access compartment holds pretty much everything else. There’s a lot of techno-babble about how Ortovox developed the pack with the help of some spinal experts, yadda yadda, whatever – no matter how they did it, it works. This is a pack that carries so well you’ll forget you have it on, even while skiing.
My fellow backcountry skiers know that that pesky shovel blade can take up a lot of room, and that’s true no matter what pack you use. I fully expect to be able to use this pack for overnights in the summer once I can safely ditch that shovel blade. I also had a little trouble fitting my shovel handle into the front pocket; I had to disassemble it completely which will add a little time to deployment, and I’m not crazy about that. However, I do carry a hefty full-featured shovel, so I guess that’s my own fault. Similarly, my avalanche probe doesn’t really fit in the provided sleeve, but it fits fine if I don’t use the sleeve. I think those inner sleeves are my one big complaint about this pack. What are they for? Nothing really fits in them. If I put my probe in the sleeve, it sticks out the top of the pocket. It’s kind of odd, and therefore the sleeves are a bit pointless. I do use them for my shovel handle pieces, but it would be nice if the probe fit as well. As it is, I just let the probe float around in the pocket, which seems to work just fine.
Speaking of avalanche safety, somehow the strap system of this pack manages not to interfere with my transceiver harness. Miracle of miracles. *happy dance*
This pack also has a super cool emergency whistle on the chest strap. For some reason, though, it’s upside down on my pack. Odd, but maybe just a manufacturing error.
One last observation – good for me, bad for you – this pack is hard to find. It’s a shame because it’s such a great pack, but it’s also pretty awesome to be the only person with such a cool piece of equipment.
