La Sportiva Wildcat Trail Running Shoe
March 9, 2010
Every time I think La Sportiva has created the ultimate shoe, they go and create something even better. I replaced my precious Imogenes with the Wildcats this year, and although I still love the Imogenes, I think I love the Wildcats even better (”love them better” – sounds dirty, but I’m going with it). This might be because they have a big more padding and cush, which is very noticeable in the heel. Somehow, though, they retain an impressive amount of feel for the trail beneath, and are so wonderfully neutral that it’s hard to put a foot wrong.
In my Imogene review, I mentioned that I’ve never before worn a truly neutral shoe, but now I have TWO neutral runners in my arsenal. This is unprecedented. Most of the time I have zero good shoes, and now I have TWO pairs. I really must have done something right! The running goddesses are pleased with me and have blessed me with shoes.
Most running shoe manufacturers seem to be aiming towards those with inward-rolling feet (pronators) so us high arched runners are left with “cushioned” shoes which are better than nothing, but still leave us prone to twisting ankles and having to awkwardly adjust our strides to compensate for unbalanced shoes. So I’m not sure how La Sportiva does it but they really get it right. The Wildcats are so nicely neutral that it’s easy to place one’s feet on the trail.
The Wildcats are nice and light, yet strong enough for those burly, rugged trails. They are incredibly well-ventilated; I can actually feel the breeze through the mesh. Even so, they stay put and don’t let my foot slide around. They haven’t stretched or compressed yet, though I expect with that much mesh they probably will end up stretching. One thing I’ve found about La Sportiva is that when their running shoes are done, you really feel it. You can’t tell by looking at them, because they don’t seem to ever visibly wear out, but when the sole is compressed, you can tell. Which is a good thing because it will remind you to replace your shoes when appropriate, which is also recommended by orthopedic surgeons everywhere.
The Wildcats are here to stay, in my esteemed Closet of Favorite Shoes. I don’t wear them for ANYTHING but running because I want them to last. You can ask the Gearguy; once he put a pair of shoes ON TOP of my Wildcats in the closet. Oh, let me tell ye, hell hath no fury like a Geargal whose favorite runners had some stinky old boy shoes dumped on top of them. I protect them like a mama bear, because they are equally at home pounding the pavement and climbing steep terrain, and the cushy heel makes descending at speed almost feasible for this creaky getting-older runner. As a matter of fact, the Wildcats are my favorite shoe for speed work and sprinting, because I can let it out without feeling the sting in my feet. This is a good thing because my (imaginary) competition gets younger every year and I keep getting older. But you know, that’s OK, because I keep getting faster – and I hand a portion of the credit to La Sportiva for making shoes that don’t make my feet fall asleep or make me twist my ankle all the time. I know I am supposed to be neutral, myself – I’m a gear tester and I’ll test shoes no matter who makes them – but just a warning: the bar is set high, now, indeed.
The Handful Sports Bra
March 9, 2010
I’ve been wearing the same style of sports bra for years. OK, I admit, I’ve been wearing the same few sports bras for years. Somehow they just don’t wear out; perhaps because I put very little stress up on them, if you catch my meaning. Still, I was getting a tad bored with the same old look and the same old choices, so I was stoked to try the new kid on the block – the Handful.
One of the few sports bras made for smaller-breasted women, the Handful is designed to eliminate the uni-boob look while lending excellent support, which it most definitely does. I am really excited to be spending the next year in a warmer climate that might result in the possibility of recreating with more exposed skin than is typically permitted by Alaskan weather and Alaskan mosquitoes. I’m extra excited to have the Handful to sport when the time comes, because it is super cute as well as functional. I love the criss-cross spaghetti straps; they are bound to result in better tan lines than the racerback style I’ve been wearing for years. I understand that well-endowed women might find such thin straps too damaging to tender shoulders tasked with holding the girls up, but the Handful is really for smaller women anyway, so there ya go. I took it running today and it tamed any perceivable bounce while remaining comfortable, sweat-wickingly dry, and presumably attractive (though it might have been hard to discern under my late-winter-temperature layers. I love the full-coverage look which ensures no weird bulging or slipping, while still allowing the cute factor to come through via the spaghetti straps. The ruching gives a bit of separation for those concerned about that, but additionally it seems to help keep everything contained and in place, without that annoying gap left by compression bras. Personally I don’t mind showing off my bod, but I do mind the massive cleavage show when I do my deadlifts. This won’t happen with the Handful, which conforms to your chest to keep the peeping to a minimum.
I almost hate to post the picture above because the bra is really much more attractive than one would think from looking at the picture. So hop on over to the Handful web site and see pics of it on real bodies – you’ll see what I mean. It comes in a variety of basic colors though, sadly, not red, which for some reason is my favorite sports bra color. It does come in pink though, which I like, so I suppose there is something for everyone.
Now the one complaint, which, let me point out, is really negligible when it comes to how the bra performs, because this feature is optional. Inexplicably (to me) the Handful comes with fully, and I do mean fully, padded cups that are thankfully removable. Call me crazy but I’m not interested in sweat-soaked sponges lining my sports bra, nor do I feel any compunction to artificially enhance my already quite lovely natural shape. It is my theory [Theory 5.2(b)] that if women stopped faking big tits, other people, even perhaps the Neanderthal/troglodyte types, would stop finding small tits abnormal or strange looking on athletic bodies. Nothing is more illustrative of this point than the fitness industry, for which athletes are continually stuffing their chest skin with chemical balloons to achieve that “balanced look” after dieting away their body fat. I personally do not find anything “balanced” looking about slitting one’s skin open and installing bubbles of gel. If these athletes – and the judges – would accept that a fit woman with A or B cup breasts is NORMAL, perhaps fewer people would feel the need to surgically enhance their natural assets. And perhaps this wonderful sports bra company would not feel the need to include goofy pads with their lovely and perfect sports bras. Wow, soapbox.
In short, this bra is perfect without the pads. And so are your breasts. Embrace them both.
2006 Cambria Chardonnay
March 4, 2010
You can’t review wine on a gear site! Surely not!
Of course I can, it’s my site and I’ll wine if I want to. Today I opened my last bottle of the 2006 Cambria Chardonnay, purchased last month in a moment of serendipity in a Fred Meyer in Bellingham, and I was struck with a nostalgia for the adventures, misadventures, and gear testing shenanigans of the last year, many of them fueled by this fine vintage. Alas, it appears that the 2006 is almost all gone, replaced on the shelves of the local liquor stores with the 2007, which isn’t as good. So I thought I’d post a small tribute to this lovely wine – a nice, big, classic chardonnay – which was truly the best value of 2009 at about $15 a bottle, especially because without it we wouldn’t have gotten the ideas for so many crazy trips. Just looking at the label makes me think back to the epic Anchorage summer of 2009 when temperatures topped 80 degrees for weeks at a time and chardonnay was really the only way to go in those sultry evening hours. Shut up, 80 degrees is a big deal for Anchorage.
So goodbye, 2006 Cambria Chardonnay, we will miss you.
