Could the name for this fleece be any dorkier? Here we go on a jammin’ journey! Good thing I love this top so much or I might not be able to get past the name. Ironically I wore this fleece every day on my own jammin’ journey to Canada – it was my trip staple because of its comfort, warmth, and, yes, cute looks. Wrinkle free and comfy, it didn’t even get too stinky on the five day trip, which I’m so sure is more due to the miracle nonstink fabric than the fact that I was basically just sitting still in a car for hours upon end. Plus, I don’t stink. Right?

Every few years I come across a half-zip fleece that sparks a sort of obsession. When I find a fleece that I like, I have been known to buy several of varying colors just to make sure that I’m never without. I still have a stockpile of past favorites in the closet that I just can’t let go of. What’s more versatile than a good fleece? The “Jammin’ Journey” (yeesh, do I have to keep typing that over and over?) is more versatile than most, with a superlong zipper that fits over a helmet or opens to allow airflow in those in-between temperatures. Best of all, this fleece has a really great cut. It’s longish but not ridiculously so and trim without being supertight. To my endless delight, it also has perfectly cut sleeves that accommodate actual muscles, and are long enough to actually cover my wrists and stay put when my arms are bent. Best of all, NO THUMBHOLES. I used to love thumbholes, but recently it seems that every single top out there has thumbholes and the accompanying superlong sleeves. Agh! Enough! I feel an editorial coming on.

So, no thumbholes on the JJ. Excellent! How many colors does it come in?
Buy ‘em all up before I clean them out.

So if you don’t post anything about your adventures on any web site, you must REALLY be epic and cool, right? Right? That’s what I’m hoping, because I am woefully behind at maintaining Geargals. It’s a rare occasion when my writers are tapping their feet waiting for their reviews to be posted. Usually it’s me making hysterical phone calls and writing pleading emails for writers to get their copy in on time. So turnabout is fair play, Geargals! You just cool your heels, and you know, this might be a good opportunity for you to get AHEAD on your reviews! Just an idea.

All loaded up for the five day drive to Vancouver.

So we drove. And drove. And drove. It was frozen and cold the whole way....

....until day 5, when hey! Bare pavement! Above freezing temps! Welcome to Vancouver.

So, you guessed it – we’re on the hunt for destinations! If you’ve got any to suggest or if you just want to plug your own resort, destination, or vacation idea, drop the Head Geargal a line at jill@geargals.net.

There is this thing that happens to me every time I write a new review of something I really like. No matter how much abuse I put an item through, it lasts and lasts – until I write up a review, at which time the product without fail encounters some freak accident and gets torn or destroyed. So I’ve taken to delaying posts of stuff I really like. Sadly, though, a job is a job and eventually I have to just get on with it. So I had most of this post written when I took a break to go outside and help the Gearguy bring in some of his stuff, and – it happened. The button on one of the back pockets of these cords got caught on the sliding door and pop – no more button. Argh!

So this is the last time I am going to write a review of anything from Mountain Khakis. Really! Why? Because I like their stuff and I’m tired of losing my MK pants to the Great Post Curse! Sorry, Mountain Khakis, you’re just going to have to send me something I don’t like, or no more posts! I mean it. Send a bad pair of pants, something I don’t care about, please!

So yeah, I like these cords – a lot. When it comes to casual dress, I’ve strictly been a denim person until now. The world of khakis and cords has been a daunting and confusing one – so many options, so few with that elusive combination of looks and comfort. I would hardly have considered myself ripe for conversion, but the Mountain Khakis Cottonwood Cords have done it. I’ve been traveling for the last month and have pretty much been living in these pants – they are so comfortable and cozy, and look good after five straight days of car travel. What more could you want?

Our last trip took us through the Yukon, in sub zero temperatures for five days. I wore the Cottonwood Cords every single day, and my travel companion couldn’t even complain because he wore the same pants every day too. HIS cords gave him a rash, though, so score one more for MK. I loved the comfort of the Cottonwood Cords, which is primarily why I first reached for them, but I was also pleasantly surprised by their warmth. Having Geardog along meant frequent stops for walkies, regardless of the temperature, but I was never cold even after venturing out at 15 below. They are now officially my trusty road trip pants and I’d probably bring them along for any trip in cooler temperatures.

The style is relaxed fit, straight leg with a reasonably low rise. Sizing can be a little large, so order a size down from your regular and expect a relaxed, comfy fit. They don’t wrinkle, they look great, and they can be worn for casual kicking around town and be dressed up to go out to dinner as well. Comfy, stretchy, and cute – isn’t that everything we look for in a pair of pants?

With winter hiatus came a much anticipated change of scene for the Head Geargal (that’s me). I had the opportunity to work in Vancouver, BC for the next year, so I ditched the rest of the Geargals and jumped at it. The break from constant sub zero temperatures and 20-hour nights was too tempting to resist. Alaska can be nice, but man is it a drag if you rarely get out, and getting out of Alaska is expensive and difficult. An extended visit to a new locale was just the ticket, and the novelty of being back on the road system has not yet worn off.

I thought Vancouver might be a great base for the Geargals operation because of the city’s proximity to pretty much any sort of outdoor activity you can think of. So far it’s really delivered; in the last month I’ve been hiking, running, mountain biking (on DIRT. In December!), and skiing. I also have climbing and swimming to look forward to, and I won’t have to wait until June like I would in Alaska. Sweet! It’s a great chance to test out some gear for more temperate climates as well as, well, some rain gear. Yes, it rains here – a lot. Since I’m used to my precipitation frozen, I’m excited about putting some of this “waterproof” stuff through its paces.

I’m also extremely stoked about being in Vancouver to cover the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, kicking off on February 12th. The buildup to the Games is quite exciting, and while I didn’t get lucky enough to score tickets to any events, I’m looking forward to the party scene and the general excitement.

Geargals will continue to bring you perspectives on gear from the Last Frontier, we’ll be capitalizing on our new international flavor by featuring more Canadian manufacturers and taking advantage of exciting urban stuff like bike commuting and perhaps even some warm weather gear come the summer. Sometimes a change of pace is just what the doctor ordered, and after a few weeks enjoying more than three hours of daylight and nice midwinter dirt singletrack, I think the doctor might have a point.

Take a gander at that jacket shown above. It’s awesome looking isn’t it? I guarantee you that when you pull out this jacket, it will be greeted by “oooooooooohhhhhh that is COOL!” This is one of the sharpest looking jackets to pass the Geargals’ door. The unique and striking color scheme is sure to garner attention wherever you wear. From what I can tell, there are two options available, the brown/white and a pink/purple/white. For whatever reason (which could probably say a lot about me if one were interested enough to psychoanalyze this little fact) I really prefer earthy colors like grey and brown, so I am really in love with the brown and white version. I think my G41 parka and brown ski pants are my second coolest ski outfit. In the interest of full disclosure, my very coolest ski outfit is my blue pants and red jacket, so you may want to take my color preferences with a grain of salt.

Performance-wise, this jacket seems pretty clearly designed for warm-ish winter conditions and mostly for lift-served skiing. I wore it in single digits (without the liner, see below) and was a tad chilly, but when skiing in wet conditions, the Omni-Tech fabric will keep you warm and dry (and very stylish, natch). The copious pockets are meant for your snacks and gadgets (there is the required iPod pocket, after all) and the styling walks the line between baggy and body-conscious. That’s right – you can rock the slouch vibe while not looking like Charlie Brown in a jacket 5 times too large.

My sample jacket also came with a removable inner liner which I admit to taking out to wear on its own and never putting back in the jacket. It’s a cute little well-cut hooded, thumbholed fleece that provides a little extra insulation while wearing the waterproof outer layer and translates well to apres ski or even a chilly morning run. The fleece even has the iPod pocket so you never have to go without your tunes.

Usually we traditionally hand off tested gear to other wearers, or donate it to a good cause, but all of us are having a hard time letting go of the G41 simply for the fashion factor. There is something for everyone whether you like the flashy pink and purple option or the more stately brown. You even get the bonus fleece liner which in itself is a nice addition to the gear closet, so if you want to stand out in the lift line or in while shredding that always-showoffy run right under the lift, the G41 is a good bet.

A girl who lives in the Arctic can’t have too many pairs of insulated snow pants. This is a fact corroborated by my gear closet, in which resides about a dozen pair of snow pants, all of which get a fair bit of action throughout the winter. This means that when new pants show up, not only do I not have any room for them, but I measure them against all the other snow pants that I have. My snow pants are like a clique of high school girls, eyeing every newcomer to discern whether it will fit in, be a troublemaker, or end up ousting the top mean girl and leading the pack. While the Canal Street Pants probably won’t be the Homecoming Queen (too sporty), they might end up being one of the Heathers, as they really are quite a nice addition to the snow pant army.

Columbia cunningly sent the brown twill version, and I’m a real sucker for brown pants so I automatically reached for these for our sub zero dog walk last night. I like the low-waist style, and even though they’re not perfectly tailored and therefore gapped a bit in the back, they were decently comfortable without a belt. I was really enamored by the length; they are long enough to go over poofy snow boots without looking like I’m waiting for the snow to melt suddenly and create a flood.

Lightly insulated, the pants were warm enough for a 0 degree brisk walk, although I suspect they’re not warm enough to stand around in those temperatures. It has been a strangely precipitation-less week so I can’t fill you in on their water repellent properties, but from the feel of the fabric, they’d perform decently in the snow. They ARE snow pants, after all. They seem to run true to size as well. Although I like to report more on the functionality of the gear I test, I have to mention that I was going to hand these off to another tester who was hovering around my office door looking for gear, but once I tried them on and saw how cute they were I kept them for myself and she was out of luck. Sometimes it’s good to be the boss.

$114.95 at Backcountry.com

Oh, Patagonia. You do this every time. I think I’ve got your stuff all figured out – and then you send me something else surprising. I didn’t expect much from the Nano Puff other than, well, a puffy insulated layer, but it’s so much more. If it doesn’t fool you, too, I’ll be impressed with your ninja gear skills, because the Nano Puff feels so inconsequential at first blush. How could this mini layer provide more than just a token bit of warmth? I have so many ultra lightweight puffy coats, what’s so great about this one?

Well first off, it’s not a coat. It’s more of a sweater. It’s unburdened by frills like side pockets, and features only a 1/4 zip and a small chest pocket. Some might not like the absence of pockets, but hey, use one of your other 300 ultra lightweight puffy jackets if you need pockets. If you need a barely-there, compressible, versatile and unobtrusive piece, reach for the Nano Puff. It’s perfect as an outer layer even in snowfall and light precip, holding in the warmth in a way full-length zippers just can’t emulate. It’s the thinnest insulating layer I’ve tried, and I’m a big fan of the whole puffy synthetic jacket thing – I wear one while skinning up and then throw on a shell for the trip down. The Nano Puff’s thin profile allows even more comfort and range of motion when added to this tried-and-true ensemble. Under a shell, it’s warm and toasty but not suffocatingly so. It’s exactly what I want for active endeavors for which I want to do a minimum of thermoregulating via layer removal. It’s an excellent moderately warm layer, and provides such great insulating properties that I wouldn’t hesitate to wear it in very cold weather as long as I had some additional warm layers. It’s a great substitute for a soft shell layer if you ever go that route. My poorly-articulated point is that the Nano Puff is extremely versatile and applicable to a wide range of conditions.

The pullover style takes some getting used to. I like my clothes form-fitting and the Nano Puff fit great in my regular size, but its lack of stretchiness made getting it on and off a little tricky. I wouldn’t want to wrestle with it while wearing a helmet. Still, I’ll likely be using it for trips on which it goes on and stays on (in part because it’s hard to get on and off without going up a size) so I don’t expect that to be an issue. For climbing and other helmet-equipped sports, I’d probably pick a full-zip jacket anyway. Today’s 22 degree day was the perfect temp for the Nano Puff – on its own while moving, with a shell over while standing still. I didn’t get chilled or even slightly overheated a single time. The Nano Puff is going in my winter adventure kit for good.

The Attaca is on BIG TIME sale at Backcountry.com right now – $100 off! Click here!

This is one of those items that I asked to feature – it’s cute, different, and definitely women’s specific. One of the interesting things about being a gear reviewer is the fact that even when you’re thinking “hmmm, I AM 35, can I get away with this?” it doesn’t really matter, because you can always fall back on the “it’s my job” excuse. This super fun piece is one of the ones that reminded me of my age – it’s certainly a trendy item, made for the style mavens out there. I don’t pretend to be a style maven but I do like cute, body conscious designs and I am one of those people that always wants to be wearing something no one else is wearing. With today’s styles rooted in the “baggy pants, baggy jacket” silhouette, the Attaca brings something new to the table.

I like to put my ski outfits together in ways that, er, surprise other people. Last year while hanging around in the parking lot of a local backcountry spot waiting to lead a class on backcountry travel, I happened to be wearing blue pants with a blue jacket that made it look like I was wearing a one piece jumpsuit. As my group of students pulled their gear together, I noticed a carload of my regular ski partners pull up and prepare to deploy into the mountains. I saw with glee their looks of disdain and rather snobby, overly cool demeanors as they gave me side glances and discreet once-overs, no doubt wondering what was with the group of noobs and their jumpsuited leader. I sauntered over to say hello and got a big kick out of their sheepish faces once they realized it was me and that I was just wearing a matching jacket and pants. This experience made me realize that one piece ski suits haven’t gotten any love for a while – and I’ve wanted one ever since. I can’t wait to go shred the backcountry in something that looks like it belongs at apres ski in Aspen. There’s no way powder can sneak in at the waist in a one-piece, and I am tickled by the idea of skiing in something that kind of looks like an industrial uniform (in a CUTE way, really)!

Now, the Attaca might not be the best backcountry gear – there’s only so much temperature management you can do with a one piece. It also doesn’t have any insulation to speak of, so for really cold weather it might not be appropriate even with the extra warmth lent by the one-piece design. But for ski resort visits and mild temperature, close-in A/T trips, the Attaca would be really fun. It’s cut to be worn in low on the hips with a trim fit that gives a flattering, I’m-young-again look (unless you really are still young; in which case: carry on). I’ve checked out both colors and I really like the blue denim-ish look. The copper color is not bad either, and almost gives a Carhartt-ish look which I like, but I’m not crazy about the fuschia zippers and accents on that one – they seem out of place and a little mismatched. Sadly for me the blue sample wasn’t my size, but I like the copper color decently enough. One thing that some consumers will struggle with is the sizing; it comes in S-M-L so it’s hard to adjust for height and nuance of body type. The medium was WAY too big for my size 6 self, and it was obviously cut for a MUCH taller person. I looked like a kid in her dad’s overalls. Even the size S has a longish torso on me, but since I’ve got a short waist, I think the cut will work just fine on most body types. The slim cut of the legs and hips makes in-depth layering not a possibility, so plan on using this on those warmer days. It’s mostly designed for an eye-catching, fashionable look while enjoying a nice day at the resort, and I for one would like to see this style really catch on. I think the shredder chicks currently rocking baggy pants and garbage-bag-style jackets could make a real splash in a more daring, body-conscious fit. There’s no need to dress like a dude just because you can shred better than a dude – embrace the look and give the new Attaca a try. Aren’t you tired of having your pants crotch down by your knees anyway?

Our newest reviewer wants to be known as the “GrayingGeargal.” She wrote the following review for us to demonstrate to our readers that outdoor gear is not just for epic adventures; even urban adventurers need gear as well. It’s unlikely that GGG is going to climb any 8000 meter peaks (or, honestly, any 1000 meter peaks) but she does get outside when it’s fiercely cold, and, since she’s been wearing the same 25 year old jackets for a loooong time now, can really give some insight into the industry’s dramatic leaps in technology. Oh, she’s also obsessed with the word “ort. She’d be heartbroken if I edited it out, so for those of you who didn’t own the Word of the Day calendar in 1982, here’s the definition: “bit of food leftover on a plate.” -Head Geargal

First, a few confessions. I was raised to clean my plate. I was raised to work hard and to fulfill obligations. Over the numerous years of being a working mother, I developed some time saving habits: wear minimal make-up, wear the same two necklaces to work, and do not spend time shopping for clothes. I usually buy the exact same clothes as the old, worn out ones and definitely buy the same brands year after year. The resulting wardrobe is loose and comfortable; it is definitely not stylish or trendy. Frumpy also comes to mind.

When the teenagers went to college, I learned that I had osteoarthritis and devoted any free time to exercise. (Loosing weight was part of the treatment; however, the clean-your-plate syndrome was impossible to break when there are orts to devour!) Fortunately, frumpy clothing covers everything! Shopping for new clothing was still not part of my plan. Exploring new technology in outdoor wear was not even considered – too time consuming! I added weekly hiking, 6 to 10 miles on bike trails and park trails in addition to daily treadmill exercise. In our unpredictable ever changing climate, I layered clothes in order to survive my lengthy treks away from the car: shirt, sweatshirt, down coat, rain coat with lots of pockets, hat, gloves, ear muffs, fanny pack, umbrella. These items were toted, worn, and carried throughout the day; I actually resorted to a net bag to help carry items not in use at any given moment. The large items of apparel were tied around my waist. I was prepared for everything, but I was packing quite a load of clothing.

When I first tried on the Mountain Hard Ware Nitrous Hooded Jacket, I timidly zipped it to the neck; I expected to immediately feel confined and hot in some snug fitting fabric. First, I was stunned by the lightness. Second, I was amazed that I have full range of motion in my arms and back. I had never before experienced a fitted jacket that did not pull across the back when I reached forward with both arms. Even my dressy blouses feel snug when I reach forward with both arms. Third, I immediately noticed that that the sleeves were amply long. Since I utilize trekking poles when hiking, I swung my arms and discovered that the sleeves moved lightly and easily; my arm movement did not pull the sleeves away from my wrists. I also did not develop a backache from shoulder muscles tired of carrying heavy garments. This jacket is so light that it is an invisible weight.

I have hiked with the Nitrous jacket each week for a month in temperatures ranging from low fifties to 36 degrees. I must admit that I was hesitant to leave everything in the car on the first hike, but I made myself trust in the new technology. I bravely walked with only my trekking poles and fanny pack for gloves, sunglasses, and earmuffs for the entire month. It is amazingly lightweight and comfortable. Using trekking poles is SO much easier than when I wear loose a rain parka with baggy arms. When my ears, cheeks, and hands are cold, my torso and arms are perfectly comfortable: neither too hot nor too cold. I have been wearing a cotton turtleneck under the jacket; I neither overheat nor get chilled as the clouds obscure the sun or as winds modulate throughout the day. Wind does not penetrate this jacket! Having been raised during the period in which warm down coats were three inches thick, I am stunned at how the combination of goose down fill, quilted construction, and EcoSensor Ripstop fabric combine to keep the hiker at a perfect temperature throughout a day of changing weather conditions. I do not have to take off one layer at a time as the hiking day warms up; I do not have to lug a load of clothes around my waist or in my tote bag. In rainy weather, I stayed warm and dry. Rather than a flannel hat, I used the fitted hood to keep dry.

I accidentally tested the EcoSensor Ripstop fabric when I inserted a fistful of keys into a sleeve while rushing out the door. Everyone has heard that sound of fabric catching on solid objects. I searched the inside of the sleeve diligently. There were no snags, runs or pulled threads!

The Nitrous Hooded Jacket is highly recommended by this “GrayingGeargal!”