Patagonia Guide Jacket
October 31, 2008
[Please welcome a new Geargal! Not only is she deserving of the Geargals title, but probable the Ultimate Alaskan title as well. She's built her own house, a yurt, several outbuildings, a dog kennel, some fences, and probable a bunch of other stuff as well - all with her own two hands and ingenuity. She's a search dog handler, too, so you know she knows her stuff when it comes to gear. Without further ado.... ~Head Geargal]
The Women’s Guide Jacket is a comfortable, light weight, soft shell garment. It is surprisingly warm, and the fabric is pleasantly flexible. The “poppy fields” shade of pink is a bit nauseating, and the tiny pocket on the left sleeve is of questionable value. The fit is snug, but the supple fabric and clever cut allow free arm motion. I have worn this jacket as an outer layer in mild temperatures and under a bulkier fleece layer as winter approaches. It has stood up to a variety of traditional Alaska women’s activities, including chopping wood, hoisting wheelbarrows, jogging along behind a search dog, and berry picking. I have been pleased with the material’s wash ability, and have noticed that it sheds dog hair better than most.
When I first tried this jacket on, I was concerned that it would be too snug. I have a sturdier build than some of my Patagonia wearing friends [totally not true ~HG], and have often found the company’s sizes a bit stingy. Despite my initial misgivings, I have been happy with the fit; it is slim and flattering, yet not confining. I have been able to wear it over a base layer in comfort, and have added an outer layer when necessary. I have not had the opportunity to wear my Women’s Guide Jacket on any exciting expeditions yet, but have used it frequently around town and home, doing more mundane chores in preparation for winter.
When we are not bicycling over mountains and pack-rafting across fiords, we Alaskan women can often be found doing the heavy lifting around our homes. Shovels, splitting mauls, air compressors, propane tanks, snow tires, you get the idea. The Guide Jacket has stood up to all of these chores, and gotten smeared with soot, grease, berry juice, and compost. It has come clean in cold water and still looks like new. It sheds rain and snow, and is comfortably breathable. I look forward to wearing it when I dig snow caves for avalanche dog training this winter.
The jacket is a great addition to my gear. But what’s this little bitty pocket on the left sleeve for? If I were Sarah Palin (and if Sarah Palin still wore actual clothing appropriate for Alaska), I might keep my lipstick in it. It’s about the right size for a doggy pick-up bag but when I need to put another layer on, the pocket becomes hard to access. A chest pocket would be much more useful.
And the color, well, “poppy fields?” It is a peculiarly livid shade of pink, and would be more accurately named “flesh.” I could regale our readers with what specific types of flesh it reminds me of, but I’ll spare you. Overall, I recommend this jacket to anyone who is not built any more “sturdily” than me. But you might want to try a “shoreline blue” one instead.
Patagonia Guide Pants
October 28, 2008
Purchase these practically perfect pants at Backcountry.com by clicking here! Have your $175 ready.
Function, function, function. These pants are built to DO stuff. The focus on function is a good thing, by all counts, but to every action there is an opposite (but in this case, not equal) reaction, so these pants have lost some fit and style points. I say the action is not equal because the minor style fusses I’m going to make in no way are enough to negate the sheer functionality of the guide pants, so you can decide what means more to you, perfection of style or perfection of function.
From the sheer number of times I’ve reached for these pants while assembling my kit, I’d say I’m the latter. I just try not to look in the mirror when I’m wearing them. When I first tried them, I couldn’t manage to get them to fit – the waistband is just too wide, the rise too high, and the suspenders pointless. Suspenders really aren’t the thing for ladies’ pants. Ladies are curvy and suspenders are not. Therefore the suspenders end up pulling the back of the pants away from the body. Eeek! Because of the suspenders, the pants didn’t come with a belt, and the waistband was too loose to think of wearing them without a belt. Which brings me to today’s tangent, which is all about high-waisted pants. I have one word for high waisted pants, and that is “ugh”. They are uncomfortable and unflattering at best, and they rarely fit right. If these guide pants had a lower rise, they would probably be my favorite pants. Instead, they’ve got a terrible combination of slim leg cut, high rise, and flabbily-sized waistband. Seriously, the waistband is way too loose, but the, er, rest of the pants are not. I would wager that taller women with straighter figures might really like this fit, but I don’t. I either get to crank down my belt, or go without and deal with the pants creeping down until the waistband is finally (hopefully) caught on my hips. Then I’m bustin’ a sag all day long. Not cute.
Recovering from tangent: I was able to find an old web belt to use with the pants, and now I wear them all the time. They are warm, comfortable, impervious to wind and water, and have great non-strap gaiters built in. They’re not really gaiters, they are really just an elastic cuff inside the regular cuff, but it’s really effective. The elastic is reinforced with sticky plastic that grips my boots so that mud and snow stay out. And some Patagonia design genius realized that most people’s cuffs brush each other when said person is walking, so the pants have a reinforced inner cuff, just like I used to have on my supercool stretch ski pants from the 80’s. The warm, stretchy construction allows for comfort in nearly all types of cooler and colder weather, and the reinforced knees, inner ankles, and booty are greatly appreciated by yours truly. I like the reinforced knees but I would LOVE it if the reinforcing ran all the way up the thighs as a little protection while brush cutting (and steer wranglin’, like ya do). These pants are tough, but you remember that little physics lesson I gave you, right? Well, in accordance with that Law of Whatever, if the pants are tough, they can’t be light. So, they’re not light. Details, details. But if you want to stay warm, you might have to carry some heavier pants. For me, warm is the priority.
However, true style mavens will find the thigh vent styling unforgivable. Why? Because the thigh vents run from hip to knee (excellent for ventilation), but they have a FLAP. A flap. Why, oh why do they need a flap? The zipper is waterproof and the flap doesn’t even sit flush, it kind of, well, flaps out. It doesn’t keep out any precipitation, and it makes my legs look thick where they’re not. The flap makes me look at least 15 lbs heavier with the vents closed, and, it’s even worse when the vents are opened. I swear they add 30 pounds to my silhouette when they are open. Thinking about what I look like in these pants makes me cringe. Luckily, their performance is so good that I don’t really care that much what I look like. I do really like the cut of the legs – slim, but flared at the ankle just enough to allow for bigger, clunkier boots. I am kind of “meh” about the two hip pockets, but am mystified by the back-of-thigh pocket. I have no idea what this pocket is all about, but the first thing out of all the Geargals’ mouths when I asked what they thought it was for was “tampon.” It’s sized about right, so unless there’s some super cool guide gear that fits in this pocket that I don’t know about, it’s going to be referred to as “the tampon pocket.”
So, mixed review, I know. I really do wear these pants all the time. They’re warm, weather resistant, and very tough. Wear and tear just don’t touch them. However, whenever I pick them up, I am always struck with a tinge of regret about the waistband and the flappy vents. So, lower the waistband, cut off the flaps, and add the reinforcement to the front of the legs as well as the back, and there you have a perfect pair of pants.
EDIT: I couldn’t stand it anymore and I cut the flaps off the leg vents. That’s right, with scissors. I took scissors to a $200 pair of Patagonia pants and just cut that thing right off there. And now the pants are perfect and flattering. So don’t be afraid, grab your scissors and get slicing.
Coaxsher RP-1 Scout Radio Harness
October 16, 2008
Now that the gear industry has clued into the presence and purchasing power of us ladies (Isn’t the oft-quoted statistic that 50% of outdoor gear is purchased by women just the most obvious statement in the world? After all, we ARE 50% of the population. Is it that surprising that we go outdoors?), it’s time to clue them in to the presence of women in outdoor professions like search and rescue, ski patrol, and backcountry guiding. One of the goals of Geargals is to find professional patrol/guide gear that is made for and works for women, and to feature outstanding examples of this type of gear. Unfortunately, as many readers may note, said outstanding examples are hard to find and are therefore rarely featured on the site. So I am very excited to have found the Coaxsher Scout so that I may share the joy with all of you.
A few weeks ago I spent about 6 hours on a search and rescue training exercise, wearing my standard radio harness the entire time. I won’t go into details about the discomfort that caused (oh, what the heck, you all know I will, so just stand by), but as soon as I got home that day I started researching radio harnesses for women. It will not surprise you that no one makes a radio harness just for women, but by a lucky chance Coaxsher happened upon a design that not only makes it easier to wear a radio harness while carrying a backpack, but also makes it easier to wear a radio harness while carrying a backpack and being female.
Standard radio chest harnesses are typically square and flat. Women’s chests typically are not. Therefore when these two situations meet, the results are terrible to behold. The chafing, the squashing, the shifting – add a backpack and an avalanche transceiver and life is just not fun for the ladies. I was so desperate for a better way to carry my radio that I toyed with the idea of turning an old ballistics vest into a radio harness. Sure, it’s heavy, but at least it was shaped right. Luckily I found the Coaxsher Scout so I can save my ballistics vest for the end times (which are coming, like, any day now, I’m so sure).
The Scout is packed with features that make life grand for the wearer. The streamlined shape, part of the design to make the harness more compatible with a backpack chest strap, also turns out to be quite ergonomic for those of us with female anatomy. The radio itself sits a little lower than on a typical harness, freeing your lady lumps from the Chest Harness Squash. Ah, blessed freedom. The diagonal carry of the radio takes a little getting used to, and on cold weather days you’ll have to unzip your jacket quite a ways to access radio controls, but it’s a small price to pay and by no means a criticism of the harness. Carrying the radios a little lower on the torso also virtually eliminates the dreaded harness bounce, which I am convinced is the source of most of the pain I’ve experienced in the past. When your radio harness shifts, it rubs, and a few hours later it will be instilling some serious discomfort. The Coaxsher Scout stays put even when I’m running, which is quite an achievement for radio harnesses.
Someone at Coaxsher was really having a good day when they designed this harness. They put all four adjustment points at the front of the harness, so when you put it on, you can cinch it right up then and there. No more taking it off, adjusting, guessing, putting it back on, grumbling about how uncomfortable it is, but living with it anyway – with the Scout, you can easily shorten and lengthen any strap at any time. Of course, if you’re rather small, like me, you’ll have to trim the straps since they are a tad long (I find it ever so amusing to lengthen them all the way and then imagine the size of the person they would fit) but there is plenty of room to adjust down for the smaller wearer.
Other features of note are the dual radio sleeves, the PEN HOLDER (finally!) and the full-size pocket. The harness is by design kind of small (which, incidentally, helps it fit small people), but the features are so well placed that I can comfortably carry two radios, a pen, a small notebook, and a few other small items in the harness. I sadly had to give up carrying things in my cleavage behind the harness – my old harness was a squasher, and I had all this space (okay, a little space) there, so why not carry things in it – but the massive increase in comfort with the Coaxsher is far and away worth the sacrifice. No more chafing, no more shifting – trust me, ladies, if you’re an outdoor pro and you carry a radio, drop $30 on this piece of equipment and you’ll be much happier.
I am thrilled to have found this harness and I really hope that this review gets to the eyes and ears of those who make SAR and guide gear – there is definitely a market for pro gear for women, and gender-specific gear is sorely lacking for our half of the population. Do you know how many of us there are? Lots. Let the thought of selling lots of stuff inspire you to design stuff we want to buy.
Dakine Waterfall Crew
October 16, 2008
So this isn’t the most attractive picture of this shirt, but believe me, it’s cute. I’ll be honest and say that it’s probably not as cute on, say, a 34 year old Geargal as it might be on a 21 year old shred Betty, but the shred Betty is too busy shredding to write reviews, so I had to dress like a college student for a few trips to get this test session done. Consequently, the students I took on the trip had some trouble accepting my authority because they assumed I was only a few years older than they – so, straight A’s for all! Especially to the charming young man who insisted I didn’t look a day over 25. And that sums up my teaching philosophy – well-placed flattery always has its place.
So, the shirt. It’s a little off-putting to discuss the anti-microbial properties of my base layer, because everyone knows that no part of me could possibly need such a thing, but I can report to you that this item, like every single thing that belongs to me, never stinks, no matter how dirty I get it. Ever! OK, I could probably get it to stink if you gave me enough time in the backcountry. But I was very pleased with how soft and reasonably non-stinky the Waterfall stayed even after a few days of hard use without laundering. As a mid-weight base layer, the shirt is warm, cozy, and just cute as a button. Dakine makes no bones about the fact that their women’s line is for “Girls” so expect to order a size up, but don’t fear that the gear has any less technical value despite the clear bias towards the younger set. This is a sound, warm, breathable AND fashionable base layer for “Girls” (okay, and women too).
Mountain Hardwear Transition Tights
October 16, 2008
You know, I’m not sure I would choose to call these “tights”. These are more like armor for your legs. Stiffer and less stretchy than the word “tights” implies, the Transition tights are nonetheless a formidable opponent for precipitation and cold. I first tested them on a 50 mile bike ride up and over a mountain pass in August. Here in Alaska, that means freezing temperatures first thing in the morning. I thought the Transition tights would be just the thing to get me through the first few hours of sub-freezing temps and wet/frozen vegetation. And they really did keep me dry and warm, no question there. The seemingly impervious outer layer brushes off water and breathes well, as long as you accept that they are meant for cold weather. They were much too warm for exertion in temperatures above 40 degrees F. Cold they like and cold is what they are meant for.
What they’re not meant for is any activity that involves the full range of motion of your lower body (and you can just let your imagination run wild about whatever activity I may be referring to). Even getting on the bike was a little bit of a struggle, as the Transition tights just do not have the give that my trusty spandex bike shorts provide. Once on the bike, things were fine, but swinging the leg over was always a little tricky. The Transitions gave me a pretty normal range of motion for running and biking, but for anything else beyond the standard running/walking/pedaling motion, they were a little too supportive, if you know what I’m sayin’. They’re like that friend you have who is 100% behind any bonehead decision you make: “Sure, he’s got an ankle monitor because he’s just out of prison for conspiracy to defraud, evading arrest, assaulting a police officer, and writing over $25,000 in bad checks, but that’s no reason to rule out a second date!” (And that is a true story.) Despite their best intentions, they will wind up holding you back in the end. So if you do something dumb and your friends don’t call you out on it, consider getting new friends. A good test is whether or not they will let you out of the house with jeans so tight they’re giving you a “muffin-top”. Word to the wise: a friend who will let you appear in public with a muffin top is not your friend at all.
So the Transition tights were a little, er, binding sometimes. They also have a rather bizarre waistband, which doesn’t stretch much nor have much body-hugging capability. I tried two pairs of sample Transition tights, both in my regular size and one size up, and both pairs tore along the waistband seams because the waist wasn’t big enough to expand over my not-really-big butt without tearing. Nice. Way to give a girl a complex while putting on skin-tight pants. But really, I am not a large person and a pair of normal-size tights should be able to fit over my butt without ripping the waistband. And to add insult to injury, the waistband doesn’t have enough stretch to hug close to my waist – I had to tie it tight to keep it from flapping away from my back and showing everyone my base layer. This issue seemed to be a combination of cut/styling and fabric – the Transition fabric is just not giving enough to act as a decent waistband without a zipper. It’s bound to be too tight to get over the hips and not tight enough to fit the waist. As a matter of fact, I’ll go so far as to recommend that MHW install a side zipper on these tights, at least in the women’s version – they’d fit better and putting them on wouldn’t be so fraught with emotional upheaval.
Even with the seams kind of busted, the tights seemed to hold up reasonably well to other types of abuse, but I’d bet that they’ll need some reinforcing along those seams if they’re going to last another season. Now that the weather is getting crisper, the Transitions are back in my rotation, torn seams and all. The fabric is really great and has an incredible comfort range temperature-wise, so if MHW can dial in the fit they’ll have another winner with the Transition tights.
