Last year ABS provided me with a few airbag packs, one for me to test and one for me to use to demonstrate the function of the packs to local shops and such. I was given a bunch of zip-ons (the ABS packs consist of a base unit that integrates with any of the zip-ons [...]
Read More ABS, airbag, avalanche, avalanche safety, packs, safety
I don’t usually (ever) give gear awards (though I might start, now that I know that companies pay to enter those contests – did you know that? Some of those “best gear” and “best places to work” and “best places to live” aren’t really contests as much as paid advertisements? I know this because one [...]
Read More cycling, fat bikes, footwear, Lake
FERA sent the Bliss Legging and the SOMA crew top over so we could check out their seamless base layer collection. The good news is that the leggings are super luxe. They fit great, are so comfortable and warm, and seem very high quality. I was surprised that they retail for only $40. The bad [...]
Read More base layers, FERA
Why don’t I just get a pair of road cycling shoes? Seriously, what’s my deal? I don’t want to admit I ride a road bike? Well, I do, for fitness purposes, and this year I even have it inside on the (shudder) trainer because of a spate of poor conditions for my snow bike. Still, [...]
Read More bike shoes, cycling, cycling shoes, footwear, Vittoria
I got the black version of these shorts, which is why I’m not posting any of the pics from yesterday’s ride. See, it’s winter here, so we ride in the dark, and by some conspiration of clothing companies, every single thing I wear for winter biking is black. I have pics of the shorts but [...]
Read More bike shorts, cycling, MTB, shorts
I’m kinda puzzled by these pants. Maybe I haven’t tried them in enough conditions, but I can’t figure out what they’re for. I wore them for backcountry skiing the other day, and had high hopes for a new favorite pair of pants. I based most of my hopes on fit; I loved that the Verglas [...]
Read More Helly Hansen, pants, skiingOh, the quick change. Immortalized by Lori Petty in Point Break, it’s a move that takes practice to pull off. Once skilled, one can enjoy any number of sweaty, dirty endeavors and still appear at her next obligation clean and appropriately dressed, without stopping at home (or in one of those gross Seward Highway permanent [...]
Read MoreI shamelessly asked PI to send some tights with their sample shipment. I admit it. To the bike industry, winter = knickers which just doesn’t cut it in Alaska. I have learned in recent years that most “bad weather” gear is just Lower 48 bad weather gear, which is like Alaskan summer gear at times. [...]
Read More cycling, Pearl Izumi, tights, winterI love riding bikes but I don’t like to look like I ride bikes, at least not clothing-wise. Of course, because of my job, I end up just as lycra-and-logo-clad as anyone else, and I wear the stuff because I’m picky but not THAT picky. I don’t love the clothes but I’ve got them so [...]
Read More cycling, zoic
