Outdoor Adventure Blog

MSR's Pocket Rocket Canister Stove by Dirk 01/07/2013 03:52:46 P.M.

Shortly after the the beginning of time there was fire. It was a laborious process to obtain it, but in it was life. Those prehistoric cavemen may have been technologically advanced for their time, but they’ve got nothing on the modern day fire making devices.

The MSR Pocket Rocket is amongst the few such stoves that make quite the spectacle out of cooking.

The flame, when the fuel is fully open, resembles that of a jet fighter engine (hence the name). Although fire is, and will likely always be, impressive, often times hikers need the quickness and convenience of a stove. And for that, the Pocket Rocket will almost always be my preference. It is one of the lightest, most affordable, and simplest canister stoves that I’ve used.

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Petzl E+LITE for More Than Just Emergencies by Dirk 01/03/2013 03:04:37 P.M.

Most people sleep when its dark, and thrive when it’s light - it seems as if that’s just a part of human nature. For those who dare venture into the wilderness in a more vulnerable state, with stars above their head and trails dressed in silver, they may do so by utilizing modern day high-powered headlamps.

I recently discovered the joy of hiking in the night. Until recently, I had reserved this exclusively for emergency situations or highly ambitious mileage goals gone wrong. On my last trip to the AT, a couple co-workers and I punched out some big mile days, which necessitated that we almost certainly were going to spend time walking through the dark.

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Thule Protects Your Laptops by Richard 12/31/2012 12:59:52 P.M.

I don't deify technology. But when I buy something electronic (which is rare), particularly if it's expensive, I don't want it to break. So, when I recently purchased an 11" Macbook Air, I concordantly bought the Thule Gauntlet 11" Macbook Air Sleeve.

What a great decision. 

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Crown 60 Achievement by Dirk 12/27/2012 12:04:50 P.M.

It was no later than 4pm and I was cruising through my first ever 20 mile day (and continuing), my highest mileage before that had been just short of 13 and I was epically wasted by the end of that day. I felt as I was moving fluidly, up a thousand foot incline without needing to stop, and recovering much quicker regardless of our lack of sleep on the five hundred mile drive up from Orlando. As I continued to revel in my newly discovered super powers, I reflected on how exactly I achieved such stardom on the trail.

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Merrell's Tough Glove by Richard 12/14/2012 01:23:48 P.M.

When I ordered the Merrell Tough Glove a year - or two - ago, I thought that they'd be a footnote (pun intended, thank you) to my footwear collection. Even though I'm a bit of a minimalist, by lifestyle, I thought that I'd more frequently don my Vibram Fivefingers or a pair of my huaraches.

I was wrong. 

Though I still believe that less-is-more with shoe soles, I've ended up wearing the Tough Glove far more than my Vibram Fivefingers in recent months. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a major advocate of the Fivefingers - I just didn't realize how commonplace and beneficial the Tough Glove would be/have been.

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The Best Sleeping Bags Money Can Buy by Dirk 12/10/2012 01:39:16 P.M.

Picture yourself in North Carolina, you’re at 5,200 ft, and it’s so cold that your water bottle is frozen. You neglected to bring a 4-season sleeping pad because on this trip you were going to go “ultra light.” In fact you barely even consider to highly modified, half cut Z-lite, much to write home about-but still, you feel as though you’re wrapped in a fluffy cloud of warmth. Everyone who isn’t you is either cold or complaining - maybe your choice in bringing along your Western Mountaineering Alpinlite 20 bag wasn’t such a bad idea. As you sit in revel in your pre dawn victory - you reflect on the past 3 days on the Appalachian Trail, your last minute purchase of your new sleeping bag, and whether or not it was worth it.

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Sprint, KSO: The Two Best Fivefinger Models by Richard 11/16/2012 10:48:57 A.M.

One of my first orders of business when I started working at Travel Country was purchasing a pair of Vibram Fivefinger Sprints. It was just over three years ago, and I was being enculcated with knowledge on store products from the likes of Brian, Chris, Wayne, Ryan, and others - extremely experienced outdoorsmen. But the Fivefingers, those were new. Those were the things that people didn't really have a phenomenal amount of knowledge on. In fact, often times people would come into the store and ask many questions - one of them was invariably "What are the long-term effects of wearing these shoes?" The answer, quite simply, was "We're not sure yet." We were going to have to figure out together.

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Pacifico Paddle Challenge by Jason 11/13/2012 10:31:26 A.M.

It was an awesome time this weekend at the 2nd annual Pacifico Paddle Challenge in St. Pete, FL. We were so stoked to race at the last stop of the SUP Splash series. It’s probably one of the biggest SUP race series in the U.S. and I believe it’s just going to keep getting bigger - with 130 racers total (participating in the short/long/kids/relay courses) and a great location on the beach in front of the beautiful Postcard Inn. Grace Marcel, Shane Waterboy Webb and all the wonderful volunteers did a fantastic job putting this epic event together, with partial proceeds benefiting St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

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Ferocious Ferrosi Hoody by Richard 11/05/2012 09:42:21 A.M.

I am about to divulge how awesome is the Ferrosi Hoody by Outdoor Research.

Last week was hosted two of the coldest days of the season so far in Central Florida. Temperatues dipped into 50's with high humidity. To someone from the north, this is not cold. However, being from Michigan, I soon realized that it feels cold at those temperatures. One of the  main reasons is the humidity. It's not just your epidermis that feels cold, but your bones themselves. High humidity colds feel like someone is taking a tuning fork to you bones and there's nothing you can do about it.

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Water Monkey Fall Paddle Fest '12 by Jessica 11/01/2012 09:09:32 A.M.

The wind condition outlook was not so good for race day due to Hurricane Sandy; wind gusts were up to 25+ mph and there was lots of ocean chop. But Water Monkey Fall Paddle Festival race organizer, Chase Kosterlitz, was prepared with alternate courses set in the Treasure Island, FL intracoastal waterway. And the athletes were ready to tackle the cards they’d been dealt!

Fortunately, on the morning of October 28, 2012, Sandy’s winds had slowed to 13-15 mph, the weather temp was feeling like a true, cool fall day and the racers were feeling energized! Since the courses had been altered, the electronic timing system had to be prepared manually due to the water, instead of beach, finish. At the host hotel, Island Inn Beach Resort, over 100 paddlers lined up, got their numbers, and Chase announced the course details and safety information at the Captain’s Meeting. Racers were relieved to hear both the 8 mile Elite and 3 mile Fun courses had been shortened due to gnarly conditions.   

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